Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
z~ ~
:
DA~ o~Oll~/o Gl T~ , T~
:
1.~ Field:Of The Invention
Thls lnvention relates generally to processes for making
hydrated peanut products and more particularly is directed
,
: towards~a new and improved proc~ss for makin~ peanut products
in a wide range of peanut-to-water ratios.
2. Descr ption 0~ The Prior Art
~ ~ :A considerable amount of work has been done with respect
to the processing of natural peanuts in different ways in ordcr
-,
'' ~ .
to achieve various peanut based food products, Peanuts are
recogniæed-as an excellent source of nutrition, are relati~ely
low in cost, plentiful and provide the important food components
of oil, protein and carbohydrates. One well-known product is
that of peanut butter which is produced by shelling, roasting,
blanching and then grinding the nuts into a paste~ .
Other peanut products include peanut flour which is made
by grinding nuts into a powdex and ext~acting a substantial
amount of oil so that the ground nuts do not agglomerateO This
provides a finely ground peanut product that 1S easy to handle
and useful in the production of numerous food products often as
- a subs.titute for wheat flour, soy beans or the like.
Whole peanuts have also been produced with a low fat content
by pressing and reconstituting the nuts as disciosed in U.S.
patent No. 3,294,549 entitled ''Partially Defatted Nut Meats And
Process" by Vix et al, Such nuts are characterized by hi~h
prote~n and low calorie content, These nuts are useful not only
as food products in themselves but also may be used as starting
material in other products such as flavored nuts of the sort
shown in my U.S. patent No, 3,645,752 entitled "Method Of Making
Stabilized ~mpregnated Peanuts"~
One particular disadvantage of prior art processes, espe-
cially with xespect to those that are directed towards the
production of peanut flour or other particulated peanut products,
is that they have relatively little control over the moisture
content of the nuts. For example, in the Mitchell patent No.
.
--2--
, - ' ' : ' ,
%~ yi
3,689,287 there is shown a method of producing peanut-water
dispersions stabilized by heat wherein the peanuts are first
finely ~round with or without water and then additional water
is required to form a ~luid suspension. The suspension is then
~cooked to thicken and stabilize it. This -technique involves a
minimum moisture content of the cooked dispersion of about 50%
thereby requiring a drying process of the ground nuts ox slurry
in order to produce a dry flour material, Another disadvantage
of previous techniques is that after grinding and adding water,
lo the suspension mus't be immediately heat-treated ~o stop the actions
of enzymes and microorganisms, Even so, there may be some adverse
effect during the short per,iod of solids-water contact before
the heat treatment.
, Accordingly, 'it is an o~ject of the present invention to
provide a new and improved process for making hydrated peanut
products. Another object of this invention is to provide a
process for producing a variety o ground peanut products having
virtually any desire moisture content. Still another object of
this invention is to provide a process for making particulated
peanut products having a long shelf life, and a material which
may be provided in various conditions of particle size as well
as moisture content for a wide range of uses.
SUMMARY OF THE I~ NTION
This invention features a method of making hydrated peanut
products and the products made by such process, comprising the
-3-
,: :
8~
~,i
steps of coo~ing shelled peanuts in wet heat for a time suffi-
cient to gelatinize starch and coagulate proteins. The cooked
nuts are then ~ragmented to any desired particle size either in
the cooking medium or after draining, depending upon the end
product whether it be a dry flour or ~ milk-like substance, for
example The cooking step prior to fragmentation allows full
control over the moisture con~ent of the end product which may
be finely ground into flour, shredded, or diced, fox example.
DETAII,El) DESCR IPTION OF
THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
O
In the preferred embodiment o~ the invention, shelled
peanuts are first blanched as by use of machines of the sort
shown in U.S~ patents 3,196,914 and 3,Z17,764 w~erein shelled
nuts are passed first through slitters which slit the skin o~
the nut. The nuts are then dehydrated to cause the skin to
curl from the slit prior to being fed onto a blanching machine
ln which a moving belt carries the nuts in individual streams
against diagonally extended abrasive baffles which rub off the
nut skin without splitting or breaking the nut. The peanuts'
hearts or germs may also be remoYed from the pe~nuts by known
means in order to avoid the bitter flavors which they contain
and which otherwise miyht detract ~rom the flavor of the finished
product.
The blanched nuts Are then presse~ to remove a substantial
amount of their natural oil. The processes for carrying out the
39~
pressing opera~ion are disclosed in V.S. patent 3,294,549 and
essentially involve subjecting peanuts t having a 3% to 8% by
weight moisture content, to pressing as in a hydraulic press
under pressures on the order of 2000 to 5000 p.s.i~, for
example. This pressing step remo~es from Z0 to 90 weight
percent, and preferably 50-55 weight percent, of the oils
causing them to become physically distorted. rrhis is done
without any appreciable breakage of the nuts and the distorted
nuts may be reconstituted to substantially their original size
and shape by subjecting them to immersion in water, or other
aqueoùs vehicle. Once reconstituted, the nuts may be dried to
~ provide a partially defatted high protein nut m~at.
Blanched, pressed peanuts with 50~55% of the oil removed
contain:
38-41% protein
31-34% oil (fat3
16-18% carbohydrates
5 - 7% moisture
3 - 4% ash
Thus the calorie~content--is notably reduced while increasing
the protein value.
~he pressed peanuts may be used whole, or may be yround
into a meal or flour, either raw or roasted. They may also be
cooked by boiling in water and processed ~urther by chopping,
dicing, slicing, shredding or grinding ~or unique uses in a
variety of food products~ These cooked pressed peanuts are
92~ ~i
especially versatile in that they ~re quite ~land in flavor,
and are able to contribute body, texture, and water and fat
binding capacity in addition to their nutritive quali~ies.
Typical analyses fox raw and roasted parti~lly deatted
5peanut meal or flour are as follows~
RAW ROASTED
Moisture 6~4% 1.5%
Fat ~Oil) 31.2% 32O~%
Protein 41.~o/O 43.4%
Crude Fiber 2.5% 2.8%
Ash 3.5% 3~8%
-- Nitrogen Free Extract 15.0% 15.7
Protein Solubility98.2% 88.2%
The partially defatted, high protein, nut meat, in
; 15 accordance with the present invention, is then cooked by wet
heat which may be done either in an open vat o~ water, in a
pressure cooker with water or by steam. In any event, the nuts
are cooked in a wet environment for a time sufficient to gelat-
inize the starch and coagulate the proteins of the nuts to form
a tightly bound structure of peanut solids, oil and water, even
when finely ground The cookinq treatment further inactivates
enzymes and destroys microorganisms that would adversely affect
the product quality Cooking temperatures in the range of 150F
to 300F may be used and for pressure or steam cooking temperatures
above 212F are re~uired.
-6-
In practice, the co~king time is variable depending upon
the temperature and on the desired moisture content of the end
product. Thus, the time may range from 5 minutes or less to
l hour or longer, Preferably, they should be boiled at lea~t
for lO minutes. The use o~ wet hFat, whether water or steam,
permit~ lowçr temperature trea~ment than would be possible with
dry heat and, further, this procedure inactivates the enzymes.
In the preferred mode of the invention, open vat at-
mospheric pressure cooking is utïlized and, ~ypically, three
parts of water by weight, are used for every one part of nuts,
by weight. The nuts are boiled for one hour at 212~ This
cooking process results in the nuts absorbing water gradually
thereby allowing a very high level of control over the moisture
content of the end product~ Since the technique provides much
better control by selectively varyîng the cooking time and
temperature over the moisture content a much greater variety of
form and particle si~e is possible in the cooked pr-oduct
; After the cooking treatment, the nuts are then comminuted
; as by chopping, dicing, slicing, shredding or grinding to a
course or fine~ particle size, as desired The fragmenting may
be done within the cooking water itself by pouring the coo~ed
nuts together with the water through a grinder to procure a
nutritious peanut milk, for example. Depending upon the original
water-to-nut ratio the end product can be modified by draining
or partially draining the nuts and then grinding them into a
pas~e~ If a dry e~d product is desired, the nuts are fully
, ~
9~
drained after cooking and then comrninuted to whatever particle
size or shape may be desired~ The drained nuts may be ground
into a course or fine powder to produce peanut ~lour which is
free of agglomerates and is free-flowing thereby being easy to
handle for various food purposes such as a partial wheat flour
re~lacement for bakery products.
Since ~he hydrated nuts would have a higher moisture
content than normal, a drying step must be added where a dry
end product is desired. Various drying techniques may be used
such as spray drying, heat drying or the like. The various
peanut particle forms lend themselves to uses in a variety of
- food products depending upon texture, appearance and function
desLred~ For example, the chopped, sliced or shredded product
may be employed as a substitute for coconut, for example, while
the paste may ~e used as high protein thickeners or bases for
soups, sauces and gravies as well as in comminuted meat pxoducts
such as hamburger, sausages, etc.
The finely ground paste may be further processed into a
milk product or dried into a staple powder by a variety of frying
operations including spray drying, freeze drying, drum drying or
the like.
Inso~ar as the initial cooking steps by means of wet heat
has essentially stopped enzyme action and destroyed microorganisms,
the end product will have a long shelf life and the cooked nuts
may be combined with water in a wide range of ratios or used in
a fully dried condition thereby providing very great flexibility
in the formation of the end product.
z~ s
Instead of the partially defatted nut meats as the starting
material ~ull fat peanuts may be employed in the initial cooking
step using wet heat as the medium for gelatinizing starch and
coagulating the proteins of t~e nuts. The cooked nuts are then
comminuted in the same fashion as with the parti~lly defatted
nuts with the resulting products being higher in oil content than
in the case of the partially defatted nuts~
Set forth below are several examples of recipes which
utilize pressed, boiled and ground peanuts processed according
to the invention and which demonstrate the versatiiity of the
process,
- The peanuts are prepared by -~oiling raw, ~ressed (50-55%
oil removed~ peanuts with 3-4 times their weight of water in an
open or partially closed vessel. Select a vessel large enough
to contain the considerable foam that will be produced. Do not
completely cover the vessel during boiling, or foaming will be
excessive. If desired, acceptable antifoam agents may be used n
Ater boiling begins, reduce heat to a slow to medium boil,
Boiling time is variable, depending on_the amount of hy-
dration desired. Most recipes give best results when the nuts
are fully hydrated, or absorb almost an equal weight of water~
This requires a boiling period usually of at least 1 hour. Lesser
boiling times produce less water pickup and may be preferred if
the nuts are to be shredded ko pr~duce a simulated coconut product,
for example. In any case, boiling times of at least 10 minutes
are desired to destroy microorganisms, inactivate enzymes,
92~ ~
coagulate proteins and starches, and eliminate the green raw
tasteO
After boiling, the nuts are cooled~ drained, and then
ground, chopped, sliced, diced or shredded ls desired. The
hydrated peanuts should be kept in closed containers until
used to prevent moisture loss and bacterial contamination. If
they axe not to be used immediately, théy should be refrigerated~
in which case they may be safely stored ~or up to 48 houxs.
For most recipes, the hydrated peanuts should be ground
fairly fine, producing a thick, viscous paste A food chopper
ox grinder with a plate containing 3 mm or smaller holes is
satis~actory~
The quantities specified in the receipes are for the
product after boiling and grinding
The fully hydrated peanuts, after boiling for about 1
hour, contain approximately 50~/~ moisture, 16% oil and 20%
protein.
Example 1
P OTATO CA~OE S
Estimated Protein Content: 10% with peanuts, 1% without pean~ts
2,000 GM
INGREDIENT k_AT~ GMS
Pressed, Boiled, Ground Peanuts 47.0 940 0
Mashed Potatoes 47.0940.0
Salt 2.0 . 40.0
Starch, Mira Cleer 300 2 0 40.0
Starch, Binasol 81
(pregelatinized) 2.0 - 40.0
100.~2000.0
Q~r- 10-
v
Grind through plate with 3rnm holes or srnaller.
Peel raw potatoes and cook in boiling watex until they
are soft and tender~ Drain and dis~ard water. Mash or grind
the potatoes until as finely ground as the peanuts.
S Mix all ingredients and foxm lnto round flat cakes about
10mm thic~;-each-cake weighing about 35 grams. Fry ~uic~ly~in
shallow hot oil, turning to brown on both sides. Drain on
absorbent paper and serve immediately while hot.
The two starches serve to bind the mixture together and
to reduce oil absorption during drying~ Other staxches rnay be
substituted to perform the same functions
.
Example 2
BEEF PATTIES
; Pressed, boiled, ground peanuts may be added to ground
beef in varying proportions, provlding less shrinkage and loss
of meat juices, a more tender texture, and improved 1avor
acceptance. Best results are obtained from beef patties
con~aining 25% of the ground cooked pressed peanuts over 100%
beef patties.
Grind the peanuts through a plate with 3mrn holes or
smallerO Prepare patties with each patty weighing about 25
grams, as follows:
WITH 25% PEANU~rS
371.25 grams ground beef
123.7S grams pressed, boiled, ground peanuts
5 grams salt
., ' ,
39;;~
Mix ingredients well, and form into pa~tiesO I~ desi~ed,
these may be preparea ahead of time and frozen, separating the
patties with waxed paper.
Fry the patties on lightly greased . grill or skillet.
Since the protein-and ~at content c~f the cooked, pressed
peanuts is vir~ually the same as in ground bee, the addition
of the peanuts results in no significant chance in protein and
fat percentage. Estimated Protein Content: 20~o
Example 3
.
BREAD
:~ Estimated Protein Content: 9% with peanuts, 7% without peanuts
INGREDIENT % 2-LOAF BATCH
Actlve Dry Yeast .49 .7 grams
Water 4 05 58 grams
Milk, Scalded 32 15 ~60 grams
~ Sugar 1.82 26 grams
: Salt .91 13 grams
Shoxtening .84 12 grams
Si~ted All-Purpose Flour 53.73 769 grams
Peanut Flour 6.01 -86 grams
100.00 1341 grar~s TOTAL
Soften yeast in water (38C). Cornbine hot milk, sugar,
salt, and shoxtening. Cool to 30C.
--12--
9Z4
Stir in 1/3 of the flour; beat well. ~dd the softened
yeast; mix. Add enough of rernaini'ng flour to maké a moderately
stiff aough. Turn ou~ on lightly floured surface; k~ead t-ill....
smooth and.satiny..(8-lo minutes~,,,Shape. i~ a ball; place in -
liyhtl~ greased bowl,. turning once to grease ~urface. Cover;
let rise in warm place until double (about 1-1/2 hours). Punch
down and let it rise again until double (about 45 minutes).
Cut the dough in two portions, Shape each portion into
a smooth ball. Cover and let rest 10 minutes, Then shape it
1,0. into loaves; place the loaves in two greased loaf pans
(22xllx6.cm) and let rise until double ~about 1 hour~, ~ake
in hot oven (205C) 35'minutes or until done. If tops brown
too fast, cover the loaves with aluminum foil during the last
20 rinu ~-s,
;
.
.
--13--
. . .
