Process for making free-flowing, coated, frozen food

Abstract

A free-flowing, coated, frozen food and a method for making the same are disclosed. Discrete pieces of a free-flowing frozen food are introduced into a coating vessel where they are agitated to expose their surfaces and to maintain their free-flowing state throughout the coating process. A liquid coating material is sprayed onto the free-flowing pieces to cause coating material to adhere and the temperature at the surfaces of the frozen food pieces to rise. The surfaces of frozen food pieces are then recooled with a cryogen. The spraying and recooling steps are repeated until a thorough, even coating is built up on the discrete pieces of free-flowing food.

1. A process for coating discrete pieces of a free-flowing, frozen food comprising the steps of:
 (a) loading discrete pieces of a free-flowing, frozen food in a coating vessel;    (b) agitating the discrete frozen food pieces to expose their surfaces and to maintain the discrete pieces in a free-flowing state throughout a coating process;    (c) spraying a liquid coating material onto the exposed surfaces of the free-flowing pieces to cause coating material to adhere to the surfaces and thereby to cause the temperature of the frozen food pieces to rise;    (d) introducing a cryogen into the coating vessel to recool the frozen food pieces; and    (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) until a thorough, even coating is built up on the discrete pieces of free-flowing, frozen food.    
     
     
       2. The process in accordance with  claim 1   A process for coating discrete pieces of a free- flowing, frozen food comprising:  
   a )  loading discrete pieces of a free - flowing, frozen food in a coating vessel;    
   b )  agitating the discrete frozen food pieces to expose their surfaces and to maintain the discrete pieces in a free - flowing state throughout a coating process;    
   c )  spraying a liquid coating material onto the exposed surfaces of the free - flowing pieces to cause coating material to adhere to the surfaces thereby causing the temperature of the frozen food pieces to rise;    
   d )  introducing a cryogen into the coating vessel to recool the frozen food pieces; and    
   e )  repeating steps c and d until a thorough, even coating is built up on the discrete pieces of free - flowing, frozen food , wherein the temperature of the frozen food is less than about −25° F. when it is first sprayed with the liquid coating material in step  (c).  
 
     
     
       3. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , further comprising reducing the temperature of the frozen food pieces initially having a temperature greater than about 10° F. with the cryogen in the coating vessel before the frozen food pieces are sprayed with the liquid coating material in step  (c). 
     
     
       4. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , further comprising reducing the temperature of the frozen food pieces initially having a temperature greater than about 0° F. with the cryogen in the coating vessel before the frozen food pieces are sprayed with the liquid coating material in step  (c). 
     
     
       5. The process in accordance with claim  1    2 , further comprising stopping the spraying in step  (c), before the recooling with the cryogen in step  (d). 
     
     
       6. The process in accordance with claim  1    2 , further comprising stopping the recooling in step  (d), before repeating step  (c). 
     
     
       7. The process in accordance with claim  1    2 , wherein the food pieces are recooled to a temperature of less than about 0° F. by at least one of the recooling steps  in (d). 
     
     
       8. The process in accordance with claim  1    2 , wherein the food pieces are recooled to a temperature of less than about −20° F. by at least one of the recooling steps  in (d). 
     
     
       9. The process in accordance with claim  1    2 , wherein the food pieces are recooled to a temperature of less than about −35° F. by at least one of the recooling steps  in (d). 
     
     
       10. The process in accordance with claim  1    2 , wherein the frozen food is selected from the group consisting of pasta, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, meats, seafood, simulated-eggs and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
       11. The process in accordance with  claim 10 , wherein the frozen food is pasta. 
     
     
       12. The process in accordance with  claim 11 , further comprising coating the pasta with from about 0.1 to about 5% fatty material, based on the weight of the coated pasta, prior to individually quick freezing the pasta. 
     
     
       13. The process in accordance with  claim 12 , wherein the pasta is coated with from about 0.5 to about 3% soybean oil, corn oil, olive oil, cotton seed oil, butter, cream, or margarine, prior to being individually quick frozen. 
     
     
       14. The process in accordance with  claim 1   A process for coating discrete pieces of a free- flowing, frozen food comprising:  
   a )  loading discrete pieces of a free - flowing, frozen food in a coating vessel;    
   b )  agitating the discrete frozen food pieces to expose their surfaces and to maintain the discrete pieces in a free - flowing state throughout a coating process;    
   c )  spraying a liquid coating material onto the exposed surfaces of the free - flowing pieces to cause coating material to adhere to the surfaces thereby causing the temperature of the frozen food pieces to rise;    
   d )  introducing a cryogen into the coating vessel to recool the frozen food pieces; and    
   e )  repeating  ( c )  and  ( d )  until a thorough, even coating is built up on the discrete pieces of free - flowing, frozen food , wherein the liquid coating material is sprayed at a pressure of from about 0 psig to about 100 psig.  
 
     
     
       15. The process in accordance with  claim 14 , wherein the liquid coating material is sprayed at a pressure of from about 20 psig to about 60 psig. 
     
     
       16. The process in accordance with  claim 1   A process for coating discrete pieces of a free- flowing, frozen food comprising:  
   a )  loading discrete pieces of a free - flowing, frozen food in a coating vessel;    
   b )  agitating the discrete frozen food pieces to expose their surfaces and to maintain the discrete pieces in a free - flowing state throughout a coating process;    
   c )  spraying a liquid coating material onto the exposed surfaces of the free - flowing pieces to cause coating material to ad here to the surfaces thereby causing the temperature of the frozen food pieces to rise;    
   d )  introducing a cryogen into the coating vessel to recool the frozen food pieces; and    
   e )  repeating  ( c )  and  ( d )  until a thorough, even coating is built up on the discrete pieces of free - flowing, frozen food , wherein the cryogen is carbon dioxide or nitrogen.  
 
     
     
       17. The process in accordance with  claim 1   A process for coating discrete pieces of a free- flowing, frozen food comprising:  
   a )  loading discrete pieces of a free - flowing, frozen food in a coating vessel;    
   b )  agitating the discrete frozen food pieces to expose their surfaces and to maintain the discrete pieces in a free - flowing state throughout a coating process;    
   c )  spraying a liquid coating material onto the exposed surfaces of the free - flowing pieces to cause coating material to adhere to the surfaces thereby causing the temperature of the frozen food pieces to rise;    
   d )  introducing a cryogen into the coating vessel to recool the frozen food pieces; and    
   e )  repeating  ( c )  and  ( d )  until a thorough, even coating is built up on the discrete pieces of free - flowing, frozen food , wherein the coating weighs in the range of from about 5 wt. % to about 75 wt. %, based on the weight of the coated food.  
 
     
     
       18. The process in accordance with  claim 1   A process for coating discrete pieces of a free- flowing, frozen food comprising:  
   a )  loading discrete pieces of a free - flowing, frozen food in a coating vessel;    
   b )  agitating the discrete frozen food pieces to expose their surfaces and to maintain the discrete pieces in a free - flowing state throughout a coating process;    
   c )  spraying a liquid coating material onto the exposed surfaces of the free - flowing pieces to cause coating material to adhere to the surfaces thereby causing the temperature of the frozen food pieces to rise;    
   d )  introducing a cryogen into the coating vessel to recool the frozen food pieces; and    
   e )  repeating  ( c )  and  ( d )  until a thorough, even coating is built up on the discrete pieces of free - flowing, frozen food , wherein the coating weighs in the range of from about 35 wt. % to about 65 wt. %, based on the weight of the coated food.  
 
     
     
       19. The process in accordance with  claim 1   A process for coating discrete pieces of a free- flowing, frozen food comprising:  
   a )  loading discrete pieces of a free - flowing, frozen food in a coating vessel;    
   b )  agitating the discrete frozen food pieces to expose their surfaces and to maintain the discrete pieces in a free - flowing state throughout a coating process;    
   c )  spraying a liquid coating material onto the exposed surfaces of the free - flowing pieces to cause coating material to adhere to the surfaces thereby causing the temperature of the frozen food pieces to rise;    
   d )  introducing a cryogen into the coating vessel to recool the frozen food pieces; and    
   e )  repeating  ( c )  and  ( d )  until a thorough, even coating is built up on the discrete pieces of free - flowing, frozen food , further comprising blending discrete pieces of an additional frozen food with the coated, frozen food.  
 
     
     
       20. The process in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein the additional frozen food is selected from the group consisting of meat, vegetables or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       21. The process in accordance with claim  1    2 , wherein the process is a batch process. 
     
     
       22. The process in accordance with  claim 21 , wherein the coating vessel is a rotatable coating drum. 
     
     
       23. The process in accordance with  claim 22 , wherein the agitation is by rotating the coating drum at a speed of from about 5 to about 20 rpm. 
     
     
       24. The process in accordance with  claim 1   A process for coating discrete pieces of a free- flowing, frozen food comprising:  
   a )  loading discrete pieces of a free - flowing, frozen food in a coating vessel;    
   b )  agitating the discrete frozen food pieces to expose their surfaces and to maintain the discrete pieces in a free - flowing state throughout a coating process;    
   c )  spraying a liquid coating material onto the exposed surfaces of the free - flowing pieces to cause coating material to adhere to the surfaces thereby causing the temperature of the frozen food pieces to rise;    
   d )  introducing a cryogen into the coating vessel to recool the frozen food pieces; and    
   e )  repeating  ( c )  and  ( d )  until a thorough, even coating is built up on the discrete pieces of free - flowing, frozen food , wherein the process is a continuous process.  
 
     
     
       25. A process for coating discrete pieces of a free-flowing, frozen food comprising:
 (a) loading discrete pieces of an individually quick frozen food selected from the group consisting of pasta, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, meats, seafood, simulated-eggs, and mixtures thereof into a coating vessel, the temperature of the individually quick frozen food being greater than about 0° F.;  
 (b) introducing a flow of a cryogen selected from the group consisting of carbon dioxide and nitrogen into the coating vessel and reducing the temperature of the frozen food pieces to less than about −25° F.;  
 (c) agitating the discrete frozen food pieces to expose their surfaces and to maintain the discrete pieces in a free-flowing state throughout a coating process;  
 (d) spraying a liquid coating material onto the exposed surfaces of the free-flowing pieces to cause coating material to adhere to the surfaces and thereby to cause the temperature of the frozen food pieces to rise;  
 (e) stopping the spray of liquid coating material and resuming the flow of cryogen into the coating vessel to recool the frozen food pieces with the cryogen; and  
 (f) stopping the flow of the cryogen and then repeating steps  (d) and (e) until a thorough, even coating weighing in the range of from about 5 wt. % to about 75 wt. %, based on the weight of the coated food, is built up on the discrete pieces of free-flowing food.  
 
     
     
       26. The process in accordance with  claim 25 , wherein the food pieces are recooled to a temperature of less than about 0° F. by at least one of the recooling steps  (e) or (f). 
     
     
       27. The process in accordance with  claim 25 , wherein the food pieces are recooled to a temperature of less than about −20° F. by at least one of the recooling steps  (e) or (f). 
     
     
       28. The process in accordance with  claim 25 , wherein the food pieces are recooled to a temperature of less than about −35° F. by at least one of the recooling steps  (e) or (f). 
     
     
       29. The process in accordance with  claim 25 , wherein the frozen food is pasta. 
     
     
       30. The process in accordance with  claim 25 , wherein the coating weighs in the range of from about 35 wt. % to about 65 wt. %, based on the weight of the coated food. 
     
     
       31. The process in accordance with  claim 25 , wherein the process is a batch process. 
     
     
       32. The process in accordance with  claim 25 , wherein the coating vessel is a rotatable coating-drum  coating drum and the frozen food pieces are agitated by rotating the coating-drum  coating drum at a speed of from about 5 to about 20 rpm. 
     
     
       33. The process in accordance with  claim 25 , wherein the process is a continuous process. 
     
     
       34. The process in accordance with  claim 25 , further comprising blending discrete pieces of an additional frozen food with the coated, frozen food. 
     
     
       35. The process in accordance with  claim 34 , wherein the additional frozen food is selected from the group consisting of meat, vegetables or combinations thereof. 
     
     
       36. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the liquid coating material has a temperature of about  180 ° F. or less when sprayed onto the exposed surfaces of the free- flowing pieces.   
     
     
       37. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the liquid coating material has a temperature of about  60 ° F. to  70 ° F. when sprayed onto the exposed surfaces of the free- flowing pieces.   
     
     
       38. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the liquid coating material has a temperature of about  40 ° F. to  60 ° F. when sprayed onto the exposed surfaces of the free- flowing pieces.   
     
     
       39. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the liquid coating material includes solid ingredients. 
     
     
       40. The process in accordance with  claim 39 , wherein the solid ingredients include spices. 
     
     
       41. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the liquid coating material comprises of one from a group comprising of dairy- based sauce and tomato - based sauce.   
     
     
       42. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the pieces includes pieces extending at least three inches in one dimension. 
     
     
       43. The process in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein the pasta is ravioli, tortellini, rigatoni or macaroni. 
     
     
       44. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the pieces includes meat and the liquid coating material is a meat- based sauce.   
     
     
       45. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the pieces comprise of fruit and the liquid coating material comprises a glaze. 
     
     
       46. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the pieces comprise of vegetable and the liquid coating material comprises a glaze. 
     
     
       47. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the pieces comprise of fruit and the liquid coating material comprises a fruit- based sauce.   
     
     
       48. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the pieces comprise seafood. 
     
     
       49. The process in accordance with  claim 48 , wherein the liquid coating material has a temperature of about + 40 ° F. when sprayed on the exposed surfaces of the pieces. 
     
     
       50. The process in accordance with  claim 48 , wherein the pieces are recooled to a temperature ranging between − 20 ° F. to − 25 ° F. by at least one of the recooling in ( d ). 
     
     
       51. The process in accordance with  claim 48 , wherein the coating weighs in the range from about  35  wt. %  to about  50  wt.  %,  based on the weight of the coated food.   
     
     
       52. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the cryogen after recooling the frozen food pieces has a temperature of about  0 ° F. to about − 100 ° F. 
     
     
       53. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the cryogen is introduced into the coating vessel at a controlled flow rate. 
     
     
       54. The process in accordance with  claim 53 , wherein the flow rate is controlled in units of weight of the cryogen over time. 
     
     
       55. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein duration of the spraying of ( c )  increases with repetition of  ( c ) .   
     
     
       56. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein duration of the recooling of ( d )  varies between repetition of  ( d ) .   
     
     
       57. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein there is a pause between the spraying of ( c )  and the recooling of  ( d ) .   
     
     
       58. The process in accordance with  claim 22 , wherein the drum has baffles which extend substantially the length of the drum. 
     
     
       59. The process in accordance with  claim 22 , the drum has baffles that are angled. 
     
     
       60. The process in accordance with  claim 23 , wherein the drum has baffles forming a spiral extending radially along the length of the drum. 
     
     
       61. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the coating vessel keeps the piece in constant motion throughout the coating process. 
     
     
       62. The process in accordance with  claim 22 , wherein the drum rotates at the speed of from about  5  to about  20  rpm, while the liquid coating material is applied and the coating is being formed. 
     
     
       63. The process in accordance with  claim 22 , wherein the coating drum agitates the discrete frozen pieces to substantially continuously cascading within the drum. 
     
     
       64. The process in accordance with  claim 22 , wherein the drum rotates about an inclined longitudinal axis. 
     
     
       65. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the pieces are continuously moved into the coating vessel through a rotating tube. 
     
     
       66. The process in accordance with  claim 22 , wherein the pieces are continuously discharged through an outlet in the drum. 
     
     
       67. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein spraying a liquid coating material employs a spray bar extending along a longitudinal axis of rotation of the drum. 
     
     
       68. The process in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein spraying a liquid coating material employs a spray bar with nozzles. 
     
     
       69. The process in accordance with  claim 68 , wherein the nozzles are positioned to spray the liquid coating material onto the exposed surfaces of the pieces while cascading downwardly within the drum. 
     
     
       70. The process in accordance with  claim 68 , wherein the nozzles are evenly spaced along the bar. 
     
     
       71. The process in accordance with  claim 68 , wherein the nozzles are directed at an angle of from about zero to about ninety degrees from vertically down. 
     
     
       72. The process in accordance with  claim 68 , wherein the nozzles are configured with a substantially flat fan spray pattern. 
     
     
       73. The process in accordance with  claim 68 , wherein the nozzles are positioned substantially in the center of the coating vessel. 
     
     
       74. The process in accordance with  claim 68 , wherein the nozzles are outwardly and radially oriented relative to the bar. 
     
     
       75. The process in accordance with  claim 68 , wherein the nozzles have orifices with diameters ranging substantially from  0 . 1  inches to  0 . 25  inches. 
     
     
       76. The process in accordance with  claim 28 , wherein the nozzles have orifices with diameters ranging substantially from  0 . 25  inches to  0 . 5  inches. 
     
     
       77. The process in accordance with  claim 68 , wherein the nozzles have orifices with diameters of at least substantially  0 . 5  inches. 
     
     
       78. The process in accordance with  claim 68 , wherein the nozzles are configured with a substantially full cone spray pattern. 
     
     
       79. The process in accordance with  claim 68 , wherein the nozzles are configured as straight spray jets. 
     
     
       80. The process in accordance with  claim 48 , wherein the coating vessel agitates the pieces at a speed ranging from about  5  rpm to about  6  rpm.