Improvements relating to food products

摘要

In a process for preparing a French fried food product, a food is cooked and comminuted, a thermal gelling binder is admixed with the food, the binder is wetted with water, the total moisture content of the mixture, however, being not substantially above the moisture content of the food in its natural state, the binder is solvated within the mixture by maintaining the temperature of the binder and the mixture at a temperature not exceeding 90 DEG F., preferably between 41 DEG F. and 50 DEG F., in order to assure substantial intermixing between the binder and the food, and the resulting product, before or after a partial or a complete French frying, is packaged. Suitable binders have the following general formula: wherein the radicals R, R1 and R2 may be hydrogen, alkyl such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, and isopropyl, or hyroxyalkyl such as hydroxymethyl, hydroxyethyl, hydroxypropyl and hydroxy-isopropyl, and at least one is methyl and/or ethyl. Preferred binders are dimethyl cellulose ether (solvating being performed by cooling to below 55 DEG F.), hydroxyethyl methylcellulose, ethyl hydroxy-ethylcellulose, and hyroxypropyl methyl-cellulose. The binder may be gelled by any heat processing such as French frying (preferred), pan frying, baking, retorting and broiling. Foods include many specified fruits and vegetables, and meat, to which there may be added specified seasonings and flavourings, monoglycerides, non-fat dry milk solids and high protein materials such as soy bean products. The term "vegetable" covers such foods as chard, spinach, water cress, cabbage, parsley, broccoli, cauliflower, artichoke, asparagus, kohlrabi, potatoes, beets, turnips, carrots, rutabaga, legumes, maize, rice, tomatoes, peppers, squash, pumpkins, eggplant and okra. Absorbents such as potato, wheat or maize starch, processed flours of potato, wheat, maize, barley or rice, dehydrated particles of the food, or inorganic compounds such as calcium chloride or silica gel, may be added to the mixture after wetting the binder and while the mixture is still hot, or immediately before extruding or otherwise shaping the mixture. The food products produced may, for example, be crisp snack items such as chips or puffs, or food spreads. According to one of many examples, to 1160 grams of potato mash prepared by ricing steam-cooked potatoes through a 1/8 -inch sieve, there was added 8 grams of dimethylcellulose ether having an average viscosity of 8000 centpoises. After intensive mixing for 10 minutes, the mixture was cooled to a temperature of 50 DEG F., extruded through a plate having holes 3/8 -inch square and then dropped into stabilized cottonseed oil heated to about 380 DEG F. to be French fried for about 1 1/2 minutes. In further examples 26 grams of potato starch were included in the mixture. In another example 80 grams of potato flakes, 20 grams of dehydrated diced potatoes and 6 grams of dimethylcellulose ether were mixed together. This mixture was rehydrated with 200 c.c. of water at a temperature of about 140 DEG C. under intensive agitation. The procedure of the previously mentioned examples was then followed. In certain examples mixtures of binding agents were employed. Specification 985,808 is referred to.