Shelf stable fried product and process for creating the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10440980-B2
Application number	US-201816043382-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 24, 2018
Priority date	Jul 18, 2008
Publication date	Oct 15, 2019
Grant date	Oct 15, 2019

Abstract

A shelf stable fried product and a process for creating a shelf stable fried product is disclosed. Aspects include a process for managing fat migration, moisture migration, and cell degrading of a food product during frying. Aspects further include a resulting shelf stable food product that includes a crispy and/or crunchy texture and a desirable fat distribution.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A packaged shelf stable food product which is ready for consumption from a package without cooking or thawing preparation, the packaged shelf stable vegetable product having an inner portion and an outer portion, the shelf stable vegetable product comprising:
a fried food portion;
a surface application portion on a surface of the fried food portion;
a fat content of the outer portion of about 55% to about 95% of total fat content of the packaged shelf stable food product which is ready-for-consumption from the package without cooking or thawing preparation;
about 0% wt moisture to about 10% wt moisture of the packaged shelf stable food product which is ready-for-consumption from the package without cooking or thawing preparation; and
a water activity of about 0 to about 0.6 of the packaged shelf stable food product which is ready-for-consumption from the package without cooking or thawing preparation.

2. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 1 , wherein the outer portion includes the surface application portion.

3. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 2 , wherein the outer portion includes a primed portion of the fried food portion.

4. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 3 , wherein the surface application portion includes about 20% to about 95% of the total fat of the shelf stable food product.

5. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 3 , wherein the inner portion includes an unprimed portion of the fried food portion.

6. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 5 , further comprising a fat differential between the inner portion and the outer portion of about 10% to about 90%.

7. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 1 , wherein the fried food portion includes at least one member of a group comprising: a strip cut, a shoestring cut, a criss cut, a crinkle cut, a helical cut, a waffle cut, a straight cut, and a lattice cut.

8. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 1 , wherein the fried food portion is at least one member of a group consisting of: onion, avocado, beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, corn, beans, peppers pepperoncini, cucumber, pickle, peas, squash and zucchini.

9. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 1 , wherein the shelf stable food product further comprises a hardness of about 2000 g to about 4000 g at a strain of about 8 mm to about 15 mm.

10. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 1 , wherein the packaged shelf stable food product further comprises a hardness of about 1000 g to about 4600 g at a strain of about 2 mm to about 6 mm.

11. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 1 , wherein the wt moisture is about 0% wt moisture to about 5% wt moisture.

12. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 1 , wherein the wt moisture is about 0% wt moisture to about 3% wt moisture.

13. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 1 , wherein the water activity is about 0 to about 0.4.

14. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 1 , wherein the fried food portion is at least one member of a group comprising: an atmospheric fried food portion and a vacuum fried food portion.

15. The packaged shelf stable food product of claim 1 , wherein the fried food portion includes a primed portion and an unprimed portion, wherein the primed portion includes a concentration of complex carbohydrates in relation to the unprimed portion.

16. A process for making a packaged shelf stable food product which is ready for consumption from a package without cooking or thawing preparation, the process comprising:
cutting a food into a least one piece priming the food piece;
applying a surface application to the primed food piece to create a food piece having a surface application;
frying the food piece having the surface application to a final moisture content of about 0% wt moisture to about 10% wt moisture to create a fried food product; and
packaging the fried food product in a package having reduced atmospheric oxygen levels to create the shelf stable food product which is ready for consumption from a package without cooking or thawing preparation, wherein the shelf stable food product includes:
a fried food portion;
a surface application portion proximal a surface of the fried food portion;
a fat content of an outer portion of the shelf stable food product of about 55% to about 95% of total fat content of the shelf stable food product;
a final moisture content of about 0% wt moisture to about 10% wt moisture; and
a water activity of about 0 to about 0.6.

17. The process of claim 16 , wherein cutting the food includes cutting the food to have at least one member of a group comprising: a strip cut, a shoestring cut, a criss cut, a crinkle cut, a helical cut, a waffle cut, a straight cut, and a lattice cut.

18. The process of claim 16 , herein the fried food portion is at least one member of a group consisting of: onion, avocado, beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, corn, beans, peppers, pepperoncini, cucumber, pickle, peas, squash and zucchini.

Assignees

• Conagra Foods Rdm Inc

Inventors

• Wheeler Janet O
• Dihel Deborah
• Mellor Kevin
• Schneider Jeffrey
• Mills Kristin
• Samoray Roger
• Sanchez Moses

Classifications

• A23L19/05

  Stuffed or cored products; Multilayered or coated products; Binding or compressing of original pieces · CPC title

• A23L19/105

  Sweet potatoes · CPC title

• A23L19/18 Primary

  Roasted or fried products, e.g. snacks or chips · CPC title

• A23P20/10

  Coating with edible coatings, e.g. with oils or fats · CPC title

• B65B25/001

  of foodstuffs, combined with their conservation (B65B25/041, B65B25/062, B65B25/067 take precedence) · CPC title