GB766889A - Process for the treatment of edible or ingestible substances and the products thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A granular or powdered ingestible substance, exemplified by dried milk, sugar, cocoa, or a granular or powdered pharmaceutical preparation, drug, analgesic, vitamin or hormone, and another ingestible substance which is compatible with the first, is soluble or swellable in aqueous liquids and is coating or binding agent are compounded without undue rise in temperature, to form grains in which cores of the first substance are embedded in the second substance. The coating substance, exemplified by sugar, a mixture of sugars, or starch, an edible vegetable gel, pectin, or gelatine with sufficient sugar to render it non-hygroscopic, may be added as a highly concentrated liquid, and may penetrate the cores as well as coating them. The core substance may be a mixture. Treatment of swellable or soluble core substances may comprise spraying of the core substance with the coating substance in liquid form, granulating and drying the sprayed product, spraying the dried granules with the coating substance in more concentrated liquid form, and again granulating and drying. Examples are concerned with (i) making a cocoa preparation which is readily dispersible in hot milk by spraying cocoa powder in a rotating drum with a hot, supersaturated solution of sugar while maintaining the cocoa at 33 DEG C., granulating the mixture, and drying the granules at not above 33 DEG C., (ii) making a milk preparation which may be stirred into warm or hot water to form a stable dispersion by spraying dried milk powder in a rotating drum with hot 75 per cent sugar solution while maintaining the powder at not above 50 DEG C., partially drying the product at 30-45 DEG C., pressing it through a sieve to produce 1 mm. granules, completing the drying, spraying these grains with 75 per cent sugar solution, drying, and sieving to separate dust from the coated grains, and (iii) making a blancmange preparation for stirring into hot milk or water by moistening a mixture of maize starch, swollen rice starch, sugar, and vanilla or fruit flavouring, and, if desired, dried whole or skimmed milk, in a rotating drum with a hot 80 per cent sugar solution, pressing the mass through a sieve to produce 1 mm. grains and drying completely at 30-40 DEG C.