Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Gels or gelable composition
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-19
2004-08-31
Hendricks, Keith (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Gels or gelable composition
C426S660000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06783790
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a continuous process for making high-solids confectionery products containing agar-agar utilizing high temperature short time processing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Agar-Agar is a complex mixture of polysaccharides which are extracted from red seaweed. All components of the mixture contain the same backbone structure composed of alternating monosaccharide units of D-galactose and 3,6 anhydro-L-galactose. Some of the polysaccharide chains are substituted to a variable degree with charged groups, namely sulfate, pyruvic acid and uronic acid.
Agar-Agar is the least soluble of all of the polysaccharide gelling agents. It is virtually insoluble in cold water, slightly soluble in hot water and readily soluble in boiling water. It forms a strong brittle, turgid gel when hot aqueous dispersions of same are prepared and cooled.
The melting and setting properties of agar-agar display hysteresis, i.e., agar-agar jellies melt at 80°-90° C. (176°-194° F.) , yet they set at 30-40° C. (86°-104° F.). Such properties are obviously useful when depositing hot products into molds, for there is little or no risk of premature setting or pre-gelling.
Agar-agar is used in various foods, such as baking icings, no oil salad dressings and low fat yogurt.
It can also be used in many confectionery products, especially in gums and jelly products, marshmallows and the like, as a gelling agent. It is usually present in small amounts, typically ranging from 0.2% to 1.8% by weight.
One of the drawbacks of using agar-agar is that it requires a large quantity of water to make a good solution and an aqueous dispersion. Typically, it requires 30-50 times its weight in water to make an aqueous solution of same. For example, standard methods for using agar-agar in confectionery products recommend hydrating the agar-agar for several hours, usually at least 12 hours, in at least a 30:1 ratio by weight of water to agar-agar, or a short-time boiling, usually 3-5 minute boil, of the agar-agar in water at the aforementioned ratio, to fully hydrate the gum for incorporation into the high solids confectionery product. This extensive hydration time that is required makes it unattractive for use in a continuous process or in automated plants. As a result, although found in confectionery products, its use is limited to batch type operations.
Moreover, it is widely held in the confectionery industry that agar-agar cannot be used in a continuous process in which it is subjected to high temperatures. It is commonly believed in the food arts that one of the drawbacks of agar-agar is that it cannot be subjected to the high temperatures required for solubility of various components by normal pasteurization or pasteurization-like processes. Subjecting the food containing agar-agar to high temperatures has been shown to be detrimental in many food applications, e.g., the food loses its flavor or develops off-flavor.
Furthermore, since agar-agar is used in a batch process, rather than a continuous process, there are further drawbacks to its use.
A batch process is generally more expensive, more inefficient and more labor intensive than a continuous process, especially in making high solids confections. In an example of the batch process for making high solids confectionery products, an aqueous solution of sucrose is mixed with corn syrup and other ingredients in a large kettle at a concentration of about 60 to 75% solids. The solution is cooked in this kettle. The solution is normally cooked at atmospheric pressure to concentrate the product to about 85 percent solids. The solution is then cooled to about 70° C.-45° C. (158° F.-113° F.).
The above described batch method often requires multiple mixing steps and transferal of the various intermediate products prepared after each step of the process from various production apparatus and work areas until the final product is produced. These operations are not performed continuously, but batchwise. Batch processes usually require more equipment than continuous processes, and they are usually less efficient. Moreover, since the batch process is non-continuous, the various mixing steps require the continuous input of operators in order to adjust the processing parameters, resulting in the batch process requiring more manual labor relative to continuous processes.
Thus, batch processes are generally slower than continuous processes, require substantial amount of manual labor and are consequently more expensive. It also introduces a number of opportunities for error, resulting, for example, in poor or wasted batches, as the result of mis-measurement, overmixing and the like.
On the other hand, a continuous process for making high solids confectionery products has several advantages relative to a batch process. As the name suggests, a continuous process involves a continuous mode of operation. In a continuous process, automated equipment is used so that the entire process is run continuously. As soon as a vessel is emptied, it is immediately filled with, in the case of high solids confectionery, a mixture of the ingredients to be processed. By “continuous”, as used herein, it is meant the mixture is introduced over an extended period of time either as a flowing stream or as a series of spaced apart portions. However, as used herein, a continuous process also includes the situation wherein the additions of the ingredients to form the uncooked mixture is performed manually or by other batch-wise means. In other words after the majority of the ingredients, i.e., gelling agent, water and sweeteners are added to the appropriate tank or apparatus, and mixed, the process is continuous thereafter. In a continuous process, the various apparatus and equipment used in the process are in fluid communication with one another. Thus an embodiment of a continuous process for making high solid confectionery contemplates adding the sugar solution and corn syrup in predetermined amounts and in measured volumes to a mixer to form a homogenous solution, introducing the solution as a flowing material into the various apparatus used in the process, such as other mixers or heaters, through inlet valves automatically and continuously or at predetermined spaced intervals, continuous removal of intermediate products from mixers and heaters through exit valves, automatically and continuously introducing the heated solution into coolers, etc. Thus, the entire process is performed continuously, with little, if any, stoppage. Thus, there are several advantages of the continuous process relative to the batch process, such as shorter processing time, reduced labor, reduced amount of material used and less cost. In consequence, modern food plants primarily utilize continuous manufacturing methods and installed equipment to effectuate such processing, incorporating high temperature short time processing steps.
Because of the problems referred to hereinabove, it has been disadvantageous heretofore to use agar-agar in high solids confectionery products. In general, high solids confectionery products prepared by a continuous process, especially those products which utilize gelling agents or have chewy characteristics, utilize other hydrocolloids. One of the most common hydrocolloids used is gelatin. High solids confections containing gelatin are produced by the continuous process, and the products produced are quite satisfactory to the public; they are stringy and chewy and, if necessary, they can be aerated to produce a marshmallow or marshmallow-like texture.
However, there are a number of disadvantages utilizing gelatin. One disadvantage is that since it contains protein, gelatin must be added after the cooking step; if added before cooking, it will denature. Moreover, there is an increased risk of microbial problems, especially if the solution containing gelatin is stored for an extended period of time. Furthermore, gelatin is prepared from collagen which is present in skins, bones, hides and connective tissues from animals. It is, therefore, generally non-kosher since, i
Emsing Julie A.
Ward Philip C.
Zaccano Sue E.
Hendricks Keith
Hershey Foods Corporation
Scully Scott Murphy & Presser
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