CA1072811A

CA1072811A - Treatment of edible seeds and a novel foodstuff prepared therefrom

Info

Publication number: CA1072811A
Application number: CA231,080A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Victor M. Lewis; David A. Lewis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1974-07-17
Filing date: 1975-07-08
Publication date: 1980-03-04
Also published as: GB1466479A; CH626786A5; NO752517L; IE42081B1; ATA554375A; SE441491B; NL181619C; JPS5138448A; IL47638A0; IE42081L; LU72980A1; NO143011B; AT351911B; TR19137A; NO143011C; BE831284A; JPS5758907B2; MY8100080A; IL47638A; NL7508419A

Abstract

ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to the treatment of edible seeds such as wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, maize, sorgum, millet, buckwheat, soyabeans, legumes, peas and lentils and to a novel foodstuff prepared therefrom.
According to the invention seeds are processed to partly soften them to the extent that the seeds will not break into particles during the subsequent application of pressure thereto.
Softening is effected by partly hydrating and heating the seeds. Pressure is then applied to the seeds for example by passing the seeds between rollers to produce cracks or fissures in the seeds and so condition the seeds to receive additives such as flavourings, seasonings, sauces, sugars, salts, edible oils and fats, vegetable juices, meat juices, preservatives; nutritional supplements such as vitamins and minerals; enzymes, therapeutic agents, colourings, anti-oxid-ants or sequestrants which penetrate the seeds through the cracks or fissures. The additives may be applied to the seeds singly or in any combination and may be contained in solutions or suspensions, emulsions or dry powders.
In one form of the invention the seeds are then packaged and are used in all those cases where untreated seeds are used as a foodstuff.
In another form of the invention the seeds are again passed between rollers after the incorporation of the addit-ives therein to give the seeds a flattened appearance, there-after the seeds may be dried to a moisture content of the required degree.
The resulting product if desired blends both physic-ally and visually with chopped or minced meat, poultry.
fish, crustaceans or other meat protein foods to produce an economical extension thereof.
The meat extender when used in this way provides a highly acceptable product which complements and blends ideally with the meat to which it is added.
The seeds in any case are highly absorptive during cooking and readily absorb water, sauces, meat juices, vegetable juices and fats. They meet with consumer acceptance because of their pleasing flavour, texture and appearance.

Description

T~is in~ention relates to the treatment of edible seeds and to a novel foodstuff prepared therefrom.
The term edible seeds means all those seeds which are suitable for human and/or animal consumption, examples of which are wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, maize, sorgum, millet, buckwheat, soyabeans, legumes, peas and lentils.
The seeds processed according to the present invention may he whole seeds with complete or partial removal of the bran layer, testa or seed coat, or seed products such as cracked seed particles, for example grits or split peas all of which are hereafter encompassed by the term seed.
Hitherto, it has been customary to flavour or supple-ment seeds by incorporating or combining with the seed various supplements such as vitamins, minerals, flavours and colours Numerous techniques have been employed to incorporate or combine such supplements with the seed. The most conventional of which are ~ ) Steeping the seeds in solutions containing 0 the supplements for a sufficient period of time to enable a sufficient quantity of the supplement to be absorbed by the seeds.
~) Coating the seeds with solutions or suspen-sions of such supplements.
- C) Adding the supplements to the seeds during cooking.
These first two mentioned techniques are costly and time consuming and the last mentioned technique makes no departure ~rom methods which have been in existence for - ' ., ~ ':

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hundrecls of years.
It has also been known hitherto to manufacture so called meat extenders from proteins and other food components of seed origin. These extenders are usually a by-product. They have no natural meat-like texture and therefore they may require the use of relatively expensive manufacturing techniques to produce artifiaally in the extender a meat-like texture and an acceptable flavour.
The term meat extender as used in accordance with this invention means a foodstuff of seed origin which is used as a substitute for or as an addition to meat and which has a meat-like texture.
~ieat means the flesh of edible mammals, fishes, birds and crustaceans.
The present invention from one aspect provides a process of producing a foodstuff from edible seeds which overcomes the problems associated with prior art methods and provides an economical~ satisfactory and accurate method of incorporating additives into seeds.
~ feature of ~he invention is that it permits the thorough incorporation of additives into seeds in a remark-ably short space of time. The process is- adaptable to-continuous operation and allows the incorporatlon into ; the seed not only of water soluble additives but also emulsions and suspensions of insoluble materials which pene-~ trate the seed through cracks or fissures provided therein.
; A further ~eature of the invention is tha~ it permits . ` : .
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the amount of additives included in the seeds to be controlled within very fine limits and obviates the disadvantages of ex-ternal coating methods which leave the coating visible and easily rubbed or washed off.
Seeds treated in accordance with the invention can be used in all those cases where untreated seeds are used as a food-stuff. They can be used for example as a vegetable, in desserts, in meat dishes and the like. They can also be used as meat ex-tenders and a still further feature of the invention is that the treated seeds either before or after cooking may resemble to a marked degree untreated seeds and are difficult to distinguish therefrom.
In the case where the seecls treated in accordance -with the invention are to be used as a meat extender it is pre-ferred to use those seeds which have a high glu~en or other cohesive protein content. Examples of seeds possessing these characteristics are wheat, rye, barley and triticale. In certain applications for example where seeds treated in accordance with the invention are used as a meat extender i~ may be desirable to flatten the seed to the extent where it still remains a unitary structure but does not retain its natural shape and is flattened or compressed.
The invention therefore in its broadest aspect re-sides in a process for introducing at least one additive into edible seeds, comprising the steps of:
hea~ing said seeds to partially soften said seeds so that said seeds will not shatter under pressure sufficient to .

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produce fissures in said seeds, the moisture content of the seeds during heating thereof and the temperature and period of appli-cation of the heat being selected to cause softening of said seeds without substantial gelatinization thereof;
applying pressure to said partially softened seeds to produce fissures therein, said pressure being insufficient to shatter said seeds; and thereafter applying said additive to said seeds through said fissures, whereby said additive is distributed throughout said seed.
The invention also provides a foodstuff comprising edible seeds having fissures therein and an additive distributed throughout said seeds through said fissures, said seeds being partially softened but substantially ungelatinized.
The seeds are processed to partly soften them to the extent where most of the seeds will not break into particles during subsequent application of pressure thereto. This is achieved by partly hydrating and heating the seeds either simul-taneously or sequentially.
Conventional methods of hydration and heating are em-ployed as is well understood in the food processing industry.
The seeds may be hydrated by soaking or spraying with water and heating may be conveniently effected by steaming either under pressure or at atmospheric pressure. If desired the hydration and heating may be effected simultaneously by steaming. It is preferred however to separate the hydration and heating steps as referred to above.

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The period of hydration and hea~ing varies widely de- :
pending on the type of equipment used and the seed being treated.
For example some wheats require 5 minutes soaking followed by 30 minutes steaming at atmospheric pressure, rye or ryecorn may require dipping in water for 15 seconds followed by steaming for two minutes at 15 p.s.i. and triticale may be sprayed with water until the water uptake of the seed is 15%
followed by heating in steam for 5 minutes at 15 p.s.i.

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The degree of softening will in each case be determined by simple experiment. The gover~ing factor is that the seed need only be softened to the extent that it will not shatter under pressure e.g. ~y rolling ~ut will have cracks or fissures formed therein to permit the penetration of additi-ves into the seeds by subsequent treatment in accordance with the invention.
Pressure is then applied to the seeds to produce the mentioned cracks or fissures. Such pressure can be applied in various ways. It may for example be applied internally by - heating the seeds either at atmospheric pressure or heating the seeds under pressure with or without a subsequent sudden release of such pressure to cause a degree of expansion in the seeds sufficient to produce the cracks or fissures. It lS is preferred to apply the pressure to the seeds externally by impact or ~y passing the seeds between rollers.
In the preferred form of the invention the cracks or fiss-ures are produced with rollers. The degree of compression may vary within wide limits. In tho~;e cases where it is desired to process seeds which are to be consu~ed as whole seeds the degree of compression is only just sufficient such that the seeds return in a marked degree to their original shape. In certain cases e.g. where the seeds are to be usèd as a meat extender it may be desirable to compress the seeds to the extent

2~ that they do not return to their natural shape. This is ~` achieved by increasing the pressure on the seeds over and above that used for seeds which are to return substantially to their natural shape. -The ~ompression of the seeds is conveniently effected by passing the seeds between rollers.
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The gap between the rollers will vary widely depending on the nature of the seeds being rolled and the character-istics which the ~inal product is to possess. ~Jhere the seeds are to return substantially to their natural shape they are passed between rollers with the gap between the rollers of 0.8 mm for wheat, 0.6 mm for ryecorn and 1.0 mm for lentils. When the seeds are to exhibit a flattened appearance the gap between rollers is reduced by approx-imately half. The degree o~ compression will need to be determined for each seed type rolled. As with the hydration and heating step the governing factor is that the seeds are not pulverised or shattered.
The compression of the seeds produces numerous cracks or fissures which renders them highly absorbent ; 15 and this conditions the seeds to receive additives such as flavourings, seasonings, sauces, sugars, salts, edible oils and ats~ vegetable juices~ meat juices~ preservat-ives, nutritional supplements such as vitamins and minerals, enzymes, therapeutic a~ents, colourings, anti-oxidants or sequestrants or any other desired ingredient.
The additives may be added singly or in any combin-ation as desired and may be contained in solutions, suspen-sions or emulsions~ They may also be ac~ded by mixing dry ~-powdered additives with the seeds. ;
2S In the case where the additives are contained in solutions, suspensions or emulsions the seeds are simply soaked in or mixed with or sprayed with the solution, ',' ' ' `

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suspension or emulsion and after a remarkably short period of time it will be found that the solution, suspension or emulsion has been absorbed to the required degree.
In the case where the additives are in powder form it is preferable to dampen the seeds and then mix the powder with them.
The absorption period varies widely in accordance with the nature of the see~ treated, the degree of treatment and the nature of the equipment used. From a commercial standpoint the absorption period can be almost instantan-eous and should not take longer than five minutes.
It may be necessary in certain cases to allow a tempering period after mixing to permit the additives to be uniformly absorbed throughout the seed. The tempering period can vary within wide limits depending on the nature of the seed, the way in which and the conditions under which the additives are incorporated into the seed. The tempering period required will be determined in each case by simple experiment as is well understood in the art.
20 - In those cases where a lon~ shelf life is requ~red it is desirable to subsequently subject the seeds to drying but this step is optional and not essential to the performance of the invention. ~onventional drying methods may be employed such as heated conveyors or hot ~-air jets.
After treatment the treated seeds are packaged and ¦
are ready for ~ale or use~
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In the case where it is desired to give the seeds a flattened appearance as for example when the seeds are to be used as a meat extender it may be necessary to again pass the seeds through the rollers. Thereafter the seeds may be dried to a moisture content of the required degree and packaged.
The resulting product if desired blends both physic-ally and visually with chopped or minced meat, poultry, fish, crustaceans or other meat protein foods to produce an economical extension thereof.
The meat extender when used in this way provides a highly acceptable product which complements and blends ideally with the meat to which it is added.
The seeds in any case are hlghly absorptive during cooking and readily absorb water~ sauces, meat juices, vegetable juices and fats. They meet with consumer acceptance because of their pleasing flavour~ texture and appearance.
The invention will now be urther illustrated with reference to the following exampLes.
xample L
Wheat: Wheat~ having a normal moisture content of about 12% has part of the bran layer removed by passing the seeds through a pearling or polishing machine of a type which may act either by abrasion o~ the seeds against one another or by the action of an abrasive wheel or rollerO The moisture content of the wheat is increased to 30-40% by :; _ .9 _ .
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soaking for five minutes in water, followed by heating in steam for 30 minutes at atmospheric pressure. While still warm the seeds are slightly compressed or flattened by passing them through a roller mill with a gap between the rollers of 0.8 mm, the moisture content, degree of gelation of the starch in the seeds and the setting of the rollers having been adjusted so that the seeds are not shattered.
The seeds are then mixed in a rotary mixer with 15% of their weight of water containing an edible vitamin supple~
ment (thiamin 40 p.p.m.~ riboflavin 30 p.p.m. and niacin 100 p.p.m.). The solution is absorbed by the seeds within one minuteO The seeds are then left to temper for a period of one hour, and then dried to a moisture content of 10% which makes them self-preserving. The dried seeds have returned substantially to their original shape.
Example 2 Maize ~rits: The grits are prepared in the normal manner from maize by removing the outer seed coat and germ~ and breaking the seed~ into particles of a size~ which will not pass through a 5 mesh sieve. The moisture content of the grits is then increased to 25-35% by soaking for 5 minutes in water followed by steaming for 30 minutes at atmospheric pressure. While still warm, the grits are pass-ed through a roller mill with the gap adjusted so that the ~ -grits are slightly flattened, but not shattered. They are then mixed with 15% by weight of a solution containing 5% by .
weight of cane sugar 3% by weight of sodium chloride and a trace of artificial sweetcorn flavour, the balance being water~
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The solution is completely absorbed in 3 minutes. The grits are allowed to stand for 3 hours, by which time they substantially return to their original shape. The grits are then dried to a moisture content of 10%.
Example 3 Rye_or Ryecorn: Cleaned seeds of rye are passed through a pearling machine with settings adjusted to remove about 5% of the bran layer. The seeds are dipped in water for 15 seconds, allowed to drain and then steamed for 2 minutes at 15 p.s.i. On removal from the steamer9the moisture content has risen to approx. 40%. The seeds are then passed through a roller mill set at 0.6 mm gap and are then spray-ed with 15% of solution containing 3% of salt and a small percentage of caraway flavour in a continuous rotary mixer.
The solution is immediately absorbed. The seeds are allowed to condition for an hour and are then dried to a moisture content of 10%~ The seeds substantially return to their original shape.
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Lentils: Lentils are soaked in water ~or three minutes and .
are then steamed at atmospheric pressure for 20 minutes.
The steamed lentils àre passed through a roller mill set at a gap of 1 mm~ so that the cotyledons are cracked but not shattered. The warm seeds are then mixed in a tumble 25 mixer with 10% by weight of a flavouring solution contain-ing curry flavours, 5% salt and 0.5% monosodium glutamate.
The solution is completely absorbed in 5 minutes.
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The seeds are allowed to condition for three hours, and are then dried back to a moisture content of 10%.
The seeds substantially return to their original shape.
Example 5 Sorqhum: Seeds of sorghum (milo) are passed through an abrasive peeler adjusted to remove the major part of the seed coat. The decorticated seeds are then sprayed with water while being conveyed to a holding hopper~ where they are allowed to stand ~or 30 minutes. The seeds are next steamed at atmospheric pressure for thirty minutes and passed through a roller mill, adjusted so that the seeds are cracked, but not shattered or broken. Thereafter the seeds are mixed with 10% of a solution containing B-carotene 100 p.p.m., thiamine 40 p.p.m., riboflavin 30 p.p.m~ and '15 lysine 0.2%. The solution is completely absor~ed within 5 minutes. A tempering period of 1 hour is allowed~ after which the seeds are dried in a d~shydrator to 10% moisture.
The sorghum seeds so produced ha~e a uniform penetration of fortifying nutritional additives which will not rub or wash o~f the surface of the seeds and the seeds substant-ially return to their natural shape.
Example 6 Triticale: Triticale is a cross between wheat and rye and - i5 notab~e ~or its high protein content. Tritlcale seeds are scratched in a pearling machine and sprayed with water ` as they move along a conveyor to such an extent that water uptake by the seeds is 15%. The seeds are heated in steam for 5 minutes at 15 pa S i ~ of steam pressure and are next , :
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passed through a roller mill set to a gap of ~.4 mm.
The seeds are then placed in a tumble mixer and treated with 20% of their weight of a solution containing 15% by weight of hydrolysed vegetable protein, 2% by weight caramel colour and 2% by weight spices and seasonings and beef flavour. The solution is absorbed totally in 2 minutes.
The seeds are allowed to stand for 10 minutes and then dried in a dehydrator to a moisture content of 8%. The resultant flavoured seeds present a ~lattened appearance and are ideal for adding to minced or chopped meat toget-her with the appropriate amount of water, as a low-cost extender for meat.
Example 7 Flavoured Rice: Long grain rice is steeped in water for five minutes~ drained and allowed to stand for an hour.
It is ~hen steamed for`five minutes at 5 p.s.i. steam pressure and passed through a roller mill with a gap between the rollers of 0.6 mm. The rice is next mixed with 10% of it-weight of a sauce containing tomato juice, paprika oleoresin~ pepper oleoresin~ and other seasonings in a tumble mi~er for two minutes by which time the sauce has been completely absorbed. The rice is allowed to stand for an hour and then dried back to a moisture content of ~%. ~he rice substantially returns to its original shape~
Example 8 Flavoured Wheat: Wheat which has been abrasively peeled as in Example 1~ is similarly soaked in water, steamed ~ and rolled.

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The rolled wheat is mixed with 10% of its weight of a solution containing chicken flavour, 5% by weight of salt, seasonings, 0.1% by weight of B-carotene in water dispersible form and potassium sorbate in quantity sufficient to give 0.1% by weight of sorbic acid in the finished product.
Mixing is carried out in a rotary mixer ior 5 minutes by which time the solution is completely absorbed and the wheat returns substantially to its natural shape.
The wheat is packaged and distributed under refriger-ation as a sQmi-perishable product with a moisture content of approx. 45%.
Example 9 Wheat Meat Extender: High protein (14% protein) wheat is scratched in a pearling machine and steeped in water for ive minutes. It is allowed to drain and then steamed for 3 minutes at lS p.s.i. ~hile still hot,`the wheat is passed through a ~oller mill with a gap of 008 mm.
After rolling~ the wheat is mixed in a tu~ble mixer with 20% of its weight of a solution containing natural and arti~icial meat flavours~ 5% by weight o~ salt~ spices and seasonings. The solution is completely absorbed within 2 minutes. The wheat so treated is allowed to stand for 4 hoursj and again rolled, this time through a gap o~ 0.3 mm.
The ~lattened wheat seeds are then dried at 100C in a through-bèd dryer to a moisture content of 8~o and are packaged ~or use.

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Example 10 Seasoned Fortified Wheat: Wheat which has been abrasively pealed as in ~xample 1 is similarly soaked in water, steamed and rolled. The rolled wheat is mixed with 2% of its weight of powdered salt (sodium chloride) containing 20Q p.p.m.
of thiamin~ The wheat together with the dry additive is mixed in a tumble mlxer for 5 minutes. The wheat is then allowed to condition for 2 hours during which t;me the powdered soluble additives are found to have dissolved in water already present in the wheat seeds and to have subs-tantially penetrated through the cracks or fissures in the seeds. The seeds are then dried to a moisture content of 10%.

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Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A process for introducing at least one additive into edible seeds, comprising the steps of:
heating said seeds to partially soften said seeds so that said seeds will not shatter under pressure sufficient to pro-duce fissures in said seeds, the moisture content of the seeds during heating thereof and the temperature and period of appli-cation of the heat being selected to cause softening of said seeds without substantial gelatinization thereof;
applying pressure to said partially softened seeds to produce fissures therein, said pressure being insufficient to shatter said seeds; and thereafter applying said additive to said seeds through said fis-sures, whereby said additive is distributed throughout said seed.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the seeds are partially softened by partly hydrating the seeds and heating the seeds either simultaneously or sequentially.

3. A process as claimed in claim 2 wherein the hydration of the seeds is effected by soaking the seeds in water.

4. A process as claimed in claim 2 wherein hydration of the seeds is effected by spraying the seeds with water.

5. A process as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4 wherein the seeds are heated by steaming.

6. A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pressure is applied to said seeds by compressing the seeds between rollers.

7. A process as claimed in claim 6 wherein the compres-sion applied to said seeds is such that the seeds return to a marked extent to their original shape after the incorporation of said additive therein.

8. A process as claimed in claim 6 wherein the compres-sion applied to said seeds is such that the seeds do not return to their natural shape after the incorporation of said additive therein.

9. A process as claimed in claim 8 wherein said compres-sion is applied to said seeds before and after the incorporation of said additive in said seeds.

10. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said additive comprises any one or more of the following, flavourings, seasonings, sauces, sugars, salts, edible oils and fats, vegetable juices, meat juices, preservatives, nutritional supplements, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, therapeutic agents, colourings, anti-oxidants and sequestrants.

11. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said additive is applied to said seeds by soaking said seeds in a solution, suspension or emulsion containing said additive.

12. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said additive is applied to said seeds by spraying said seeds with a solution, suspension or emulsion containing said additive.

13. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said additive is applied to said seeds by dusting dry additive onto previously dampened seeds.

14. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein a tempering period is allowed after the incorporation of said additive in said seeds to permit the uniform penetration of said additive throughout said seeds.

15. A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said seeds are subsequently dried to reduce the moisture content thereof.

16. A process for introducing at least one additive into edible seeds, comprising the steps of:
conveying said seeds continuously through a steamer to partially soften said seeds so that said seeds will not shatter under pressure sufficient to produce fissures in said seeds, the moisture content of the seeds during heating thereof and the temperature and period of application of the heat being selected to cause softening of said seeds without substantial gelatiniz-ation thereof;
continuously conveying said softened seeds through a compressing means to produce fissures in the seeds, the pressure applied by said compressing means being insufficient to shatter said seeds; and thereafter applying said additive to said seeds through said fissures whereby said additive is distributed throughout said seed.

17. A process according to claim 16 wherein said additive is applied to the seeds by conveying said compressed seeds con-tinuously through a mixing means containing said additive.

18. A foodstuff comprising edible seeds having fissures therein and an additive distributed throughout said seeds through said fissures, said seeds being partially softened but substan-tially ungelatinized.

19. Meat extenders consisting of edible seeds as defined in claim 18.