RU2445776C2 - Method for production of heat-treated food product ready for consumption - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: food industry.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a doughnut ready for consumption and to its production method. In the process of doughnut production one applies a fat coating (containing 20 - 100 wt % of fat) on the surface of a doughnut untreated or incompletely ready for consumption for ensuring fat content equal to 2-8% of the doughnut weight. The doughnut coated with fat contacts 120-300°C overheated vapour having pressure equal to 0.15 - 0.95 of saturated water vapour pressure during 0.3-15 minutes. The cooked dough of the doughnut ready for consumption has fat content equal to 3 - 14 wt %.

EFFECT: method allows to produce a doughnut with lower fat content and may by used for substitution of cooking methods wherein one uses a large quantity of fat.

11 cl, 6 ex

Description

The present invention relates to a method or preparation of a ready-to-eat heat-treated food product by heat treatment of an untreated or not fully ready-to-eat food product. Examples of food products that can be obtained by this method include donuts, fried pasta, as well as food products coated with breadcrumbs and cakes. The present invention also provides ready-to-eat low fat donuts.

A donut or donut is usually a sweet, fried dough or batter. The most common are a ring-shaped donut and a donut stuffed in the form of a flattened sphere with jam / jelly, cream, cream or other sweet filling introduced inside.

The following components are traditionally used to make dough for donuts: flour, milk, sugar, friability for friability - shortening, egg (beaten), salt and baking powder (baking powder or yeast). When yeast is used as a baking powder, the dough is subjected to a so-called proofing to allow the yeast to increase the volume of the dough. During frying in donut dough oil, the moisture content in the dough decreases and, at the same time, the fat is absorbed by the donut. Typically, the heat-treated donut dough contains fat in an amount of about 17-32 wt.%.

During the frying process, fat is transferred from the frying medium to the finished donut by two mechanisms: (i) by absorption or penetration of fat into the fried product and (ii) by adsorption, which involves only fat adhering to the outer surface of the crust, without becoming integral donut component.

Fat absorption is an essential factor in donut quality, as it gives brightness to the aroma, improves the complex mouthfeel of taste, smell, texture and consistency and food quality and increases the shelf life of the product. Donuts with insufficient fat absorption usually have a pasty structure and poor nutritional quality.

In many countries, especially in the USA, donuts are a very popular food item. However, donuts are high in fat and calories, and thus are not suitable for a low fat diet.

It is therefore not surprising that efforts have been made to provide low fat donuts. For example, US Pat. No. 4,937,086 describes a method for making donuts with a reduced fat content and a substantially uniform structure, which comprises providing a donut mixture containing about 0.2-10 wt.% Polyvinylpyrrolidone, mixing with water to form a batter, obtaining from said a batter of donut-shaped products, and preparing said donut-shaped products by immersion in preheated edible fat. US 5,804,243 describes a method for creating a low fat sweet donut, with a chemical baking powder, comprising the steps of:

a) the preparation of a thermally reversible gel containing 80-95% water, 5-20% insoluble, water-binding fibers and 0.2-2% thermally-reversible, hydrocolloid gelling substance;

b) preparing a low-modulus donut-shaped dough for a donut having a moisture content of 25-30 wt.%, said dough contains 20-30% of the gel from step (a), 30-60% of flour, 10-30% of sugar and chemical baking powder;

c) molding the dough into shape-retaining donut-shaped blanks;

d) baking the dough pieces in a preheated oven for less than 10 minutes at a temperature of 375-425 ° F.

US 2006/0182865 describes a method for creating an ultra-low fat donut, comprising the steps of: providing a batter containing fortified white wheat flour, a fast baking powder and soy flour; manually slicing said batter into donut blanks, wherein said donut blanks have a weight of 1.3-1.7 ounces; proofing of said donut blanks; and baking said donut blanks in a convection oven.

It is an object of the present invention to provide low fat donuts having nutritional qualities comparable to deep fried full fat donuts. The inventors of the present invention solve the aforementioned problem by applying a fat coating to a raw or incompletely prepared donut dough and then contacting the fat donut dough with superheated steam to obtain a ready-to-eat donut. In addition, the authors of the present invention found that the advantages of this method are not limited to obtaining ready-to-eat donuts, but, with the same benefits, it can be used to prepare other foods from dough or batter, such as fried noodles, also coated breadcrumbs foods and pies. Thus, the present invention provides a method of preparing ready-to-eat foods, comprising the steps of:

- applying a greasy coating to the surface of unprocessed or incompletely ready-to-eat foods; and

- contacting the fat-coated food products with superheated steam having a temperature of 120-300 ° C for a period of 0.3-15 minutes, preferably 1-10 minutes, to obtain ready-to-eat foods.

The method according to the invention allows you to cook ready-to-eat foods with low fat content, since it can be used to replace cooking methods that use large amounts of fat, for example, frying in oil (deep fat) and frying in a pan. Despite their low fat content, the nutritional qualities of these ready-to-eat foods are excellent. It was found, for example, that the properties of the crust and crumb of the donuts obtained in this way are surprisingly similar to the properties of deep-fried donuts.

A number of publications have described the use of steam frying for the preparation of low-fat snack foods.

For example, patent EP-A 0 482 709 describes a method for producing a low fat flour snack, the method comprising preparing a dough in a mold at a temperature of 148-218 ° C. using superheated steam.

Patent WO 2004/066751 describes a method for heat treatment of products, comprising the steps of:

but. determining the moisture activity required during the heat treatment to obtain an article having desirable properties;

b. contacting the product with water vapor, at elevated temperature and the corresponding saturated vapor pressure (p *), despite the fact that the temperature on the surface of the product is 80-260 ° C;

from. adjusting the vapor pressure (p) in step (b) so that p / p * is equal to the water activity determined in step (a); and

d. maintaining for a period of time (t) the process conditions mentioned in steps (b) and (c) to obtain an article with the desired properties of the article.

It is believed that the method described in WO 2004/066751 is suitable for processing cocoa beans, cocoa beans, peeled, coffee beans, peanuts, nuts, soy products, herbs (in the form of powder), spices (in the form of powder), potatoes, products from starch and cereals, and bread, pastry, meat, snack and fish products.

The fat content of ready-to-eat donuts obtained by this method is much lower than that of conventional donuts, but these low-fat donuts are essentially indistinguishable from deep-fried donuts by applying a grease coating before contact with superheated steam. The ready-to-eat donuts obtained in this particular embodiment are characterized by an overall low fat content combined with a high fat content in the outer crust.

Accordingly, another object of the invention relates to a ready-to-eat donut containing a heat-treated dough, said heat-treated dough having a fat content of 4-10 wt.%, A water content of 30-40 wt.% And a specific volume of 2.5-4.5 ml / d, said donut is characterized in that the average fat content in the surface layer of 1 mm thickness is at least two times higher than the average fat content in the surface layer of 5 mm thickness.

In accordance with this, one object of the invention relates to a method for preparing ready-to-eat foods, comprising the steps of:

- applying a grease coating to the surface of an unprocessed or incompletely ready-to-eat food product; and

- contacting the fat-coated food product with superheated steam having a temperature of 120-300 ° C for a period of 0.3-15 minutes, preferably 1-10 minutes, to obtain a ready-to-eat food product.

Used in the present invention, the terms "superheated steam" refers to steam having a pressure (static) that is lower than the pressure of saturated steam. Saturated vapor pressure varies with temperature. The higher the temperature, the higher the pressure of saturated steam. Since the pressure of the superheated steam used in the present method is lower than the pressure of saturated steam, this steam is capable of exerting a drying effect, i.e., evaporating water from the food product with which the stream of superheated steam is in contact.

Used in the present invention, the term "fat-based coating" refers to a composition containing at least 20 wt.% Fat. Preferably, the fat-based coating of the invention comprises at least 50% by weight, and more preferably at least 70% by weight of fat. In addition to fat, the fat-based coating may suitably contain additional components such as water, sugar and protein. According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the total fat and water content is at least 80 wt.%, Even more preferably at least 90 wt.% Of the fat-based coating. The fat-based coating may suitably contain components that will help to brown the surface during treatment with superheated steam. Examples of such components are reducing sugars and protein-like components (amino acids, oligo- and polypeptides).

Various coating techniques may be suitable for use in the present method. For example, a grease-based coating material can be sprayed or applied with a brush to raw or incompletely prepared foods. Alternatively, a fat coating may be applied by lowering or immersing the food product in a liquid fat bath. A short immersion in hot fat may be suitable for applying a fat coating if this processing does not result in a complete preparation of the food product. If food products, such as pies, are made from batter, it may be advantageous to first immerse the batter in hot oil so that the batter is guaranteed to independently maintain shape by “hardening” the surface of the product, and subsequent contact of these baking molds with superheated ferry.

The method according to the present invention can provide an advantage when used for the preparation of various food products based on dough or on the basis of batter, including donuts, fried noodles, as well as food products coated with breadcrumbs, pies, donuts without topping from custard, donuts -craphene with jam, Mexican churros pretzels, Spanish donuts bunuelos and jujos.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the present method is used to prepare an unprocessed or incompletely ready-to-eat food product that contains at least 40 wt.% Flour dough or flour batter. In addition to the dough or batter, an unprocessed or not completely ready-to-eat food product may suitably contain a filling. Such a filling usually comprises not more than 80 wt.%, Preferably not more than 70 wt.%, Of an unprocessed or incompletely ready-to-eat food product. Typically, a combination of dough, batter, and toppings comprises at least 90% by weight of an unprocessed or incompletely ready-to-eat food product. The dough or batter, which is contained in a raw or not fully prepared food product, usually contains flour in an amount of at least 20 wt.% And water at least 30 wt.%. Typically, flour and water together comprise at least 70% by weight of an unprocessed or incompletely prepared food product.

If the ready-to-eat food product is a flour-based food product, it is preferable that before contact with superheated steam the inside of the raw or not fully ready-to-eat food product is not exposed to temperatures causing gelatinization of starch. Accordingly, in very preferred embodiments of the present method, when in contact with superheated steam, starch flour is not gelled in the interior of an unprocessed or not fully ready-to-eat food product.

The advantages of the present invention are particularly pronounced and unexpected in the case of applying a fat coating to the untreated product and subsequent contact of the fat-coated untreated food product with superheated steam.

The authors of the present invention note that the use of a small amount of fat before contacting the food product with superheated steam allows you to get a ready-to-eat food product that is very similar to the food product of deep or surface frying, except for its significantly lower fat content. Typically, fat is used in an amount of 1-10% by weight of an unprocessed or incompletely ready-to-eat food product. Most preferably, fat is used in an amount of 2-8% by weight of an unprocessed or incompletely ready-to-eat food product.

As used herein, the term “fat” includes triglycerides as well as a fatty acid containing emulsifiers such as diglycerides, monoglycerides, monoglyceride esters, diglyceride esters, phospholipids, and combinations thereof. Preferably, the fat used in the present method contains triglycerides in an amount of at least 60 wt.%, Most preferably at least 80 wt.%. The fat used in the present method can be used in liquid or solid form. Preferably, the fat is applied in liquid form, for example, by spraying, brushing, lowering or dipping. The fat may be of plant, animal origin (including milk fat) or marine origin. Most preferably, the fat used is a liquid vegetable oil. Typically, at least 50%, preferably at least 80% and most preferably at least 90% of the outer surface of the food product is coated with fat.

The temperature of the superheated steam used in the present process can vary widely. To obtain a ready-to-eat food product with a slightly browned crust and a fully prepared inner part, you must select the appropriate combination of steam temperature and contact time. In general, the higher the steam temperature, the shorter the contact time. Preferably, the superheated steam used in the present method has a temperature in the range of 130-280 ° C, most preferably 150-250 ° C.

The advantage provides the contact of the unprocessed or not completely ready-to-eat food product with superheated steam having a pressure that is significantly lower than the pressure of its saturated vapors. According to a particularly preferred embodiment, superheated steam has a pressure of 0.15-0.95, preferably 0.3-0.8, of the vapor pressure of superheated steam.

The contact of an unprocessed or incompletely ready-to-eat food product with superheated steam is achieved appropriately by passing a steady stream of superheated steam over a raw or incompletely prepared food product. To ensure that the cooking process takes place at an adequate speed, it is preferable to pass superheated steam over the raw or not fully prepared food product at a flow rate of at least 1 m / s, preferably at least 3 m / s. Typically, the flow velocity does not exceed 50 m / s, preferably it does not exceed 30 m / s.

To achieve the desired product characteristics, direct contact of superheated steam with a raw or incompletely prepared food product is necessary. Direct contact is particularly suitable for achieving adequate surface browning and moisture reduction. Therefore, if the contact of superheated steam with a raw or incompletely prepared food product occurs when the product is placed on a baking sheet or tray, it is essential that superheated steam can penetrate such a baking sheet or tray to get to the surface of the food product. Typically, in the method of the invention, at least 80%, preferably at least 90% of the surface of the unprocessed or incompletely ready-to-eat food product is directly exposed to superheated steam.

The ready-to-eat product obtained by the present method is preferably a completely ready-to-eat food product. If the basis of the food product is flour, the starch flour present in the ready-to-eat product is preferably completely gelled during contact with superheated steam.

Most preferably, the ready-to-eat food product obtained by the present method is a donut, and before applying the fat coating, the method comprises the following steps:

- mixing flour, water, baking powder and optionally other baking ingredients to form a donut dough; and

- dough separation for donuts into preformed molded dough pieces.

Proper donuts cannot be made without using a baking powder. Examples of disintegrating agents that may be suitable for use in the present process include yeast and baking powder. Most preferably, yeast is used in the present process. If yeast is used as a baking powder, it is preferable to apply fat to the surface of the molded dough preforms after loosening (proofing), in particular after the dough preforms have reached disintegration - a specific volume of at least 1.5 ml / g.

Ready-to-eat donuts obtained by this method mainly contain heat-treated dough having a reduced fat content of not more than 14 wt.%, Most preferably not more than 10 wt.%. Preferably, said heat-treated dough contains fat in an amount of at least 3 wt.%, Most preferably at least 4 wt.%.

The donut dough used in the present method may be low fat, or it may contain - 10 wt.% Fat. Preferably, a certain amount of fat is added to the donut dough, as it is revealed that this leads to the excellent nutritional properties of the ready-to-eat donut. Preferably, the fat content in the donut dough is 2-8% by weight.

The water content in the heat-treated dough of which the ready-to-eat donut consists of the present method is usually in the range of 25-42 wt.%, Preferably 30-40 wt.%. The water content in a raw or incompletely prepared donut test is significantly higher than the water content in a finished donut test, since a significant amount of water evaporates during contact with superheated steam. Typically, during contact with superheated steam, the water content in the dough in the molded preforms is reduced by at least 5%, preferably at least 10%.

The present invention offers the advantage of producing donuts with a high specific volume similar to the specific volume of deep-fried donuts. Preferably, the finished donuts have a specific volume of 2.2-4.5 ml / g, most preferably 2.8-4.0 ml / g.

Upon receipt of ready-to-eat donuts, the dough pieces during the contact of the formed dough pieces with superheated steam increase in volume. Typically, during contact with superheated steam, the volume of molded dough pieces increases 10-100%.

The donut dough used in the present process contains flour, water, a baking powder, and optionally other baking ingredients such as sugar, eggs, fat, etc. Typically, the donut dough used in the present method contains flour in an amount of 45-65 wt.%, Water 25-45 wt.% And fat 1-6 wt.%.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the food product is conveyed through a conveyor through an oven in which the product contacts the superheated steam. During the movement, the food product is preferably located on perforated baking sheets or trays having a porosity of at least 10%, preferably at least 50%. The above trays can suitably be used as a molding device for molding a food product, in particular a food product in the form of dough pieces.

The authors of the present invention revealed that after contacting the product with superheated steam, it is preferable to apply a small amount of fat coating to the food product. During treatment with superheated steam, a certain amount of fat can be removed from the surface of the food product. A greasy appearance is desirable for certain foods, such as donuts. Thus, in order to ensure that the ready-to-eat product has a greasy appearance, it is preferable to apply another grease coating to the food product after the food product has come into contact with superheated steam.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a ready-to-eat donut containing a finished (fully) dough, said finished dough having a fat content of 4-10 wt.%, Water content of 30-40 wt.% And a specific volume of 2.5-4.5 ml / g, said donut is characterized in that in the surface layer 1 mm thick, the average fat content is at least two times higher than the average fat content in the surface layer 5 mm thick. As stated above, a particularly good quality low fat donut can be achieved by the method described above in the present invention if a certain amount of fat is applied to the surface of the molded dough pieces before contact with superheated steam. Thus obtained donuts combine a low fat content in the crumb with a high fat content in a thin crust. It is believed that the fat content in the donut crumb has a much less relation to the nutritional quality of the donut than the fat content in the crust. Therefore, the donuts of the invention provide an advantage in containing the absolutely minimum amount of fat necessary to achieve excellent nutritional quality.

In the donut of the invention, the average fat content in the surface layer of 1 mm is usually at least 40% by weight, preferably at least 50% by weight. The average fat content in a surface layer of 5 mm thickness usually does not exceed 30 wt.%, More preferably it does not exceed 25 wt.%. In contrast, in conventional donuts, a surface layer of 5 mm thickness typically contains at least 40% by weight of fat.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the average fat content in the surface layer of 1 mm is at least three times higher than the average fat content in the surface layer of 5 mm.

Ready-to-eat donuts of the invention typically have a weight of 30-80 g.

The present invention is further illustrated by the following examples.

EXAMPLES

Example 1

Donuts of a ring-shaped form (41 grams) were made using the following formulation:

The weight % Flour 54,2 Water 31,2 Donut Concentrate 8.3 Fat 3,7 Yeast 2.6

In order to be able to move the raw donuts to another place for final frying, the heat-treated raw donuts thus stored in the freezer at -20 ° C. After 3 weeks, the frozen donuts were taken out of the freezer and left to thaw at 25 ° C for 30 minutes. Then the donuts were proofed by placing them in a proofing cabinet for 60 minutes (at 30 ° C, relative humidity 80%).

The distance donuts prepared in this way were divided into 4 groups: A, B, C, D, and the control group. Only 2%, 6% and 9% of palm oil was sprayed on donuts from groups B, C and D on both sides, respectively. The donuts from the control group were deep fried.

Immediately after proofing and coating with fat, donuts were placed on baking sheets from a wire mesh with small cells (with porosity> 80%). The baking sheets were placed in the steam channel, in which superheated steam (at 180 ° С) was driven up (at 180 ° С) upward through the wire mesh. After 90 seconds, the trays were removed, the donuts were turned over, and the trays were re-placed in the steam channel. After another 90 seconds, the baking sheets were removed from the steam channel and allowed to cool.

Thus obtained donuts were analyzed, receiving the following data:

BUT AT FROM D Fat Content (wt.%) 6.1 6.3 7.8 7.8 Humidity 33.5 33.3 31.8 31.7 Specific volume 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.6

The fat content of the donuts obtained in this way was significantly lower than the fat content in the donuts belonging to the control group. The fat content in the donuts of the control group was about 18 wt.%.

A group of experts also evaluated the final frying products obtained after treatment with superheated steam. It was found that products that were covered with palm oil before the final frying treatment (products B, C and D) were superior to donuts that were not previously coated (product A). In particular, it was found that donuts that were not pretreated had a slightly “leathery” crust.

Example 2

Example 1 was repeated, except that this time sunflower oil was used instead of palm oil. Comparable results were obtained.

Example 3

Example 1 was repeated, except that rapeseed oil was used instead of sunflower oil this time. Comparable results were obtained.

Example 4

Example 1 was repeated except that the superheated steam had a temperature of 220 ° C, and that the donuts were subjected to final frying by placing them in the steam channel twice for 50 seconds. Again, comparable results were obtained.

Example 5

Example 1 was repeated except that the superheated steam had a temperature of 160 ° C, and that the donuts were subjected to final frying by placing them in the steam channel twice for 110 seconds. Once again, comparable results were obtained.

Example 6

As in Example 1, ring-shaped donuts were prepared, ready for final frying. After proofing, the donuts were fried accordingly, dipping them for 10 seconds in hot oil at a temperature of 180 ° C. After that, the donuts were finally fried in the same manner as described in Example 1, except that this time the time spent in the steam channel was twice 40 seconds. The donuts thus obtained had a fat content of about 11.5% by weight. In terms of quality, it was revealed that these donuts were comparable to the donuts belonging to groups C and D from Example 1.

Claims (11)

1. A method of preparing a ready-to-eat donut, comprising the steps of:
- applying a greasy coating containing from 20 to 100 wt.% fat on the surface of an untreated or not completely ready to eat donut to provide 2-8% fat by weight of the donut; and
- contacting the fat-coated donut with superheated steam having a temperature of 120-300 ° C for a period of 0.3-15 minutes, preferably 1-10 minutes, to obtain a ready-to-eat donut, said superheated steam having a pressure of 0, 15 to 0.95 saturated water vapor pressure, while the prepared donut-ready donut dough has a fat content of 3 to 14 wt.%. 2. The method according to claim 1, in which a ready-to-eat donut is obtained by contacting a fat-coated untreated donut with superheated steam. 3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the fat is selected from the group consisting of triglycerides, diglycerides, monoglycerides, phospholipids and combinations thereof. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the superheated steam has a temperature of 130-280 ° C, preferably 150-250 ° C. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which an untreated or not completely ready to eat donut is in contact with superheated steam having a pressure that is 0.3-0.8 of saturated water vapor pressure. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which superheated steam is passed over the donuts at a flow rate of 1-50 m / s, preferably 3-30 m / s. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which an unprocessed or not completely ready-to-eat food product contains from 20 to 100 wt.% Dough or flour based flour and from 0 to 80 wt.% Toppings. 8. The method according to claim 7, which before applying the fat coating further comprises the steps of:
- mixing flour, water, baking powder and, possibly, other baking ingredients to form a dough for donuts; and
- dough separation for donuts into molded pieces. 9. The method of claim 8, in which the starch flour in the inner part of the molded dough pieces is gelatinized when the pieces are brought into contact with superheated steam. 10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, in which the fat content of the heat-treated dough for ready-to-eat donut is 4-10 wt.%. 11. Ready-to-eat donut obtained by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.