CA2227411C - Substantially oil free fried flavor food product - Google Patents

Abstract

A substantially oil free fried flavor food product having a fried flavor obtained by cooking a starch and/or a protein from grain flours, vegetable flours, food protein source materials and the like with fats and oils under controlled conditions for producing roux, extracting the oil from the roux resulting in a food product having a definitive fried or peak flavor as can be correlated by the color of the food product. The substantially oil free food product having enhanced fried flavor being most suitable as an interface coating through enhanced adhesion properties for raw vegetables and consumable meats. The dry powder food product having fried flavor can be utilized in a variety of foods, either as an ingredient or coating, producing a consumable food having fried flavor without the food being fried in oil.

Description

W 097/42840 PCT/U~,C~06f'7 ~UBSTANTI~LLY OIL l~REE FRIED E'LAVOR FOOD PRODUCT
Field of the Invention The invention generally relates to a subst~nti~lly oil free powder food product having a fried flavor obtained by cooking a starch and/or a protein from grain flours, vegetable 5 flours, animal protein source m~t~ri~l~ and the like with fats and oils under controlled con-1itinns for producing roux, extracting the oil from the roux resl lfing in a food product having a definitive fried flavor as can be correlated by the color of the food product.
In another aspect, the invention relates to food co~ting~ and dusting food product having definitive flavor as can be correlated by color of the subst~nti~lly oil free powder food 10 product.
In still another aspect, the invention relates to a subst~nti~lly oil free fried flavor product or ingredient in batter coatings, breadings or crumb products suitable for conventional ovens, hot air convection ovens or microwave cooking, achieving fried flavor without oil frying.
In yet another aspect, the invention relates to use of the subst~ntially oil free fried flavor food product as an ingredient in formed or extruded chips, coating for such chips wherein the chip achieve fried flavor without oil frying.
Background of the Invention Consumer market demand for fresh and frozen coated foods have been rapidly expanding in recent years as well as a clt~ nd for food products which have reduced oil content. The ability to formulate and apply batter-based coatings and breadings to a wide variety of products continues to be a ch~llenge wherein a subst~nti~lly oil free adhesive interf~ce batter food product is n~Rded The market for coated foods is actually the market for various frozen battered and breaded meats and vegetable products intended for both retail and food service distribution. Demands on coated foods, i.e. batter and bre~1ingc of various food categories, are related to the lifestyle of the concumer and is driven by the lifestyle of the consumer which has become increasingly more critical of food product content, taste and appearance. One of the most i~ O~ t food chemi~t's con~ r~ti~ ns in coated foods is taste and there is no better way to enhance flavors and differentiate foods than with coatings.
Generally there are various dtofinitions for batter-coated foods including ~ int(~rf~(~e/adhesion batter. This coating is typically used with a suppl~ment~l breading or bread crumb. The added breading is chosen for granulation, color, flavor, crispness and the W O 97/42840 PCTrUS96/06657 like which is desired in the fini~h~d coated food. The int~.rf~re coating serves primarily as an adhesive layer between the food surface and the breading.
After application of a coating, food may be either partially or completely cooked by frying or oven heating before being frozen. In some cases, however, cooking at this stage may be eYc1-1ded entirely. The re-cnn~tit~1ti~ n of coated food products can be achieved through frying, oven heating and micL~w~,ve heating. Presently the optimum means for reconstituting coated foods is through deep fat frying from temperatures ranging from for example 176.7~ to 204.4~C. Rapid heat transfer quickly sets the coating structure allowing little time for access of moisture. The generally undesired mni.~tl1re is partially removed 10 through ~rch~nge with oil during heating. This procedure is the method of choice for inf~rf~rc/adhesion co~ting~
Oven heating is primarily used in the home and yields a moderately acceptable product in terms of crispness, flavor and color. However, a change of temperature of the ovens causes some evaporation drying of the coating resl11ting in the perception of cri~rn~s~. Of 15 course this system can be i~ v~d by forced air convection type ovens. ~o~ting~ for oven use may require the addition of oil and/or blowl~ing agents to dry the coating mix and to more closely clurl1ic~te a fried appearance and flavor.
Microwave heating of ~lt;senLly available coating systems for recon~titution has not been found to be totally ~ti~rtc)ry~ The main hurdle to success has been the basic heating 20 and micrc,w~ving tr~n~mi~ )n which cannot be readily adapted to current coated foods.
Reconctih~tinn of heating from within pushes moisture and oil outward; however, the evaporative drying, typical of processing of convention ovens, does not occur. The result is a soggy coating with minim~1 crispness. Miclowav~ recc~n~tit~ltion will require a unique technology for product development of coated foods.
Critical coating characteristics such as appearance, color, crispness, adhesion and flavor presently depend on batter and breading content additives and method for recnn~titution. With the exception of flavor and mouth feel, appearance is most important to the consumer market and is affected by the amount and uniformity of the coating ~rlherin~ to the food substrate. For example, thicker coatings made from a ~ Lul~ of waxy rice flour 30 and corn flour are very smooth and lack texture. This is due in part to the formation heavy g~l~tini7ed starch film. A thinner, less viscous coating from the same ingredients will allow air bubbles to appear on the surface and result in a more appealing texture.

W O 97/42840 PCTrU59~ 57 Cooked color is closely tied with coating a~ re. Color results from the adsorption of frying oil, the density based on coating thicknece and the c.hemir~l browning reaction of re~lucinp sugars and protein sources. Color can be controlled by cooking method and m~Aillm, condition of the frying oil, ingredient composition and s~lecti~n of supplçment~l 5 bre~(1ing~. In general, frying yields a greater degree of bluwlling than convention oven baking and mic.c~w;dve ovens generally fail in producing adequate blow~ g. ~ting time and temperature are dil~lly related to color development. Fried coated foods can also be affected by the type and age of the frying oil.
A lack of crispness, a difficult sensory i~ s~ion to qualify may be defined either as 10 a chewy tol-ghn~ or a mushy softness, i.e. crunch vs. munch. A coating should ideally exhibit a structure that s--ffieiently resists the initial bite but then disappears with a quick melt away in the mouth. C~rispness after cooking is a difficult attribute to m~int~in in a batter/breading system during eYt~n-l~ frozen storage times. During frozen storage and transportation is also illlpol~lt for both the breading and the batter coatings to m~int~in 15 uniform ~lhe~iQn to the food substrate during the stresses involved. During recon~titution in the oven or fryer, the coating should not develop voids or pockets along the interf~ce. Such coating separations known as ~hP11ing should be avoided. Typical deep fat frying can cause poor adhesion due to ehrink~ge of the substrate away from the cooked, coagulated coating.
Precooking of the food substrate by st~-~ming, cimm~ring or boiling has been shown to 20 improve its adhesion ~r~ lLies for coating apI~lic~til n A number of ingredients have been found to increase adhesion in~ iing polyphosphates, modified bre~-lingc, yeast proteins, vegetable oils, oxidized starches and vegetable gums.
Even if a coated food has exceptionally good color, texture and crispness, weak flavor can yield poor taste and off flavors can be disastrous. Flavor can be the result of additives 25 and s~onings which modify fixed recipes. However, flavor also depends on the method, time and temperature of cooking the composition and çh~r~-~terictics of the cooking oil and the type of supplemPnt~l breading. The method of cooking can greatly affect flavor. For example, deep fat frying of coated chiekt-n produces a ~ignifi~ntly better flavor than does microwave cooking. Sohlti-~nc have been ~e~ ed by adding cooked chicken skin to the 30 batter form~ tion to intensify desirable flavor.
Various known methods and processes have been L,l~se~ d to solve these coated food problems. For eY~mple, U.S. Patent No. 4,496,601 ~lc;se~ a process for preparing a coating mix c~ ,.I;.i~in~ a fried co~ ollelll. A flour based batter is deep fried in vegetable oil W O 97/42840 PCT~US95/0'~57 and then these resnltin~ particles are used as a co~ )onent of a coating mix which is designed to impart fried taste, texture and appearance to baked food stuffs. The r~sulting compositions may be applied to poultry, meat, fish and vegetables prior to baking in order to impart a ~imnl~tPIl fried ~.e~.~n~e, taste and texture. The food stuffs conle~ lated for use are 5 uncooked such as fresh non-frozen foods which are coated with the composition imm~ tPly prior to baking. For example, the food stuffs which are snit~hlP for use are çhickPn pieces and cutlets, porkchops and cutlets, fish fiIlets and eggplant strips.
Frozen com~stihle products suitable for miclowdve or oven cooking which when cooked are similar or s~perior in texture and a~ e to a fat-fried comP.stih1e product is presented in U.S. Patent No. 4,199,603. The food stuff products are ~l.;pal~d by coating frozen portions of said products with an edible oil c-~..l .ini~g a moisture absorbing substance such as pregPl~tini7P~l st~rch, and then applying to the coated portions finely divided hygroscopic, crisp particulate, such as toasted bakery, cereal or carbohydrate particulate, capable on cooking of giving the appe~r~nce of a fat-fried product. The problem faced by 15 the patent is in the use of miclowdve cooking of such batter coated frozen comPstihl~-s is that they have high water content and lose substantial amounts of free water in the cooking step.
During fat-frying, the l~ ldtures of cooking are s--fficiPn1 to drive the water off. However during miclow~-v~ cooking, the cooking temp~ldLul~s and time are less and the cook-outjuices and moi~tllre ~tllr~tP the conventional breaded batter coating making it mushy and giving it 20 the taste of flour paste.
Pregel~tini7~1 starch food coatings are taught by U.S. Patent No. 3,527,646 wherein an edible amorphous film cont~ining a preg~l~tini7çd starch is an ç~Pnti~l ingredient of the coating. Food coatings are known and used in the art primarily as flavor vehicles which are readily noted by the con~-lm~r and enjoyed because of their obvious effect on taste and 25 palatabi}ity. Less well-known are functional food co~tin~ which impart little or no flavor, are not readily noticed by the consumer and are used pnm~rily to i~ .,ve functional charactPri~tics of a food, e.g. retention of volatile flavor components, inhibition of spoilage or prevention of sticking together and the like. The use of preg~l~tini7PA starch is directed mainly to fnnction~l food co~ting~ by providing a film, thus a smooth, non-tacky coating 30 which simplifies the p~ ing and h~n~lling of n~ lly tacky or sticky foods or foods which become tacky by absorption or moisture.
Numerous attempts have been made in the industry to reduce frying oil absorption.
Modest red~ction in the absorbed cooking fat level have been achieved by removing excess W O 97/42840 PCT/U~ G57 fat after deep fat frying. Typical excess fat removal processes comprise passing the fried product over a vibrating screen to allow the fat to drain off or to use high velocity streams of hot air. In ~ itinr~, various mPthorl~ of solvent ~Ytr~ tion of the absorbed fat are known.
Such solvent extraction methods are not co~ ,ially practical usually due to problems 5 associated with residual solvents or with i..~ ;r...Pnt of the products t~Yt~lr~1 and flavor attributes. U.S. Patent No. 4,511,583 provides fried foods of reduced oil absorption through pLc~ on and employment of sprays of film forming agents. Comestibles are ~el~ar~d by first providing a battered and breaded coated com~stib1e. An aqueous solution of a film forming agent such as gelatin in certain starches is applied to the comestible. The starch 10 coated comestible is then pan fried in an edible fatty triglyceride at collvçl-lion~l temp~ldlult;s until the batter is set and coating browned as desired. The resulted fried foods are rh~r~.ter~7:f~ by red~lcti~ n~ in absorbed cooking fat of up to about 25%.
A p~rAllel food procç~cin~ and food product which requires the same elen~nt~ of aL~peal~lce, color and flavor as batters and bre~ ng~ is the production of roux.For e~r~mrl~ U.S. Patent 4,844,938 discloses a method for producing roux by drying flour until the moi~tnre thereof is reduced to 0.5 to 10% by weight, adding fats and oil having a mt-lting point of not more than 55~C and a weight ratio of flour/fats and oils being of 1/5 to 1/0.25 then heating the mib~Lu~t; at a lelll~peldLu,~ of 65~ to 130~ C for five to sixty .,.i..~les.
The patent further teaches heating a similar mix in a two cycled heating process after the first 20 cycle cooling and seasoning with processed milk products, extracts, starch and the like of from 0.3 to 4 parts by weight relative to one part by weight of total amount of l~ Lure of dried flour and fats and oils and subjecting the result of ~ Lure to a second heating and mixing process. A primary ob~ect of the reference is to provide a method for producing roux which makes it possible to elimin~te the problems of powdery or grainy texture and raw 25 m~t~ri~l odor. Several of the pAor art t~hing~ provide methods for producing roux however, the roux has odor of raw m~t~ri~1~ since the ingredients are not heat treated at elevated lel~lpe.d~ul. s. Moreover, such roux has a problem that it turns pasty when cooked.
In addition, U.S. Patent 4,363,824 which addresses a process for the production of a food base in~t~nt~neQusly dispersible in water also presents as an object to provide a suitable 30 heat tre~tmPnt combined wlth a suitable choice of starting m~teri~ls as a method forproducing an in~t~nt~n~vusly dispersable water roux or food base. The reference further addresses the issue that the required ~lv~ ies of roux cannot be obtained by temperature cycles. Although as normally ~um~d that it is only the l~ t;ldlule levels at which the fat is held and the W O 97/42840 PCT/U~,G~OC~7 hoklin,~ times which are i~ L~It in the heat tr~tn~nt~ of fats, it has been found that controlled cooling is also crucial. The reference addresses a food base with a requirement of a binl1ing effect without fcrmin~ lumps when boiling water is poured onto the food base.
In ~ lition, the food base or roux is required to be storeable and not to ~gg1~ P at room I~;lll~)~ldtUiC~.
Dry lni~ule compositinne, which typically contain thi~ kt-ning agents such as starch or flour together with n~v-Jling and coloring agents are widely used to ~JlC~ gravies and sauces. In pL~alillg a roux from such a dry mix, the dry mix is dispersed in cold water and the flieprr.eion gr~ lly heated to boiling with constant ~it~ti~n to gel~tini7e the starch and 10 thereby thicken the liquid to the desired extent. This process must be carried out with care in order to avoid the formation of lumps in the thickt~ned product. A number of procedures have been suggested in order to avoid the formation of lumps in the ~l~paled gravies and sauces using a dry mix composition. For example, U.S. Patent 4,415,599 provides an improved dry mix composition for the L,r~al~lion of gravies and sauces which contains a 15 thickt-ning agent, such as starch and/or flour, and maltodeYtrin, with the m~ltod~Ytrin being present in the dry mix composition in an amount suffici~nt to provide a weight ratio of maltodextrin to thick~ning agent of at least 1:1.
A roux is a basic cooking ingredient used Pspe~ lly in French and Creole cooking as well as in Contin~nt~l and Italian coo-k-ing and more recently, heavily relied upon by various 20 fast food pl~ 1 ions. Roux is used for t~Y~mple~ as a base for making gravies, soups, sauces etc. In general, roux is made by cooking a ~ ulc; of flour and vegetable oil or other fat based substance until the desired cooked brown ~ ul~ is reached. In cl~eei~l French cooking, the roux is made by mixing flour with melted butter. Various cookbook authorities define roux e;mil~rly for eY~mrle, a generic term for various flour hin-linge. ~ roux is 25 somPtim~s brown, som~tim~s white, according to the end use int~nded If a thin sauce or gravy is required then, the amount of flour to oil is redn~e~l The color of the roux is gently brought to the desired shade by heating and stirring then the liquid ingredient by the recipe is added little by little and the sauce seasoned as desired and allowed to mellow. The drippings from a piece of roast meat is sometimes used instead of butter or cooking oils and 30 fats thus, i~ ving the flavor of the sauce if intto.nde~ to be served with the roast.
Rec~llee fat is known to provide i~ L-Jved flavor cnnei~etency and mouth feel to foods, its use in certain food applications is highly desirable. Por obvious reasons, con~ent-~tif~ne Co~ g a substantial proportion of fat or oil are generally not ~l~aled in dry form.

W O 97/42840 PCT~US96/06657 Advantageously, such concentrates are provided in tub configurations or the like similar to margarines. Although fat-cont~3ining concentrates in these forms provide a number of benefits in terms of convenience, stability and the like, their prepal~Ltion generally involves expensive e~uipment and procedures. Heated mixtures of flour and fat used as thickeners in gravies, ~ S and as sauce bases and the like are known as roux. Flour and fat are combined in suitable proportions and amounts and heated for varying periods depending upon the type of roux desired. Preparation of conventional roux is time consuming and considerable care must be taken to avoid overheating and to achieve a smooth consistency.
The teachings of the prior art are generally concerned with methods for producing roux, gravies and sauces having smooth consistency being lump free when added to water or other cooking fluids. In addition, roux is prepared with various additives and flavorings in order to achieve end product gravies and sauces having desired taste and texture.
U.S. Patent 5,145,705 and U.S. Patent 5,026,046 hereby incorporated by referenceprovide methods of producing fried flavor roux based product which adjusts the flavor intensity through a combination of heating, timing and ~uenching. Heating of a mixture of predried grain flours, flour mixtures or vegetable flours or equivalent products with a liquified shortening achieves various stages of caramelization which produce corresponding color changes. These color changes occur more rapidly as the temperature of the mixture increases.
At the applo~iate temperature and time combination, the caramelizing mixture is quenched in order to halt the caramelization reaction resulting in a particular roux base product having a fried flavor which is correlated to the roux base color. Such roux based products have been found to be dispersable with hot or boiling water or gravy sauces, soups and the like without the use of costly additives or flavor essence which can vary substantially from mix to mix.
The chip and snack industry represents another major food industry n~eding refinements including oil content reduction. At the present time, flavored coating for chips and snacks consist of a carrier such as whey, maltodextrin or some other inexpensive carrier.
Flavors such as barbecue or ranch are added to the carrier and applied topically to the chip.
~n this system, the adhesive properties of the carrier are very important because a certain amount of topical coating will fall off during handling. Also in this system, extra flavored material is added to overcome the taste of the carrier, but add nothing to fried flavor since these products are generally fried in oil to achieve such fried flavor.

WO 97/42840 PCT~US~6/OC~57 The ~i~sent invention deals with the food ch~-mi~try of these roux based ~ ?5.. .t;on~
which provide specific fried flavor, said flavors being correlatable to color. Upon PYtr~.tion of oil from these roux based products, an e~ lly oil free dry powder food product having a derll)iLivc fried flavor also correl~t~hle to color has been found which provides fried flavor powder food product having high 7~1hP~inn ~o~lLies for v~gcL~bles and meats alike. The subst~nti~lly oil free dry powder food product having a definitive flavor is most suitable for int~.rf~-~e, i.e. predust and baKer applic~tion~ as well as additives to bre~-lin~ in the preparation of preprocessed foods and the like.
The present invention is directed to both functional food coatings as well as a flavor vehicle which provides the industry with extremely valuable benefits and advantages through improved functional and flavor char~ tPri.~tics of the predust, batter and breading which are added to food products thus utiti7ing the invention for i~ ,ving the f lnctit~n~l ch~r~-~.tt-ri7~ti~ ns as well as flavor of the res-lltin~ end product c~ n.~llmP-r food item. Just as illl~u~ t, the final food product which is con~mP~ by the pubIic will be subst~nti~lly oil lS free unless the product is further processed through fat frying. Fat frying is not n~cess~ry in view of the flavor enhancement achieved by the invention. Thus the present invention provides a method and a food product which not only provides functional adhesionenh~nremt~.nt of the food to the predust, batter and breading but provides a product which possesses for eY~mple, fried flavors, without the utili7~tion of fat frying, the inventive products being achievable from fried flavor roux based m~tPri~l~ from which the oil has been tr~rted.
Summary of the I~lv~
It is industrially important to develop new and improved functional methods and products for producing intP.rf~.e predust and batters which have high adhesion to the food product as well as being subst~nti~lly oil free and yet while providing fried flavor without actually fat frying. Such an i-lvcl~Live food products when utilized in predust, batters and breadings in pre-~lcp~cd foods are most sllit~ le for hot air convc~;Lion oven and col~vPnf il~n~l c~ n~lucti~ n oven cooking as well as r~ tion, micLow~vc cooking while providing fried flavor without the oil.
Accordingly, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide the subst~nt;~lly oil free dry powder food products having a derl~ ivc fried flavor which is correlatable to color produced by eYt~ctin~ a major portion of the oil from a fried flavor roux base having a related definitive color and subst~nti~lly the same fried flavor.

W O 97/42840 PCT/Ub3~/OC~7 It is another object of the present invention to provide sub~ 11y oil free dry ~L~wd~l food products having fried flavor wherein the flavor essence of the food product is itlPntifi~hle by color tone and yet the food product is capable of providing flavor enhancements to predust batters and bre~ling~ as well as an int~rf~e coating through Pnh~n~ed ~-lhe~ion plo~lLies for 5 raw vegetables and all varieties of cnn~llm~hle meats from fish, fowl and animal source.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide subst~nti~lly oil free roux having less than about 15 to 10% by weight oil content.
The present invention has been completed on the basis of the finding that the aforementinned problems as~ociatt;d with conv~ntinn~l methods forproducing predusts, batters 10 and breadings of frozen pre-breaded products and the like can err~iLivt;ly be solved producing subst~nti~lly oil free dry powder food products having a definitive fried flavor which is correlatable to a specific color. The subst~nti~lly oil free dry powder food product is the result of Pxtr~ting oil, from a roux of a c~r~mPli7P~1 grain flours, vegetable flours, protein source m~t~ri~l~ such as animal m~tPri~, yeast and the like; oil mixture, wherein the oil 15 extracted dry powder food product has es~n~i~lly the same dt;rmilive flavor as the roux before oil extraction. Surpri~ingly, the oil extracted dry powder food product, not the oil m~int~in~
the c~r~mPli7Pcl fried flavor. The oil extracted dry powder food product and the roux eYhihiting parallel or related color. The roux and the subst~nti~lly oil free dry powder food product having related color have the same fried flavor and related color. Slight flavor or 20 mouth feel dirre~ ces would obviously be present since the dry powder food product has no or essenti~lly no oil present impacting the feel in the mouth of the taster. The flour which is c~r~mPli7e~ with oil can be a vegetable flour or l~ Lulc of grain and vegetable flours or grain flours depending on the end result desired. For example, grain flours and potato starches can be utili_ed for producing the c~r~mpli7p~l flour oil llli~Lule and yet produce the 25 subst~nti~lly oil free dry powder food product of the present invention wherein the oil eYtr~te~ dry powder food product and the c~r~m~-li7P~ flour, starch oil ~ Lule exhibit parallel color ranges. In ~ltliti~n, protein source m~tPri~l~ can be c~r~meli7~d into roux which provide oil extracted food products having dçfinite fried flavors. Grain flour is comprised of starch, protein and fat while vegetable flour is mostly a starch, however, all 30 forms of flours, starches and protein sources can be utilized to form rouxs and the oil extracted food products having fried flavor. The subst7~nti~lly oil free dry powder food product is most suitable as a predust because of its high adhesive character. These products are most suitable for p~ aling fried flavor coated foods yet providing such produced coated and battered foods which are subst~nt1~11y oil free and do not require deep fat or fat frying in order to convey a fried flavor even though processed through hot air ovens and/or micl~?w~ve heating. Utili_ation of the subst~nti~lly oil free dry powder as an intPrf~e and replacing raw, pregel~tini7ed or mo-lifiPcl starches and the like, which yl~sently make up the S intPrf~ e elimin~tes the current problems of the intPrf~ e while also redu~ing the number of steps commonly used for coating preprocessed foods. Since the sub~t~nti~lly oil free dry powder interf~ce starches and proteins are already n~t~lr~lly pregel~fini7ed and c~rzlmPli7ed, process requirements can elimin~tP the step of precooking the product before freezing, thus elimin~tin~ a major cost.
Plimin~tin~ the precooking step, ~re~ific~lly by deep fat frying, subst~nti~lly reduces or elimin~tes the oil content of the final product. The specifie~lly processed rouxs from which subst~nti~lly all of the oil has been extracted, do not interact with the moisture that is present, for e~r~mrle which occurs in the interf~ce zone and available in the product during recon~titutic-n, in the same manner as the ~s~ y used raw, chemi~lly pregPl~tini7Pcl or 15 modified starches. The use of the subst~nti~lly oil free dry powder food product as an intPrf~e ~limin~tPs the soggy intPrf~e. which results from ~res~ntly used starches. In ~ lition, these products bring a natural fried flavor to the end product. This flavor can be infinitçly adjusted to meet consumer needs by applying the technology utiIized in the roux based p~tt-ntc, i.e. adjll~tnnPnt of flavor as correlated by color, as well as other ~avorings such 20 as salt and spices which can be added to further enh~nc e the flavor of the final product.
As batter t~-chnolngy evolves from art to s~ience, the general role of ingredients is coming into focus. Many of these, such as starches and proteins, have been effectively modified for specific functional purposes. Of i...~ol~lce is the total ingredient profile of these coating systems and the interactions that can take place among these components. The 25 present invention provides a component which is subst~nti~lly oil free and can elimin~te deep fat frying; pos~sses a fried flavor which is adjustable, provides a dry powder which has strong adhesion L,r~ Lies for vegetables, cheese and meats; and ç~cçnti~lly elimin~tçs added oil content of the fini~h~1 food product lltili7ing the inventive component as part of the batter breading or as an additive.
30 Detailed Des~ lion of the Invention In accordance with the present invention, correlation of flavor and color of fried flavor subst~nti~lly oil free fried flavor food products were discovered that allow a process and product having con~i~tent taste. Since taste or flavor is something that is not physically W O 97/42840 PCTrUS9~/OC~7 measured by instrllmPnt~tinn and varies from palate to palate, the discovery of the food chr.mi~try process of re~rhing a spe~iftc a~r~iate flavor as corrPl~t~hl~ to color presel.L~
a ~ignifir~nt adv~nr-e-mPnt of the food industry and in~tit~ltion~l food ~l~p~Lion services.
Roux based matPrial~ have been developed which are compr~ of a ~ Lul~ of grain and 5 vegetable flours, protein sources and fats or shortenings where upon heating of the nli~Lule to a te~ lul~ for a ~rec-ific time period produces a product of desired flavor and specific color. The time requirement can vary depending upon the lelll~ldLur~; range and the specific components. In general the time will vary from about 2 minntPs to about 60 ~ les and more sperific~lly from about 2 ...i..~ s to about 30 ..,;..-.1~. The ten~ld~ule range can vary from about 250~F to about 475~F. The roux product is cooked to a specific color and corresponding fried flavored taste followed by qllrnching of the roux in order to stop the c~r~mPli7~tion food chPmi~try reaction at the dL,~ iate color-flavored ~letPrmin~tion The fried flavor roux base te-rhnology taught by U.S. Patent Nos. 5,145,705 and 5,026,046 can be PnginPPred to mimic an infinite number of c~ramP-li7P~I flavors particularly 15 fried flavor. The present invention produces a c~r~mpli7~l flavored dry powder food product which is subst~nti~lly free of oil as a result of eytr~rting the oil from these car~mPIi7ed flavored rouxs, print~ipally fried flavor rouxs. The vegetable flour protein, dairy powder protein or meat protein source products utilized as the powder for the fried flavor roux base technologies has been found to retain the flavor of the predecP~or roux base even when 20 subst~nti~lly all of the oil is removed from the roux. The r~lllting oil extracted dry powder food product can be utilized for both flavor and functionally in various food applic~tinn~
providing fried food flavor without the need of frying in oil. The various natural flavor profiles that can be created make the oil PYtr~c~tPd dry powder food product an ideal flavor enh~nrer for virtually all food products especially low-fat applic~ti~n~ such as air-frying, 25 convection ovens, and microwave cooking. Various appl;c~tion~ for this oil extracted dry powder food product include for PY~mp1e, br~-ling~, predust, batters, sauces, extruded corn or potato chips, chip co~tin~ and the like. The added benefit of this dry powder food product which carries the flavor of the roux is the adhesive L,~ lLy of the dry product for chips, meats, fresh vege~l)les, breading, predust and other food s~P~ ning~. The oil PYtr~ctP~
30 dry powder food product also has certain filnction~litips in breading systems which elimin~tP
many of the required plc;~ Lion steps of pre~repaled frozen foods. The product, when used as a predust and/or batter, positively affects the interf~e between the meat substrate or the WO 97/42840 PCT/U~ C~'7 vegetabIe i,~sL-dLe and the outside crumb coating causing it to appear more like the intf~.rf~re of a n~t~lr~lly fried product.
The oil Pytr~ct~pd dry powder food product having a derlnitiv~ fried flavor results from extracting the oil to a subst~nti~lly oil free level. Subst~n*~lly oil free for the purpose of this 5 invention is defined as oil levels by percent by weight of less than about 10%, preferably less than about 5% and even more prt;r~;ldbly, less than about 2% oil content. The dry powder food product has the same fried flavor as the roux from which the oil has been exfr~ctpd producing the dry powder food product. The roux having a fried flavor correlatable to a sper-ific color and the oil extracted dry food product having the fried flavor of the roux also 10 has a correlatable color; h~Jw~vel, the color of the powder has a reduced nllmPnr~l color range as a result of the absence of the PYtr~rtP~ oil. l?P~ liti~ n of tne extracted oil to the dry powder food product reproduces e~crnti~lly the same color as the beginning roux color.
Retention of the fried flavor of the car~meli7PA flavor of the oil e~t~r-tPA dry powder food product which is unaffected by the removal of the oil provides a new food product which is 15 applicable to vegetables as weIl as meats being ~ d either in p~ ~ed frozen p~ in~ or freshly prepared which will be subst~nfi~lly fat free yet having the taste of fried foods without actually being fried.
Derl~itivt; eh~r~r-tP-ri~tics of the oil extracted dry powder food product are enh~nred both from the absence of oil and the absence of moisture. During the roux ~n~ce~iing, it is 20 thPori7P~ that not only all of the l~ g moisture in the pre-dried flour or flour utilized in the roux is removed, also water molecules bonded to the starch molecules are broken off and removed from the roux during a rather violent cooking process. In either case, the oil extracted powder food product is dry mP~ning the substantial absence of water. In ~lrlition, the subst~nti~lly oil free dry powder food product is hydrophobic which promotes its 25 eîrecLiveness as an intrrf~re or breading m~tPri~l for meats and vegetables.
The oil eYtr~rtP~ dry powder food product affects in a positive manner the intPrf~-e of plebfeaded products, that is the area between the product substrate and the outside crispy breading. Utili7~tion of this dry powder food product solves many major industry problems related to frozen pre-breaded products meant for recon.ctit~ltion in the conventional oven, 30 convection oven, air fry oven and the micr~w~ve, both at the processor level and the con~um~r level. At the present time, the intPrf~re for frozen pre-breaded products are form~ tPcl using raw, ch~-mic~lly pregCl~tini7PJ1 or modified starches of various origin. The starches are ~ltprn~tively applied to the product substrate in the form of predust and liquid W O 97/42840 PCT/U'3G/C~57 batters. The intPrf~e may also contain gums, stabilizers, flavorings and the like. The ~ul~ose of the int~rfa~e is to carry spices and ~ vvlings along with ~tt~hing the outside crispy breading to the product substrate.
Plc~senLly since the starches that make up the intPrf~r~e are raw, or only chPmie~lly 5 pregel~tini7~1 or modified, the products must be precooked. This precooking is usually accomplich~l by steam, deep fat frying or hot air frying. When these ~lcpalcd frozen pre-breaded products are reconctitut~l, the intPrf~e tends to become soggy. The result does not con.ctitute a fried-like product and therefore has been an industry problem for many years.
Additionally, products that are precooked with steam usually exhibit even more of the soggy 10 problem because of the intro~ ctinn of more moisture into the substrate. Presently to achieve a fried-like flavor, these foods are generally deep fried either in plC~ ti~n of the prep~el~ged food or of the prepac k~ged food by the consumer.
The oil extracted dry powder food product of the invention is most suitable for replacing the raw, pregPt~tini7ed or modified starches. The dry powder products have been 15 specially processed in oil, i.e. car~meli7PIl as a roux with oil and such process starches or proteins eli,.,i~ the current problems of infPrf~re dusting and breadings since the dry powder intPrf~l e m~tPri~l~ have already been car~meli7Pcl and do not retain water. The processor may now elimin~tP the step of precooking the product before freezing, thus ~limin~ting a major costly step. Flimin~fion of this precooking step, especially by deep fat 20 frying, sub.st~nti~lly reduces or elimin~tPs the oil content of the final product. The oil extr~te~l dry powder food product speeifie~lly processed in oil, brings a natural fried in oil flavor to the end food product.
The elimin~ti~n of precooking steps or the elimin~tit~n of entirely the deep fried fat frying step either in pre-p~ alc d foods or consumer preparation is achieved through 25 utili7~tinn of the subst~nti~lly oil free dry food powder product of the invention. For eY~mple, in the ~ al~lion of shrimp and seafood for frozen storage and later consumer usage, several steps are required. Presently after the various pre-dust batter additions and cooked crumb ~-lrlitif~n~, the system requires a fried in oil to set the food product before freezing at about -5~F. The frying in oil to set the food product is nrce~ry to add the 30 a~p~oLliate taste and con~i~tPncy of the product for freezing which allows the end con~nmPr to bake the product or again fry in oil. VVhen lltili7ing the essPnfi~lly oil free dry powder food product of the invention, no oil frying is required to set the product before freezing nor is there a requirement to later fry an oil by the ct)n~-~mPr. The non-oil fried end food product W O 97/42840 PCTrUSS'1~ 7 having subst~nti~l1y oil free dry powder utilized in either the predust, batter or breading provides an oil fried flavor without the nPceccity of being oil fried either by the food processor or by the cnn.c-lmPr. During cooking of the food products pl~al~d presently lltili7.ing flour, gPl~tini7~d starches and the like for pre-dust and batter ingre~ ntc, upon S baking these products have a substantial water uptake in the batter and/or co~tings leaving a mushy zone attributable to the water that cooks from the coated products and is retained by these batter zones. The same product ~ ~cd with the illvel~live dry powder food product Plimin~tPs or subst~nti~lly reduces the mushy zone and is never required to be oil fried and can be reheated by the cnncumPr, either in an air collv~Lion~ cfn~luct;nn or r~ ti-n oven.
10 The subct~nti~1ly oil free dry powder food product repels water and thus has no swelling due to water uptake during the rehP~ting process by the concllmer.
The subst~nti~lly oil free dry powder food product in accordance with the invention is achieved by PYtr~ting the oil from the rouxs cont~ining the oil. These rouxs can be composed of vegetable matter as a protein source as well as dairy and meat product protein 15 sources plus added oil wherein the protein sources are cooked in the oil to produce a fried flavor roux of spP~ific color. Oil can be extracted using various solvents either in a batch or continuous mode. ~PY~ne for example can be utilized however several of the organic solvents leave residual solvent which may interfere with the flavor of the dry powder food product. In addition the liquid PY~tr~tinn mPAillm can be a norm~lly gaseous hyd~,c~hl,oll, 20 preferably propane, under a ~lt;s~u~c; snfficient to liquify the propane under conditions and l~-~n~ s of use. The propane is utilized either in batch or continuous mode within a ~)lt;S:iulc vessel before removal of the liquid propane solvent and the oil from the container or from the continuous system. The solvent extraction of the roux is simpler in some regards because the oil in the roux is an added oil and not placed by nature such as many oil 25 ~-Ytr~ctic)nc of ve~et~hlP matters, plants and the like, for ph~ elltic~l oil and food oil purposes. The use of liquid propane for example has been found to be most s~ticf~tory in removing the oil from the dry powder product to levels of less than S and less than 2% by weight. These extr~ctinn processes are less ~lem~n~ing and require less energizing, stirring and the like than cr~ d or ground vegetable matter co..l;~ natural oils.
Various people in the past have devised methods, often using complex formulas, for quantifying color and ~ essing it nl-mPri~ ~lly with the aim of making it possible for anyone to commlmic~tP colors more easily and more accurately. These methods attempt to provide a way of t;~essing colors nnmp~ric~lly~ in much the same way that we express length or = --CA 022274ll l998-0l-20 WO 97/42840 PCT/U~,~/06~r7 weight. For rY:lmI~le~ in 1905 the ~mPri~n artist A.H. M~lns~ll devised a method for t;A~lCS~ g colors which utilized a great number of paper color chips clzt~ifiPA according to their hue (Mlln~Pll Hue), lightnP~ m~ll Value), and ~tllr~ti~n (Mlm~P,ll Chroma) for visual co..~l.zt.;~on with a ~er-im~-n color. Other methods for cA~lc~:,ing color mlmPrieztlly S were developed by an ;~ tl;nnzt~ ani~ nn concerned with light and color, the Commi~ n TntPrnztti~nale de l'Frl~tirzt~e (CIE). The two most widely known of these methods are the Yxy color space, devised in 1931 based on the tri~tim~ values XYZ
defined by CIE, and the L*a*b* color space, devised in 1976 to provide more ul~ir~ color dirrclcnces in relation to visual dirrclel ces. *Color space: method for expressing the color 10 of an object or a light source using some kind of notation, such as numbers. Color spaces such as these are now used throughout the world for color commnni~tinn The L*a*b* color space, also referred to as CIELAB, is presently one of the mostpopular color space for mPzt~llring object color and is widely used in virtually all fields. It is one of ~he uniform color spaces defined by CIE in 1976 in order to reduce one of the major 15 problems of the ~lri,~inztl Yxy color space: that equal distances on the x, y cl,~ la~icity ~liztgr~m did not c~ olld to equal perceived color differences. In this color space, L*
in-1ieztt~s li~htnP~ and a* and b* are ~he chromaticity coor limttP~.
The Hunter Lab color space was developed in 1948 by R.S. Hun~er as a ullir~Jllll color space which could be read direc~1y from a photoelectric co1nrim~-tpr (tri~timlllll~ method).
20 Values in this color space are defined by the following formulas:
L=lOO ~

a = 175~ ~ ~ 02Xo , [( X ) ( Y )]

~ = 70~ O.(OO/ 47Zo . [( Y ) _( Z )]

where X, Y, Z: Tri~timllln~ values of the specim~-n (Xl0, Ylo, Zl0 tri~timlt~ values can also be 4used).
25 X0, Yo? Zo Tri~timl-hls values of the perfect reflPctinp diffuser.
For the 2~ Standard Ol,s~lvel and S~andard Tlll....it~ t C, the above equations would become:

WO 97/42840 PCT/US~,'06~57 L=l OO~Y
a = 1.75(1.02X-O
~Y
b 7 0(Y-0 847~

Color dirr~ ce ~EH in the Hunter Lab color space, which in~lic~tes the degree of color dirr~l~ce but not the direction, is defined by the following equation:

AE = ,~ L)2+(~a)2+(~b)2 5 where AL, Aa~ Ab: Difference in L, a, and b values between the sperim~n color and the target color The L*a*b* color space, also referred to as the CIELAB space, is one of the uniform color spaces defined by the CIE in 1976. The values of L*, a* and b* are calculated 10 according to the form~ below:
T i~htn~.c.~ vaIiable L*:
y l/3 L~ = 116(y ) - 16 Chromaticity coordinates a* and b*:

a* = soo[(xx) _(y ) ]
y 1/3 z 1/3 Yn (Zn) ]
15 where X, Y, Z: Tri~tim~ values XYZ for 2~ Standard Observer) or XlOYloZlo (for 10~
Supplementary Standard Observer) of the specimen X"7 Yn~ Zn Tri.~timl~ values XYZ (for 2~ Standard Observer) or XlOYIoZlo (for 10~
Supplementary Standard Observer) of a perfect reflPctin~ diffuser.
If X/Xn, Y/Yn, or Z/Zn is less than 0.008856, the above equations are changed as described below:

W O 97/42840 PCTrUS96/06657 (X ) is replaced by 7787( X )+ 16 (y ~ ~s repln~ y 7.787( Y)+ 16 (zz) is replaced by 7.787(zz)+ 1116 As used in the following eY~mpl~s and claims, color dirr~ ce AE*"b in the L*a*b* color space, which in~ tPs the degree of color dirrt;~ ce but not the direction, is defined by the following equation:

~'E*ab = ~ L*)2+(~a*)2+(/\b*)2 where AL*, Aa*, Ab*: Difference in L*, a* and b* values between the specimen color and the target color.
In order to more clearly describe the nature of the present invention, specific examples l0 will heleillarLer be described. It should be understood, however, that this is done solely by way of t~ mple and is int~nded neither to ~leline~t(~ the scope of the invention or limit the ambient of the appended claims. In the examples and throughout the specification, percentages referred to percent by weight are based on the weight of the final product unless otherwise specified.
F~Y~mrl~
The following eY~mples and color measurements were made with a Minolta CM-508d Spectrophotometer. Each sample was 5 grams and measured in the same size container to insure the exact ~lict~nce between the m~t-ri~l and the spectrophotometer. Each sample was measured. at 112~F to insure cnn~ist.sMt measur~-m~ntc. Color measurements are t;~ ss~d 20 in the L*a*b* color space as defined by CIE in 1976.
Step One: Roux conl~i"il-~ 50% oil and 50% starch or cheese by weight was car~m~ to a certain level was measured for color.
Step Two: The car~m~li7~d roux was then solvent extracted to remove subst~nti~lly all of the oil ~a~lu~imately 97% by weight or greater). The reslllt~nt dry powder was then 25 measured for color.
- Step Three: Oil was then reintroduced and mixed with the car~m~li7ed powder to produce a 50% oil and 50% starch by weight the ori~in~l amount and measured for color.

WO 97/42840 PCTrUS9~/0-~7 Fx~mrlPs 1, 2 and 3 are flourrouxs prepared in accordance with the t.o.~chin~ of U.S.
Patent Nos. S,145,705 and S,026,046 wherein a 50:50 oil and vegetable flour by weight were cooked to specific temperatures and measurable colors before being quenched. In Example 1 the ~our/oil ~ Lule was cooked to a lel~p~ ult; of 422~F before quenching.
Example 1 Raw Data Delta 1~
Roux 1:,* 27.96 ~L* -68.71 a* 8.23 Aa* 8.39 b* 26.32 Ab* 26.53 AE* 74.13 Powder L* 51.31 AL* -45.46 a* 5.25 Aa* 5.41 b* 23.97 Ab* 24.18 AE* 51.69 Powder + Oil L* 25.98 AL* -70.69 a* 9.16 Aa* 9.32 b* 21.61 Ab* 21.82 AE* 74.57 Comr,7ri~nn Oil + Powder AE* = 74.57 Roux ~E* = 74.13 .44 Variation AE* compiled number was cl~;LP.~ ined using a target color from a Min~lt~ white c~lihr~ti~ n standard with the following values:
L* 96.67 a* -.16 b* -.21 W O 97/42840 PCT~U596~'~~G57 The roux of FY~mple 2 was a 50:50 .~ Luie of oil and vegetable flour cooked to atelllJ?el~Lul~ of 225~F before quenching.
Example 2 Raw Data Delta E
Roux L* 38.87 ~L* -57.80 a* 2.15 Aa* 2.31 b* 19.99 Ab* 20.2Q
~E* 61.27 Powder L* 67.22 QL* -29.45 a* .74 ~a* .90 b* 11.74 Ab* 11.68 Comparison: Oil + Powder AE* = 73.15 Roux AE'P = 72.15 1.00 Variation 15 AE* compiled number was determined using a target color from a Minolt~ white calibration standard with the following values:
L* 96.67 a* -.16 b* -.21 WO 97/42840 PCTAU~g~Ç'-7 Example 4 Pl~p~ n of a potato and biscuit flake roux (potato roux).
Ingre~1iPnt~: 800g potato 7-40 gr~nnlP.s 400g Bunge biscuit flakes - 100% soybean oil 50% granules and flakes - 50% oil Cooking Process: Melt shortening in skillet and add potato granules. Mix weII with mixer to make homogeneous.
Continue to mix until ~ ule reaches 200~F.
Take sample #l.
Mix one minllfPs, and talce sample ~2, etc.
Continue to stir throughout process and take a sample after every minute. Record te~ cl~ture and time.
Continue to take ~mplPs until product is burned and unusable.
Cooling Process: Small ~mpl~s are taken at one minute intervals and poured onto a cool, flat surface to cool to ambient room temperature. ~mplPs are placed in a labeled bag for future color analysis.

W 097/42840 PCTrUS96~'~5~.~7 Table 1 Sample No. Temperature ~F Time Coo~ed Hunter L
200~ 2:00 p.m. 64

2 ~oo 2:01 49

3 240~ 2:02 45

4 250.6~ 2:03 43 , 5 261 ~ 2:04 37 6 269~ 2:05 34 7 278.4~ 2:06 31 8 287.8~ 2:07 25 9 300.6~ 2:08 23 307.8 ~ 2:09 22 11 321~ 2:10 21 12 331.8~ 2:11 20 13 349.6~ 2: 12 18 14 360~ 2: 13 17 380.6~ 2:14 15 16 394.8~ 2:15 14 17 407.8~ 2: 16 12 18 439~ 2:17 11 19 469~ 2: 18 10 W O 97/42840 P~TGUS9C/06~7 Example S
Raw Data Delta E
Potato Roux L* 16.92 AL* -79.83 a* 11.99 ~a* 12.09 S b* 18.31 ~\b* 18.55 AE* 82.84 Potato Powder L* 49.88 AL* -46.87 a* 7.06 Aa* 7.16 b* 29.05 Ab* 29.29 AE* 55.73 Potato Powder + Oil L* 16.55 ~L* -80.20 a* 11.51 Aa* 11.61 b* 21.23 Ab* 21.47 AE* 83.83 Comparison: Potato Oil + Powder AE* = 83.83 Potato Roux AE* = 82.84 .49 Variation AE* compiled number was determined using a target color from a Minolta white calibration standard with the following values:
L* 96.i5 a* -.10 b* -.24 A 50:50 percent by weight powdered cheese oil mixture was caramelized to about 350~F to produce the cheese roux as found in Example 6. The powdered cheese is a food 25 product produced by Krafta~ and is called "uncolored cheezt~ng" having a product no. 9378.
Upon caramelization and production of the roux, the oil was extracted to about 3 % by weight levels in the oil extracted dry powder food product was produced, the dry cheese powder food product having a specific color which is a reduced ~E* from the AE* of the cheese roux, however upon readdition of the oil, ~E* is approximately the same as the ~E* of the cheese 30 roux. The powdered cheese product is a dry powder substantially white in color while the cheese powder with the oil extracted has a definitive color a ~E* removed from the ~\E* of W O 97/42840 PCTrU~g~ 57 the cheese roux. Here again the oil extracted dry powder food product, i.e. caramelized cheese powder contains the fried flavor of the cheese roux.
Example 6 Raw Data Delta 1~
Cheese Roux L* 38.84 ~L* -57.83 a* 10.36 ~a* 10.52 b* 29.18 ~\b* 29.39 ~ * 65.72 Cheese Powder L* 66.06 ~\L* -30.61 a* 4.62 ~a* 4.78 b* 22.12 ~b* 22.33 ~'E* 38.19 Cheese Powder + Oil L* 36.96 ~L* -59.71 a* 10.36 ~a* 10.52 b* 26.11 ~b* 26.32 t'E* 66.10 Comparison: Cheese Oil + Powder ~\E* = 66.10 Cheese Roux ~E* = 65.72 .38 Variation 20 ~\E* compiled number was determined using a target color from a Minolta white calibration standard with the following values:
L* 96.67 a* -.16 b* -.21 The following example tests were conducted to determine the adhesive properties of a caramelized substantially oil free flour powder (powder) compared to wheat flour (flour).
The following materials were used:
- 1. 250 grams of powder 2. 250 grams of flour 3. 2 stainless steel bowls 4. 6 styrofoam bowls

5. Pringle's Potato Chips W O 97/42840 PCT~U396/Q~57 250 grams of the powder and 250 grams of the flour were sifted se~?al~Lely through progressively smaller mesh screens. USA Standard Testing Sieve numbers 20, 30 and 40 were used as the sifters. The r~-m~ining powder and flour was then placed in st;~dl~
st~inle~ steel bowls.
In FY~m~ 7 (A-l, B-l) 40 individual Pringle's Potato Chips were counted and weighed. Pringle's were chosen spe~-ific~lly because of their uniform size and weight. This unir~ y is critical because of the nature of these tests. For eY~mple, in F.Y~mple 7, the weight dir~ ce between 40 chips weighed in two - 20 count s~mpl~s was only one tenth of a gram. After weighing for part A-l of Fx~mple 7, 20 of the chips were dipp-ed~ one at a 10 time, into the powder. The individual chip was rolled and coated 3 times. Then the chip was lifted by hand and shaken one time and placed into a ~yloroalll bowl. After doing 20 chips, the total weight of the 20 chips plus the ~-~c~ mlll~t~ powder was measured. Results are shown in A-l-A (predipped weight) and A-l-B (post-dipped weight). Next, 20 chips were weighed for part B-l of FY~mple 7. After weighing, the chips were dipped, one at a time, 15 into the flour. The same coating procedure was used for B-l as was used for A-l. The 20 chips plus the ~cllm~ t~i flour were weighed and results recorded as B-1-A (pre-dipped weight) and B-l-B (post-dipped weight).
In F.Y~mple 8 and Example 9, all of the chips were coated using the procedure ofExample 1 except that, after coating, the individual chip was tapped six times on the side of 20 the st~inle~ steel bowl in an effort to remove as much excess powder and flour as possible.

W O 97/42840 PCT~US96/06657 Example 7 Run Number A-1 20 Pringle chips A-1-A A-1-B 80%
40.6 grams chips plus increase powder by weight 73.1 grams B-1 20 Pringle chips B-1-A B-1-B 68.5%
40.7 grams chips plus increase flour (dried) by weight 68.6 grams Percent increase adhesion powder vs. flour 16.8% (dipped only - no tapping) Example 8 Run Number A-2 20 Pringle chips A-2-A A-2-B 24.14%
40.6 grams chips plus increase powder by weight 50.4 grams B-2 20 Pringle chips B-2-A B-2-B 14.53%
40.6 grams chips plus increase flour (dried) by weight 46.5 grams Both A-2 and B-2 coated chips were tapped six times Percent increase adhesion powder vs. flour 66.1 %

W 097/42840 PCT/Ub5G/Q6~57 Example 9 Run Number A-3 20 Pringle chips A-3-A A-3-B 21.3%
41.3 grams chips plus increase S powder by weight 50. 1 grams B-3 20 Pringle chips 13-3-A B-3-B 12.7%
40. 9 grams chips plus increase flour (dried) by weight 46.1 grams Both A-3 and B-3 coated chips were tapped six times Percent increase adhesion powder vs. flour 67.7%

The results of the Examples 7, 8 and 9 show that a significantly greater amount of powder would adhere to the chips compared to the flour. In fact, in test two and three, where an effort was made to remove the powder and flour from the chips, the powder adhered at a rate of about 66% higher with the powder than the flour.
Raw vegetables such as potatoes or sliced potatoes could have a topical application 20 which would eliminate prefrying. The potatoes could then be reconstitutes in convectional, conduction or radiation ovens.
The substantially oil free fried flavor food products according to the invention are most suitable as an ingredient or as a coating in the chip and snack industry achieving fried flavor without oil frying of the chips. Using the substantially oil free fried flavor food powder of 25 the invention, the chip and snack m~nllf~tllrer has the luxury of having the fried flavor of the powder engineered to match the fried flavor of the chip or snack. Also since the powder has superior adhesive properties a smaller amount can be used to carrier the same flavor intensity.
Air fried or baked chips and snacks can be dusted with the flavor engineered powder 30 to give the chip the correct fried flavor, a fried flavor ingredient in extruded or formed emulsion-based chips or snacks. The powder can also be used as a particular engineered fried W O 97/42840 PCT/u~r~ 57 flavor powder can be added to the formula for corn chips or other em~ n chips like Pringles~ and air fried thereby making an oil free corn chip that taste like it was fried.
The terms and ex~ ssions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limit~tion, and it is not int~.n~led in the use of such terrns and expressions to 5 loYCl~ P an equivalence of the feature shown and described or portions thereof, since it is lt;coy~ that various mo~lific.~tion.~ are possible within the scope of the invention cl~imP~

Claims (15)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An oil extracted dry powder food product having a definitive fried flavor comprising:
a dry powder food product substantially oil free from an oil extracted caramelized roux of vegetable flour and oil mixture;
the roux having a fried flavor correlatable to a specific color and the oil extracted dry powder food product having the fried flavor of the roux and a color of a reduced .DELTA.E*, the .DELTA.E* color being the result of the absence of the extracted oil;
retention of the specific fried flavor of the roux is in the dry powder food product; and the dry powder food product plus readdition of the extracted oil has essentially the same color as the roux.

2. The oil extracted dry powder food product according to Claim 1 wherein the product is from 90-99.5% by weight free of oil.

3. The oil extracted dry powder food product according to Claim 2 wherein the powdered food product has increased adhesion to dry food chip surfaces of at least 60%
greater than dry flour.

4. The oil extracted dry powder food product according to Claim 1 wherein the vegetable flour is comprised of a grain flour.

5. The oil extracted dry powder food product according to Claim 4 wherein the grain flour is comprised of starch, protein and fat.

6. The oil extracted dry powder food product according to Claim 1 wherein the vegetable flour is comprised of starch.

7. The oil extracted dry powder food product according to Claim 1 wherein the .DELTA.E* of the roux and the .DELTA.E* color of the dry powder food product plus readded extracted oil has essentially the same color ~2%.

8. An oil extracted dry powder food product having a definitive fried flavor comprising:
a dry powder food product substantially oil free from an oil extracted caramelized roux of dairy protein powder and oil mixture;
the roux having a fried flavor correlatable to a specific color and the oil extracted dry powder food product having the fried flavor of the roux and a color of a reduced .DELTA.E*, the .DELTA.E* color being the result of the absence of the extracted oil;
retention of the specific fried flavor of the roux is in the dry powder food product; and the dry powder food product plus readdition of the extracted oil has essentially the same color as the roux.

9. An oil extracted dry powder food product having a definitive fried flavor comprising:
a dry powder food product substantially oil free from an oil extracted caramelized roux of meat protein product and oil mixture;
the roux having a fried flavor correlatable to a specific color and the oil extracted dry powder food product having the fried flavor of the roux and a color of a reduced .DELTA.E*, the .DELTA.E* color being the result of the absence of the extracted oil;
retention of the specific fried flavor of the roux is in the dry powder food product; and the dry powder food product plus readdition of the extracted oil has essentially the same color as the roux.

10. An adhesive interface food product having definitive flavor and correlatablecolor comprising:
an oil extracted dry powder food product having a definitive fried flavor;
the dry powder food products substantially oil free from an oil extracted caramelized roux of vegetable flour and oil mixture;
the roux having a fried flavor correlatable to a specific color and the oil extracted dry powder food product having the fried flavor of the roux and a color of a reduced .DELTA.E*, the reduced .DELTA.E* color being the result of the absence of the extracted oil;
retention of the specific fried flavor of the roux is in the dry powder food product; and the dry powder food product plus readdition of the extracted oil has essentially the same color as the roux.

11. A corn chip comprised of corn flour or masa and an oil extracted dry powder food product having a definitive fried flavor, the dry powder food product substantially oil free from an oil extracted caramelized roux of vegetable flour and oil mixture;
the roux having a fried flavor correlatable to a specific color and the oil extracted dry powder food product having the fried flavor of the roux and a color of a reduced .DELTA.E*, the .DELTA.E* color being the result of the absence of the extracted oil;
retention of the specific fried flavor of the roux is in the dry powder food product; and the dry powder food product plus readdition of the extracted oil has essentially the same color as the roux.

12. An extruded or formed chip comprised of grain flour or vegetable flour and an oil extracted dry powder food product having a definitive fried flavor, the dry powder food product substantially oil free from an oil extracted caramelized roux of grain flour and vegetable flour and oil mixture;
the roux having a fried flavor correlatable to a specific color and the oil extracted dry powder food product having the fried flavor of the roux and a color of a reduced .DELTA.E*, the .DELTA.E* color being the result of the absence of the extracted oil;
retention of the specific fried flavor of the roux is in the dry powder food product; and the dry powder food product plus readdition of the extracted oil has essentially the same color as the roux.

13. A coating flavor carrier for formed or extruded chips comprising an adhesivedry powder food product having definite fried flavor and correlatable color;
the dry powder food product substantially oil free from an oil extracted caramelized roux of vegetable flour and oil mixture;
the roux having a fried flavor correlatable to a specific color and the oil extracted dry powder food product having the fried flavor of the roux and a color of a reduced .DELTA.E*, the .DELTA.E* color being the result of the absence of the extracted oil;
retention of the specific fried flavor of the roux is in the dry powder food product; and the dry powder food product plus readdition of the extracted oil has essentially the same color as the roux.

14. A fried flavor carrier coated vegetable chip comprising vegetable chip coated with an adhesive dry powder food product having a fried flavor;
the dry powder food product substantially oil free from an oil extracted caramelized roux of vegetable flour and oil mixture;
the roux having a fried flavor correlatable to a specific color and the oil extracted dry powder food product having the fried flavor of the roux and a color of a reduced .DELTA.E*, the .DELTA.E* color being the result of the absence of the extracted oil;
retention of the specific fried flavor of the roux is in the dry powder food product; and the dry powder food product plus readdition of the extracted oil has essentially the same color as the roux.

15. A protein food supplement comprised of a dry powder food product substantially oil free from an oil extracted caramelized roux of a food protein and oil mixture;
the roux having a peak flavor correlatable to a specific color and the oil extracted dry powder food product having the peak flavor of the roux and a color of a reduced .DELTA.E*, the .DELTA.E* color being the result of the absence of the extracted oil;
retention of the specific peak flavor of the roux is in the dry powder food product; and the dry powder food product plus readdition of the extracted oil has essentially the same color as the roux.