GB2245278A - Flavorful frying oil with long frylife - Google Patents

Abstract

A frying oil composition is made from 80% to 99.9% deodorized edible oil (most preferably soybean oil) and 0.1% to 20% undeodorized highly flavored edible oil (most preferably peanut oil). The deodorized oil of the composition undergoes a high temperature deodorization process to impart excellent frylife to the oil. The undeodorized highly flavored oil is blended with the deodorized oil. The resulting frying oil composition is highly flavored and has the same excellent frylife as the deodorized oil.

Description

FLAVORFUL FRYING OIL WITH LONG FRYLIFE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to frying oil compositions, particularly frying oils made from blends of vegetable oils.

2. DescriDtion of the Related Art U.S. Patent 4,789,554 to Scavone et al., issued December 6, 1988, discloses a method for deodorizing a frying oil to improve its frylife. It is stated that various additives such as flavorings can be used. However, the patent does not suggest to blend another, flavorful oil such as peanut oil with the deodorized base oil.

U.S. Patent 3,186,854 to Going, issued June 1, 1965, discloses winterized blends of different oils such as cottonseed oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, and corn oil. The patent does not mention deodorization or frylife of the oils.

U.S. Patent 3,048,491 to Gooding, issued August 7, 1962, discloses winterized blends of different oils used to make mayonnaise and salad dressings. Neither frylife nor deodorization is disclosed.

Japanese Patent 021,033 to Snow Brand Milk Products, issued August 23, 1984, discloses a process in which scum co-produced in the deodorization of vegetable oil is blended with another edible oil to produce an oil containing a high amount of vegetable sterol. Peanut oil is disclosed as one of the possible deodorized oils, and soybean oil is disclosed as one of the possible other edible oils. The deodorization process is not described.

U.S. Patent 2,621,196 io Thurman, issued December 9, 1952, discloses a high temperature deodorization process. The process is said to be useful for deodorizing soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, peanut oil, sunflowerseed oil, sesame seed oil, and animal and fish oils. The patent does not discuss the frylife of deodorized oils, nor the addition of a flavorful oil.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is a flavorful frying oil with long frylife comprising: (a) from about 0.1% to about 20rye undeodorized highly flavored edible oil; and (b) from about 80X to about 99.9% deodorized edible oil, wherein the deodorized oil has been subjected to a deodorization process comprising: (i) deaerating the oil to a level of less than about 0.1% by volume of dissolved oxygen; then (ii) heating the oil at a temperature between about 5300F (277'C) and about 650F (343*C), at a pressure between about 0.5 mm Hg and about 50 mm Hg, for a time between about 5 seconds and about 35 minutes, while stripping the oil with a stripping medium in the amount of about 0.1X to about 20% by weight of the oil.

Preferably the undeodorized highly flavored edible oil is selected from peanut oil, roasted peanut oil, walnut oil, roasted walnut oil, roasted sesame oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, rice bran oil, pumpkin seed oil, roasted hazelnut oil, organic flaxseed oil, olive oil, corn oil, beef tallow, and sunflowerseed oil.

Most preferred is undeodorized peanut oil. The deodorized edible oil is preferably selected from soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, sunflowerseed oil, safflower oil, olive oil, peanut oil, coconut oil, palm oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil olein, and canola oil, with the most preferred being deodorized soybean oil.

An advantage of this invention is that it allows a frying oil to be made that has the desirable flavor of peanut oil or other highly flavored edible oils, and that also has the excellent frylife of oils deodorized according to the process of the above-mentioned U.S. Patent 4,789,554.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Peanut oil is a preferred frying oil for making great tasting fried foods. It allows full expression of the flavor of the foods, and with foods such as potato chips it imparts a desirable peanutty flavor. There are drawbacks associated with the use of peanut oil, however. For one thing, peanut oil is generally more expensive than soybean oil and other kinds of frying oils.

Another disadvantage is that peanut oil, like other conventional frying oils, darkens in color after extended frying use. Darkened oil can impart objectionable color to the food which makes it difficult for a fry cook to know if the food is undercooked or overcooked, and which is often interpreted by the consumer as indicating that the food is substandard. Conventional frying oils used in the normal course of business in restaurants and fast food outlets becomes unusable within about 3 to 7 days because of excessive discoloration, and they must be replaced.

The above-mentioned U.S. Patent 4,789,554 to Scavone et al.

discloses a high temperature deodorization process used to reduce color darkening and thereby extend the frylife of frying oils.

The process produces frying oils having excellent frylives.

Unfortunately, it was found that the process of the Scavone et al.

patent does not improve the frylife of peanut oil as much as it does for soybean oil and other oils. More importantly, the higher cost of peanut oil discourages the use of frying oils made from 100X peanut oil. Since the taste of foods fried in peanut oil is highly preferred by consumers, there is a need for a frying oil that has the flavor of peanut oil and that also has an excellent frylife.

It has now been discovered that by combining 0.1-20% peanut oil that has not been deodorized with 80-99.9% soybean oil deodorized according to a high temperature deodorization process like that of the Scavone et al. patent, a frying oil can be made that has both the flavor benefits of the peanut oil and the frylife benefit of the deodorized oil. It was found that the frylife of this peanut oil/deodorized soybean oil blend is just as good as the excellent frylife of 100% soybean oil deodorized under the Scavone et al. patent conditions. Moreover, it was found that even when used at very low levels, the highly flavorful peanut oil imparts a good peanut flavor to the entire oil blend, such that foods fried in the oil blend are indistinguishable from foods fried in 100% deodorized peanut oil.

A flavorful frying oil with long frylife according to the present invention comprises: (a) from about 0.1% to about 20% undeodorized highly flavored edible oil; and (b) from about 80rye to about 99.9rye deodorized edible oil, wherein the deodorized oil has been subjected to a deodorization process comprising: (i) deaerating the oil to a level of less than about 0.1X by volume of dissolved oxygen; then (ii) heating the oil at a temperature between about 530F (277C) and about 650'F (343C), at a pressure between about 0.5 mm Hg and about 50 mm Hg, for a time between about 5 seconds and about 35 minutes, while stripping the oil with a stripping medium in the amount of about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the oil.

1. Oils Useful in the Present Invention As used herein, the term "frying oil" is meant to include any edible fat or oil useful for frying, and it can include frying shortening as well as frying oil. Any kind of frying can be used, although the invention is particularly useful for deep frying.

The present frying oils comprise between about 0.1% and about 20X undeodorized highly flavored edible oil. It is important that the flavored oil be undeodorized, so that it can impart its full flavor to the frying oil. Deodorization processes produce bland oils by removing the good flavors along with the off-flavors.

While undeodorized peanut oil is most preferred for use in the present frying oil, the invention is not limited thereto. Other highly flavored edible oils can be used, for example, roasted peanut oil, walnut oil, roasted walnut oil, roasted sesame oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, rice bran oil, pumpkin seed oil, roasted hazelnut oil, organic flaxseed oil, olive oil, corn oil, beef tallow, sunflowerseed oil, and mixtures thereof. Preferably the highly flavored oils are selected from peanut oil, roasted peanut oil, corn oil, olive oil, beef tallow, walnut oil, roasted walnut oil, and mixtures thereof.

The deodorized edible oil for use in the present frying oil is preferably selected from the group of deodorized oils consisting of soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, sunflowerseed oil, safflower oil, olive oil, peanut oil, coconut oil, palm oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil olein, canola oil, and mixtures thereof.

More preferably the deodorized oil is selected from soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil, canola oil, and mixtures thereof, and most preferably soybean oil.

A frying oil according to the present invention preferably comprises from about 1% to about 15% highly flavored oil as described above combined with from about 85% to about 99% deodorized oil, more preferably from about 5% to about 15% highly flavored oil and about 85% to about 95% deodorized oil, and most preferably from about 8% to about 12% flavorful oil and from about 88% to about 92% deodorized oil.

Since highly flavored oils are usually more expensive than soybean oil and other oils, a cost benefit is obtained by this blending of small amounts of highly flavored oils with deodorized oils. At the same time, the good flavor of the highly flavored oil is retained.

2. Deodorlzation The deodorization process used in the present invention is like that described in U.S. patent 4,789,554 to Scavone, et al., issued December 6, 1988, which is incorporated by reference herein. The key feature of the process is that it removes more oil darkening components than does conventional deodorization.

This results in a durable frying oil able to withstand the harsh conditions of frying numerous batches of food at high temperatures, over a longer period of time. Because the oil darkens more slowly, its frylife is significantly longer than conventionally processed frying oils, and the oil does not have to be discarded as often. This lowers frying costs.

The present deodorization process differs from the Scavone et al. process in that longer deodorization times are permitted. In this deodorization process, the oil is deodorized by heating it at a temperature between about 530F (2770C) and about 6500F (343"C), at a pressure between about 0.5 mm Hg and about 50 mm Hg, for a time between about 5 seconds and about 35 minutes, while stripping the oil with a stripping medium in the amount of about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the oil, preferably about 0.5% to about 20%, more preferably about 1% to about 5%.

At col. 3, line 17 to col. 5, line 4 of the above-mentioned Scavone et al. patent, the inventors discuss deep-frying, the undesirable color darkening that occurs in frying fats over time, and the theory behind why the deodorization process works to provide improved frylife. At col. 5, line 5 to col. 7, line 19, Scavone et al. discuss the various stripping factors and their interrelationship in providing a deodorization process that results in optimum frylife of the frying fat.

In any deodorization process, it is important to deaerate the oil before it undergoes deodorization. Scavone et al. discuss a deaeration method at col. 8, line 15 to col. 8, line 37.

After the oil is deaerated, it is deodorized by stripping it with steam or another stripping medium at high temperatures and under vacuum. The temperature can range between 530F (277*C) and about 6500F (343it), preferably between about 550'F (288it) and about 6300F (333it), and the time of deodorization is between about 5 seconds and about 35 minutes. More preferred times in order of increasing preference are: about 30 seconds to about 30 minutes, about 30 seconds to about 25 minutes, about 30 seconds to about 20 minutes, and about 30 seconds to about 15 minutes. At col. 8, line 38 to col. 9, line 51, the Scavone et al. patent discusses deodorization temperatures, times, pressures and stripping conditions.After the oil is deodorized in a continuous deodorizer, it is rapidly cooled to a temperature below about 4800F (249'C), preferably below about 370OF (188"C), in a short time to avoid an increase in side reactions in the oil. In a semicontinuous deodorizer, the oil is cooled in one or two trays to a temperature of about 150OF (66it) before leaving the deodorizer.

Any type of deodorization equipment known to the art is suitable for use in the present deodorization process. The Scavone et al. patent describes various types of deodorization equipment and processes at col. 9, line 59 to col. 11, line 28. A continuous deodorizing unit is preferred for use with the invention.

3. Method for Measuring Oil Frvlife For purposes of this invention, "frylife" is defined as the amount of time it takes for a frying oil to darken in color to an absorbance of 1.4A at 520 nanometers wavelength after deep-frying a menu of foods in the oil. The method for measuring frylife in the present invention is the same as that described in U.S. Patent 4,789,554 to Scavone et al., with the exception that the menu of fried foods is changed to that described hereinbelow in Table 1: Table 1 Format for Mixed Menu Improved Frytest 62 batches/kettle/day 2/3 of batches = 1/4 1b.

1/3 of batches = 1 1b.

Menu Mix: Food (1b.) (Food (1b.) Food (1b.) 1. French Fries (.25) 22. French Fries (1.0) 43. Cod Squares (1.0) 2. French Fries (.25) 23. Cod Squares (1.0) 44. Hushpuppies (1.0) 3. French Fries (.25) 24. French Fries (1.0) 45. Chicken (1.0) 4. French Fries (.25) 25. Catfish (1.0) 46. Catfish (1.0) 5. Chicken (.25) 26. Hushpuppies (.25) 47. French Fries (1.0) 6. Hushpuppies (.25) 27. Chicken (.25) 48. Cod Squares (1.0) 7. Cod Squares (.25) 28. French Fries (.25) 49. Hushpuppies (1.0) 8. French Fries (.25) 29. Chicken (.25) 50. Cod Squares (1.0) 9. Chicken (.25) 30. Cod Squares (.25) 51. Hushpuppies (.25) 10. French Fries (.25) 31. French Fries (.25) 52. Chicken (.25) 11. French Fries (1.0) 32. Chicken (.25) 53. French Fries (.25) 12. French Fries (.25) 33. French Fries (.25) 54. Cod Squares (.25) 13. Catfish (.25) 34. French Fries (.25) 55. French Fries (1.0) 14. French Fries (.25) 35. Catfish (.25) 56. French Fries (.25) 15. Catfish (.25) 36. French Fries (.25) 57. Chicken (.25) 16. Cod Squares (.25) 37. Chicken (.25) 58. French Fries (.25) 16. Hushpuppies (1.0) 38. Cod Squares (.25) 59. Catfish (.25) 18. Catfish (1.0) 39. Catfish (.25) 60. French Fries (.25) 19. Cod Squares (1.0) 40. Catfish (.25) 61. French Fries (.25) 20. Hushpuppies (1.0) 41. Hushpuppies (.25) 62. French Fries (.25) 21. Cod Squares (1.0) 42. Chicken (1.0) Note: For each 0.25 1b. chicken batch, each of 4 pieces of chicken are rotated (i.e., for a 4-piece chicken, fry one piece per batch and rotate breast, thigh, wing, 1eg).

Table 1 Summarv: 1/4 lb. 1 lb.

Fries 19 5 Hushpuppies 4 4 Cod Squares 5 6 Catfish 6 3 Chicken 8 2 42 20 All parts, percentages and ratios used in this patent application are by weight unless otherwise defined.

EXAMPLE 1 According to standard methods known in the edible oil processing industry, soybean oil is refined, absorptively bleached with bleaching earth, and then hydrogenated. A blend is made of 96% soybean oil hydrogenated to an iodine value of about 107, and 4% soybean oil hydrogenated to an iodine value of not more than about 8. The soybean oil blend is deaerated to a level of about O.08Y. by volume dissolved oxygen. The soybean oil blend is then heat bleached and vacuum steam distilled (deodorized) essentially according to the process described in Example 1, column 13, line 60 to column 14, line 55, of U.S. Patent 4,789,554 to Scavone et al., issued December 6, 1988 (incorporated by reference herein).

After the soybean oil is deodorized, a major portion of it is partially crystallized in a freezing, working and tempering process (using a scraped wall heat exchanger, a picker box, and then a tempering tank). The partially crystallized oil is then mixed with the remaining oil, and 5 ppm dimethylpolysiloxane (anti-foaming agent) is blended in.

Refined and bleached, but undeodorized, peanut oil is then added to the partially crystallized soybean oil in a ratio of 10X .

peanut oil to 90Z soybean oil, to make the final pourable fluid shortening product. The product has an excellent frylife of 13.1 days as measured by the method described hereinabove. Foods fried in the product have the goc taste of foods fried in 100% deodorized peanut oil.

EXAMPLE 2 The frylives of several different oils are compared. Three different commercial refined, bleached and deodorized 100% peanut oils are found to have frylives of 10.6, 10.3 and 10.0 days. A 100% soybean shortening made according to Example 1 hereinabove (before adding any peanut oil) is found to have a frylife of 13.1 days. The 10% peanut toil/90% soybean shortening product of Example 1 also has a frylife of 13.1 days.

Claims (10)

1. A flavorful frying oil with long frylife comprising: (a) from about 0.1% to about 20% undeodorized highly flavored edible oil; and (b) from about 80% to about 99.9% deodorized edible oil, wherein the deodorized oil has been subjected to a deodorization process comprising: (i) deaerating the oil to a level of less than about 0.1% by volume of dissolved oxygen; then (ii) heating the oil at a temperature between about 530"F (277it) and about 650OF (343eC), at a pressure between about 0.5 mm Hg and about 50 mm Hg, for a time between about 5 seconds and about 35 minutes, while stripping the oil with a stripping medium in the amount of about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the oil.

2. A frying oil according to Claim 1 comprising from about 5% to about 15% undeodorized highly flavored edible oil- and from about 85% to about 95% deodorized edible oil.

3. A frying oil according to Claim 1 wherein the undeodorized highly flavored edible oil is selected from the group of undeodorized oils consisting of peanut oil, roasted peanut oil, walnut oil, roasted walnut oil, corn oil, olive oil, beef tallow, and mixtures thereof.

4. A frying oil according to Claim 3 wherein the undeodorized highly flavored edible oil is undeodorized peanut oil.

5. A frying oil according to Claim 1 wherein the deodorized edible oil is selected from the group of deodorized oils consisting of soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil, canola oil, and mixtures thereof.

6. A frying oil according to Claim 5 wherein the deodorized edible oil is deodorized soybean oil.

7. A frying oil according to Claim 1 wherein the oil is deodorized at a temperature between about 550 F (288"C) and about 630 F (333"C).

8. A frying oil according to Claim 1 wherein the oil is deodorized for a time between about 30 seconds and about 15 minutes.

9. A frying oil according to Claim 1 wherein from about 1% to about 5% stripping medium is used during the deodorization.

10. A frying oil according to Claim 1 wherein during the deodorization the molar ratio of stripping medium to oil is between about 0.05 and about 9.7, and wherein the combination of stripping parameters is selected so that the stripping factor "f" is greater than about 0.6, where f KPVS/PO, and wherein "K" is a constant between about 1 to about 200, "Pv1, (the vapor pressure of the component to be stripped) is not more than about 0.1 mm Hg at 500"F (260C) and not more than about 2 mm of Hg at 6000F (316"C), "S" is the molar steam rate, "P" is the absolute pressure, and "0" is the molar oil rate.