Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Surface coating of a solid food with a liquid
Patent
1997-11-07
2000-05-16
Cano, Milton
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Surface coating of a solid food with a liquid
426 89, 426 92, 426100, 426303, 426305, 426393, 426524, A23B 410
Patent
active
060634235
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns a procedure, for preparing a ready-made food portion.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various procedures for preparing deep-frozen ready-made foods are known in the art. For instance, the reference FI 76676 discloses a method for preparing a deep-frozen fish product, wherein a deep-frozen piece of fish is first coated with dough, rolled in egg and bread crumbs a first time, submerged in liquid food fat, and rolled in egg and bread crumbs once more before being deep frozen.
In GB 1,448,495 a procedure is disclosed for applying a seasoned gravy formulation on frozen food products. In said procedure, the foodstuff is frozen and upon the frozen foodstuff, the ready-made gravy is applied in the form of an aqueous suspension. Hydro-colloid gravy having a certain viscosity is used in this procedure.
The reference U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,340 describes the preparation of dough-enclosed frozen products. In this procedure the foodstuffs are portioned, coated with dough, and the dough is allowed to form a matrix of protein and starch, which protects the foodstuff.
In reference SE 374 995 a method is disclosed for producing a frozen foodstuff, wherein a gravy containing fat is sprayed on the foodstuff, frozen or at room temperature, whereupon the product is frozen.
The problem with procedures known in the art is that the fats and oils used to coat the foodstuff are in spite of deep freezing subject to oxidation and give the product an unsatisfactory flavour.
A further problem with previously known procedures is that in spite of the methods employed, liquid will evaporate from the deep-frozen foodstuff; so-called deep-freeze drying takes place.
Moreover, fats and oils render the surface of the foodstuffs sticky and awkward to handle, whereby their packaging e.g. in bags becomes difficult. Furthermore, existing procedures are not usable on any and all types of foodstuff. Moreover, losses of liquid and of weight occur at deep freezing and in food preparing, and the flavour of the food will suffer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned. The object of the invention is specifically to disclose a foodstuff preparing procedure in which the product is protected against deep-freeze drying and oxidation. The object of the invention is furthermore to disclose a procedure by which tasty and healthy food is obtained.
It is still another object of the invention to disclose a procedure enabling a product to be made which is neatly, simply and swiftly packageable and which can be made into food with ease and speed.
In the procedure of the invention, in order to prepare ready-made food portions, the portion piece is frozen to a temperature at least -15.degree. C., and the gravy is frozen upon the portion piece in at least two different layers so that the outer layer is an oxidation-inhibiting, fat-free liquid layer.
The component layers can be applied on the portion piece by spraying, by atomizing or by dipping the frozen portion piece in the gravy or liquid.
In the procedure of the invention the portion piece is advantageously either a whole piece of meat, fish, broiler meat or another foodstuff; or the portion piece is already cut into cubes or strips, or minced; in such case the comminuted particles may be precooked/roasted so that they might not stick to each other during the actual cooking/roasting.
The portion piece to be used in the procedure of the invention may be thermally treated or raw, in which case the consumer himself will prepare the food portion, or the portion piece may be fully cooked/roasted.
The gravy which is formed by the procedure is applied to the ready-made food portion either in the form of components, whereby the liquid separating from the product may be utilized in forming the gravy, and thus there will be no losses of liquid, weight or flavour during the preparation of food.
The invention affords the advantage that the layer containing fat-free liquid which gets to be top-most will protect the product
REFERENCES:
patent: 1489144 (1924-04-01), Ogura et al.
patent: 2504869 (1950-04-01), Noyes
patent: 3808340 (1974-04-01), Palmer
patent: 3808342 (1974-04-01), Brandin
patent: 5266340 (1993-11-01), Samson et al.
Hirabayashi, Katsumasa; Patent Abstracts of Japan; vol. 10, No. 71, C-334; abstract of JP, A, 60-210944, Oct. 23, 1985.
Yamagishi, Masanatsu; Patent Abstracts of Japan; vol. 10, No. 182, C-356; abstract of JP, A, 61-31038, Feb. 13, 1986.
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