Preparation of fruit compositions

Claim 2

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING FRUIT COMPOSITIONS SUITABLE FOR ADDITION TO MILK PRODUCTS WHILE RETAINING THE CHARACTERISTIC TEXTURE, STRUCTURE, TASTE AND COLOR OF FRUIT IN THE COMPOSITIONS WHICH COMPRISES: (A) MIXING FRUIT WITH ONE OR MORE FRUIT ADJUVANTS WHILE HEATING SAID MIXTURE TO FORM A SUBSTANTIALLY HOMOGENOUS MIXTURE, (B) PASSING SAID MIXTURE THROUGH A SCRAPED SURFACE HEAT EXCHANGER WHILE TURNING THE MIXTURE OVER TO RAPIDLY THERMALLY PASTEURIZE THE MIXTURE WITHOUT OVER TO DEGRADATION OF THE FRUIT COMPOSITION OR SIGNIFICANT DISINTEGRATION OF FRUIT PARTICLES, (C) RAPIDLY COOLING SAID MIXTURE TO ROOM OR AMBIENT TEMPERATURE BY PASSING SAID MIXTURE THROUGH A SECOND SCRAPED SURFACE HEAT EXCHANGER, AND (D) FILLING SAID MIXTURE INTO A CONTAINER UNDER ASEPTIC CONDITIONS.

Claim 3

The process of claim 1 wherein said thermal pasteurizing is conducted at a temperature of from 80*-100*C for a period of time of less than 10 minutes.

Claim 4

The process of claim 2 wherein the fruit is initially in a frozen state and including a step of heating the fruit to a temperature of about 15*C to 20*C to thaw the frozen fruit before said mixing.

Claim 5

The process of claim 3 wherein said heating to thaw the fruit is accomplished by helically conveying the fruit through a heated passage.

Claim 6

The process of claim 1 wherein all of the steps subsequent to said mixing with other ingredients are performed continuously within a closed system.

Claim 7

A process for the preparation of fruit compositions suitable for addition to milk products from frozen fruits comprising: a. thawing frozen fruits by mechanically conveying the fruit through an enclosed passage by means of at least one heated screw for heating the fruit to a temperature of about 15*C to 20*C; b. mixing the thawed fruit from step (a) with fruit adjuvants and heating said fruit and fruit adjuvants during said mixing to a temperature of about 30*C to 50*C to form a substantially homogeneous mixture; c. pumping the mixture from step (b) through a scraped surface heat exchanger while heating the mixture to a temperature of about 80*C to 90*C to pasteurize the mixture without degrading the mixture or disintegrating fruit particles in the mixture; d. pumping the pasteurized mixture from step (c) through a second scraped surface heat exchanger for cooling the mixture to a temperature of about 15*C to 25*C to produce the fruit composition; and e. filling said fruit composition into containers under aseptic conditions.

Claim 8

A process for the preparation of fruit compositions suitable for addition to milk products from frozen fruits comprising: a. thawing frozen fruits by mechanically conveying the fruit through an enclosed passage by means of at least one heated screw for heating the fruit to a temperature of about 15*C to 20*C; b. mixing the thawed fruit from step (a) with fruit adjuvants and heating said fruit and fruit adjuvants during said mixing to a temperature of about 30*C to 50*C to form a substantially homogeneous mixture; c. pumping the mixture from step (b) through a scraped surface heat exchanger while heating the mixture to a temperature of about 80*C to 90*C to pasteurize the mixture without degrading the mixture or disintegrating fruit particles in the mixture; d. pumping the pasteurized mixture from step (c) through a second scraped surface heat exchanger for cooling the mixture to a temperature of about 15*C to 25*C to produce the fruit composition; and e. filling said fruit composition into containers under aseptic conditions.

Claim 9

The process of claim 6 wherein the fruit adjuvants mixed with the fruit include sugar.

Claim 10

The process of claim 6 wherein the fruit adjuvants mixed with the fruit include thickening agents.

Claim 11

The process of claim 6 wherein the fruit adjuvants mixed with the fruit include coloring substances.

Claim 12

The process of claim 6 wherein the fruit adjuvants mixed with the fruit include flavoring substances.

Claim 13

The process of claim 6 wherein the fruit adjuvants added to said fruit include chemical preservatives.