AU780750B2 - A process for the making of glace food - Google Patents

Description

51146 HKS:ZS P/00/011 AUSTRALIA Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

oo Name of Applicant: BRIAN ROBERT

THORN

Actual Inventor: BRIAN ROBERT THORN Address for Service: COLLISON CO.,117 King William Street, Adelaide, S.A. 5000 Invention Title: A PROCESS FOR THE MAKING OF GLACE FOOD Details of Associated Provisional Applications: AUSTRALIAN Provisional Patent Application No. PQ6106 dated 9 th March 2000 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: *oo the best method of performing it known to me: This invention provides a method for processing items of food into glace food, also known as crystallized food, candied food and sugared food.

Traditionally, processing of food to produce a glace product has involved that the item of food is left for a period of time in a brine solution and then immersed into a range of sucrose solutions containing citric acid that have had their sucrose concentrations increased sequentially and over a period of time with heat the sucrose is inverted. The inverted sugar in the solution then makes use of osmotic pressure to permeate the solution into the item of food. The food is then exposed to a dehydration process.

:i 10 The object of this invention is to provide a useful alternative method to the public in e* the process of glacing an item of food.

Accordingly in one form of this invention there is proposed a method modifying an item of food which includes the step subsequent to soaking the item of food in a brine solution, of applying directly to the surface of the item of food sugar as a dry powder or granules.

In preference there is invertase added to the sugar.

In preference the invertase added to the sugar insitu upon the surface of the item of food hydrolyses the sugar into an inverted form and moisture content of said item e* *of food is reduced by infusion of the inverted sugar and sugar into the item of food.

In preference sugar, invertase, inverted sugar or combinations of all are left on the item of food for sufficient time for infusion into the item of food to take place.

In preference the sugar is sucrose and invertase hydrolyses sucrose into an inverted form of a fructose and glucose mixture.

In preference invertase is from a strain of sacchoromyces carevisiae and is provided as an invertase enzyme concentrate.

In preference the item of food capable of undergoing osmotic exchange is firstly held in a brine solution then rinsed of traces of brine before contact with the sugar.

3 The brine solution collapses the structure of certain cells on and near the surface of the item of food, softening the product for better treatment and expediting the osmotic exchange process between the food and sugar.

In preference the brine solution consists of minimum 10 percent by weight salt solution containing at least 0.5 percent calcium chloride.

In preference water having a temperature in the range of 20 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius is used for the rinsing and substantial removal of brine from the item of food before contacting the sugar.

In preference processing for the hydrolysis of sucrose and osmotic exchange with 10 the item of food occurs at ambient temperatures over a period of not less than one week and no more than four weeks.

•f.og An advantage of making glace food, preferably fruit and vegetables by osmotic exchange with sucrose that has been inverted through invertase hydrolysis is the additional generation of a syrup that is a sugar or sucrose solution.

g 15 Preferably this additional syrup can then be extracted and used in the traditional known methods of making glace food or packed off and sold for other purposes.

The moisture content of the final product at the completion of the osmotic exchange with the inverted sugar is dependent on the ratio of the amount of sugar to be inverted to the amount of invertase present for hydrolysis.

An advantage of making glace food this way allows accurate control of moisture level and texture of the final product without the need of exposing the product to an additional dehydration step.

Lower ratios of sugar to invertase results in lower levels of moisture in the final product as the more soluble invert sugar is infused into the product. Gradual changes between a dry or wet product can be achieved by adjustment of the ratio between sugar and invertase.

With more invertase present greater amounts of sugar are inverted. Inverted sugar being more soluble fuses into the item of food exchanging with the fluid within the food thus lowering the moisture level and eliminating the need to mechanically dehydrate the product.

For a better understanding of this invention, it will now be described in relation to a preferred embodiment which shall be described with the assistance of a drawing wherein: FIG. 1 is a flow diagram for the steps in the process of making glace food.

The description as can be seen in Figure 1 has an item of food received 1 that is capable of undergoing osmotic exchange with sugar. Most fruits possess this property of undergoing an osmotic exchange with a sugar without substantial collapse or damage to their internal cellular structure. One such example is apricots.

Prior to having the item of food contacted with the sugar and invertase it is soaked and soaked in a sodium chloride solution 2 having approximately 16 percent by weight salt solution containing about 1 percent calcium chloride. The brine solution is Sobelieved to collapse the structure of certain cells on and near the surface of the item of food, softening the product for better treatment and expediting the osmotic 15 exchange process between the food and sugar.

o..o The brine solution also can serve the further function of bleaching the colour from the item of food and of preserving the item of food until it is needed for processing in those times when picking or harvesting quantities of the item of food are such that it is not practical or possible to treat immediately.

The third step in processing is to de-brine as shown at 3 the item of food that has been soaking in the brine solution washing off the salt resulting from the brine solution but leaving the surface wet. This is generally accomplished by rinsing 4 the item of food with water having a temperature in the range of 20 to 40 degrees Celsius.

Applying heated water can speed up the process of the removal of the brine and the temperature can be as high as 100 degrees Celsius.

Alternatively the item of food to be contacted with the sugar can first undergo a blanching process 5 where the item of food is plunged into hot water for a period in the range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes.

Similar to the soaking in the brine solution step, the exposure of the item of food to extreme temperatures for a short period of time changes the structure of those cells on or near the surface of the food making it more manageable to the osmotic exchange process.

At the end of the rinsing step 4 or the blanching process 5, the item of food is peeled, cored and then cut into slices of desired size. Sugar and an enzyme from a strain of sacchoromyces carevisiae provided as an invertase enzyme concentrate and a stabilizer are brought together as a dry powder mix and added directly to the wet item of food.

Osmotic dehydration 7 of the item of food through the exchange of sugar requires about 2 weeks at ambient temperatures for the substantial inversion of sugar e through hydrolysis and the absorption of the sugar into the item of food.

:The product is then drained as shown at step 8 of excess syrup which is being created as a byproduct in the process. This syrup or sugar solution is extracted and collected and packed separately.

The item of food, having undergone osmotic exchange, and with the excess syrup generated in the process substantially removed is then packed off as shown at 9.

The present invention has been described in terms of Figure 1 in order to facilitate better understanding of the invention. It should be, however, appreciated that various modifications can be made to this description without departing from the principles of the invention