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
1999-12-06
2001-04-24
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
C426S283000, C426S451000, C426S502000, C426S516000, C426S557000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06221408
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to pasta composites and more particularly, to such products that have a coherent or unified shape.
Illustrative of a unified product composed of pieces of cooked pasta bonded together is the pasta-based product of U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,752 to Taylor et al. The patent teaches the use of a binding agent “selected from the group consisting of (1) soy protein and (2) egg white compositions comprising a sufficient proportion of egg white to permit the adherence of the discrete pieces of cooked pasta by the baking step”. The patent further advises the use of such binding agent “in a cooked pasta to binding agent weight ratio of from about 40:1 to about 10:1” which corresponds to a binder usage of from 2.5% to 10% based on the weight of cooked pasta. Even at the high level of 10% binder, the coherence of pasta pieces provided by egg white is not satisfactory for rapid production of pasta composites in a commercial scale operation. Moreover, the cost of such high usage of egg white limits the saleability of the pasta composites.
Accordingly, a principal object of this invention is to form composites of cooked pasta pieces with a strong binding agent.
Another important object is provide a binding agent that can be used in small proportions relative to cooked pasta to form composites with satisfactory coherence.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description which follows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with this invention, the binding agent for holding pieces of cooked pasta together as unified masses of desired shape is an edible, water-soluble cellulose derivative that, when dissolved in water, yields a highly viscous solution. Examples of water-soluble cellulose derivatives are methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, isopropyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose. Depending on the number of solubilizing radicals that are attached to the cellulose radical, the cellulose derivative will have a distinctive viscosity when dissolved in water. Thus, commercially available cellulose derivatives are sold in several grades.
A common grading of cellulose derivatives involves ASTM methods D2363/HPMC and D1347/MC of using a 2% aqueous solution of the cellulose derivative and Ubbelohde capillary tubes at 20° C. to determine the viscosity in centipoise units. The Dow Chemical Company is a prominent producer of methylcellulose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose which are preferred binding agents for the pasta products of this invention. Dow Chemical offers food grades of both cellulose derivatives that are highly purified and used in many common foods such as soups, sauces, fried foods, cake fillings and icings; the grades of both derivatives that are especially beneficial in this invention are those having viscosities of 1500 centipoises or higher as determined by the aforesaid ASTM methods. On an equal weight basis, high viscosity grades of the cellulose derivatives tend to provide greater bonding strength between the pieces of cooked pasta that are compressed and baked into a unified food product. Therefore, a high viscosity grade generally permits usage in a lower proportion than is practical with a lower viscosity grade.
An important advantage of the invention is the variety of cellulose derivatives of various viscosity grades from which the producer of pasta composites can choose to achieve minimal production cost and/or to obtain pasta composites with enhanced qualities such as crispiness. Egg white is a single product with a single physical grade so that the formulator of pasta composites, prior to this invention, lacked the flexibility of varying formulas for economic reason or for modifying characteristics of pasta composites made possible with cellulose derivatives pursuant to this invention.
The effectiveness of cellulose derivatives as binding agents for pieces of cooked pasta was confirmed in a simple test wherein six strips of cooked, curly-edged lasagne (each uncooked strip measuring 2 inches by 5 inches) were laid on an aluminum sheet in the following arrangement. Two strips were placed side by side with their curly edges in contact with one another. A 2% water solution of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (4000 centipoise grade) was brushed on the top side of the contiguous lasagne strips. Two more contiguous strips were laid on the first pair of strips but at right angles thereto. The second pair of contiguous strips was brushed with the aforesaid gum solution and a third pair of contiguous lasagne strips was placed on the second pair but at right angles thereto. An aluminum sheet was put on the triple lasagne layers and a weight of 10 pounds was placed on the top aluminum sheet.
The stack of lasagne layers sandwiched between the weighted aluminum sheets was put in a gas oven operating at a temperature of 400° F. After 15 minutes the stack was removed from the oven. The three layers of lasagne were firmly bonded together. The bonded lasagne product was very flexible, strong, soft and chewable. It was thinner than any practical layer of bonded linguini or fettuccine and stronger. It required an extremely little amount of the cellulose derivative highlighting its bonding strength.
The simple test also revealed that the effectiveness of cellulose derivatives as binding agents for cooked pasta is maximized by compressing cooked pasta pieces coated with an aqueous solution of a cellulose derivative and baking the compressed pasta under pressure to set the binding agent. Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,705 teaches such a method of baking a mixture of cooked pasta pieces and a binder, and provides apparatus therefor.
The pasta composites usually include various ingredients, such as flour, salt, spices, cheese, etc. An ingredient that is particularly desirable for use with a cellulose derivative to bond pasta pieces together is starch which, like flour, serves to fill the interstices between the bonded pieces of pasta, and which contributes to the cohesion of the pasta pieces.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4426400 (1984-01-01), Newlin et al.
patent: 5283071 (1994-02-01), Taylor et al.
patent: 5518756 (1996-05-01), Dau
patent: 5939113 (1999-08-01), Hursh
patent: 5960705 (1999-10-01), D'Alterio et al.
patent: 6004602 (1999-12-01), D'Alterio
patent: 6026737 (2000-02-01), D'Alterio et al.
Bhat Nina
Garbo Paul W.
LandOfFree
Pasta composites and process therefor does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Pasta composites and process therefor, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Pasta composites and process therefor will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2549963