Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Treatment with aqueous material – e.g. – hydration – etc.
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-17
2001-11-20
Yeung, George C. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Treatment with aqueous material, e.g., hydration, etc.
C426S637000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06319531
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method for rehydrating a predetermined quantity of food granules with a predetermined quantity of water which is applied to the food granules in a chamber.
A method of the type stated at the outset is employed particularly in vending machines or automatic machines for large kitchens which use water and rehydratable food granules to produce an edible dough which is formed into pieces of edible dough and then fried, boiled, roasted or baked. In this known method employed in automatic machines of this kind, a portion of food granules is fed into a chamber and then rehydrated with a quantity of water corresponding to a predetermined mixing ratio.
Any rehydratable granules which can be converted into an edible dough with water are suitable as food granules. For example, rehydratable potato granules can be used to produce a raw potato dough or a mixture of flour and starch can be used to produce pasta. Herbs and mixtures of herbs can be added to the food granules to suit the personal tastes of the users. To accelerate the mixing of the food granules with water, the water can be heated to a temperature of 80 to 90° C.
Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,627 describes a vending machine for French fried potatoes which produces a potato dough from rehydratable potato granules and water in accordance with the method stated at the outset. The chamber used for rehydration is a cylinder of circular cross section which is open at both ends and the lower end of which serves as an outlet opening that can be closed by a pivotable plate. The cylinder is filled with the entire predetermined quantity of potato granules through its upper open end. A rehydrating unit is then pivoted over the feed opening and deposits the predetermined quantity of water uniformly on the food granules. However, in this arrangement only the upper layers of the food granules are rehydrated, while the lower layers of granules remain unwetted. Uniform rehydration of the food granules with water is therefore not possible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the invention to provide a method for rehydration and a device for performing the method, in which a predetermined quantity of food granules is rehydrated uniformly with a predetermined quantity of water.
In the case of a method of the type stated at the outset, this object is achieved by virtue of the fact that water is first of all sprayed onto a portion of the food granules as a fine shower, the said portion forming a first layer of granules in the chamber, and in that food granules are then deposited in layers on the first layer of granules and sprinkled with water in the chamber until the predetermined quantity of food granules and water has been reached. The object is furthermore achieved by means of a device in accordance with Patent Claim
8
or
13
. Advantageous developments of this invention will become apparent from the respectively associated subclaims.
In the method according to the invention, only a portion of the predetermined quantity of food granules is initially fed into the chamber. The first layer of granules formed in the process is then wetted with water, which is sprayed into the chamber as a fine shower. The fine shower penetrates into the lowermost sublayers of the loosely piled food granules and rehydrates them. With increasing rehydration of the accumulated food granules, the water can no longer reach the lower rehydrated sublayers through the rehydrated upper sublayers, despite its distribution, but collects in the upper sublayers. At this stage of the method, further food granules are deposited in layers on the first layer of granules and sprayed with water. The lower sublayers of the food granules deposited on the first layer of granules, the said lower sublayers adjoining the upper sublayers of the first layer of granules, then absorb the water stored in these upper sublayers. At the same time, the upper sublayers are rehydrated by the additional water sprayed in. Due to the distribution of the water as a fine shower, on the one hand, and the deposition of the food granules in layers, on the other hand, uniform rehydration of the entire predetermined quantity of food granules is in this way achieved.
In the case of food granules which rehydrate relatively quickly, the proposal is to spray each further layer of granules with water after it is deposited. This ensures that the layers of granules are uniformly moistened despite the barrier layers of rehydrated food granules which form and prevent penetration of the water into deeper sublayers.
Food granules which rehydrate relatively slowly can be sprayed with water as they are fed in. For this purpose, water is sprayed onto the food granules falling into the chamber and onto the layer of granules which is forming. This ensures, on the one hand, that the quantity of food granules fed in is uniformly mixed with water and, on the other hand, the rehydration time required for the total predetermined quantity of food granules is shortened since the food granules are rehydrated as they are fed in.
In a preferred development of the method, the water is sprayed in at least partially in a direction normal to the bottom of the chamber on which the food granules can be deposited. This ensures that the entire area of food granules deposited on the bottom of the chamber is wetted with water.
There is furthermore the possibility of spraying in water at least partially along at least one plane tangential to an imaginary cylinder standing in the chamber, in an oblique direction relative to the normal to the bottom of the chamber on which the granules can be deposited. Spraying the water in tangentially produces a circular flow in the chamber which takes the food granules along and not only rehydrates them but also subjects them to a stirring or mixing movement.
At a mean water pressure of 2 to 3 bar, the fine shower should be composed of droplets, the mean volumetric diameter of which is in a range of from 0.5 to 1.5 mm. At a droplet size of this kind, good mixing of the water with the food granules is achieved, on the one hand, especially when food granules and water are fed in simultaneously, since the food granules are sufficiently wetted and, on the other hand, the flight path of the food granules is influenced in a controlled manner by means of the droplet size.
A suitable device for carrying out the method is one in which arranged in the chamber, at a distance from the bottom of the chamber on which the food granules can be deposited, there is at least one nozzle for spraying in the water, which has a cavity that tapers in the direction of flow and the nozzle outlet opening of which, which is connected to the cavity, points in the direction of the bottom of the chamber. The nozzle outlet opening has a separation edge which is acute-angled in cross section and which atomizes the water flowing out.
To spray in the water, use is made, for example, of a single-substance nozzle, arranged in the cavity of which is a swirl insert which has an axial hole and a plurality of radial passages through which the water flows into the cavity in a circular motion. The water flowing in in a circular motion causes a circular flow in the cavity, the axial hole reducing its tangential velocity, with the result that the water is sprayed from the nozzle outlet opening as a fine conical shower. It is additionally possible to control the size of the droplets of the fine shower by regulating the pressure of the water flowing into the single-substance nozzle. If the water pressure is low, a fine shower with comparatively large water droplets is formed. If, on the other hand, the water pressure is high, a fine shower with very small water droplets is formed. This allows the rehydration time to be influenced.
Another proposal is to use a multi-substance nozzle with external mixing which has a second nozzle outlet opening, arranged concentrically to the nozzle outlet opening for the water, for a second medium supplied under pressure. The second medium supplied under pressure a
Aichele Erich
Henge Christian
Hoehne Manfred
Voelker Bernd Georg Jakob
Vollmer Manfred
Aichele Erich
McCormick Paulding & Huber LLP
Yeung George C.
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