AU681429B2

AU681429B2 - Method for the continuous preparation of a solid food matrix

Info

Publication number: AU681429B2
Application number: AU74288/94A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Joseph Richard Hart; Remi Thevenot
Original assignee: Societe des Produits Nestle SA; Nestle SA
Current assignee: Societe des Produits Nestle SA
Priority date: 1993-10-11
Filing date: 1994-09-28
Publication date: 1997-08-28
Anticipated expiration: 2014-09-28
Also published as: NZ264599A; NO943699L; EP0651948A1; JPH07184600A; NO943699D0; ZA947577B; AU7428894A; CA2133502A1

Description

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AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPEC I F I CATION

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FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

o S Name of Applicant: Actual Inventors: Address for Service:

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o C SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A.

Joseph Richard HART and Remi THEVENOT SHELSTON WATERS 55 Clarence Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 "METHOD FOR THE CONTINUOUS PREPARATION OF A SOLID FOOD MATRIX" 00 0

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00 0* 0 Invention Title: The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:-

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la Method for the continuous preparation of a solid food matrix The invention concerns a method for the continuous production of a solid food matrix having a moisture content of between 35 and 75%, from a liquid mixture based on blood, lipid and water, in which the said mixture is homogenized and subjected to heat treatment.

A method for preparing attractive reformed chunks in a continuous process is already known. Patent EP 265740 concerns a method for the preparation of pieces by mixing a meat base in an aqueous medium. This method cannot however be transposed for the treatment of a liquid based on blood and lipid, since it would in no way allow solid chunks to be obtained. Patent FR 2343431 previously concerned a method for the preparation of a food based on blood and lipid for the preparation of chunks resembling liver. The disadvantages of this method are that it is not possible to 20 operate continuously, that a reducing sugar is used and that neither a light coloured gel, nor a gel with a texture firm enough to be cut while still hot is obtained without the excessive formation of fines but a food matrix which is friable and easily broken.

Patent FR 2417947 concerns a method for decolorizing blood, in which a liquid emulsion is formed based on blood, water .and protein and a pressure drop is caused by passage through narrow slits. This process does not allow chunks to be manufactured.

ego000 It is the object of the present invention to ameliorate or overcome at least in part some of the abovementioned deficiencies in the prior art.

WsTH~\ Nl -2- The invention consists in a method for the continuous production of a solid food matrix having a moisture content of between 35 and 75%, from a liquid mixture based on blood, lipid, and water, in which the said mixture is homogenized and subjected to heat treatment, wherein a source of proteins and/or hydrocolloids is added to the said mixture before or after homogenisation and said heat treatment is conducted for seconds to 5 minutes.

Blood acts as an emulsifier and gelling agent and is used preferably at a rate of to 60%, and more preferably at a rate of 45 to 55%. Blood is taken as meaning any blood product or blood derivative such as pig blood, ox blood, veal blood, plasma, haemoglobin and red blood cell concentrate. All percentages in the present description are given by weight. The lipid content lies preferably between 20 and 50%, and more preferably between 25 and 35%. Lipid is understood as meaning both animal or vegetable fats, which are either liquid or solid at room temperature, for example pork fat or soya oil.

0 i 15 Masking the colour of the blood and other elements in the matrix contributes to its So improved appearance. The colour is masked by means of a homogenization of the lipid and the blood containing aqueous phase. Due to the contribution of the blood to the stabilisation of the resulting lipid micelles, their size is sufficiently small to reflect a high proportion of incident light. This results in a whitening effect, attenuating the impact of 20 the colours in the matrix.

Heat treatment of the emulsion enables the proteins in the mixture to be coagulated and hence solidified, but in order to obtain a very firm gel which can b e diced cleanly according to the invention, a source of protein and/or hydrocolloids is added.

17622.00oo Doc/WLS I-e 3 The term "which can be diced cleanly" is taken to indicate that a solid matrix is obtained which can be cut up hot or conveyed without forming more than 5% of particles having a size less than 5 mm.

This protein source is added preferably at a rate of 0.1 to 20% and the hydrocolloids preferably at a rate of 0.1 to 2%.

Protein source, in the present description, is taken to mean meats or meat by-products, vegetable proteins, proteins having a microbial origin, fish or offals. Meat is taken to mean chicken, rabbit, bovine or ovine meat or dried meals, obtained from the carcasses of the aforementioned animals. Offals are taken to mean lugs. as well as livers and kidneys: .Fish is taken to mean any type of fish or fish meal. The function of this supplementary protein addition is to enable a gel to be obtained which is firmer and can be more easily diced in the form of cubes with minimum losses of fines. Blood plasma if preferably 20 used as the source of protein. This plasma is the liquid fraction of blood after separation of the red blood cells from the whole blood preferably after addition of anticoagulants. The plasma may also be used in the form of a powder.

Hydrocolloids are taken to mean any type of gelling agent or thickener, preferably konjac, guar, kappa-carrageenan, xanthan, or mixtures thereof. Homogenization is carried out in a known manner, either with high pressure systems, or with a hydrocolloid disperser, so as to obtain an emulsion •with a milky appearance.

Heat treatment at a temperature of the order of 100°C for 30 second to 5 minutes is carried out preferably in a tunnel oven.

-Ira -4- Heat treatment may also be considered in a refiner-texturizer at a temperature of between 70 and 110 0 C, preferably for about 2 minutes. A refiner-texturizer, for example a trigonal made by the SIEFER company, is taken to mean an apparatus comprising a stator and a rotor. The function of this apparatus is to disperse a liquid in a solid, between the rotor and the stator by reducing the particle size between the rotor and the stator. In the present invention, the refiner-texturizer raises the temperature of the emulsion and brings about gelling of the hot mixture. The gelled mixture is removed from the outlet of the refiner-texturizer by means of a tube having a definite length, and is cut up into pieces with a chosen regular shape by means of a suitable system. In order to facilitate extrusion, steam is injected at the outlet of the refiner-texturizer.

In a preferred embodiment the product obtained according to the method of the invention is diced into the desire shape and added, without the need for further treatment, S. to terrine, micro-ground meats, sauce dishes or sausages for food products, at a rate of to 80%. The final product is then stabilized before consumption, either by heat 0o 15 treatment, for example sterilization, or by refrigeration or freezing. The dicing occurs preferably with the hot exiting product.

Preferably the solid food matrix obtained is thermo-irreversible, that is to say it withstands heat treatment at least at 70 0 C without liquefying.

9* In order to show the masking of colour it is important on the one hand to quantify 20 the red colour of the blood itself and of the emulsion prepared according to the invention and on the other hand to measure the hardness of the gel obtained. These data will be referred to in the continuation of the description with reference to examples.

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5 Example 1 43 kg of pork fat, melted by means of microwaves, and containing 20 g of antioxidant (BHT), is added slowly to a mixture of 27 kg of fresh blood to which 5 kg of powdered ox blood plasma has been added together with 26 kg of water containing 0.5 kg of sodium nitrite and 5 kg of NaCI.

Mixing is carried out under conditions of high shear for 2 min. Homogenization is then carried out at a pressure of 340 bar at a flow rate of 30 litre/hour at 45 0 C. After this treatment, the intensity of the red colour is measured with an Agtron M63 reflectometer using a red filter on the 0-33 scale.

The result is expressed in of reflected light passing through the filter. The higher the value, the lower the red intensity. A value of 83% was found in the present case, 20 whilst for blood it is close to 0.

The mixture is then introduced into the refiner-texturizer where it undergoes heat treatment for 2 min at a temperature of 80'C. The hardness of the gel obtained is then -measured at this time using a Stephens LFRA 100 Spenetrometer with a TR5 probe. A pressure of 620 g/c 2 is necessary to penetrate 11 mm into the mass. It is considered that a good strength gel is obtained within the range 400 to 1200 g/cm 2 The pieces obtained are then diced e 30 into the form of 5 mm cubes and 30% of these cubes are put into a terrine base which has been sterilized at about 130 0

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6 Example 2 Operations are carried out under the same conditions as in Example 1 with 50 kg of fresh ox blood, 30 kg of soya oil, 0.5 kg of K-carrageenan, 0.5 kg of KC1, 0.5 kg of guar gum and 18.5 kg of water. A final product is obtained giving a value of 75% reflected light through the red filter and a gel strength of 560 g/cm 2 Example 3 Operations are carried out under the same conditions as in Example 1 with 50 kg of frozen ox blood, 30 kg of soya oil, 5 kg of frozen blood plasma, 0.5 kg of K-carrageenan, 15 kg of KC1, 0.5 kg of guar gum and 13.5 kg of water.

A final product is obtained giving a value of 89% reflected light through the red filter.

*eo 20 Example 4 Operations are carried out under the same conditions as in Example 1 with 40 kg of frozen ox blood, 20 kg of tallow, kg of whole micro-ground lean fish, 0.5 kg of K- 25 carrageenan, 0.5 kg of KC1, 0.5 kg of guar gum and 18.8 kg of water, the difference being that homogenization is carried out in a single step at atmospherin pressure in a hydrocolloid disperser for 20 minutes.

A final product is obtained having the same properties as those of Ex-mple 1.

Example Operations are carried out under the same conditions as in Example 1 with 50 kg of frozen ox blood, 30 kg of lard, 1 -7 kg of powdered plasma, 0.3 kg of konjac and 18.7 kg of water. A final product is obtained giving a value of 79% of light reflected through the red filter.

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Claims

1. A method for the continuous production of a solid food matrix having a moisture content of between 35 and 75%, from a liquid mixture based on blood, lipid and water, in which the said mixture is homogenized and subjected to heat treatment, wherein a source of proteins and/or hydrocolloids is added to the said mixture before or after homogenisation and said heat treatment is conducted for 30 seconds to 5 minutes.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein a mixture is made of between 20 and lipid, between 30 and 60% blood, between 0.1 and 20% of a source of protein and/or 0.1 to 2% of hydrocolloids.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat treatment is a treatment in a tunnel oven at a temperature of the order of 100 0 C.

4. A method according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the heat treatment takes place in a refiner-texturizer at a temperature of between 70 and 110°C.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein chunks formed by said method are diced and incorporated in a terrine, micro-ground meat, sauce dishes or sausages at a rate of 5 to

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the source of protein used is selected from blood plasma, soya, fish offals and casein.

7. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the hydrocolloid used is 20 selected from konjac, guar, kappa-carrageenan, xanthan and mixtures thereof. 1

17622.00 DOC/WLS ~m~Y

8. A method for the continuous production of a solid food matrix, substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the Examples. DATED this 26th Day of June, 1997 SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A. Attorney: RUTH M. CLARKSON Fellow Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia of SHELSTON WATERS S.. 4.. r a 1 17 6 2200 DO/WLS Abstract The invention concerns a method for the continuous production of a solid food matrix having a moisture content of between 35 and 75%, from a liquid mixture based on blood, lipid and water, in which the said mixture is homogenized and subjected to heat treatment and a source of proteins and/or hydrocolloids is added before or after homogenization. .00 0t 0