Hypoglycemic effect of food products

Abstract

A food processing apparatus (10) for reducing the sugar content of a food product (1). The food processing apparatus includes: a food processing compartment (30) including blade means (28) and a fluid release valve (37); a base (20) including a motor (22) arranged to drive the blade means; heating means (40, 42) for heating the food product in the food processing compartment with steam, the heating means including a water tank (40) and a heating element (42), the water tank being in fluid communication with the food processing compartment (30), the heating element (42) being thermally coupled to the water tank and under the control of the controller (60); and a controller (60) for controlling the motor and the heating element. The controller is arranged to control the heating element to heat the food product in the food processing apparatus with superheated steam for a defined period of time; and to control the motor to agitate the food product once heating of the food product for the defined period of time has terminated and after the steam condensate generated during heating of the food product has been released from the food processing compartment through the fluid release valve. A method for reducing the sugar content of a food product by such a food processing apparatus is also disclosed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a food processing device, which comprises a food processing compartment including a blade device; a base including a motor, the motor being arranged to drive the blade device; a heating device for heating food products in the food processing compartment; and a controller arranged to control the motor.

[0002] The present invention also relates to a method of operating such a food processing device. Background Art

[0003] In order for a person to follow a healthy diet, it is generally necessary to consume a balanced intake of the various essential nutrients that make up such a diet, while not exceeding the recommended daily calorie target. In fact, due to people following unhealthy eating habits, which often involve excessive intake of fat, sugar, and / or calories, healthcare problems have become commonplace. This can lead to chronic and potentially life-threatening conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

[0004] For this reason, vegetable and especially fruit-based processed food products, such as vegetable and / or fruit-based juices or smoothies, have become increasingly popular due to the perceived health benefits of these food products. In fact, many vegetables and fruits contain many useful nutrients, such as vitamins, fiber, and carbohydrates such as monosaccharides and other sugars. However, consuming such food products can also lead to an unbalanced diet for a person. For example, the calorie content of such food products can be high, such as due to the sugar content therein, which can cause the consumer to not consume enough of other types of essential nutrients, such as (unsaturated) fats and proteins. In addition, the high concentration of sugar in such beverages can cause health problems such as obesity and tooth decay.

[0005] The heat treatment of food products per se is known, for example in order to modify their composition. However, many such processes are applied on an industrial scale, and their deployment in a domestic environment, such as in kitchen appliances, is far from trivial. WO 2013 / 035029 A1 discloses an example of such a local process and device, which discloses a method and device for preparing a puree, comprising providing a raw material mass in a stirring unit; heating the raw material mass and stirring the raw material mass when the raw material mass is heated to a first temperature (the reversible inactivation temperature of enzymes in fruits and vegetables), wherein in the stirring step, the heating step is controlled such that the temperature of the stirred raw material mass is between the first temperature and a second temperature (the irreversible inactivation temperature of enzymes in fruits and vegetables), the second temperature being higher than the first temperature. Inactivating the enzymes by stirring the fruit or vegetable at an elevated temperature ensures that important nutrients, such as vitamin C and polyphenols, are not decomposed by such enzymes during the stirring process. In addition, the reversible inactivation of enzymes usually occurs in the temperature range of 50 - 60 °C, and subsequently heating the fruit or vegetable to 70 - 80 °C or higher during the stirring process can also prevent unwanted thermal decomposition of such nutrients.

[0006] However, such methods and devices do not significantly reduce the sugar content of the fruits and vegetables processed therewith. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present invention seeks to provide a food processing device comprising a food processing compartment including blade means; a base including a motor arranged to drive the blade means; heating means for heating a food product in the food processing compartment; and a controller arranged to control the motor, the motor being configured to reduce the sugar content of the food product processed by the food processing device.

[0008] The present invention also seeks to provide a method for reducing the sugar content of fruit-based food products processed by such a food processing device.

[0009] According to one aspect, there is provided a food processing apparatus for reducing the sugar content of a food product. The food processing apparatus includes a food processing compartment that includes a blade device and a fluid release valve; a base including a motor that is arranged to drive the blade device; a heating device that heats the food product in the food processing compartment by steam, the heating device including a water tank and a heating element, the water tank being in fluid communication with the food processing compartment, the heating element being thermally coupled to the water tank; and a controller that is arranged to control the motor and the heating element; wherein the controller is arranged to control the heating element to generate steam to heat the food product in the food processing apparatus for a defined period of time; and to control the motor to agitate the food product once the heating of the food product for the defined period of time has terminated and after the steam condensate generated during the heating of the food product has been released from the food processing compartment through the fluid release valve.

[0010] The present invention is based on the surprising finding that exposing a (sliced) food product to such a high temperature for a defined period of time significantly reduces the sugar content of the food product, such that when the food product is subsequently agitated (usually at a temperature lower than the heating temperature, since preferably the heating of the food product has terminated at the start of the agitation process), the processed food product such as fruit juice or smoothie produced has a reduced sugar content, which is beneficial in terms of, for example, sugar intake control. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed here that the steam condensation on the surface of the food product pieces (e.g., slices) in the food processing compartment causes the sugar at the contact surface to dissolve in the condensate, thereby (also) helping to reduce the sugar content of the food product in the food processing compartment.

[0011] When the defined period of time is in the range of 5 - 20 minutes, a particularly significant reduction in the sugar content of the food product prepared in this way is achieved.

[0012] In one embodiment, the fluid release valve is controlled by the controller, and the controller is adapted to open the fluid release valve for an additional defined period of time during and / or after the heating of the food product. In this way, the steam condensate can be automatically discharged from the food processing compartment without user intervention.

[0013] The food processing apparatus may further include a steam condensate collection reservoir that is in fluid communication with the fluid release valve to collect the steam condensate, such that the user does not have to provide a container for collecting the steam condensate, thereby increasing user convenience.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the food processing device further includes a user interface that is communicatively coupled to the controller and the user interface includes a food product selection menu, wherein the defined time period is a function of the food product selection made by the user interface. This has the advantage that for different food products, such as different types of fruits, an optimized heating time for that particular food product can be applied, such as optimizing the reduction of sugar in the food product while maintaining the beneficial components of the food product, such as vitamin C.

[0015] In one embodiment, the controller is arranged to control the motor to agitate the food product for an additional time period at the end of the said time period, and this additional time period is a function of the food product selection made by the user interface. This is beneficial for controlling the concentration of the food product thus prepared, because different types of food, such as different types of fruits, may require different agitation times to achieve this desired concentration. In addition, the food product selection menu may include a food product weight specification option such that the additional time period can be a function of the weight of the food product specified with the said food product weight specification option, because different amounts of the selected food product generally require different agitation times to reach the desired concentration.

[0016] The food processing device may further include a temperature sensor in the food processing compartment that is communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is arranged to operate the heating device in response to the temperature data provided by the temperature sensor. In this way, the actual temperature of the food product during the heating-induced sugar content reduction process can be precisely controlled, thereby reducing the risk of loss of beneficial components of the food product during this process.

[0017] In one embodiment, the controller is arranged to control the heating element to generate the steam so as to heat the food product in the food processing device to a temperature within the range of 60 - 90 °C. In particular, it has been found that heating the food product within the temperature range of 60 - 90 °C is particularly effective for reducing the sugar content of the target food product (such as different types of fruits).

[0018] In an exemplary embodiment, the water tank is located in the base and the food processing compartment includes a container that has a first surface that includes at least one orifice for injecting steam from the water tank into the food processing compartment, and a second surface that includes blade means, and wherein the first surface and the second surface can be respectively assembled to the base. This has the advantage that a particularly compact food processing device can be provided, wherein after the heating step, the agitation step can be invoked simply by the user manually inverting the container to change the contact surface of the container with the base, from the first surface including one or more orifices to the second surface including the blade means.

[0019] In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the water tank is arranged adjacent to the food processing compartment, and the partition between the water tank and the food processing compartment includes at least one orifice for injecting steam from the water tank into the food processing compartment. Compared with the previous exemplary embodiments, this may increase the floor area of the food processing equipment to some extent, but it has the advantage that the heating and stirring steps can be performed sequentially by the food processing equipment without requiring user intervention.

[0020] Food processing equipment is generally a kitchen appliance for home or commercial kitchens. For example, the food processing equipment can be a blender or a juicer.

[0021] According to another aspect, a method for reducing the sugar content of a food product using a food processing equipment is provided. The food processing equipment includes a food processing compartment that includes blade means and a fluid release valve; a base that includes a motor for driving the blade means; a heating device for heating the food product in the food processing compartment using steam, the heating device including a water tank and a heating element, the water tank being in fluid communication with the food processing compartment, the heating element being thermally coupled to the water tank; and a controller for controlling the motor and the heating element; the method includes heating the food product in the food processing compartment to a temperature in the range of 60 - 90 °C for a defined period of time by steam generated by the heating element; heating with the heating element of the generated steam for a defined period of time; and once the heating of the food product for the defined period of time is completed and the steam condensate generated during the heating of the food product is released from the food processing compartment through the fluid release valve, controlling the motor to stir the food. Using this method, the sugar content of the food product prepared from such a food product can be significantly reduced, while other nutrients in the food product are not significantly lost during the heating step.

[0022] The defined period of time is preferably in the range of 5 - 20 minutes to ensure that the sugar content of the food product item made from such a food product is significantly reduced during the heating step, while other nutrients in the food product are not significantly lost during the heating step.

[0023] In one embodiment, the fluid release valve is controlled by the controller, and the method further includes opening the fluid release valve by the controller for an additional defined period of time during and / or after the heating of the food product to further automate the food processing.

[0024] Preferably, the method further comprises receiving a food product selection made via a user interface of a controller; and defining a time period as a function of the received food product selection so as to optimize the reduction of the sugar content of a particular food product. Such a user interface may form part of a food processing device or may form part of a device in communication with a food processing device, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.

[0025] The method may further comprise defining a temperature as a function of the received food product selection to further optimize the sugar reduction process of the selected food product. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and as non-limiting examples, wherein:

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic view of a food processing device according to an embodiment;

[0028] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a food processing method implemented with a food processor according to an embodiment;

[0029] Figure 3 schematically depicts a cross-sectional view of a food processing device according to an embodiment;

[0030] Figure 4 schematically depicts Figure 3 a cross-sectional view of a food processing device of an alternative configuration of

[0031] Figure 5 schematically depicts a cross-sectional view of a food processing device according to another embodiment;

[0032] Figure 6 schematically depicts a cross-sectional view of a food processing device according to an embodiment

[0033] Figure 7 is a graph showing experimental results demonstrating the proof of concept of the teachings of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 is a graph showing the effect on the sugar content of an exemplary food product when processed in a food processing device according to an embodiment; and

[0035] Figure 9 is a graph showing the effect on the sugar content of another exemplary food product when processed in a food processing device according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] It should be understood that these diagrams are merely schematic and not drawn to scale. It should also be understood that the same reference numerals are used in the drawings to indicate the same or similar components.

[0037] Embodiments of the present invention provide a food processing device configured to reduce the free sugar content of (raw) food products such as vegetables and fruits, most notably fruits, as the free sugar content of most fruits is higher than that of vegetables. The food processing device in a typical embodiment is a kitchen appliance for home or commercial kitchens, such as a blender, juicer, etc. Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of a typical food processing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is depicted. The food processing device 10 includes a food processing compartment 30, which generally includes blade means for impregnating or otherwise cutting or agitating food products. The blade means is driven by a motor 22 under the control of a controller 60. The motor 22 can be coupled to the blade means in any suitable manner, such as by a drive shaft or shaft, gearbox, etc. This type of coupling is well known per se and will not be further explained in detail for the sake of brevity.

[0038] The controller 60 can be any suitable control device, which includes one or more physical entities implementing such a control device. For example, the controller 60 can include one or more processing units, such as a suitably programmed general-purpose processor, a dedicated processor, a microcontroller, etc. The controller 60 can implement an algorithm 62, which is used to control a heating control unit 64 and a timer 66. The heating control unit 64 and the timer 66 can be implemented in any suitable manner, such as as discrete hardware entities or in software on the controller 60.

[0039] The food processing device 10 further includes a heating element 42 responsive to the controller 60. The heating element 42 is generally arranged to generate steam from a water-containing reservoir, thereby using the steam to bring the contents (i.e., food products) in the food processing compartment 30 to a set temperature. Such a step of heating the food products in the food processing compartment 30, when performed on the food products under specific conditions, can be used to reduce the free sugar content of the food products in the food processing compartment 30, since the sugar on the surface of the food products dissolves in the condensed steam on that surface. This is also referred to as steam condensate in this application. The heating control unit 64 controls the operation of the heating element 42, for example to ensure that the contents in the food processing compartment 30 are heated to a suitable temperature, while the timer 66 controls the duration of this heating operation. In addition, the timer 66 can control the duration of the agitation operation of the contents in the food processing chamber 30 by the operation of the motor 22 after the heating operation is completed. It should be understood that in a preferred embodiment, the contents of the food processing compartment 30 are not heated during this agitation operation, and the temperature of the contents of the food processing chamber 30 can be lower during this agitation operation than during the heating operation.

[0040] In addition, before agitation, steam condensate is to be removed from the food processing compartment 30 to remove sugars dissolved in the steam condensate from the food product to be agitated. This can be achieved manually, for example by the user providing user instructions for performing the steam condensate removal operation, or automatically, for example by the controller 60 operating a fluid release valve in the food processing compartment 30 to remove the steam condensate after or during the heating step.

[0041] The controller 60 can respond to the user interface 50 through which the food processing device 10 can be controlled. Such a user interface 50 can form part of the food processing device 10, in which case the user interface 50 can be implemented in any suitable manner, such as as a touch screen display, one or more switches, buttons, knobs or dials, etc., or any combination of such user interface elements. Alternatively, the user interface 50 can be implemented on a remote device, for example in the form of a software program (such as an application), through which the food product processing device 10 can be remotely controlled. For example, such a remote device can be a computing device, a mobile communication device (such as a smart phone, a tablet, etc.). In embodiments where the user interface 50 is implemented on such a remote device, the food processing device 10 generally further includes a communication module communicatively coupled to the controller 60, preferably a wireless communication module, through which the remote device can communicate with the food processing device 10. Such a communication link can be a direct (P2P) link, such as a Bluetooth link, etc., or an indirect link running through a communication management device such as a server, a router, etc. Since the technology involving such a communication link is well known per se, it will not be further explained in detail for the sake of brevity.

[0042] Now, with the aid of Figure 2 the operation of the food processing device 10 will be explained in more detail. Figure 2 A flowchart of a method 100 for reducing the sugar content of a food product using such a food processing device is depicted. The method 100 begins at operation 101, for example by the user loading the food product into the food processing compartment 30 of the food processing device 10. Next, in operation 103, the user of the food processing device 10 operates the user interface 50 to, for example, initiate the free sugar reduction process for the food product loaded into the food processing compartment 30.

[0043] In a first set of embodiments, this may simply involve the user activating and / or selecting the appropriate operation of the food processing device 10, such as using the function selection menu of the user interface 50. The selected function may for example read "produce a food product with a reduced sugar content" etc. Of course, this function may be given any appropriate name. Selection of this function will cause the controller 60 to access the algorithm 62 in operation 105 and operate the food processing device 10 in accordance with the duration and temperature of the heating steps and the stirring steps respectively programmed into the algorithm 62.

[0044] In a second set of embodiments, the user operates the user interface 50 in operation 103 to not only enable the food processing device 10 (e.g. by selecting its appropriate operation), but also to specify the type of food product that has been loaded into the food processing compartment in operation 101. To this end, the user interface 50 may include a food product selection menu from which the user can select the appropriate food product. For example, the food product menu may list a number of different fruits such as apples, pears, oranges, tangerines, pineapples, kiwis etc., and berry types such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries etc. In these embodiments, the algorithm 62 contains optimized processing parameters, namely the heating temperature, the heating period and the stirring period for each of the food products listed in the food product selection menu, such that upon selection of a particular type of food product, the controller 60 selects in operation 105 the appropriate processing parameters for that food product type determined by the algorithm 62.

[0045] In a further refinement, the user interface 50 may include a food product weight specification function to allow the user to specify the (approximate) weight of the food product loaded into the food processing compartment 30. The specified weight may be used by the controller 60 to determine the duration of the stirring operation for the food product loaded into the food processing compartment 30, i.e., the duration of the stirring operation is defined as a function of the weight of the food product specified by the user of the food processing device 10 using the user interface 50. This has the advantage of reducing the consistency variation of the food products prepared with the food processing device 10 due to stirring different amounts of food products for the same duration.

[0046] After the above configuration of the controller 60 in operation 105, method 100 proceeds to operation 107, where the food product in the food processing compartment is heated to a defined temperature with steam under the control of the controller 60 by means of the heating element 42 for a defined period of time, thereby reducing its free sugar content. The defined temperature of the steam is preferably in the range of 60 - 90 °C and the defined period of time is preferably in the range of 5 - 20 minutes. As previously mentioned, the actual temperature and period of time deployed by the controller 60 can be a function of the selected food product type or, alternatively, can be fixed temperature and period of time independent of the food product type. The actual temperature in the food processing compartment 30 can be monitored by a temperature sensor in the food processing compartment 30, which provides its temperature reading to the controller 60 such that the controller 60 can operate the heating element 42 in response to the temperature data provided by the temperature sensor to ensure that an appropriate temperature is maintained within the food processing compartment 30.

[0047] In operation 109, the controller 60 checks, for example by checking the timer 66, whether the heating operation 107 has been completed. If this is not yet the case, method 100 returns to operation 107; otherwise, method 100 proceeds to operation 111, in which the steam condensate is discharged from the food processing compartment 30 for an additional period of time, for example 1 - 2 minutes, in order to remove the sugar dissolved in the steam condensate from the food processing compartment 30. Alternatively or additionally, the discharge of the steam condensate from the food processing compartment 30 can be started at a later stage of the steam heating of the food product. After the steam condensate has been discharged from the food processing compartment 30, the method proceeds to operation 112, in which the food product that has been processed by steam heating is subsequently agitated by means of the blade device in the food processing compartment 30 by the controller 60 operating the motor 22 for the defined duration as previously mentioned. This agitation operation can be carried out automatically after the heating operation of the food product loaded into the food processing compartment 30 has been completed or can be carried out manually by the user of the food processing device 10, for example via the user interface 50. The agitation operation can be implemented in any suitable manner, such as as a continuous agitation operation, a pulsed agitation operation, etc. The controller 60 checks in operation 113 whether the agitation operation 112 has been carried out for a defined duration or period of time. If this is not yet the case, method 100 returns to operation 112; otherwise, method 100 proceeds to the final operation 115, in which the agitation operation terminates and the final food item (such as puree, smoothie, juice, etc.) has been prepared such that the user of the food processing device 10 can remove the final food item from the food processing compartment 30.

[0048] Figure 3Schematically depicts a cross-sectional view of a food processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the food processing apparatus 10 includes a base 20 that houses a controller 60 and a motor 22 of a blade device 28 in a food processing compartment 30. The food processing apparatus 10 may also include a user interface 50 that may be located on the base 20 by way of non-limiting example. The base 20 also houses a water tank 40 that is thermally coupled to a heating element 42 under the control of the controller 60 such that, by operation of the heating element 42 (as previously explained), water stored in the water tank 40 can be converted into steam. On the other hand, to allow the steam so produced to transfer from the water tank 40 into the food processing compartment 30, the food processing compartment 30 may include a first surface 32 that includes at least one orifice 33 that fluidly connects the water tank 40 to the food processing compartment 30, such as by way of the top of the water tank 40. The steam can be prevented from undesirably penetrating into the base 20 in any suitable manner. For example, in addition to the water tank 40, the base 20 may be hermetically sealed to prevent such moisture from entering and / or a portion of the first surface 32 that covers moisture-sensitive portions of the base 20 may be hermetically sealed, i.e., not including any orifices 33 to prevent such moisture from entering. The at least one orifice 33 may be of any suitable shape, such as a plurality of slits or conduits extending through the first surface 32 through which the steam can migrate from the water tank 40 into the food processing compartment 30, as Figure 3 shown by the wavy arrow in

[0049] A temperature sensor 31 may be present in the food processing compartment 30 to monitor the temperature within the food processing compartment 30, and the temperature sensor 31 is used to indicate the (approximate) temperature of a food product 1 placed in the food processing compartment 30 by a user of the food processing apparatus 10. Although not explicitly shown merely for clarity, it should be understood that when the temperature sensor 31 is present, the temperature sensor is communicatively coupled to the controller 60 such that the controller 60 can operate the heating element 42 based on the temperature feedback provided by the temperature sensor 31. In this way, the controller 60 can ensure that the food product 1 exposed to the free sugar reduction heating process is heated to a temperature within a desired temperature range, such as 60 - 90 °C.

[0050] The food processing compartment 30 also includes a fluid release valve 37 for discharging steam condensate from the food processing compartment 30. The fluid release valve 37 is preferably arranged at or near the bottom of the food processing compartment 30, at least when discharging steam condensate from the food processing compartment 30. The fluid release valve 37 can be manually operated (e.g., by the user) or automatically operated (e.g., by the controller 60). In the case of manual operation, the controller 60 can generate a user instruction through the user interface 50 to instruct the user to operate the fluid release valve 37 to discharge steam condensate from the food processing compartment 30. The user can be instructed to open the fluid release valve 37 for an additional defined period, such as 1 - 5 minutes or 1 - 2 minutes, or alternatively, the user can open the fluid release valve 37 as long as the user can observe steam condensate passing from the food processing compartment 30 through the fluid release valve 37. As Figure 3 shown, the fluid release valve 37 can be fluidly connected to the steam condensate collection reservoir 39, which forms part of the food processing apparatus 10 in any suitable manner. Preferably, the steam condensate collection reservoir 39 can be removed from the food processing apparatus 10 for cleaning the steam condensate collection reservoir 39. Alternatively, the fluid release valve 37 can form part of a fluid release channel that discharges to the outside of the food processing apparatus 10 such that the user can use any suitable container (e.g., a glass, etc.) to collect the steam condensate released from the food processing compartment 30.

[0051] In Figure 3 an exemplary embodiment of the food processing apparatus 10 schematically depicted, the food processing compartment 30 is shaped as a removable container having a first surface 32 and an opposite second surface 34, and the blade device 28 is mounted on the second surface 34. Both the first surface 32 and the second surface 34 are arranged to engage with the base 20; as previously described, the first surface 32 is arranged to allow steam generated in the water tank 40 with the heating element 42 to enter the food processing compartment 30, while the second surface 34 engages with the blade device 28 through a motor in the base 20 when positioned on the base 20, e.g., through the drive shaft 24, gearbox, etc., as Figure 4 schematically shown therein. Thus, after completing the heating process for reducing free sugars, the user can invert the container that is the food processing compartment 30 so that the first surface 32 disengages from the base 20 and instead the second surface 34 engages with the base 20 such that the stirring operation of the food product 1 described previously can be subsequently performed. Although this requires manual intervention to perform the stirring process after the heating process, due to the fact that the water tank 40 can be positioned within the base 20, it has the advantage of providing a particularly compact food processing apparatus 10.

[0052] Figure 5A cross-sectional view schematically depicting another exemplary embodiment of the food processing apparatus 10 is shown. In this embodiment, the water tank 40 is a separate entity arranged adjacent to the food processing compartment 30, wherein the partition wall 35 between the water tank 40 and the food processing compartment 30 includes at least one orifice 33. The water stored in the water tank 40 is injected into the food processing compartment 30 containing the food product 1 through the orifice 33 under the control of the controller 60 by steam generated by the heating element 42 to reduce the free sugar content of the food product 1, as previously described. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the at least one orifice 33 is generally located above the maximum liquid level of the water tank 40 such that water from the water tank 40 cannot directly enter the food processing compartment 30. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the water tank 40 can be removable. Further, as a non-limiting example, Figure 5 A fluid release valve 37 forming part of a passage is shown, which, as previously described, discharges to the outside from the food processing apparatus 10, obviating the need for a steam condensate collection reservoir 39 forming part of the food processing apparatus 10.

[0053] Figure 6 A cross-sectional view schematically depicting another exemplary embodiment of the food processing apparatus 10 is shown. In this embodiment, the water tank 40 forms part of a container that also contains the food processing compartment 30. In this embodiment, the water tank 40 can be disposed around the food processing chamber 30, wherein the partition wall 35 between the food processing compartment 30 and the water tank 40 includes at least one orifice 33 (e.g., a plurality of slits, etc.). The steam generated in the water tank 40 by the heating element 42 can enter the food processing compartment 30 through the orifice 33 under the control of the controller 40 to reduce the free sugar content of the food product 1 in the food processing compartment 30. Again, note that the at least one orifice 33 is located above the maximum liquid level of the water tank 40 to prevent water from directly entering the food processing compartment 30. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the compartment 30 and the water tank 40 can be removable.

[0054] Proof of the ability to reduce the free sugar content of food products using such a food processing apparatus 10 will now be provided with the help of Figures 7 - 9 Proof of the ability to reduce the free sugar content of food products using such a food processing apparatus 10 will now be provided with the help of Figures 7 - 9 Graphs depicting various experimental results providing this proof of concept are shown.

[0055] In a first set of experiments, fresh apple slices were steamed in a conventional oven using the following steam temperatures and processing times:

[0056] 60°C - 2 minutes steaming (control experiment)

[0057] 60°C - 8 minutes steaming

[0058] 60°C - 20 minutes steaming

[0059] Steaming at 90°C for 5 minutes

[0060] Steaming at 90°C for 10 minutes

[0061] Steaming at 120°C for 2 minutes

[0062] Steaming at 120°C for 8 minutes

[0063] Steaming at 120°C for 15 minutes

[0064] After the steaming process, the steamed apple slices are blended with a Philips Innergizer countertop blender (model HR3868 / 00). After blending, the resulting apple pulp is filtered to obtain clear juice. The clear juice is evaluated to determine the clear juice sugar content and vitamin C. Figure 7 The evaluation results of the sugar content of different experiments identified on the X-axis are shown. The Y-axis shows the absolute sugar content of the clear juice for each experiment, as indicated by each bar, while Figure 7 the line in represents the reduction in sugar content relative to the sugar content of the clear juice produced in the control experiment. Figure 7 It clearly shows that the longer the duration of the steam treatment, the more significant the reduction in the sugar content of the resulting apple clear juice, with a reduction of more than 25% achievable. It can be inferred from this data that treatment durations in the range of 5 - 20 minutes can significantly reduce the sugar content of apple juice. In addition, it was found that treatment temperatures below 100°C (e.g., 60°C and 90°C) were more effective in retaining vitamin C in the clear juice compared to treatment at higher temperatures (e.g., 120°C), making the operating temperature of the heat treatment particularly preferably in the range of 60 - 90°C.

[0065] Figure 8 The results of a set of experiments are shown, in which apple clear juice is produced in three different ways:

[0066] (1) Direct blending (untreated) of raw apples (control experiment)

[0067] (2) The apples are cut into 8 pieces and these pieces are steamed at 60°C for 20 minutes before blending

[0068] (3) The apples are cut into thin slices and these slices are steamed at 60°C for 20 minutes before blending. Each experiment is repeated four times to establish reproducibility. For each experiment, the sugar content of the resulting juice is analyzed. In addition, the Brix value of each juice is determined independently using a Brix sensor. The results are Figure 8 shown, where the left column shows the results of the apple juice produced in experiment (1), the middle column shows the results of the apple juice produced in experiment (2), and the right column shows the results of the apple juice produced in experiment (3). The values on the left side of the chart describe the analyzed sugar content, while the values on the right side of the chart describe the determined Brix values of each clear juice.

[0069] From Figure 8 it can be clearly seen that steaming apple slices before agitation results in a significant decrease in the sugar content of the subsequently produced clear juice, as the sugar content in the juices of experiments (2) and (3) is significantly lower than that of the clear juice from experiment (1). Additionally, compared to experiment (2), the sugar content of the juice produced in experiment (3) is reduced even more significantly. This can be explained by the finer apple slices in experiment (3) compared to experiment (2), thus resulting in a larger contact surface area between the apple slices and the steam generated during heat treatment. Therefore, it can be concluded that in order to obtain optimal results, the user of food processing device 10 should divide food product 1 into small pieces for optimal results. However, overly small pieces should be avoided as this may disrupt the cellular matrix of food product 1, resulting in excessive loss of nutrients that ideally should be preserved. Therefore, it is recommended that the minimum diameter of such slices be 2 - millimeters. Finally, although Figure 8 not shown, it was found that the sugar content of the juices produced in the three experiments had a high reproducibility; the difference in the sugar content determined between different instances of each experiment was less than 4%.

[0070] To demonstrate the principle for different types of food products, the above experiment for producing clear juice was repeated using pears instead of apples:

[0071] (1) Direct agitation (untreated) raw pears (control experiment)

[0072] (2) Cut the pears into 8 pieces and steam these pieces at 60 °C for 20 minutes before agitation

[0073] (3) Cut the pears into thin slices and steam these slices at 60 °C for 20 minutes before agitation.

[0074] Each experiment was repeated four times to establish reproducibility. Again, for each experiment, it was found that the established sugar content variation of the clear juice was less than 4%. For each experiment, the sugar content of the resulting juice was analyzed. Additionally, the Brix value of each juice was independently determined using a Brix sensor. The results are Figure 9 shown, where the left column shows the results of the pear juice produced in experiment (1), the middle column shows the results of the pear juice produced in experiment (2), and the right column shows the results of the pear juice produced in experiment (3). The values on the left side of the figure describe the analyzed sugar content, and the values on the right side of the figure describe the determined Brix values of each clear juice.

[0075] The trend of the pear juice is as Figure 9 shown, and is the same as Figure 8The trends of the apple juice shown are comparable. Compared with the sugar content of the clear juice from Experiment 1, about 13.5% of the sugar weight was removed from the clear juice in Experiment 3, and 10.4% of the sugar weight was removed from the clear juice in Experiment 2. This clearly demonstrates that heat treatment of different types of food products before agitation can reduce the sugar content of the resulting food products.

[0076] It should be noted that the above embodiments are illustrative of the present invention and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can design various alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in the claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The present invention can be implemented by hardware including several different elements. In a device claim enumerating several devices, several of these devices can be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Claims

1. A food processing device (10) for reducing the sugar content of a fruit-based food product (1), the food processing device comprises: A food processing compartment (30) comprising a blade device (28) and a fluid release valve (37); A base (20) comprising a motor (22) arranged to drive the blade device; A heating device for heating the food product in the food processing compartment with steam, the heating device comprising a water tank (40) and a heating element (42), the water tank being in fluid communication with the food processing compartment (30), the heating element (42) being thermally coupled to the water tank; and A controller (60) arranged to control the motor and the heating element; Wherein the controller is arranged to: Control the heating element to generate the steam to heat the food product in the food processing device for a defined period of time; And Once the heating of the food product for the defined period of time terminates and after the steam condensate generated during the heating of the food product is released from the food processing compartment through the fluid release valve, control the motor to stir the food product.

2. The food processing device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the defined period of time is in the range of 5 - 20 minutes.

3. The food processing device according to claim 1, wherein the fluid release valve (37) is controlled by the controller (60), and wherein the controller is adapted to open the fluid release valve for an additional defined period of time during and / or after the heating of the food product.

4. The food processing device according to any one of claims 1 - 3, further comprising a steam condensate collection reservoir (39) in fluid communication with the fluid release valve (37).

5. The food processing device (10) according to any one of claims 1 - 3, further comprising a user interface (50) communicatively coupled to the controller and comprising a food product selection menu, wherein the defined period of time is a function of the food product selection made using the user interface.

6. The food processing device (10) according to claim 5, wherein the controller (60) is arranged to control the motor (22) to stir the food product (1) for an additional period of time once the period of time ends, the additional period of time being a function of the food product selection made using the user interface (50).

7. The food processing device (10) according to claim 6, wherein the food product selection menu comprises a food product weight specification option, and wherein the additional period of time is a function of the weight of the food product specified by the food product weight specification option.

8. The food processing device (10) according to any one of claims 1-3 further includes a temperature sensor (31) in the food processing compartment (30), the temperature sensor being communicatively coupled to the controller (60), wherein the controller is arranged to operate the heating device in response to temperature data provided by the temperature sensor.

9. The food processing device (10) according to claim 8, wherein the controller (60) is arranged to control the heating element to generate the steam so as to heat the food product in the food processing device to a temperature within the range of 60°C - 90°C.

10. The food processing device (10) according to any one of claims 1-3 wherein: the water tank (40) is located in the base (20); and the food processing compartment (30) includes a container having a first surface (32) and a second surface (34), the first surface including at least one orifice (33) for injecting steam from the water tank into the food processing compartment, the second surface (34) including the blade device (28), and wherein each of the first surface and the second surface can be assembled to the base.

11. The food processing device (10) according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the water tank (40) is arranged adjacent to the food processing compartment (30), and wherein the partition between the water tank and the food processing compartment includes at least one orifice (33) for injecting steam from the water tank into the food processing compartment.

12. The food processing device (10) according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the food processing device is a blender or a juicer.

13. A method (100) of reducing the sugar content of a fruit-based food product (1) using a food processing device (10), the food processing device comprising: a food processing compartment (30) including a blade device (28) and a fluid release valve (37); a base (20) including a motor (22) arranged to drive the blade device; a heating device for heating the food product in the food processing compartment using steam, the heating device including a water tank (40) and a heating element (42), the water tank being in fluid communication with the food processing compartment (30), the heating element being thermally coupled to the water tank; and a controller (60) arranged to control the motor and the heating element; the method comprising: heating (107) the food product in the food processing compartment using the steam generated by the heating element for a predetermined period of time; and controlling (112) the motor to stir the food once the heating of the food product for the predetermined period of time is completed and the steam condensate generated during the heating of the food product is released from the food processing compartment through the fluid release valve.

14. The method (100) according to claim 13, wherein the fluid release valve is controlled by the controller (60), and the method further comprises: during and / or after the heating of the food product, opening (111) the fluid release valve (37) by the controller (60) for an additional defined time period.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, further comprises: receiving a food product selection made using a user interface associated with the controller (60); and defining the time period as a function of the received food product selection and / or defining the temperature as a function of the received food product selection.

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