Powder for browning food surfaces

Abstract

A powder for coloring a food product or a food product surface when heated, the powder containing a plant extract, a chemical base, and a carrier. The plant extract contains a compound with at least one aromatic ring having at least two hydroxyl groups borne by two adjacent carbon atoms of that aromatic ring.

The invention is claimed as follows: 
     
         1 . A food product comprising a powder comprising a chemical base that is 5 to 40 wt. % of the powder, wherein the powder remains in a powdered form, the food product further comprising a carrier and a plant extract comprising a compound with at least one aromatic ring having at least two hydroxyl groups borne by two adjacent carbon atoms of the at least one aromatic ring. 
     
     
         2 . The food product of  claim 1  which is a dough product. 
     
     
         3 . The food product of  claim 1 , wherein the food product is frozen. 
     
     
         4 . The food product of  claim 1 , wherein the compound is selected from the group consisting of catechin, epicatechin, (epi)catechin-gallate, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, rosmarinic acid, quercetin, caftaric acid, rutin and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The food product of  claim 1 , wherein the plant extract comprises 4-70 wt. % of the compound. 
     
     
         6 . The food product of  claim 1 , wherein the plant extract is an extract from a plant selected from the group consisting of tea, grape seed, onion, coffee, artichoke, chicory, rosemary, oregano, basil, apple, eggplant, grape, pear, plum, potato, sunflower, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The food product of  claim 1 , wherein the chemical base is selected from the group consisting of sodium bicarbonate, sodium or potassium hydroxide and calcium carbonate. 
     
     
         8 . The food product of  claim 1 , wherein the carrier is flour. 
     
     
         9 . The food product of  claim 8 , wherein the flour is selected from the group consisting of wheat, corn, rice, maize, buckwheat, chestnut, quinoa and soy flour. 
     
     
         10 . The food product of  claim 1 , wherein the compound is present in an amount of 0.001 to 10 wt. % of the powder. 11: The food product of  claim 1 , wherein the compound is present in an amount of 0.05 to 0.5 wt. % of the powder. 
     
     
         12 . The food product of  claim 1 , wherein the chemical base is present in an amount of 10 to 15 wt. % of the powder.