Claims
- 1. A process for preparing a low moisture vegetable product which comprises:
- (a) immersing a vegetable slice, having a thickness not greater than 0.25 inches, in a liquid bath containing 20 to 60% by weight of a food grade osmotic agent capable of infusing into the vegetable tissue and forming an amorphous solid upon drying, wherein said infusion bath is free of added sulfites and buffer, and said vegetable has not been blanched prior to immersion in said liquid bath;
- (b) removing excess surface osmotic agent; and
- (c) drying the infused vegetable to form a vegetable product containing amorphous, solid osmotic agent and a water content from about 2 to 6 percent by weight,
- wherein said osmotic agent is selected from the group consisting of high fructose corn syrup, fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, honey, sorbitol, maltitol, and hydrogenated corn syrup,
- wherein said liquid bath is maintained at a temperature from about 45.degree. F. to about 220.degree. F., and
- wherein said vegetable is selected from the group consisting of green bell peppers and onions.
- 2. The process of claim 1 wherein said liquid bath comprises a food grade solvent and the food grade solvent is water.
- 3. The process of claim 1 wherein the osmotic agent is a corn syrup having a D.E. above about 42, glucose, fructose, sucrose, honey or mixtures thereof.
- 4. The process of claim 1 wherein the liquid bath is maintained at a temperature of from about 140.degree. F. to 220.degree. F.
- 5. The process of claim 1 wherein the liquid bath is maintained at a temperature of from 45.degree. F. to 160.degree. F.
- 6. The process of claim 1 Wherein the vegetable is immersed in a liquid bath for a time from about 20 seconds to about 2 hours.
- 7. The process of claim 1 wherein the vegetables are washed prior to immersion in the liquid.
- 8. The process of claim 7 where after washing the vegetable, the vegetable is dewatered by centrifuging.
- 9. The process of claim 1, wherein said vegetable slice has a thickness of 1/16 to 3/16 inches.
- 10. The process of claim 1, wherein said vegetable is green bell peppers.
- 11. The process of claim 1, wherein said vegetable is onions.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/799,145, filed on Nov. 27, 1991 now abandoned which was a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/630 967, filed on Dec. 24, 1990, both now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
946330 |
Apr 1962 |
GBX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Osmotic Dehydration of Fruits by J. D. Ponting, et al.; Oct. 1966 Food Technology pp. 125-128. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
799145 |
Nov 1991 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
630967 |
Dec 1990 |
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