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Process for making free-flowing, coated, frozen food

a free-flowing, frozen food technology, applied in the field of food products, can solve the problems of single, difficult to provide a coating, and difficult to freeze the mass,

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-05-15
LAMB WESTON INC
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]While in the coating vessel, the frozen food pieces are tumbled or otherwise agitated so as to expose the surfaces of the free-flowing pieces and to maintain the pieces in a free-flowing state. The exposed surfaces are sprayed with a liquid coating material through a manifold opening into the coating vessel causing the liquid coating material to adhere to the exposed surfaces of the frozen food pieces. In some embodiments, the pressure at the manifold inlet is from about 0 psig to about 100 psig, and in some embodiments the pressure is from about 20 psig to about 60 psig. The temperature of the liquid coating material is typically from about 40° to 180° F., preferably from about 60° to 70° F. Thus, when the liquid coating material adheres to the surface of the frozen food IQF pieces, it causes the temperature of the pieces to rise.

Problems solved by technology

There are numerous problems to overcome when trying to coat IQF food with a sauce or topping to produce a free-flowing mixture.
It has, however, proved difficult to provide a coating that clings to IQF foods, but does not result in a single, frozen mass.

Method used

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  • Process for making free-flowing, coated, frozen food
  • Process for making free-flowing, coated, frozen food
  • Process for making free-flowing, coated, frozen food

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0038]Rigatoni coated with a marinara sauce is prepared in accordance with the inventive process. The rigatoni is 2 inches long and 0.4 inches in diameter, with a wall thickness of 0.8 inches. It has a bulk density of 24.4 lb. / ft3, an outside surface area of 402 in2 / lb., and a weight of 0.63 lb. / 100 pieces. 123.75 lb. lbs. of IQF rigatoni is introduced into a Blentech Model VTl-0350 rotatable coating drum. An exemplary drum is 55 inches long and 46 inches in diameter. It is fitted with four nozzles spaced 4.25 inches from one another, at 26.75, 31, 35.25, and 39.5 inches from its open end. The drum rotates at a speed of 12 rpms rpm.

[0039]185 lbs. of liquid nitrogen is introduced into the drum, intermittently, over a period of 23.1 minutes (277 turns). During this time, 101.25 lbs. of sauce is intermittently applied over a total of 3.5 minutes (42 turns), with the period for each individual application of sauce increasing from 25 to 85 seconds. The total tumbling time is 29.8 minut...

example 2

[0040]Rigatoni coated with an Alfredo sauce was prepared in accordance with the inventive process. 123.75 lb. lbs. of IQF rigatoni was introduced into a Blentech rotatable coating-drumcoating drum fitted with a single nozzle. The drum rotated at a speed of 10 rpms rpm.

[0041]A total of 145 lbs. of carbon dioxide was intermittently injected into the drum at a flow rate of 38.9 lb. / min. and a pressure of 275 psig. Initially, the carbon dioxide was injected for 15 seconds to further cool the rigatoni. Thereafter, sauce having a temperature of 53° F. and carbon dioxide were alternately introduced into the drum. The sauce was injected for a period of 25 seconds, at a pressure of 15 psig. The carbon dioxide was then injected for 12 seconds. This cycle was repeated 16.4 times until 101.25 lbs. of sauce had been sprayed. After the last application of sauce, carbon dioxide was injected for 15 seconds to finally cool the coated product to a temperature less than −40° F. The resulting free-fl...

example 3

[0042]Rigatoni coated with an Alfredo sauce was prepared in accordance with the inventive process. 750 lb. of IQF rigatoni was introduced into a rotatable coating-drumcoating drum manufactured by Peter Heller GmbH and fitted with four nozzles. The initial temperature of the rigatoni was 2° F. The drum rotated at a speed of 7.5 rpms rpm.

[0043]A total of 1380 lbs. of carbon dioxide was intermittently injected into the drum at a flow rate of 58.1 lb. lbs. / min. Initially, the carbon dioxide was injected for 2.3 minutes to further cool the rigatoni. Thereafter, sauce having a temperature of 70° F. and carbon dioxide were alternately introduced into the drum. The sauce was injected for a period of 2 seconds followed by a by a pause of 2 seconds for a total duration of 1.3 minutes, at a pressure of 24 psig. The carbon dioxide was then injected for 30 seconds, followed by a pause of 4 seconds for a duration of 2.3 minutes. This cycle was repeated 9.2 times until 675lbs. 675 of sauce had...

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PUM

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Abstract

A free-flowing, coated, frozen food and a method for making the same are disclosed. Discrete pieces of a free-flowing frozen food are introduced into a coating vessel where they are agitated to expose their surfaces and to maintain their free-flowing state throughout the coating process. A liquid coating material is sprayed onto the free-flowing pieces to cause coating material to adhere and the temperature at the surfaces of the frozen food pieces to rise. The surfaces of frozen food pieces are then recooled with a cryogen. The spraying and recooling steps are repeated until a thorough, even coating is built up on the discrete pieces of free-flowing food.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of Invention[0002]This invention relates to food products. In particular, it relates to coated, frozen foods and to a method for making the same.[0003]2. Discussion of the Related Art[0004]Among the most popular prepared foods are precooked, frozen foods. Particularly well likedwell-liked <?insert-end id="INS-S-00001" ?>are foods such as pasta, potatoes, and vegetables that are individually quick frozen (“IQF”). Such simple, IQF foods provide the convenience of being free-flowing. Consumers appreciate the flexibility of choosing the quantity of frozen food to be cooked at a particular time. In contrast to such simple foods, when conventional processes are used to prepare precooked, frozen food products that include sauces or toppings, the resulting combination is generally in the form of a single, agglomerated mass that cannot be easily divided.[0005]Consequently, there is a desire to extend the range of IQF foods to include free-flowi...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): A23P1/08A23L1/00A23L7/109
CPCA23P20/18A23L7/111A23P20/15
Inventor SCHERPF, DAVID H.PATTERSON, DAVIDKIRKVOLD, STEVEN W.HAMPTON, ANDREW
Owner LAMB WESTON INC