Extruder Hydration and Cooking of Beans for Refried Products
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Solution Overview
Problem
The processing and cooking of partially hydrated bean products, such as refried beans, are laborious and time-consuming, necessitating a method to decrease processing time and labor while producing a faster and easier partially hydrated bean product.
Innovation Solution
A method involving an extruder with temperature zones and a die, where uncooked beans are extruded, cooked, and hydrated, producing a bean paste with at least 45% water content, which can be further processed into partially hydrated products like refried beans, aseptic refried beans, or frozen refried beans.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional manual processing methods are used for partially hydrated bean products, then the products can be made with desired quality, but the processing time and labor required are excessively long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple processing functions (hydrating, cooking, and extruding) into a single extrusion system. The extruder performs all three operations simultaneously in one continuous process, eliminating the need for separate processing steps and significantly reducing both time and labor requirements while maintaining product quality
Solution Approach 2:
The extrusion system is designed to perform multiple functions: it hydrates the beans by adding water, cooks them through controlled heating zones, and extrudes them into the desired form. This multi-functional approach allows a single device to replace multiple traditional processing steps
2Ease of manufacture
If separate processing steps for hydrating, cooking, and extruding are used, then each step can be optimized independently, but the overall processing time and labor increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates hydrating, cooking, and extruding operations into a single continuous extrusion process. Water is added during extrusion while the system simultaneously cooks and forms the product, creating a simplified one-step process that improves both ease of manufacture and processing efficiency
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
This method significantly reduces processing time and labor by combining hydration, cooking, and extrusion in one machine, producing a partially hydrated bean product with desired water content and consistency, comparable to conventionally made products but in a fraction of the time.
Implementation Method 1
one or more temperature zones in series downstream of the inlet... forcing the beans through the one or more temperature zones wherein a quantity of steam and a quantity of water is added to the beans
Implementation Method 2
a quantity of steam and a quantity of water is added to the beans as the beans are forced through each temperature zone... The bean paste produced by the methods of the disclosure comprises at least 45% water by weight
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for producing a partially hydrated bean paste are disclosed. The methods include inputting a quantity of uncooked whole beans or split beans into an extruder comprising an inlet, one or more temperature zones in series downstream of the inlet, and a die downstream of the one or more temperature zones; rotating a screw assembly of the extruder to extrude the beans and force the beans through the one or more temperature zones, wherein a quantity of steam and a quantity of water is added to the beans as the beans are forced through each temperature zone; and forcing the beans exiting the final temperature zone of said one or more temperature zones in series through the die to produce a bean paste. The partially hydrated bean paste produced by the methods of the disclosure comprises a water content of at least about 45% by weight. The partially hydrated bean paste can be further processed into partially hydrated bean products, such as refried beans.