Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-19
2003-10-14
Page, Thurman K. (Department: 1615)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
C424S400000, C424S439000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06632467
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention generally relates to solid condiments comprising a solid and at least one liquid component and, in particular, is directed to solid condiments which are free flowing, dry to the touch, and provide desirable color, flavor and/or aroma accents to foods, as well as methods for the preparation of the subject condiment compositions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Condiments have long been used to provide desirable color, flavor or aroma accents to foods. Both wine and salt, for example, are used in food preparation and consumed during meals. The same applies to wine and sugar. Although these products are widely used, they have not heretofore been combined into a single condiment product. The added benefits of this combination over the usefulness of each alone are many. For example, salt is almost always white. In a restaurant setting with dim lighting, it may be difficult to know how much salt is being added to one's meal. A colored form of salt provides a more readily visible way to determine how much salt has been added to food at the table, whether either a low or high quantity of salt is desired by the diner.
Diners often believe that wine ties the various courses or portions of a meal together and that salt makes food taste better. Normally these items are considered to perform two separate functions and, accordingly, are added separately. Never before have these two ingredients been combined into one solid condiment or flavor enhancer. Although it is a widely used spice, salt is not generally perceived to be particularly advantageous to health. On the other hand, a moderate amount of wine is believed by many to impart health benefits. A condiment comprising wine and salt allows the transfer of some of the perceived benefits of wine to salt.
Although it is beyond the scope of this invention to ascertain the health benefits of wine or the health disadvantages of salt, the public perception of salt would be most likely be improved by a condiment which combines wine with salt. While wine and, especially red wine, may comprise components that are believed to be beneficial, such as antioxidants, whatever these components may be, they have not heretofore been available to non-drinkers of alcoholic beverages. However, in a condiment of the invention comprising red wine and salt, with the exception or water and alcohol, substantially all of the remaining wine residues or components are present in such condiment and may be consumed by non-drinkers of alcoholic beverages.
It is widely accepted that decorative food preparations are essential for chefs to create competitive plate presentations. Currently used are herbs, such as chopped parsley, or vegetable or fruits. However, a rainbow of colored salts, for example, would provide a novel alternative to plate decorations while allowing the same flavor enhancement as provided by current decorative food components.
Although rock candy and rock sugar candy in different flavors are known, these products differ from the present condiments in, e.g., appearance, mouth feel, and in the way they are used. For instance, these solid, hard candy pieces are not usable as a dessert topping because their unchewability would be undesirable, for example, were they to be sprinkled atop a soft cheese cake. Alternatively, so-called “vanilla sugar” is known and available from, e.g., India Tree Gourmet Spices & Specialities/Gretchen Goehrend & Associates, Inc., Seattle, Wash. This material is made from turbinado raw cane sugar and ⅓ of a vanilla bean, i.e., a piece of vanilla bean approximately 2.25 inches long contained within the sugar, and has the same texture and overall appearance as raw cane sugar. It should be noted that this “vanilla sugar” lists no liquid ingredients. Alternatively, a Domino Pure Cane Granulated Sugar container discloses “vanilla sugar” and a method of preparing the same in which, inter alia, only 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract is blended with 2 cups of that sugar and the blend is dried for 4 hours at room temperature. Also known is unflavored colored granulated sugar, e.g., as is used for decorating Christmas cookies. All of these forms of sugar have a different texture and mouth feel than the flavored sugar condiments made by the method disclosed here and none have the flavor of, e.g., wine, beer, coffee, chocolate or GALLIANO liqueur, as the present sugar product may. Furthermore, by using a liquid flavoring composition, complex and innovative options become newly possible.
Additionally, the present solid condiment compositions comprising a sugar base solid allow for an increased range of creativity and decorative ability for, e.g., gourmet food preparers and for pastry chefs, where novel ingredients, appearances and mouth feels are critical to innovative presentations and preparations. For example, ice cream is now generally decorated with chocolate or multi-colored sprinkles. The present condiments allow for many new variations in this application. Additionally, various traditional dessert recipes do not allow for any liquid flavor addition; however, the condiments of the present invention allow for the flavor addition of liquids but by solid dosing e.g., forming fruit-flavored whipped creams.
Thus, the present base solids, such as salt or sugar, when used alone, are generally known. Similarly, the present dosing liquids, such as wine, coffee or GALLIANO liqueur, when used alone, are generally known. However, the solid condiment compositions of the invention described herein, which are free flowing, dry to the touch, provide desirable color, flavor and/or aroma accents to foods, and which combine the base solid with a dosing liquid, and the methods of forming the same, are novel and represent new products which provide unique and different utilities than each of their individual components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a solid condiment comprising at least one base solid, at least one dosing liquid and, optionally, at least one colorant, provided that when the base solid comprises sugar, the density of the solid condiment is from about 0.50 g/mL to about 0.70 g/mL and the solid condiment has a crunchy mouth feel. The base solid may be selected from salt, sugar, and mixtures thereof. The salt may comprise sodium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium glutamate, and mixtures thereof. The particle size of the solid condiment comprising salt may be from about 0.1 mm to about 1.0 mm and the density may be from about 0.80 g/mL to about 0.95 g/mL.
The sugar may comprise glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose, maltose, and solid nonnutritive sweetening compositions comprising saccharine, cyclamate, glycyrrhizin, aspartame, and mixtures thereof and, preferably, may comprise sucrose, fructose, lactose, maltose, and mixtures thereof. The density of the solid condiment comprising sugar may be from about 0.60 g/mL to about 0.65 g/mL and the particle size may be from about 0.4 mm to about 2.0 mm.
Alternatively, the base solid may be selected from solid particulate cheeses, spices, corn meal which is optionally degerminated, powdered milk, powdered fruit drink, powdered tea, powdered coffee, ground cereals, bread, bread crumbs, flours, and mixtures thereof.
The dosing liquid may be selected from water, alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea, chocolate liquid, fruit liquid, berry liquid, vegetable liquid, spice liquid, herb liquid, and mixtures thereof and is preferably selected from the group consisting of water, wine, beer, hard liquor, liqueur, coffee, chocolate liquid, fruit liquid, berry liquid, spice liquid, herb liquid, and mixtures thereof.
Alternatively, the dosing liquid may be selected from water, wine, champagne, beer, liqueur, coffee, chocolate liquid, orange juice, lemon juice, cranberry juice, juniper berry liquid, strawberry liquid almond liquid, liquid vanilla, cinnamon liquid, saffron liquid, red pepper liquid, mint liquid, basil liquid, tea and mixtures thereof or the dosing liquid may comprise water or alcohol.
In another embodiment, the dosing
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