VINEGAR DRIED WITHIN A NATURAL CARRIER

Abstract

A solid vinegar powder and a method to generate the solid vinegar powder is described. The powder comprises an amount of acetic acid in a range of approximately 5% to approximately 50%, an amount of malted wholegrain seed or flour in a range of approximately 50% to approximately 95%, and at least 1% of nutritional components from the malted wholegrain seed or flour that includes fats, proteins, minerals and fibers. The solid vinegar powder is free from an addition of maltodextrin, dextrin, sodium diacetate, and/or modified starch.

Claims

1. A solid vinegar powder comprising: an amount of acetic acid in a range of approximately 5% to approximately 50%; an amount of malted wholegrain seed or flour in a range of approximately 50% to approximately 95%; and at least 1% of nutritional components from the malted wholegrain seed or flour.

2. The solid vinegar powder of claim 1, wherein the malted wholegrain seed or flour is unfermented.

3. The solid vinegar powder of claim 1, wherein the nutritional components from the malted wholegrain seed or flour are selected from the group consisting of: fats, proteins, minerals and fibers.

4. The solid vinegar powder of claim 1, wherein the nutritional components from the malted wholegrain seed or flour are preserved.

5. The solid vinegar powder of claim 1, wherein the solid vinegar powder is free from an addition of carbohydrate gums, maltodextrin, dextrin, sodium diacetate, and/or modified starch.

6. A method to generate a vinegar powder, the method comprising: sprouting or germinating a seed to activate one or more enzymes of the seed or a subsequently derived flour; combining an amount of the seed or the subsequently derived flour with an amount of water at a first temperature in a range of approximately 15° C. to approximately 80° C. to form a preparation; optionally mechanically treating the preparation to provide access of the one or more enzymes to starch molecules; mashing the preparation for a first time period to achieve a brix value of at least half of a percentage of the seed or the subsequently derived flour in the preparation; optionally concentrating the preparation; cooling the concentrated preparation to a second temperature below 90° C.; mixing the cooled preparation with vinegar; and drying the mixture to form a dried vinegar.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the subsequently derived flour is a sprouted brown rice flour, and wherein the amount of the subsequently derived flour is approximately 400 grams.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the amount of the water is approximately 600 grams.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the vinegar is a natural vinegar.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the vinegar is selected from the group consisting of: an apple cider vinegar, a balsamic vinegar, a red wine vinegar, a white wine vinegar, a sherry vinegar, a fig vinegar, a cranberry vinegar, an acerola vinegar, a malt vinegar, and a rice vinegar.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the first temperature is approximately 60° C.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the second temperature is approximately 50° C.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein the first time period is approximately 90 minutes.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein the brix value is above 30.

16. The method of claim 6, wherein the vinegar is approximately 30% white vinegar and is included in an amount of approximately 400 grams.

17. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more enzymes are selected from the group consisting of: diastase, amylase, and protease.

18. The method of claim 6, wherein the vinegar is concentrated using a non-thermal technique.

19. The method of claim 6, wherein the vinegar powder is free from an addition of carbohydrate gums, maltodextrin, dextrin, sodium diacetate, and/or modified starch.

20. The method of claim 6, further comprising: mixing the subsequently derived flour with water to create a mixture; homogenizing the mixture; spray drying the mixture; recovering spray-dried rice flour; reconstituting the spray-dried rice flour with white vinegar to form another mixture; homogenizing the other mixture; and spray drying the other mixture to create a flour powder.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a method to generate a vinegar powder, according to at least some embodiments described herein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Identical elements in the various FIGURES are identified with the same reference numerals.

[0032] Reference will now be made in detail to each embodiment of the present invention. Such embodiments are provided by way of explanation of the present invention, which is not intended to be limited thereto. In fact, those of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate upon reading the present specification and viewing the present drawings that various modifications and variations can be made thereto.

[0033] Typical vinegar powders may be used in numerous and flavorful ways to enhance food products, such as being added to stews, chilis, soups, dressings, marinades, and dry rubs, among other food products not mentioned. Current techniques to create vinegar powders include either neutralizing the vinegar to precipitate the sodium diacetate or by enrobing and spray drying an acidic vinegar within carriers of carbohydrate gum or dextrin. However, the resulting vinegar powder contains numerous highly refined ingredients, which are less preferred by consumers who are looking for all-natural food options. Some of these highly refined ingredients include carbohydrate gums, maltodextrin, dextrin, sodium diacetate, and/or modified starch.

[0034] Instant FIG. 1 provides a flowchart for a method to generate a vinegar powder free from an addition of carbohydrate gums, maltodextrin, dextrin, sodium diacetate, and/or modified starch. A flowchart for a method to generate a vinegar powder is depicted in FIG. 1. The method may start at a process step 102, that includes sprouting or germinating a seed to activate one or more enzymes of the seed or a subsequently derived flour. According to some examples, the subsequently derived flour may be a malted wholegrain flour. In other examples, the subsequently derived flour may be an unfermented malted wholegrain flour. In further examples, the subsequently derived flour is a sprouted brown rice flour. The one or more enzymes may include: diastase, amylase, and/or protease, among other amylolytic enzymes not explicitly described herein. FIG. 1 provides an improvement compared to simply plating vinegar onto raw flour.

[0035] The process step 102 is followed by a process step 104, where an amount of the seed or the subsequently derived flour is combined with approximately 600 grams of water at a first temperature in a range of approximately 15° C. to approximately 80° C. to form a preparation. The subsequently derived flour may be a sprouted brown rice flour and may be present in approximately 400 grams. In examples, the first temperature is approximately 60° C.

[0036] The process step 104 is followed by a process step 106, where the water-flour mixture (e.g., the preparation) is optionally mechanically treated to provide access of the one or more enzymes to starch molecules. Mechanically treating the flour mash can liberate starch granules from the flour matrix, enhance a starch gelatinization rate, and disperse starch molecules so as to make them more exposed to the action of enzymes. The process step 104 results in a more controlled hydrolysis and a narrow molecular weight distribution.

[0037] The process step 106 is followed by a process step 108, where the preparation is mashed for approximately 90 minutes to achieve a brix value, expressed as degrees Brix (° Bx), which is indicitive of refractive index. The brix value of the process step 108 is at least half of a percentage of the seed or the subsequently derived flour in the preparation. In examples, the brix value is above 30. According to some examples, the process step 108 may occur via a thermal blender. The mashing step may convert the flour into a soluble natural carrier for enrobing.

[0038] The process step 108 is followed by a process step 110, where the preparation is optionally concentrated to achieve a solids level of the preparation above 40% to dehydrate the preparation ahead of adding an aqueous vinegar solution. The process step 110 is followed by a process step 112, where the concentrated preparation is cooled to a second temperature below 90° C. and then is mixed with approximately 400 grams of a vinegar. In examples, the second temperature is 50° C. In examples, the vinegar is a natural vinegar, which may include: an apple cider vinegar, a balsamic vinegar, a red wine vinegar, a white wine vinegar, a sherry vinegar, a fig vinegar, a cranberry vinegar, an acerola vinegar, a malt vinegar, and/or a rice vinegar, among other examples not explicitly described herein. In further examples, vinegar is an approximately 30% white vinegar and is included in an amount of approximately 400 grams. In other examples the vinegar is concentrated prior to the step 110 by freeze concentration or distillation. In some examples, the vinegar is concentrated using a non-thermals technique, such as reverse and forward osmosis.

[0039] The process step 112 is followed by a process step 114, where the mixture is dried, via spray drying, with an inlet temperature between approximately 80° C. and approximately 200° C. and an outlet temperature between approximately 50° C. and approximately 100° C. to instantly form a dried vinegar powder. The process step 114 may occur for approximately 4 hours. In other examples, the process step 114 may occur via a convection oven or a food dehydrator. The process step 114 ends the method to generate the vinegar powder in FIG. 1.

[0040] An instant example applying the method to generate the vinegar powder of FIG. 1 is described herein. The step 102 includes sprouting or germinating a seed to activate one or more enzymes of the seed or a subsequently derived flour. The step 104 includes combining an amount of the seed or approximately 400 grams of the subsequently derived flour with approximately 600 grams of water at a first temperature in a range of approximately 15° C. to approximately 80° C. to form a preparation. The step 106 includes optionally mechanically treating the preparation of step 104 to enhance access of the one or more enzymes to starch molecules. The step 108 includes mashing the preparation for approximately 90 minutes in a thermal blender, such as a Bellini model blender, to achieve a brix value of at least half of a percentage of the seed or the subsequently derived flour in the preparation. The step 110 includes optionally concentrating the preparation by boiling. The step 112 includes cooling the concentrated preparation to a second temperature below 90° C. The step 112 may also include mixing the cooled preparation of with 400 grams of a 30% white vinegar by stirring. The step 114 may include casting the preparation into a thin film and drying the preparation within a Nesco FD-75 food dehydrator for approximately 4 hours at 50° C. to create a dried vinegar.

[0041] The vinegar powder generated by the method of FIG. 1 is a solid vinegar powder that uses a whole unrefined grain and imparts all of the nutrients of the whole grain to the vinegar powder. The vinegar powder also fails to contain an added carbohydrate gums, maltodextrin, dextrin, and/or modified starch, and thus, provides the benefit of having a solid composition or configuration, while including less refined ingredients prior to current methods in the field. Moreover, the vinegar powder generated by the method of FIG. 1 includes: an amount of acetic acid in a range of approximately 5% to approximately 50%, an amount of malted wholegrain seed or flour in a range of approximately 50% to approximately 95%, and at least 1% of nutritional components from the malted wholegrain seed or flour. In examples, the malted wholegrain seed or flour is unfermented. In examples, the nutritional components from the malted wholegrain seed or flour may include fats, proteins, minerals, and/or fibers. In other examples, the nutritional components from the malted wholegrain seed or flour are preserved. The vinegar powder generated by the method of FIG. 1 may be useful as a dry seasoning for one or more food products, as a natural preservative, as a meat tenderizer, and/or for dosing vinegar into applications (such as sausages) where a liquid form of vinegar would carry in too much water.

[0042] The present invention also describes a method to create a spray dried vinegar. In this illustrative example, rice flour is spray-dried twice, but the method follows the process described for FIG. 1 if the first spray drying is considered to occur at the process step 110. Specifically, according to this method to create the spray dried vinegar, approximately 800 grams of malted sweet rice flour (Eckert Malting, Chico, Calif.) is first combined with approximately 1200 grams of water at approximately 70° C. and is mixed for approximately 90 minutes to create a feed suitable for spray drying. Next, the mixture is homogenized using a Silverson L5M-A mixer for approximately 10 minutes at approximately 10,000 rpm. The mixture is then spray dried using a Toption TP-S50 pilot spray dryer with a rotary atomization wheel. It should be appreciated that an inlet temperature is approximately 140° C. and an outlet temperature is approximately 100° C. Next, the method includes recovering the spray-dried rice flour.

[0043] A measure of approximately 500 grams of the spray-dried rice flour may then be reconstituted with an addition of approximately 500 grams of 30% white vinegar. This mixture may then be homogenized using the Silverson 15M-A mixer for approximately 10 minutes at approximately 10,000 rpm. The feed has a pH value of 3.0. The mixture is then spray dried with the inlet temperature of approximately 120° C. and the outlet temperature of approximately 80° C. to create a vinegar/rice flour powder, which possesses a potent vinegar character.

[0044] When introducing elements of the present disclosure or the embodiments thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. Similarly, the adjective “another,” when used to introduce an element, is intended to mean one or more elements. The terms “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive such that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

[0045] Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of illustration and that numerous changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.