Process for packaging foods and packaged product
AssigneeOcean Technology, Inc.
InventorSamuel Thomas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A packaged shellfish product and a process for producing the shellfish are provided by the invention. The shellfish is heat-treated to partially cook the shellfish followed by rapid cooling to stop the cooking process. The partially cooked shellfish is then packaged in a sealed container and heated for sufficient time and temperature to fully cook the shellfish. The resulting packaged shellfish has an extended refrigerated shelf life. In one embodiment, the packaged shellfish is stable for about 45-60 days without loss of flavor or texture.
Claims38
A process for preparing a stable packaged shellfish product comprising the steps of:
- heating raw shellfish to a temperature and for a time sufficient to produce a hot partially cooked shellfish;
- cooling said hot partially cooked shellfish to a temperature of 32° C. or less to stop the cooking process and produce a cooled partially cooked shellfish;
- placing the cooled partially cooked shellfish into a container at an ambient temperature of about 18° C. to about 24° C. and ambient pressure, and thereafter hermetically sealing the container;
- heating the partially cooked shellfish in said container to a temperature of at least 62° C. for a time sufficient to produce a fully cooked shellfish;
- and
- immediately thereafter cooling said shellfish to stop the cooking process and storing said shellfish at a temperature below room temperature.
A process for preparing a stable packaged shrimp product comprising the steps of:
- heating raw shrimp to a temperature and for a time sufficient to produce hot partially cooked shrimp;
- immediately thereafter contacting the hot partially cooked shrimp with chilled water containing an effective amount of an edible acid to treat the partially cooked shrimp and reduce the temperature of the shrimp to a temperature of 32° C. or less to stop cooking the shrimp and produce a cooled partially cooked shrimp;
- placing the cooled partially cooked shrimp in a container at a temperature of about 15° C. to about 28° C. and thereafter hermetically sealing the container;
- heating the container and the partially cooked shrimp to a temperature of at least 62° C. for a time sufficient to produce a hot fully cooked shrimp;
- and
- immediately thereafter cooling the hot fully cooked shrimp to a temperature of not more than 10° C. to produce chilled cooked shrimp and storing the fully cooked shrimp under refrigeration.
A stable packaged shellfish product prepared by the process comprising the steps of:
- heating and partially cooking raw shellfish to a temperature and for a time sufficient to produce a partially cooked shellfish;
- immediately thereafter reducing the internal temperature of said partially cooked shellfish to a temperature of 32° C. or less to stop the cooking of the shellfish and produce a cooled partially cooked shellfish;
- placing said cooled partially cooked shellfish in a container at an ambient temperature of about 18° C. to about 24° C. and thereafter hermetically sealing said container;
- heating said container and said partially cooked shellfish to an internal temperature of at least 62° C. for a time sufficient to produce a fully cooked shellfish;
- and
- immediately thereafter cooling said container and shellfish to stop cooking and produce chilled cooked shellfish, and storing the container and shellfish under refrigeration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.