AU761593B2 - Food products and methods of flavouring foodstuffs - Google Patents

Description

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FOOD PRODUCTS AND METHODS OF FLAVOURING FOODSTUFFS This invention relates to food products and methods of flavouring foods, especially cooked or par-cooked foods and products formed by such methods.

This invention has application to adding sauces and flavourings to sausages and for illustrative purposes particular reference will be made hereinafter to such application. However it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to such application as will become apparent.

Cocktail sausages such as frankfurters are often passed around at gatherings together with a condiment such as dip of sauce or mustard or the like. A 10 disadvantage of this is that it is often difficult to coat the sausage with the appropriate quantity of the dip. Furthermore, many people plunge half eaten sausages into the dip and thus contaminate the dip. This may provide a health hazard and such actions are certainly offputting to many people. Additionally there is the necessity of providing the dip or condiment as well as distributing the sausages.

It is common to add flavourings to food products to achieve a desired result.

However it is not only taste that is important but also texture and sensation. Thus for example a tomato flavoured frankfurter would not have the same appeal as a frankfurter that is dipped into tomato sauce. Colour changes would also be apparent in the product.

The present invention aims to alleviate at least one of the aforementioned disadvantages and to provide food products and methods of flavouring foods, especially cooked or par-cooked foods and products formed by such methods.

With the foregoing in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a food product presented for serving as individual serving portions, such as a sausage or a meat pattie by cooking, or par-cooking and reheating, and having discrete 2 pockets of condiments in a paste or liquid phase distributed throughout the product when the food product is at an elevated serving temperature.

Suitably the discrete pockets contain sauce, mustard or other suitable condiments. For example a typical product may be a frankfurter containing discrete pockets of sauce or mustard or a combination thereof distributed throughout the sausage and which are released separately as paste or liquid into the recipients mouth as the product is eaten.

In another aspect, this invention resides broadly in a method of adding condiments to formable foodstuff which is to be prepared for serving at an elevated S 10 temperature, including:- :•:•:providing the condiment in a solid or semi-solid form which changes phase to 0 a liquid or paste form at an elevated temperature; 0 distributing the condiment in its solid or semi-solid form as discrete small portions into the formable foodstuff to provide a mixture of formable foodstuff and condiment.

e •The formable foodstuff may be foodstuff that is formed by hand or by extrusion, cupping, pouring, casting or moulding or shaping. The formable foodstuff may be of a form which is chilled or frozen after forming or cooked.

The condiment may be maintained in its solid or semi-solid form for mixing and prior to forming by being maintained at a temperature at which the condiment is frozen or set. The condiment may be introduced for mixing as small jelly portions which liquify or change from solid to paste at the elevated serving temperature.

For example tomato sauce or other suitable condiment may be formed by dissolving in hot water into which gelatine is introduced to form a jelly and suitably the gelatine is introduced in sufficient quantity to form a rubbery jelly. This jelly may 3 be formed into discrete small portions either before mixing with the formable foodstuff or by the mixing action. That is the condiment may be added as a cake of jelly which is cut up and formed into discrete small portions by the mixing process.

In a further aspect this invention resides broadly in a method of forming a food product from formable foodstuff, including:forming a mixture of formable foodstuff and condiment as defined above and then forming the food product. Preferably the food product is formed prior to the mixture reaching a temperature at which the mixed condiment changes phase to liquid or past form.

10 Preferably the condiment is substantially water based and the formed food :.;.;product has a fat content capable of maintaining a discrete pocket of the water based o condiment therein, and prior to the mixture reaching a temperature at which the mixed condiment changes phase to liquid or past form, forming the food product.

The formed food product may be formed only by forming it into the desired configuration or also by cooking after forming into the desired configuration.

In another aspect, this invention resides in a condiment formed by dissolving a flavouring in water and forming the flavoured water into a rubbery jelly which can be or is cut up to form coherent discrete small portions.

In another aspect this invention resides in a meat product presented for serving as individual serving portions, such as a sausage or a meat pattie, by cooking or par-cooking and reheating, and having discrete pockets of condiments in a paste or liquid phase distributed throughout the product when the food product is at an elevated serving temperature and wherein the food product is formed from a formable foodstuff to which the condiments are added by:- 4 providing the condiment in a solid or semi-solid form which changes phase to a liquid or paste form at an elevated temperature, and distributing the condiment in its solid or semi-solid form as discrete small portions into the formable foodstuff to provide a mixture of formable foodstuff and condiment.

In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to production of a frankfurter food product.

A suitable frankfurter may be a composition of pork meat and other ingredients 10 formed by mixing the following well known foodstuffs and additives:- Pork; Pork fat; Water; Sodium Chloride; Nitrite (NPS); Spicex; Poly phosphate; Sodium Erothorbate; Vienna seasoning; Ginger; Wutzomat; Coriander; Cardomon; Milk powder; Onions; Solid tomato sauce, and AL96S.

Tomato sauce condiment is prepared by dissolving in boiling water and then mixing the tomato paste in and leaving to set. In a typical application, 75gm of gelatine is dissolved in 250gm water and 500gm tomato paste is mixed in and left to set to a hard rubbery form.

As per the typical process of manufacturing frankfurters of the above composition, the following steps are taken:pork fat are minced; pork is then added to cutter, NPS spices, onions are added with water; phosphate erothorbate is added to mix; mixture is cut in cutter, until 3°C. spices are then added; mixture is then chopped until 5°C when fat is added and 10 litres of water and mixture is then chopped until Typically this process takes about twelve minutes and may be accompanied by the adding of ice to maintain the mixture below 15C. A formable food product results.

The solid rubbery tomato gel is then placed in the cutter with the formable food product and the cutter is operated until the desired size and distribution of discrete pockets of tomato gel is achieved throughout the formable food product. This cutting and mixing may be controlled visually or by set timing.

The formable food product containing the discrete pockets of rubbery tomato gel is then filled into red collagen casings, smoked for 15 minutes then steam cooked, until the internal temperature reaches 68 *The product is then showered with cool water, cooled, and placed into vacuum bags, ready for sale.

The consumer, reheats the product, which releases and changes the phase of the tomato sauce pellets into pockets of tomato sauce distributed randomly but substantially evenly throughout the product. As the sauce is not dispersed within the product during the reheating or cooking process, the eating perception, from the consumers aspect, is much the same as a conventional frankfurter dipped into tomato sauce.

Furthermore visually the appearance of the product is of a fine texture, light pinky colour with red sauce pockets throughout. Thus the appeal to the eye of the consumer of the frankfurter is not impaired.

Thus frankfurters prepared as described above and in accordance with this invention provide convenience of use of not needing separate tomato sauce dip or tomato sauce bottles. They also provide a microbiologically safer product than the 6 standard frankfurters which are often dipped, and re-dipped, into a separate tomato sauce container.

A suitable meat pattie may be a composition of beef meat and other ingredients formed by mixing the following well known foodstuffs and additives:- Beef; Beef fat; Water; (NPS); Onions; Solid tomato sauce, and AL96S.

Tomato sauce condiment is prepared by dissolving in boiling water and then mixing the tomato paste in and leaving to set. In a typical application, 75gm of gelatine is dissolved in 250gm water and 500gm tomato paste is mixed in and left to set to a hard rubbery form.

10 As per the typical process of manufacturing patties of the above composition, the following steps are taken:beef fat are minced; beef is then added to cutter, spices, onions are added with water; •mixture is cut in cutter, spices and AL96S are then added; Typically this process takes about five minutes and may be accompanied by the adding of ice to maintain the mixture below 5-C. A formable food product results.

The solid rubbery tomato gel is then placed in the cutter with the formable food :000: product and the cutter is operated until the desired size and distribution of discrete pockets of tomato gel is achieved throughout the formable food product. This cutting and mixing may be controlled visually or by set timing.

The formable food product containing the discrete pockets of rubbery tomato gel is then formed by machine into patties, packed and then frozen.

The consumer subsequently cooks the patties which changes the phase of the tomato sauce pellets into pockets of tomato sauce distributed randomly but substantially evenly throughout the product. As the sauce is not dispersed within the 7 product during the cooking process, the eating perception, from the consumers aspect, is much the same as a conventional meat pattie topped with tomato sauce.

Meat patties prepared as described above and in accordance with this invention provide convenience of use of not needing separate tomato sauce topping or tomato sauce bottles. They also provide a microbiologically safer product than the standard meat patties which are often topped with sauce dispensed from a communal non-refrigerated tomato sauce container. Thus quality control on the meat pattie product as eaten is compromised.

It will of course be realised that while the foregoing description has been given S 10 by way of illustrative example of this invention, all such and other modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as is defined in the appended l.i s claims.

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Claims (11)

1. A food product which is presented for serving by reheating, the food product having discrete pockets of a condiment distributed throughout when it is stored and the discrete pockets of said condiment being in a paste or liquid phase when the food product is reheated to its serving temperature for release when ruptured while eating the food product, wherein the food product is formed from a formable food product filling to which the condiment is added by:- providing the condiment in a solid or semi-solid form which changes phase to a liquid or paste form at an elevated temperature, and by distributing the condiment in its solid or semi-solid form as discrete small portions into the formable food product filling to provide a mixture of formable food product filling and condiment portions for processing to form the food product.

2. A food product as claimed in claim 1, wherein:- the condiment is introduced for mixing into the formable food product filling as jelly to form jelly portions which liquify or change from solid to paste at the elevated serving temperature, and the jelly is formed by introducing gelatine in sufficient quantities to a water based sauce flavoured liquid.

S3. A food product as claimed in claim 2, wherein the gelatine is introduced in sufficient quantity to form a rubbery jelly and the formable food product filling 9 is a meat filling with a fat content capable of maintaining discrete pockets of the water based condiment therein.

4. A food product as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, presented in the form of a sausage, a meat pattie or a frankfurter.

A food product as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said condiment includes sauce or mustard or a combination thereof.

6. A food product as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said pockets are distributed throughout said food product, said pockets containing sauce or mustard or a combination thereof which are released separately as paste or liquid into the recipients mouth as the food product is eaten.

7. A method of adding condiments to.formable foodstuff which is to be S prepared for serving at an elevated temperature, including:- :providing the condiment in a solid or semi-solid form which changes 00" 0 phase to a liquid or paste form at an elevated temperature; distributing the condiment in its solid or semi-solid form as discrete small portions into the formable foodstuff to provide a mixture of formable foodstuff re and condiment. rvi

8. A method of adding condiments to formable foodstuff as claimed in claim .157, wherein the condiment that is mixed is provided in the form of small jelly portions which liquify or change from solid to paste at the elevated serving temperature.

9. A method of adding condiments to formable foodstuff as claimed in claim 8, wherein the condiment is formed by firstly dissolving said condiment in hot water into which gelatine is subsequently introduced to form a jelly.

A method of adding condiments to formable foodstuff as claimed in claim 9, wherein sufficient quantity of gelatine is added to the condiment to form a rubbery jelly.

11. A method of forming a food product from formable foodstuff, including:- forming a mixture of formable foodstuff and condiment as defined in claims 7 to 10 and then forming the food product. DATED THIS TWENTY SIXTH DAY OF MARCH 2003. SGERNS CONTINENTAL SMALLGOODS PTY LTD By PIZZEYS PATENT AND TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS