Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Separating a starting material into plural different...
Patent
1993-03-18
1994-08-30
Yeung, George
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Separating a starting material into plural different...
99586, 426483, 452126, 452131, A23L 100, A23N 700
Patent
active
053426401
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for peeling food products such as fish, whole or not, for example sardines, herrings, anchovies, etc., fruits such as peaches, or vegetables such as tomatoes, as well as an apparatus for practicing the process.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Peeling fish, and particularly sardines, is a delicate operation which is carried out most of the time on fish as fillets. The peeling carried out automatically or manually comprises the securement of the fish on a support and cutting the skin by means of cutting elements. These mechanical cutting devices have on the whole difficulties in adjusting the level of the blades, knives and conveyors, which gives rise to loss of quality and lower weight production of the peeled fillets by these processes.
Other processes, such as that described in GB-A-2 116 829, consist, after superficial heating of the skin of the fish, in immersing this latter in an aqueous medium and drying it by the aid of brushes constituted by rotating rollers. In GB-A-2 160 757, the brushing is replaced by pulverization by cold water jets under pressure.
A last process applied industrially today consists in putting the skin of the fish in contact with a surface of a refrigerated drum and separating the quick-frozen skin by means of a continuous ribbon knife.
All the processes and apparatus described above are applied to preferably large fish in the form of fillets and whose size must be relatively homogeneous to avoid qualitative and quantitative loses that are too great.
In the case of fruits such as peaches, it is known to effect a chemical pretreatment by immersion in dilute caustic soda to which are added wetting agents, at a temperature of the order of 90.degree. C., then peeling by passage between abrasive rubber discs. This process, involving the use of chemical agents and a relatively high temperature, is very deleterious to the nature of the product obtained.
As to vegetables such as tomatoes, it is usual to use chemical and/or steam processes. There again, the peeled product obtained is generally degraded and the process is not suitable for the peeling of fragile food products.
There is also known, from JP-A-59.210877, a process for peeling tomatoes consisting in preheating the tomatoes and placing them in contact with a current of hot air while causing them to rotate. Such a process requires a large and expensive installation and is not applicable to flat and/or elongated objects such as fish fillets.
In certain particular cases such as chestnuts or onions, it is known to burn the skin and then remove it by blowing compressed air or by aspiration. Such a process is not of general application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One of the objects of the present invention is therefore to provide an industrial peeling process applicable particularly to fish of small size and of variable dimensions, whether these latter are whole, cleaned, beheaded or prepared in the form of fillets, or to fruits or vegetables which are fragile and/or soft and of varying dimensions.
Another object of the invention is to provide a continuous or discontinuous apparatus for the practice of this process which does not injure the food product but on the contrary permits obtaining peeled products whose surface condition is remarkably good.
For this purpose, the invention relates to a process for peeling food products comprising a skin such as fish, whole or not, for example sardines, herrings, anchovies, etc., fruits such as peaches, or vegetables such as tomatoes, characterized in that the skin is subjected to a superficial treatment and the food products are displaced within a conduit in frictional contact with the internal wall of said conduit.
The invention also relates to an apparatus for practicing the process, characterized in that it comprises at least one guide means within which flow the food products to be peeled, the internal surface of said guide means having a coefficient of friction sufficient to separate the skin previously treated.
BRIEF D
REFERENCES:
patent: 1921055 (1933-08-01), Vucassovich
patent: 3024821 (1962-03-01), Bean
patent: 3276496 (1966-10-01), Warren
patent: 3413039 (1968-11-01), Asgeirsson
patent: 3546738 (1970-12-01), Heck
patent: 4550656 (1985-11-01), Kirk
patent: 4569850 (1986-02-01), Harris et al.
patent: 4765030 (1988-08-01), Dubowik
Dalla-Serra Lionel
Hermant Jean-Jacques
Roussel Herve
Protion Societe Anonyme
Yeung George
LandOfFree
Process and apparatus for peeling food products such as fish, fr does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Process and apparatus for peeling food products such as fish, fr, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Process and apparatus for peeling food products such as fish, fr will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-28608