Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Direct application of electrical or wave energy to food... – Involving wave energy of the sonic or pulsating type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-01
2001-10-30
Bhat, Nina (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Direct application of electrical or wave energy to food...
Involving wave energy of the sonic or pulsating type
C426S281000, C099S451000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06309685
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 371 of the following applications: Application No. P9701457 of Hungary filed Sep. 1, 1997; application No. P9801842 of Hungary filed Aug. 7, 1998; and international application No. PCT/HU98/00082 filed Aug. 31, 1998.
The invention relates to a procedure for the quick pickling of mainly meat in which the meat or other material to be pickled is placed into a pickle solution bath and, in order to assist the penetration of pickling solution into the material to be pickled, the pickle solution is treated by ultrasound. The invention also relates to the instrument for carrying out the said procedure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Aromatizing, preserving and colour-forming substances are introduced into meat to be pickled. These aromatizing and colour-forming substances are generally NaCl (salt) or different mixtures of dilute aqueous solutions of nitrite salt mixtures (e.g. sodium ascorbate). The salt solutions thus prepared having different compositions are called “pickling solutions”. By applying well-chosen pickling solutions, well-tasting, good-coloured and non-perishable meat products can be obtained.
For introducing the pickling solution into the meat tissue, pickling instruments are applied. The requirement for pickling instruments is that the pickling solution should be introduced into the meat tissue uniformly, under mild conditions (without destruction of the muscle fibres), well distributed and in the possible shortest time.
According to the traditional way of pickling, the meat to be pickled is placed into an open pickling bath and so much pickling solution is poured on it that the meat is fully covered. The pickling solution diffuses this way into the meat tissue in several days. In the case of products with skin, this time can even exceed a month. Though, in this procedure, the penetration of pickling solution is mild, due to its long duration the procedure is not economic enough, thus it is not suitable for industrial application. Another drawback of this procedure is that it may cause local oversalting and surface sintering.
In a newer procedure (see article “Metalquimia” in Hús, 1944, 1, p. 27) pickling solution is injected into the meat by an instrument provided with several parallelly arranged injection syringe. With this procedure, a relatively uniform and quick pickling can be performed, but the pickling solution leaks out for about an additional hour from the openings caused by injection, and the pricks are seen in the meat.
There are procedures and instruments known in which mechanical force is applied on the meat to be pickled, the pickling solution is thus introduced. In such instruments the meat pieces thrown on each other are rotated in the same time when adding the pickling solution, and as a result of this mechanical effect, the surface of meat pieces is loosened, gets spongy, and it absorbs the pickling solution on the surface. In this way, pickling needs a time of about 10-14 hours, which period is divided into operation and rest time. A drawback of this procedure is that it destructs the meat tissue and cannot be carried out in a continuous mode of operation.
In patent WO92/19011 PCT is this method developed further in that that the mechanical effect of rotation is complemented by ultrasound vibration originating from a tubular ultrasound source introduced into a closed tank. The frequency of the ultrasound used is 22-29 kc/s, its power is 0-400 W. The closed tank is exposed alternately to vacuum and a gas containing CO
2
. In the meantime, the closed tank is cooled by a cooling jacket. The energy requirement of this method is high, and it is very complicated, thus very costly. It requires complementary instruments such as a vacuum pump, air compressor, cooling water pump and their appliances. The complicated instrument requires much place, it is immobile, and it is not applicable in satisfying smaller gastronomic demands.
In an earlier invention of the inventors of the present invention is described in Hungarian patent 212372. The quick pickling instrument consists of an open tank with a tray immersing into it, and the whole system is fitted on a self-supporting carcass. On the outer bottom side of the tank ultrasound sources are fixed. These ultrasound transducers are operated by a generator of 34-39 kc/s frequency. The operating parts of the instrument are cooled by a ventilator. Bigger or smaller meat pieces are immersed into the pickling solution by placing them on the tray in the open tank, then they are treated continuously with the ultrasound energy of 34-39 kc/s. This way, significantly shorter times of pickling can be achieved as compared to the traditional method. However, a further shortening of pickling times is required in producing pickled meat and other products of desired substance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above shortcomings by developing a procedure and instrument for the quick pickling of mainly meat products by realizing tissue- destruction-free pickling in a shorter time and with a longer life-time of the instrument.
The basis for the invention is the experience that ultrasound waves falling into the frequency range of 30-34 kc/s accelerate most the penetration of pickling solution into the meat tissue, and on the other hand, that inserting frequent periodic spaces into the ultrasound treating, not only the life-time of the instrument can be lengthened, but also the introduction of pickling solution into the meat tissue can be further accelerated.
The solution of the task according to the invention is a procedure for the quick pickling of mainly meat products, wherein the meat or other material to be pickled is placed into the pickling bath, then the bath is treated by ultrasound to accelerate the penetration of pickling solution into the meat, in which procedure periodically repeating ultrasound controlled by pulses of space factor of 50-99% is applied.
As ultrasound source, preferably periodical, power-modulated ultrasound is used.
The frequency of the ultrasound is preferably between 30 and 34 kc/s.
Preferably, ultrasound waves are modulated by pulses of repeating frequencies lower than 10 c/s.
Pulse times t
p
and space times t
s
are preferably varied in function of the mass and tissue structure of the pieces to be pickled.
Ultrasound treatments last expediently for 4-80 min, depending on the mass of the pieces to be pickled.
The invention thus consists of a procedure for the quick pickling of meat products, wherein meat pieces are immersed into a pickling bath which is vibrated by ultrasound to assist the penetration of the pickling solution into the meat, in which procedure 30-34 kc/s ultrasound waves controlled by periodically repeated pulses of space factor of 50-99% and of a repeating frequency smaller than 10 c/s are applied for a time of 4-80 min depending on the mass of the individual pieces of the material to be pickled.
The invention also relates to an instrument for pickling of mainly meat consisting of a pickling tank provided with one or more ultrasound sources that are connected to an ultrasound generator of appropriate power, which is a periodically operating ultrasound generator of 30-34 kc/s frequency, of a repeating frequency smaller than 10 c/s and of a space factor smaller than 100% but at least 50%.
Preferably, the parameters pulse times and space times of the generator are programmable.
Expediently, the ultrasound generator is provided by a timer for the treating period.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3743523 (1973-07-01), Bodine
patent: 4353928 (1982-10-01), Seliger et al.
patent: 195 32 782 (1997-03-01), None
patent: 1 561 185 (1980-02-01), None
patent: 1717063 (1992-03-01), None
patent: 90/05458 (1990-05-01), None
patent: 92/18011 (1992-10-01), None
patent: 95/18537 (1995-07-01), None
patent: WO 97/14314 (1997-04-01), None
Gyöngyösi József
Gyöngyösi Zoltán
Kozári József
Naszódi György
Bhat Nina
Kelemen Gabor J.
Venable
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