Fruit-Based Dough Crispy Texture via Dehydration and Rice Blending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing snack products made from high sugar and moisture content fruit-based materials face challenges such as burning, off-flavors, sticky texture, and difficulty in achieving a crispy consistency due to high sugar levels and moisture content, which affects processing and consumer preference.
Innovation Solution
A dough composition with a balanced mixture of dehydrated fruit materials and rice-based ingredients, where the dehydrated fruit materials have a sugar concentration of less than 50% and a moisture content of less than 15%, combined with rice-based materials, to create a fruit-based snack with reduced sugar and moisture, resulting in a crispy and crunchy texture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If high sugar and moisture content fruit-based materials are used in snack products, then the fruit content and flavor are improved, but the product burns during cooking, develops off-flavors, and becomes sticky rather than crispy
Solution Approach 1:
The fruit materials are pre-dehydrated to reduce moisture content below 15% and pre-treated to reduce sugar content below 50% before being incorporated into the dough. This preliminary processing prevents burning and off-flavor formation during subsequent cooking operations while maintaining fruit content and flavor.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the fruit materials by dehydrating them to reduce moisture content and treating them to reduce sugar content. This parameter modification allows the fruit-based snack to achieve crispy texture during cooking without burning or developing off-flavors, while still maintaining high fruit content.
2Quantity of substance
If high sugar containing doughs are used, then the fruit flavor is enhanced, but the glass transition temperature decreases making the dough sticky and weak, difficult to process
Solution Approach 1:
The fruit materials undergo preliminary treatment to reduce sugar content to below 50% before being added to the dough. This pre-treatment prevents the dough from becoming overly sticky and weak, maintaining adequate glass transition temperature for proper processing while still incorporating high levels of fruit ingredients.
Solution Approach 2:
The sugar content parameter of the fruit materials is changed through treatment processes to reduce it to below 50%. This parameter change allows the dough to maintain appropriate viscosity and strength for sheeting, cutting, and frying operations while preserving high fruit ingredient concentration for flavor.
3Ease of manufacture
If additional cooling is applied to equipment to handle sticky dough, then the dough becomes less sticky, but the snack temperature decreases making it difficult to season and pack
Solution Approach 1:
The fruit materials are pre-dehydrated and pre-treated to reduce both moisture and sugar content before dough formation. This preliminary action reduces dough stickiness at the source, eliminating the need for additional cooling of equipment during processing, and allows the final snack to maintain adequate temperature for seasoning and packing.
Solution Approach 2:
The moisture content parameter of the fruit materials is changed through dehydration to below 15%, and sugar content is reduced to below 50%. These parameter changes fundamentally alter the dough's stickiness characteristics, allowing easy handling without equipment cooling while preserving snack temperature for subsequent seasoning operations.
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 solution delivers a fruit-based snack with a crispy texture, reduced fat content, and controlled off-flavor formation, making it easier to process and achieve a desirable glass transition temperature for improved texture and consumer acceptance.
Implementation Method 1
The texture of the snack is a function of the temperature at which the glassy structure is obtained. The higher this glass transition temperature the crispier the texture would be.
Data Source
AI summary
A dry blend containing from about 3% to about 50%, by weight, dehydrated fruit materials, and from about 20% to about 97%, by weight, rice based material. Doughs made by adding water to the dry blend are also provided. The doughs are especially suitable for sheeting and cutting to make fabricated snack products, which are then cooked to make a fruit based chip.