Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Surface coated – fluid encapsulated – laminated solid... – Isolated whole seed – bean or nut – or material derived therefrom
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-22
2001-03-20
Bhat, Nina (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Surface coated, fluid encapsulated, laminated solid...
Isolated whole seed, bean or nut, or material derived therefrom
C426S275000, C426S283000, C426S451000, C426S557000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06203830
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of producing filled pasta.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various kinds of filled pasta, for example, tortellini, ravioli, agnolotti, etc., constituted by one or more pieces of rolled pasta dough enclosing a filling, are known in the food field.
In pasta of these types, the individual pieces of rolled dough are prepared from a main sheet made of conventional dough comprising semolina and eggs, whereas the filling is prepared in accordance with a recipe comprising various ingredients such as meat, ham, cheese, spices, etc., suitably selected and mixed according to the flavour to be conferred on the filled pasta.
It is also known that the preparation of the aforementioned filled pasta requires a series of steps having the purpose of enclosing the filling between one or more pieces of pasta and forming the desired type of pasta.
For example, during the preparation of tortellini, the filling is metered onto a piece of pasta dough which is folded so as to house the filling in a kind of pouch.
The edges of the folded piece are then sealed and the opposite ends of the folded piece are superimposed and pressed together to form the tortellino.
Once the filled pasta has been formed it can undergo a stabilizing step to produce a fresh product, and possibly a subsequent drying step to produce a dried product.
A recognized disadvantage of commercial filled pasta, particularly dried filled pasta, is poor hydration of the filling during cooking in water, which in turn leads to the production of a cooked pasta the consistency and palatability of which do not satisfy the consumer's expectations.
In fact, in cooked filled pasta, the poorly hydrated filling feels substantially hard and “dry” on the consumer's palate and the consumer also notices a different consistency between the filling and the pasta which, on the other hand, is soft after cooking.
To prevent the aforementioned problem, some technical means have been proposed and sometimes adopted in the past for creating one or more passageways for the cooking water into the pasta envelope housing the filling.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,950,978 describes a method of preparing dried ravioli in which holes are formed in the central portion of the pasta envelope formed by two superimposed pieces housing the filling, so as to promote the escape of moisture from inside the ravioli during drying and to improve the rehydration of the filling during cooking.
This method has various disadvantages, amongst which is the need to provide an additional step in the production cycle for forming the holes in the pasta envelope which, amongst other things, is not easy to perform on an industrial scale.
Patent EP 0 439 806 describes a method of preparing filled dried pasta such as ravioli and tortellini, in which at least one passageway is created between the superimposed and sealed edges of the pasta envelope, putting the filling into communication with the environment outside the pasta.
According to one embodiment described in this patent, this is effected by first of all inserting a needle between the superimposed edges of the pasta envelope, then sealing the edges by pinching and, finally, withdrawing the needle, thus producing a passageway between the superimposed edges.
Alternatively, according to a second embodiment described in the above-mentioned patent, the superimposed edges of the pasta envelope are sealed by means of special pinching moulds which have interruptions in one or more sections of their pressure surfaces so that these sections of the superimposed edges of the pasta envelope are not sealed.
However, the first embodiment mentioned above has the disadvantage that it is necessary to provide two additional steps in the production cycle (the insertion and withdrawal of the needle) which render this method uneconomic and difficult to implement.
Moreover, for the additional steps, it requires the availability of fairly complex apparatus which may be complicated and difficult to operate automatically in synchronism with the pinching.
Finally, the filled pasta produced by the above-mentioned method has the disadvantage that the passageways created therein tend to collapse during cooking, in fact blocking the path of the water towards the filling.
The second above-mentioned method described in EP 0 439 806, on the other hand, has the disadvantage that no passageway is in fact created between the superimposed edges of the pasta envelope since, even in the sections of the piece of pasta which are not sealed, these edges are nevertheless in contact so that the filling is not rehydrated during cooking or is rehydrated to a very limited extent.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The problem upon which the present invention is based is that of providing filled pasta having characteristics such as to overcome all of the problems complained of above with reference to the prior art during cooking, that is, filled pasta which, when cooked, has a filling which feels sufficiently soft and “moist” to the consumer's palate, and which has a consistency comparable to that of the piece of pasta, at the same time maintaining good organoleptic and structural characteristics.
This problem is solved by filled pasta which can be produced by a production method comprising the steps of:
a) providing a plurality of pieces of rolled pasta dough, each piece comprising a peripheral portion and a substantially central portion for receiving a filling,
b) providing a pasta filling,
c) metering the filling onto the central portions of the pieces,
d) folding each piece along a substantially central line so as to enclose the filling in a kind of pouch,
e) sealing the edges of the folded pieces in the region of the peripheral portions of the pieces,
in which before step c) at least one notch is formed in the peripheral portion of each piece, the notch affecting the central portion receiving the filling.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the pieces of rolled pasta dough are substantially circular or elliptical and the method further comprises a step of superimposing and sealing the opposed ends of the folded piece, after step e), so as to produce a tortellino or similar filled pasta.
According to another embodiment, the method of the invention can be used for the production of filled pasta comprising a filling enclosed between two superimposed pieces of rolled pasta dough, in which case, the method comprises the steps of:
a) providing a first and a second piece of rolled pasta dough, substantially identical to one another and each comprising a peripheral portion and a substantially central portion,
b) providing a pasta filling,
c) metering the filling onto the central portion of the first piece,
d) superimposing the second piece on the first piece so that the peripheral portions fit together,
e) sealing the edges of the first and second pieces in the region of the peripheral portions of the pieces,
in which before step c) at least one notch is formed in the peripheral portion of at least one of the first and second pieces, the notch extending so far as to affect the central portion.
The said at least one notch is preferably formed in one of the first and second pieces.
The filled pasta which can be produced by the method of the invention may be, by way of non-limiting example, tortellini, ravioli, agnolotti, etc. It may be produced fresh or dried and, in the latter case, is produced by a drying step performed on the fresh pasta to complete the method of the invention.
In any case, it has surprisingly been found that, after cooking, both the fresh filled pasta and the dried pasta produced by the method of the invention have consistency and palatability which fully satisfy the consumer's expectations.
In fact, after cooking, they have a filling which feels sufficiently soft and “moist” to the consumer's palate, with a consistency comparable to that of the pasta.
The pasta pieces usable in the method of the invention are normal pieces of rolled pasta dough produced from conventional doughs by usual extrusion
Cademartiri Enrico
Chierici Antonio
Panto' Francesco
Petrosino Rosamaria
Schiaretti Enrico
Barilla Alimentare S.p.A.
Bhat Nina
Darby & Darby
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