Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
-- 2la4~s
This invention relates to a new soya-based food product
sultable ~or the preparation of a powder which may be used
in the preparation of hot or cold beverages.
The present invention also relates to a process for the
production of the food product and to a process for the
production of the powder.
It is known that hot or cold beverages can be prepared from
pre-roasted coffee beans by grinding of the beans and
extraction with hot water. The beverage obtained in this
way has the characteristic and generally agreeable taste of
coffee. `
The problem addressed to the present invention was to
provide a new product from which a hot or cold beverage
could be c~uickly and easily prepared.
This new product being soya-based, it enables the
preparation of a beverage combin:ing high nutritional value
with good organoleptic qualities, and free from
physiologically active substances, such as caffeine and
chlorogenic acid.
In a first embodiment, therefore, the present invention
Z5 relates to a food product in the form of soya beans coated
with a glucidic compound and then roasted. After grinding
and extraction, this food product lends itself to the
preparation of a beverage with an agreeable taste
reminiscent of coffee.
This food product may be obtained by a process in which
soya beans are coated with a glucidic compound and then
roasted. The present invention also relates to this
process.
3S In another embodiment, the invention relates to a soluble
instant powder in the form of a dehydrated
- . . . ~
: - - . .: :
.
~ ~ . .; '' ':
. - : ~ . :
-: ::: .. . . :
~ . ,
.
2210'1~2 ~
aqueous extract of the ground food product.
Finally, the present invention relates to a
process for the production of the instant powder-~orm
product, in which the food product is ground, the
resulting powder is extracted with water and the extract
obtained is d~hydrated.
Parts and percentages mentioned hereinafter are
~y weight.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a
food product based on soya beans. The starting material
used may consist of whole or size-reduced, optionally
hulled soya bean~ generally having a moisture content of
the order of 10 to 12%. It is also possible to use
crushed soya beans defatt~d, for example, with hexane to
avoid the presence of a significant quantity of oil in
the extract which would have an adverse effect on the
storage of the dehydrated aqueous extract.
The soya beans may first be thermally pretreated
in order on the one hand to facilitate their hulling by
splitting their outer envelope and, on the other hand,
to modify the colour of their outer surface by browning.
For example, the thermal pretreatment may be carried out
for 4 to 6 minutes at 1~0 to 195C in a conventional
roaster or with microwave energy. The thermal pretreat-
ment step is preferably carried out in cases where it isintended subsequently to subject the beans to intensive
roasting to enable the glucidic compound to penetrate
more deeply into the beans and optionally to develop
therein. The thermal pretreatment step may also be
carried out in such a way as to give a final food
product uniformly roasted throughout rather than an
incompletely roasted food product of which the outer ;~
surface is covered with "burnt" glucidic compound. ~;
The hulled beans may then be moistened, for
example by injection of steam, to obtain a moisture
: : .
,:
;. , . : . :
.~
21~2~
content of the order of 13 to 15%. This moistening step
improves the porosity of the beans which swell slightly
in the presence of the steam, thus facilitati~g their
subsequent coating and providing for better impregnation
or even penetration of the glucidic compound.
The beans thus obtained are than coated with a
glucidic compound. The glucidic compound may be select-
ed from the group consisting of glucose, sucrose,
sorbitol, maltodextrins, sugar cane molasses and sugar
beet molasses either in pure or mixed form.
The glucidic compound is preferably used in the
form of an aqueous solution with a concentration of 30
to 60% which may be heated to 50-65C to facilitate its
use. For example, it is possible to use an aqueous
solution of a mixture containing 42 to 47% sucrose and
2 to 7% sorbitol. This mixture has the advantage over
a glucose solution, for example, that is substantially
tack-free and does not cause the beans to agglomerate
and to adhere to the walls of the coating machine. In
addition, this particular mixture also provides for good
adhesion of the coating to the beans.
Since the glucidic compound used influences the
coating and roasting conditions on the one hand and the
characteristics of the final food product on the other
hand, it is selected according to the qualities required
for the final food product.
coating may be carried out by spraying the
glucidic compound in the form of an aqueous solution
onto the beans in order to coat them with an outer film
which may be simultaneously dried by circulation o~ air.
The coatin~ process may also be carried out in several
steps, the beans being agitated between each step to
prevent then from adhering excessively to one another.
The coating process may also be carried out in a
- 35 fluidized bed which ensures that the coated beans have
. : .
.
:: : -
. . . .
'
a smooth outer surface.
I'he coating process may even be carried out in a
coating machine which, by comparison with a fluidized
bed, provides for a faster throughput and for a smaller
5 los~ of glucidic product to the detriment of the outer
surface of the beans which is far less smooth and
regular.
The coating process is carried out in such a way
as to give a product which has a ratio of glucidic
compounds to soya beans of 5 to 30:130, as measured in
weight of dry matter.
After coating, the beans are roasted, for example
conventionally for 4 to 8 minutes in a roaster rotating
at 70 to 90 revolutions per minute with a drum tempera-
ture of 230 to 250C (air temperature 180-210C~, or
with microwave energy. If the beans have been thermal-
ly pretreated, the roasting time may be reduced to 2 to
4 minutes. In fact, the roasting time and temperature
are selected according to the degree of roasting re-
quired for the final food product. This is because it
has been found that the organoleptic qualities of the
extract obtained after grinding and extraction of the
food product can be influenced in dependence upon the
degree of roasting. Thus, if the beans coated with
glucidic compound are lightly roasted, i.e. for 4 to 6
minutes at a drum temperature of 220~C, a light-coloured
beverage rich in proteins is obtained after grinding of
the food product obtained and extraction with boiling
water and may be drunk hot or cold, its agreeable tast~
being reminiscent of roasted hazelnuts. By contrast, if
the beans are roasted more intensively, for example for
8 to 10 minutes at a drum temperature of 230 to 240C,
a darker coloured beverage, again rich in proteins, with
a taste reminiscent of coffee is obtained after extrac-
tion of the ground food product with boiling water.
; . . . :
. , , : ' ~ . . :
- .
s 2 ~ 9
In one particular embodiment of the invention,
roasting may be carried out at the same time as coating,
for example in a roaster. In this case, the beans
coated with glucidic compounds extensively agglomerated
into a compact mass which has to be crushed and then
ground is obtained on leaving the roaster. This pro-
cess, which combines two separate operations into a
single step, gives a food product which, although non-
uniform, i5 obtained more rapidly.
A final food product in the form of soya beans
coated with a glucidic compound and then roasted is
obtained in this way. This food product is stable and,
accordingly, may be stored without damage for a certain
time. ;
The food product may be used as a base for the
preparation of a soluble instant powder. Thus, the food
product may first be ground and then extracted - simi-
larly to the extraction of ground coffee - with water
heated to 96-98C or even to a higher temperature of up
to 180C. The extract obtained may be consumed as such.
It is also possible to dehydratle the extract obtained,
~or example by a method similar l:o that used for coffee,
for example by evaporation ancl freeze-drying, or by
successive spraying to obtain a powder-form product
which is soluble in water and which can be instantly
reconstituted.
The invention is illustrated by the following
Examples.
Example 1
The starting material consists of hulled soya
beans (1 kilogram) having a moisture content of 10%, a
total sugar content determined after hydrolysis of 25%
and a protein content of 50%.
The soya beans are introduced into a coating
.
..
.. .. . . .
. ~ . . . ~ . i . ~ , : ,
,, - , .. . .
' . .
6 '2 .l ~
machine of the Glatt-Coater type of which the drum
rotates at 20 revolutions per minute. An aqueous
solution containiny a mixture of 45% sucrose and 5%
sorbitol preheated to 60C is sprayed onto the beans.
The solution is sprayed in a stream ~f hot air at 70C
with a throughput of 1 litre per hour.
Coating i.s continued for approximately 30 minutes
to ~ive a product which has a ratio of sucrose/sorbitol
to soya beans of approximately 2Q:100, as measured in
weight of dry matter. The coated beans have a relative
moisture content of approximately 14~.
The beans are then roasted in a Probat RE-l
roaster for 7 minutes at a drum temperature of 240C.
The loss of material during roasting is 18.5% (water and
organic matter).
The coated and roasted beans obtained have a
moisture content of 1.5% and a real specific volume of
0.84 cm3/g.
The colour of the beans obtained may be measured
by reflection using a Hunterlab D 25 colorimeter which
determines three parameters, namely: L (clarity), a
(red), b (yellow). In the present case, the following
values are obtained, as measured on the ground powder:
L = 17.3 a = 4.0 b = 4.1
The food product thus obtained may then be ground
and extracted with boiling water at 98~C similarly to
- the extraction of roasted coffee beans.
The extractability of the food product, corre-
sponding to the percentage of solubilized extractablematerial, is measured at 22 to 23%.
The aqueous extract obtained is in the form of a
brown liquid with an agreeable and particular taste
reminiscent of coffee. Its composition is as follows:
18% total sugars and 60% proteins in % dry matter.
.,~- , .. , ~
7 2 ~ 2~
The aqueous extract thus obtained is dehydrated
by freeze-drying to obtain a powder-form product which
can be instantly reconstituted by dissolution in hot or
cold water in a quantity of 2 to 4 grams powder to 100
ml water.
2xample 2
The starting material consists of hulled soya
beans (l kg) having a moisture content of 7.9%.
The soya beans are heat-treated by introduction
into a conventional roaster of the Probat type at a
temperature of 185~C and leaving them therein under
agitation for 5 minutes. The preroasted beans thus
obtained are light brown in colour with a moisture
content of 6.0%.
The beans are then coated with a 45% aqueous
sucrose solution preheated to 60C in a fluidized bed
using air at 70C as the propellent gas for the solution
to obtain a product which has a ratio by weight of
sucrose to beans of the order of 20:100 and a moisture
content of 10% after coating.
The coated beans are roasted for 7 minutes at
240C (drum temperature) in a conventional roaster
rotating at 80 revolutions per minute. The end product
obtained has a moisture content o~ 2.8%, a real specific
volume of 0.86/cm3/g and the following colour values of
the beans as determined on the beans themselves:
L = 14.2 a = 0.2 b = 0.3
The food product is ground and then extracted
with water under pressure at 180C ~extractability 46-
47%). After filtration, a clear brown liquid is ob-
tained with an agreeable taste reminiscent of highly
roasted coffee. Its composition is as follows (in % dry
3~ matter): 21% total sugars, 58% proteins.
. . . .
- . : . . . .
- . . . :
. ' . .
' ` '
: . ,: ,
.
8 2 ~
The aqueous extract thus obtained is dehydrat~d
by freeze drying to obtain a powder-form product which
can be reconstituted by dissolution in hot or cold
water.
~x~mpl~ 3
The starting material consists of hulled soya
beans (50 kg) which are introduced into a coater of the
Glatt-Coater GC 1000 type rotating at 20 revolutions per
minute.
An aqueous solution containing 45% sucrose and 5%
sorbitol preheated to 60C is sprayed onto the moving
beans in a stream of hot air at 70C at ~ rate progres-
sively increasing from 5 to 8 litres per hour. ~ ~.
The coating process is continued for approximate-
ly 4 hours to obtain a product which has a ratio of
sucrose/sorbitol to beans of 20:100, as mea~ursd in
weight of dry matter.
The beans thus coated are roasted in a conven-
tional roaster for 6 minutes at 220C (drum tempera-
ture). The food product obtainecl has a moisture content
of 2.2%, a real specific volume of 0.85 cm3/g and the
following colour values of the beans, as determined on
the beans themselves: ;~
L = 15.0 a = 0.3 b = 0.5
and as determined on the ground beans:
L = 23.9 a = 5.4 b = 8.8 ~,
The food product is ground and then extracted
with boiling water (extractability 24.9%). A light- `;
coloured liquid with an agreeable taste reminiscent of ~ '
roasted hazelnuts is obtained. It has a pH of 5.8 and
the following composition (in % dry matter): 16-17
total sugars and 63.5% proteins.
The aqueous extract thus obtained is dehydrated ;
, ,, ~ ",
~, . . . . . . ,:: , , ~ . ;
. , , ~ i . . ,
2 1 ~
by freeze-drying to obtain a powder-form product which
can be instantly reconstituted by dissolution in hot or
cold water.
' ' '
.. .~ . . - . . ~
.
.. , , , , .. , ,, ~ , .
