pH control of sauces used on acidified pasta or rice
AssigneeKraft Foods Holdings, Inc.
InventorsAnthony Irwin, Sharon Payton
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pasta or rice meal in which the pasta has been acidified to ensure shelf stability. In order to provide the meal so as not to have the uncharacteristically unpleasant taste of acidic flavor notes by mixing a sauce which has had its pH modified by a mixture of an edible alkaline or base substance into the sauce. Methods of providing the meal including packaging of the pasta/rice separately from the sauce are also disclosed.
Claims20
A shelf stable pasta or rice meal comprising in combination:
- (a) a cooked pasta or rice which has been acidified to a pH in the range of about 3.7 to about 4.5;
- (b) a sauce for use with said cooked pasta or rice;
- wherein a natural pH of said sauce has been raised so as to fall within a pH range of about 5.9 to about 7.2.
A two part packaged product in which the first part comprises a cooked acidified pasta or rice and the second part comprising a pH adjusted sauce which has a higher pH than said pasta or rice.
A method of providing an acidified pasta or rice meal without the presence of acidic flavor notes in said meal, said method comprising:
- (a) providing a cooked pasta or rice which has been acidified to a pH of from about 3.7 to about 4.5;
- (b) providing a sauce for said pasta or rice;
- (c) raising the pH of said sauce by the addition of an edible alkaline or base substance to the pH of said sauce;
- (d) separately packaging said cooked pasta or rice and said raised pH sauce;
- and
- (e) mixing said cooked pasta or rice with said raised pH sauce.
A sauce for use with an acidified pasta or rice, said sauce being selected from the group consisting of cheese sauce, brown sauce, bordelaise sauce, mushroom brown sauce, white sauce, alfredo sauce, curry sauce, dill sauce, horseradish sauce, veloute sauce, hollandaise sauce, bearnaise sauce, mornay sauce, raisin sauce, cream gravy, giblet gravy and tomato sauce;
- the pH of said sauce being modified to raise its pH in an amount sufficient such that, when said pH modified sauced is mixed with said acidified pasta or rice, the acidic flavor notes present when said acidified pasta or rice and an unmodified sauce are mixed, are muted.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.