US4624856A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and composition for soft edible baked products having improved extended shelf-life and an edible firm gel for use therein
Assignee: Intercontinental Great Brands LLC
•
Filing: 1985-03-15
•
Granted: 1986-11-25
•
Expires: 2005-03-15
Abstract
Abstract Soft cookies, biscuits, snacks and the like, are produced from a specially formulated and prepared dough. The soft edible products retain their fresh baked, moist, tender texture for extended periods of time. A firm gel, capable of being ground, is formed from: (a) a viscous liquid, e.g., a corn syrup, (b) a gum, e.g., an alginate gum, (c) an optional humectant and dispersing agent for the gum, e.g., glycerine, (d) a calcium ion source for gelling the gum, and (e) an optional humectant and dispersing agent for the calcium ion source, e.g., propylene glycol, using high shear mixing. The ground gel is incorporated into the cookie or other dough prior to baking.
Inventors
- 👤 Fred Vanderveer
- 👤 Aloysius Knipper
- 👤 Robert Straka
- 👤 Alex J. Squicciarini
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 01:06
CPC Classifications
A; A21; A21D; A21D2/00; A21D2/08; A21D2/14; A21D2/18; A21D2/183; A21D13/00; A21D13/80; A23; A23L; A23L29/00; A23L29/20; A23L29/206; A23L29/256; A23L29/30
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 43
Claim 1
Independent Claim
107 words
A method for making an edible firm gel composition capable of being ground for producing soft-textured baked products from a dough, comprising mixing: (a) an edible viscous liquid; (b) from about 0.25 to about 4 parts by weight of an edible gum capable of being set by calcium ions, and (c) from about 0.1 to about 4 parts by weight of a calcium ion source for setting said gum, said parts by weight being based upon 100 parts by weight of said edible viscous liquid, said mixing being under mixing conditions to substantially avoid the initial formation of lumps and to form a substantially homogeneous, lump-free blend.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
107 words
A method for making an edible firm gel composition capable of being ground for producing soft-textured baked products from a dough, comprising mixing: (a) an edible viscous liquid; (b) from about 0.25 to about 4 parts by weight of an edible gum capable of being set by calcium ions, and (c) from about 0.1 to about 4 parts by weight of a calcium ion source for setting said gum, said parts by weight being based upon 100 parts by weight of said edible viscous liquid, said mixing being under mixing conditions to substantially avoid the initial formation of lumps and to form a substantially homogeneous, lump-free blend.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the edible viscous liquid is mixed, and the edible gum and edible calcium ion source are added to said edible viscous liquid.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the edible gum is added to said edible viscous liquid prior to addition of the edible calcium ion source to said edible viscous liquid.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said edible gum is preblended with an edible humectant dispersing agent to form a substantially uniform lump-free blend which is mixed with said edible viscous liquid.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein said edible calcium ion source is preblended with an edible humectant dispersing agent to form a substantially uniform slurry which is mixed with said edible viscous liquid.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the edible humectant dispersing agent for said gum is glycerine and the edible humectant dispersing agent for said calcium ion source is propylene glycol.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein said dispersing agents are the same, and said uniform blend is mixed with said edible viscous liquid and then said slurry is mixed with said edible viscous liquid.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the dispersing agent is a mixture of glycerine and propylene glycol.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the edible viscous liquid is at least one member selected from the group consisting of corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and sucrose syrup.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein said edible gum is an alginate.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein said edible calcium ion source is calcium monohydrogen phosphate dihydrate or calcium sulfate dihydrate.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
20 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said edible gum and said edible calcium ion source is calcium alginate.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
An edible firm gel composition capable of being ground for producing soft-textured baked products from a dough, said gel composition being obtained by the method of claim 1.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
117 words
An edible firm gel composition capable of being ground for producing soft-textured baked products from a dough, said gel composition comprising a firm gel formed from a mixture or blend of: (a) an edible viscous liquid; (b) from about 0.25 to about 4 parts by weight of an edible gum capable of being set by calcium ions, and (c) from about 0.1 to about 4 parts by weight of a calcium ion source for setting said gum, said parts by wegiht being based upon 100 parts by weight of said edible viscous liquid, the water content of said gel composition being from about 15% to about 35% by weight, based upon the weight of said gel composition.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
117 words
An edible firm gel composition capable of being ground for producing soft-textured baked products from a dough, said gel composition comprising a firm gel formed from a mixture or blend of: (a) an edible viscous liquid; (b) from about 0.25 to about 4 parts by weight of an edible gum capable of being set by calcium ions, and (c) from about 0.1 to about 4 parts by weight of a calcium ion source for setting said gum, said parts by wegiht being based upon 100 parts by weight of said edible viscous liquid, the water content of said gel composition being from about 15% to about 35% by weight, based upon the weight of said gel composition.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
A composition as claimed in claim 14 wherein the edible viscous liquid is corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose syrup, or mixtures thereof.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
14 words
A composition as claimed in claim 15 wherein said edible gum is an alginate.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
22 words
A composition as claimed in claim 16 wherein said edible calcium ion source is calcium monohydrogen phosphate dihydrate or calcium sulfate dihydrate.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
27 words
A composition as claimed in claim 14 wherein said mixture or blend consists essentially of said edible viscous liquid, said edible gum, and said calcium ion source.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
41 words
A composition as claimed in claim 14 wherein said mixture or blend further comprises at least one edible humectant dispersing agent, the total amount of said dispersing agent being less than about 20 parts by weight of the edible viscous liquid.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
21 words
A composition as claimed in claim 19 wherein said at least one dispersing agent is glycerine, propylene glycol or mixtures thereof.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
53 words
A composition as claimed in claim 14 wherein the amount of said calcium ion source is from about 0.25 to about 1.0 parts by weight and the amount of said edible gum is from about 0.5 to about 1.5 parts by weight, based upon 100 parts by weight of the edible viscous liquid.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
23 words
A composition as claimed in claim 14 wherein said edible viscous liquid is a mixture of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose syrup.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
15 words
A composition as claimed in claim 14 wherein said edible viscous liquid is sucrose syrup.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
26 words
A composition as claimed in claim 14 wherein the weight ratio of said gum to said calcium ion source is from about 1 to about 3.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
23 words
A soft cookie or snack dough composition containing about 2 to about 50 weight percent of the gel composition claimed in claim 14.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
24 words
Baked products having a moist, soft texture and an extended shelf life prepared by shaping and baking the dough composition claimed in claim 25.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
20 words
The dough composition of claim 25, wherein the gel contained in said dough composition is in beadlet or ground form.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method of making dough for producing soft-textured baked products comprising grinding the firm gel composition of claim 14 and mixing the ground gel composition with dough ingredients including flour to form a dough of smooth consistency, the amount of said gel composition being about 2 to about 50 weight percent of said dough.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method as claimed in claim 28 wherein said ground gel composition is admixed with at least one sweetener, shortening and water to obtain a substantially homogeneous mixture, and said mixture is admixed with said flour.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method as claimed in claim 29 wherein said at least one sweetener comprises granulated sugar and at least one syrup sweetener, the ground gel is preblended with the granulated sugar, and the resulting mixture is admixed with the at least one syrup sweetener, the shortening, and water to form said substantially homogeneous mixture.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method as claimed in claim 30 wherein said at least one syrup sweetener is high fructose corn syrup.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
42 words
A method of making dough for producing soft-textured baked products comprising grinding the firm gel composition of claim 14, adding sweeteners, shortening and water and mixing until a smooth consistency results, and blending in flour and baking powder to form said dough.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
60 words
A method of making dough for producing soft-textured baked products comprising mixing the firm gel composition of claim 14 with at least one sweetener to form a preblend, and mixing said preblend with dough ingredients including flour to form dough of smooth consistency, the amount of said gel composition being about 2 to about 50 weight percent of said dough.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as claimed in claim 33 wherein said at least one sweetener comprises granulated sugar.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method as claimed in claim 34 wherein said preblend is combined with at least one syrup sweetener, shortening, and water to obtain a substantially homogeneous mixture, and said homogeneous mixture is admixed with said flour.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method as claimed in claim 35 wherein said at least one syrup sweetener is high fructose corn syrup.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method as claimed in claim 33 wherein said edible viscous liquid is a mixture of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose syrup.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method as claimed in claim 33 wherein said edible viscous liquid is sucrose syrup.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method as claimed in claim 33 wherein said edible viscous liquid is high fructose corn syrup.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method as claimed in claim 34 wherein said preblend of firm gel and granulated sugar comprises gel beadlets.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
48 words
A method of making dough for producing soft-textured baked products comprising premixing the edible firm gel composition of claim 14 with granulated sugar until beadlets form, adding sweeteners, shortening and water, and mixing until smooth consistency results, and blending in flour and baking powder to form said dough.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US2400834A
Cited
US2791508A
Cited
US2786763A
Cited
US2786764A
Cited
US2859115A
Cited
US3119697A
Cited
US3386921A
Cited
US3342612A
Cited
US3480450A
Cited
US3352688A
Cited
US3503769A
Cited
US3362831A
Cited
US3493382A
Cited
US3650766A
Cited
US3656967A
Cited
US3640741A
Cited
US4117172A
Cited
US3892870A
Cited
US3922360A
Cited
FR2241183A5
Cited
US3892871A
Cited
DE2420622A1
Cited
FR2268476A1
Cited
FR2274222A1
Cited
US4119739A
Cited
US4146652A
Cited
GB1579324A
Cited
US4347261A
Cited
US4348418A
Cited
US4455333A
Cited
US4344969A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1989-11-24 | 1990-05-26 | 1990-11-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1993-11-24 | 1994-05-26 | 1994-11-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1997-11-24 | 1998-05-26 | 1998-11-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |