MXPA99010469A - Milled cereal by-product which is an additive for flour and dough - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an additive composition made from milled cereal by-products. The additive is for enhancing the strength and/or stability of food products. The additive composition comprises a cooked cereal by-product which includes gelatinized edible starch. The starch is gelatinized to an extent, and is present in an amount, such that when the composition additive is added to masa or other cereal grain flour or dough at a level of at least about 0.5 weight percent the composition additive is effective for increasing the strength and/or the shelf life of food products made from the additive and flour.

Description

SECONDARY CEREAL PRODUCT. MOLIDO, WHICH IS AN ADDITIVE FOR FLOUR AND MASS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to the production of tortillas and related products. More particularly, it relates to an additive composition for corn and other cereal grain meal to impart advantageous qualities to the tortillas and related products produced therefrom. 2. Background and Description of the Related Art. Background Tortillas Tortillas, which are prepared from circular, flat, unleavened, fat-free pieces of dough, are usually made from nixtamalized corn or cornmeal and roasted on a griddle. Corn has been the traditional cereal for the preparation of tortillas and similar food items in Mexico and Central America from the dough. However, other cereal grains, such as sorghum and wheat, can be used for this purpose. The dough that is used to make tortillas and related products usually only contains whole corn ground with lime or without lime and water.

Tortillas can be used to prepare other products that contain corn, such as tortilla chips, corn chips, taco decks, toasts, enchiladas, burritos, nachos, pretzels, tamales, and other corn and non-corn snacks and products using known methods by those who have experience in the technique. - Tortillas have a high moisture content (generally about 45% moisture of the total weight of the tortillas after cooking). This significantly affects their resistance, stability and nutrient density. The resistance of the tortillas is directly related to the stability (life on the shelf) of the tortillas. It is well known that tortillas, when kept in conditions in which no moisture is lost, anyway become hard and inflexible (stiff) with the passage of time, and break or crumble easily when folded or flexed. This effect increases with time. Freshly made tortillas are very flexible, but lose their flexibility over time. Hardness (loss of flexibility) or stiffening generally increases with decreasing temperature, and is believed to be due to a physical chemical change in the starch constituent of the tortillas (retrogradation). Tortillas, when prepared normally without additives, generally have a shelf life of approximately 12 to 15 hours. After that time, they are usually spoiled by micro-organisms, and become hard or stiff. For the preparation of refined foods, corn is usually subjected to the grinding process. In these processes, the masks (bran) and the germ, which are structures rich in minerals and vitamins, are more or less completely removed. Refined ground products, such as dough flour, consist mainly of the endosperm. Portions of the kernel of corn removed from the endosperm, such as husks or bran, are considered to be waste byproducts which are often placed in the feed of the animals. Corn Kernel Components (kernel) Botanically, a kernel of corn is known as a caryospide, a nut-like, single-seed, dry kernel, in which the fruit covering and the seed merge to form a single kernel. . The mature nuclei are composed of four important parts: pericarp (shell or bran) germ (embryo), endosperm and tip cap. The average composition of whole corn, and its fractions, on a non-damp (dry) basis is as follows: C Pericarp: The kernel of corn is covered by a cuticle impermeable to water. The pericarp (shell or bran) is the wall of the mature ovary that is below the cuticle, and it comprises all the outer cell layers towards the seed coat. It has a high content of polysaccharides that are not starch, such as cellulose and pentosans. (A pentosan is a complex carbohydrate present in many plant tissues, particularly bran, characterized by hydrolysis to obtain monosaccharides of 5 carbon atoms (pentoses) .It is: any member of a group of pentose polysaccharides having the formula (C3H204) found in various foods and vegetable juices). Due to its high fiber content, the pericarp is hard. Germ: The escutiform organ and the embryonic axis are the two important parts of the germ. The escutiform organ forms 90% of the germ, and stores mobilized nutrients during germination. During this transformation, the embryonic axis grows in a seedling. The germ is characterized by its high oil content. It is also rich in raw proteins, sugars, and ash constituents. The escutiform organ contains oil-rich parenchyma cells that have cell walls with dimples. Of the sugars present in the germ, approximately 67% is glucose. Endosperm: The endosperm contains the starch, and has a lower protein content than the germ and the shell. It also has a low content of crude fat and ash constituents. Tip Cap: The tip cap, where the core is attached to the cob, is a continuation of the pericarp, and is usually present during peeling. It contains a loose and spongy parenchyma. Corn grinding When grinding corn to obtain flour, first the corn is cleaned, and then it is usually passed through a scouring pad to remove the tip of the germ end of the kernel. The corn is then tempered by the addition of water to a moisture content which is generally from about 21% to about 24%. The corn is then often passed through a corn degerminator, which releases Xa cascara and the germ, and breaks the endosperm into two or more pieces. The degerminator material is usually dried at approximately 14% to 16% moisture in rotary dryers equipped with steam coils, and then cooled in rotary or gravity type chillers. The material is then passed through a separator of ground corn, which first separates the fine particles, and then graduates and polishes the larger pieces into four sizes. The different grades of broken corn are passed through centrifugal aspirators to remove any loose husk from the endosperm fragments, and produce by-products of the ground cereal such as the sucked husk. These byproducts are waste products which until now have had little value. "Bran sucked" is an impure form of whole bran that usually contains some of the floury endosperm, and the starch and protein present in it, and some of the germ, and the protein present in it, and may contain some semolina . Generally, most of the germ and semolina has already been removed from the cereal grain at this point in the grinding process. It is possible that the aspirated bran does not contain germ, contains all the germ, or contains any intermediate quantity of germ. Similarly, the bran fraction aspirated may not contain semolina of the cereal grain, may contain all the semolina, or may contain any intermediate amount of the semolina. The ground cereal byproduct or the sucked bran that can be used to prepare the additive compositions of the present invention should contain at least about 15% by weight of starch, at least about 6% by weight of protein, and at least about 2% by weight of crude fiber. These percentages are based on the weight of the by-product or bran which naturally includes moisture if it is not subjected to drying. This moisture that occurs naturally in the by-product or bran varies from about 10 to about 15% by weight of the bran. Flour for dough and pasta Flour for dough (dry corn flour that has usually been nixtamalized) and dough (mass of corn that has usually been nixtamalized) are raw materials that can be used for the preparation of tortillas, corn chips, tortilla chips, tacos, nachos and similar products. Nixtamalization is the cooking of cereal grain, such as whole corn kernels, in a medium that usually contains an alkaline substance, such as water containing lime (CaO). After this there is the soaking (wetting) of the cereal grain for a period of time, for example, for about 3 to about 14 hours, the subsequent draining of any remaining cooking liquor, the washing of the cereal grains, and the grinding of the cereal grains to make with drying a cereal grain flour, to which water can be added to make a cereal grain mass from which the tortillas and related products can be prepared. It is well known that not only tortillas, but also the dough used to make tortillas, prepared without additives is extremely unstable, and has a relatively short shelf life. It would be advantageous to provide an additive composition for the flour or dough which is used to make the tortillas and the related products which would significantly increase the resistance of the products, and which would increase the shelf life (stability) and the hardening time of the products from about 12 to about 15 hours to about 14 to about 21 days. It would also be advantageous to provide this additive which increases the nutritional value of the products produced by the flour or dough by providing these products with a higher content of fiber, and with additional vitamins and minerals. In addition, it would be advantageous to produce this additive composition without the production of liquid waste with a material that is essentially a waste byproduct of the milling of the cereal, such as whole corn. It would also be advantageous to provide tortillas and related products prepared with these additives that would retain the taste and other positive attributes of tortillas and related products prepared without such additive. The additive of the present invention imparts the advantageous properties described above to tortillas and related products. The tortillas and the related products prepared with the inexpensive and nutritional additive of the present invention become hard much more slowly than tortillas and related products produced from flour or dough that do not contain this additive or other life extension in the shelf. The additive delays hardening over time, slows the loss of flexibility over time, prolongs shelf life of tortillas and related products and increases the freshness of both freshly made tortillas and reheated tortillas and tortillas. related products. Moreover, the tortillas and the related products produced from this flour or dough will be more nutritious and healthier than the products produced from flour or dough that do not contain this additive. They will have higher fiber content, and also include vitamins and minerals that are present in the by-products of the cereal from which the additive is made. b. Description of the Related Art U.S. Patent No. 3,653,915 does not disclose an additive made from a by-product of milling, but rather states that mono-and diglycerides of long-chain fatty acids or poly-oxyethylene mono-stearate can be incorporated into the mass of the tortillas in order to delay the hardening of the tortillas. U.S. Patent No. 3,655,385 does not disclose an additive made from a ground by-product, but states that a hydrophilic edible gum, such as locust bean gum or gum arabic, can be incorporated into the tortilla dough in order to delay the hardening of the tortillas. U.S. Patent No. 4,555,409 states that the dough can be prepared from corn and grain sorghum. Processed corn and sorghum are mixed and ground to form a food. The patent describes the preparation of grain sorghum by husking the grain, radiating the resulting grain with an infrared source, grinding the grain, fracturing the nuclei, removing the remaining shell, and grinding the kernels. U.S. Patent No. 4,594,260 discloses preparing nixtamalized corn flour by subjecting the whole corn kernels to a process of cleaning the cores, boiling the cores in an aqueous liquor, crushing the cores to form a particulate corn material, sorting the particles to produce a shell fraction isolated from the endosperm / germ fraction, only subject the shell fraction to a nixtamalization step by heating the shell fraction suspended in an aqueous alkaline solution, drain the spent alkaline liquor, wash the fraction from nixtamalized skin, mix the shell fraction with the untreated endosperm / germ fraction, dry the mixture and grind the mixture. Unlike the present invention, the process described in the patent 260 avoids the undue gelatinization of the starch contained in the endosperm of the whole corn. The corn flour produced by the process contains most of the starch in a hydrated form, but not gelatinized, (columns 9 and 10). The nixtamalization of the endosperm of the nuclei is described as not only unnecessary, but undesirable (columns 7-9). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an additive composition which is a by-product of cereal grinding wherein the additive increases the shelf life and / or shelf life of tortillas and related products made from dough flour (or from dough). another grain of cereal) or dough. The additive comprises a by-product of cereal grain that includes edible starch which has been gelatinized by cooking it with water and an alkaline substance. The starch is present in an amount and is cooked to a degree, such that when the additive composition is added to the flour for dough (or to another grain of cereal) or dough to a level such that at least about 0.5% by weight, the "additive is effective to increase the resistance and / or life on the shelf of the tortillas or other products made with this flour or dough." The increase in the resistance or life on the shelf is relative to tortillas or other products made with flour for dough (or other grain of cereal) or dough, but without the composition of bran additive or any other shelf-life extender In one important aspect, the additive composition comprises sucked corn bran that has when less about 15% by weight of starch, of which at least about 50% by weight has been gelatinized, at least about 6% by weight of protein, and at least about 2% by weight of crude fiber. or important aspect, the starch in the bran is gelatinized by cooking it with at least about 0.05% by weight, based on the weight of the bran, calcium oxide or lime or equivalent thereof. This should provide the additive at least about 0.025% by weight of calcium, based on the weight of the additive. The additive should also provide a pH of at least about 7 when mixed with water and the additive comprises about 10% by weight of the additive / water mixture. The invention also provides a dough (or other grain of cereal) flour mixture and a process for making this flour mixture. The flour mixture of the invention is mixed with at least about 40% water to form a dough of the invention. In an important aspect, the additive comprises at least about 0.5% by weight of dough flour (or other grain of cereal) in mixture, and in a very important aspect comprises from about 1 to about 6% by weight of the flour mixture for dough (or other grain of cereal). The dough flour mixture is provided by mixing the additive with dough flour (or other cereal grain). The tortillas they can be prepared from the dough of the invention by known methods. The flavors and other positive attributes of tortillas and related products produced without the additive of the invention are retained when this additive is incorporated into these products. The invention also includes a process for making the additive composition. The method comprises mixing aspirated bran comprising at least about 15% by weight of starch with an alkaline substance and water to provide an aqueous alkaline bran mixture and cooking the alkaline bran mixture to gelatinize the starch and providing an alkaline treated cooked bran. . The starch is gelatinized to such a degree that when the additive is present in the dough flour (or other cereal grain) at a level of at least about 0.5% by weight, the additive composition is effective to increase the resistance and / or shelf life of the tortillas as stated above. The cooked alkaline treated bran is dried without first removing the aqueous alkaline water, such as lime water, to provide a dry alkali-treated bran. After that, the alkali-treated bran is milled to a particle size, such that it passes through a sieve with openings not greater than 0.1 square millimeters. In an important aspect, the bran is corn bran, the starch is corn starch, and the bran additive composition comprises aspirated bran having at least 15% by weight of starch, of which at least about 50% by weight It has been gelatinized. In this aspect, the alkaline substance, such as lime, comprises from about 0.05 to about 5% by weight based on the weight of the by-product or bran. The amount of lime, water and cooking are effective to gelatinize the starch. The process for preparing the additive composition of the present invention does not result in the production of liquid waste product and, thus, does not result in the production of a potential environmental contaminant. Brief Description of the Drawing Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the most preferred process for making the additive bran composition, flour, dough and tortillas of the present invention. Detailed Description of the Preferred Modes 1. The Additive Composition of the Invention The present invention provides an additive composition which is made from the cereal grain by-product. The additive increases the resistance and / or shelf life of tortillas and related products produced from flour or dough. The additive composition comprises by-product of cereal grain and gelatinized edible starch, at least about 6% by weight of protein, and from about 2 to about 20% by weight of crude fiber. (Fiber can be measured as raw fiber, as neutral dietary fiber or as acidic dietary fiber by known methods). In an important aspect, the by-product used to make the additive comprises from about 15 to about 80% by weight of starch and is preferably from about 25 to about 70% by weight, with from about 30 to about 60% by weight being most preferred The starch in the additive is gelatinized to a degree and is present in an amount, such that when the additive composition is added to the dough flour (or other cereal grain) or dough at a level of at least about 0.5% by weight. weight based on the weight of the additive and the flour, the additive composition is effective to increase the resistance and / or shelf life of the tortillas or other products made with this flour or dough. Generally, the starch in the additive is gelatinized to at least about 50%, and preferably to at least 85%, and more preferably to about 100% (i.e., no remaining original starch remaining). The lower the percentage by weight of starch that is used to prepare the additive, the greater the percentage of -gelatinization of starch that will generally be necessary to prepare the additive and vice versa. For example, a higher percentage of gelatinized starch will be necessary (probably 100%) when the percentage by weight of starch used to prepare the additive is 20 compared to when it is 30 (70% would be sufficient). The degree to which the starch has been gelatinized can be determined by detecting the loss of birefringence in a manner known to those skilled in the art. For example, it can be determined by absorption, cold paste viscosity, hot paste viscosity and cold water soluble methods described in U.S. Patent No. 3,404,986. The by-product of the milled cereal used to make the additive composition of the present invention can be sucked bran obtained from the commercial dry milling of wheat., barley, oats, rice, rye, sorghum or any other cereal or other grain. In an important aspect, the aspirated bran is from the dry milled whole corn of any type (serrated, flint, sweet, popcorn, hybrid, yellow, white, blue, black, red, etc.) and, more preferably, is obtained from the dry ground yellow and white corn. The dried sucked bran has from about 10 to about 15% by weight moisture. The bran can also be white fiber or any other fiber known for commercial wet milling of corn or other cereal grains. Different sizes of whole bran, and / or fragments or pieces of whole bran, can be used for bran. While not intending to adhere to any theory, it appears that the increased resistance and / or life on the shelf that is achieved by tortillas and related products produced with the additive composition of the invention is a result of (1) cross-linking that is formed between the calcium present in the additives with the starch, proteins and polysaccharides that are not starch, such as pentosans that are present in the by-product used to prepare the additive, and (2) the highly gelatinized edible starch. The crosslinking of the gelatinized starch forms a gum or natural glue. This gum or glue will usually contain pectic substances, beta glucans and other polysaccharides that are not starch. The by-product also contains at least about 6% by weight of protein, preferably from about 6 to about 11% by weight of protein, with about 8% by weight being most preferred. This protein can be of the class of albumins, globulins, prolamins or glutelins, for example, zein or glutelin, and adds flavor (good taste) to the products produced with the additive bran composition of the present invention. It has been found that the addition of a protein material containing tryptophan, such as corn gluten feed, to the additive before cooking increases the flavor of the products prepared with the additive composition of the invention. Although levels of from about 1% by weight to about 40% by weight of this protein material from the total mixture being cooked can be added, it is preferable to add a level of about 4% by weight. The additive of the present invention may, optionally, contain one or more additional ingredients, such as vitamins (vitamin A, B, C, D, E, etc.), minerals (calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, manganese, etc.), germ, other carbohydrates, fats or oils, other protein materials (such as corn protein or wheat protein), germ, other nutrients, flavor ingredients, emulsifiers, preservatives, gums and / or Similar ingredients that can increase the quality of tortillas and related products produced from flour or dough that contains the additive. The amounts of these optional ingredients that can be added to the additive can easily be determined by those skilled in the art. By way of example, the germ or protein may be added so that the additive may comprise from about 0.5 to about 15% by weight of each of these additional ingredients. In any case, the amounts of these ingredients should be at a percentage by weight that is high enough to impart some additional benefit property to the products produced with the additive, but which are not high enough to detrimentally affect the increase in flexibility and / or stability imparted to these products by the by-product and the gelatinized starch. 2. Method for Preparing the Additive Composition The method for preparing the additive composition is illustrated in Figure 1. As shown in the Figure, the by-product, such as the aspirated bran, the alkaline substance, such as lime (CaO), and Water is mixed and cooked to provide the additive composition of bran. The water and the alkaline substance are in effective amounts to gelatinize the edible starch at cooking temperatures of from about 70 to about 100 ° C. In an important aspect, the sucked bran is mixed with water and an alkaline substance, such as lime, to provide a mixture of aqueous alkaline bran. The aqueous alkaline bran mixture contains from about 0.05 to about 5% by weight of lime based on the weight percentage of the by-product used to prepare the additive, and preferably about 1.2% by weight of lime. The amount of alkaline substance in the aqueous alkaline bran mixture is effective to provide the mixture with a pH of from about 7 to about 11 and preferably about 9. The water in the aqueous mixture is in an amount effective to provide the bran treated with cooked lime with a moisture content of from about 20 to about 85% by weight. The amount of water used to achieve the ultimate moisture content is minimized so that a stream of alkaline wastewater is minimized or eliminated. Humidity can be provided to the cooked product by supplying steam to cook the product. The steam also minimizes the water used in the process and prevents a waste water stream. The moisture content of the cooked mixture will preferably be about 55% by weight.

In an important aspect, the alkaline substance used in the process is lime (calcium oxide). Other edible materials and other non-toxic alkaline materials, such as calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate can be used. Sufficient amounts of materials that are alternatives to lime that are equivalent to the use of about 0.05 to about 5% by weight of lime as stated above. The alkaline substance is preferably in a dry form. The lime can be added to the water used to cook the bran and starch, it can be mixed with the bran and with the starch before the addition of water, or it can be mixed with the bran and the starch after the addition of water . The method for adding lime to bran and starch is not critical. However, liquid water is used to cook the bran and starch. The weight loss feeder shown in Figure 1 is an electronically controlled volumetric feeder, which puts on a scale and measures the weight loss of the bran and starch at the end of the process, and before being added to the flour for dough or the flour of another grain of cereal. It allows the correct addition of a desired amount of an additive composition of the invention to the flour of the dough or to the flour of another cereal grain. In a preferred cooking process, about 1.0% by weight dry lime is added to the bran aspirated through a dry lime feeder and mixed with the aspirated bran. After that, water heated to about 93 ° C is added to the cooker by mixing in a ratio of about one part water or more to about one part of the sucked bran mixture and lime. This should result in a moisture content of the mixture of about 50 to about 60% by weight, which is optimal. However, moisture levels will operate within the range of from about 20 to about 80% by weight. A temperature that is effective to gelatinize the starch should be reached at at least about 50%, and preferably at about 100%. Because corn starch is usually gelatinized at about 71.1 ° C (160 ° F), the cooking temperature or the temperature of the heated water will generally be at least about 57.2 ° C (135 ° F). The temperatures used to cook and dry the cereal grain bran and the starch should not be so high that the composition is cooked or dried until it burns and perhaps loses its functional properties. The preferred cooking temperature, or temperature of the heated water, is generally given from about 75 ° C (167 ° F) to about 100 ° C- (212 ° F), and is more preferable from about 90 ° C to about 99 ° C, with the temperature of 92 ° C being the most preferred. The heated water is added by the cooker, and the suspension is stirred to suspend the lime in the sucked bran and the starch. The mixture is stirred at this temperature for from about 20 seconds to about 600 seconds, and preferably from about 60 to about 300 seconds. The temperature of the bran treated with lime and the starch after discharge from the cooker will generally be from about 87 ° C to about 90 ° C, and preferably 92 ° C. The moisture content of the bran fraction treated with lime and starch after this discharge will generally be from about 50 to about 60% by weight. The cooking of the byproduct, water and alkaline substance can be done in a continuous process, or in batches. The heating can be carried out in various ways, such as directly injecting live steam or heating water in the mixture or adding steam or hot water to maintain the temperature described above for the mixtures. The cooked, alkaline treated bran may optionally be stored for a period of time before drying. Nevertheless, should be stored at a temperature that is high enough to avoid microbial contamination. After cooking, the alkali-treated cooked bran can be used wet or can be dried instantly (dehydrated instantaneously) without washing to quickly reduce the moisture content thereof to less than about 10% by weight, and preferably less from about 3 to about 5% by weight. In instant dehydration, high velocity hot air currents having a temperature from about 174. ° C (350 ° F) to about 196.9 ° C (390 ° F) are generally used for rapid dehydration. The total residence time of the composition within the instant dehydrator is generally from about 2 to about 15 seconds. The drying method to provide the dehydrated, cooked additive is not critical. Other methods of drying the cooked, lime-treated bran, such as with an oven, a steam pipe dryer, a belt dryer, a spray dryer, or other methods known to those skilled in the art can also be used. The inlet temperature of the instant dryer is approximately 343 ° C, and the outlet temperature of the instant dryer is approximately 104 ° C. After drying, the cooked dehydrated additive composition is milled in, for example, a stone mill, disk mill, hammer mill, cylinder mill, wet mill or other mill, or otherwise reduced in size, that the average particle diameter of the milled cooked dehydrated additive composition is generally less than about 0.1 millimeter square (i.e., the particles will pass through a sieve having 0.1 millimeter square openings) and preferably about 99% thereof. However, the average particle size of the milled dehydrated additive composition need only be small enough so that it can be added to the flour or dough, and to the tortillas or related products made therefrom. Preferably, a hammer mill is employed. The resulting additive composition cooked, dehydrated and milled looms to remove the thicker material that will pass through a U.S. No. 40 mesh. The moisture content of the sifted product will generally be less than about 10% by weight and preferably will be less than about 8% by weight. However, the moisture content of the sifted product is not critical. It is possible to add wet additives to the invention to the moist dough or to another dough to produce the tortillas and related products. 3. Preparation of Cereal Grain Flour The preparation of dough flour that can be reconstituted as a dough by the addition of water at room temperature is described in the following publications, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in Totality: United States Patent No .: 2,704,257 (Method of Producing Corn Tortilla Flour); United States Patent No.:3,368,902 (Method of Making Tortilla Flour); U.S. Patent No. 3,404,986 (Method of Manufacturing Corn Flour); U.S. Patent No. 5,177,931 (Preparation of Masa Flour); U.S. Patent No. 5,532,013 (Method for the Preparation of Instant French Corn Dough or Masa); U.S. Patent No.:5,558, 898 (Continuous Method of Producing Mass Fluor); U.S. Patent No .: -3,404,986 (Process for Manufacturing Corn Flour); United States Patent No.: 3,859,452 (Method for Obtaining Nixtama-lized Flours); and United States Patent No. 4,594,260 (Process for Eroducing Nixtamalized Corn Flour). The additive of the invention is mixed with a flour for dough or dough in an effective amount to increase the shelf life and / or life of the tortillas or related products produced with this flour or dough compared to the tortillas and related products produced without this or other additives. The additive can be wet or dry and does not have to be dry after grinding it to size. Generally, additive levels are used in the range of from about 0.5 to about 5% by weight, and preferably in the range from about 1.5 to 3.5% by weight, of the total weight of the flour or dough. More preferably, about 2.5% by weight is employed. However, this amount may vary, and may be determined by an omelet producer or other individual who is experienced in the art. In an important aspect about 0.5% by weight of additive is effective to prolong the shelf life of the resulting tortillas at least about 15 days without the use of any other additive to effect a life on the long shelf. In one embodiment, a bran additive mixture can be used from a variety of sources such as corn, wheat and oats. But in a very important aspect, the additive is made from corn bran. 4. Preparation of Cereal Grain Mass The dough can be produced by methods such as traditional cooking, steam cooking, pressure cooking, and extrusion cooking, with or without alkaline corn treatment. The traditional method for processing bulk corn (nixtamalization) is described hereinabove. The alkaline cooking provides flavor, hydration of starch, and assimilation of water, and partially removes the germ and pericarp (bran) from the kernels of corn. The kernel of corn is only partially cooked. Soaking distributes moisture and lime throughout the cooked core. Vigorous washing of nixtamal removes excessive lime, loose pericarp, and part of the germ. The washed nixtamal is usually milled between volcanic stones by hand or using a small stone mill powered by diesel. The stone grind breaks up the swollen starch granules and produces sufficient starch damage which gives good dough properties for the wet dough during the production of tortillas. The nixtamal not fully cooked is difficult to grind. The overcooked nixtamal forms sticky mass with poor handling properties. Incomplete cooking of corn can be overcome by adding water and making other adjustments during grinding. Corn is cooked properly when the pericarp is easily removed between the thumb and forefinger. There are significant changes in physical and chemical composition when raw corn is cooked in tortillas. There is a physical loss of some of the components of corn (ie, germ, pericarp). Additionally, the starch present in the corn becomes gelatinized. For steam cooking of corn, the steam cooking cycle usually begins with the injection of steam into a mixture containing corn, calcium oxide, and a measured amount of water. Steam, which is usually injected from the bottom of the kettle, shakes the corn to promote even cooking. The temperature generally rises gradually to about 74 ° C to partially gelatinize the corn starch. Then the steam is interrupted and warm water is usually circulated through the mixture until the temperature drops to about 40 ° C. The nixtamal is left to soak overnight. Then it is washed and ground into stone using aluminum oxide or volcanic stones that cut, crush, and pulverize the nixtamal to form the dough. Frequently additional water is added to the nixtamal during grinding to increase the moisture level in the dough and to cool the stones. A common procedure for cooking corn uses Hamilton steam cookers, in which dried corn is added to the water together with dry powdered lime. With pressure cooking, the pressure generally ranges from about 0.35 to about 1.75 kg / cm2 (5-25 psi), and the average cooking time is generally about 20 minutes. The nixtamal immediately cooled to approximately 77 ° C and soaked for about 60 minutes with agitation approximately every 10 minutes. For extrusion cooking, a whole corn feed combined with calcium oxide (0.2% based on the feed) is extruded at a fixed temperature and water flow until the dough reaches its proper consistency. The lime-treated or uncalled corn or other cereal grain mass may also be prepared from corn flour or another grain of lime or lime-free cereal containing a bran additive of the invention. The dough is preferably made by mixing from about 1.0 to about 1.4 parts by weight of tap water, one part by weight of cereal grain meal containing a bran additive of the invention. However, the amount of water can be adjusted in a manner known to those skilled in the art to produce the desired dough consistency. 5. Incorporation of the Additive Composition in Flour or Dough The additives of the present invention can be added in wet or dry form to cornmeal or other grain of -2? >; cereal treated with lime or treated without lime by one of several different methods. The additive in dry form, in powder, can be mixed with dry corn or other cereal grain flour (nixtamalized or not nixtamalized). After this, water can be added to the dry mix to form a dough from which tortillas or related products can be made. - Alternatively, the additive in dry, powdered or wet form or corn flour or other cereal grain can be mixed with water. Then, the resulting water can be mixed with the remaining dry ingredient (corn meal or other cereal grain or additive bran composition in dry, powdered form) to form a dough from which the tortillas can be made or related products The dry or wet dry additive can be added to a tortilla dough and completely homogenized with it. Tortillas or related products can then be made from this dough. Other methods of adding additive to the invention to flour or dough can also be employed. For example, flour can be produced by mixing 97.5% by weight of a corn flour or other cereal grain (with lime or without lime), such as dough flour, with 2.5% by weight of the additive of the present invention. This mixture can then be made dough by the simple addition of from about 1 to about 1.4 parts by weight of water at room temperature with about one part by weight (dry basis) of the flour mixture together with kneading. Tortillas and related products can then be prepared from this dough in the manner described hereinafter. 6. Preparation of Tortillas and Related Products The dough or other cereal grain mass combined with the additive composition of the invention can be formed into tortillas using a commercially available mechanical laminating device that automatically presses the dough into a thin sheet of dough, and cut circular dough pieces for tortillas, or other desired shapes (squares, rectangles, triangles, etc.) for stir-fries or other related products. Alternatively, the dough can be easily flattened or worked between hands in a thin disc-shaped structure such as hot cake, or flattened with a rolling pin. Then the disc-shaped hot cakes can be stamped or cut from the sheet of dough produced. The cutting of the dough pieces can be transported through a triple pass with gas fire or another type of oven, which cooks the tortillas or tortilla pieces from about 15 to about 30 seconds at a temperature of from about 302. ° C to 316 ° C (575 ° F to 600 ° F), or it may be heated on a plate in the manner described above, herein, or may be heated by other methods known to those skilled in the art. The baked or heated tortillas can then be cooled and packaged. For tacos, tortilla chips and similar products, they can be left to rest for a few minutes, then fry. (The rest produces uniform distribution of water in the tortillas, which reduces the formation of blisters and absorption of oil during frying). Commercially available fryers are designed to maintain uniform temperatures (from approximately 190 ° C) and produce products with acceptable color and low moisture content. For the preparation of corn chips, the dough is usually extruded or rolled directly into the unbaked oil. A measure of the strength or flexibility of an omelette is to determine the index of flexibility of an omelet. An omelet is folded around a known radius bar, and this is done with successively smaller bars until it meets the smallest bar around which the tortilla breaks when it flexes. A more flexible tortilla only breaks when it is folded around a smaller bar than a less flexible tortilla. The highest flexibility index corresponds to the lowest radius bars, and indicates greater flexibility. Typical values for the index of flexibility of the tortillas in time at room temperature are as follows: Time 0 hr. 24 hr. 48 hr. 72 hr. 96 hr. Index of 8.5 7.7 6.5 6.0 5.5 Flexibility The strength or flexibility of the tortillas can also be measured with a commercially available tortilla texture analyzer such as the TA.XT2 analyzer which is available from Stable MicroSystems (Scarsdale, New York). For the evaluation and measurement of the texture of the tortillas and the resistance with the MicroSystems analyzer TA.XT2, samples of the tortilla product are collected and prepared for analysis in a manner known to those skilled in the art. A probe is selected and the parameters of the instrument are established. The samples are tested by means of the analyzer, and the data (curves) provided by the analyzer can be read. The factors that can affect the results of the tests are the geometry and freshness of the samples, the type of probe used, the test parameters of the instrument used and the interpretation of the data. 5. EXAMPLES The following examples describe and illustrate the methods for the preparation of the additive composition, flour, dough and tortillas of the present invention. All the materials and pieces of equipment used in the examples, and employed in general to make the composition additives of bran, flour, dough, tortillas and related products of the present invention, are commercially available. Suppliers of these materials and pieces of equipment include Southland Food Labs (Dallas, Texas, United States); FEDCO Systems, Inc. (Odessa, Florida, United States); Illinois Cereal Mills, Inc. (Indianapolis, Indiana, United States); Hosokawa Bepex Corporation (Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States); Cargill, Incorporated (Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States); The Curry Manufacturing Co._ (San Antonio, Texas, United States); Stable MicroSystems (Scarsdale, New York, United States); Buhler (Udzwill, Switzerland); Werner and Phleider (Germany); Wenger (United States), and Storck (Holland). EXAMPLE 1 Analysis of Aspirated Bran Composition Obtained in Conventional Dry Corn Milling Operations The aspirated bran obtained from a commercial dry corn mill was sent to a commercial laboratory for composition analysis. The results of these analyzes with respect to the percentage by weight of starch, moisture, crude fat, protein and calcium in the total (100%), both base not dry and base dry (free of moisture), are presented below.

ANALYSIS OF THE COMPOSITION OF THE SAVED SAVED Saved aspirate% starch% moisture% fat% protein% calcium% crude other white Bran (Sample # 1) Base not dry 44.08 13.02 6.6 7.65"No Na dry Base 50.98 0 8.32 8.79 calculated calculated bran yellow no dry Base 43.81 11.85 4.0 7.36 No no dry Base 49.69 0 4.53 8.34 calculated calculated bran blank (sample # 2 Base not dry 44.01 13.40 6.4 7.6b 0.009 29.60 dry Base 60.81 0 23.06 8.75 0.010 34.18 pre-ground white bran * Base not dry 60.14 13.94 04.04 7.36 0.733 24.0 dry Base 57.85 0 6.07 8.49 0.80 27.69 Bran Base not dry 50.53 13.06 6.50 9.51 No No - Dry base 68.68 0 7.59 10.93 calculated calculated * "Premolido" as used previously means that the fiber has been ground; for example, in a disc mill to reduce the particle size thereof to less than about 0.1 square millimeter. EXAMPLE 2 Analysis of the Composition of Three Different - Additives of Salvage Composition of the Invention Three different additives of the present invention that were prepared in the manner described and illustrated by Figure 1 were sent to a commercial laboratory for analysis of the composition of the additives. The results of these analyzes with respect to the weight percentage of starch, moisture, crude fat, protein and calcium of the total (100%) of the bran composition additive, both in a non-dry base and in a dry base, are presented below. . COMPUJITION OF THE ADDITIVES OF THE COMPOSITION OF SAVED Composition additive% moisture% fat% protein% calcium% ____ bran raw starch other Sample # 1 Base not dry No * 3. 25 4.55 8.4 No No Dry base calculated 0 4.73 8.73 calculated calculated Sample # 2 Base not dry No 4. .89 3.28 8.20 No No Calculated dry base 0 3.44 8.62 calculated calculated Sample # 3 (produced from white bran) Base not dry No 3. .12 5.0 8.7 0.665 No Calculated dry base 0 6.18 8.98 0.68 - calculated Because the starch used to prepare the additives has been gelatinized, it was not possible to determine the percentage by weight of the starch present in the additives. However, in theory, the percentage by weight of the starch present in the additives will be the same as the percentage by weight of the starch used to prepare the additives. The shape of the starch will have changed during the cooking process from not being gelatinized until at least 50% gelatinized. EXAMPLE 3 Production of Dough and Tortillas The dough mass containing an additive of the present invention is prepared in the manner described below. 100 grams of white toothed corn is boiled for 20 minutes in 300 milliliters of water containing one gram of lime (CaOH). This mixture is allowed to stand overnight (15 hours), and then the supernatant is decanted, and the corn is rinsed thoroughly with water. The cooked alkaline corn is dried instantaneously, and then milled in a hand mill to an average particle size that passes through a standard U.S. No. 40 mesh. The above product is added by mixing 2% by weight (dry basis) of the above additive designated Sample # 1 in Example 2. Warm water is added to the above dry mixture in a ratio of 1: 1 dry parts (dry base for flour mixture) with mixing until the formed paste reaches a consistency that is not sticky, but can be shaped into balls. The resulting paste is formed into 30-gram balls and pressed with a commercially available tortilla machine to a diameter of approximately 10 centimeters. Each tortilla is cooked at 350 ° C on a preheated stainless steel gas plate with one minute on each side.

Then, each tortilla is turned and pressed with a spatula for 15 seconds to induce inflation. The tortillas are cooled for 2 minutes and stored in sealed plastic bags. EXAMPLE 4 Production of Dough and Tortillas The commercially available nixtamalized corn flour is mass mixed in a commercially available mechanical dough mixer with about 1 part by weight of water per part of dry weight flour. Two percent by weight of the bran composition additive of the present invention designated as Sample # 2 in Example 2 is added to the dough and incorporated therein by the dough mixer. The tortillas are then prepared from the resulting paste in the manner described in Example 3. EXAMPLE 5 Processing of the Bran _ Different types of bran were processed as indicated in the table below. The indicated types of bran (250-grams, were mixed with tap water having a temperature of 95 ° to 100 ° C to gelatinize the starch and increase the moisture content of the bran.) The samples were shaken and placed in a bath. of water as indicated in column D. Column F shows the moisture content before placing the sample in the water bath, and column G shows the moisture content after 20 minutes in the water bath. of the sample before the addition of water (column H), after the addition of water (column I), and after 20 minutes in the water bath (column J) are shown forward.After 20 minutes, the samples they were removed from the water bath and dried as indicated in columns K and L. The moisture content before milling is shown in column M and the moisture content after grinding is shown in column N.

The above examples are provided to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to practice the present invention. These examples are merely illustrative, however, a limitation on the scope of the invention as claimed in the appended claims should not be read.

Claims (28)

1. REVINDICATION 1. An additive composition for improving the strength and / or stability of tortillas produced from flour or dough, comprising a secondary product of ground cereal, including at least about 15% by weight of starch, at least about 6% by weight of protein, and at least about 2% by weight of crude fiber, the starch in the secondary product being gelatinized in an amount effective to increase the shelf life of the tortillas produced with dough flour and the Additive compared to tortillas produced with dough flour without the additive and other shelf life extenders.
2. 2. An additive composition, as defined in claim 1, wherein the additive composition has at least about 0.05% by weight of alkaline agent, based on the weight of the milled cereal by-product.
3. 3. An additive composition, as defined in claims 1 or 2, wherein at least 50% by weight of the starch in the milled cereal by-product has been gelatinized.
4. 4. An additive composition, as defined in claim 3, wherein the by-product of ground cereal has from about 15 to about 80% by weight of starch.
5. 5. An additive composition, as defined in claim 4, wherein a mixture of the additive and water comprising 10% by weight of additive, based on the weight of the water and additive, provides a pH of at least 7.
6. 6. An additive composition, as defined in claims 1 or 2, wherein about 100% by weight of the starch in the ground cereal by-product has been gelatinized.
7. 7. An additive composition, as defined in claim 1, wherein the by-product of ground cereal is selected from the group consisting of corn bran, wheat bran, oat bran, barley bran, rice bran, bran rye, sorghum bran, and their mixtures.
8. 8. An additive composition for improving the stability of food products made from dough flour, the composition comprising: corn bran aspirated, including at least about 15% by weight of starch, at least about 6% by weight of protein, and at least about 2% by weight of crude fiber, the starch in the sucked bran being gelatinized in an amount effective to increase the shelf life of food products produced with the additive and dough in comparison with food products produced with dough flour without the additive and other shelf life extenders.
9. 9. An additive composition, as defined in claim 8, wherein the additive is effective to prolong the shelf life of food products when mixed with dough to provide a physical mixture of flour and additive comprising at least about 20% by weight. 0.5% by weight of additive.
10. An additive composition, as defined in claims 8 or 9, wherein the aspirated corn bran comprises from about 15 to about 80% by weight of starch, and wherein at least 50% by weight of the starch has been gelatinized .
11. 11. An additive composition, as defined in claim 10, wherein the additive composition has at least about 0.05% by weight of alkaline agent, based on the weight of the bran, the alkaline agent selected from the group consisting of lime, calcium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, and their mixtures.
12. 12. An additive composition, as defined in claim 11, wherein about 100% by weight of the starch has been gelatinized.
13. 13. An additive composition, as defined in claim 11, wherein a mixture of the additive and water comprising 10% by weight of additive, based on the weight of the water and the additive, provides a pH of at least 7.
14. 14 An additive composition for improving the stability of food products made from dough flour, the composition comprising: sucked corn bran comprising at least 15% by weight of starch, at least about 6% by weight of protein, and at least about 2% by weight of crude fiber, at least 50% by weight of the starch being gelatinized; the starch being gelatinized by mixing the corn bran aspirated with lime and water to provide an alkaline, aqueous mixture of bran, and subsequently cooking the alkaline, aqueous mixture of bran, the lime comprising from about 0.05 to about 5% by weight of the alkaline, aqueous bran mixture, the amount of water and cooking effective to gelatinize at least 50% by weight of the starch and provide a cooked bran, treated with alkaline agent, with a moisture content of about 20 to about 80 % in weigh.
15. 15. An additive composition, as defined in claim 14, wherein the bran treated with lime, cooked, is dried at a moisture content of not more than about 10% by weight to provide a dry bran, treated with alkaline agent , and milling the bran treated with alkaline agent to a particle size which passes through a sieve with a mesh of no more than about 0.1 mm2, where the additive composition comprises at least about 0.025% by weight of calcium and where a mixture of the additive and water comprising 10% by weight of the additive, based on the weight of water and additive, provides a pH of at least 7.
16. 16. An additive composition, as defined in claim 14 or 15, wherein the bran comprises from about 15 to about 80% by weight of starch.
17. 17. An additive composition, as defined in claim 14 or 15, wherein about 100% by weight of the starch has been gelatinized.
18. 18. A process to make an additive composition to improve the shelf life of food products, the process comprising: (a) mixing a secondary product of ground cereal with an alkaline agent and water to provide an alkaline, aqueous mixture, the secondary product comprising at least about 15% by weight of starch, at least about 6% by weight of protein, and at least about 2% by weight of crude fiber; Y (b) cooking the alkaline, aqueous mixture to provide a baked product, treated with an alkaline agent, at an effective time and temperature to gelatinize at least 50% by weight of the starch.
19. 19. A process, as defined in claim 18, wherein the alkaline agent is lime, which is in an effective amount to provide the alkaline, aqueous mixture with a pH of at least about 7.
20. 20. A process, such as is defined in claims 18 or 19, wherein the alkaline agent is in an effective amount to provide the additive composition with at least about 0.025 wt% calcium.
21. 21. A process, as defined in claim 18, wherein the by-product of ground cereal is selected from the group consisting of corn bran, wheat bran, oat bran, barley bran, rice bran, rye bran. , sorghum bran, and its mixtures.
22. 22. A process, as defined in claim 18, wherein the secondary product of ground cereal is corn bran.
23. 23. A process, as defined in claims 18 or 19, wherein the process further comprises drying the cooked product, treated, at a moisture content of no more than about 10% by weight without first removing the aqueous lime water of the treated product, cooked, to provide a product treated with alkaline, dry agent; and grinding the dry product, treated with alkaline agent, to a particle size that passes through a screen with a mesh of no more than about 0.1 mm2.
24. 24. A cereal grain meal, which can be mixed with water to form a dough from which tortillas can be prepared, comprising: (a) cereal grain meal; and (b) the additive composition of claim 1.
25. 25. A cereal grain mass from which tortillas can be prepared, comprising the mixture of: (a) a cereal grain flour and an additive composition as defined in claim 1.
26. 26. An omelette, comprising an omelet produced from a cereal grain mass, comprising: a cooked mixture comprising a cereal grain flour and an additive as defined in claim 1
27. 27. A process for producing a physical cornmeal mixture, comprising the steps of: (a) cleaning whole corn kernels; (b) condition the cleaned cores by incorporating sufficient moisture in them to soften the husks and hydrate the starch contained in the endosperm; (c) crumbling the conditioned cores to form a particular maize material; (d) classifying particulate corn materials to produce a shell fraction containing at least about 15% by weight of starch, at least about 6% by weight of protein, and at least about 2% by weight of raw fiber; (e) boiling the shell fraction, where at least about 50% of the starch present in the shell fraction becomes gelatinized; and (f) mixing the cooked shell fraction with dough flour.
28. 28. A process for producing a physical mixture of corn flour, as defined in claim 27, wherein the cooked shell fraction is mixed with the untreated fraction comprising endosperm and germ without draining any water used to cook the shell fraction and where the process further comprises grinding the mixture and drying the ground mixture to obtain the physical mixture of corn flour.