WO2016066846A1

WO2016066846A1 - Congee product

Info

Publication number: WO2016066846A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/075353
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christoph Hartmann; Yongcheng Liao; Chang Liu
Original assignee: Nestec S.A.
Priority date: 2014-10-31
Filing date: 2015-10-30
Publication date: 2016-05-06
Also published as: CN106793791A

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a ready to eat congee product with enhanced storage stability is disclosed, and the processing nnethod to manufacture this product is also disclosed. The congee produced according to the manufacturing method can be stored under low temperature condition for on-the-go consumption with improved storage stability.

Description

CONGEE PRODUCT

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a ready to eat congee product with enhanced storage stability and the processing method to manufacture this product. In particular, the invention relates to congee that can be stored in the low temperature condition for on-the-go consumption.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

Congee is made by cooking grains in a large amount of water or broth for a long time so that the grains lose their structure, soften and distribute their starch throughout the mixture. The grains may be cooked until they completely disintegrate and reach a creamy to thick texture due to disintegration of the base ingredient, usually rice, cereal, or bean, after prolonged cooking. Congee may be sweet or savoury and can contain ingredients as basic as rice and water or as complex as spices, marinated meat, nuts, fresh herbs and other garnishes. Made either way, congee is very nutritious and easy to digest and contains nutrients in ready form to be absorbed and used, thereby enabling quick revitalization of the body.

Congee has been industrialized as commercial products and welcomed by consumers throughout China. The current canned ready-to-eat congee product has been well accepted by the consumers in both southern and northern part of China for its convenience and creamy taste and texture. However, warehouse and transport temperature in North China can reach as low as - 40°C in the winter months. It has been observed that congee degenerates due to low temperatures and to temperature fluctuations. All congee producers face this issue. For instance, cases of complaints significantly increased after the Chinese New Year (between March and June) from 2009 to 2012. It was found out that starches retrogradation is the main reason for this degenerated congee. Starch retrogradation, which essentially involves molecular packing and recrystallization phenomena, leads generally to significant changes in the mechanical properties of starch-based products and thus greatly affects their sensory, nutritional and processing characteristics. As mentioned before, congee is made from grains rich in starch. During congee preparation, starch undergoes a conversion from its native partially crystalline granular structure to a polymeric solution or melt, and the starch granules gelatinize when heated in presence of excess water. During cooling and storage of gelatinized starch at temperature lower than the gelatinization temperature, starch retrogradation rapidly occurs.

Congee producers try to reduce starch retrogradation in the congee products. Due to the great importance of starch retrogradation from a technological point of view, a large number of studies have been carried out. In summary, the degree of retrogradation and the nature of retrogradation may be affected by starch source, storage temperature, concentration, the presence of salts, acids, lipids, surfactants, and sugars.

Optimizing the ingredients in the congee product may be a valid approach to better control retrogradation. However, the current congee products are very well accepted by consumers. Therefore, modifying the current recipes may not be accepted by the consumers as it may impact taste or texture.

Another option would be to maintain acceptable temperatures in warehouses or during transport, where starch retrogradation does not occur or is limited. In other words, it would be necessary to heat the storage locations during the cold months. This is not an acceptable solution due to the associated costs.

Patent applications CN 102599431 A, CN 103478543 A and CN 102318796 A disclose methods for the production of savoury congees which contain beans by retort processes.

It is desirable to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative. In particular, it is desirable to provide a modified process compared to the standard process to increase the stability of congee under low temperature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. The dependent claims further develop the idea of the present invention.

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention provides a method of manufacturing a congee, which comprises the steps of: a) dosing a mix of carbohydrate ingredients into a retortable container with an aqueous liquid which consists essentially of water, wherein said carbohydrate ingredients comprise cereal grains and beans, b) sealing said retortable container, c) retorting said mix, to obtain said congee, characterized in that said beans are precooked at a temperature of 70°C to 100°C during 20 to 70 minutes before dosing into said retortable container.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a retorted congee obtainable by this method of manufacturing. Alternatively, the invention provides a retorted congee comprising cereal grains and beans, wherein said congee has the same visual rating before and after a freeze-thaw cycle test, wherein said test consists in cooling said retorted congee during at least 4 days at - 5°C, then thawing it to 25°C, and finally marking said congee according to a visual rating scale as shown on Figure 2.These and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description of embodiments of the invention, in connection with the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a congee according to the first aspect of the invention. Dashed boxes represent optional processing steps or ingredients.

Figure 2 is the visual scoring scale used to evaluate the storage stability in canned congee product, as further explained in Example 2. Figures 3-6 show the visual scoring of Trials 1-3 in comparison with Reference 1, and of Trial 4 in comparison with Reference 2, as explained in Example 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Throughout the specification, the words "comprise", "comprising" and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to", as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense. As used in the specification, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Unless noted otherwise, all percentages in the specification refer to weight percent.

The term "storage stability" refers to retrogradation stability of the congee as described in the specification.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms have and should be given the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

As already mentioned above, a first aspect of the invention is a method of manufacturing a congee, which comprises the steps of: a) dosing a mix of carbohydrate ingredients into a retortable container with an aqueous liquid which consists essentially of water, wherein said carbohydrate ingredients comprise cereal grains and beans, b) sealing said retortable container, c) retorting said mix, to obtain said congee, characterized in that said beans are precooked at a temperature of 70°C to 100°C during 20 to 70 minutes before dosing into said retortable container.

An example of a method of manufacturing according to the first aspect of the invention is illustrated at Figure 1. On Figure 1, optional steps are indicated in dashed boxes.

The mix of carbohydrate ingredients comprises precooked beans. In the context of this invention, "beans" refers to the seeds of edible legumes such as azuki bean, black azuki bean, green azuki bean, white azuki bean, broad bean, jack bean, kidney bean, mung bean, red bean, cowpea, hemp cowpea, spotted cowpea, pea, chick-pea, pea, peanut, lentil, and other kinds of legume seeds. A mix of beans may be preferred, such as a mix of kidney beans, peanuts, mung beans and red beans.

Beans are pre-cooked at a temperature of from 70°C to 100°C during 20 to 70 minutes. Pre-cooking may be performed in water or with steam. Preferably, pre- cooking of the beans is performed at 72°C to 95°C, and more preferably at 75°C to 90°C. Preferably, pre-cooking of the beans is performed during 25 to 65 minutes, more preferably during 30 to 60 minutes, and even more preferably during 30 to 50 minutes. For instance, pre-cooking may be performed at a temperature of 72°C to 95°C during 25 to 65 minutes, preferably during 30 to 60 minutes, more preferably during 30 to 50 minutes. Pre-cooking may also be performed at a temperature of 75°C to 90°C during 25 to 65 minutes, preferably during 30 to 60 minutes, more preferably during 30 to 50 minutes. Pre-cooking may also be performed at a temperature of 70°C to 75°C during 20 to 70 minutes. As will be shown in the examples, pre-cooking of the beans improves shelf-stability of the retorted congee during a freeze-thaw test.

Optionally, the bean ingredient is cleaned or washed before pre-cooking.

"Cleaning" and "washing" are used interchangeably. Cleaning allows to remove dusts, stones, and other non-edible objects. Washing can be performed by the ingredient supplier. Preferably, the beans are soaked before precooking, as it may improve precooking and retorting. Soaking can be performed in water at cold to ambient temperature, during 30 minutes to 6 hours. Preferably, soaking is performed at a temperature ranging from 15°C to 35°C. The temperature should not be too high in order to avoid premature starch gelatinisation. Preferably, soaking is performed during 30 minutes to 2 hours. Tap water can be used for cleaning and soaking.

The mix of carbohydrate ingredients also comprises cereal grains. In the context of this invention, "cereal grains" refers both to the edible seeds of true cereals and of pseudo-cereals. Examples of cereals include barley, sweet corn, fonio, maize, millet, oat, rice, rye, sorghum, triticale, and wheat. Examples of pseudo-cereals include amaranth, buckwheat, chia, and quinoa. For instance, the cereal grains comprise rice, barley, corn, oat, wheat, and mixtures thereof. Preferably, the cereal grains comprise rice together with another cereal grain, such as barley, corn, or oat, or mixtures thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the cereal grains comprise rice and barley.

When the cereal grains comprise rice, or consist of rice, any variety of rice can be used. Preferably, short to medium rice is selected. Coloured rice can be chosen, in order to give colour to the congee. For instance, white rice, yellow rice, red rice, or black rice can be used in the carbohydrate ingredient. Most preferably, glutinous rice is selected. The starch of glutinous rice is almost amylose-free and is rich in amylopectin. This contributes to viscosity and pleasant texture of freshly-prepared congee. In order to balance the texture of the congee, a mix of glutinous rice with other rice varieties may also be chosen, where the starch of the other rice variety is rich in amylose ("amylose-rich rice variety"). For instance, a rice mix comprises from 85 to 99% by weight of glutinous rice, preferably 90 to 95% by weight, and the remainder of an amylose-rich rice variety.

For instance, the cereal grains comprise, preferably consist essentially of, a mix of rice and barley. Preferably, the rice is glutinous rice with less than 10% by weight of amylose-rich rice variety. The cereal grains may comprise 1 to 3 parts by weight of barley, for 1 to 2 parts by weight of rice.

Cereal grains may be cleaned and/or soaked, before an optional precooking. Tap water can be used for cleaning and soaking. For instance, the cereal grains are precooked at a temperature of from 70°C to 90°C during 30 to 60 minutes. Pre-cooking may be performed in water or with steam.

The mix of carbohydrate ingredients comprises cereal grains and pre-cooked beans. As already mentioned, the precooked beans are optionally cleaned and/or soaked, and the cereal grains are optionally cleaned and/or soaked and/or precooked.

In the mix of carbohydrate ingredient, the cereal grains and beans can be provided intact, as broken pieces, or as a mixture thereof. When the carbohydrate ingredient is provided as broken pieces, cooking can be performed faster, or under less stringent conditions. When the carbohydrate ingredient is provided intact, it is possible to obtain a congee with more visible pieces. This provides texture and appearance to the final product. For instance, the carbohydrate ingredient is a mix of intact pieces, and broken pieces. For instance, the carbohydrate ingredient contains from 1 to 10 parts by weight of broken pieces per part of flour. Various combinations can be considered. For instance, the carbohydrate ingredient contains a mixture of intact and broken cereal grains, and intact and broken beans.

The mix of carbohydrate ingredients comprises from 40 to 60% by weight of cereal grains, and the remainder of beans, i.e. from 60 to 40% by weight of beans. Preferably, the mix of carbohydrate ingredients comprises from 45 to 58% by weight, more preferably from 50 to 55% by weight, of cereal grains, and the remainder of beans. Here, weight percent relates to the raw ingredients, preferably after cleaning, and any case before soaking and/or precooking.

In an embodiment, each carbohydrate ingredients are processed separately. For instance, before pre-cooking, the carbohydrate ingredients are weighed, then cleaned with water, such as tap water. Then, the cleaning water is drained and the cleaned ingredients are weighed again separately (wet weight). After precooking in water, these beans and optionally the other carbohydrate ingredients are drained and weighed once again separately (precooked weight).

In an embodiment, each carbohydrate ingredient is then dosed separately into the retortable container, as well as the optional additional ingredients. Dosing the ingredients separately into each retortable container ensure a strict control of the content of each container. Alternatively, the ingredients are mixed together into a homogeneous premix, and the premix is dosed into the retortable container.

As mentioned before, the mix of carbohydrate ingredients is mixed with a liquid which consists essentially of water ("aqueous liquid"). For instance, the aqueous liquid is water, a broth, a bouillon, a soup, or syrup. The ratio between the carbohydrate ingredient (beans and cereal grains) and the aqueous liquid is about 6 to 10 parts by weight of aqueous liquid per part by weight of the mix of carbohydrate ingredients, preferably about 7 to 8 parts by weight of aqueous liquid per part by weight of the mix of carbohydrate ingredients.

The aqueous liquid and the mix of carbohydrate ingredients are mixed together, for instance in the retortable container to form a basic congee mix. It may be desired to prepare several kinds of congees. For instance, the congee is a savoury congee, a sweet congee, or a plain congee. Depending on the kind of congee, additional ingredients may be needed. For instance, for a savoury congee, said additional ingredients may be selected from meat, fish, egg, vegetable, herb, mushroom, nut, traditional Chinese ingredient, and combinations thereof. Alternatively, for a sweet congee, said additional ingredients may be selected from fruit, herb, nut, mushroom, traditional Chinese ingredient, vegetable, sweetener, and combinations thereof. Preferably, said additional ingredient is cooked or blanched. Some additional ingredients may also need soaking before cooking. The objective of blanching is to scald the additional ingredient in fried oil, boiling water or steam for a short time. This inhibits the enzymatic activity which is associated with loss of flavour, colour and texture. Blanching can also cleanse the surface of dirt and organisms, brighten the colour and help retard loss of vitamins. It also wilts or softens vegetables and makes them easier to cook. When blanching is complete, vegetables should be cooled to stop cooking. The additional ingredients may be dosed into the basic congee mix. Alternatively, they can be mixed with the cereal grains, or with the beans, or even with the aqueous liquid.

Typically, meat can be poultry, such as chicken or duck; red meat, such as beef, mutton, or horse; white meat, such as veal, or rabbit. Typically, fish can be sea-water fish or clear-water fish. Meat and fish can be added as fresh ingredient, salted, dried, smoked or other preserved preparations. Typically, egg can be hard-boiled egg, century egg, or salted egg. Typically, vegetables can be flower bud, such as broccoli, cauliflower, globe artichokes, capers; leaves, such as kale, collard greens, spinach, arugula, beet greens, bokchoy, chard, choi sum, turnip greens, endive, lettuce, mustard greens, watercress, garlic chives, gailan, leeks; stems, such as kohlrabi, galangal, and ginger; stems of leaves, such as celery, rhubarb, cardoon, Chinese celery; stem shoots, such as asparagus, bamboo shoots; tubers, such as potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes, taro, and yams; whole-plant sprouts, such as soybean, mung beans, urad, and alfalfa; roots, such as carrots, parsnips, beets, radishes, rutabagas, turnips, and burdocks; bulbs, such as onions, shallots, garlic; fruits in the botanical sense, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchinis, pumpkins, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, chayote, okra, breadfruit, avocado, green beans. Typically, fruits are selected from apple, orange, grape, strawberry, banana, lemon, or pears, red date, jujube, yam, peanut, red bean, lotus seeds and ginkgo nuts.

The basic congee mix is then dosed into a retortable container, optionally with at least one additional ingredient. The retortable container may be a bowl, a bag, a tin or a can. The retortable container is then sealed.

Optionally, a seasoning is dosed into said retortable container before sealing thereof. The seasoning may be selected from sugar ester, EDTA, sucralose, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, vegetable oil, flavoured oil, vinegar, and combinations thereof.

Then, the mix is retorted in the retortable container. Retorting can be performed using standard processes in a standard retort equipment, for instance at a temperature ranging from 121°C to 130°C, preferably 123°C to 127°C, during about 25 to 70 minutes. The objective of retorting is to allow full hydration and gelatinization of the starches in the carbohydrate ingredients. Optionally, the carbohydrate ingredients mix is retorted with a seasoning. Optionally, the retorted carbohydrate ingredients is then held for a short time, for instance from 10 to 20 minutes.

The inventors have found that optimal results are obtained when the beans are pre-cooked at a temperature of from 72°C to 95°C during 30 to 60 minutes, and when retorting of the mix is performed at 123°C to 127°C during 25 to 70 minutes.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a ready to eat congee product with improved storage stability. The ingredients used in the preparation of the congee have been described above. In particular, the congee contains a mix of carbohydrate ingredients and an aqueous liquid which consists essentially of water. The carbohydrate ingredients contain beans and cereal grains. The congee is prepared by retorting. Part of the carbohydrate ingredient may lose its overall structure and appearance during cook, thus providing a creamy and rich texture, while other carbohydrate ingredients may retain their shape and be identified in the final product. Optionally, the congee comprises a seasoning and/or additional ingredients. Depending on the seasoning and additional ingredients, the congee is savoury, plain, or sweet. Seasoning may include spices, herbs, oil and fat, vinegar, pungents (such as onions, shallots, garlic, chives, and horseradish), condiments (such as mustard, gherkins, capers, chili), and wine, as well as natural or artificial sweeteners.

Thanks to a specific pre-cooking of the beans, the ready-to-eat congee according to the invention has an improved storage stability when it undergoes freezing-thawing cycles.

The congee is storage stable because it has a long shelf-life at ambient temperature and even low temperature. In other words, it remains consumable without substantial evolution of its organoleptic properties even in a low temperature ranges from 0 °C to -20°C in a sealed container. Organoleptic properties include, for instance, appearance, viscosity, texture, or flavour, especially from visual evaluation characters, including the amount of free water, homogeneity of the congee product, and the consistent texture with aggregation.

Storage stability may be assessed by comparing the organoleptic properties of a freshly prepared product with the organoleptic properties of a product which has been stored at -5°C for 2 days, 4 days 6 days and 8 days, and then thawed back to ambient temperature. A scoring scale is detailed in Example 2 and on Figure 2. As explained above, storage stability is achieved by an appropriate precooking and retorting treatment.

A freeze-thawing test consists in cooling a retorted congee, in the container, during at least 4 days at -5°C, then thawing it to 25°C, and finally marking said congee according to a visual rating scale.

In an embodiment, the invention relates to a retorted congee comprising cereal grains and beans, wherein said congee has the same visual rating before and after a freeze-thaw cycle test. Preferably, the retorted congee is shelf-stable for at least 6 months comprising a plurality of freeze-thaw cycles. For instance, the retorted congee can undergo 2, 3, 4, 5, and up to 10 freeze-thaw cycles, with a minimal loss of visual quality. EXAMPLES

Example 1 - Preparation of ready-to-eat congee with enhanced storage stability a) Recipes

Table 1-1 - Recipe 1, for 100 cans. Weights are in grams

k₍₎ _Siitc _rce_gy

£= CUD

l₍₎ _Ba_re_gy nt£

CO

-— 3

to £=

-3 Π3

b

d b ⁽⁾ _i _Kneean^g _y =5 o>

^ to

1 £Z - s£=

b⁽⁾ Mn^gean^gu o U

Total weight 4000

d^{b ()} ^Reean^g

Wl W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 100

1. Dry weight

(⁾ ^Ptean^gu

800 800 400 640 720 640 100

Wl' W2' W7' W8'

2. Wet weight

after cleaning

984 960 672 1120 864 819.2 0 ⁽⁾ ^Lon^gan^g

3. Wet weight

W3' W4' W5' W6' ^{d ()i} ^Lto^{s s}ee^pece^su after pre- cooking 400 640 720 640

Wl'/ W27 W37 W47 W57 W67 W77 W87

1

4. Wet weight 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 for each can

9.84 9.60 4.00 6.40 7.20 6.40 0.00 1.00

5. Soup weight

Ws = 420

per can Table 1-2 - Recipe 2, for 100 cans. Weights are in grams

Note:∑"=i /100 ranges from 35-55g, where W, is the dry weight of each ing W_s ranges from 250-450 g, where WS is the weight of aqueous liquid or soup

ranges from 6-10 b) Preparation of ready-to-eat congees

Ready-to-eat congees were prepared based on the recipes in Tables 1-1 and 1- 2 above, following the steps below:

Step 1: Weigh the ingredients (dry weight) as indicated in Tables 1-1 and 1-2

Step 2: Clean the ingredients with tap water and drain them, then weigh them separately (wet weight)

Step 3: Precook the beans (kidney bean, mung bean, red bean, peanut), drain the water, and weigh the wet weight of the beans separately. Pre-cooking conditions are shown in Table 2.

Step 4: Separately weigh the ingredients into the retortable cans, as indicated in Tables 1-1 and 1-2

Step 5: Prepare a soup (water, sweeteners, EDTA)

Step 6: Weigh the amount of soup W_s into retortable cans

Step 7: Seal and retort the cans. Retort conditions are shown in Table II.

Six ready-to-eat congee samples (References 1 & 2, Trials 1-4) were prepared according to the process described above, with different precooking condition listed in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Conditions for bean precooking and retorting

Precooking (Time Retorting (Time @

Trial Recipe

@ temperature ) temperature )

Reference 1 Recipe 1 (Table 1-1) 15 min @ 90°C 65min @ 127°C

Trial 1 Recipe 1 (Table 1-1) 60 min @ 75°C 30 min @ 127°C

Trial 2 Recipe 1 (Table 1-1) 30 min @ 90°C 30 min @ 127°C

Trial 3 Recipe 1 (Table 1-1) 30 min @ 90°C 50 min @ 127°C

Reference 2 Recipe 2 (Table 1-2) 15 min @ 90°C 65min @ 127°C

Trial 4 Recipe 2 (Table 1-2) 30 min @ 90°C 30 min @ 127°C Example 2 - Sensory evaluation the storage stability in ready to eat congee product through visual scoring

Several cans of each of the six samples prepared from Example 1 were stored in a storage room at -5 C for 2, 4, 6 and 8 days. After storage in frozen conditions, the cans were thawed back to room temperature at approximately 25°C. The aspect and texture of the congee was marked according to the scale described in Table 3 below and Figure 2, by a trained panel of eight sensory evaluators.

Table 3: Scale for visual evaluation of the storage stability of ready-to-eat congee (Figure 2)

The results are shown in Table 4 and in Figures 3-6. The sensory testing showed that pre-cooking time of the bean only and retorting time had a significant impact on storage stability, compared to standard processing, and variants demonstrated significant improvement of the storage stability from Day 2 to Day 8. Table 4: Visual scoring of the Trials 1-4 and References 1-2

Sample Score on Difference Days

Day 2 Day 4 Day 6 Day 8

Reference 1 0 3 3.83 4.00

Trial 1 0.67 0.5 0 0 Fig 3

Trial 2 0.67 0.75 0.0 0.67 Fig 4

Trial 3 0.67 0.63 0 1 Fig 5

Reference 2 4 4 4 4

Trial 4 1 0.63 0.75 1.38 Fig 6

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a congee, which comprises the steps of:

a) dosing a mix of carbohydrate ingredients into a retortable container with a aqueous liquid which consists essentially of water, wherein said carbohydrate ingredients comprise cereal grains and beans,

b) sealing said retortable container,

c) retorting said mix, to obtain said congee,

characterized in that said beans are precooked at a temperature of 70°C to 100°C during 20 to 70 minutes before dosing into said retortable container.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said aqueous liquid contains a freeze- thaw stabilizer selected from sugar ester, xanthan gum, guar gum, or mixes thereof.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mix comprises 6 to 10 parts by weight of aqueous liquid per part by weight of carbohydrate ingredients.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein retorting is performed at a temperature of 121°C to 130°C during 25 to 70 minutes.

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the beans are precooked at a temperature of 72°C to 95°C during 30 to 60 minutes, and wherein retorting is performed at a temperature of 123°C to 127°C during 25 to 70 minutes.

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said congee is a savoury congee, a sweet congee, or a plain congee.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein at least one additional ingredient is dosed into said retortable container before sealing thereof, wherein said additional ingredients is selected from: - for a savory congee: meat, fish, egg, vegetable, herb, mushroom, nut, traditional Chinese ingredient, and combinations thereof,

- for a sweet congee: fruit, herb, nut, mushroom, traditional Chinese ingredient, vegetable, sweetener, and combinations thereof.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said additional ingredient is cooked or blanched before dosing into said retortable container.

9. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said container is a bowl, a bag, a tin or a can.

10. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a seasoning is dosed into said retortable container before sealing thereof, wherein said seasoning is selected from sugar ester, EDTA, sucralose, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, vegetable oil, flavored oil, vinegar, and combinations thereof.

11. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein said aqueous liquid is water, a broth, a bouillon, a soup, or a syrup.

12. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said congee has the same visual rating before and after a freeze-thaw cycle test, wherein said test consists in cooling said retorted congee during at least 4 days at - 5°C, then thawing it to 25°C, and finally marking said congee according to a visual rating scale.

13. A retorted congee obtainable by a method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A retorted congee comprising cereal grains and beans, wherein said congee has the same visual rating before and after a freeze-thaw cycle test, wherein said test consists in cooling said retorted congee during at least 4 days at - 5°C, then thawing it to 25°C, and finally nnarking said congee according to a visual rating scale.

15. A retorted congee according to clainn 13 or 14, which is shelf-stable for at least 6 months comprising a plurality of freeze-thaw cycles.