Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
  • A23L25/00—Food consisting mainly of nutmeat or seeds; Preparation or treatment thereof
  • A23L25/30—Mashed or comminuted products, e.g. pulp, pastes, meal, powders; Products made therefrom, e.g. blocks, flakes, snacks; Liquid or semi-liquid products
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
  • A23L27/00—Spices; Flavouring agents or condiments; Artificial sweetening agents; Table salts; Dietetic salt substitutes; Preparation or treatment thereof
  • A23L27/10—Natural spices, flavouring agents or condiments; Extracts thereof
  • A23L27/12—Natural spices, flavouring agents or condiments; Extracts thereof from fruit, e.g. essential oils

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a reconstitutable natural coconut flavor and to the method of producing that flavor, particularly to such flavor and method, wherein the flavor can be reconstituted to a liquid coconut flavor that does not contain a gritty texture or mouth feel and which can be used in food compositions in any amount, without introducing such undesired texture or mouth feel.
• coconut flavor is a popular flavor and is used widely in confectionaries, bakery products, fruit compositions, topp ⁇ ings, whips, and the like. Conventionally, coconut flavor is introduced into such food compositions by way of dehydrat ⁇ ed coconut meat or "coconut crea ⁇ * .”, made by highly rr.ascerat- ing the meat and juice of the coconut.
• the characteristic flavor thereof is obtained from the "juice”, e.g., grape juice, tomato juice, celery juice, etc.
• the juice associated with the coconut i.e., the "milk”
• the coconut does not have the characteris- tic coconut flavor therein. Accordingly, for coconut flavor ⁇ ing purposes, it is necessary to use the coconut neat.
• the natural meat is shredded or grated and dehydrated to a shelf-stable form, often including substantial amounts of sugar for preservation purposes.
• the dehydrated coconut is rehydrated prior to use in or while in food co .positions to im ⁇ art the characteristic coconut flavor thereto.
• coconut meat either in the natural state or in the dehydrated form, contains substantial amounts of non- soluble matter referred to as "fiber".
• the fiber When dehydrated co ⁇ conut meat is used, the fiber imparts a somewhat chewy and tough characteristic to the composition in which it is in ⁇ cluded. Further, the shredded form imparts a rather rough texture to the food composition.
• the dehydrated coco ⁇ nut meat is used in the grated form, the fiber produces a somewhat gritty texture and mouth feel. While the grated form is considerably preferable to the shredded form in many uses, i.e., ice cream, whips, toppings, confection ⁇ eries, and the like, the gritty texture and mouth feel is quite undesirable.
• U.S.patent 3 S99 ⁇ 6 ⁇ 6 teaches treat ⁇ ment of coconut meat at elevated temperatures with an aqueous solution of an acid, such as hydrochloric acid, to tenderize the meat by cell disruption, but as that patent points out, the process results in some modification of the natural coconut flavor and a relatively mild flavor results.
• an acid such as hydrochloric acid
• flash steaming of the coconut meat is suggested to fissure the structure of the coconut, into which is infused a glycerol.
• U.S.patent -+,09$,912 teaches a process where the juice of coconuts is separated from the meat and after heating the juice (with water added thereto), it is recombined with the fresh coconut meat on an equal weight basis.
• the combination of juice and meat is ground to a pulp and the pulp is pressed through a perforated conical press to obtain "coconut cream", which is heated, compounded with additives (such as sucrose), heated to a high tempera ⁇ ture, e.g., 139 F, for a prolonged period of time, e.g., 20 inute ⁇ , homogenized and bottled or canned.
• additives such as sucrose
• the 3 presence of the, juice (which contains mainly the sugar) in the "coconut cream” may cause considerable difficulty in that the sugar may discolor the "coconut cream” during the long, high temperature heating. Additionally, the "coconut cream” will contain most of the fiber of the coconut meat, which results in undesired taste and mouth-feel.
• Figure 2 is a graph showing the critical enzyme deactivation temperature and times.
• the invention is based on several primary discover ⁇ ies. Firstly, it was discovered that unwanted o f-flavors developed in products produced by the prior art because of certain enzymes which remained in those prior art coconut flavor. During processing and storage those enzymes caused degradation of the coconut flavor and produced unwanted off-flavors. To avoid this difficulty, it was discovered that the enzymes must be either essentially eliminated from the coconut meat or deactivated by special processing or, preferr- able, both.
• a second basic discovery of the present invention is that the coconut meat must be ground to a relatively small particle size, i.e., 2000 microns or less, but it need not be ground to 200 microns or less, as was taught by the prior art.
• the third major discovery is that the ⁇ o expelled coconut flavor liquor can thereafter be separated from the coconut fiber so that the separated coconut flavor liquor contains no more than 2% of coconut fiber.
• the coconut flavor may be incorporated into food compositions without producing a gritty texture or mouth feel, as was associated with prior art products.
• the present coconut flavor is easily reconstitutable into a liquid which is homogeneously mixable in food compositions.
• the present coconut flavor can be concentrated into convenient form, i.e., by condensing the coconut flavor liquor to more than 25 solids or spray drying the coconut flavor liquor to a free-flowing powder.
• the coconut flavor liquor is separated from the coconut meat fiber in such a manner that the separated liquor has no more than 2 fiber therein.
• the enzymes in the liquor are then deactivated by heating the flavor liquor at a temperature and for a time within enzyme deactivation conditions, whereby the enzymes in the liquor are deactivated.
• the deactivated liquor is then concentrated to a concentrated form by a step selected from (a), condensing the liquor to more than 25$ solids, or (b) spray drying the liquor to a free-flowing powder.
• a concentrated coconut flavor is thereby obtained.
• a concentrated, reconstitu ⁇ table natural coconut flavor comprising a mixture of coconut fat and coconut protein/carbohydrate in ratios of 40-72: 60-28, wherein the flavor in the reconstituted form contains less than 2$ coconut fiber and the coconut enzymes have been deactivated.
• the coconuts used in the present process should be matured coconuts. It is the matured coconuts which have the developed and balanced coconut fla ⁇ vor.
• a matured coconut is obtained by picking the coconut just prior to the natural dropping of the coconut from the tree and storing that coconut at ambient conditions for 30 to 70 days, more preferably from 45 to 60 days. Usually the husk of the coconut is removed prior to such storage.
• the coconut After maturing, the coconut is de-hulled.
• the de- hulled coconut, containing the tough leathery outer skin (testa) is then carefully examined to determine the position of the germ eye.
• Coconuts in the shells have three "eyes". Two of these eyes are actually fake, and the third eye is the "germ eye".
• That germ eye should be cut away, since it is the germ eye that contains the deleterious enzymes, discussed above. It is not absolutely critical that this germ eye be cut away, but if not, then the chances of enzyme action are substantial ⁇ ly increased.
• the testa is peeled, either prior to or after removal of the germ eye and the fresh coconut meat is ob ⁇ tained.
• the coconut meat is ground in such a manner as to produce a pulp of the ground (mascerated) coconut meat.
• the average particle size of the pulp should be 2000 microns or less. However, the finer the grind, the more flavor liquor is obtained. Thus, preferably the average particle size of the pulp is 1500 microns or less and more usually 1000 microns or less.
• the coconut may be finely ground to sizes suggested in the prior art, e.g., to average particle sizes of 200 microns or less. However, this is not required and it is a matter of balancing the amount of flavor liquor obtained versus the increasing diffi- culty of grinding to smaller particle sizes.
• the fiberous structure- of the coconut meat is suf ⁇ ficiently disrupted to expel from the meat the flavor com ⁇ ponents of the coconut meat.
• These flavor components are certain ratios of coconut fat and coconut protein/carbohy- drate. The components are expressed in this manner, since the coconut fat is relatively separable from the protein/ carbohydrate, while the protein is not readily separable from the carbohydrate.
• the grinding may be achieved by conventional grinding and/or shearing devices, such as conventional meat grinders, hammer mills, high speed cutting blades and the like.
• a preferred grinding device is of the type which has a rota- table cutting head disposed in angularly displaced blades.
• the Urschel Comitrol* is typical of these machines.
• Another conventional machine is the Stephan grinding machine.
• combinations of these grinding devices may be used, e.g., first grinding in a hammer mill and then in an Urschel Comitrol . After grinding, the coconut flavor liquor, expel ⁇ led during grinding is separated from the coconut fiber. This separation may be achieved in any of the conventional man ⁇ ners.
• the ground coconut meat pulp may be simply filtered in a conventional filter.
• a conventional filter Preferably,
• the ground pulp is pressed to expell liquor from the pulp, either prior to or during the separation step.
• This latter step may be achieved by conventional pressing and separating machines such as one or more of a screw press, flat plate press, roller press and plate and frame filters, which utilize either mechanical pressure or hydraulic pressure.
• separation and pressing may be by way of a conventional centrifuge e.g., a basket-type centrifuge, or a solid bowl-type centrifuge.
• combinations of centrifuges and filters may be used, e.g., where the pulp is initially separated in a centrifuge to'recover the liquor which is spun out during centrifuging and then further liquor is recovered in a filter press, e.g., a plate and frame filter_press.
• a filter press e.g., a plate and frame filter_press.
• separa ⁇ tion may be performed intermediate of the pressing steps.
• Additional liquor may be recovered from the separated fiber by resuspending the separated fiber in hot water and recycling that mixture through the separation step to ex ⁇ tract more of the liquor.
• the resuspended fiber may be re ⁇ cycled to the grinding step, to the separation step, or to the pressing step.
• the temperature of the hot water will usually be between 8 ⁇ °F and 125°F, and more often between 95°F and 120°F.
• the ratio of water to fiber will normally not be greater than 1:1. Finally, however, the spent fiber is discarded from the process.
• an enzyme deacti- vation step is performed. This step may be performed in any order of the process steps subsequent to the separation step and prior to the concentration step. However, most advantageous the deactivation step is performed immediately after the separation step, since at that point all of the flavor liquor has been recovered and deactivation of the liquor is more economical at that point than treating both the liquor and the fiber prior to separation thereof. There ⁇ fore, it is preferred that the deactivation step be performed immediately after the separation step. Unfortunately, when the flavor liquor is allowed to dwell at elevated temperatures, deterioration of the coconut flavor may take place. On the other hand, the liquor must be heat-treated sufficiently to deactivate the enzymes in the coconut flavor liquor. These competing factors have not, here-to-fore, been resolved in the art.
• FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of the fore ⁇ going.
• the "Lipase Deactivation Line” describes the minimum temperature/time combinations required to deactivate the lipase in the coconut meat.
• deactivation of the en- zymes is achieved, for example, at 75°C (l67°F)in 0.03 minu ⁇ tes (1.8 seconds), while deactivation at 65°C (149°F) re ⁇ quires nearly 2 minutes.
• the "Flavor Degredation Line" de ⁇ scribes the maximum temperature/time combinations which are permissable if unwanted off-flavors, discussed above, are to be avoided. While these off-flavors may be described in various ways, collectively, the off-flavors are that of a "cooked" flavor, not common to fresh coconut. Here again, for example, at 75 C, the heat-treatment period may not be longer than about 15 minutes, or off-flavors will result while at 65°C this period may be as long as about 28 min ⁇ utes.
• the deactivation temperature/time must be on or above the 5 - “Lipase Deactivation Line” but on or below the "Flavor De- gredation Line".
• the temperature/time area between these two lines is defined as"enzyme deactivation temperature/ time conditions”.
• HTST High- Temperature-Short-Time
• the flavor liquor is then concentrated in a concen ⁇ trating step.
• the liquor will contain substantial amounts 20 of water which does not contribute to the flavor and the removal of that water has three distinct advantages. Firstly, the condensed product is more economically handled because of reduced weight. Secondly, if the concentration step is performed in certain manners the resulting product can be 25 shelf-stable or self-preserving. Thirdly, the bulk of the concentrated flavor is far less than the bulk of the natural flavor liquor and can be incorporated into foods without unduly affecting the food characteristics. Concentration may be achieved by either condensing the liquor to more 30 than 25 solids, preferrably at least 32$ solids, or spray drying the liquor to a free-flowing powder.
• sugar may be added to the condensed liquor to provide a sweet and condensed self-preserving product.
• the added sugar will be sufficient to substantially reduce deter ⁇ ioration in storage and by simple canning or other sterile packaging, in conventional manners, a sweet and condensed self-preserving product is obtained.
• the condensed liquor may be spray-dried to a shelf-stable free-flowing reconstitutable coconut flavor powder.
• the condensed form is more economical for spray drying than the uncondensed form, and is therefore a preferred form of the process.
• the homogenization may be carried out with conventional equipment, e.g., a Manton-Gaulin homogen- izer, operated at conventional pressures, e.g., 500 to 3000 psig, and preferably 1000 to 2000 psig, e.g., 1500 psi.
• a carrier such as caseinates, milk solids, egg protein, lactalbumin, wheat flour, soy isolates, star ⁇ ches, gums, soy flour, casein, corn syrup solids, and the like, may be added to either the condensed liquor or the whole liquor prior to spray-drying.
• Such carriers aid in the spray-drying operation, as is well known in the art, and the details thereof will not be recited herein for sake of conciseness.
• the use of the carrier is not
• conventional spray-drying tempera ⁇ tures may be used, e.g., 250 ° to 400° F inlet, preferably 300° to 350° F inlet and 150° to 200° F outlet, e.g., 170° to 225 F outlet, especially about 180 F. Otherwise, conven ⁇ tional spray-drying equipment is quite acceptable for the present process.
• the spray-dried product may be packaged directly upon removal from the spray dryer or it may be ' chilled prior to packaging, e.g., below 90 F, more usually below 80 F, e.g., from about 40° F to 75° F.
• the chilling will aid in avoiding glo eration of the spray-dried product, bearing in mind the high fat content thereof. Chilling is, however, not required.
• the spray-dried product should have a moisture content of less than 5$ in order to be shelf- stable. More preferably, the moisture content will be about 3/4$ to l£$.
• the spray-dried product will have a fat content of between about 40$ and 72$ and the content of the combina ⁇ tion of coconut protein and coconut carbohydrate will be between about 60$ and 28$, i.e., a ratio of coconut fat to coconut protein/carbohydrate of 40-72:60-28. More usually, the fat content will be about 60$ to 70$ with corresponding percentages of protein/carbohydrate.
• the concentrated product may be directly incorporated into food compositions for flavoring purposes. Often, however, the product will be reconstituted with an aoueous diluent, whereby the reconstituted product will have a solids content comparable to the solids content of the whole liquor prior to concentration.
• the solids content of the whole liquor will be between about 20$ and 60$, and ⁇ ore usually between about 25$ and 45$.
• a typical solids content will be about 32$.
• the fiber content in the concentrated product should be such that upon reconstituta- tion thereof the fiber content of the reconstituted form is 2$ or less. This will avoid gritty texture or mouth feel in the reconstituted flavor product.
• the product either in the concentrated form or the reconstituted form may be used in a wide variety of pro- ducts.
• it may be used in confectionaries, such as coco ⁇ nut cream centers, coconut cream snack bars, coconut pastel candies, candy coatings, and the like.
• It may also be added to alcoholic beverages for providing the coconut flavor, or it ma., be used to provide a water soluble coconut flavored soft drink.
• the flavor may also be used in bakery products, such as frosting, icings, and fillings, and in dairy pro ⁇ ducts such as ice creams, novelty foods, milk shakes, and the like.
• coconut flavor of eth ⁇ nic foods such as curry sauce, rice cakes, and the like
• the flavor is also useful in frozen products such as curri ⁇ ed meats, puddings, etc.
• the product is also useful as a flavoring coating on cereals, snack foods, and the like.
• Matured coconuts were cracked and inspected for fresh- ness. Any "slimy” or off-colored coconuts were discarded.
• the coconut meat was removed from the shell and care was taken to remove as much of the germ eye as practical.
• the meat was ground in a Hobart* meat grinder with 1/4 inch perforations in the dieplate.
• the ground meat was passed to a Fitzpatrick* mill (hammer mill) with a 0.033 inch screen and ground using only the hammer action. Water in an amount of 25$ of the weight of the coconut meat was added during this grinding step.
• the "cake” from the press was mixed with 90 F water (25- 40$ based on the weight of the cake) in a ribbon blade blender with about 2 minutes residence time to produce a slurry.
• the slurry was pressed in an FMC* screw press operated 2 at 50 lbs/inch backpressure and with a 0.023 inch screen-.
• the flavor liquor was collected and combined with the flavor liquor collected from the Chisholm Ryder* press.
• the combined flavor liquor was filtered through a Brown* screw and paddle finisher with a 0.01 inch screen so that the finished flavor liquor had no more than 2$ fiber therein, " ⁇ he finished liquor was heat-treated in a dairy
• the deactivated liquor was passed through a double- effect evaporator with a preheat of l6 ⁇ F for 1 minute, 145 F in the first stage, and 119 F in the second stage, all being operated at atmospheric pressure.
• the con ⁇ densed liquor had 32$ solids.
• the condensed liquor was homo
• the homogenized and compounded liquor was spray-dried in a Marriot-Walker box drier.
• the liquor was preheated to l6 ⁇ ° F and the drier had an inlet tmeprature of 310° F, an outlet temperature of 180° F and a 67/17 nozzle.
• the spray-dried product was sifted through a 6 mesh screen and packaged in bags.
• a sugar center caramel confectionary was prepared by mixing 71$ microfine sugar and 25$ (92-98°F) coconut fat with 4$ of the powder of Example I. The mixture was placed in the center of a caramel candy, rolled and cut into indi ⁇ vidual candies. In chewing the candy, the center was highly coconut flavored, was not gritty and had a smooth mouth feel.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Nutrition Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
• Seasonings (AREA)
• Meat, Egg Or Seafood Products (AREA)

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Citations (5)

• 1980
  • 1980-02-01 US US06/117,797 patent/US4296136A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1981
  • 1981-01-30 EP EP81900605A patent/EP0045317B1/en not_active Expired
  • 1981-01-30 PH PH25158A patent/PH16401A/en unknown
  • 1981-01-30 JP JP56500836A patent/JPS57500047A/ja active Pending
  • 1981-01-30 WO PCT/US1981/000141 patent/WO1981002089A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1981-01-30 DE DE8181900605T patent/DE3164350D1/de not_active Expired
  • 1981-02-02 CA CA369,867A patent/CA1129713A/en not_active Expired

Patent Citations (5)

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