Preparation of a frozen food product for later use

Abstract

Abstract A mixture of food pieces are first cooked. After the free water has been removed from the precooked food, leaving voids in the food mass, the food mass is agitated and the surfaces of the food pieces are treated so as to be partially frozen to thereby: (a) hold the basic shape of each piece without major deformation during agitation, and (b) leave a small amount of unfrozen moisture on the surface of each piece. Dry powdered uncooked adjuvant is then added to the food mass and, during further agitation, comes in contact with the partially frozen surface of each piece and is caused to adhere thereto by the attraction of the remaining moisture, causing a uniform coating of adjuvant to be applied to the food pieces. The resulting product is then fully frozen for deep freeze storage in a large container. Due to the uniform distribution of adjuvant throughout the food mass, subequent reconstituting of any part thereof, or all of it at once, by the addition of free water and heat, will result in edible dishes which have the same basic proportions of ingredients. The food mass and the subsequently added adjuvant may be agitated by tumbling in a drum into which is introduced expanding CO 2 gas to provide the freezing function. The gas may be used to assist the introduction of adjuvant into the drum from an adjuvant storage hopper having a distributor at its lower end.

Inventors

• 👤 F. Dorsey Montgomery
• 👤 Allan A. Norin

Bibliographic Details