Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
1~93~
The present invention relates -to a method for preparing
a subs-tantially yranular food composition which contains
digestible starch having a substantially granular structure. The
invention further relates to this food composition per se, as well
as to food products in which the food composition is processed.
Food compositions containiny starch have to underyo a
heat treatment, usually in combination with moisture in order to
make the starch diyestible. ~tarch is present in grains that
consist of an outer layer and a kernel, both haviny starch
compositions that are chemically different from each other. When
starch grains are subjected to heat treatment in the presence of
moisture the ou~er layer of the starch is broken open and the
starch yrain becomes more readily diyestible.
A consequence of breaking open the starch grain is that
when the broken yrain is absorbed into water the content of the
starch grain is leached and a colloidal, usually viscous solution
results. Furthermore the granular structure is lost and a pasty,
formless mass results through the absorption of water.
For many food products, it is desired that at least a
part of the food compositions processed into them have a yranular
structure, this being linked with a determined taste sensation for
that food product.
Dutch Published Patent Application NL-A-77.0~281 relates
to a method for manufacturing a bakery product with a cellular
structure, as occurs in bread, Dutch rusk, biscuit, toast and the
like. This foodstuff or dietary substance consists for at least
60% of protein of animal or vegetable oriyin and always contains
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less than 10% starch. This foodstuff or dietary substance has a
strongly divergent cellular structure, which is reflected in its
composition, namely a large excess of protein relative to starch.
European Puhlished Patent Application EP-A-90775 relates
to a crispy savoury that is manufactured by starting from a watery
dispersion which is processed into a dough that is heated to 60 to
110C, so that gelatinization of the starch can occur. The crispy
savoury comprises an excess of protein relative to starch.
British Published Patent Application A-2,120,518
describes an extruded protein product prepared from a watery
protein solution which contains coagulable protein. The texture
of this meat analogue is fibrous.
The invention has for its object to provide a food
composition which has a substantially granular structure, the
digestible starch present preserving its granular structure even
after mixing with water or mixtures containing water.
According to the invention this is achieved by providiny
the starch with coayulable protein and, prior to further
processiny of the food composition, coagulating the protein
adhered to the starch. The ratio of starch to protein lies
between 97 to ~0:3 to 40.
By applying coa~ulated protein to digestible starch, the
water absorbing capacity of the digestible starch grains can be
controlled such that no pasty mass results and a granular
structure is preserved. An additional advantaye is that the
increase in viscosity occurring under normal conditions is
markedly lower.
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In one embodiment it is possible to apply protein to he
coagulated to starch grits and to then coagulate the protein and
at the same time make the starch digestible in a single heat
treatment. In an al~ernative embodiment protein is applied to
starch grits containing digestible starch, the protein then being
coagulated in a separate heat treatment. Xn order to preserve the
granular structure during forming of digestible starch grits, ~he
starch grits have to be heated with a small measure of water, for
example with steam.
In another embodiment it is possible to start from
starch flour that is mixed with protein to be coagulated. The
protein can be coagulated and the starch made digestible
simultaneously, for example by extrusion. It is also possible to
form threads from the mixture of protein to be coagulated and
starch flour and to then heat these threads. In both cases the
granular structure is obtained by granulating either the extruded
product or the formed heated threads to a required granule size
distribution.
Depending on the type of starch and the natural seasonal
variation in it and on the type of protein or the use o~ an
additional protein source (leguminous plants, soya beans), the
granular structure of the digestible starch is preserved if the
ratio of starch to protein lies between 97 to 60:3 to 40, or
preferably lies between 97 to 70:3 ~o 30, or more preferably
90:10. If more protein is used than according to the ratios
indicated the product becomes technologically unmanageable and
expensive.
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The granular food composition accordiny to the invention
is characterized by digestible starch with a granular structure
that is provided with coagulated protein. Starting out from
starch grits a number of starch grain form a particle, while
starting out from starch flour parts of starch grains form a
particle.
Coagulable protein applicable in the invention is
protein that has a coagulation point of about 100C at the most,
this being especially the case for egg yolk proteins and soya bean
proteins. Examples of proteins that can be used are egg proteins
(frcm egg white and eyg yolk), whey
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proteins, serum albumin and vegetable proteins (soya beans,
leguminous plants). For many applications use need only be
made of a protein fraction of technical grade, for example
having a protein content of only 30%.
The starch to be used can come from a number of
different sources: cereals (wheat, rye, rice, maize,
barley, sorghum, millet and teff), leguminous plants
(haricot beans, kidney beans, marrow-fat peas, mango beans,
cow beans and bean shoots (taugé) prepared from beans.
By starch grits is understood a product rich in starch
of broken but not finely ground cereal, leguminous plants.
By starch flour is understood a flour rich in starch
from finely sifted flour of cereal, leguminous plants.
With respect to leguminous plants it is noted that these
products can serve as a protein source as well as a starch
source.
The food composition according to the present
invention contains starch provided with coagulated protein,
the starch preserving its granular structure in a water-
rich environment.
Surprisingly, it has been found that the foodcomposition according to the present invention is
especially suitable for processing in cakes with fillings
and other bakery products with a paste filling. In this
case, namely, use is made for the preparation of the paste
of one part food composition, one part water and
saccharose. In spite of an environment very rich in water
the food composition preserves its granular structure after
the products have passed through the baking process.
Other applications of the food product are in
couscous, anko and diverse snacks.
The manufacture of the food composition according to
the invention and its application in diverse food products
will be described with reference to a number of
embodiments.
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Example 1
100 parts by weight wheat flour, (blscuit flour,
Meneba, Rotterdam, the Netherlands) is mixed with 10 parts
by weight whey protein (BV-l9; DMV, Veghel, the
Netherlands) containing circa 50% lacto-albumin and about
20 parts by weight water.
The mixture is extruded in an HTST-extruder (High
Temperature Short Time extruder, a co-rotating twin screw
extruder (type BC 45, Clextral, Firminy, France), with an
extrusion temperature of circa 100 C. The extrusion
temperature (preferably lying between 50-150 C) is selected
in relation to the residence tLme in the extruder (for
example 1 minute) such that a sufficient decapsulation,
that is, making digestible, of the starch results. The
extruded product obtained has a moisture content of circa
20-40~. By further drying the moisture content decreases to
10-15%, which is safe from a microbiologic viewpoint.
Finally the dried extruded product is ground to a granule
size distribution (50-200 u,m) suitable for a substitute
product for confectionery paste.
With respect to the substitute product on a basis of
haricot beans the food composition according to the inven-
tion at least had a markedly improved granular structure in
filled cakes,resembling very strongly that of almond paste.
Example 2
100 parts by weight wheat flour, 10 parts by weight
egg, 150 parts by weight soya beans, 40 parts by weight
water and 5 parts by weight whey protein containing circa
i 50% lacto-albumin, are mixed and extruded in an HTST
extruder under the conditions described in example 1. The
extruded product with a moisture content of 10-15% is
ground to a granule size distribution suitable for a
' confectionery paste.
; Example 3
50 parts by weight rye flour, 100 parts by weight
haricot beans, 180 parts by weight soya beans, 20 parts by
weight egg yolk and 80 parts by weight water are mixed and
extruded in an HTST extruder, with an extrusion temperature
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of circa 130C. The extrusion temperature (preferably
lying between 50-150C) is selected in relation to the time
of stay in the extruder (for example 1 minute) such that a
sufficient decapsulation, that is, making digestible, of
the starch resultsO Finally the non-dried extruded product
(moisture content circa 30%) or the dried extruded product
(moisture content circa 10%) is ground to a granule size
distribution suitable for a confectionery paste.
Example ~
100 parts by weight wheat grits are steeped in 100
parts by weight fresh chicken egg white. The wheat grits
are then dried with hot air at circa 100C.
The granulate obtained is suitable for preparing
fillings for bakery products and/or snacks, in combination
with sugar, spices or other constituents normally used in
the preparation.
Example 5
100 parts by weight maize grits are absorbed into a
whey protein dispersion consisting of 15 parts by weight
whey protç~in (circa 70% lacto-albumin) and 50 parts by
weight water. The maize grits are mixed with the whey
protein dispersion, steam boiled and then dried. Dishes
resembling couscous can be prepared from the granular food
composition obtained.
Example 6
From 100 parts by weight leguminous plants or cereal
meal and 200 parts by weight fresh chicken egg white a
homogenous dough is prepared. The dough is boiled and
dried. The dried product is ground to a fine powder. From
this powder a sweet filling can be prepared with sugar and
water for the Japanese dlsh anko.
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