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CA-3063753-C - PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A SAUCE CONTAINING MEAT

CA3063753CCA 3063753 CCA3063753 CCA 3063753CCA-3063753-C

Abstract

Process for the production of a sauce comprising minced meat, tomato, vegetables, edible oils or fats and optional complementary ingredients, which comprises a step a) of subjecting pellets of a mixture comprising minced meat to baking in an oven, obtaining baked pellets, a step b) of adding, in a cooker, the baked pellets to tomato, vegetables, edible oils or fats and optional complementary ingredients, and a step c) of cooking the whole mixture for a predetermined time.

Inventors

  • Vincenzo De Tata
  • Marcella Ponanti
  • Fabio Bettega
  • Andrea Spotti
  • Roberto Alberti

Assignees

  • BARILLA G. E R. FRATELLI S.P.A.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20191205
Priority Date
20181221

Claims (20)

  1. 12 THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION FOR WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS: 1. A process for the production of a sauce comprising minced 5 meat, tomato, vegetables, edible oils or fats and optional complementary ingredients, wherein the process comprises: - a step a) of subjecting pellets of a mixture comprising minced meat to baking in a conduction and convection oven, at a temperature of between 160°C and 280°C, for a time of between 0.5 and 30 minutes, 10 thus obtaining baked pellets, - a step b) of adding, in a cooker, said baked pellets to said tomato, vegetables, edible oils or fats and optional complementary ingredients and - a step c) of cooking the whole mixture for a predetermined 15 time.
  2. 2. The process according to claim 1, wherein said complementary ingredients are selected from the group consisting of salt, pepper, sugar and aromatic herbs.
  3. 3. The process according to claim 1, wherein said vegetables are 20 minced and have a particle size of between 3 mm and 20 mm.
  4. 4. The process according to claim 3, wherein the particle size is between 5 mm and 10 mm.
  5. 5. The process according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein said pellets to be baked in the oven of step a) have a length of between 10 mm 25 and 70 mm and a thickness of between 3 mm and 15 mm.
  6. 6. The process according to claim 5, wherein said length is between 30 mm and 40 mm. 13
  7. 7. The process according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said mixture pellets further comprise at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of salt, sugar, starch, fiber, pepper, aromatic herbs, and vegetables. 5
  8. 8. The process according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein, in said step a), said pellets are arranged on a conveyor belt and the oven is a tunnel oven inside which the conveyor belt runs.
  9. 9. The process according to claim 8, wherein said conveyor belt is heated to a temperature of 160°C-280°C. 10
  10. 10. The process according to claim 9, wherein the temperature inside said tunnel oven is between 180°C and 280°C
  11. 11. The process according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the conveyor belt is heated to a temperature between 220°C and 260°C; or wherein the conveyor belt is heated to a temperature between 220°C and 15 260°C and the temperature inside said tunnel oven is between 220°C and 260°C.
  12. 12. The process according to claim 10, wherein in said tunnel oven means for injecting jets of steam and hot air having a temperature of 200°C-300°C are provided. 20
  13. 13. The process according to claim 12, wherein said jets of steam and hot air have a temperature of 230°C-280°C.
  14. 14. The process according to any one of claims 8-13, wherein said mixture pellets are produced by extruding a mixture comprising minced meat and optionally one or more complementary ingredients as 25 defined in claim 7, by means of an extruder provided with a cutter which divides the mixture output from the extruder in the form of a string into 14 pellets having a length of between 10 mm and 70 mm and a thickness of between 3 and 15 mm.
  15. 15. The process according to claim 14, wherein the length is between 30 mm and 40 mm. 5
  16. 16. The process according to any one of claims 8-15, wherein upon leaving the oven said pellets are dropped onto a second conveyor belt, which conveys them to a disaggregation apparatus to free individual pellets from any clumps formed during baking.
  17. 17. The process according to any one of claims 1-16, wherein, 10 following baking, said pellets have a length of between 5 and 60 mm.
  18. 18. The process according to claim 17, wherein, following baking, said length of said pellets is between 7 and 30 mm.
  19. 19. The process according to any one of claims 1-18, wherein in said step b) said cooker is provided with mixing means and said pellets 15 are introduced into said cooker already containing inside it a fried mixture obtained from said vegetables, from the optional complementary ingredients and from said edible oils or fats, as well as the tomato, which was subsequently added to said fried mixture.
  20. 20. The process according to any one of claims 1-19, wherein 20 said predetermined time of the cooking step c) is between 15 and 120 minutes.

Description

1 PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A SAUCE CONTAINING MEAT DESCRIPTION Field of application 5 The present invention relates to the technical sector of the food industry. In particular, the invention relates to a process for the production of a sauce containing meat, such as a meat ragù. Prior art Ragù is one of the most popular sauces in Italian and 10 international cuisine and is typically used as a condiment for first courses. It is known that the preparation of this sauce is somewhat laborious and requires a long time for cooking of the minced meat (usually beef and pork) and the chosen vegetables, in order to develop the characteristic flavors and aromas and obtain a pleasing consistency 15 of the minced meat when tasted. According to the traditional recipe of ragù the meat is characterized by a certain granular consistency and the particles of minced meat, although homogeneously integrated in the sauce, can still be tasted in the mouth following cooking, because of their characteristic 20 consistency. Precisely because of the long time required for preparation of the ragù, the consumer is often induced to buy industrially prepared ready-to-use sauces, which may be sterilized sauces packaged in tins or glass jars and able to be stored at room temperature, or packaged 25 pasteurized sauces which are stored at refrigerator temperature, or finally deep-frozen sauces, which have also undergone a pasteurization 2 process. However, the consistency of the commercially made ready-touse ragù sauces does not always satisfy fully the consumer, because they are often in the form of a homogeneous mixture of minced meat, 5 spices, vegetables and tomato sauce, in which the particles of minced meat cannot always be perceived by the taste buds. This is due to the fact that the procedures conventionally employed for the industrial preparation of meat-based sauces involve a reduction in the size of the minced meat particles. 10 The aforementioned conventional procedures consist essentially in a repetition of the operations performed on a small scale, but in much more strictly controlled operating conditions, in order to ensure optimum microbiological properties of the finished product. According to these procedures, the minced meat is added to a fried 15 mixture of vegetables and/or edible oils inside a large cooker provided with mixing means, followed by the addition of a tomato sauce and any further ingredients, such as flavorings and spices. The ratio between the volume of the cooker and the heating surface is such that only the meat in contact with the walls of the 20 cooker undergoes a real browning process, while the remaining part is "simmered". Moreover, in order to prevent burning against the hot walls, the meat is continuously mixed, being subject to a mechanical stress which reduces the size of the meat particles, with the result that in the final sauce the meat is in the form of minute particles, which 25 cannot be easily perceived when eaten and moreover has a "dry" consistency in terms of taste. 3 The problem underlying the present invention is that of providing a meat-based sauce, in particular a ragù, which is ready-touse and where the particle size of the minced meat is such that the particles of cooked meat may be perceived when eaten by the consumer. 5 Summary of the invention The problem has been solved by providing a process for the production of a sauce comprising minced meat, tomato, vegetables, edible oils or fats and optional complementary ingredients, wherein the process comprises: 10 - a step a) of subjecting pellets of a mixture comprising minced meat to baking in a conduction and convection oven, at a temperature of between 160°C and 280°C, for a time of between 0.5 and 30 minutes, thus obtaining baked pellets, - a step b) of adding, in a cooker, said baked pellets to said 15 tomato, vegetables, oils or edible oils or fats and optional complementary ingredients and - a step c) of cooking the whole mixture for a predetermined time. The term "complementary ingredients" is understood as 20 meaning the ingredients which complement the recipe in which the product according to the present invention is used. These complementary ingredients serve to give flavor to the meat-based sauce according to the invention and comprise for example salt, pepper, sugar and aromatic herbs including rosemary, sage, mint, oregano, parsley, 25 thyme, bay leaf, cloves, basil, chives, marjoram, nutmeg and coriander. The aforementioned vegetables are obviously different from 4 tomato and are preferably chosen from the group comprising onion, shallot, leek, carrot, celery, garlic and parsley. Preferably, these vegetables are minced and have a particle size of between 3 mm and 20 mm, more preferably between 5 mm and 5 10 mm. Preferably the aforementioned mixture pellets comprising minced meat have a length of between 10 mm and 70 mm, more preferably between 30 mm and 40 mm, and a thickness of between 3 and 15 mm. 10 Preferably