FR2539590A1 - Method for preparing foods in granular form and beverages - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of the invention is granular foods filled with an edible acid liquid in order to obtain what may be called "chewable seasonings", "chewable fruit juices", etc., having the taste and the quality of liquid products but without the usual chewable character. According to the invention, membranes are formed by reaction of an aqueous solution of an arginic acid salt with an aqueous solution of calcium around drops of liquid intended to form a core, so as to obtain granules, and then the liquid forming the core of these granules is expelled in order to be replaced by an edible acid liquid, the said granules being allowed to soak in water and then in the said edible acid liquid.

Description

 The present invention relates to granular foods, the interior spaces of which are filled with an edible acid liquid, and to a method for preparing beverages comprising such granular foods.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a process for the preparation of granular foods used for what could be called "masticablss seasonings", and "chewable fruit juices" consisting in using a seasoning or a fruit juice as edible liquid and a process for preparing drinks based on such granular foods.

 Generally, the known acid condiments, that is to say the seasonings, the vinegars etc, are normally liquid so that they can be spread, for example on salads, by tilting a container which contains them or using a spoon. However, the condiments thus spread penetrate inside the salad or are dispersed and absorbed in the parts of the salads which surround the sprinkled parts and it is thus impossible to know by visual examination the quantity of seasoning used and therefore find out how much seasoning adds flavor to the salad. Powdered condiments and granular condiments can solve these problems to some extent, but powdered products have some limitations on quantity and taste.

 The present invention aims to solve these problems. More specifically, the invention provides a process for the preparation of what could be called "chewable seasonings" and "chewable fruit juices", more clearly visible when used, having the taste and quality of the seasonings and juices liquid fruit but not the usual chewability.

 A process for the preparation of granules was already known using an arginic acid salt solution and a calcium salt solution.

To carry out this process, one of these solutions is poured dropwise into the other solution, then a calcium arginate membrane is formed from these solutions to obtain granules surrounded by the membrane.

However, it is impossible to obtain suitable granules if this usual process is applied, as it is, to seasonings, alcoholic drinks, common drinks, etc.

 For example, when an acid condiment is subjected to granulation as it is, the balance between the arginic acid ion and the sodium ion is destroyed due to the acidification of the sodium arginate solution, which causes a agglomeration and separate production of arginic acid on the other hand, the content of calcium ion for the formation of the membrane falls to a low value since the calcium ion reacts with the acid and this results in an exhaustion of the salt of calcium by acidification of the calcium salt solution, so that in any case it is said to be difficult to carry out the reaction of formation of granules.

 One can also consider a process consisting of first forming the granules and then filling their interior spaces with the liquid acid condiment. However, in this case, the calcium arginate granules undergo an influence of the acid which is a function of time, so that one encounters various problems in particular on the way of preparing beads (granules) with resistant membranes. not likely to break and change in quality so as to keep the acidic liquid filling condiment in an appropriate state, as well as on how to fill the interior spaces of the granules already formed, with the acidic liquid condiment.

 Likewise, in the case of fruit juice, when granulating the fruit juice itself to produce materials intended to form cores, there are various problems, for example because the fruit juice reacts with arginic acid to thereby increase its viscosity, since there is separate production and agglomeration of arginic acid since fruit juice is normally a liquid constituted by an organic acid, having a pH of 3-4, because it becomes difficult to carry out a strong bridging reaction due to competition between the COOM group of the arginic acid molecule and the C00H group of the organic acid molecule of fruit juice, or else because the juice of fruit reacts with the calcium salt to decrease the calcium ion content and produce a calcium salt of organic acid which gives an unpleasant taste unsuitable for consumption, so that in all cases there is a problem which is the difficulty of the reaction of formation of granules. Such problems also arise for granular foods comprising cut solid foods and a liquid forming a core within the granules.

The subject of the present invention is granular foods, the interior spaces of which are filled with an edible acid liquid and a process for the preparation of drinks containing such granular foods, characterized in that it comprises in this order
a) a stage of preparation of a liquid intended to form a core consisting in adding a calcium salt to a sweet liquid and, if necessary, in adding other additives;
b) a stage which consists in forming membranes essentially of calcium arginate on the surface of the liquid intended to form a nucleus, by dropping the liquid intended to form a nucleus dropwise into a liquid containing an arginic acid salt and surrounding said liquid intended to form a nucleus with these membranes to form granules,
c) a stage of exchange of the liquid intended to form a core within said granules, with water, consisting in soaking said granules in water; and
d) a stage of exchange of the liquid forming a core within said granules, with an edible acid liquid containing 0.01 to 0.1% by weight of calcium salt, by immersion of the granules filled with water in said edible liquid.

 The invention is characterized by an original technique consisting in applying the method of forming membranes by reacting an aqueous solution of an alginic acid salt with an aqueous solution of a calcium salt, to form membranes with the use of a liquid intended to form a nucleus, then to expel the liquid forming a nucleus to exchange it with a desired edible liquid, by intermediate soaking in water after the formation of the granules.

By studying the problems encountered in the above known method of forming granules by using an aqueous solution of an arginic acid salt and an aqueous solution of a calcium salt, the
Applicant has acquired the following knowledge. The bridging reaction to generate calcium arginate causes the formation of calcium arginate membranes by solid bridging between the C00H groups of arginic acid molecules and calcium ions, but the membranes are only formed with a gross cross-linked structure so that when the materials intended to form the nucleus are liquid, they are easily exchanged with (replaced by) the liquid external to the granules and when the granules are formed of a liquid forming a nucleus such as calcium salt either in the presence of low molecular weight materials, it is easy to expel the core liquid outward and it is further preferable to form the membranes and expel the core liquid as quickly as possible to prepare granules chewable and tasty.

 Based on the above knowledge, the Applicant has succeeded in preparing suitable granules by first carrying out what may be called an exchange of the liquid forming the core constituting the granules then the expulsion of the liquid forming the core and its replacement by the desired edible liquid.

 In the present invention, the calcium arginate granules are formed by dropping an aqueous solution of a calcium salt dropwise into an aqueous solution of sodium arginate. The calcium salt used can be, for example, calcium chloride, the use of which as an additive for food products is authorized by the government.

The calcium concentration is adjusted above 0.5% by weight, normally about 1% by weight. The concentration of calcium arginate is also adjusted to about 0.3 - 1% by weight. The reaction for forming the calcium arginate granules can be carried out in accordance with known techniques, for example that described in US Pat. No. 3,922,360 (published patent application Japanese patent 34,054 / 80), so that its description can be shortened. detailed; an aqueous solution of a calcium salt is dropped dropwise into an aqueous solution of sodium arginate, to form granules of approximately 2 to 6 mm in diameter while keeping them apart from each other. others to avoid sticking. The place of fall of the aqueous calcium salt solution, the size of the nozzle and the concentration of the two liquids are correctly adjusted according to known techniques.

 Thus, the calcium arginate granules formed in the manner described above must have more resistant membranes than usual since their interior spaces are filled with liquid. The drops of the aqueous calcium salt solution must therefore be immersed in the aqueous solution of arginic acid for a relatively long time, preferably 30 to 240 seconds in order to promote the reaction. In the present invention, to perform this operation correctly, the density of the aqueous solution of the calcium salt is adjusted to a much higher value than that of the aqueous solution of sodium arginate. Concretely, we add sugar such as cane sugar, grape sugar, fruit sugar, etc. to the aqueous solution of calcium salt in a proportion of 20 to 50%, preferably about 30% by weight. The reason why we have chosen sugar as a density-regulating agent is that the sugar is easy to eliminate by soaking it in water and however small the amount that remains in the aqueous calcium salt solution, it does not affect the taste of the edible liquid subsequently introduced.

 Consequently, in the present invention the membranes are formed by calcium arginate and in their interior space, granules are formed filled with a solution of calcium chloride and sugar as fluid, under flotation conditions. and immersion.

 it is also possible to add a gum (xanthan gum, guar gum, tragacanth gum, etc.) to the sugar to adjust the density of the aqueous solution of the calcium salt. The gum persists in the granules even when these granules are soaked in water during the next stage, so that the gum acts as a viscosity agent for the liquid intended to form the nucleus by a prior addition of it. ci to the calcium salt solution.

 The granules are then separated from the aqueous arginic acid salt solution as quickly as possible and washed with water. They are then soaked in water to exchange the liquid forming the nucleus in the small granules, with the water through the membranes of reticular structure of calcium arginate. If the granules are not washed with water, they adhere to each other and the membranes gain thickness towards the outside as a result of the reaction of arginic acid and unreacted calcium. it is therefore necessary to carry out the washing as quickly as possible by means of a rain of water etc. A portion of the core liquid begins to flow outward with a washing strip.

On the other hand, the main purpose of soaking the granules in water is to expel the excess calcium from the core liquid which is necessary for the reaction of granule formation. However, soaking has another purpose which is to prevent transformation of the granules after completion of the preparation by shrinking of the membranes. Although the time required for soaking in water varies somewhat depending on the thickness of the membranes, a period of approximately 1 to 2 hours is sufficient to remove the calcium and sugar and to obtain granules of calcium arginate which interior spaces contain water.

 Then within the framework of the process mentioned above, the granules obtained are immersed in the desired edible liquid. In this case, the water present in the interior spaces of the granules is also subjected to an exchange with the edible liquid for approximately 2 hours and this results in the filling of the interior spaces of the granules with the edible liquid.

 When the edible liquid is a liquid acid condiment such as a seasoning, vinegar, fruit juice, jam, etc., it is preferable to add a small amount of a calcium salt (one of those allowed as additives to food products by government regulations, such as calcium chloride, calcium lactate) to the liquid acid condiment. By using such a liquid acid condiment added with a calcium salt, the softening and the damage of the calcium arginate membranes of the granules are prevented if they are immersed in the liquid acid condiment as acid liquid, and it is therefore possible to keep the granules containing the liquid acid condiment in a stable state without modifying their quality. Likewise, the exchange of the acidic liquid condiment with water takes place on a regular basis. The added amount of calcium salt can be from 0.01 to 0.10%, preferably from 0.03 to 0, 08% by weight relative to the amount of the liquid acid condiment. If the added amount of calcium salt is less than 0.01% by weight, the calcium arginate membranes are attacked by the liquid acid condiment which results in softening and damage to the membranes because the calcium salt does not cannot fully fulfill the task assigned to it. On the other hand1 if the added amount of calcium salt exceeds 0.10% by weight, the acid condiment obtained has a bitter taste due to too much calcium salt in the liquid condiment, which therefore deteriorates the taste of the product.

 The granular foods thus obtained can be stored in containers and used by spreading them on salads etc, or used as drinks with cakes, puddings and other foods.

Thus, the granular foods thus prepared can be introduced into a container without any modification and subjected, if necessary, to sterilization by heat to preserve them.

 In the process described above, the granules can be colored to the chosen color. In this case, the coloring is carried out by adding the desired coloring substance to the liquid intended to form the nucleus or to the liquid containing the salt of arginic acid. With the colored granular foods according to the invention, various foods can be prepared in a colored form.

 In particular, it is possible to use colored granules having more than two colors, which was impossible with known liquid condiments. For example, the condiment made of red and white granules is very beautiful when placed in a container and it is suitable for decorating a dish served to celebrate a happy event.

 In addition, it is possible to eat such granular foods in a state of immersion in the edible liquid. For example, those who use an acidic liquid condiment such as a seasoning, or those who use common drinks such as fruit juices, etc., as a liquid intended to form a nucleus may undergo the exchange operation between 1- ' water present in the interior spaces of the granules and the desired edible acid liquid during their storage and leads to products similar to the aforementioned granules when they are soaked in water, then conserves them by keeping them immersed in the edible liquid and You can use them with the edible liquid. You can spread these granules on vegetables etc, at the same time as other suitable seasonings when the edible liquid is a seasoning and you can use the granules as drinks incorporated in the granules when the liquid edible is a very common drink such as fruit juice.

In addition, the granules in the state of immersion in the edible liquid can be used as such during the stage of exchange of the water present in the interior spaces of the granules with the desired edible acid liquid and, in addition, it is possible to use the granules by exchanging the water present in the interior spaces with the desired edible acid liquid, then by immersing them in another edible liquid of the same different type
Then, although the interior space of the granules is filled with an edible acidic liquid or with water, these granules are, so to speak, in a "temporary coating" state, so that the edible liquid or the water may ooze interior spaces and leave these granules as they are for a while. Edible liquid seepage can be prevented by adding a small amount of the same or similar type of edible liquid (different taste) to the granules as indicated above and the aggregation of many granules is prevented by immersing them in the edible liquid. However, it may not be necessary to prevent oozing when using the granules as seasonings or drinks. softening the membranes may be preferable to improve the taste and it should be considered that the hardened membranes may create an unpleasant taste, but it can however, if desired, prevent the oozing. To prevent seepage, a thermosetting substance can be added beforehand in the liquid intended to form the core or in the liquid containing the arginic acid salt.

 We will now give some examples of addition of a thermosetting substance to the liquid containing the arginic acid salt. First, a small amount of a thermosetting substance such as egg white, lactalbumin, serum albumin, etc. is added to said liquid. The amount added is preferably 0.05 to 1% by weight of solids. The degree of leakage prevention of the substance present inside the granules can be adjusted by an appropriate increase or decrease in the amount added. The added thermosetting material only adheres around the arginate meshes of calcium or becomes lodged in a mesh structure and has no influence on the exchange of said substance at this stage; then, after the formation of the membranes, the granules must be washed quickly with water, then soaked in water so as to exchange said substance with water. During this stage, the sweet liquid containing the unreacted calcium salt is completely exchanged with water. It is easy to judge whether the exchange has been carried out entirely or not because the sweet liquid is used as the first liquid intended to form the nucleus. The soaking time in water differs depending on the type of the final product, but is normally 30 minutes to several hours.

 The granules thus obtained containing water are immersed in the edible liquid provided for this purpose in order to repeat the exchange stage.

The duration of this exchange stage is also from 30 minutes to several hours.

Leakage of the liquid present inside the granules is reduced or prevented by heating all of the edible liquid during the immersion stage of the granules in said edible liquid at the time when the exchange stage is practically finished, since the thermosetting material which adheres around the meshes or is housed between the meshes of the membranes gradually begins to coagulate, then forms membranes and thus fill the empty spaces of the meshes. In this case, it is appropriate to use egg white to almost completely prevent leakage of the liquid and shrinking of the granules because the egg white is tasteless and therefore allows to form resistant membranes without deteriorating the taste of the seasoning, wine, etc. It goes without saying that heating can be carried out after the exchange stage.

 In accordance with the method described above, it is possible to harden the membranes despite some drawbacks and use the very simple method of exchanging the substance present inside the granules, on the other hand, the substance contained can be preserved at liquid state so that the process can be used to preserve not only granular foods but also drugs, chemicals, etc. without damaging their own character by using capsules.

 In addition, the preparation process according to the invention is applicable to granular foods containing in their interior space, tiny food products such as vegetable pickles, foods boiled in soy sauce, fine cut seaweed and edible liquid desired.

 As mentioned above, the preparation process according to the invention is suitable for preparing what are called "chewable seasonings", "chewable fruit juices", etc. using a liquid acid condiment such as a seasoning, fruit juice, etc.

Various examples of such a liquid will be given later.

 The following examples, in which all the proportions are by weight, serve to illustrate the invention without in any way limiting its scope.

Example 1 (use of a liquid acid condiment)
An aqueous sodium chloride solution containing 0.5% calcium, 0.3% xanthan gum, 20% edible oil and 30% cane sugar is stirred to emulsify the solution. The emulsion is dropped dropwise into a 0.5% aqueous solution of sodium arginate, the drops having approximately 5 mm in diameter, by means of a nozzle, at a speed of 100 drops to the minute. The drops float on the aqueous solution for approximately 120 seconds, then form one after the other calcium arginate granules having 4 to 6 mm in diameter. Slow stirring of the aqueous sodium arginate solution is continued during the pouring of the emulsion drop by drop. The granules obtained are collected and soaked in water for two hours, then removed from water after having confirmed the disappearance of the sugar and they are immersed in a French liquid seasoning previously prepared (about 0.05% sodium chloride is added so as not to alter the taste). After about two hours, it is confirmed that the water present in the interior spaces of the granules has been entirely replaced by the liquid seasoning, the granules are then removed and placed in a container. After leaving the granules at rest for 24 hours or for a week, the shapes and taste remain the same as immediately after their introduction into the container and there is no change.

Example 2 (use of fruit juice or a liquid dispersing a fat-soluble coloring matter)
a) Apple pulp (pH 3.8), a mixture of celery juice (pH 4.2), tomatoes and lettuce and orange pulp (pH 3.6) are obtained; To each of these substances, sodium bicarbonate is added to adjust the pH to 5.5, 6.0 and 7.0 respectively.

 b) To each of the substances thus obtained, 0.7% of calcium chloride (calculated as anhydrous salt) and 0.6% of xanthan gum are added and then a supplement of grape sugar is added to prepare a liquid intended for form a 1.05 density nucleus (about 15% sugar concentration).

 c) The liquid intended to form a nucleus is dropped dropwise into a stream of a 7% sodium arginate solution, in small doses, and the resulting assembly is allowed to flow for approximately 120 seconds, the drops fall to the bottom, then, at the end of the flow, take the granules with a net and sprinkle them with a shower of water.

 d) The washed granules are quickly placed in a water bath filled with water and they are left to soak in water for 2 to 3 hours, changing the water - every 30 minutes, so as to obtain granules whose the interior spaces are filled with water.

 e) Granular "oranges" thus obtained are added to use their juice, with orange juice (concentration of 0.02% of calcium chloride) at a rate of 10%, and an orange juice drink is thus prepared. .

 We also decided to use the granular "apples" as a dessert and for that we place them in a bottle after adding a little apple juice. On the other hand, the granular "vegetable mixture" is used for the preparation of various drinks based on orange juice by adding them to the orange juice in a proportion of 20%.

Example 3 (preparation of granules similar to jam).

 a) You get grape juice (pH 2.8), a mixture of juice (pH 4.2) of celery, tomatoes and carrots and orange pulp (pH 3.6), then add sodium bicarbonate to each of these substances to adjust the pH to 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5 respectively. We also add a little pectin if necessary.

 b) To each of the substances thus obtained, 0.7% of calcium chloride (calculated as anhydrous salt) and 0.6% of xanthan gum are added and grape sugar is also added in order to prepare a liquid intended to form nucleus having 1.05 specific gravity (sugar concentration of approximately 15%).

 c) The liquid intended to form a nucleus is dropped dropwise into a stream of a solution of 0.7% sodium arginate, in small doses, and the resulting assembly is left to dry for approximately 120 seconds> the drops falling to the bottom then, at the end of the flow, the granules are removed with a net and watered with a shower of water.

 d) The washed granules are quickly placed in a water bath filled with water and they are left to soak for 2 to 3 hours, changing the water every 30 minutes, so as to obtain granules with interior spaces filled. of water.

 e) Then, for three types of granules, we first immerse those who use grape juice, in grape juice, (cane sugar concentration of 60-% and calcium chloride concentration of 0.03% ), the weight of grape juice used being equal to that of the granules; immerse those who use a mixture of vegetable juice, in carrot juice (cane sugar concentration of 60% and calcium chloride concentration of 0.01%), the weight of carrot juice used being equal that of granules; and those who use the orange pulp are immersed in orange juice (cane sugar concentration of 58% and calcium chloride concentration of 0.02%), the weight of orange juice used being equal to that of granules, the mixture is boiled for about two hours in a vacuum container, so as to obtain granules (three types) similar to jam having a sugar concentration of about 65%.

Claims (8)

 1. Process for preparing food and drinks in granular form, the interior spaces of which are filled with an edible acid liquid, characterized in that it comprises, in this order  a) a stage of preparation of a liquid intended to form nucleus consisting in adding a calcium salt to a sweet liquid and, if necessary, in adding other additives;  b) a stage which consists in forming membranes essentially of calcium arginate, on the surface of the liquid intended to form a nucleus, by dropping the liquid intended to form a nucleus dropwise into a liquid containing an arginic acid salt and, surrounding said liquid intended to form a nucleus with these membranes to form granules;  c) a stage of exchange of the liquid intended to form a core within said granules, with water consisting in soaking said granules in water, and  d) a stage of exchange of the liquid forming a core within said granules, with an edible acid liquid containing 0.01 to 0.1% by weight of calcium salt, by immersion of the granules filled with water in said edible liquid.  2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said liquid intended to form the core contains a gummy product as viscosity agent and in that the density of the liquid is greater than 1.  3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said edible liquid is a liquid acid condiment such as a seasoning, a vinegar, etc. and in that the liquid intended to form the nucleus contains from 10 to 40% by weight of an edible oil, the liquid intended to form the nucleus being in emulsified form.  4. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said edible liquid is a fruit juice or a liquid for dispersing a fat-soluble coloring matter and in that said liquid intended to form the nucleus is a juice of fruit or a dispersing agent of a fat-soluble coloring matter, having a pH of 5 to 7, so as to prepare granules of fruit juice filled internally with fruit juice.  5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the liquid intended to form the nucleus optionally contains pectin, the fruit juice used as edible liquid being highly concentrated and in that the liquid intended to form the nucleus is heated while submerged in the edible liquid, so as to prepare jam-like granules filled internally with jam or highly concentrated fruit juice.  6. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the liquid intended to form the core contains cut food products such as vegetable pickles, food boiled in soy sauce, seaweed, and in that said acidic liquid is a liquid condiment such as soy sauce, so as to prepare sliced vegetables preserved in soy sauce as well as granules containing such vegetables.  7. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said liquid intended to form the core or the liquid containing an arginic acid salt contains a thermosetting substance, the leakage of the edible liquid towards the outside of the granules being prevented by heating just before or after the immersion of the granules in the edible liquid.  8. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the liquid intended to form the core or the liquid containing an arginic acid salt contains coloring substances to thereby prepare colored granules.