Pelletization process

Details Pelletization process Pelletization process

2000-08-29

2001-10-30

Hendricks, Keith (Department: 1761)

Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products

Fermentation processes

Of farinaceous cereal or cereal material

C426S052000, C426S560000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06309680

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pelletization process, and more particularly to a process for the pelletization of a dried gluten material which may be used as a fermenting material for the production of fermented products such as soy sauce and seasonings.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,004 (“Nagata”) discloses a process for the production of a fermenting material which comprises using 5-100% by weight of a dried gluten product and 0-95% by weight of wheat as a raw material, adding steam to the material to adjust the moisture content upon granulating to within a critical range of 12-18%, and granulating the material followed by steaming. The initially dry gluten product used in Nagata includes dried wheat gluten product, dried corn gluten product and the like. The steaming step is said to denature the wheat gluten. The adjustment of moisture content to the required range is considered to facilitate the granulation of the gluten dough, which upon steaming, gives rise to satisfactory denaturation of protein. Nagata states that if more than 18% or less than 12% moisture is imparted on the dough via steaming, granulation would not be possible.
In addition, Nagata cites a number of Japanese references disclosing various processes for preparing a fermenting material using wheat gluten. The cited processes all require a denaturation step via steam treatment of the gluten dough which is formed by adding water to wheat gluten. As stated in Nagata, directly adding water to wheat gluten immediately followed by steaming leads to inefficient denaturation of the gluten dough. This occurs because the inner portion of the large dough mass obtained from a process according to the cited references cannot be effectively denatured by steaming.
On the other hand, when steam is directly added to a dried gluten product, as when saturated steam is added to a dried vital wheat gluten, undesirable hard lumps form which have to be sieved away. This causes an additional processing step and loss of materials. Also, it is quite difficult to achieve a moisture content of from 12-18% by steaming, especially on a large-scale production.
JP 62-118880 discloses a method of preparing a brewing material for koji, by heating flour to denature its protein, hydrating to a moisture content of 30 to 50%, and then granulating and steaming the material to form a product.
Thus, there exists a need for a simplified process for preparing a fermenting material that can be used for the production of fermented products such as sauces and seasonings wherein the process eliminates the need for the thermal denaturation of the gluten dough. The present invention provides such process as well as fermentation products obtained from fermenting materials that are prepared from that process.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present invention provides a process for pelletizing materials which may be used in the manufacture of fermentation-derived products such as koji and other types of food flavorings, seasonings, and food additives. The process of the present invention does not require steam treatment to thermally denature the gluten dough. A preferred embodiment of the present invention involves forming a dough by adding water in an amount of at least 19% to 60% by weight into dried gluten, pelletizing the dough, and sterilizing the resulting pellets by steam treatment.
In addition to providing a process for preparing a fermenting material, the present invention solves the problems arising from the gluten's vitality by devitalizing the wheat gluten before the pelletization step. Devitalization, which can be achieved by heat treatment of the gluten dough, is part of the denaturation process involving vital gluten. While devitalization can be achieved by steam treatment, devitalization according to the process of the present invention can instead be performed using a dry heat treatment. Upon devitalization, water may be added in an amount of from at least 19% to 60%, depending on the degree of devitalization, to form the dough and facilitate pelletization. Additional water may be added to the pellets, if necessary, to adjust the moisture content to at least 30% to 50% based on the weight of the pellets. This would normally be done before the sterilization or pasteurization step. By this process, lumps are avoided so that no loss of materials occurs.
The pellets produced according to the process of the present invention can be used as a fermenting material for the production of a fermentation-based product such as a food seasoning or sauce, and preferably a koji product.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As used herein, the term “pelletizing” or “granulating” means converting a material into pellets, grains, granules, or other relatively small particles. Similarly, the word “pellets” is intended to encompass grains, granules, and other relatively small particles. Preferably, the dried gluten is wheat gluten, corn gluten, or rice gluten. One or more types of gluten may be used to produce the pelletized material.
When dried wheat gluten is used, it is advantageous to devitalize the wheat gluten before adding water, even though devitalization is not required. Devitalization can be carried out by heating at 60° C. or higher using means such as hot air or by contact with a hot surface or hot air, e.g., in a drier, oven, or a steam-jacketed vessel. Other suitable means of heat treatment may be employed. Devitalization may be performed from 5 seconds to 3 hours, depending on the temperature used. Lower temperatures normally require a longer devitalization treatment time. The devitalization may be carried out between 60° C. to 200° C. over a period of from 5 seconds to 3 hours, preferably from 100° C. to 120° C. over a period of from 5 minutes to half an hour. In general, the temperature and duration of heating employed depend partly on the composition of the starting materials used to form the desired product.
If wheat is to be mixed with dried gluten, it should preferably be done before adding water. The added wheat, which is used mainly as a carbohydrate source, can be wheat flour, wheat bran, or other conventional forms of wheat. The amount of wheat can be up to 90%, preferably from 5% to 50%, and more preferably from 10% to 35% of the total weight of the wheat and dried gluten.
The amount of water added to the dried gluten, which depends upon the vitality of the gluten as well as the composition of the raw materials, is at least 19% by weight and generally from 25% to 60% by weight. Additional water may be added to the pellets before sterilization by steaming to increase the moisture content of the pellets to at least 30% to 50% by weight.
The dough may be pelletized by conventional means such as a screw press, meat mincer, or pellet mill. The pellets generally have a cylindrical shape with an average diameter of from 1 mm to 10 mm, preferably from 2 mm to 8 mm, and more preferably from 4 mm to 6 mm. They may also have a spherical shape with a diameter of from 1 mm to 10 mm, preferably from 2 mm to 8 mm, and more preferably from 4 mm to 6 mm. The pellets may also be formed into other shapes such as cubes or rectangles or others having polygonal, oval or circular cross sections.
After cooling, the pellets may then be used to prepare a product such as koji by mixing them with carbohydrates, inoculating with Aspergilli or other suitable microorganisms, and fermenting the inoculated mixture for two days or more. In addition to carbohydrates, one or more protein sources may also be incorporated as starting materials for preparing a gluten-derived material or product. This material or product may then be converted into a food product such as a seasoning using conventional methods. One may also use a method described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,888,561 and 5,965,178, the entire disclosures of each of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference thereto.
The use of the pellets of the present invention in a fermentation process provides a good hydrolysis yield due to the ease of disintegration of the pe

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