IE81000B1 - Food processing - Google Patents

Abstract

Ready meal packages containing ooked rice are prepared by first preheating water in a cooking vessel, adding rice grains, cooked and discharged from the vessel. Cooked rice is back-washed in the vessel and an indicating means is activated which facilitates delivery through an outlet (5) in a receiving hopper (6). The hopper (6) has a floor defined by a sieve (9) and one side of the hopper is defined by a removable plate (10). The rice which is thoroughly washed on the sieve to provide rice in a free flowing form for volumetric filling into pouches or trays.

Description

Food Processing Introduction The invention relates to a method for preparing ready meal packages containing cooked rice.

It is generally difficult to efficiently prepare ready 5 meal packages containing cooked rice. The rice must be processed on a large scale to a high quality standard which requires not only that the rice has good organoleptic properties but also that it can be efficiently filled into ready meal packages such as pouches or trays.

This invention is therefore directed towards providing an efficient method for preparing ready meal packages containing cooked rice.

Statements of Invention According to the invention there is provided a method for preparing ready meal packages containing cooked rice comprising the steps of :preheating water in a cooking vessel to temperature of from 60° to 70°C at atmospheric pressure; adding grains of raw rice to the vessel; cooking the rice in the vessel; discharging the cooking water from the vessel; - 2 back-washing the rice in the vessel with cold water to cool the rice and to wash starch residues from the rice; activating an indicating means to indicate that the 5 cooked rice is available; in response to the indicating means, delivering the rice from the vessel into a receiving hopper having a sieve, the delivery of cooked rice into the receiving hopper being prevented unless the receiving hopper is in position and the indicating means is activated; washing the rice on the sieve to further remove starch residue and to further cool the rice; draining wash water from the rice in the hopper 15 sieve; and filing the cooled washed cooked rice into a ready meal package.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention cooking water is discharged from the vessel by opening a drain valve sufficient to allow cooking water but not rice to pass.

In a preferred arrangement the cooked rice in the vessel is back-washed with cooling water at ambient temperature.

In a particularly preferred arrangement delivery of cooked rice into the receiving hopper sieve is controlled from the hopper sieve.

In one embodiment of the invention the hopper sieve is a mobile unit which is movable into a position adjacent a cooked rice outlet and interlock means are provided to prevent delivery of cooked rice unless the hopper sieve is in position.

In one arrangement the cooked washed rice is volumetrically filled into a ready meal package.

Preferably the cooked washed rice is volumetrically filled into a pouch.

Alternatively the cooked washed rice is volumetrically filled into a tray.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention a method includes the step of delivering meat pieces to a multihead weigher and filing the meat pieces by weight into a ready meal package.

Preferably the meat pieces are delivered into a package through an accumulation plate which is movable laterally across a weigher tool to open and close the pocket inlet.

In a preferred arrangement the weigher tool has a scraper bar to scrape the surface of the accumulation plate as the accumulation plate moves laterally on filling.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the package is a pouch and the method includes the step of packaging the rice pouch and meat-containing pouch together to form a combination ready meal package.

The invention also provides ready meal packages contained rice whenever prepared by a method of the invention.

Brief description of the Drawings The invention will be more clearly understood from the following descriptions thereof given by way of example only as reference to the accompanying drawings in which:5 Fig. 1 is perspective view of a rice receiving hopper used in the method of the invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a detail of the hopper Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a side partly cross sectional view of the hopper Fig. 1.

Detailed Description of the Drawings Ready meal packages containing cooked rice are prepared by first preheating water in a cooking vessel to a temperature from 60°C to 70°C at atmospheric pressure.

Grains of rice which is typically long grain American rice are then added to the preheated water in the cooking vessel. Because the rice is added to the water the efficiency of the process is increased as the rice grains begin to swell immediately they are added to the water.

The vessel typically has a capacity of about 400 litres and a batch of typically 180kg of rice are added to three to four hundred litres of preheated water in the vessel over a period of two minutes. The rice is then cooked in the vessel at this temperature for a further period of typically 18 minutes at atmospheric pressure over which period the rice absorbs typically one and a half times its own weight of water.

On completion of the cooking process the cooking water is discharged from the cooking vessel by opening a drain valve a sufficient amount to allow cooking water but not rice to pass through to drain. The cooked rice is then » back-washed in the vessel with cooling water at ambient temperature. This retards the cooking process as quickly as possible and is essential to ensure that the rice does not continue cooking in an uncontrolled manner during transfer and draining as will be described in more detail below. In addition, the back-washing process removes the first heavy starch residue from the rice to assist in developing a more free flowing consistent product.

When the rice is cooked an indicating means is activated to indicate that the cooked rice is available for delivery into a receiving area. In response to the indicating means the rice is delivered through an outlet 5 into a receiving hopper 6 as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3. The delivery of cooked rice into the receiving hopper 6 is prevented unless the receiving hopper 6 is in position and the indicating means is activated. The rice is then washed in the hopper 6 as will be described in more detail below which further removes starch reside and further cools the rice. The cooled washed cooked rice is then volumetrically filled into a ready meal package such as a pouch or a tray.

In more detail the hopper 6 comprises a generally rectilinear container having an open top 8 through which the rice is delivered from the outlet 5 onto a floor defined by a sieve 9. One side wall of the hopper is defined by a plate 10 which is removable for discharge of rice from the hopper. The plate 10 is slidably mounted in ‘ tracks 11 at the outlet side of the hopper.

The rice is thoroughly washed on the sieve 9 by washing water which is delivered typically through a flexible hose . Water containing starch residues passes through the sieve 9 and discharges to drain through an outlet 20. After washing, the rice is readily delivered for example into tote bins by sliding the exit plate 10 upwardly and drawing the rice through the outlet for example using a shovel type device.

The hopper 6 is mounted on wheels or castors 25 which allow the hopper to be readily transported from one location to another. To hold the hopper 6 in place in line with the outlet 5 a locking arm 30 pivotally mounted at one end 31 to a fixture such as a wall and engagable at the other end 32 in a bracket 33 of the hopper 6 locks the hopper in position. An interlock means may be provided to prevent delivery of the cooked rice unless the hopper sieve is in position as evidenced by the locking arm 30. The interlock may be an electrical interlock provided through an electrical switching device which will activate when the locking arm 30 or any other suitable locking means is in position.

The invention provides a highly efficient process for producing cooked rice in a free flowing form for accurately filling, for example volumetrically, into ready meal packages such as pouches or trays.

The pouches containing rice may be combined with a further pouch containing meat pieces to produce a ready meal package. In this case the method includes the step of delivering meat pieces to a multi-head weigher and filling the meat pieces by weight into a ready meal package. The meat pieces are preferably delivered into a package through an accumulation plate which is moveable laterally across a weigher to open and close the pocket inlet. The weigher has a scraper bar to scrape the surface of the accumulation plate as the accumulation plate moves laterally on filling. Preferably the package is a pouch and the method includes the step of packaging the rice pouch and meat containing pouch together to form a combination ready meal package.

The provision of a scraper bar to scrape the surface of 5 the accumulation plate as the plate moves laterally on filling ensures continuous accurate filling of meat into the pouches as debris is cleared on each pass, thus preventing blockage of the delivery outlets.

Many variations on the specific embodiments of the 10 invention will be readily apparent and accordingly the invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail.

Claims (10)

1. A method for preparing ready meal packages containing cooked rice comprising the steps of :preheating water in a cooking vessel to 5 temperature of from 60° to 70°C at atmospheric pressure; adding grains of raw rice to the vessel; cooking the rice in the vessel; discharging the cooking water from the vessel; 10 back-washing the rice in the vessel with cold water to cool the rice and to wash starch residues from the rice; activating an indicating means to indicate that the cooked rice is available; 15 in response to the indicating means, delivering the rice from the vessel into a receiving hopper having a sieve, the delivery of cooked rice into the receiving hopper being prevented unless the receiving hopper is in position and the indicating 20 means is activated; washing the rice on the sieve to further remove starch residue and to further cool the rice; draining wash water from the rice in the hopper sieve; and filing the cooled washed cooked rice into a ready meal package.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein delivery of cooked rice into the receiving hopper sieve is controlled from the hopper sieve.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the hopper sieve is a mobile unit which is movable into a position adjacent a cooked rice outlet and interlock means are provided to prevent delivery of cooked rice unless the hopper sieve is in position.

4. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the cooked washed rice is volumetrically filled into a ready meal package. 5. Step of packaging the rice pouch and meat-containing pouch together to form a combination ready meal package. 11. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the cooked washed rice is volumetrically filled into a pouch.

6. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the cooked washed rice is volumetrically filled into a tray.

7. A method as ciaimed in any of claims 1 to 5 including the step of delivering meat pieces to a multi-head weigher and filing the meat pieces by weight into a ready meal package.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the meat pieces are delivered into a package through an accumulation plate which is movable laterally across a weigher tool to open and close the pocket inlet.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein the weigher tool has a scraper bar to scrape the surface of the «/ accumulation plate as the accumulation plate moves laterally on filling. 10. A method as claimed in any of claims 7 to 9 wherein the package is a pouch and the method includes the

10. 12. A ready meal package whenever prepared by a method as claimed in any preceding claim.