MXPA01012210A - Clean and fast nixtamalization process for fresh corn dough production to elaborate tortillas, instant flours and by-products - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a fast and ecological process for the elaboration of fresh dough for the production of tortillas, instant flours, and by-products. It is used as raw material for obtaining fresh dough and instant flours, ground raw corn, lime and water. The ground raw corn (wholemeal or decorticated) it can be any genotype. The mixture of ground raw corn and lime is conditioned with hot water during an adequate time. The hydration times are longer than 5 minutes with water temperatures fluctuating from ambient temperature up to 90§C. This mixture is ground in a mill which allows the application of a cut effort or shearing to the material without provoking excessive harm to the starch and the grain?s chemical components, not affecting the physical and rheological properties of the dough. From this milling it is obtained pregelatinized dough which can be use directly in the production of tortillas or by-products, and by means of the dehydration,milling and sifting stages there are obtained instant flours that can be employed in the production of tortillas and by-products. If a major degree of gelatinization is necessary a subsequent baking is done using known methods such as direct fire, water-bath, extrusion, electric, microwave, infrared, etc. Specifically, the present invention depicts a fast and continuous process developed for the elaboration of fresh dough with improved nourishing properties with regard to the conventional process. This process has the following advantages over previous reported processes:1) it is a fast and continuous process, 2) the processing tempos are short, 3) facilitates the nutrients incorporation, 4) it does not produces polluting effluents, 5) the required equipment is compact and conventional, 6) it incorporates the grain pericarp, yielding more product, 7) it allows more water absorption in the dough, improving the texture characteristics of tortillas, instant flours and by-products.

Description

CLEAN AND QUICK NIXTAMALIZATION PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FRESH MAIZE MASS TO PREPARE TORTILLAS, INSTANTANEOUS FLOURS, THEIR DERIVATIVES.

In the present invention, a rapid and ecological process for the production of fresh dough for the production of tortillas, instant flours and derivatives is described. Raw corn and water are used as raw materials for obtaining fresh dough and instant flours. The raw ground corn (integral or decorticated) can be of any genotype. The mixture of ground raw corn and lime is conditioned with hot water for a suitable time. The hydration times are greater than 5 minutes with water temperatures ranging from room temperature to 90 ° O This mixture is ground in a stone mill or any other mill that allows the application of a shearing stress to the material without causing excessive damage to the starch and grain chemical components so as not to affect the physical and rheological properties of the dough. From this grinding s obtained pregelatinized mass that can be used directly in the production of tortillas or their derivatives, and through the stages of dehydration, grinding and sifting they obtain instant flours that can also be used in the production of tortillas. If a greater degree of gelatinization is necessary, a subsequent cooking is carried out using methods known as direct fire, water bath, electric extrusion, micro-waves, infrared, etc. Specifically, the present invention describes a rapid and continuous process developed for the production of fresh dough with improved food properties in relation to the conventional process. This process has the following advantages over previously reported processes: 1) It is a continuous rapid process, 2) The processing times are short, 3) It facilitates the incorporation of nutrients, 4) It does not produce polluting effluents, 5) The equipment that is required e compact and conventional 6) It incorporates the pericarp of the grain, so it has higher product yield, 7) It allows greater water absorption in the dough, and improves the texture characteristics in tortillas, instant flours and their derivatives.

AREA OF THE INVENTION The present invention describes an ecological process of nixtamalization developed for the production of fresh dough for the production of tortillas and their derivatives, as well as instant flours used in the elaboration of the same products. In this process, raw maize (integral or decorticated) of any genotype, lime and water is used as a raw material, and they are processed in a stone mill with special characteristics, in engraving (chopped) and in size, to produce pre-prepared fresh dough. gelatinized, which can be used directly in the preparation of tortillas and their derivatives, or through the stages of dehydration grinding and screening, for the production of instant flours used in the manufacture of the same products. Depending on the desirable characteristics, a greater degree of gelatinization of the starch can be obtained with a cooking after the grinding using any cooking method, for example, by extrusion, electric, micro-waves, infrared, etc. The production of fresh dough is carried out in a minimum period of approximately 15 minutes. Specifically, the present invention describes a rapid and ecological process developed for obtaining fresh dough. This is a non-conventional process without effluent production, greater water absorption in the dough, shorter processing time, lower energy expenditure and higher yield of fresh dough. The instant flour and tortillas obtained are of better nutritional quality and texture than the tortillas obtained by the conventional process.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE INVENTION The history of the tortilla goes back to the origin of the indigenous roots of the Mexican people and the basic stages for the preparation of tortillas have remained unchanged since those times. Practically, the traditional process used by the first settlers of Mesoamerica continues being used.

The tortilla is the most important food of Mexico (considered the main source of protein and calories for social groups of low socioeconomic level), of some countries of Central America and currently in wide expansion in the United States of North America. The tortilla is used as a basic product for the elaboration of numerous traditional foods such as snacks, tortilla chips, tacos, toasts, enchiladas, burritos and nachos. In Mexico, under various forms of consumption, the tortilla is part of the diet of all social strata with an annual "per capita" consumption of 120 kg and in rural areas it provides approximately 70% of the total calories consumed, constituting the main power source.

The traditional method of nixtamalization consists of an alkaline cooking of whole grain corn in water (water: corn ratio, 3: 1) at boiling temperature for 30-40 min. 1 to 2% by weight of lime is added before cooking. After this stage the cooked corn is left to rest for a period of 12 to 18 hours. The cooked and reposed corn is called nixtamal and the solid-rich cooking liquid is called nejayote. The nixtamal after washing is ground with the addition of small volumes of water; the dough obtained is molded to form tortillas that are subsequently cooked on both sides in a clay comal, metal or ceramic surface at temperatures of 180-210 ° C for approximately 2 minutes.

At an industrial level, corn is cooked using different processes that can use either closed containers with steam or continuous nixtamalization drums. The important variables of the process are: type of corn, time and temperature of cooking, concentration of lime, frequency of agitation to keep the lime in suspension and washing of the nixtamal. The most common process uses cooking pots containing water, lime and corn, to which steam is injected until reaching a temperature close to that of boiling. The cooking water is recirculated and the nixtamal is drained keeping the lime in suspension. For use in tortillas, corn is kept at a temperature close to boiling temperature for a time of 35-40 minutes, for other uses, such as snacks, this time is shorter. At the end of cooking, cold water is added and it rests for 8 to 12 hours. Afterwards we proceed to the washing, generally using horizontal rotating barrels or drums where the water is added under pressure in the form of 'spray'. For the production of fresh dough the nixtamal is washed and ground. For tortillas the dough is formed into circular pieces, and they are generally cooked in conveyor belts at temperatures between 300-320 ° C, heated with L.P.

The traditional process of making tortillas and instant flours commercially involves times and excessive work spaces. This process also causes significant losses of thiamine, riboflavin, fat and corn grain fiber. The cooking liquid or nejayate contains solid particles of fragments of pericarp (fiber), starch, protein and soluble germ that are difficult to biodegrade. The stages of the process affect the yields with a subsequent production of effluents and / or ecological damage. In addition to these factors, subjective determinations and empirical methods are carried out during each stage of the process, which affect the quality of the final product. All these factors are of economic and commercial importance for the tortilla industry.

Several researches have been carried out (Bressani, et al 1958, Vaqueiro, O 1986) in order to make the traditional process of nixtamalization more efficient. These have basically considered water aspects: corn, lime concentration, temperature and cooking time, resting the cooked grain and milling, without modifying the traditional basic characteristics of the nixtamalization process.

Dried masa dough.

Several papers have been published reporting processes for the production of instant flours for tortillas (Lloyd and Millares Sotres, 1952, Diez de Solano and Bem'ozabal, 1955, Eintinge, 1965, Mendoza, 1975, Rubio 1985, Molina, et al, 1977 ). Several companies produce dehydrated corn flours (dough flours) which, once rehydrated, produce dough for tortillas and snacks. In Mexico, instant flours have gained popularity among the urban population because they eliminate the intensive and tedious work of the traditional process.

The production of annealed or instant p-ground flours is carried out using various methods, based on traditional alkaline cooking. The dry and ground mass is screened and reformulated in flours, with careful control of particle size distribution to meet the different requirements of the product. Montemayor and Rubio (1983) describe continuous and batch processes of corn cooking for instant production, In both processes, the lime is mixed with equal parts of corn water in a screw conveyor, adapted to a steam injector. corn is cooked as it is transported, then washed to remove part of the pericarp excess of lime and finally dehydrated and ground to obtain flours with the distribution of the desired particle size.

The times, cooking and resting temperatures are critical. In general, these parameters are lower for corn used to prepare instant flours than those used for the preparation of fresh dough for tortillas, because the dehydration process causes additional gelatinization.

Various alternative methods have been proposed to produce instant flours. Molin et al (1977) reported the production of instant corn flour using a double-drum dryer with an internal pressure of 1.10-1.83 Kg / cm2 (15-25psi) at 2-4 rpm, temperature of 93-104 ° C. Drum dryers have low losses of dry material in relation to the traditional process. However, the required steam energy per kilogram of processed product is high. Mendoza (1975) describes an alkaline cooking method using a steam chamber in a temperature range of 80-120 ° C, in which the mixture of corn flour and lime is introduced for cooking. Stemer and Zon (1981) prepared instant flour for tortillas taking advantage of the heat generated during the grinding of a mixture of corn and lime under controlled conditions of impact, humidity and temperature. Johnson et al (1980) and Hart (1985) reported the production of dry masa flour by decoction coffees.

The production of dehydrated dough at an industrial level is still based on the traditional nixtamalization method and thus has disadvantages of costs involved in the process. Besides being a wet process with all the hygiene problems involved in the processing plants, this is a serious obstacle to obtaining completely hygienic products, due to the fact that small producers can not obtain adequate waste treatment services and / or effluents, or costs are prohibitive (Gómez et al 1987).

The main disadvantages of prepared products of dry mass are: high production costs, lack of smell and inappropriate texture. To dry the mass, significant amounts of energy are used. Although the energy efficiency of the process is good, the lower costs of the line for dehydration of the dough are high per unit of product, in relation to fresh dough prepared directly from corn. In general, many industrial scale producers select the corn-to-mass transformation process due to better quality and lower costs per unit of product (Gómez et al 1987).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show the schematic diagrams of the process to which the present patent refers, indicating its procedures.

The process to be patented consists of: Stage 1.- Broken whole or decorticated corn.

Stage 2.- Hydration of the whole or decorticated broken corn (Stage 1) in water and lime in quantities that are detailed. Stage 1 determines the hydration time, the amount of water temperature and the lime concentration.

Stage 3.- Grinding the broken corn hydrated in a stone mill (or synthetic stone of any material), to homogenize, incorporate water and pre-gelatinize the material obtained from Stage 2.

Stage 4.- Stage 3 pepnite obtain cooked dough for the elaboration of tortillas and their derivatives.

Stage 5.- From stage 3 and by means of a dehydration process of the fresh mass, instant flours and derivatives can be obtained.

Step 6.- Starting from step 3, precooked masses can be obtained. If necessary or greater degree of gelatinization of the starch of the product obtained in stage 3, cooking can be applied to the product until reaching the conditions that are required for use in the production of dough, tortilla and instant flour. The cooking method can be any of those known to those skilled in the art, such as steam, electric, extrusion, microwave, infrared, etc., direct cooking.

Corn (whole or decorticated) used as raw material in the present process can be of any genotype. The term "whole corn" refers to the grain of corn with all its parts (with its inherent moisture content) free of impurities and foreign matter.The term "corn decorticated" refers to whole grain corn (with its inherent moisture content d) ) After partially removing the pericarp by a mechanical friction or attrition process or any other decortication process, the percentage of removal of the outer layers can be controlled by the residence time in the polishing chamber. purpose of obtaining an omelette with controlled proportions of pericarp and germ, being possible to obtain tortillas with characteristics similar to those obtained by the traditional process, in the latter the separation of part of pericarp and germ are carried out during nixtamalization and washing.

For use in the equipment described above, the grain of whole or decorticated corn with its inherent moisture content is ground in a hammer mill or blades to obtain a broken flour or grain, with an appropriate particle size distribution for tortillas and derivatives that are based on fresh dough. The flour obtained is homogeneously mixed in a feed hopper with lime and water in order to obtain a mixture with an approximate content of 45-60% moisture by weight and an approximate pH of 6-7. To obtain instant flours it is convenient to use a lower moisture content.

The amount of water added to the ground corn flour at the beginning of the process allows to obtain at the end of the process a dough with a moisture content of approximately 50% by weight, suitable for the production of tortillas with excellent characteristics (mass belt and rolabilidad in tortilla).

Dehydration time will depend on: -size of the particle, which can be in the range of 0.1 mm up to dimensions of the raw whole grain.

• The water temperature may be in the range of 15 to 90 ° C. -calc concentration with a range of 0.1 to 2.5% This process allows to have hydration times from 5 minutes to 5 hours depending on the ranges used in the am'ba parameters indicated.

Once the grain is hydrated in the indicated time, this material is ground.

This grinding is done with a stone mill or by any other mill or equipment that allows a homogenization of the particles of the hydrated material, incorporation of water and cooking or precooking of the hydrated material.

The ground material is called dough and is used to obtain tortillas or to obtain flours through a dehydration process of this dough.

The moisture content of the hydrated grain (including the inherent moisture of the corn grain) is about 50-52% by weight.

The percentage of added alkalizing agent is sufficient to provide a fresh dough with a pH in a range of 6-7.5, such that the tortilla or its derivatives possess a characteristic color, flavor and odor similar to the tortilla or derivatives elaborated by the traditional process. The alkalizing agent may be calcium oxide (CaO) or calcium hydroxide (Ca (OH) 2).

The fresh mass obtained has a moisture content of approximately 50-52%. The tortillas obtained with this fresh dough generally have a moisture content of 40-42%.

Claims (2)

CLAIMS What we claim in the present invention is:

1. - A fast and clean process developed for the preparation of fresh dough, tortillas, instant flour and its derivatives. The process consists of the following stages: A) Grinding of raw corn (whole or decorticated). B) Hydration in water (at room temperature or at temperatures above the ambient temperature) of ground raw cornmeal (stage A) with a certain concentration of lime, with or without nutrients and / or additives, which are added (one or several) in the required concentrations. The hydration time is defined by the particle size of the raw ground maize flour (Stage A) as well as by the temperature of the water and the concentration of lime and / or nutrients incorporated. The required hydration time comprises the minimum range of 5 minutes up to 5 hours maximum. The term nutrients refers to vitamins and minerals, amino acids, cereal flours, legume or oleaginous flours, proteins and other non-conventional sources of nutrients and the term additives refers to breeders or preservatives for flour, dough, tortilla and its derivatives. The term hydration consists of letting the ground raw corn stand in water and limes some time in a container or in a blender or mixer. C) Grinding of the raw corn flour hydrated (Stage B) in a stone mill or any other mill that allows homogenization, incorporation of water from the raw ground corn flour (Stage B) that is to say that it allows to obtain a plasticizer mixture of raw ground corn flour (Stage B). Controlling the speed and the shear of the used mill, it is obtained a cooking or the pre-cooking is due to the friction effect of the mill and the raw ground corn flour hydrated. The material obtained is called cooked fresh dough or pre-cooked fresh dough. D) The cooked or precooked fresh dough from stage C is used to obtain tortillas and their derivatives or to obtain instant flours and their derivatives. In stage A, the raw material is any genotype of integral or decorticated raw corn grain. The grinding is carried out to obtain a particle size between 0.1 mm to 5 mm depending on its subsequent use. In stage B the temperature of the water used for hydration comprises a range of temperature ranging from room temperature to 90 ° W. In this stage the water is incorporated into the ground raw cornmeal of stage A. Lime is also incorporated in a proportion of 0.1% to 2.5%. The nutrients and additives that are added can be in different concentrations. The hydration times (rest) vary from 5 minutes to 5 hours depending on their subsequent use. It also depends on the temperature of the incorporated water, the concentration of lime and the concentration of nutrients and additives. It also depends on the type of container where it is hydrated, being able to be in a blender, a mixer or a hopper. In stage C the mill used is a stone mill or any other mill or instrument that allows to grind the mixture of ground raw hydrated corn from stage B. The mill in this stage is used to obtain a homogenization of the raw corn particles hydrated milled and the incorporation of water within the same particles of ground raw hydrated corn. The mill is also used to cause a frictional heating of the raw ground corn flour hydrated and thus obtain a cooking or pre-cooking of the raw ground corn flour hydrated. The mixture obtained in this step C will be called cooked fresh dough or pre-cooked fresh dough. The cooking or pre-cooking of the dough is controlled by the speed of rotation and the separation of the stones that cause the shearing of the dough. The size of the stones and the chopping (engraving) is important since it determines the residence time of the material in the mill. The friction between the mill and the raw ground corn flour hydrated causes an elevation of the temperature that allows the cooking or pre-cooking of the same. The cooked fresh dough or the pre-cooked fresh dough obtained in stage C allows obtaining the following products that are proclaimed: n Tortilla that is made from the mixture of stage C using whole corn. Tortilla prepared from the mixture of stage C using whole corn. Enriched whole corn tortilla, prepared from stage C to which it is added, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, cereal flours, legumes and other unconventional sources of nutrients. Frozen raw tortilla (integral) made by this process in which the mixture of stage C is used for the formation of raw fresh dough that is molded into discs, which are frozen and ready to cook when needed. Enriched frozen raw omelette (integral) made by this process in which the mixture of stage C is used for the formation of fresh dough that is molded in the form of discs that are frozen and ready to cook when needed. Integral instant corn flour that is elaborated from the mixture of the stage C adding in this stage of a 45 to 55% of water (for an easy drying and minor damage to the starch in the drying). The fresh dough obtained is subjected to dehydration, grinding and screening operations to obtain instant maize flours, which, once rehydrated, are used to make tortillas and their derivatives. Instant corn flour prepared from the mixture of stage C using decorticated corn, adding 45 to 55% water (for easy drying and less damage of the starch in drying). The fresh dough obtained is subjected to dehydration, grinding and screening operations to obtain instant maize flours, which, once rehydrated, are used to make tortillas and their derivatives. Integral instant corn flour, (pregelatinized without lime), for the preparation of arepas. Fresh dough for arepas preparation. EXAMPLE 1 In this example, the process to obtain fresh dough for tortillas is described using maize whole grain as raw material. At the beginning of the process, whole raw corn was ground, clean and free of impurities. The milling was performed up to a particle size of 4 mm. The ground corn was placed in a mixer and water was added at a temperature of 85 to 90 ° C and a lime concentration of 0.3%. It was conditioned for 2 to 4 h. This mixture was ground in a stone mill with an opening between the stones of 0.5 mm. Feeding gradually a pre-cooked dough with a moisture content of 50% ready to be used to make tortillas or derived from them was obtained. EXAMPLE 2 This example describes the process for obtaining fresh dough for tortillas using corn decorticated as raw material. At the beginning of the process, decorticated raw corn was ground clean and free of impurities. The decorticating operation was performed with the purpose of partially removing the pericarp and germ (approximately 7%). The grinding was carried out up to a particle size of 1 mm. The flour obtained was introduced to a mixer and water was added at a temperature of 80 ° C and a lime concentration of 0.25%. It was left to rest for 30 minutes. This mixture was ground in a stone mill with an opening between the stones of 0.5 mm. Feeding gradually a pre-cooked dough with a moisture content of 40% was obtained, this pre-cooked fresh dough was fed back to the mill incorporating water in the grinding and fresh cooked mass with 50% humidity was obtained and ready to be used to make tortillas or derivatives of them. EXAMPLE 3 This example describes the process to obtain fresh dough for the preparation of instant flours for corn tortillas and derivatives using whole grain corn as raw material. At the beginning of the process, whole raw corn was ground, clean and free of impurities. The milling was performed up to a particle size of 4 mm. The ground corn was placed in a mixer and water was added at a temperature of 85 to 90 ° C and a lime concentration of 0.3%. It was conditioned for a period of 2 hours. This mixture was ground in a _ L. stone mill with a distance between the stones of 0.5 mm. Feeding gradually a precooked dough with a moisture content of 50% was obtained, this pre-cooked fresh dough was subjected to a dehydration process and ground to obtain instant flours of integral dough for the elaboration of tortillas. EXAMPLE 4 This example describes the process to obtain fresh dough for the preparation of instant flours for corn tortillas and derivatives using maize grain as raw material. At the beginning of the process, raw corn was ground, clean and free of impurities. The milling was performed up to a particle size of 4 mm. The ground corn was placed in a mixer where water was incorporated at a temperature of 85 to 90 ° C and a lime concentration of 0.3%. It was conditioned for a period of time from 15 minutes to 2 hours. This mixture was ground in a stone mill with a distance between the stones of 0.5 mm. Feeding gradually a pre-cooked dough was obtained which was subjected to a dehydration process and ground to obtain instant dough flours for making tortillas. (APPENDIX SHEET) SUMMARY In the present invention, a fast and ecological process for the production of fresh dough for the production of tortillas, instant flours and derivatives is described. Raw raw maize, lime and water are used as raw material for obtaining fresh dough and instant flours. The raw ground corn (integral or decorticated) can be of any genotype. The mixture of ground raw corn and lime is conditioned with hot water for a suitable time. Hydration times are greater than 5 minutes with water temperatures ranging from room temperature to 90 ° O This mixture is milled in a stone mill or any other mill that allows the application of a shearing or shearing stress to the material without cause excessive damage to the starch and chemical components of the grain so as not to affect the physical and rheological properties of the dough. This grinding produces pregelatinized dough that can be used directly in the production of tortillas or their derivatives, and through the dehydration, grinding and screening stages, instant flours are obtained that can also be used in the production of tortillas and derivatives. If a greater degree of gelatinization is necessary, a subsequent cooking is carried out using methods known as direct fire, water bath, extrusion, electric, micro-wave, infrared, etc. Specifically, the present invention describes a rapid and continuous process developed for the production of fresh dough with improved nutritional properties in relation to the conventional process. This process has the following advantages over previously reported processes: 1) It is a fast and continuous process, 2) The processing times are short, 3) It facilitates the incoforation of nutrients. 4) It does not produce polluting effluents. 5) The equipment required is compact and conventional 6) Incofora the grain pericafio, so it has higher product yield, 7) It allows greater water absorption in the dough, and improves the texture characteristics in tortillas, flours snapshots and their derivatives.