Bouillon Tablet Cereal Bran Post-Hardening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Culinary seasoning or bouillon tablets often become too hard over time due to post-hardening, making them difficult to crumble into a fine powder, which hinders their dispersion and dissolution in cooking dishes.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating 5 to 25 dry weight percent of cereal bran into the tablet composition, which reduces post-hardening and maintains suitable hardness for handling and easy crumbling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the tablet is pressed with high pressure to achieve stable hardness for handling and distribution, then the tablet becomes too hard and difficult to crumble into fine powder
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters of the tablet by incorporating specific ingredients (cereal bran, starch, sugar, gelatin) in defined proportions. This modifies the physical properties of the tablet to achieve optimal hardness that allows easy crumbling without requiring excessive force from consumers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material system combining multiple ingredients (salt, oil, fat, culinary flavoring, cereal bran, starch, sugar, gelatin) where each component contributes specific properties. The combination achieves a balance between structural integrity for handling and ease of crumbling for consumer use.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the tablet is stored for long periods to ensure shelf stability, then post-hardening occurs and the tablet becomes difficult to crumble
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by incorporating ingredients (cereal bran, starch, sugar, gelatin) that prevent post-hardening before it occurs. These ingredients act as barriers to the sintering and dissolution-recrystallization processes that cause hardening over time, maintaining tablet softness throughout shelf life.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the chemical composition to include moisture-regulating ingredients that prevent excessive hardening during storage. The specific formulation changes the physical-chemical parameters to maintain optimal texture throughout the product's shelf life.
3Device complexity
If the tablet is made with minimal ingredients to simplify production, then the tablet lacks optimal crumbling properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent develops a multi-component composite material system where each ingredient serves a specific function: cereal bran provides structure, starch controls hardness, sugar enhances crumbling, and gelatin provides binding. This coordinated composition achieves optimal crumbling properties that cannot be obtained with minimal ingredients.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The use of cereal bran in bouillon tablets prevents significant hardening when exposed to humidity cycles, ensuring they remain easy to crumble and dissolve, improving their usability and shelf life.
Implementation Method 1
when cereal bran material is incorporated into the recipe of making seasoning or bouillon tablets, tablets can be obtained which have a good, reasonable hardness for being industrially processed and commercially distributed, and at the same time those tablets had a significantly reduced post-hardening effect when for example being tested and exposed to cycles of humidity conditions
Implementation Method 2
bridges formed by dissolution/re-crystallization of crystalline particles such as e.g. the salts
Implementation Method 3
bridges formed by dissolution/re-crystallization of crystalline particles such as e.g. the salts
Implementation Method 4
bridges formed by sintering between amorphous particles (e.g. the culinary flavouring compounds)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The present invention relates to a seasoning or bouillon tablet used as cooking aid for the preparation of culinary food products. The seasoning or bouillon tablet comprises salt, oil and/or fat and a culinary flavoring, characterized in that the tablet further comprises 1 to 25 dry wt% of a cereal bran.