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AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
InventorAbdul R. Rahman
Estimating the term…
Method of compacting freeze-dried particulate foods comprising partially freeze-vacuum-dehydrating a food in particulate form to an average moisture content of about 10-35 percent, irradiating the frozen partially freeze-vacuum-dehydrated food with microwaves to rapidly distribute the remaining mositure from the frozen cores of the food particle throughout the food and thereby to uniformly plasticize the food, compressing the irradiated food to from about 5 to about 50 percent of its volume prior to compression, and thereafter redehydrating the compressed food to from about 1 to about 5 percent moisture content. The food particles may be either uncooked or cooked prior to partial freeze-vacuum-dehydration thereof, but will preferably be uncooked in the case of a vegetable and cooked in the case of a meat. The final redehydrated, compacted food mass may be hermetically sealed in moisture-impermeable containers to impart long-term storage stability thereto.
A process for making a dehydrated, compacted food mass selected from the group consisting of vegetables and meats characterized by having a density of from about 0.7 to about 1.2 grams per cc and being capable of rehydration to produce distinct particles of rehydrated food which have substantially the same size, shape, and cellular structure characteristics as the particles of food from which said dehydrated, compacted food mass is prepared and which are acceptable in accordance with scale testing, which comprises the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.