Legume processing and legume food products
AssigneeBeanitos Inc.
InventorRusty L. Karschner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Treating fresh legumes includes combining fresh legumes with water to yield a mixture, heating the mixture from an initial temperature to a cooking temperature to yield a pre-cooked mixture, and heating the pre-cooked mixture at the cooking temperature to yield a cooked mixture. The cooked mixture is cooled to yield a cooled mixture, and water is removed from the cooled mixture to yield cooked legumes having an average moisture content in a range of 50 wt % to 65 wt %. A legume dough, prepared from the cooked legumes, can be sheeted and formed into legume dough pieces. The legume dough pieces may be cooked to yield a cooked legume dough product. In one example, the cooked legume dough product is a snack chip.
Claims76
A method of treating fresh legumes, the method comprising:
- combining fresh legumes with water to yield an initial mixture;
- heating the initial mixture from an initial temperature to a cooking temperature to yield a pre-cooked mixture;
- heating the pre-cooked mixture at the cooking temperature to yield a cooked mixture;
- cooling the cooked mixture to yield a cooled mixture;
- and
- removing water from the cooled mixture to yield cooked legumes.
A legume dough prepared by a method comprising:
- combining fresh legumes with water to yield an initial mixture;
- heating the mixture from an initial temperature to a cooking temperature to yield a pre-cooked mixture;
- heating the pre-cooked mixture at the cooking temperature to yield a cooked mixture;
- cooling the cooked mixture to yield a cooled mixture;
- removing water from the cooled mixture to yield cooked legumes;
- cutting the cooked legumes to yield cut legume particles;
- and
- combining water with the cut legume particles to yield a legume dough.
A cooked legume dough product prepared by the method comprising:
- combining fresh legumes with water to yield an initial mixture;
- heating the initial mixture from an initial temperature to a cooking temperature to yield a pre-cooked mixture;
- heating the pre-cooked mixture at the cooking temperature to yield a cooked mixture;
- cooling the cooked mixture to yield a cooled mixture;
- removing water from the cooled mixture to yield cooked legumes;
- cutting the cooked legumes to yield cut legume particles;
- combining water with the cut legume particles to yield a legume dough;
- forming a legume dough sheet from the legume dough, wherein the legume dough sheet has a uniform thickness;
- cutting the legume dough sheet into a plurality of legume dough pieces;
- and
- cooking the legume dough pieces to yield a cooked legume dough product.
A legume dough comprising:
- cut legume particles having a moisture content of 50 wt % to 65 wt %, wherein a moisture content of the legume dough is in a range of 50 wt % to 70 wt %.
A cooked legume dough product comprising:
- legume particles cut from fresh legumes;
- and
- an additive,
- wherein the protein content of the cooked legume dough product is in a range of 15 wt % to 40 wt %, and a content of indigestible sugars in the legume particles is at least 25 wt % less than a content of indigestible sugars in the fresh legumes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.