CA1331305C - Batter mix for conventional and microwave ovens - Google Patents
Batter mix for conventional and microwave ovensInfo
- Publication number
- CA1331305C CA1331305C CA000614118A CA614118A CA1331305C CA 1331305 C CA1331305 C CA 1331305C CA 000614118 A CA000614118 A CA 000614118A CA 614118 A CA614118 A CA 614118A CA 1331305 C CA1331305 C CA 1331305C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- mixture
- mixture according
- batter
- flour
- egg
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
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- Bakery Products And Manufacturing Methods Therefor (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A cake mix for conventional and microwave cooking that pro-duces a moist product which can stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes without drying out. The cake mix is particularly useful for making brownies to be included in a frozen dinner.
A cake mix for conventional and microwave cooking that pro-duces a moist product which can stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes without drying out. The cake mix is particularly useful for making brownies to be included in a frozen dinner.
Description
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BATTER MIX FOR CONVENTIONAL AND MICROWAVE OVENS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to batters that can be cooked in either conventional or microwave ovens to yield a cooked product having a moist, pleasing texture. The invention is particularly useful for pro-ducing brownies that are cooked in one compartment of a multifood frozen dinner.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED TECHNOLOGY
The increasing presence of both conventional and microwave ovens in the home and in the work environment has posed a challenge for prepared food manufacturers. This challenge is particularly vex-ing in the area of frozen prepared foods. Each food within the pack-age is heated simultaneously but all foods must result in complete cooking af ter the same amount of cooking time. Foods that are either overdone or underdone are unacceptable. In addition to the cooking time concern, the frozen dinner must be capable of being cooked equally well in either a conventional oven or in a microwave oven.
The cooking mechanism of a conventional oven is quite differ-ent from that of a microwave. Because of this difference, a micro-wave does not necessarily produce an acceptable product from a food formulated for a conventional oven, but an oven will generally pro-duce an acceptable bread or cake from a microwave formulation with adaptations to the cooking time and/or temperature. A microwave can produce cakes and breads from conventional ingredients that have an unacceptable texture properties and produce substantial moisture losses upon standing. A conven~ional oven does not produce the mois-ture problems of a microwave oven, but, rather, can produce prob-lematic heat transfer gradients across the various foods within a ,, 3~ ' " .
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BATTER MIX FOR CONVENTIONAL AND MICROWAVE OVENS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to batters that can be cooked in either conventional or microwave ovens to yield a cooked product having a moist, pleasing texture. The invention is particularly useful for pro-ducing brownies that are cooked in one compartment of a multifood frozen dinner.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED TECHNOLOGY
The increasing presence of both conventional and microwave ovens in the home and in the work environment has posed a challenge for prepared food manufacturers. This challenge is particularly vex-ing in the area of frozen prepared foods. Each food within the pack-age is heated simultaneously but all foods must result in complete cooking af ter the same amount of cooking time. Foods that are either overdone or underdone are unacceptable. In addition to the cooking time concern, the frozen dinner must be capable of being cooked equally well in either a conventional oven or in a microwave oven.
The cooking mechanism of a conventional oven is quite differ-ent from that of a microwave. Because of this difference, a micro-wave does not necessarily produce an acceptable product from a food formulated for a conventional oven, but an oven will generally pro-duce an acceptable bread or cake from a microwave formulation with adaptations to the cooking time and/or temperature. A microwave can produce cakes and breads from conventional ingredients that have an unacceptable texture properties and produce substantial moisture losses upon standing. A conven~ional oven does not produce the mois-ture problems of a microwave oven, but, rather, can produce prob-lematic heat transfer gradients across the various foods within a ,, 3~ ' " .
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-2- ~3~305 frozen dinner. One food can become overcooked while an adjacent food can still have a frozen center.
The cooking style differences are quite apparent with cakes, muffins, and breads that may be used in frozen dinners. These foods require a light texture that is neither too dry nor too moist, an appearance that is pleasing to the eye, and a well balanced taste. In current frozen food formulations, the ingredientS are provided to the uncooked package in the form of a frozen batter that thaws and cooks simultaneously with the other foods.
If either a conventional oven or a microwave oven is specified, cake batters can be prepared ~o provide the needed proper~ies under the influence of the speci~ied cooking mechanism. See, for example, U.S. Patent No. 4,396,635 which describes a dry cake mix formulated for microwave or conventional cooking and distinguishes them from cake mixes for conventional cooking. Water and an egg are added to the dis~losed dry mix to produce the cookable mixture.
It would be desirable to have a complete batter for cakes, muf-fins, or breads that could be cooked by either conventional heating or microwave radiant energy without the addition of further ingredients by the ultimate consumer.
It would be additionally desirable to provide a batter that can be cooked without the addition of ingredients supplied by the cook and which could be used in a frozen dinner as one of a plurality of foods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENl~ON
- It is an object of the invention to provide a batter, ln aIia, for cakes, muffins, and breads that can be cooked by either conven-tional or microwave cooking either individually or in combination with other foods.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a moist, fudgy food product commonly known as a llbrowniell that can be cooked in a microwave oven on high power for 5 minutes and stand at room tem-perature for at least 10 minutes to produce a soft, moist food.
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The cooking style differences are quite apparent with cakes, muffins, and breads that may be used in frozen dinners. These foods require a light texture that is neither too dry nor too moist, an appearance that is pleasing to the eye, and a well balanced taste. In current frozen food formulations, the ingredientS are provided to the uncooked package in the form of a frozen batter that thaws and cooks simultaneously with the other foods.
If either a conventional oven or a microwave oven is specified, cake batters can be prepared ~o provide the needed proper~ies under the influence of the speci~ied cooking mechanism. See, for example, U.S. Patent No. 4,396,635 which describes a dry cake mix formulated for microwave or conventional cooking and distinguishes them from cake mixes for conventional cooking. Water and an egg are added to the dis~losed dry mix to produce the cookable mixture.
It would be desirable to have a complete batter for cakes, muf-fins, or breads that could be cooked by either conventional heating or microwave radiant energy without the addition of further ingredients by the ultimate consumer.
It would be additionally desirable to provide a batter that can be cooked without the addition of ingredients supplied by the cook and which could be used in a frozen dinner as one of a plurality of foods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENl~ON
- It is an object of the invention to provide a batter, ln aIia, for cakes, muffins, and breads that can be cooked by either conven-tional or microwave cooking either individually or in combination with other foods.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a moist, fudgy food product commonly known as a llbrowniell that can be cooked in a microwave oven on high power for 5 minutes and stand at room tem-perature for at least 10 minutes to produce a soft, moist food.
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In accordance with the objects above and other objects that will become apparent from the description below, the batter mixture of the invention comprises:
sour cream;
flour having at least 11 wt% protein;
a hydrophilic colloid; and an egg base for providing fat and retaining moisture.
Cakes, muffins, and breads made from the batter according to the invention exhibit a moist, pleasing texture that can stand for a reasonable length of time at room temperature without becoming dry.
Fudgy products such as brownies may be made from the inventive batter and advantageously cooked alone or in frozen dinners without suffering from the texture and drying problems encountered in previ-ous attempts to use brownies in frozen dinners.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a batter that can be modified to yield cakes, muffins, and breads. The term "cake~' will be used in the speci-fication and in the claims to denote batters useful for or modifiable to produce muffins and breads. It is within the skill of the art to modify the batter described herein to produce the corresponding moist muf-fins and breads.
The cake batter according to the inveneion uses a number of ingredients to produce an acceptable product. The inventive batter includes: (1) sour cream to assist in balancing the texture with respect to fat and moisture; (2) flour having at least ll wt% of pro-tein to impart acceptable sof tness and structure integrity; (3) a hydrophilic colloid to bind and retain moisture upon standing; and (4) an egg base to provide fat and retain moisture.
Sour cream can be present in the batter in a wide range of con-centrations depending on taste, texture and the presence or absence of other components which contribute fat-based materials to the bat-ter. The sour cream can be present in an amount of about 0.~5 to about 2.5 wt% based on the total batter weight. For a brownie com-position, the sour cream content is about 1.4 to about 1.8 wt%.
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The protein content of the flour affects the texture of the cooked product. Cake flour of 7.5-9.5 wt% protein and wheat flour of ~.5-10 wt% protein result in a product that dries out and becomes tough after a relatively short period of time at room temperature.
Flour having at least 11 wt% protein, e.g., bread flour at 11.8 + 0.4 wt~o, produces a product that stays softer for longer periods of time than other flours.
Suitable hydrophilic colloids include the natural gums and the synthetic gums. A list of exemplary natural gums includes gum traga-canth, locust bean gum, algin, gelatin, Irish Moss, pectin, and gum arabic. Suitable synthetic gums includes the water soluble salts of carboxymethyl cellulose. The most preferred gum is locust bean gum.
The gum is desirably within the batter in an amount of about 0.1 to about 0.5 wt%. The preferred amount is about 0.~ to about 0.4 for a brownie batter using locust bean gum.
The egg base component fulfills a number of functions. It pro-vides fat for a smooth, creamy taste; binds moisture that would other-wise be driven out by microwave heating; and produces a pleasing texture in the final product. The egg base will have a consistency like pudding and can be modified by skill within the art to produce a dif-ferent texture for muffins and breads. For a brownie, the egg base (by weight with respect to the total egg base) has about 5-8% whole eggs, about 4-?% margarine or butter, about 5.5-8.5% nonf at milk solids, about 3.?-4.3% modified food starch, and the remainder being water.
-- When the inventive batter is used to make brownies, pieces ofchocolate can be added for enhanced flavor and texture. Chocolate contains cocoa butter which acts as a source of fat. This fat contrib-utes to moisture of the cooked brownie.
The size of the chocolate pieces should be selected to avoid the problems of of oversized or undersized pieces for the cooking time.
Pieces that are too large do not melt quickly. Consequently, the cooking time must be extended to avoid the presence of chocolate chunks in the cooked brownie. Such extended times can result in burned chocolate on the outer layer which causes the brownie to have ,' ,, , , ~ 33~ 3~5 an unpleasant burnt aroma and flavor. Small pieces melt rapidly.
Unfortunately, these melted pieces can become substantially homoge-neous with the batter and go unnoticed in the final product. It has been found that chocolate pieces of about 0.125 + .0625 inches (1/8~' +
1/16~) on each side will produce a brownie having identifiable regions of melted chocolate.
Conventional cake additives may be used in batter according to the invention. Such additives include flavors, thickeners, sugar, and nutrients.
The ingredients may be mixed in any order and manner.
As is recognized in the art, microwave ovens an use a variety of frequencies for cooking. Exemplary frequencies are 900, 2400, 3300, and 5?00 megacycles. The cooking time used will depend on the amount of batter used and the particular frequency used. A preferred frequency is 2450 + 1000 megacycles for 5-12 minutes.
Cooking of the thawed batter in conventional ovens can be at about 325F for about 20-35 minutes depending on altitude.
The following examples are provided to illustrate the inven-tion. They are intended as an aid to understanding rather than as limitations on the scope of the appended claims.
Examples The following brownie batters were prepared and cooked with microwave energy in a multicompartment frozen dinner tray with chicken, corn, and mashed potatoes until the chicken was cooked.
The egg base used in the brownie according to the invention was composed of 5.9 wt% margarine, 6.8 wt% whole egg, 6.6 wt%
nonfat milk solids, 4 wt9~ modified food star~h, and ~0.~ water.
',-~','' '','' ' ~ . : '' 13~ ?~
Component Ex.l (wt%)Ex.2(wt%)Ex.3 (wt%) (2029g) (2893.5g) (3891~) Flour l8.9l 15.12 13.4 Egg Base ~ 18.0 Locust Bean Gum -- 0.4 0.3 Whole Egg 12.8 5.2 3.5 Margarine 14.3 -- --Water 10.5 6.2 5.7 Vanilla 0.4 0.4 0.2 Salt 0.4 0.3 0.2 Sugar 35.8 20.04 32.1 Corn Syrup -- 11.2 --Encapsulated -- 0.4 0.3 Baking Soda Vegetable Oil -- 13.8 8.0 Cocoa Powder 6.8 -- --Dutched Cocoa -- 7.6 --10% Undutched Cocoa -- -- 5.7 Chocolate Pieces (1/8") -- 8.6 4.4 Chocolate Liqueur -- 2.8 --Chocolate Flavor -- 0.1 --Fudge Flavor -- -- 0.2 Sour Cream -- -- 1.7 HeavY Cream -- 7.8 6.3 Comments Too dry, crumblyToo HardMoist, Fudgy and hard ;'' Muffin flour of 7.5-10 wt% protein.
2 Bread flour 3 Bread flour
In accordance with the objects above and other objects that will become apparent from the description below, the batter mixture of the invention comprises:
sour cream;
flour having at least 11 wt% protein;
a hydrophilic colloid; and an egg base for providing fat and retaining moisture.
Cakes, muffins, and breads made from the batter according to the invention exhibit a moist, pleasing texture that can stand for a reasonable length of time at room temperature without becoming dry.
Fudgy products such as brownies may be made from the inventive batter and advantageously cooked alone or in frozen dinners without suffering from the texture and drying problems encountered in previ-ous attempts to use brownies in frozen dinners.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a batter that can be modified to yield cakes, muffins, and breads. The term "cake~' will be used in the speci-fication and in the claims to denote batters useful for or modifiable to produce muffins and breads. It is within the skill of the art to modify the batter described herein to produce the corresponding moist muf-fins and breads.
The cake batter according to the inveneion uses a number of ingredients to produce an acceptable product. The inventive batter includes: (1) sour cream to assist in balancing the texture with respect to fat and moisture; (2) flour having at least ll wt% of pro-tein to impart acceptable sof tness and structure integrity; (3) a hydrophilic colloid to bind and retain moisture upon standing; and (4) an egg base to provide fat and retain moisture.
Sour cream can be present in the batter in a wide range of con-centrations depending on taste, texture and the presence or absence of other components which contribute fat-based materials to the bat-ter. The sour cream can be present in an amount of about 0.~5 to about 2.5 wt% based on the total batter weight. For a brownie com-position, the sour cream content is about 1.4 to about 1.8 wt%.
.
,, .
. , ,' ~
, ~
,:
. ,. .
, ~33~.3~
The protein content of the flour affects the texture of the cooked product. Cake flour of 7.5-9.5 wt% protein and wheat flour of ~.5-10 wt% protein result in a product that dries out and becomes tough after a relatively short period of time at room temperature.
Flour having at least 11 wt% protein, e.g., bread flour at 11.8 + 0.4 wt~o, produces a product that stays softer for longer periods of time than other flours.
Suitable hydrophilic colloids include the natural gums and the synthetic gums. A list of exemplary natural gums includes gum traga-canth, locust bean gum, algin, gelatin, Irish Moss, pectin, and gum arabic. Suitable synthetic gums includes the water soluble salts of carboxymethyl cellulose. The most preferred gum is locust bean gum.
The gum is desirably within the batter in an amount of about 0.1 to about 0.5 wt%. The preferred amount is about 0.~ to about 0.4 for a brownie batter using locust bean gum.
The egg base component fulfills a number of functions. It pro-vides fat for a smooth, creamy taste; binds moisture that would other-wise be driven out by microwave heating; and produces a pleasing texture in the final product. The egg base will have a consistency like pudding and can be modified by skill within the art to produce a dif-ferent texture for muffins and breads. For a brownie, the egg base (by weight with respect to the total egg base) has about 5-8% whole eggs, about 4-?% margarine or butter, about 5.5-8.5% nonf at milk solids, about 3.?-4.3% modified food starch, and the remainder being water.
-- When the inventive batter is used to make brownies, pieces ofchocolate can be added for enhanced flavor and texture. Chocolate contains cocoa butter which acts as a source of fat. This fat contrib-utes to moisture of the cooked brownie.
The size of the chocolate pieces should be selected to avoid the problems of of oversized or undersized pieces for the cooking time.
Pieces that are too large do not melt quickly. Consequently, the cooking time must be extended to avoid the presence of chocolate chunks in the cooked brownie. Such extended times can result in burned chocolate on the outer layer which causes the brownie to have ,' ,, , , ~ 33~ 3~5 an unpleasant burnt aroma and flavor. Small pieces melt rapidly.
Unfortunately, these melted pieces can become substantially homoge-neous with the batter and go unnoticed in the final product. It has been found that chocolate pieces of about 0.125 + .0625 inches (1/8~' +
1/16~) on each side will produce a brownie having identifiable regions of melted chocolate.
Conventional cake additives may be used in batter according to the invention. Such additives include flavors, thickeners, sugar, and nutrients.
The ingredients may be mixed in any order and manner.
As is recognized in the art, microwave ovens an use a variety of frequencies for cooking. Exemplary frequencies are 900, 2400, 3300, and 5?00 megacycles. The cooking time used will depend on the amount of batter used and the particular frequency used. A preferred frequency is 2450 + 1000 megacycles for 5-12 minutes.
Cooking of the thawed batter in conventional ovens can be at about 325F for about 20-35 minutes depending on altitude.
The following examples are provided to illustrate the inven-tion. They are intended as an aid to understanding rather than as limitations on the scope of the appended claims.
Examples The following brownie batters were prepared and cooked with microwave energy in a multicompartment frozen dinner tray with chicken, corn, and mashed potatoes until the chicken was cooked.
The egg base used in the brownie according to the invention was composed of 5.9 wt% margarine, 6.8 wt% whole egg, 6.6 wt%
nonfat milk solids, 4 wt9~ modified food star~h, and ~0.~ water.
',-~','' '','' ' ~ . : '' 13~ ?~
Component Ex.l (wt%)Ex.2(wt%)Ex.3 (wt%) (2029g) (2893.5g) (3891~) Flour l8.9l 15.12 13.4 Egg Base ~ 18.0 Locust Bean Gum -- 0.4 0.3 Whole Egg 12.8 5.2 3.5 Margarine 14.3 -- --Water 10.5 6.2 5.7 Vanilla 0.4 0.4 0.2 Salt 0.4 0.3 0.2 Sugar 35.8 20.04 32.1 Corn Syrup -- 11.2 --Encapsulated -- 0.4 0.3 Baking Soda Vegetable Oil -- 13.8 8.0 Cocoa Powder 6.8 -- --Dutched Cocoa -- 7.6 --10% Undutched Cocoa -- -- 5.7 Chocolate Pieces (1/8") -- 8.6 4.4 Chocolate Liqueur -- 2.8 --Chocolate Flavor -- 0.1 --Fudge Flavor -- -- 0.2 Sour Cream -- -- 1.7 HeavY Cream -- 7.8 6.3 Comments Too dry, crumblyToo HardMoist, Fudgy and hard ;'' Muffin flour of 7.5-10 wt% protein.
2 Bread flour 3 Bread flour
4 Brown sugar , ,i , ~
:, , . ,,~, '~f, -", -
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Claims (8)
1. A batter mixture for cooking in conventional or micro-wave ovens into a cake product, said mixture comprising sour cream;
flour having at least about 11 wt% protein;
a hydrophilic colloid; and an egg base for providing fat and retaining moisture.
flour having at least about 11 wt% protein;
a hydrophilic colloid; and an egg base for providing fat and retaining moisture.
2. A mixture according to claim 1 wherein said mixture comprises additional ingredients for making brownies.
3. A mixture according to claim 2 wherein the brownie mixture is frozen and does not require additional ingredients before said cooking.
4. A mixture according to claim 3 wherein said brownie mixture comprises chocolate pieces of a size within a range from about 0.0625 inches to about 0.1875 inches.
5. A mixture according to claim 1 wherein said flour com-prises bread flour.
6. A mixture according to claim 1 wherein said hydrophilic colloid comprises locust bean gum.
7. A mixture according to claim 1 wherein said egg base comprises whole egg, margarine, modified food starch. and water.
8. A mixture according to claim 7 wherein said egg base comprises about 5-89% whole eggs, about 4-7% margarine or butter, about 5.5-8.5% nonfat milk solids, about 3.7-4.3% modified food starch, and the remainder being water based on the weight of said egg base.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US298,592 | 1981-09-02 | ||
| US29859289A | 1989-01-18 | 1989-01-18 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1331305C true CA1331305C (en) | 1994-08-09 |
Family
ID=23151185
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000614118A Expired - Fee Related CA1331305C (en) | 1989-01-18 | 1989-09-28 | Batter mix for conventional and microwave ovens |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1331305C (en) |
-
1989
- 1989-09-28 CA CA000614118A patent/CA1331305C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
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