GB2346063A - An edible vegetarian casing for food products comprising plasticised gellan gum - Google Patents

Abstract

An edible animal free encasement for covering food mass comprises gellan gum and a plasticiser, which is preferably glycerine. The food mass is preferably a vegetarian sausage and the encasement preferably may be able to withstand conventional cooking processes and be frown and thawed without losing structure. The encasement preferably comprises 4% low acyl gellan gum, 1% glycerine and 95% water and has a coat weight of between 1 and 15 grams per square metre. The encasement is preferably applied to the food mass as a coating solution gel at elevated temperatures, preferably 80 {C, which cools within seconds on contact with the colder food mass to form a skin. The preferred method of application of the encasement is by extrusion but it may also be applied by dipping or spraying.

Description

Title : An animal free sausage encasement Field of the Invention This invention relates to the formulation and application of an encasement for meat free sausages.

Background to the invention The provision of meat free foodstuffs for the growing numbers of individuals adopting an animal free diet is well established. Concern for animal welfare and certain diseases associated with the consumption of meat such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) has led to dramatic increases in the market for vegetarian foods. In order give such products the appeal of their meat counterparts it is standard procedure to shape and colour the meat free products in a way which limits differentiation. With the range of vegetarian products expanding there exists a requirement for specialist animal free food components which impart specific characteristics normally only found in meat based products. Some products are inherently more difficult to mimic than others due to the fact that animal components within them provide structure or cause a distinctive appearance after cooking. An example of a particular product which is very difficult to produce animal free is a sausage skin. The outer skin in meat sausages is animal derived, has some unique characteristics and has a very distinctive appearance after cooking. To date this skin is absent in vegetarian sausages, causing them to lack integrity both before and after cooking, and to have a very different appearance from their meat counterparts. In addition it is usually necessary to flash fry or boil such sausages soon after production and prior to packing in order to impart sufficient strength to enable the sausages to be handled. It is these problems which this invention overcomes.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides the materials and methods for the production of an encasement for a food mass typified by vegetarian sausage mix. Surface application of a coating formulation applied at elevated temperatures causes a skin like formation around the mass as it cools which will withstand the rigours of cooking. The coating layer formed also imparts sufficient strength for general handling so as to make a flash fry prior to packaging unnecessary.

The coating solution based on Gellan gum can be applied by a variety of methods including, dipping, spraying, extrusion In a preferred aspect of this invention the coating is applied by extrusion onto the surface during production.

The coating layer sets within seconds as cooling occurs thus the manufacturing process does not have to be slowed down to incorporate the coating. Careful selection of the Gellan gum type and electrolyte added to the gum solution or within the protein food mass controls the rate at which the skin is formed and prevents it being destroyed during the reheating and cooking process. Any water in the skin is driven off during the cooking process and helps to strengthen the encasement still further.

Detailed description of the Embodiment Gellan gum is a polysaccharide obtained by the aerobic fermentation of the micro organism Sphingomonas elodea in a suitable nutrient medium and various grades are available. High acyl gellan gum has a number of its hydroxyl group on the glucose unit substituted by acetate and glycerate groups. This form tends to produce gels at a elevated temperatures of 70-80C which are thermally reversible. Low acyl gellan gum has its substituent groups removed and typically forms gels at temperatures between 30-60C.

Electrolytes present either in the gel solution or in contact with the gel itself can change the temperature at which it sets. On cooling a gellan gum to the setting temperature it will harden quickly, a term known as snap setting.

As the application of this invention requires films which survive the cooking process a form which is not thermally reversible is required. Consequently low acetyl gellan gum is chosen.

A mixture of 95% water, 4% Low acyl gellan gum and 1% glycerine is made up and heated to 80C until the gel becomes clear. This gel is then used to surface coat a food mass as it emerges from the manufacturing process. The gel snap sets once in contact with the cold food mass whereupon the coating forms a skin of high integrity over the whole surface of the food mass.

The resulting skin formed around the sausage will retain its integrity during frying, grilling, boiling, and microwave cooking. It can also be frozen and thawed without losing structure.

A preferred coat weight is 5 grams per square metre, of which around 0.2 gms is low acyl gellan gum.

Example A protein mass typical of vegetarian sausage meat is prepared in the usual manner.

This is extruded into a rod of correct dimensions for sausage production and cut into lengths. The cut lengths are then dipped into a solution consisting of 95% water, 4% low acyl gellan gum and 1% glycerine which is at a temperature of 80C. On cooling to 60C the resultant solution forms an encasement around the protein mass which mimics a conventional sausage skin. This encasement will retain the appearance of a skin during all standard cooking methods.

Claims (7)

1. Claims 1. An edible animal free encasement for covering food mass, consisting of plasticised gellan gum.
2. 2. An encasement as in claim 1 where the food mass is a vegetarian sausage.
3. 3. An encasement as in claim 1 where the plasticiser is glycerine.
4. 4. A gellan based encasement for vegetarian sausages able to withstand conventional cooking processes.
5. 5. An edible animal free sausage skin able to be frozen and thawed without losing structure.
6. 6. An animal free food mass encased in gellan and glycerine mix at a coat weight between 1 and 15 grams per square metre.
7. 7. A food mass encasement consisting 95% water, 4% low acyl gellan gum and 1% glycerine.