Frozen food

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11185098-B2
Application number	US-201615543112-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 13, 2016
Priority date	Mar 4, 2015
Publication date	Nov 30, 2021
Grant date	Nov 30, 2021

Abstract

A frozen noodle product includes: a frozen noodle block, as a main food portion, obtained by freezing and hardening a cooked food; and a sauce portion obtained by freezing and hardening a sauce to be eaten together with the cooked food. The frozen noodle block has a sauce-portion arranging surface on which the sauce portion is arranged. An opening is formed in the sauce-portion arranging surface. The sauce portion is arranged on the frozen noodle block such that the lower end side, which is a part of the sauce portion, is inserted in the opening and the upper end side, which is the remaining part thereof, projects from the sauce-portion arranging surface side.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A frozen food comprising:
a main food portion obtained by freezing and hardening a cooked food; and
a sauce portion obtained by freezing and hardening a sauce to be eaten together with the cooked food, wherein:
the main food portion has a sauce-portion arranging surface on which the sauce portion is arranged;
an opening is formed in the sauce-portion arranging surface;
the sauce portion is arranged on the main food portion such that a part of the sauce portion is inserted in the opening and the remaining part thereof projects from the sauce-portion arranging surface side;
the opening traverses the main food portion in a thickness direction;
a surface on the opposite side from the sauce-portion arranging surface of the main food portion is also opened; and
a lower end of the sauce portion is located between the sauce-portion arranging surface and the surface on the opposite side from the sauce-portion arranging surface;
wherein a percentage of the opening occupied by the sauce portion is from 12.5 to 75.0%;
wherein the main food portion is a frozen noodle block obtained by freezing and hardening a heated-and-cooked noodle product;
wherein the sauce portion includes gelatin as a gelling agent; and
wherein a content of gelatin in the sauce portion is from 1 to 10 mass % with respect to a total mass of said sauce portion.

2. The frozen food according to claim 1 , wherein a lower end side of the sauce portion is inserted in the opening, and an upper end side thereof projects from the sauce-portion arranging surface side.

3. The frozen food according to claim 1 , wherein the sauce portion has a section whose length in a planar direction gradually decreases toward the lower end side.

4. A process for producing the frozen food according to claim 1 , the process for producing the frozen food comprising:
a step of arranging the cooked food on an inner bottom surface of a container whose inner bottom surface is provided with a projection having the same planar-view shape as the opening, the cooked food being arranged on the inner bottom surface so as to surround the projection to thereby obtain a food-housing member that has, on an upper surface thereof, an exposed portion of the projection;
a sauce-placing step of placing the sauce that has been blended with a gelling agent onto the projection's exposed portion, and its periphery, on the upper surface of the food-housing member; and
a step of freezing the food-housing member that has undergone the sauce-placing step.

5. The frozen food production process according to claim 4 , wherein:
the content of the gelling agent in the sauce is from 1 to 10 mass %; and
in the sauce-placing step, a shaped product of the sauce that has been shaped into a predetermined shape in advance is placed on the upper surface of the food-housing member.

6. The frozen food according to claim 2 , wherein the sauce portion has a section whose length in a planar direction gradually decreases toward the lower end side.

7. A process for producing the frozen food according to claim 2 , the process for producing the frozen food comprising:
a step of arranging the cooked food on an inner bottom surface of a container whose inner bottom surface is provided with a projection having the same planar-view shape as the opening, the cooked food being arranged on the inner bottom surface so as to surround the projection to thereby obtain a food-housing member that has, on an upper surface thereof, an exposed portion of the projection;
a sauce-placing step of placing the sauce that has been blended with a gelling agent onto the projection's exposed portion, and its periphery, on the upper surface of the food-housing member; and
a step of freezing the food-housing member that has undergone the sauce-placing step.

8. A process for producing the frozen food according to claim 3 , the process for producing the frozen food comprising:
a step of arranging the cooked food on an inner bottom surface of a container whose inner bottom surface is provided with a projection having the same planar-view shape as the opening, the cooked food being arranged on the inner bottom surface so as to surround the projection to thereby obtain a food-housing member that has, on an upper surface thereof, an exposed portion of the projection;
a sauce-placing step of placing the sauce that has been blended with a gelling agent onto the projection's exposed portion, and its periphery, on the upper surface of the food-housing member; and
a step of freezing the food-housing member that has undergone the sauce-placing step.

Assignees

• Nisshin Foods Inc

Inventors

• Kawahara Toshio
• Nakanishi Yumiko

Classifications

• A23L7/113

  Parboiled or instant pasta · CPC title

• A23B2/80

  Freezing; Subsequent thawing; Cooling · CPC title

• A23B2/8055 Primary

  with packages or with shaping in the form of blocks or portions · CPC title

• A23L7/109

  Types of pasta, e.g. macaroni or noodles · CPC title

• A23V2002/00

  Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs · CPC title