Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Basic ingredient is starch based batter – dough product – etc.
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-30
2001-11-27
Tran, Lien (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Basic ingredient is starch based batter, dough product, etc.
C426S451000, C426S496000, C426S512000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06322840
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a pasta product and to a process for the manufacture of a pasta product.
BACKGROUND ART
Numerous pasta products exist on the market today. Although tridimensional pasta products are desirable, such products are typically achieved at the expense of their organoleptic properties. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,846 discloses an edible molding composition mainly comprising a starch, sodium caseinate, glycerol, and an emulsifier which may be used for manufacturing biodegradable packaging films or containers by extrusion or injection molding.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,440 discloses an injection molding apparatus and process for the manufacture of food or pet food products having tri-dimensional shapes, such as a bone shape for dogs or a fish shape for cats, from a mixture of meat meal and wheat flour.
Thus, there is a need for improvements in tridimensional pasta products that have good organoleptical properties which may be compared with those of traditional pasta products, and the present invention satisfies this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a tridimensional pasta product. The process for manufacturing a tridimensional pasta product includes the steps of preparing a mixture of cereal flour or semolina and water; kneading the mixture to obtain a dough; injecting the dough into a mold having a tri-dimensional shape, wherein the dough undergoes substantially no expansion in the mold during injection, and removing the dough from the mold to provide an injection molded pasta product having the tri-dimensional shape.
The mixture may have a water content of from about 10% to 35%, preferably of from about 22 to 26%, and more preferably of from about 24 to 25%. The cereal may be Durum or hard wheat, rice, corn, or mixtures thereof. The process my further include adding one or more of wheat protein, soft wheat flour, egg material, sodium chloride, spices, and mixtures thereof to the mixture.
The injecting may involve using a screw enclosed in a jacketed barrel, the screw being rotatable and longitudinally translatable in the barrel and the barrel having a downstream end in the form of a nozzle. The mold may be in two parts engageable with one another and held together by a clamping means.
The dough to be injected may be heated to a temperature of from about 30° C. to 150° C., preferably of from about 60° C. to 95°
0
C., and more preferably of from about 80° C. to 85° C., the injection means being therefore heatable and the temperature controllable. The dough may be injected into the mold under a pressure of at least about 200 bar. In one embodiment the dough is injected into the mold under a pressure of between about 1000 and 3000 bar.
During molding, the dough may be heated to a temperature of from about 30° C. to 150° C., preferably of from about 50° C. to 80° C., and more preferably of from about 55° C. to 65° C., the molding means being therefore heatable and the temperature controllable. The process may further include the steps of drying the injection molded pasta product to a residual water content of from about 4% to 13.5% and cooling the molded pasta product.
The present invention also relates to an injection molded tridimensional pasta product prepared according to the process of the invention. The tridimensional pasta product may include one or more additives such as wheat protein, soft wheat flour, egg material, sodium chloride, spices, and mixtures thereof. The cereal flour may be Durum or hard wheat, rice, corn, or mixtures thereof. The pasta product may have a water content of from about 4% to 32%. The pasta product may have a gelatinization degree of greater than about 69 percent.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention provides a tridimensional pasta product having organoleptical properties which are better compared with those of traditional pasta products.
The invention also provides a process for manufacturing such tridimensional pasta products. Preferably, the pasta product is an injection molded pasta product.
The process for manufacturing a pasta product according to the present invention comprises preparing a mixture of cereal flour or semolina and water, kneading the mixture to obtain a dough, and injection molding the dough. The dough is injected so that it undergoes substantially no expansion during the injecting.
The pasta product may be made from a raw material mixture that includes a cereal flour or semolina. The cereal may be, for example, Durum or hard wheat, rice, and/or corn. The mixture may have a water content of from about 10% to 35%, preferably of from about 22 to 26%, and more preferably of from about 24 to 25%. The pasta product may have a gelatinization degree of from 0 to 100%. The pasta product may have a water content of from 4 to 32%.
The process may further comprise adding to the mixture one or more of wheat protein, soft wheat flour, egg material, sodium chloride; and the like. Wheat protein, especially gliadin enriched wheat protein, such as the product marketed under the name Lavor Pro, manufactured by Midwest Grain Products, Inc. of Atchison, Kans. USA, may be used in an amount of from about 1 to 3% by weight of the mixture, in order to reduce the stickiness and improve the firmness of the cooked pasta. Soft wheat flour may be added to the mixture in order to increase the elasticity of the pasta product. Egg material in the form of whole egg powder, egg white powder, or liquid whole egg may be added to the mixture in order to increase the firmness of the pasta product.
The steps of preparing the mixture and kneading the mixture to obtain a dough may be carried out with traditional bread or pasta making equipment such as, for example, a baker's mixer and kneader, paddle mixer, mono- or twin-screw kneader, or in the barrel of equipment traditionally used for the injection molding of plastics.
The injection molding is carried out in a manner such that expansion of the dough mixture is substantially avoided, i.e., that the final product has undergone no apparent expansion and is essentially the same volume as that of the original injected dough. Expansion of the dough mixture is avoided by injecting the dough mixture directly into the mold under pressure. A pressure of at least about 200 bar and preferably at least about 400 bar is typically used.
The step of injection molding may be carried out with any equipment comprising adequate injection means and molding means. Adequate injection means may comprise, for example, a piston and a nozzle; an extruder and a nozzle; a gear pump and a nozzle; or the barrel, screw, and nozzle of equipment traditionally used for the injection molding of plastics.
Adequate molding means may comprise a mold in two parts engageable with one another and leaving a space between them corresponding to the shape of the product to be manufactured, the space being connected to a conduit or dough inlet, and the two parts being held together by clamping means.
Preferably, the present invention is carried out with equipment traditionally used for the injection molding of plastics, in which the injection means comprises a screw enclosed in a jacketed barrel, the screw being rotatable and longitudinally translatable in the barrel, the barrel having a downstream end in form of a nozzle; and in which the molding means comprises a mold in two parts, engageable with one another, and held together by clamping means.
The dough to be injected may be heated to a temperature of from about 30° C. to 150° C., preferably of from about 60° C. to 95° C., and more preferably of from about 80° C. to 85° C., the injection means being therefore heatable and the temperature controllable. The dough is advantageously injected into the mold under a pressure in the range of between about 1000 and 3000 bar as this prevents expansion of the dough mixture in the mold. The final extruded and molded product shape has essentially the same volume as the amount of dough material that is injected into the mold.
Halden Jonas Peter
Odermatt Robert Gerald
Panattoni Lorenzo
Nestec S.A.
Tran Lien
Winston & Strawn
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