Shelf stable fried product and process for creating the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12382979-B2
Application number	US-202218085198-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2022
Priority date	Jul 18, 2008
Publication date	Aug 12, 2025
Grant date	Aug 12, 2025

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 onion product which is ready for consumption from a package without cooking or thawing preparation, the packaged shelf stable onion product having an inner portion and an outer portion, the shelf stable onion product comprising:
a fried onion portion;
a batter portion;
a void portion between the batter portion and the fried onion portion;
a fat content of the outer portion of about 55% to about 95% of total fat content of the packaged shelf stable onion product which is ready-for-consumption from the package without cooking or thawing preparation;
about 1% wt moisture to about 10% wt moisture of the packaged shelf stable onion product which is ready-for-consumption from the package without cooking or thawing preparation; and
a water activity of about 0.1 to about 0.6 of the packaged shelf stable onion product which is ready-for-consumption from the package without cooking or thawing preparation.

2. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 1 , wherein the outer portion includes the batter portion.

3. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 2 , wherein the outer surface of the batter portion includes about 30% to about 95% of the total fat of the shelf stable onion product.

4. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 1 , wherein the inner portion includes the void portion and the fried onion portion.

5. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 4 , further comprising a fat differential between the inner portion and the outer portion of about 10% to about 90%.

6. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 1 , wherein the batter portion of the shelf stable onion product includes a hardness of about 500 g to about 3000 g at a strain of about 2 mm to about 15 mm.

7. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 1 , wherein the wt moisture is about 1% wt moisture to about 5% wt moisture.

8. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 1 , wherein the wt moisture is about 1% wt moisture to about 3% wt moisture.

9. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 1 , wherein the water activity is about 0.1 to about 0.4.

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

11. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 1 , wherein the shelf stable onion product is made by a process, the process comprising:
applying a batter to a onion piece to create a onion piece having a batter; and
frying the onion piece having the batter in oil to create a fried onion product having a void portion and the fat content of the outer portion of 55% to about 95% of total fat content of the shelf stable onion product.

12. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 11 , further comprising freezing the onion piece having the batter.

13. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 12 , wherein freezing includes freezing the onion piece having the batter at sub-zero temperatures.

14. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 11 , wherein frying includes at least one member of a group comprising: atmospheric frying and vacuum frying.

15. The packaged shelf stable onion product of claim 11 , further comprising packaging the fried onion product in a package, the package having reduced atmospheric oxygen levels.

16. A process for making a packaged shelf stable onion product which is ready for consumption from a package without cooking or thawing preparation, the process comprising:
applying a batter to an onion piece to create an onion piece having a batter;
frying the onion piece having the batter in oil to a final moisture content of about 1% wt moisture to about 10% wt moisture to create a fried onion product having a fat content of the batter of about 55% to about 95% of the total fat of the shelf stable onion product; and
packaging the fried onion product in a package having reduced atmospheric oxygen levels to create the shelf stable onion product which is ready for consumption from a package without cooking or thawing preparation, wherein the shelf stable onion product includes:
a fried onion portion;
a batter portion;
a fat content of the batter portion of about 55% to about 95% of total fat content of the shelf stable onion product;
a final moisture content of about 1% wt moisture to about 10% wt moisture; and
a water activity of about 0.1 to about 0.6.

17. The process of claim 16 , further comprising freezing the onion piece having the batter prior to frying.

18. The process of claim 17 , wherein freezing includes freezing at sub-zero temperatures.

19. The process of claim 17 , wherein freezing includes initially cooling to a temperature of about 40° F. to about 180° F. prior to freezing.

20. The process of claim 16 , wherein frying includes at least one member of a group consisting of: atmospheric frying and vacuum frying.

Assignees

• Conagra Foods Rdm Inc

Inventors

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

Classifications

• B65B25/001

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

• A23V2002/00

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

• A23L19/105

  Sweet potatoes · CPC title

• A23L19/05

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

• A23L19/00

  Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof (marmalades, jams, jellies or the like A23L21/10; treating harvested fruit or vegetables in bulk A23N) · CPC title