| 摘要 |
A method of continuously forming elongated protein filaments from a cooked meat source is disclosed which comprises forming an aqueous slurry of a cooked meat source having a solids content of at least about 10 percent by weight and a pH of between about 3 and 10, followed by treatment of the noted slurry to provide a pumpable slurry with a viscosity ratio, as measured at a solids level of 15 percent by weight, to an uncooked meat slurry of substantially identical composition of at least about 1:2. Elongated protein filaments are thereafter formed from the slurry by continuously conducting the slurry under pressure through a heat exchanger and heating the slurry to a critical temperature of at least about 280 DEG F. and preferably between about 310 DEG - 335 DEG F. while the protein is subjected to such temperature for a sufficient period of time so that elongated filaments are separated from the slurry. A higher temperature range is necessary with a "cooked" rather than uncooked protein source since it has been determined that once the protein source has been cooked it takes more heat to convert it to a protein filament than is required with an uncooked material. The heated slurry is continuously removed from said zone through an orifice and discharged into a collecting zone whereby the elongated filaments are separated from the remaining constituents of the slurry. The noted process provides a distinct improvement over prior art processes which were dependent upon the need for an "uncooked" protein source to permit texturization, and discloses a critically defined set of temperature conditions for the production of protein filaments from a protein source which heretofore has been considered unusable in texturization processes. |
