Refried Bean Hydration Process for Consistent Texture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Canned refried beans lack consistency in flavor, texture, and color from one lot to another, leading manufacturers to increase dry matter, which is detrimental to the product's cost and quality.
Innovation Solution
A hydration process that involves cooking dried beans to increase moisture content, then coarsely grinding and separating them into portions for milling and homogenization, followed by mixing with water, spices, and lard to achieve a consistent refried bean product with a moisture content above 80%.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If manufacturers increase dry matter content in canned refried beans to compensate for quality variations, then product consistency improves, but production cost increases and overall quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the moisture content parameter from conventional low levels to above 80%, fundamentally altering the product composition. This parameter change enables consistent quality without needing to increase dry matter content, as the high moisture content itself becomes the stabilizing factor when combined with the controlled particle size distribution and homogenization process.
Solution Approach 2:
The bean processing is segmented into distinct size fractions through controlled grinding and classification. The product contains a specific distribution of particle sizes (fine particles, medium particles, and coarse particles) rather than a uniform size, which provides consistency through reproducible segmentation rather than through dry matter content adjustment.
2Quantity of substance
If conventional processes are used to prepare refried beans from different bean lots, then production cost is reduced, but product uniformity deteriorates significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies preliminary homogenization treatment to the bean slurry before final processing. This preliminary action of homogenizing the fine particles ensures that variations in bean lot composition are normalized before subsequent processing steps, achieving uniformity without requiring expensive corrective measures later in the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The final product is a composite material consisting of multiple particle size fractions combined in specific proportions. This composite structure integrates fine homogenized particles, medium particles, and coarse particles to create a consistent product that masks variations in raw bean lot quality, achieving uniformity through composition rather than through costly selection processes.
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 process ensures a consistent refried bean product with desirable flavor, texture, and color, maintaining a high moisture content while reducing production costs by enhancing product uniformity.
Implementation Method 1
hydrated uncooked beans are cooked, in the presence of water, for a period of time sufficient to make them digestible... The use of this process allows an increase in the moisture content... Moisture contents of the refried bean products prepared by the present process may be more than 80%
Implementation Method 2
hydrated uncooked beans are cooked, in the presence of water, for a period of time sufficient to make them digestible and impart a desired cooked bean flavor and color characteristics to the cooked beans
Implementation Method 3
After being cooked, the beans are coarsely ground to form a bean slurry containing finely divided bean mash, whole bean pieces, and bean skin particles
Implementation Method 4
Water is added to the first coarse ground bean portion which is milled and then homogenized to provide a homogenized bean portion
Data Source
AI summary
This application provides a process for producing a refried bean product. The refried bean product contains both homogenized cooked bean particles and larger sized cooked bean particles and provides a texture typical of refried beans. The present process includes hydrating dried beans in water a period of time sufficient to increase the moisture content of the beans, cooking the hydrated beans in water, coarse grinding the cooked beans to provide a bean slurry, dividing the bean slurry into first and second portions, milling the first bean portion to provide a milled bean portion, homogenizing the milled bean portion with water to provide an homogenized bean portion, combining the homogenized portion and the second coarse ground bean portion with water, spices and lard to provide a combined bean mixture, and mixing the combined bean mixture to provide a refried bean product.