US4390550A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Intermediate mositure frozen foods
Assignee: Rich Products Corp
•
Filing: 1980-05-21
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Granted: 1983-06-28
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Expires: 2000-05-21
Abstract
Abstract Infusing fruit with sugar solutes which reduce the water activity by creating sites for removing part of the water content and bathing said fruit in sugar bath to infuse sugar therein, the bath being a fructose-containing corn syrup of about 70 to 80% sugar solids with 40-90% being resulting in fruit having a water activity of 0.45 to 0.65. The fruit is added to cereal.
Inventors
- 👤 Marvin L. Kahn
- 👤 Kuttikandathil E. Eapen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 17:42
CPC Classifications
A; A23; A23L; A23L9/00; A23L9/10; A23L9/12; A21; A21D; A21D13/00; A21D13/30; A21D13/38; A23B; A23B7/00; A23B7/08; A23L29/00; A23L29/20; A23L29/206; A23L29/256; Y; Y02; Y02A; Y02A40/00; Y02A40/90
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
130 words
A method of infusing fruit with sugar solutes to reduce the water activity of said fruit which comprises the steps of: (a) tretaing the fruit to create sites for the removal of a portion of said fruit's water content and substitution thereof by sugar solutes; followed by (b) bathing the treated fruit in a sugar solutes-containing bath so as to induce infusion of the fruit with the sugar solutes, said bath comprising a fructose-containing corn syrup, comprising about 70 to about 80% sugar solids, wherein fructose comprises about 40 to about 90% of the total sugar content of said bath, said infused fruit having a water activity of about 0.45 to about 0.65; and (c) incorporating said infused fruit in cereal without substantially raising the water activity of said cereal.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
130 words
A method of infusing fruit with sugar solutes to reduce the water activity of said fruit which comprises the steps of: (a) tretaing the fruit to create sites for the removal of a portion of said fruit's water content and substitution thereof by sugar solutes; followed by (b) bathing the treated fruit in a sugar solutes-containing bath so as to induce infusion of the fruit with the sugar solutes, said bath comprising a fructose-containing corn syrup, comprising about 70 to about 80% sugar solids, wherein fructose comprises about 40 to about 90% of the total sugar content of said bath, said infused fruit having a water activity of about 0.45 to about 0.65; and (c) incorporating said infused fruit in cereal without substantially raising the water activity of said cereal.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
49 words
A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the treated fruit is maintained in the fructose-containing syrup bath at about 150° F. for about eight to about eighteen hours with slow stirring and passage of an air current through the bath to provide gentle agitation of the treated fruit.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the treated fruit is bathed in the fructose-containing syrup initially at about 220° F. to about 225° F. for about five minutes the bath then being cooled to about 150° F. and maintained at about 150° F. for approximately 1-3 hours.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the treated fruit and bath is raised to 150° F., subjected to a sudden vacuum to cause swelling of the treated fruit, and then maintained at about 150° F. at atmospheric pressure for approximately 1-3 hours.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the sites are created by pricking the fruit.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said fructose-containing syrup includes about 10 to about 50% dextrose based on the total sugar content of said syrup.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said fructose containing syrup comprises 29% water and 71% sugar, said sugar being comprised of about 50% dextrose and 42% fructose.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said fructose containing syrup comprises about 23.5% water and about 76.5% sugar with said sugar component being comprised of about 55% fructose and about 45% dextrose.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein said fructose containing syrup comprises about 80% sugar and about 20% water, with said sugar being comprised of about 90% fructose and about 10% dextrose.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
34 words
The method according to claims 1 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 wherein said fruit is selected from the group consisting of raisins, dates, prunes, apricots, apples, peaches, cherries, pineapple and citron.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method in accordance with claim 1 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 wherein said fruit is raisins.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method according to claim 1 or claim 6 wherein said fruit is raisins and said method further comprises the step of removing excess syrup from the surface of the raisins and then coating said raisins' surface with an oil.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method according to claim 12 wherein said excess syrup is removed by stirring said raisins in saturated vegetable fat at about 150° F.; said raisins then being separated from said vegetable fat, and coated with fat selected from the group consisting of cottonseed oil, corn oil, coconut oil and babassu oil.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method according to claim 1 or 6 wherein said fruit is raisins and the water activity of said infused raisins produced by said method is about 0.50 to about 0.55.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
19 words
The method according to claims 1, 6, 7, 8 or 9 wherein the bath further comprises a quinine salt.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method according to claim 15 wherein the quinine salt is selected from the group consisting of quinine sulfate, quinine bisulfate and quinine hydrochloride.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the quinine salt is quinine sulfate.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the fruit is infused with from about 2 to about 75 ppm of the quinine salt based on the weight of the infused fruit.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the fruit is infused with about 5 ppm of quinine sulfate based on the weight of the infused fruit.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method according to claim 10 wherein the bath further comprises a quinine salt.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the quinine salt is selected from the group consisting of quinine sulfate, quinine bisulfate and quinine hydrochloride.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the quinine salt is quinine sulfate.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the fruit is infused with from about 2 to about 75 ppm of quinine salt based on the weight of the infused fruit.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 22 wherein the fruit is infused with about 5 ppm of quinine sulfate based on the weight of the infused fruit.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1986-06-27 | 1986-12-27 | 1987-06-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1990-06-27 | 1990-12-27 | 1991-06-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1994-06-27 | 1994-12-27 | 1995-06-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |