Starch sponge products and the process of preparing same

#The present invention relates to new starch sponge products and the process of preparing same using heat stable gum systems to increase thermal stability and improve handling characteristics.

#Starch sponges have previously been proposed for use as bases or carriers for flavoring systems and as texturizing agents in candy bars and the like. See "Starch-Sponge -- A Promising New Ingredient" by G. E. Hilbert et al., Food Industries, Vol. 17, No. 8, pages 878-882, August 1945. See also U.S. Pat. No. 2,597,011 to MacMasters and Hoaglund. Generally, the basic starch sponge structure is obtained by cooking a slurry of a raw starch (corn, wheat, potato, tapioca and the like) to fully gelatinize the starch. The resulting starch paste is frozen to cause the gelatinized starch paste to set up an internal structure or starch matrix. After allowing the frozen material to thaw, water is removed therefrom such as by a combination of pressing and drying or simply by conventional drying techniques. The dried starch sponge is crispy with a texture not unlike that of dried bread.

#In our work with the above basic system, we found that the starch sponge was difficult to handle after the freezing step and particularly after being dried. Thus the same tended to easily break when definite shaped pieces were to be cut from sheets thereof. Further, we found the starch sponge pieces were incapable of withstanding ordinary cooking operations. In this respect, when flavoring systems were added during the starch sponge preparation to simulate vegetable, fruit and the like flavors, the resulting products were capable of use as crisp snack-like products but could not be used successfully in cooked products, such as in the case of mushroom, bellpepper or other vegetable flavored pieces being used in casserole preparations. Upon cooking or baking, the pieces disintegrated.

#The following examples illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention without being limiting. All %'s are by weight unless otherwise indicated.

#A mushroom flavored product was prepared from the following ingredients:

#______________________________________ % ______________________________________ Water 88.7460 Corn starch 9.8607 Sodium carboxymethyl- 0.2662 cellulose (CMC 7HF available from Herculues) Aluminum acetate 0.0532 Caramel color 0.0394 Sugar 0.2958 Salt 0.2958 Hydrolyzed vegetable 0.0740 protein Mushroom flavorings 0.3688 ______________________________________