GB2156649A

GB2156649A - Composition for forming a sheet of a food

Info

Publication number: GB2156649A
Application number: GB08500184A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ko Sugisawa; Yasushi Matsumura; Atsushi Yasuda; Ryusuka Nakanaga; Hidefumi Okamoto; Makoto Hirayama; Takashi Nishi
Original assignee: House Food Industrial Co Ltd
Current assignee: House Foods Corp
Priority date: 1984-01-13
Filing date: 1985-01-04
Publication date: 1985-10-16
Also published as: GB8500184D0; GB2156649B

Abstract

A composition for a sheet form food comprises a material such as a spread, concentrated sauce or the like and at least one thermally reversible gelling agent, e.g. gelatin or carrageenan. A sheet form food is formed of said composition by moulding the composition in a container to a sheet form. A package comprises said sheet form food (9) received in a plurality of layers one upon another with a film (10) interposed between each adjacent upper and lower layer within said container (8). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECiFICATION Composition for forming a sheet of a food, and sheets formed therefrom and packages thereof This invention relates to compositions for sheet form foods such as subsidiary foods to be applied to bread, crackers and the like, sheet food formed of the compositions and packages containing the sheet food.

Of late, bread, crackers and the like have been increasingly eaten as breakfasts and snacks between luncheons and suppers. In order to impart variety to the taste, external appearance and fragrance of bread, crackers and the like, concentrated sauces, spreads and the like have been conventionally employed.

However, spreads, concentrated sauces and the like have to be manually applied to bread, crackers and the like by the use of an implement such as a knife and the like and such manual application spends a substantial time. And the implement such as a knife and the like has to be cleaned each time the implement has been used and the cleaning is a quite troublesome work.

Furthermore, since the concentrated sauces, spreads and the like are manually applied to bread, crackers and the like, the amount of the subsidiary foods such as the sauces, spreads and the like to be applied to the staple foods such as bread, crackers and the like varies each time the subsidiary foods are applied tothe staple foods and it is not assured that the subsidiary foods are always applied in uniform amount or thickness to the staple foods.

Therefore, in order to eliminate the drawbacks inherent in the conventional subsidiary foods for bread, crackers and the like referred to hereinabove, there has been a strong demand for subsidiary foods to be applied to bread, crackers and the like which can be eaten by being solidified and then placed on the staple foods or being heated to viscous or liquid state and then applied to the staple foods. As subsidiary foods for bread, crackers and the like which meet the demand, foods such as butter, margarine, cheese and the like which are usually applied to the staple foods have been known. However, the conventional subsidiary foods are limited to those which have their property capable of solidifying by themselves.

In the above-mentioned situation, we have conducted strenuous studies on spreads, concentrated sauces and the like which have no inherent property capable of solidifying by themselves in order to obtain sheet form foods which meet the above-mentioned demand from such subsidiary foods and have now found that the sheet form subsidiary foods can be obtained by adding thermally reversible gelling agent or agents to the conventional subsidiary foods.

That is, the gist of the present invention resides in compositions for sheet form foods which comprise spreads, concentrated sauces and the like having thermally reversible gelling agent or agents incorporated therein.

The present invention will be now described in detail.

First of all, spreads, concentrated sauces and the like referred to in the present invention are subsidiary foods which can be eaten by being applied to bread, crackers and the like. Such subsidiary foods are, for example, pizza sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, tartare sauce, custard sauce, jam, marmalade, custard cream, white sauce, cream and dressing and furthermore, yolk, vegetable oil and vinegar having emulsifying agent added thereto and suitably seasoned and flavoured yolk, vegetable oil and vinegar.

Sheet form foods of the present invention are obtainable by adding thermally reversible gelling agent or agents to the above-mentioned spreads and sauces and moulding the resulting mixture to a sheet form. The shape of the sheet form food is not limited to any specific one and may be circular, rectangular or any suitable ones provided that the sheet form food can be placed on bread, crackers or the like.

The above-mentioned thermally reversible gelling agents are those which present gel state by cooling and sol state by heating and such thermally reversible gelling agents are, for example, gelatin, carrageenan, pectine and agar-agar. According to the present invention, one or more of the gelling agents are selectively employed. The thermally reversible gelling agent or agents may be employed in conjunction with a viscosity enhancer, if desired. The thermally reversible gelling agent or agents are incorporated into the spread, concentrated sauce or the like and the resulting mixture is moulded to a sheet form subsidiary food. The sheet form subsidiary food is placed on bread, cracker or the like and can be eaten together with the staple food with the sheet form subsidiary food maintained in its solidified state.The subsidiary food may be also rendered viscous or liquefied by heating and applied to the staple food in its viscous or liquid state to be eaten therewith. And according to the preent invention, since the composition for sheet form subsidiary food is not solidified by fat and oil and the thermally reversible gelling agent or agents employed are tasteless and odorless, the subsidiary food does not affect the inherent taste and fragrance of the staple food to which the subsidiary food is applied. The amount of the thermally reversible gelling agent or agents in the composition for any sheet form food according to the present invention is preferably within the range of 1-20% by weight based on the total weight of the composition.If the amount of the thermally reversible gelling agent or agents is below 1% by weight, the obtained sheet form food will tend to have an insufficient shape-holding capability. On the other hand, the amount of the thermally reversible gelling agent or agents in the sheet form food composition is above 20% by weight, when the sheet form food is applied to the staple food in its viscous or liquid state by being heated and eaten together with the latter with the sheet form food maintained in its viscous or liquid state, the subsidiary food gives sticky feeling th the eater's mouth. Furthermore, when the staple food with the subsidiary sheet form food applied thereto is not eaten immediately after heating of the subsidiary food, the subsidiary food tends to form gel again in a brief time.

The applications of sheet form foods of the present invention will be now described.

In one application, any one of the inventive sheet form foods contains one or more members in an optional material group or has such member or members placed thereon, in another application, another inventive sheet form food in laminated on the first-mentioned inventive sheet form food and in a further application, either one of the first- and second-mentioned inventive sheet form foods has an oil system edible ingredient comprising a predominent amount of fat and oil such as cheese, butter or margarine laminated thereon.

When the oil system edible material such as cheese, butter or margarine is laminated on the sheet form food, as the material for the sheet form food, among the spreads, concentrated sauces and the like, a water system edible material comprising a predominant amount of water such as pizza sauce is preferably employed in conjunction with the oil system edible material.

Since the sheet form food material is of water system and the ingredient to be laminated thereon is of oil system and the two types of materials are solidified prior to application thereof to the staple food, the taste, color and fragrance inherent in the water system material and those inherent in the oil system material would not easily transfer to each other. As a result, even after the sheet form food has been stored for a long period of time, the inherent tastes, colors and fragrances of the sheet form food and optional material would not be adversely affected.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a composition for a sheet form food which comprises one of spread, concentrated sauce and the like and at least one thermally reversible gelling agent.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet form food which comprises one of spread, concentrated sauce and the like having at least one thermally reversible gelling agent added thereto and moulded in a mould.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a package which comprises a container and a composition comprising one of spread, concentrated sauce and the like and having at least one gelling agent added thereto, said composition being solidified within said container by cooling the container.

The above and other objects and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which show preferred embodiments of the invention for illustration purpose only, but not for limiting the scope of the same in any way.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sheet form food having chips of an optional material embedded therein embodying the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of another sheet form food having cheese laminated thereon and an optional material embedded therein embodying the present invention; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a package which comprises a container and the inventive sheet form food contained in a plurality of layers in the container embodying the present invention with a portion thereof broken away; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a sheet form food having a film interposed between two layers of the sheet food embodying the present invention; and Figure 5 is a perspective view of another sheet food having a film interposed between two layers of the sheet food embodying the present invention.

The present invention will be now described referring to the accompanying drawings and more particularly, to Fig. 1 thereof in which a sheet form food having chips of one or more members in an optional material group embedded therein embodying the preent invention is illustrated. The sheet formfood 1 comprises a sheet form proper 2 and chips 3 of one or more members in the optional material group.

The sheet form food proper 2 has been formed by adding one or more thermally reversible gelling agents to the composition for the sheet form food proper 2 which is formed of one member selected from the group consisting of the above-mentioned spreads, concentrated sauces and the like and moulding the resulting mixture to a sheet form. The shape of the sheet form food proper 2 is not limited to any specific one, but may be rectangular, circular or any other configuration.

The members in the optional material group 3 include, for example, meats exemplified by ham, sausage and corned beef; fishes exemplified by tuna and the like; vegetables exemplied by onion, Spanish paprika, carrot and potato; beans exemplified by corn and the like; nuts exemplified by walnut and the like; mushrooms; fruits; eggs; and these members having suitable seasoning and fragrant agents added thereto. The optional material member or members are embedded in the sheet form food proper in the moulding of the latter.

Referring now to Fig. 2, there is illustrated a sheet form food 4 which comprises a sheet form food proper 5, a cheese layer 6 laminated on one side of the food proper and an optional material member 7 which in the form of a disc placed on either one of the sheet food proper and cheese layer 5, 6 as desired. The optional material member 7 may be one or more selected from the above-mentioned optional material group. As in the case of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the sheet food proper 5 is formed by adding one or more members selected from the above-mentioned thermally reversible material group to spread, concentrated sauce or the like and cooling the resulting mixture to provide a sheet form food proper.

From the reason described hereinabove, the spread, concentrated sauce or the like to be used is preferably a water system one.

The sheet form food proper 5 is not limited to any specific shape, but may be rectangular, circular or any other shape.

The cheese layer 6 may have any suitable shape, such as rectangular, circular,strip-like, netlike or bar like, for example.

As mentioned hereinabove, since the sheet form food proper 5 and cheese layer 6 are laminated on another in the sheet form food 4, even when the sheet form food is melted down by heating, the spread, concentrated sauce or the like constituting the sheet form food proper and the cheese will not easily admix together which would otherwise occur when the sheet form food proper has the cheese embedded therein. As a result, the obtained sheet form food 4 has an external appearance which improves one's appetite.

The applications of the inventive sheet foods have been described.

Now, the types of packages containing the inventive sheet form foods therein will be described.

The inventive sheet form foods are preferably handled in packages from the view point of preservation thereof. In one package type for the inventive sheet form foods, the sheet form food is received in a single layer within a container, in another package type, the inventive sheet form food is received in a plurality of layers within a container and in a further package type, the inventive sheet form food is enclosed by a single thin film. When the inventive sheet form food is received in a container, it is preferable that the sheet form food is received in a container formed of thin synthetic resin sheet and the container is then vacuum sealed.The vacuum sealing has the advantage that even when the sheet form food is rendered to viscous or liquid state subjected to heat-sterilization treatment, the spread, concentrated sauce or the like constituting the sheet form food proper and the cheese will be prevented from admixing together because it is presumed that the cheese and spread, concentrated sauce or the like which is in viscous or liquid state cannot freely migrate.

Package types in which the inventive sheet form food is received in a plurality of layers within containers will be now described referring to Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the package with a portion thereof cut away showing the inventive sheet form food received in a plurality of layers within a container and Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of two inventive sheet form foods in which a film is interposed between two adjacent layers of the inventive sheet form food, respectively.

First, referring to Fig. 3, reference numeral 8 denotes a container which is adapted to receive the inventive sheet form food 9 in a plurality of layers placed one upon another and the shape and size of the container may be of any suitable one provided that the sheet form food can be easily placed in and removed out of the container. The container 8 may have a cup or cylindrical shape other than the box shape as shown in Fig. 3. Although the horizontal cross-sectional configuration of the box shape container 8 is not limited to that as shown in Fig. 3 adapted to receive the inventive sheet form food 9 in a plurality of layers, the horizontal cross-section configuration of the container is preferably identical with or similar tothat of the inventive sheet form food 9.

Although the material of the container 8 is not limited to a specific one, provided that the container can suitably receive the inventive sheet form food, when the package is adapted to be subjected to high temperature such as heat-sterilization treatment or the like, the container should be formed of heat resistant material. For this purpose the container is preferably formed of polypropylene or polyethylene, for example. The container may be formed of a plurality of layers of such material. In such a case, an intermediate layer having a gas barrier property such as ethylenevinyl acetate copolymer saponification product or vinylidene chloride is interposed between adjacent layers of the container from the view point of preservation of the content.

The container 8 receives the inventive sheet form food 9 in a plurality of layers with a film 10 interposed each adjacent layers. The opening of the container 8 is normally closed by a cover member 11.

The film 10 should have the shape and size identical with or substantially similar to those of each of the sheet form food layers. Furthermore, the film 10 is preferably easily separable from the sheet form food. When the package containing the sheet form food is adapted to be subjected to high temperature such as heat-sterilization treatment or the like, the film 10 is preferably formed of material which exhibits low thermal contraction. Materials which meet the requirement are, for example, polyester and polyethylene.

Furthermore, when the film 10 has the shape and size identical with or substantially similar to those of each of the layers of the sheet form food 9 as described hereinabove, the film 10 may be interposed between each adjacent layers of the sheet form food 9 as shown in Fig. 4 or an indefinite length of the film 10 may be first interposed between selected adjacent sheet form food layers as shown in Fig. 5. In the case of the embodiment as shown in Fig. 4, the film 10 is preferably provided with an ear 1 2 for pulling the food layer or layers out of the container. And in the embodiment as shown in Fig. 5, the indefinite length of film 10 is scored at 1 3 so that the rest of the film 10 which is not interposed between the adjacent food layers is removed after the food layer or layers have been taken out of the container.

As mentioned hereinabove, by the interposition of the film 10 having the shape and size identical with or similar to those of each of the layers of the sheet form food, the adjacent sheet form layers are prevented from directly contacting each other or the contact area between the adjacent sheet form food layers can be minimized. As a result, the adhering between adjacent sheet form food layers can be effectively prevented whereby the sheet form food layers can be taken out of the container one at one time.

The package containing the inventive sheet form food therein is preferably subjected to heatsterilization treatment from the view point of preservation of the sheet form food therein. In such a case, although sterilization conditions vary depending upon the type and shape of the sheet form food to be treated, as one example, the central package area temperature of 70-11 0'C for 3-10 minutes are sufficient for sterilization.

When the inventive package containing the sheet form food is subjected to heat-sterilization treatment, since the sheet form food has the thermally reversible property, the food layers can maintain their proper sheet form. That is, even when the sheet form food melts down by the heat sterilization treatment to become liquid or paste state, since the film having the shape and size identical with or substantially similar to those of the sheet form food layers is interposed between the adjacent food layers, the food layers will not merge into a single mass. Thus, the sheet form food layers can regain their sheet state upon cooling for solidification. In such a case, the size of the film may be somewhat smaller or larger than that of the sheet form food layers.

As mentioned hereinabove, when the shape and size of the film are made identical with or substantially similar to those of the sheet form food layers, after the heat-sterilization treatment, the sheet form food layers can regain their original shape and size prior to the heat-sterilization treatment.

When it is contemplated that the package containing the inventive sheet form food therein is subjected to heat-sterilization treatment, the package is preferably evacuated prior to such treatment whereby formation of small holes in the surface of the sheet form food can be prevented when the food solidifies by cooling. On the other hand, if the evacuation is not made on the package prior to heat-sterilization treatment, by the presence of air within the package container, such small holes are inevitably formed in the surface of the sheet form food upon solidification by cooling. As a result, absence of the small holes can effectively prevent deterioration of the external appearance of the sheet form food.

Thus, the present invention has succeeded in providing sheet form foods by adding thermally reversible gelling agent or agents to a subsidiary food such as spread, concentrated sauce or the like which has property not capable of solidifying by itself.

When the inventive sheet form food comprising spread, concentrated sauce or the like having thermally gelling agent or agents added thereto is applied to bread or cracker in order to give variation to the taste, color and fragrance of the staple food when eating, the implement such as a knife is not required for manually spreading the subsidiary sheet form food over the staple food. In consequence, it is not required to clean the knife and the like implement each time after the subsidiary food has been applied to the staple food as necessary hitherto in the use of the conventional spreads, concentrated sauces and the like. Furthermore, the amount of the sheet form foods to be applied to the staple food is always substantially constant and does not substantially vary.

In addition, since the inventive subsidiary sheet form food has thermally reversible gelling agent or agents added thereto, the subsidiary food can be eaten by merely being placed on the staple food or being heated to viscous or liquid state thereon.

And since the inventive sheet form food is provided by gelling spread, concentrated sauce or the like with gelling agent or agents, the inherent taste, color and fragrance of the spread, sauce and the like will not be substantially affected.

The inventive sheet form foods can be also eaten by themselves as snacks and garnishings without being placed on bread, crackers or the like.

One method for producing the inventive package containing typical inventive sheet form product therein will be now described.

Spread, concentrated sauce or the like (which is added thereto one or more of the abovementioned optional materials, seasoning agent and/or flavour agent as the case may be) is added thereto 1-20% by weight of at least one of the above-mentioned thermally reversible gelling agents based on the total weight of the resulting mixture. The obtained mixture is placed in a container formed of thin synthetic resin sheet and the container is then cooled to solidify the content. The obtained package can be then vacuum sealed unlike liquid mixtures, The cooling temperature may be any degree suitable for gelling the mixture, but preferably within the range of - 70'C-0'C. The cooling temperature solidifies the sheet form food to the degree that the obtained solid food can be easily placed in and taken out of the container.

The container formed of synthetic resin sheet preferably has a shallow depth and the food is moulded to the configuration of the interior of the container to obtain the inventive sheet form food.

On the other hand, pieces of one or more members in the above-mentioned optional material group are placed on the bottom of another container and a layer of cheese is placed on the optional material pieces. Thereafter, the sheet form food is taken out of the first-mentioned container in which the food has been moulded to a sheet and placed in the second-mentioned container. The thus obtained package is then vacuum sealed and subjected toheat-sterilization at a temperature within the range of 70-90"C, for example, as the case may be.

In this way, a package comprising the inventive sheet form food of spread, concentrated sauce or the like contained in the thin synthetic resin container can be obtained.

The present invention will be described hereinbelow by way of several examples thereof.

Example 1 Material Group A: Yolk 1.5 9 Vegetable oil 22.5 g Water 15.0 g Vinegar 7.5 g Material Group B: Table salt 2.0 g Sugar 1.5 g Mustard lOg Cheese flavor 0.1 9 Aqueous gelatin solution (25% by weight) 29.9 9 Optional Material Group: Corn 10.0 g Bacon 15.0g Spanish paprika 2.0 g Onion 15.09 Ham 10.0 g The members in Material Group A are admixed and the obtained mixture of 46.5 g is added to 34.5 g of the members in Material Group B at 80"C for 1 minute. The resulting mixture is placed in a container formed of thin synthetic resin sheet (9.5 cm in length, 9.5 cm in width and 10 cm in depth) and the container is cooled at 3"C for 6 hours to solidify the content.The solidified product is sliced into sheet form food pieces each having the length of 9.5 cm, the width of 9.5 cm and the thickness of 5 mm.

Example 2 Material Group A: Pizza sauce 55.0 9 Gelatin 7.5 g Carrageenan 0.2 9 Water 25.5 g Material Group B: Sheet form cheese 20.0 g (L: 9.5 cm; W: 9.5 cm; T: 3 mm) Optional Material Group: Spanish paprika 3.0 g Salami sausage 12.0 g (four pieces) The members in Material Group A are admixed at 85"C for 1 minute and the obtained mixture of 88.2 9 is added to 1 5 g of Spanish paprika out of the members in Optional Material Group. The resulting mixture is placed in a container formed of thin synthetic resin sheet (9.5 cm in length, 9.5 cm in width and 10 cm in depth) and the container is cooled at - 20"C for 3 hours to solidify the contents.The obtained solid product is taken out of the container and sliced into sheet form food pieces each having 9.5 cm in length, 9.5 cm in width and 3 mm in thickness.

Another container formed of thin synthetic resin sheet (9.5 cm in length, 9.5 cm in width and 6 mm in depth) is provided and four pieces of salami sausage out of the members in Optional Material Group are placed in the container. 20.0 g of Material Group B is placed on the pieces of salami sausage and the above-mentioned sheet form food pieces are then placed on the sheet form cheese. The package is vacuum sealed and subjected to heat-sterilization at 70"C at the central area thereof for 10 minutes to obtain a packaged sheet form food.

Example 3 Material Group A: Mayonnaise 80.0 g Mustard 10.0 g Gelatin 10.0 g Water 55.0 g Optional Material Group: Tuna 70.0 g Parsley 3.0 g Bacon 10.0 g Onion 30.0 9 The members in Material Group A are admixed at 80"C for 1 minute and the obtained mixture of 1 55 g is added to the members in Material Group B of 11 3 g. The resulting mixture is placed in a container formed of thin synthetic resin sheet (9.5 cm in length, 9.5 cm in width and 10 cm in depth) and the container is cooled at - 5"C for 5 hours to solidify the content.

The obtained solid product is taken out of the container and sliced into pieces each having the length of 9.5 cm, the width of 9.5 cm and the thickness of 3 mm. The sliced pieces are placed in another container formed of thin synthetic resin sheet (9.5 cm in length, 9.5 cm in width and 5 mm in thickness). The container is vacuum sealed and subjected to heat-sterilization at 70"C at the central area thereof for 10 minutes to obtain a packaged sheet form food.

Example 4 Material Group A: Mayonnaise 80.0 9 Mustard 10.0 g Gelatin 10.0 g Water 55.0 9 Material Group B: Tuna 70.0 9 Parsley 3.0 9 Bacon 10.0 g Onion 30.0 9 The members in Material Group A are admixed at 80"C for 1 minute and the obtained mixture of 1 55 g is added to the members in Material Group B of 11 3 g. The resulting mixture is placed in a box-shaped container formed of thin polypropylene sheet (9.5 cm in length, 9.5 cm in width and 10 cm in depth). The container is cooled at - 5"C for 5 hours to obtain a solid product. The solid product is taken out of the container and sliced into pieces each having the length of 9.5 cm, the width of 9.5 cm and the thickness of 3 mm.

Another box-shaped container formed of laminated sheet which comprises inner and outer layers of polypropylene and an intermediate layer of ethylenevinyl acetate copolymer (9.5 cm in length, 9.5 cm in width and 3.2 cm in depth) is provided and one of the above-mentioned food pieces is placed in the container. A laminated film similar to that of the container is placed on the food piece within the container. The same procedure is repeated until ten food pieces are laminated one upon another with similar films interposed therebetween within the container.

The container is vacuum sealed to provide a package having the food pieces received therein.

The package is subjected to heat-sterilization at 70"C at the central area thereof for 10 minutes and then cooled at 5"C.

When the food pieces are taken out of the container by one at one time, since the interposed films can effectively prevent the successive upper and lower food pieces from adhering to each other, the food pieces can be easily taken out of the container. And since no small holes are formed in the surface of the sheet form food, the food presents an excellent external appearance.

Claims

1. A composition for forming a sheet-form food which comprises a spread, concentrated sauce or the like and at least one thermally reversible gelling agent.

2. A composition as claimed in Claim 1, in which the amount of said thermally teversible gelling agent is 1 to 20% by weight based on the total weight of said composition.

3. A composition as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, in which said spread, concentrated sauce or the like is an aqueous system material, and an oil system food is laminated onto said aqueous system material.

4. A composition as claimed in Claim 3, in which said aqueous system material is pizza sauce and said oil system food is a cheese.

5. A composition for a sheet form food as claimed in Claim 3, in which said oil system food is a member selected from the group consisting of cheese, butter and margarine.

6. A composition as claimed in any preceding claim, in which said spread, concentrated sauce or the like is selected from pizza sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, custard sauce, jam, marmalade, custard cream, white sauce, cream and dressing and yolk, vegetable oil and vinegar.

7. A composition as claimed in Claim 6, wherein said yolk, vegetable oil or vinegar have emulsifying agent or seasoning and flavoring agents added thereto.

8. A composition as claimed in any preceding claim, in which said thermally reversible gelling agent is gelatin, carrageenan, pectin or agaragar.

9. A composition as claimed in any preceding claim, further including at least one optional material.

1 0. A composition as claimed in Claim 9, in which said optional material is selected from meats, fishes, vegetables, beans, nuts, mushrooms, fruits and eggs.

11. A composition as claimed in Claim 10, in which said meat is ham, sausage, or corned beef, said fish is tuna, said vegetable is onion, Spanish paprika, carrot, potato or sweet corn, said nut is walnut and said mushrooms, fruits and eggs have seasoning and flavoring agents added thereto.

12. A composition for forming a sheet-form food, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the food mixtures in the Examples.

1 3. A sheet-form food comprising a spread, concentrated sauce or the like and at least one thermally reversible gelling agent and moulded to a sheet form.

14. A sheet-form food as claimed in Claim 13, which has been formed from a composition as claimed in any preceding claim.

1 5. A package comprising a container, a sheet-form food received in a plurality of layers one upon another within said container and a film interposed between each two upper and lower adjacent layers of said sheet form food and having the shape and size identical with or similar to those of each of said sheet form food layers.

1 6. A package as claimed in Claim 15, in which said sheet form food is as claimed in Claim 14.

1 7. A sheet-form food or package including such a food, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the Figures of the drawings.

1 8. A sheet-form food or package including such a food, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the foregoing Examples.