MXPA06008899A - Concentrated tomato products - Google Patents

Abstract

A tomato composition obtained from tomato juice having the following composition in percentage by weight:dry residue>20%up to 99%, water<80%down to 1%;100%being the sum of the two components, wherein the among of water insoluble solids in the dry residue ranges in percentage by weight from 18%to 70%.

Description

CONCENTRATED JITOMATE PRODUCTS DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY The present invention relates to new tomato products that have an improved seasoning strength in particular in the dough, and which have an improved preservative strength. Tomato products, prepared from tomato juice obtained by crushing the fruit, separating the seed and husk, are known in the prior art. Tomato juice is an aqueous suspension of insoluble solids in an aqueous solution in which organic and inorganic substances are dissolved. From the obtained juice you can obtain other products such as passatas (soft sauce) of tomato and tomato concentrates. Tomato passates are generally obtained from juices by partial concentration. Tomato concentrates are obtained through stronger concentration procedures. The methods generally used are reverse osmosis, cryoconcentration and concentration by evaporation. When using reverse osmosis, it is necessary to operate, instead of cold temperatures, at temperatures of approximately 70 ° C to have a satisfactory concentration performance. In addition, it is necessary to clean and regenerate the membranes by means of chemical detergents, which must subsequently be removed. In fact, said compounds are contaminants of the tomato products, if they are present in smaller amounts. See C.S. Leoni "I derivati industrian del pomodoro", Experimental station for the food canning industry in Parma, October 1993, pages 92-93. Cryoconcentration does not apply to tomato juice due to the high percentage of solids in suspension, which are separated together with ice. See page 93 of the previous quote. In practice, concentration by evaporation is still the method of choice for concentrating tomato juice. See page 93 of the previous reference. This method involves heating the juice. With this procedure, a tomato product with worsted organoleptic and nutritional properties is obtained. The organoleptic variations are a caramel flavor and a typical cooked aroma ("cotto") present in the tomato concentrates and are mainly due to the formation during the concentration of the juice of hydrogen sulphide, dimethyl sulfide, furfural, 3- methylmercaptopropanal, 2,4-heptadienal, acetaldehyde, phenylacetaldehyde, pyrrolidonecarboxylic acid. See S. Porretta "II contrallo della qualitá del derivati del pomodoro", Experimental station for the food canning industry in Parma (1991), page 51; S. J. Kazeniac et al., J. Food Sci. 35 519 (1970); Shallenberge R. S. et al., J. Agrie. Food Chem. 6, 604-605 (1958). The nutritional variations are mainly due to the degradation of the carotenoids present in the tomato and in particular lycopene. The tomato as such and its products have a high nutritional value that is derived from the vitamin components, and mainly from the contained carotenoids. It has been shown that the consumption of products from tomato is related to a decrease in the risk of some types of cancer (prostate, pancreas, stomach). See H. Gerster, J. Am. Col !. Nutr. 1997, 16, 109-126; S. K. Clinton Nutr. Rev. 1998 56, 35-51. The beneficial nutritional effects described above will be attributed to the Carotenoids contained in tomato and in particular lycopene.

Tomato concentrates are commercially known as preserves, which are diluted before use. Tomato concentrates commercial, for example in Italy, are classified as follows: semi-concentrated dry residue 12% by weight; • concentrate (C) 18% double concentrate (DC) 28% triple concentrate (TC) 36% Generally, commercial concentrated products are dilute before and during use. The seasoning strength of triple concentrate (TC) as such, before dilution, is greater than that of other commercial tomato products, including concentrates. By force of seasoning refers the ability of the product to adhere to food, particularly pasta. However, as said, these concentrated products must be diluted before or during use due to its very strong flavor. In consecuense, The advantage of the superior seasoning strength of these products is lost.

Generally, all commercial tomato concentrates having a dry residue greater than 12% show said taste problem and therefore must be diluted.

If a 12% semiconcentrate is used, since t generally should not be diluted before use without showing unpleasant taste problems, the seasoning force is very low, even lower than the CT seasoning force as such. The tomato passatas are used as a ready base for a quick sauce preparation. Generally, in tomato passates, the dry residue, in which it can be determined as described below, is less than or equal to 10% by weight, generally comprised between 5% -7% by weight. It would be advisable to have tomato products available which, in addition to having an improved seasoning strength, have improved organoleptic properties, and also an improved preservation force, referred to as an inferior facility for decomposition of the tomato product in time and therefore a shelf life. improved shelf. Surprisingly and unexpectedly, the applicant has found tomato products that solve the aforementioned technical problem, ie, which can be used as such and which have an improved seasoning strength, improved organoleptic properties, that is, they lack a caramel flavor, bitter taste, cooked aroma ("cotto") and also a bitter taste and therefore have an improved preservation strength as defined above. An objective of the present invention is a tomato composition or product having the following composition (weight percentage): - dry residue > 20% up to 99%, - water < 80% up to 1%; 100% being the sum of the components; wherein the amount of insoluble solids in water and water soluble solids in the dry residue vary in weight percentage as follows: - water insoluble solids from 18% to 70%, - water soluble solids from 82% to 30% %, being 100% the sum of the components. Preferably, the water-insoluble solids and the soluble solids in the dry residue vary in weight percentage in the following manner: water-insoluble solids: 20% -50%, water-soluble solids: 80% -50%. Even preferably, the water-insoluble solids and the soluble solids in the dry residue vary in weight percentage as follows: - water-insoluble solids: 30% -50%, - water-soluble solids: 70% -50% . Preferably, the dry residue and water are within the following limits: - dry residue 25% - 85%, preferably 30% - 80%, - water 75% - 15%, preferably 70% - 20%.

The initial tomato juice to obtain the product of the invention can be obtained from the fruit, or from cubed or crushed tomatoes, from peeled tomatoes or from tomato passata. The tomato products of the present invention therefore have a limited water content and improved seasoning strength.

In addition, as the water content is limited, the taste is improved. An additional advantage of the limited water content is that the tomato products of the invention can be stored for a longer time. The test to determine the force of seasoning is described in the examples. The total dry residue, the water soluble solids and the water insoluble solids are determined as described in the examples. The tomato products of the invention can be obtained through the process described below which includes a more complete separation of tomato serum from the water-insoluble solids, which makes it possible to obtain tomato products according to the invention, which have a content of insoluble solids in water in the dry residue even up to 70%. To further improve the flavor for the tomato products of the invention, it is possible to add and mix with lyophilized or cryoconcentrated tomato juice serum, or concentrated serum by means of osmosis membrane or by evaporation under vacuum. Therefore, it is possible to obtain, for example, tomato products having a lower content of water-insoluble solids in the dried residue. Preferably, the water insoluble solids are between 18% -70%, preferably 20% -50%, particularly 30% -50%, by weight, with reference to the total of water-soluble solids + water-insoluble solids giving a 100 %. Therefore, in the tomato products of the invention, it is possible to adjust the ratio between the insoluble solids in water and those soluble in water. The applicant has found that by varying the amount of water-soluble solids present in the total solids, the flavor properties of the product (more or less intense tomato flavor) can be conveniently dosed. The olfactory properties of the product (fresh tomato odor) depend mainly on the amount of water-insoluble solids present in the total solids, because the water-insoluble solids retain the volatile components. As mentioned, the tomato products of the present invention contain a reduced amount of water and are particularly suitable for forming compositions in combination with foodstuffs and food products that contain even a large amount of water. In this way, the flavor of the tomato is preserved. Examples of foods and food products that have a high water content are entrances, soups, puree, sauces, juices, legumes, vegetables, yoghurts, cottage cheese and dairy products in general.

The tomato products of the present invention can also be used to prepare sauces, such as thick tomato sauce, hot sauce, tomato soup, etc. The tomato products of the present invention in particular can be used as a pizza sauce, because in addition to oils and fats, tomato and other components, a dairy product, for example mozzarella, is added to the yeast dough. a high water content In addition, the Applicant has found that the tomato products of the invention unexpectedly incorporate, for example, by mechanical mixing, without separation of the whey, food products containing fats. The quantity of these last products can vary within wide values. The preferred upper limit is the non-miscibility of the fat-containing products (ie, that is no longer miscible with the tomato product). Examples of products containing fats are: animal and vegetable fats, solid at room temperature, such as for example butter or margarine, mayonnaise, and / or liquid fats at room temperature such as for example vegetable oils, for example olive oil, and / or cheese that has soft or fresh grain or grated hard grain. Any kind of mayonnaise may be used, for example "light" commercial mayonnaise having a lower fat content with respect to mayonnaise.

Therefore, the tomato products of the present invention can be mixed in any ratio with food in the form of water-in-oil or oil-in-water emulsions, such as, for example, mayonnaise. Preferably, the fat contained in the food product is an amount greater than 10% by weight, preferably greater than 20% by weight, based on the weight of the food product. Other examples of these food products that contain fats are salami spread, ham spreadable, etc. Generally, the amount of oil that can be incorporated in the tomato composition ranges from 10 to 25% by weight with reference to the weight of the initial tomato product. Solid fats and soft grain cheese can be incorporated in any desired amount, because the two components (soft grain cheese and tomato product) are perfectly miscible in all ratios; the amount of solid fat, and, respectively, soft grain cheese that can be incorporated varies for example from 30% to 300% by weight, said percentage calculated according to the aforementioned. When foods fats that are solid at room temperature are used, it is preferably to heat said fats, before mixing with the tomato product of the present invention, at least to the point of softening said fats, preferably not more than melting point. The amount of hard and shredded cheeses that can be mixed with the tomato products of the present invention preferably ranges from 10% to 25% by weight, said percentages calculated according to the aforementioned. Said compositions can be used as ready-to-use sauce because they incorporate, as stated above, oil, butter and / or cheeses. To these compositions can be added other common ingredients of food products, such as for example scents of scents, preservatives, etc. The amount of mayonnaise that can be incorporated into the compositions with the tomato products varies from 90% to 20% by weight with reference to the weight of the initial tomato product. Generally, to prepare said products and mixtures of the tomato products of the invention with the aforementioned foods and food products, one operates using for example a mixer at temperatures between 5 ° C and 40 ° C, preferably between 10 ° C and 25 ° C. As indicated, the tomato products of the invention and the compositions obtained therefrom as previously defined have improved seasoning strength and improved organoleptic and nutritional properties compared to products on the market. The products of the invention, in particular the compositions of the tomato products of the invention which can be obtained as mixtures of said products with fats and / or oils and / or cheeses, can also be used as food. For example, these products can be spread on bread, like soft cheeses.

The tomato products of the present invention, as indicated, may be added to or mixed with other foods, also liquid foods. In this case, the quantity of the tomato products of the invention can be such as to give the final product a greater consistency than that of the initial product. Therefore, in preparing mixtures of liquid foods with the tomato products of the present invention, it is possible to obtain preparations having a semi-solid consistency, which can be spread, for example, on bread, which preserve the taste of the liquid food. As mentioned, the tomato products of the present invention have an improved seasoning strength combined with improved organoleptic properties, i.e., unlike the commercial product, without a caramel flavor, or a bitter or sour taste. The Applicant has found that the amount of water-insoluble solids that must be present in the tomato product to confer an improved seasoning strength must be at least 18% by weight with respect to the dry residue of the tomato product, preferably from 20% to 50% by weight with respect to the dry residue. As products that will be seasoned, pasta, meat, fish, vegetables, etc. can be mentioned. The products of the invention show a high content of insoluble solids in water. The applicant has found that the amount of solids not soluble in water in commercial products is not more than 15% by weight in the dry residue. For example, in fresh tomato pulp, the amount of water-insoluble solids is generally about 12.5% the total tomato solids (dry residue). See "Tomato Paste, Purée, Juice &Powder" P. G. Goose, Food Trade Press Ltd 1964. The tomato compositions of the invention, as mentioned, have an improved seasoning strength. As is known, in the final step of preparing a sauce using fresh tomato or a tomato concentrate, these ingredients are mixed in a pot with fats and / or oils, aromas and other ingredients and heated. In this way, lycopene is solubilized by fats and is easily degraded by the concomitant effect of light and oxygen. The tomato product compositions of the invention have the advantage that they can be prepared at room temperature, or at temperatures substantially lower than those normally used to prepare pot sauces. Therefore, the organoleptic and nutritional properties continue to be substantially those of fresh tomato. The procedure for obtaining the tomato products of the invention is described below. It has been surprisingly and unexpectedly discovered that it is possible to filter the tomato juice by keeping the suspension under slow stirring. In fact, it has been observed that under these conditions, stratification of the sediment in the filter does not occur, but rather that said sediments are incorporated in the suspension of the tomato juice. In fact, it is known that filtration of tomato products, in particular tomato and tomato passata juices, is not feasible, because the filter occlies rapidly. The filtration process according to the present invention is carried out rapidly instead. Finally, when there is no more percolation of the serum, a compact mass is formed in the filter which does not stick to the filter and can be easily recovered. Therefore, an object of the present invention is a method for preparing the tomato products of the present invention comprising the following steps: a) separation of the tomato serum from the initial tomato product using a solid-liquid separation apparatus wherein the mass to be filtered is maintained under slow stirring; optionally at the end of said step one or more water additions are made and then step a) is repeated; b) recovery of the mass in the filter and optional addition of concentrated serum; c) concentration and / or lyophilization of the mass recovered in b) and obtaining a product having a residual water content of less than 80% by weight, up to 1% by weight. Preferably, the tomato juice is pretreated according to known methods, for example by hot crushing, cold crushing, or by applying high pressures, for example from the order of 500-3.00.0 Atm (50.5 MPa -3.03 x 102 MPa), to inactivate the enzymes. As an initial tomato product, tomato paste can be used.

Alternatively, as mentioned, as an initial tomato product, cubed, crushed and / or peeled tomatoes may also be used. Step a) of the process of the invention is carried out at temperatures generally in the range of 5 ° C-40 ° C, preferably 10 ° C-25 ° C, preferably 10 ° C-20 ° C, under pressure atmospheric or using slightly higher pressures, from 760 mm Hg (0.101 MPa) up to 900 mm Hg (0.12 MPa), or by applying pressures slightly lower than atmospheric pressure, up to 450 mm Hg (0.06 MPa). In step a) of the method, an apparatus equipped with a stirrer, for example centrally positioned, is preferably used, said stirrer has an angular velocity of 1 rpm at 20 rpm, preferably 2 rpm at 10 rpm, the stirrer blades have a shape such that the suspension is transported towards the central axis of the device. Alternatively, equipment in which the agitator is absent can be used and it is the solid-liquid separation apparatus that rotates about the longitudinal central axis, the rotation speed of the apparatus being 1 rpm at 20 rpm, preferably 2 rpm. rpm at 10 rpm. Another method for carrying out the agitation is to use an apparatus constituted by a sieve maintained under movement, for example, an oscillatory movement, preferably a nutational movement, the oscillations / minute are generally from 1 to 20 oscillations / minute, preferably from 2 to 10 oscillations / minute.

The apparatus that is preferably used in a solid-liquid separator constituted for example by a food-grade stainless steel reactor, having walls with openings or grooves formed for example with woven wire cloth or with wire grids or welding grids . Alternatively, the walls have holes such as drilled holes or drilled holes or holes milled by slots or holes pierced with spokes, prepared by techniques, such as for example, "laser drilling" or "electron beam drilling". The width of the openings or grooves, or the diameter in the case of holes, is not greater than 0.1 mm and preferably not less than 0.005 mm. The length of the slots is not critical. For example, said length may vary from 30 cm to 2 meters, depending on the total volume of the tomato juice to be treated. When the solid-liquid separation apparatus has a bottom wall, it is preferably made of a plate without grooves or holes. Preferably, the solid-liquid separator has a cylindrical section. The apparatus is further equipped, as mentioned, with a device for agitation. The agitation must be very slow, the angular velocity in the case of a mechanical agitator is generally from 1 to 20 rpm, preferably from 2 to 10 rpm, the agitation is such that the solid is transported to the central zone of the separator (referenced to the longitudinal axis). It has been found that this type of agitation prevents the solid from adhering and accumulating on the walls, to avoid the formation of an occlusive layer on the walls of the separator during processing. The distance between the walls and the agitator blades generally varies from 0.5 to 2 cm. The separation of solids-liquids in the process of the present invention ends when there is a compact mass in the separator that no longer separates tomato whey. Unexpectedly, during this step there is no sealing of the spacers having holes or openings of the aforementioned sizes, because unexpectedly a compact mass is formed, as indicated above. This result could not be anticipated because the formation of a layer of product adhering to the walls and substantially impermeable would be expected. The method of the invention using the apparatus described above has a very high productivity due to the fact that there is no product that clogs the grids with inactive time of the consequent procedure for cleaning the separator. An alternative apparatus that can be used for solids-liquid separation of the process according to the present invention, as indicated, is formed by a sieve of concave or flat shape, having hole diameter or slot width of not more than 0.1 mm, preferably not less than 0.005 mm, where the mass to be filtered is loaded. The mass in the sieve is maintained under an oscillatory movement, until a compact mass is formed, which no longer separates the serum. The compact mass recovers easily because it does not adhere to the sieve. The temperature conditions are those indicated above when the separator with agitator is used; Preferably, atmospheric pressure is used. The number of oscillations / minute is that indicated above. Another apparatus that can be used in step a) is constituted by a cylinder in which the walls are for example made of food grade stainless steel and have grooves or holes of the same type mentioned for the separator described above. The width of the openings or grooves or the diameter in the case of holes, is not greater than 0.1 mm and preferably is not less than 0.005 mm. Said cylinder is fixed and has inside an agitator in the form of an Archimedes screw, or the apparatus rotates about the longitudinal central axis and has the shape of a helix wound around its own central axis. In this case there is no mechanical agitator. The angular velocity is generally from 2 to 10 rpm. The process of preference is carried out under the conditions of temperature and pressure described above for the process in which the separator with agitator is used. Preferably, the cylinder is in a horizontal position, and has a diameter which for example can vary from 30 cm to 1 meter, and length from 2 meters to 20 meters. Preferably, the length varies from 2 meters to 5 meters when the apparatus operates in a discontinuous manner. The preferred length is approximately 20 meters when the apparatus operates in a continuous manner. When working in a discontinuous manner, the dough that will be filtered is allowed to pass to the cylinder, even repeating the procedure more times, until a compact mass is formed and there is no separation of the tomato serum. The separator can be made of metal, including steel, or also of plastic material. Preferably, the apparatus is made of food grade stainless steel. The usable plastic materials can be constituted by homopolymers and copolymers of propylene, homopolymers and copolymers of ethylene, etc. At the end of filtration step a), the tomato mass is recovered (step b) to adjust the ratio of soluble / insoluble solids in water to the desired value. The concentration step c) is carried out at temperatures no higher than 40 ° C, for example by concentration under vacuum, or also by lyophilization. In this case, the residual water content in the product obtained can be very low, even in the order of 1% by weight. The process of the invention is preferably carried out under sterile conditions, or alternatively, the tomato product obtained with the process of the invention can be sterilized. In this case, the realization can be carried out by conventional methods, preferably by tindalization, preferably at elevated pressure, for example on the scale of 5,000-7,000 atm. The process according to the present invention can optionally be carried out by operating under an inert gas atmosphere, for example nitrogen. In this way, the contact between the product that is processed and the oxygen in the presence of light is avoided, and therefore the degradation of some nutritional components of the tomato is avoided. This way of operating may be necessary when the process temperature, for unforeseen events, is greater than 40 ° C, preferably greater than 25 ° C. In this way, lycopene losses do not occur in the processing. In operating with the separation process according to the present invention, the carotenoids, lycopene and the other fat-soluble vitamin components included, remain in the solid mass of step b) which has been prepared from the serum. The percolated tomato whey from the separator, which contains a large part of the water soluble solids of tomato juice, is generally recovered by lyophilization or concentration with known methods, for example cryoconcentration and concentration under vacuum. When operating with the process of the present invention starting with the suspensions of tomato juice obtained from partially ripened tomatoes, the width of the slots, or the diameter of the holes of the solid-liquid separation apparatus in step a) can even reach values greater than 0.1 mm but not higher than 0.5 mm, preferably of approximately 0.3 mm. As mentioned, the separated whey contains a large part of the water soluble solids contained in the tomato juice. The applicant has found that the organoleptic (flavor) properties of the tomato products of the invention can be modified by adding water-soluble solids. This addition is carried out by mixing the tomato products of the invention with lyophilized or concentrated tomato serum. Generally the serum is cold concentrated by cryoconcentration, or it can be treated with the other methods described above. With the process according to the present invention, tomato products having a water-insoluble solids content as indicated above are obtained. To the tomato products of the invention, as mentioned, it is possible to add whey to further improve the taste. In this way, it is possible to obtain, for example, tomato products having a lower content of water-insoluble solids in the dry residue, preferably comprised between 18 and 30%. The tomato products according to the present invention maintain the nutritional organoleptic properties of fresh tomato. Therefore, in the products of the present invention there are no variations of the organoleptic properties, as is the case, for example, in the tomato products of the prior art where a caramel flavor and / or a cooked odor is notable ("cotto"). "). In addition, the nutritional properties remain unchanged, because there is no alteration of the carotenoids, in particular lycopene, as is the case in commercial products.

The tomato compositions of the present invention may have a more or less strong tomato flavor, depending on the ratio of soluble / insoluble solids in water. The point to be emphasized is that this organoleptic property for commercial tomato products depends on the variety of tomatoes used and on the maturity of the fruit. Unexpectedly, with the method of the present invention it is possible to obtain tomato products that have a constant flavor from one production batch to another. This is a remarkable result from a commercial point of view. The applicant has found that the flavor of the tomato depends on the ratio of soluble or insoluble solids. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prepare tomato products that more favorably fulfill the individual flavor of the consumer due, as indicated, that it is possible to prepare compositions having a different ratio of soluble solids / solids insoluble. The concentrated products of the invention can be used as such. Optionally, they can be diluted before or during use, preferably the dry amount in percent by weight is comprised in the scale of > 20% -99%, preferably 25% -85%, more preferably 30% -80%. The seasoning strength of the concentrated products of the invention, for example between 25% and 99% by weight undiluted, is greater than that of other commercial tomato products, including concentrates, which have a lower dry residue content. In fact, the concentrated products of the invention should not be diluted before or during use because they do not have a very strong or very marked flavor. The following non-limiting examples illustrate the invention.

EXAMPLES Characterization methods Determination of the seasoning strength of a tomato product according to the invention Materials: - tomato product to be tested, - vegetable oil, preferably olive oil, - spaghetti No. 12 full length, non-cracked De Ceceo brand with cooking time of 12 minutes indicated by the manufacturer, - sea salt. 90 g of tomato product to be tested and 10 g of vegetable oil (total weight of the condiment: 100 g) are placed in a container, preferably a plastic container, previously weighed and having a capacity of 1 liter. 70 g of spaghetti are cooked separately, in 1 liter of water containing 5 g of sea salt, during the time indicated in the package. In the end, the cooked spaghetti is strained until no more drops are formed.

The cooked spaghetti is added to the seasoning previously prepared in the plastic container and with a fork are carefully mixed, slowly for 5 minutes. The container is then placed in boiling water in a water bath for 5 minutes, without mixing. With a fork, the spaghetti are taken from the container in a number of 2-3 at a time and without stirring, the condiment is poured into the container which tends to detach immediately. In the plastic container remains the seasoning that has not adhered to the spaghetti. Finally, the plastic container is weighed and in this way the weight of the seasoning that has not been adhered to the dough is determined. The difference to 100 (initial seasoning weight) gives the quantity which remains attached to the paste (QA). The seasoning strength is defined based on the following equation: QA X 10 Force of seasoning = 100 Determination of the dry residue: total solids The total dry residue is determined in the tomato juice using a vacuum oven (vacuum degree no greater than 450 mm Hg - 59.85 KPa) at 70 ° C. The method is as described in Journal Officiel des Communitées Européenes 7.6.86 L. 153 pages 5-6.

Determination of water content The water content is determined by the difference in weight between the total weight and the dry residue.

Determination of water-soluble solids The determination of water-soluble solids was carried out using an Abbe refractometer (Brix degrees), as described in Journal Officiel des Communitées Europénes 7.6.86 L. 153 pages 6-9.

Determination of water-insoluble solids The determination of water-insoluble solids was carried out when calculating the difference in weight between the dry residue and that of the water-soluble solids (Brix value), as reported in "Tomato Production, Processing and Technology, 3rd Ed. " from W.A. Gould, CTI Publications, Inc., 1992 page 317.

EXAMPLE 1 Preparation of a tomato product The processing is carried out under sterile conditions. 10 Kg of partially mature fruit tomato juice (free of seeds and husk), previously treated with hot crushing to inactivate the enzymes, are transferred in portions to a 10 liter separator equipped with agitator. The separator consists of stainless steel grids that have an opening of 0.5 mm. The bottom wall of the separator has no grooves or holes. The shape of the agitator is such that the solid in the separator is transported towards the central zone of the separator. The distance between the separator walls and the agitator blades is approximately 0.5 cm. Agitation (3 rpm) starts and operates at a temperature on the scale of 5 ° C - 10 ° C. After 3 hours, the stirring is reduced to 2 rpm. It is observed that the mass in the separator has become compact and homogeneous. After 7 hours from the start of the procedure, serum is no longer separated from the mass in the separator. The agitation is interrupted and the product obtained is discharged. 2.7 kg of tomato product are recovered. The analytical characteristics of the product are the following: - dry residue: 10% by weight; - water: 90%; - Solids not soluble in water: 50% by weight with respect to the dry residue; - Water soluble solids: 50% by weight with respect to the dry residue.

EXAMPLE 2 1 kg of the tomato product obtained in the previous example is placed in a lyophilizer. After freezing the product, lyophilization is carried out. In the end, the tomato product (102 g) is recovered in powder form. The analytical characteristics of the product are the following: - dry residue: 98% by weight; - water: 1%; - Water insoluble solids: 50% by weight with respect to the dry residue; - Water soluble solids: 50% by weight with respect to the dry residue.

EXAMPLE 3 500 g of the tomato product obtained in example 1 are concentrated in a concentration apparatus where a vacuum of about 5 mm Hg is carried out at a temperature of 35 ° C, stirring the dough in intervals. The weight of the mass in the concentration apparatus is controlled. When the weight is approximately 50% of the initial weight, the procedure is interrupted, obtaining 240 g of product.

The analytical characteristics of the product are the following: - dry residue: 21% by weight; - water: 79%; - Water insoluble solids: 50% by weight with respect to the dry residue; - Water soluble solids: 50% by weight with respect to the dry residue.

Claims (27)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A tomato composition or product having the following composition (weight percentage): dry residue > 20% up to 99%, water < 80% up to 1%; 100% being the sum of the two components; wherein the amount of water-insoluble solids and water-soluble solids in the dry residue vary in percent by weight as follows: water-insoluble solids of 18% to 70%, water-soluble solids of 82% to 30% .

2. The compositions according to claim 1, further characterized in that the insoluble solids in water and the solids soluble in the dry residue vary in weight percentage as follows: water-insoluble solids: 20% -50%, solids soluble in water: 80% - 50%.

3. The compositions according to claim 2, further characterized in that the insoluble solids in water and the solids soluble in the dry residue vary in weight percentage as follows: water-insoluble solids: 30% -50%, solids soluble in water: 70% - 50%.

4. The compositions according to claims 1-3, further characterized in that the dry residue and water are within the following limits: dry residue 25% - 85%, preferably 30% - 80%, water 75% - 15%, preferably 70% - 20%.

5. The compositions according to the claims 1-4, in combination with lyophilized or cryoconcentrated tomato juice serum, or concentrate, said mixtures have an insoluble water content between 18% -70%, preferably 20% -50%, preferably 30% -50%.

6. The compositions of the tomato products according to claims 1-5, in combination with food and food products.

7. The compositions according to claim 6, further characterized in that said foods and food products are selected from the following: entrances, soups, puree, sauces, juices, vegetables, yoghurts, cottage cheese, and dairy products in general .

8. Sauces containing the tomato products of claims 1-5.

9. The compositions according to claim 6, further characterized in that the foods used are animal and vegetable fats, solid at room temperature, preferably butter or margarine, and / or liquid fats at room temperature such as, for example, vegetable oils, preference olive oil, and / or cheese that has soft or fresh grain or hard grated and grated grain.

10. - The compositions according to claim 6, further characterized in that the foods are emulsions of water in oil or oil in water, preferably mayonnaise.

11. The compositions according to claim 9, further characterized in that the amount of oil varies from 10 to 25% by weight with reference to the weight of the initial tomato product; the amount of solid fats and soft grain cheese varies from 30% to 300% by weight, said percentage calculated as indicated above.

12. The compositions according to claim 9, further characterized in that the amount of hard and shredded cheese preferably ranges from 10% to 25% by weight, said percentages with reference to the weight of the initial tomato product.

13. The compositions according to claim 10, further characterized in that the amount of mayonnaise varies from 90% to 20% by weight with reference to the weight of the initial tomato product.

14. The use of the compositions of claims 1-13 as a condiment.

15. A process for preparing the tomato products of claims 1-5, comprising the following steps: a) separating the tomato serum from the initial tomato product using a solid-liquid separation apparatus, wherein the dough which will be filtered remains under a slow agitation; optionally one or more water additions and consequent repetitions of step a); b) recovery of the mass in the filter and optional addition of concentrated serum; c) concentration and / or lyophilization of the mass recovered in b) and obtaining a product having a residual water content of less than 80% by weight, up to 1% by weight.

16. The process according to claim 15, further characterized in that in step a) the tomato juice, the tomato passata, diced tomatoes, crushed, and / or peeled tomatoes are used; Optionally the tomato juice is treated through hot crushing procedures, cold crushing.

17. The process according to claims 15-16, further characterized in that step a) is carried out at temperatures in the range of 5 ° C-40 ° C, preferably 10 ° C-25 ° C, preferably 10 ° C-20 ° C, under atmospheric pressure, or using slightly higher pressures, from 760 mm Hg (0.101 MPa) up to 900 mm Hg (0.12 MPa), or by applying pressures slightly lower than atmospheric pressure, up to 450 mm Hg (0.06 MPa).

18. The process according to claims 15-17, further characterized in that in step a) an apparatus is used equipped with a preferably centrally placed stirrer, having an angular velocity of 1 rpm at 20 rpm, preferably 2 rpm at 10 rpm, the agitator blades have a shape such that the suspension is transported towards the central axis of the device.

19. The process according to claims 15-17, further characterized in that a solid-liquid separation apparatus is used which rotates about the longitudinal axis, the rotation speed of the apparatus is 1 rpm at 20 rpm, preferably from 2 rpm to 10 rpm.

20. The method according to claims 15-17, further characterized by using an apparatus consisting of a sieve maintained under an oscillatory movement, preferably a nutacional movement, oscillations / minute are generally from 1 to 20 oscillations / minute , preferably from 2 to 10 oscillations / minute.

21. The process according to claims 15-20, further characterized in that the solid-liquid separator is constituted by a reactor having walls with openings or grooves formed for example with woven wire cloth or wire grids or gratings welding; or the walls have holes such as punched holes or drilled holes or holes milled by slits or holes pierced by lightning.

22. The method according to claim 21, further characterized in that the width of the openings or grooves, or the diameter in the case of the holes, is not greater than 0.1 mm and preferably is not less than 0.005 mm, the Slot length is between 30 cm and 2 meters.

23. The method according to claim 15, further characterized in that in step a) a cylinder is preferably used in a horizontal position, which is fixed and has inside an agitator in the form of an Archimedes screw, or the apparatus rotates around the longitudinal central axis and has the shape of a helix wound around its own axis, the angular velocity is from 2 to 10 rpm.

24. The method according to claim 23, further characterized in that the cylinder has a diameter that varies from 30 cm to 1 meter and length from 2 meters to 20 meters.

25. The method according to claims 15-24, further characterized in that the separator is made of metal or also of plastic material.

26. The process according to claims 15-25, performed under sterile conditions, or the obtained tomato product is sterilized.

27. The process according to claim 15, further characterized in that when suspensions of tomato juice obtained from partially ripe fruits, the width of grooves, or the diameter of the holes of the solid-liquid separation apparatus in the step a) is greater than 0.1 mm but not greater than 0.5 mm.