NZ248530A

NZ248530A - Soya bean food product - beans simultaneously dried and coated with a glucidic compound

Info

Publication number: NZ248530A
Application number: NZ248530A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Gerard Pictet; Josef Rehacek
Original assignee: Nestle Sa
Priority date: 1992-09-01
Filing date: 1993-08-30
Publication date: 1995-04-27
Also published as: PL300193A1; ZA936063B; MY109260A; DK0585632T3; JPH06165652A; CH684568A5; ES2094427T3; ATE144883T1; AU658523B2; NO933020D0; EP0585632B1; DE69305809T2; KR940006483A; NO933020L; CN1089103A; HU9302332D0; MA22962A1; UY23638A1; DE69305809D1; GR3022227T3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a food product and to its preparation method, this product being in the form of soya beans which are coated with a carbohydrate compound and roasted and, after grinding and extraction, enable a beverage (drink) to be obtained.

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> New Zealand Paient Spedficaiion for Paient Number £48530 9.71 . : fVij. ' I ! i -v on-.: 2.7..AP.R..BS5 i raw Patents Form No. 5 OFFICE 30 AUG 1993 .Received NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION A FOOD PRODUCT BASED ON SOYABEANS AND A PROCESS FOR ITS PRODUCTION WE, SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A., a Swiss Body Corporate of Entre-deux-Villes, Vevey, Switzerland hereby declare the invention, for which We pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: - 1 - (followed by Page la) -la- N03155 This invention relates to a process for the production of a soya-based 5 food product suitable for the preparation of a powder which may be used in the preparation of hot or cold beverages. The invention also relates to the food product so produced. It is known that hot or cold beverages can be prepared from pre-roasted 10 coffee beans by grinding of the beans and extraction with hot water. The beverage obtained in this way has the characteristic and generally agreeable taste of coffee. The problem addressed to this invention was to provide a process for 15 producing a sova-based food product, and the product so produced, from which a hot or cold beverage could be quickly and easily prepared. Accordingly, this invention provides a process for the preparation of a sova-based food product comprising spraying an aqueous solution containing 20 a glucidic compound on soya beans while simultaneously drying the beans to obtain soya beans coated with the glucidic compound; and then roasting the beans. Preferably the weight ratio on a dry basis of glucidic compound to beans is 5 to 30:100. 25 The invention also provides the food product so produced. This product may be ground and extracted to give a beverage with an agreeable taste reminiscent of coffee. The extract may also be dehydrated to provide a soluble powder. 30 Because the product is soya-based, it enables the preparation of a beverage which has high nutritional value, good organoleptic qualities, and is free from physiologically active substances such as caffeine and chlorogenic acid. (followed by page 2) O ? 2 5 Parts and percentages mentioned hereinafter are by weight. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a 10 food product based on soya beans. The starting material used may consist of whole or size-reduced, optionally hulled soya beans generally having a moisture content of the order of 10 to 12%. It is also possible to use crushed soya beans defatted, for example, with hexane to 15 avoid the presence of a significant quantity of oil in the extract which would have an adverse effect on the storage of the dehydrated aqueous extract. The soya beans may first be thermally pretreated in order on the one hand to facilitate their hulling by 2 0 splitting their outer envelope and, on the other hand, to modify the colour of their outer surface by browning. For example, the thermal pretreatment may be carried out for 4 to 6 minutes at 180 to 195°C in a conventional roaster or with microwave energy. The thermal pretreat- 2 5 ment step is preferably carried out in cases where it is intended subsequently to subject the beans to intensive roasting to enable the glucidic compound to penetrate more deeply into the beans and optionally to develop therein. The thermal pretreatment step may also be 3 0 carried out in such a way as to give a final food product uniformly roasted throughout rather than an incompletely roasted food product of which the outer surface is covered with "burnt" glucidic compound. The hulled beans may then be moistened, for 35 example by injection of steam, to obtain a moisture 3 content of the order of 13 to 15%. This moistening step improves the porosity of the beans which swell slightly in the presence of the steam, thus facilitating their subsequent coating and providing for better impregnation 5 or even penetration of the glucidic compound. The beans thus obtained are then coated with a glucidic compound. The glucidic compound may be selected from the group consisting of glucose, sucrose, sorbitol, maltodextrins, sugar cane molasses and sugar 10 beet molasses either in pure or mixed form. The glucidic compound is preferably used in the form of an aqueous solution with a concentration of 30 to 60% which may be heated to 50-65°C to facilitate its use. For example, it is possible to use an aqueous 15 solution of a mixture containing 42 to 47% sucrose and 2 to 7% sorbitol. This mixture has the advantage over a glucose solution, for example, that is substantially tack-free and does not cause the beans to agglomerate and to adhere to the walls of the coating machine. In 20 addition, this particular mixture also provides for good adhesion of the coating to the beans. Since the glucidic compound used influences the coating and roasting conditions on the one hand and the characteristics of the final food product on the other 2 5 hand, it is selected according to the qualities required for the final food product. Coating may be carried out by spraying the glucidic compound in the form of an aqueous solution onto the beans in order to coat them with an outer film 3 0 which may be simultaneously dried by circulation of air. The coating process may also be carried out in several steps, the beans being agitated between each step to prevent then from adhering excessively to one another. The coating process may also be carried out in a 3 5 fluidized bed which ensures that the coated beans have 4 a smooth outer surface. The coating process may even be carried out in a coating machine which, by comparison with a fluidized bed, provides for a faster throughput and for a smaller 5 loss of glucidic product to the detriment of the outer surface of the beans which is far less smooth and regular. The coating process is carried out in such a way as to give a product which has a ratio of glucidic 10 compounds to soya beans of 5 to 30:100, as measured in weight of dry matter. After coating, the beans are roasted, for example conventionally for 4 to 8 minutes in a roaster rotating at 7 0 to 9 0 revolutions per minute with a drum tempera-15 ture of 230 to 250°C (air temperature 180-210°C), or with microwave energy. If the beans have been thermally pretreated, the roasting time may be reduced to 2 to 4 minutes. In fact, the roasting time and temperature are selected according to the degree of roasting re-20 quired for the final food product. This is because it has been found that the organoleptic qualities of the extract obtained after grinding and extraction of the food product can be influenced in dependence upon the degree of roasting. Thus, if the beans coated with 25 glucidic compound are lightly roasted, i.e. for 4 to 6 minutes at a drum temperature of 220°C, a light-coloured beverage rich in proteins is obtained after grinding of the food product obtained and extraction with boiling water and may be drunk hot or cold, its agreeable taste 3 0 being reminiscent of roasted hazelnuts. By contrast, if the beans are roasted more intensively, for example for 8 to 10 minutes at a drum temperature of 230 to 240"C, a darker coloured beverage, again rich in proteins, with a taste reminiscent of coffee is obtained after extrac-35 tion of the ground food product with boiling water. f In one particular embodiment of the invention, roasting may be carried out at the same time as coating, for example in a roaster. In this case, the beans coated with glucidic compounds extensively agglomerated 5 into a compact mass which has to be crushed and then ground is obtained on leaving the roaster. This process, which combines two separate operations into a single step, gives a food product which, although nonuniform, is obtained more rapidly. 10 A final food product in the form of soya beans coated with a glucidic compound and then roasted is obtained in this way. This food product is stable and, accordingly, may be stored without damage for a certain time. 15 The food product may be used as a base for the preparation of a soluble instant powder. Thus, the food product may first be ground and then extracted - similarly to the extraction of ground coffee - with water heated to 96-98°C or even to a higher temperature of up 2 0 to 180°C. The extract obtained may be consumed as such. It is also possible to dehydrate the extract obtained, for example by a method similar to that used for coffee, for example by evaporation and freeze-drying, or by successive spraying to obtain a powder-form product 25 which is soluble in water and which can be instantly reconstituted. The invention is illustrated by the following Examples. 3 0 Example 1 The starting material consists of hulled soya beans (1 kilogram) having a moisture content of 10%, a total sugar content determined after hydrolysis of 25% and a protein content of 50%. 3 5 The soya beans are introduced into a coating 6 machine of the Glatt-Coater type of which the drum rotates at 2 0 revolutions per minute. An aqueous solution containing a mixture of 45% sucrose and 5% sorbitol preheated to 60°C is sprayed onto the beans. 5 The solution is sprayed in a stream of hot air at 70"C with a throughput of 1 litre per hour. Coating is continued for approximately 3 0 minutes to give a product which has a ratio of sucrose/sorbitol to soya beans of approximately 20:100, as measured in 10 weight of dry matter. The coated beans have a relative moisture content of approximately 14%. The beans are then roasted in a Probat RE-1 roaster for 7 minutes at a drum temperature of 240°C. The loss of material during roasting is 18.5% (water and 15 organic matter). The coated and roasted beans obtained have a moisture content of 1.5% and a real specific volume of 0.84 cm3/g- The colour of the beans obtained may be measured 2 0 by reflection using a Hunterlab D 25 colorimeter which determines three parameters, namely: L (clarity), a (red), b (yellow). In the present case, the following values are obtained, as measured on the ground powder: L = 17.3 a = 4 . 0 b = 4.1 25 The food product thus obtained may then be ground and extracted with boiling water at 98 "C similarly to the extraction of roasted coffee beans. The extractability of the food product, corre- 3 0 sponding to the percentage of solubilized extractable material, is measured at 22 to 23%. The aqueous extract obtained is in the form of a brown liquid with an agreeable and particular taste reminiscent of coffee. Its composition is as follows: 3 5 18% total sugars and 60% proteins in % dry matter. 7 The aqueous extract thus obtained is dehydrated by freeze-drying to obtain a powder-form product which can be instantly reconstituted by dissolution in hot or cold water in a quantity of 2 to 4 grams powder to 100 5 ml water. Example 2 The starting material consists of hulled soya beans (1 kg) having a moisture content of 7.9%. 10 The soya beans are heat-treated by introduction into a conventional roaster of the Probat type at a temperature of 185'C and leaving them therein under agitation for 5 minutes. The preroasted beans thus obtained are light brown in colour with a moisture 15 content of 6.0%. The beans are then coated with a 45% aqueous sucrose solution preheated to 60 °C in a fluidized bed using air at 70°C as the propellent gas for the solution to obtain a product which has a ratio by weight of 20 sucrose to beans of the order of 20:100 and a moisture content of 10% after coating. The coated beans are roasted for 7 minutes at 2400 C (drum temperature) in a conventional roaster rotating at 80 revolutions per minute. The end product 25 obtained has a moisture content of 2.8%, a real specific volume of 0.86/cm3/g and the following colour values of the beans as determined on the beans themselves: L = 14.2 a = 0.2 b = 0.3 3 0 The food product is ground and then extracted with water under pressure at 180°C (extractability 46-47%) . After filtration, a clear brown liquid is obtained with an agreeable taste reminiscent of highly roasted coffee. Its composition is as follows (in % dry 35 matter): 21% total sugars, 58% proteins. so 8 The aqueous extract thus obtained is dehydrated by freeze drying to obtain a powder-form product which can be reconstituted by dissolution in hot or cold water. 5 Example 3 The starting material consists of hulled soya beans (50 kg) which are introduced into a coater of the Glatt-Coater GC 1000 type rotating at 20 revolutions per 10 minute. An aqueous solution containing 45% sucrose and 5% sorbitol preheated to 60'C is sprayed onto the moving beans in a stream of hot air at 70'C at a rate progressively increasing from 5 to 8 litres per hour. 15 The coating process is continued for approximate ly 4 hours to obtain a product which has a ratio of sucrose/sorbitol to beans of 20:100, as measured in weight of dry matter. The beans thus coated are roasted in a conven-20 tional roaster for 6 minutes at 220°C (drum temperature) . The food product obtained has a moisture content of 2.2%, a real specific volume of 0.85 cm3/g and the following colour values of the beans, as determined on the beans themselves: 25 L = 15.0 a = 0.3 b = 0.5 and as determined on the ground beans: L = 23.9 a = 5.4 b = 8.8 The food product is ground and then extracted 30 with boiling water (extractability 24.9%). A light-coloured liquid with an agreeable taste reminiscent of roasted hazelnuts is obtained. It has a pH of 5.8 and the following composition (in % dry matter): 16-17% total sugars and 63.5% proteins. 3 5 The aqueous extract thus obtained is dehydrated </div>

Claims

<div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims"> 9 by freeze-drying to obtain a powder-form product which can be instantly reconstituted by dissolution in hot or cold water. 10 20 30 40 48 530 -10- N03155 What We Claim is:

1. A process for the preparation of a soya-based food product comprising spraying an aqueous solution containing a glucidic compound on soya beans while simultaneously drying the beans to obtain soya beans coated with the glucidic compound; and then roasting the beans.

2. A process according to claim 1 in which the weight ratio on a dry basis of glucidic compound to beans is 5 to 30:100.

3. A process according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the glucidic compound is selected from glucose, sucrose, sorbitol, maltodextrins, sugar cane molasses and sugar beet molasses, or mixtures thereof. 15

4. A process according to claim 3 in which the aqueous solution contains a mixture of sucrose and sorbitol.

5. A process according to claim 4 in which the aqueous solution contains 42 to 47% by weight sucrose and 2 to 7% by weight sorbitol.

6. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in which the beans are dried by blowing hot air over the beans.

7. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 6 further comprising 25 thermally pretreating the beans prior to coating them by heating the beans to temperatures in the range of 180 to 195°C.

8. A process according to claim 7 further comprising moistening the beans, after pretreating them, to a moisture content of 13 to 15% by weight.

9. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 8 further comprising grinding the roasted beans, extracting the beans so ground, and dehydrating the extract so obtained to provided a soluble powder.

10. A process according to claim 1 and substantially as described in this specification with reference to any one of the examples.

11. A soya-based food product produced by a process according to any one of claims 1 to 10. SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A. By their Attorneys <■ BALDWIN, SON & CAREY , </div>