Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Gels or gelable composition
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-18
2002-12-31
Wong, Leslie (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Gels or gelable composition
C426S131000, C426S397000, C426S574000, C426S654000, C426S657000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06500477
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to food and, more particularly, to a water and fat or oil stabilizer and a texture improver for use in food which is able to function through a broad temperature range. The stabilizer of the present invention is especially suited for frozen foods and foods made with mechanically separated meats.
2. Prior Art to Invention
Water and fat/oil are present in virtually all foodstuffs and especially all prepared foodstuffs. Typically, prepared foodstuffs go through a broad range of temperatures, freezing (−25° C.) to canning or retorting (120° C.) to baking (250° C.), as well as prolonged storage, oftentimes in either a chilled or frozen state prior to consumption. The broad temperature ranges and extended storage have a deleterious effect on the stability of the water and fat/oil in the foodstuff. Both water and fat/oil tend to migrate out of the foodstuff during prolonged storage and when the foodstuff is heated. This deleterious effect manifests itself in a number of ways, for example the foodstuff becomes dry or soggy, greasy, tough, chewy or brittle. These problems are due not only to simple movement of the fat/oil and water in the foodstuff but also to the breakdown of the foodstuff, such as the breakdown of the oil emulsion. The problem of stabilizing water and fat/oil in a foodstuff is especially a problem in the food industry where the foodstuff is subjected to a myriad of stresses due to the equipment used to mass produce the foodstuff.
To date, no one stabilizer has been found that is able to function in such a broad range of temperatures and to withstand extended frozen storage. There is a need in the food industry for a stabilizer that can withstand commercial processing, prolonged storage and operate in a broad temperature range, −25° C. to 250° C., without breaking down.
Broad temperature ranges and prolonged storage at cold temperatures can also have a deleterious effect on the texture and mouth feel of a foodstuff. There is a need for a stabilizer which maintains or improves the texture and mouth feel of foodstuffs.
Texture and mouth feel is especially important with mechanically separated meats. Mechanically separated meats, sometimes referred to as fine ground meats or mechanically deboned meats, are a species of ground meat. Mechanically separated meat is meat that is separated from the bone and, in the case of poultry, from the skin, by machine. Because of the reduced cost for mechanical deboning of meat, there has been a recent increase in the use of mechanically separated meats. This is especially true for poultry, such as turkey and chicken.
The texture of mechanically separated meat is mush or a fine ground product, hence the texture of foodstuffs made with mechanically separated meat has been a problem. For example, mechanical deboned poultry is used in sausage products, i.e. meat stuffed in a casing, and especially hot dogs or frankfurters. The amount of mechanically deboned poultry added to a sausage product must be controlled because too much impairs the texture of the product and makes it too mushy. Generally, the amount of mechanically deboned poultry used for sausage products is no greater than 20%.
There is a need for a texture improver which has a positive effect on the texture of mechanically separated meats and which allows for an increase in the amount of mechanically separated meats in sausage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been discovered that the stabilizer of the present invention improves the texture of mechanically separated meat and broadens their use in foodstuffs.
Furthermore, the stabilizer of the present invention works to stabilize fat or oil and water in food and operates in a broad temperature range, over prolonged storage periods, and under commercial processing conditions. By preventing the loss of water from a foodstuff, microbial growth or spoilage of the foodstuff is also delayed and/or prevented. Also, by stabilizing fat/oil and water, emulsions of fat/oil in water which are present in a number of foodstuffs such as salad dressing are also stabilized.
The stabilizer of the present invention works not only to prevent moisture loss of a stored, frozen or chilled food but also to prevent moisture loss after heating and prior to consumption of that frozen or chilled food. The stabilizer of the present invention also prevents moisture loss from fresh breads and the like which are prepared from either fresh dough or frozen dough, thereby extending the shelf life of the farinaceous product. It has also been found that the stabilizer of the present invention also increases the shelf life of meat products such as summer sausage which does not require refrigeration, as well as improve the texture of foodstuffs made with mechanically separated meats.
In other words, the stabilizer of the present invention works in a broad temperature range and in a variety of foods and does not break down even after being subjected to prolonged periods in the freezer and the stress of cooking in a wide variety of foodstuffs. The stabilizer of the present invention has also been found to withstand repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Furthermore, novel canned meats can be formulated using the process of the present invention from mechanically separated meats.
Foodstuffs which can be stabilized and/or have their texture improved include eggs, ground meats, mechanically separated meats, dough, sauces, gravies, and farinaceous products.
Broadly, the process for stabilizing water and/or improving texture of food such as mechanically separated meats in accordance with the present invention comprises the steps of:
(a) forming a slurry of gelatin, acid and water, at a temperature of about 0° C. to about 100° C., for a period of time of at least about 10 minutes, to fully hydrate said gelatin, said acid being present in an amount to cause said slurry to have a pH of about 1.0 to about 4.5;
(b) maintaining the pH of said slurry at about 1.0 to about 4.5;
(c) recovering a gelatin component having a pH of about 1.0 to about 4.5 from said slurry; and
(d) adding said gelatin component to a foodstuff and/or said mechanical separated meat having water in an amount sufficient to stabilize said water and/or improve the texture of said foodstuff or meat.
Optionally, the recovered gelatin component is first dried and then added to a foodstuff in a particulate form. In either case, the stabilizer improves the texture of the foodstuff prepared with mechanically separated meat. Also, during the hydration of the gelatin, steps (a) and (b) above, it is best to agitate the slurry to provide a uniform slurry. Alternatively, some of the water is removed and the fully hydrated gelatin in slurry form is employed.
In order to stabilize both water and a fat/oil in foodstuffs as well as improve the texture of mechanically separated meat, it is preferred to incorporate a starch component and/or a sugar component into the foodstuff along with the gelatin component. The starch component and/or sugar component is suitably employed in the present invention either:
(1) by being added to the acid-gelatin slurry during hydration;
(2) by being dried with the gelatin and acid;
(3) by being mixed with the dried particulate gelatin; or
(4) being added to the foodstuff along with the gelatin component.
Suitable starch components include flour, starch granules, pregelatinized starch, chemically modified starch, and derivatives of starch such as dextrins, maltodextrins, and corn syrups. Suitable sugar components include monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose, ribose, arabinose, mannose, xylose or galactose; disaccharides such as sucrose, maltose, cellobiose, lactose, or trehalose; and trisaccharides such as maltotriose, raffinose, cellotriose or manninotriose.
It has been found that the amount of acid can be reduced in the slurry if a sugar component selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides and disaccharides is present. Where the stabilizer of the present invention is used in a farinaceous product, it is
Bierman, Muserlian and Lucas
Wong Leslie
LandOfFree
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