The present invention relates to the preparation and processing of Quinoa for use in food products. More specifically, the disclosure is directed to methods for preparing Quinoa seeds for use in beverage products, and for creating Quinoa-based formulations having improved protein-to-carbohydrate formulations.
Quinoa (Chenopodium Quinoa) is a pseudocereal native to South America. In recent years, there has been considerable interest in Quinoa because of its unique and interesting properties. Its starch exists as very small granules and is low in amylose, which is known to be less digestible to humans. The protein content and quality of Quinoa, which has an amino acid profile similar to that of casein, is high compared to true cereals. Quinoa is rarely allergenic because of the absence of gluten. Hence, it can be used in foods designed to reduce allergies in sensitive individuals, such as celiac disease patients, and it seems ideal for specialty foods such as infant formulae.
The outer layer of Quinoa seeds are naturally known to have an outside coating containing saponins (between 0.01% to 4.5% concentration). It is theorized that saponins protect the seed against attack by birds, insects and other pests. However, saponins taste bitter, foam in water and have certain toxic properties that may damage intestinal mucosal cells. With regard to food product applications, saponins are generally considered antinutritional compounds that distract from the utility of Quinoa.
Saponins are water- and methanol-soluble, detergent-like molecules that consist of hydrophilic sugar chains attached to lipophilic triterpenoid aglycones. The saponins in Quinoa are generally derivatives of three main triterpenes or sterols termed sapogenins: phytoaccagenic acid, hederagenin and oleanolic acid. Traditionally, saponins are removed by washing the seed in cold water or aqueous alkali, followed by a scrubbing of the seeds or by abrasive dehulling. A combination of abrasive milling and washing is often used as well. Despite these techniques, an improved method is needed for processing Quinoa, particularly for use in food products and beverages. Furthermore, existing processes for producing food products such as milk from Quinoa have insufficient extraction yields and are not particularly suited for acceptable protein retention. As such, there is a need for processes for producing Quinoa food products having improved extraction yields and higher protein retention.
In one exemplary embodiment, a method is disclosed for processing Quinoa that includes soaking the seeds in an aqueous system having alkaline agents, and/or coating the seed with lipases, proteases and/or esterase enzyme preparation to reduce saponin content. After the Quinoa seed is ground, it is steeped in water that is treated with enzymes or a series of combinations of enzymes. The water is then heated further and sparged or rinsed with hot water. The resulting liquid wort is then separated from the washed grains for further processing and potential combination with other base liquids.
In other exemplary embodiments, Quinoa seed is processed, milled and is subject to pH adjustment. A separation process is performed to separate protein from starches (carbohydrates) and other material. The proteins and starches are further separated and concentrated to increase protein-to-carbohydrate ratios in the end food product. In an alternate embodiment, instead of further separating proteins and starches, the starches are hydrolyzed prior to concentration in order to improve protein-to-carbohydrate ratios in the end food product.
Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
The present invention is described herein with reference to one or more exemplary embodiments, however, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other arrangements, formulations and other elements can be used instead, and some elements may be omitted altogether.
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Next the seeds are soaked in an aqueous system with any of many alkaline agents to adjust the ph from 7.5 to 12.5. These agents include but are not limited to sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and sodium bicarbonate. When Quinoa seeds are soaked, it may be preferable to forego mechanical abrasion, as this process potentially removes desired nutrients. Alcohol washing can be used both alone or in conjunction with aqueous washing. Many potential combinations exist which have varying degrees of effectiveness. Typically ethanol would be used for the alcohol wash. Wash times can vary from a few minutes to up to 48 hours.
Another method which can be employed with the above techniques involves the treatment of seeds with lipases, proteases and/or esterase enzyme preparations to reduce to saponin coating. A lipase is a water-soluble enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of ester bonds in water-insoluble, lipid substrates, and comprise a subclass of the esterases. A protease is any enzyme that conducts proteolysis, that is, begins protein catabolism by hydrolysis of the peptide bonds that link amino acids together in the polypeptide chain forming the protein. An esterase is a hydrolase enzyme that splits esters into an acid and an alcohol in a chemical reaction with water called hydrolysis. A wide range of different esterases exist that differ in their substrate specificity, their protein structure, and their biological function.
After enzymatic treatment, the processed seeds are subjected to a milling process 203, preferably a wet-milling process (e.g., using a Waring blender). The crushed grain is then steeped with water ranging from 1 to 10 times the weight of the grain. The mixture is then heated to 140-200° F. while being treated with enzymes 204 or a series of combination of enzymes. The enzymes can be α-amylases, pullulanases, β-amylases, proteases, or other combinations of food-grade enzymes. These enzymes can be from fungal, bacterial, or other sources. The enzyme-enriched steep water may benefit from the addition of calcium and sodium ions to improve the enzyme efficiency during the heat treatment. Flours or other protein enriched fractions can be added 205 during this process to improve the nutrition value of the food preparation.
The temperature of the mixture is then raised to over 190° F. to deactivate the enzyme activity 206. The grains are sparged (rinsed) 207 with hot water (120° F.-210° F.) to maximize the extraction efficiency. The liquid wort (liquor) is then separated from the washed grains for further processing.
From this a Quinoa milk-type beverage can be produced. Typically, this would be accomplished by blending the base liquid described above with other ingredients. This mixture would then be heated to accomplish pasteurization/sterilization, potentially homogenized, and packaged for sale. Many food products can be produced from the residual grains produced by this process such as chips, snacks, nutritional bars, fiber-rich functional foods and other products.
A second embodiment for an exemplary process for creating a milk analog is disclosed in
Next the seeds subjected to a wet milling process in 302 where the Quinoa seed is reduced to slurry. Under a preferred embodiment, the wet milling is performed using a colloid mill, which is a machine that reduces the particle size of a solid in suspension in a liquid, or to reduce the droplet size of a liquid suspended in another liquid. The particle size reduction is performed by applying high levels of hydraulic shear to the process liquid. The colloid mill may also serve to increase the stability of suspensions and emulsions. Furthermore, in step 302, the slurry may be combined with alkaline agents to adjust the ph to a desirable level (e.g., from 7.5 to 12.5). These agents include but are not limited to sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and sodium bicarbonate. Alcohol washing can be used both alone or in conjunction with aqueous washing. Many potential combinations exist which have varying degrees of effectiveness. Typically ethanol would be used for the alcohol wash. Wash times can vary from a few minutes to up to 48 hours.
Step 303 introduces a first separation that is performed on the slurry, preferably using a decanter. During decantation, the mixture is separated to leave the precipitate (sediments) in the original container. Typically, a small amount of solution may be left in the container in order to prevent small amounts of precipitate from flowing with the solution out of the container. The decanted slurry should have starch, proteins and insolubles separated during the process in 303. In step 304, a second separation is performed, preferably using a centrifuge operating between 2500-3500 RPMs or higher for a predetermined period of time (30 sec.-5 mins) in order to further separate the starch and proteins. Steps 303-304 are advantageous for obtaining a proper protein-to-carbohydrate ratio. The liquid resulting from the decantation has a protein-to-carbohydrate ratio from 1:1.5 to 1:3. As further starch is removed in the centrifuge during step 304, the ratio becomes increased further still. The remaining starch is useful for providing body to the end milk product.
In step 305, the liquid is pasteurized by continuously heating it at a temperature of approximately 175-215 degrees Fahrenheit for a period of time of at least 20 seconds or longer in order to cure the mixture. After pasteurization, the liquid is then subjected to membrane filtration 305 in order to concentrate the protein in the resultant Quinoa water. One exemplary filtration technique includes nanofiltration (NF), which utilizes a membrane pore size of about 1 nanometer, with a molecular weight cut-off of 1000 daltons or less. Another exemplary filtering technique includes ultrafiltration (UF), which uses hydrostatic pressure to force liquid against a semipermeable membrane to retain suspended solids and solutes of high molecular weight, while passing water and low molecular weight solutes. Additionally, a concentration step is performed in 305 to concentrate the protein content of the Quinoa water. As the starch (carbohydrate) content is reduced during the separation steps 303-304 described above, the protein-to-carbohydrate ratios are largely unaffected after concentration step 305 is performed.
In step 306, the Quinoa water is blended to provide flavor(s), masking and/or whitening, if desired. Under one embodiment, the concentrated mixture may be blended with additional water, oil(s), salt, coloring/whitening agent(s) and sweetener(s). Suitable oils include vegetable oils, and particularly triglyceride oils, including palm, soybean, rapeseed, sunflower seed, peanut, cottonseed, palm kernel, coconut and olive oils. Other possible oils include corn, grape seed, hazelnut, linseed, rice bran, safflower and sesame oils. Under a preferred embodiment, when the concentrated mixture is to be used for a milk analog, titanium dioxide (TiO2) (also known as “titanium(IV) oxide” or “titania”) may be used as a whitening agent to give the liquid a more “milk-like” appearance. Additional or alternate food coloring agents may be used as well. For sweetening, any suitable natural and/or artificial food sweetener may be used. Exemplary formulations for the blending process include 5-15% water, 0.25-2.5% oil, 0.02-0.07% salt, 0.1-0.5% coloring/whitening agent and 0.5%-1.5% sweetener.
In step 308, the blended mixture is subjected to ultra-high-temperature processing (UHT), where it is heated to temperatures exceeding 275° F. for a period of 1-3 seconds. Next, the mixture is homogenized 308 and filled 309 to produce resulting milk 310. Using the nanofiltration described in
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After the mixture is hydrolyzed, the process continues with pasteurization/concentration 405, blending 406, UHT treatment 407, homogenization 408 and filling 409 to produce the final milk product 410. The steps correspond to steps 305-310 disclosed above in connection with
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Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to a particular arrangement of parts, features and the like, these are not intended to exhaust all possible arrangements or features, and indeed many other embodiments, modifications and variations will be ascertainable to those of skill in the art.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/514,942 filed on Aug. 4, 2011, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61514942 | Aug 2011 | US |