Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Packaging or treatment of packaged product
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-02
2001-07-03
Cano, Milton (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Packaging or treatment of packaged product
C426S129000, C426S410000, C426S513000, C426S414000, C426S646000, C053S122000, C053S436000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06254911
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of making a plate-like frozen raw hamburger-like matter packaged by a film, wherein the matter is packaged in a state of being formed in a plate-like shape, maintained to be in the state by freezing, and edibly supplied by opening a package bag and by cooking in this plate-like state.
2. Discussion of Background
At present, most of hamburger-like matters supplied for domestic consumption and business consumption are brought into distribution in a chilled or frozen state by packaging after filling and forming constitutional materials into a form.
However, in such a hamburger-like matter, because it is subjected to packaging, for example, filling in and closing a bag after forming using the form, excessive air is apt to intrude into a package in a step of packaging; and deterioration of quality of the hamburger-like matter such as freezer burn, oil burn, run-off of an extract, such as a gravy contained in the hamburger-like matter, is apt to be introduced with time, which deterioration is caused by the air and a space in the package. Therefore, it is not rare that this kind of hamburger-like matter is difficult to be stored for a long term, and there are many cases where one is obliged to add a preservative.
In consideration of separately packing after forming using the form, there is a limit in finishing the hamburger-like matter to be thin. Therefore, in a conventional technique, this kind of the hamburger-like matter is relatively thick, whereby it is not rare that thawing is necessary before heating in a final cooking and that a substantial time is necessary for cooking.
Further, in order to make a weight of and a shape of a product uniform, a special consideration, for example, for filling constitutional materials into the form is necessary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems inherent in the conventional technique and to easily and stably make a hamburger-like matter in a state that deterioration of quality, such as freezer burn, occurs as little as possible and to form the hamburger-like matter such that it is suitable for transportation, storage, and preservation; it is easily cooked; and it has a shape suitable for supplying as a food, for example, it can easily be sandwiched.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making a plate-like frozen raw hamburger-like matter packaged by a film comprising steps of:
(1) sequentially and successively forming a three-sided seal package bag or a four-sided seal package bag by a first thermal seal, continuously provided in a direction along with a conveying direction of the film, and a second thermal seal, provided in a perpendicular to a conveying direction of the film with an interval, and filling constitutional materials of the raw hamburger-like matter between the second thermal seal, previously provided, and the second thermal seal, subsequently provided, while conveying the film having a sealant layer, to be thermally sealed, so that interfacial peeling, ply separation, or cohesive failure can occur when desired;
(2) deaerating by pressing the film so that the filled constitutional materials are spread after the above filling step and before providing the subsequently provided second thermal seal;
(3) forming the raw hamburger-like matter by equalizing the packed constitutional materials with the package bag, filled by the constitutional materials, pressing so that the constitutional materials are spread in the package bag, after the above deaerating step; and
(4) freezing for maintaining a shape of the raw hamburger-like matter by rapidly freezing the package bag enclosing the raw hamburger-like matter, equalized to be like a plate, after the above forming step.
In this, the raw hamburger-like matter contains one or more kinds of minced or mashed fundamental materials of flesh (e.g. beef, pork, horse meat, sheep meat, goat meat, flesh of domestic fowls, fish meat such as whale, sardine and shrimp, and vegetable protein) and one kind or more of additional materials as much as an appropriate amount of a liaison (e.g. bread crumbs and wheat flours, minced vegetable such as onion chopped into fine pieces, seasonings, and spices). In this specification, the raw hamburger-like matter means a matter, which is not finally cooked and edible by cooking. The constitutional materials mean the fundamental materials and the additional materials.
Since, in the filling step, the three-sided package bag or the four-sided package bag is formed by the film having the thermally sealed sealant layer so that the interfacial peeling, the ply separation, or the cohesive failure can occur, the raw hamburger-like matter, formed like a plate and frozen for maintaining the shape according to this method of making, is easily taken out by breaking the thermal seal from an arbitrarily chosen side of the package bag and by pulling portions of the film on both sides of the package bag in directions of mutual separation, whereby the raw hamburger-like matter in an enclosed and frozen condition is easily taken out from the package bag.
Further, in the deaerating step, it is possible to remove excessive air in the constitutional materials, enclosed in the package bag, by removing the air as much as possible before subsequently providing the second thermal seal. Further, the constitutional materials are densely spread in an area between the previously provided second thermal seal and the subsequently provided second thermal seal in the film, formed in a flat cylindrical shape before providing the subsequently provided second thermal seal, whereby it is possible to prevent the air, remaining in spaces to be filled in a package bag, from remaining. As a result, it is possible to seal the constitutional materials, in a state that the excessive air is not left as throughly as possible in the package bag, to prevent a change of a quality of the raw hamburger-like matter, caused by such air, from occurring as throughly as possible, and to give durability to storage by freezing for a long term.
Further, the constitutional materials, filled in the package bag in the forming step, are formed to be the plate-like raw hamburger-like matter, of which shape corresponds to an inner space of the package bag. Specifically, a plate-like shape of the constitutional materials corresponding to a flat and rectangular inner space, formed by an inner edge of the first thermal seal and an inner edge of the second thermal seal, both provided in the package bag. Thus formed plate-like raw hamburger-like matter is covered by the film without an interval between an outer surface of the raw hamburger-like matter and the film after the deaerating step, whereby it is possible to prevent run-off of an extract, such as a gravy, contained in the raw hamburger-like matter from occurring with time as throughly as possible. By regularly forming the first thermal seal and the second thermal seal, it is possible to make each of the raw hamburger-like matters, enclosed in each of the continuously formed package bags, to have substantially equal weights and shapes, whereby commodities having identical specifications can be stably supplied.
Further, because the hamburger-like matter is formed in a state that the constitutional materials are enclosed in the package bag, it is possible to thin the formed raw hamburger-like matter without trouble; and the raw hamburger-like matter can be properly frozen in a short time in the freezing step. Further, it is possible to uniformly bake the constitutional materials, filled in the package bag, when a final consumer opens the package bag and heats it to supply a food, and accordingly these contents can be cooked in a short time. Further, it is possible to easily form the plate-like raw hamburger-like matter in a substantially rectangular shape, which is easily eaten by sandwiching between bread or by topping the bread.
Further, the raw hamburger-like matter, obta
Cano Milton
Dauerman Sherry A.
Komatsu Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
LandOfFree
Method of making plate-like frozen raw hamburger-like matter... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method of making plate-like frozen raw hamburger-like matter..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method of making plate-like frozen raw hamburger-like matter... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2497236