Thermally inhibited flours for improved retort efficiency

Abstract

The application relates to a process comprising retorting a food product comprising thermally inhibited flour for a time from about 15 minutes to about 80 minutes to achieve a F 0 value of at least 10.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A process comprising retorting a food product comprising thermally inhibited flour for a time from about 15 minutes to about 80 minutes to achieve a F 0  value of at least 10. 
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the time is from about 50 minutes to about 70 minutes. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the thermally inhibited flour comprises from about 0.1 wt % to about 20 wt % of the total weight of the retorted food product. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 3 , wherein the thermally inhibited flour comprises from about 5% (wt/wt) to about 7% (wt/wt) of the total weight of the retorted food product. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the time to achieve a F 0  value of at least 10 is at least 10% less than the time to achieve a F 0  value of at least 10 with a flour which was not thermally inhibited. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 5 , wherein the time to achieve a F 0  value of at least 10 is at least 20% less than the time to achieve a F 0  value of at least 10 with a flour which was not thermally inhibited. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 6 , wherein the time to achieve a F 0  value of at least 10 is at least 30% less than the time to achieve a F 0  value of at least 10 with a flour which was not thermally inhibited. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the thermally inhibited flour comprises from about 10 wt % to about 100 wt % of the starch and/or flour in the food product. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 8 , wherein the thermally inhibited flour is the only starch or flour in the food product. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the thermally inhibited flour has replaced an equivalent amount of the same flour which was not thermally inhibited on a 1:1 wt/wt basis in the retorted food product. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the retorted food product is soup, sauce, gravy, or beverage. 
     
     
         12 . A process comprising:
 a) substituting thermally inhibited flour for a larger amount of flour which was not thermally inhibited on a less than 1:1 wt/wt basis in a food product; and   b) retorting the food product comprising thermally inhibited flour for a time from about 15 minutes to about 80 minutes to achieve a F 0  value of at least 10.   
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the amount of the thermally inhibited flour is in an amount of at least 5% (wt/wt) less than the flour which was not thermally inhibited. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein the amount of the thermally inhibited flour is in an amount of at least 10% (wt/wt) less than the flour which was not thermally inhibited. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein the amount of the thermally inhibited flour is in an amount of at least 15% (wt/wt) less than the flour which was not thermally inhibited. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the thermally inhibited flour comprises from about 10 wt % to about 100 wt % of the starch and/or flour in the food product. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 16 , wherein the thermally inhibited flour is the only starch or flour in the food product. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the thermally inhibited flour comprises from about 0.1 wt % to about 20 wt % of the total weight of the retorted food product. 
     
     
         19 . The retorted product of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         20 . The retorted product of  claim 12 .