Sweet Potato (ipomoea batatas) Liquid

Abstract

What is disclosed is a method of maximizing the juice obtained from juicing a sweet potato by freezing and thawing the sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are considered a super food in today's culture due to the large number of vitamins found within sweet potatoes. At current, sweet potato juice by itself is not known to be disseminated in significant commercial quantities, which may be due to an inability to obtain commercially viable amounts of sweet potato juice with a reasonable economic expenditure. Accordingly, what is disclosed is a method of obtaining the juice economically with potential uses of the juice discussed.

Claims

1. A method of juicing a sweet potato, wherein said method comprises the step of freezing a sweet potato by placing said sweet potato in sub freezing temperatures until said sweet potato is completely frozen, the step of thawing said sweet potato after freezing said sweet potato, and the step of extracting the liquid from said sweet potato immediately after said sweet potato has frozen completely, wherein said liquid is extracted by utilizing a juicer to extract the sweet potato juice and leaving sweet potato pulp.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said sweet potato is kept at a temperature of less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the method, wherein said sweet potato liquid is kept at a temperature of less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit following said juicing process and at least until a step of bottling said sweet potato liquid.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said method comprises the step of pasteurizing said sweet potato liquid.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said method comprises juicing a plurality of sweet potatoes in batches, wherein said step of thawing a batch of sweet potatoes comprises thawing said first batch of sweet potatoes in the presence of a second batch of sweet potatoes prior to said second batch having been frozen causing the higher temperature of said second batch to thaw said first batch and thus cool said second batch of sweet potatoes.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said method comprises the step of processing said sweet potato pulp for use as a human foodstuff.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said method comprises the step of processing said sweet potato pulp for use as an animal foodstuff.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said method comprises the step of dehydrating said sweet potato pulp.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said method comprises the step of caffeinating the said sweet potato liquid.

9. The method of juicing a sweet potato of claim 8, wherein said method further comprises the step of adding at least one ingredient selected from the list consisting of vitamin B12, vitamin B6, Vitamin B3, and taurine to the sweet potato liquid extracted from said sweet potato.

10. The method of juicing a sweet potato of claim 1, wherein said method comprises the step of adding at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of niacin, folic acid, riboflavin, cyanocobalamin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, L-carnitine, glucuronolactone, creatine, L-theanine, Ginkgo Biloba, pantothenic acid, ginseng, caffeine, guarana, and taurine to the sweet potato liquid extracted from said sweet potato.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of processing said sweet potato pulp for a human foodstuff comprises seasoning said sweet potato pulp and packaging said sweet potato pulp as a product selected from the group consisting of hashbrowns and burger patties.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein method further comprises the step of treating said liquid extracted from said sweet potato by a process to reduce and/or eliminate pathogens in said sweet potato juice selected from the group consisting of ultra pasteurization and filtration.

13. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of thawing said first batch of sweet potatoes comprises separating said first batch of sweet potatoes and said second batch of sweet potatoes with a physical barrier configured to prevent pathogens from transferring from between said first and second batches of sweet potatoes, wherein said barrier is configured for thermal transfer between said first batch of sweet potatoes and said second batch of sweet potatoes.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said sweet potato is juiced within 24-36 hours of placement into said temperatures sufficient for freezing said sweet potato.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said sweet potato is removed from said freezing temperatures within one hour of freezing completely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0064] While the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the inventive concept(s) to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the inventive concept(s) as defined in the claims.

[0065] While the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the inventive concept(s) to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the inventive concept(s) as defined in the claims.

[0066] What is disclosed is a method of juicing a sweet potato and making a drink out of the sweet potato juice extracted there from. The method utilizes the step of freezing a sweet potato by placing said sweet potato in temperatures sufficient to freeze a sweet potato and leaving the sweet potato until the sweet potato is completely frozen. The sweet potato is then thawed after being allowed to freeze completely. It is thought that the time to freeze a sweet potato is 24-36 hours of being placed in a standard freezer of approximately five degrees Fahrenheit, although this could be reduced or other techniques of freezing can be utilized, such as multi-station plater forster, air-blast freezing tunnels, fluidized bed freezers, immersion freezing, and the Freeze Flo process.

[0067] After the sweet potato is completely frozen, which can be easily tested by known means, the sweet potato is thawed. In a preferred embodiment batches of sweet potato are frozen, with frozen batches being utilized to chill subsequent batches, which assists in lowering the overall energy cost needed to freeze the subsequent batch of sweet potatoes. Preferably this step will utilize a physical barrier configured to prevent pathogens from transferring between batches of sweet potatoes yet allow for thermal transfer between the batches of sweet potatoes. In a preferred embodiment the sweet potato and subsequently the juiced liquid are kept at a temperature of less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and preferably less than 37 degrees Fahrenheit but sufficiently high enough to prevent the extracted juice from freezing. Maintaining low temperature is preferred in order to minimize potential pathogen growth and ideally to prevent the need of further processing of the juice.

[0068] After the sweet potatoes have thawed ideally completely, the liquid is extracted from the sweet potatoes. Preferably, the liquid is extracted by utilizing a juicer (preferably a commercial juicer) to extract the sweet potato juice and leaving sweet potato pulp. This pulp can subsequently be processed for use in human and/or animal food. For example, the sweet potato pulp can be dehydrated for processing as, for example, hash browns or burger patties (such as vegan burger patties). Alternatively the pulp can be utilized as feed for animals.

[0069] After the juice has been extracted it can be directly packaged for distribution or shipped to a further processing facility for bottling and/or further processing. The sweet potato liquid extract can be pasteurized (including ultra-pasteurization) or filtered to remove potential pathogens.

[0070] The sweet potato liquid can be provided to consumers without further processing as a healthy juice or alternatively additive can be added to the juice. For example, the juice can have further vitamins and/or minerals added, caffeine, and/or further energy supplements. The juice can be formulated as an energy drink or left as raw sweet potato juice. For example, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, Vitamin B3, and/or taurine can be added to to the sweet potato liquid extracted from the sweet potato. Niacin, folic acid, riboflavin, cyanocobalamin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, L-carnitine, glucuronolactone, creatine, L-theanine, Ginkgo Biloba, pantothenic acid, ginseng, caffeine, guarana, and/or taurine can also be added to the sweet potato liquid extracted from said sweet potato.

[0071] While certain preferred embodiments are shown in the figures and described in this disclosure, it is to be distinctly understood that the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims. From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the following claims.