Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a desserk composition and
more particularly to a starch-containing composition in a dried,
granular and free-flowing form, which is adapted to disperse
instantly ln a hot liquid to form a thickened sauce or dessert. ~-
Desserts or sauces based substantiallv on starch with ~
added colour and flavour are well known, of which custard made ~ ~ -
from custard powder and hot milk is a particular and well-known
example. Custard powder is now normally substantially composed ; :~
of starch, which in order to forrn a custard sauce, whether
eventually served hot or cold by the housewife, needs to be fully
gelatinized by heat on the addition of hot milk with stirring.
This preparation, however, has to be conducted with great care in
order that a smooth, thick sauce of uniform texture without
lumps is obtained. In the hands of an inexperienced housewife,
this smooth texture may not be readily obtained, since the
temperature of starch gelatinization may not be fully attained,
and the starch powder may not be properly wetted out. Indeed,
it is usually recommended that a small quantity of cold milk or
water is first used to form a paste, before the major quantity
2~ o~ the hot milk is stirred in, which can be an inconvenient
two-state culinary operation. It is often necessary to reheat
the rnix. Furthermore, custard powder, being composed of very
fine particles~ is not free-10wing, which makes it difficult to
dispense in correct amounts. -~
Various methods have been proposed in the past to
overcome this disadvantage, but they all make use of additives,
such as various hydrocolloids or gelatine, which may not be ~ -
otherwise desired to keep the nature of the custard composition
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to be sold and consumed.
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Free-f lowing and more wettable composition~ may be
obtained in many products by the process of agglomeration; but
this expedient is not readily available for a custard or other
sauce based on 100% starch (apart from flavouring and colouring).
A made~up custard by the housewife almost always contains sugar,
and an improved custard powder containing both starch and sugar
may be agglomerated. Such a product, however, is still not
entirely satisfactory, when, for example, the particles may be
rather fragile. ~-
It has now been found that a superior custard may be
prepared in the form of free-flowing granules, which will
instantly disperse in a hot liquid to form a thickened, uniform ;`
sauce of the same characteristics as that prepared rom a -
custard powder by the two-stage culinary procedure already
described.
According to the present invention there is provided
a process for the preparation of a dessert composition in a
dried, granular and free-flowing form, which comprises admixing
starch powder and sugar particles whiIe spraying water in~a
~0 controlled manner on the mixed particles to provide a moisture
content of 13 to 18% by weight, granulating the moistened
mixture, drying the resultant granules to a moisture content of
5 to 6~ by weight, and grinding and screening the dried granules -~
to a particle size from No. 10 to No. 36 British Standard Mesh.
~he invention also provides a dessert composition in
a dried, granular and free-flowing ~orm whenever prepared by a `
process as described above.
In performing the process of this invention, granulation - ~
is accomplished on a mixture of starch and sugar. The sugar ~ ~ -
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should be of similar particle size to the starch powder, normally
used, so that commercially pulverized sugar is preferably employed
and thoroughly mixed with the starch powder. During the mixing
operation, water is sprayed on in a controlled manner, to a
final moisture content of the mix which has been found to be
critical. Too low a moisture content will not allow the sub-
sequent granulation to be satisfactorily performed, nor provide
a final product of satisfactory particle strength. Too high a
moisture content produces a paste which cannot be satisfactorily -
granulated, and may give hard gritty particles. The moistened
mix is then granulated preferably by being passed or extruded
under a low applied mechanical pressure through small orifices
~for example, of 0.1 inch diameter), to form small roughly shaped
pellets or granules. These granules are then~dried to the
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equilibrium moisture content for subsequent satisfactory storage
of the produce. The dried granules are then ground and screened,
so that the final product has a particle range from No.~ lO to
No. 36 British Standard Mesh.
Various items of equipment may be used to carry out ~'
the process in which the critical aspects are the moisture con~
tent of the mix, the conditions of granulation, e.g., extrusion,
and the particle size of the~product. ~If the pressure~of
extrusiQn ls too high, though increased hardness of the final , !,~
ma~ be attained, the product may be gritty in texture an make~
up. ~his effect would result primarily from the assoclated ~
heat generated during the extrusion, which it is essential to
avoid. Manv extruders, however, act by a continuously applied `, ;~
and relatively high pressure, as~within a taperlng barrel and
screw, which are unsatisfactory for the;product of this invention.
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The preferred manner of performing the granulation is by apply-
ing a relatively low pressure over a short time during the
actual extrusion, and not during the total time of residence in
the extrusion device. The size of the orifice holes is related
to moisture content of the mixture, the higher the moisture
content the larger the size of holes that may be used. A few ~-
simple trials will readily establish the optimal moisture con-
tent within the range of 13 to 18~ by weight to give the product
of this invention in the device chosen.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention a mixture
of 50% maize starch and 50% of pulverized sugar by weight is
blended in a helical ribbon-blender trough mixer with added
colouring and flavouring as required. After or during mixing,
the correct amount of moisture is sprayed on to the surface of
the mixture within the mixer with its blades still rotating to
ensure a uniform distribution of the water. Pneumatic spray
or other nozzles which provide a fine spray will be found
satisfactory for this purpose. The amount of water to be ;-~
incorporated, for a normal starch moisture content of 12~, and
~0 sugar moisture of less than 1% is from 14 to 15% by weight. The ;
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moistened mixture is then fed to a granulator, for example, a
granulator made by the Apex Construction Company ~Rotary Wet
Granulator) which has been fitted with a standard screen supplied
with this equipment having holes of 0.097 inch diameter. In this
granulator, the screen is in the form of a cylindrical vertically~
positioned band, in a chamber fitted with three rotating blades
radially shaped so that the moistened mixture carried along by
each blade is progressively pushed through the screen holes
during the passage of these blades. The space in front of each
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blade is kept continuously Eilled from a small constant head by
an agitator above. Extrusion is therefore intermittent from
each of the holes. The inner surface of the screen is clean
immediately after the passage of each blade. The three blades ~;
are rotated from a vertical spindle, which also carries the
agitator. The moist extruded granules are then dried to the
equilibrium moisture content of the mix which is 5 to 6~ by
weight. The granules are then ground, for which twin crushing-
rolls are suitable. The ground product is then sized by means
of a suitable sifter, to give a product of particle size between
through No. 10 British Standard Mesh and on No. 36, wlth the
average preferably towards the smaller size. The grinding
operation should be controlled to give the minimum quantity
of fines below No. 36 mesh, but such fines may be further milled
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to feed particle size and recycled. Oversize product (i.e., ;
above No. 10 mesh) is recycled to the crushing rolls.
The finished composition on the addition of hot milk
(50g to l pint~ disperses very xeadily, and the resùltant
made-up custard is smooth in texture and indistinguishable from ~ -~
a product made with a powdered mix of similar composition. The
sweetness level of this product is also generall~ acceptable. ;~
Formulations suitable for the compositions of this
invention cover a range of starch - sugar mixtures, from 30 to
80~ by weight sugar, with the preferred product at 50%. The ~`
higher proportions of sugar are easier to granulate, but may
give an unacceptably high sweetness level, whereas lower pro~
portions of sugar are more difficult to granulate. It will be - ~-
appreciated that 100% starch compositions cannot be satisfac-
torily granulated.
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The following ~xample illustrates the invention and
the manner in which it may be per~ormed.
EXAMPLE ;
Dry ingredients in the following proportions were
used~
% age
Corn Starch 49.5
Pulverized Sugar 49.5
Minor Ingredlents
(salt, colour, flavours) 1.0
100.0 ~ ` :
The relevant aspects of the::raw mater1al
specifications are~
For Corn Starch: Bu1k Density~ 52-6:0g/lOO cc:~
Particle Size 1%~max.~:on~150~mesh~
c~ee~
Noisture ~ : 10~12yo wet~basis
For Pulveri~sed
Sugar: Bulk Density : 52g/100 cc
Particle Size;: 95% min. thro' 60
mesh screen~
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A 40 kilogramme batch containing the ingredientsin the above proportions was first sifted through a 40 mesh
screen to remove oversize material then blended in a ~ibbon
blender for 6 minutes. The blender was fitted with a 16
inch diameter ribbon rotating at 65 r.p.m. The blender
was fitted with a variable speed drive, and, after the pre~
liminary mixing operating, the rotational speed was in~
creased to 200 r.p.m. This had the ef~ect of fluidizing -
the mi~, thus making the subsequent water dispersion most
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effective. Water was sprayed on over a period of 5 minutes
via two Delavan-Watson 'Spraycone'* nozzles. The water ~ ;
addition time was based on a desired wet mix moisture of ~ ~
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15% and a predetermined spray rate of 20 ml/min/kg. of wet mix
for a water pressure of 50 psiy. AEter the water addition, the
wet mix was further blended for 5 minutes (blender speed 65 rpm)
to ensure total dispersion. The mix was discharged from the `
blender and fed at a rate of approx. 100 kg/l hour in an Apex
52 RACH Rotary Wet Granulator, fitted with a perforated screen.
The diameter of these holes was 0.097 inches. The moist granules
were collected in trays and dried in a Proctor and Schwartz
forced circulation dryer. The conditions employed in this dryer
were: up through circulation, 125F, 1 1/4" bed depth and the
drying time, to a final moisture of 5% was 30 minutes. The dry ;~ -
granules were sized through 2" diameter crushing rolls, and
then screened using both 10 and 35 mesh screens. The rolls were ~ ;~
adjusted to ensure maximum recovery in the screening operation.
Oversize material from the screen was recycled to the crushing
rolls and fines, after milling, were stored for use in subsequent
batches up to a level of incorporation of 25%. The~actual
level of fines produced from this batch was 2I%. -
Product produced in this manner was then made up as
ollows~
A pint of milk was heated just to boiling, then removed
from the heat. Immediately 65g. of the granulated product was
sprinkled on whilst stirring and stirring was continued until
the product had thickened to a smooth custard. ~`
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