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US 11,547,131 B2Granted
Method of making dried food products
AssigneeEnwave Corporation
InventorsTimothy D. Durance, Guopeng Zhang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process for making a shelf-stable food, not requiring preservatives or refrigeration and in a form that is convenient for use as a snack food. A block of tofu or wheat gluten is first frozen so as to cause the formation of ice crystals that form cavities within the block. The frozen block is then thawed, cut into smaller pieces and drained of excess water. The thawed pieces are dried in a microwave-vacuum dehydrator to produce a crunchy food product.
Claims20
A method of making a food product, comprising:
- (a) freezing a piece of food comprising one of tofu and wheat gluten;
- (b) thawing the frozen piece of food;
- and
- (c) drying the thawed piece of food in a microwave-vacuum dehydrator to produce a crunchy food product.
1 more element
A method for making a dried and porous tofu food product, comprising:
- (a) freezing a block of tofu so as to form ice crystals therein;
- (b) thawing the frozen block of tofu so as to leave cavities formed by the ice crystals within the block of tofu;
- (c) dividing the thawed block of tofu into a plurality of smaller pieces, said pieces of thawed tofu containing water;
- (d) draining water from the pieces of thawed tofu;
- and
- (e) drying the thawed, drained pieces of tofu in a microwave-vacuum dehydrator at an absolute pressure in the range of 1 to 100 mm of mercury, to a moisture content that is less than 8 wt. %, producing the dried and porous tofu food product.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.