SEMI-FINISHED POWDERY FOOD PRODUCT BASED ON VEGETABLE FOOD AND A PROCESS FOR PRODUCTION THEREOF

Abstract

Disclosed is a powder and dehydrated product essentially including, or consisting of, a food of plant origin with a lipid content of at least 30% by weight, and a water-soluble bulking agent. Also disclosed is a process for preparing this powder product.

Claims

1. A semi-processed food product P in powder form having a moisture content equal to or lower than 10% by weight, said product P essentially comprising the following components: a) a vegetable food (a) selected from oily fruits with a lipid content of at least 30% by weight, and b) a vegetable bulking agent, at least 95% by weight water-soluble; said components (a) and (b) being in a ratio (by weight) varying from 1:1 to 1:7.

2. The product P according to claim 1, consisting of components (a) and (b) and wherein the components (a) and (b) are quantitatively (percentage by weight) from 13 to 45% of said food of plant origin (a), and from 55 to 87% of maltodextrins.

3. The product P according to claim 1, wherein the food of plant origin is selected from at least one fruit belonging to the group of oleaginous fruits selected from: cashew nuts, peanuts, sweet almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts and mixes thereof.

4. The product P according to claim 3, wherein the oleaginous fruit is the sweet or bitter almond or a mixture of these fruits.

5. The product P according to claim 1, wherein the food of plant origin (a) is in raw or roasted form.

6. The product P according to claim 1, wherein the raw fruit is in dehydrated or non-dehydrated form.

7. The product P according to claim 1 having a lipid content of between 2.5 and 20% by weight.

8. The product P according to claim 1, having a grain size of the powder of between 80 and 250 μm.

9. A process for preparing the product P according to claim 1, comprising the following stages: I) preparing a mixture M by means of mixing at least the following components: a food of plant origin (I) in paste or cream form obtained from at least one oleaginous fruit having a lipid content of at least 30% by weight, and a soluble vegetable bulking agent, or being at least 70% by weight water-soluble; said food of plant origin (I) and vegetable bulking agent being mixed in a ratio by weight varying from 1:1 to 1:7; II) subjecting the mixture M prepared in the preceding stage to nebulization/atomization; III) obtaining a product in powder form by means of dehydrating the product obtained in the preceding stage.

10. The process according to claim 9, wherein the ratio by weight between the food of plant origin (I) and vegetable bulking agent in the mixture M varies from 1:1.2 to 1:7.

11. The process according to claim 9, wherein the mixture M is subjected to a spray-drying process.

12. Finished food products in liquid, cream or paste, or also solid, form, obtained with the product P according to claim 1.

13. Milk substitute plant based beverages or ice cream, puddings, bakery products, creams and sauces obtained with the product P according to claim 12.

14. The product of claim 1, wherein the components (a) and (b) are in a ratio (by weight) varying from 1:1.2 to 1:7.

15. The product P according to claim 2, wherein the food of plant origin (a) is in raw or roasted form.

16. The product P according to claim 3, wherein the food of plant origin (a) is in raw or roasted form.

17. The product P according to claim 4, wherein the food of plant origin (a) is in raw or roasted form.

18. The product P according to claim 2, wherein the raw fruit is in dehydrated or non-dehydrated form.

19. The product P according to claim 3, wherein the raw fruit is in dehydrated or non-dehydrated form.

20. The product P according to claim 4, wherein the raw fruit is in dehydrated or non-dehydrated form.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Example 1

[0109] Preparation of the mixture M based on sweet almonds A mixture M is prepared using an almond paste containing only sweet almonds of the Tuono variety from Val di Noto; this paste is produced by the company Di Bartolo S.r.l. Said paste has the following properties: [0110] lipid content of 55.3% by weight, [0111] moisture content of 1.60%.

[0112] Said mixture M is prepared starting from (parts by weight): [0113] parts of said sweet almond paste, and [0114] 75 parts of maltodextrins in white powder form.

[0115] The maltodextrins used have the following properties: [0116] dextrose equivalent content of between 18 and 20, [0117] apparent density (poured bulk density) of around 500 g/l, [0118] particle size: larger than 250 μm in an amount no greater than 10%, and smaller than 40 μm in an amount below 50%.

[0119] This mixture is produced in a mixer. The mixing process is performed at a temperature of 25° C., mixing at constant speed.

[0120] This mixture is in paste form, having a viscosity of below 200 cps. The mixture has a pH of between 5 and 6.

[0121] Spray-drying process

[0122] Subsequently, this mixture M is subjected to a spray drying process, i.e., it is first atomized in a rotary atomizer and then dehydrated in a dehydration chamber.

[0123] The droplets thus formed are washed by a counterflow of hot air at a temperature ranging from 175° to 185° C.

[0124] At the end of the process, dehydrated fine powder having a grain size ranging from 140 to 180 μm is formed.

[0125] The product P obtained is a powder, having a moisture content of 4.68%.

[0126] This powder is white in color and has a very delicate flavor.

[0127] Said fine powder thus obtained is rehydrated in proportions of 100 grams of powder with 500 grams of water, following mixing at room temperature, with the formation of a milky liquid.

[0128] The production of both ice cream and of puddings took place without difficulty using this milky liquid formed with the product P thus obtained in place of cow's milk, as did the production of bakery products directly using the product P in powder form.

[0129] Organoleptic test: end products in the form of a cream and bakery products were tasted by a panel of tasters, who did not detect any unpleasant odors and flavors.