United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 4,640,842 May 45 Date of Patent: Feb

United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 4,640,842 May 45 Date of Patent: Feb. 3, 1987 3,753,730 8/1973 Donnarumma ..................... 426/618 54 INTERNALLY FLAVORED HULLED CEREAL GRAN AND PROCESS FOR 3,961,09 6/1976 Caccavale et al. ................. 426/307 PREPARATION 4,097,613 6/1978 Young et al. ......................... 426/89 (76) Inventor: William A. May, 5 House Wren, FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS Hackettstown, N.J. 07840 202259 11/1955 Australia . 240978 9/1959 Australia . 21 Appl. No.: 764,711 267774 1/1964 Australia . 22 Filed: Aug. 13, 1985 47345/68 12/1968 Australia . 2641767 3/1969 Australia . 476,834 1/1975 Australia . Related U.S. Application Data 47151/79 5/1979 Australia . 63) Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 697,204, Feb. 1, 1985, 064869 9/1962 Canada ................................ 426/459 which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 547,131, Oct. 31, 1983, abandoned, and a continuation-in-part of OTHER PUBLICATIONS Ser. No. 577,342, Feb. 6, 1984, abandoned, and a con Rice Chemistry and Technology, Chptr. 8, by K. R. tinuation-in-part of Ser. No. 605,466, Apr. 30, 1984, abandoned. Bhattacharya, pp. 289-295, 301, 302, 305, 311 & 35-316. 5) Int. Cl." ........................... A23 1/00; A23L 1/18 52 U.S. Cl. .................................... 426/534; 426/618; Primary Examiner-Raymond N. Jones 426/640; 426/462; 426/507; 426/625; 426/597; Assistant Examiner-Marianne M. Cintins 426/660; 426/650; 426/589 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John W. Klooster 58 Field of Search ................. 426/93, 103, 244, 250, 426/251, 271, 302,308-310,331, 532–538, 57 ABSTRACT 618-629, 632, 634, 640, 654, 460, 462, 482, 507 Internally flavored hulled cereal grain, especially pop corn is provided along with a method for the prepara 56) References Cited tion of same. U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 2,518,247 8/1950 Nairn ................................... 426/251 33 Claims, No Drawings 4,640,842 1. 2 Kracauer U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,133 mixes popcorn NTERNALLY FLAVORED HULLED CEREAL kernels with shortening, a lipophilic surfactant, and GRAN AND PROCESS FOR PREPARATION water prior to popping. Donnarumma et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,730 describes RELATED APPLICATIONS flavoring particular grain products by applying thereto a composition of flavoring agent, film-former, and vehi This application is a continuation-in-part of my co cle. pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 697,204 filed Grunewald-Kirstein U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,814 de Feb. 1, 1985 which in turn was a continuation-in-part of scribes coating popcorn at elevated temperature with a each of my copending U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 10 liquid comprised of oil or fat containing dissolved sugar. 547,131 filed Oct. 31, 1983, (now abandoned), U.S. Ser. Caccavale et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,091 describes No. 577,342 filed Feb. 6, 1984 (now abandoned), and popcorn treated with cooking oil and encapsulated U.S. Ser. No. 605,466 filed Apr. 30, 1984 (now aban flavoring substances, as does Young et al U.S. Pat. No. doned). The disclosure and contents of each of these 4,096,281. See also Mason et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,066. applications is incorporated hereinto by reference. 15 Gorham, Jr. et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,255, Tomlinson BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,567 and Martin U.S. Pat. No. 2,604,407. 1. Field of the Invention Also, various packaged products and preparation This invention lies in the field of methods for inter methods therefor are described wherein unpopped pop nally flavoring hulled cereal grain, especially popcorn, 20 corn is coated with a popping composition involving and to the flavored grain products so produced. the use of oil or fat which can sometimes contain flavor 2. Prior Art ants and colorants. Since earliest times, hulled cereal grains have been Evidently, the popcorn industry has heretofore cultured and used for food by man and domesticated avoided the presence of excess moisture or water in the animals. Various processes have been developed for 25 vicinity of popcorn for the evident reason that water treating whole grain. Thus, for example, Legendre U.S. tended to impair the popability of popcorn. Contempo Pat. No. 1,702,735 describes grain preservation by add rary literature does disclose, however, that the moisture ing thereto a powder containing lime, calcium carbon content of popable popcorn can be varied somewhat ate, and sodium carbonate. 30 without significantly impairing popability, but if a maxi Madrazo et al teaches contacting whole grain with an mum or a minimum moisture level is exceeded for a alkaline aqueous solution at elevated temperature. given popcorn, then popping is impaired. Popcorn pop Gulstad U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,727 describes steeping ping reportedly occurs because the pericarp of heated grain (including corn) in a lime-water solution and popcorn acts as a pressure vessel which ruptures under thereafter explosively puffing the resulting kernels and 35 internal steam pressure to produce expansion of the milling the puffed grain into flour or meal. endosperm; see, for instance, the article by Hoseney et Rogers et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,358,250 reports treating al in J. of Cer. Sci. (1983) 43-52 entitled: "Mechanism of grain prior to milling to impart to flour subsequently Popcorn Popping.” milled therefrom a vitamin and soluble salt content, the So far as now known, all prior art attempts to im Rogers et al process involving steeping the grain in prove flavor execution in popped popcorn by treating water "at a suitable temperature' to infuse thereinto a unpopped popcorn kernels have involved only exter vitamin and salt extract. nally (relative to the unpopped popcorn) applied coat Anthony U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,275 hydrates dry grains ings or the like. using continuously re-circulating water. The water may A process for producing dyed popcorn kernels utiliz contain additives such as vitamins, nutrients (no flavor 45 ing an aqueous solution treatment followed by drying is ants or colorants), and minerals. reported in Schwarzkopf U.S. Pat. No. 3,537,861. How McAlister U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,651 reports dispersing ever, dyes are submitted to be different from, not equiv water into cereal grain and applying microwave energy alent to, and not suggestive of organic flavorants. The thereto while simultaneously reducing atmospheric Schwarzkopf conditions of dying characteristically 50 apparently result in a minimum of deep dye penetration pressure. In one embodiment, sugar, glucose, oil and into the endosperm structure of individual popcorn gelatin cover "each grain' before microwave treat kernels. Also, the amount of dye taught by Schwarz ment. kopf for his coloration of individual popcorn kernels The acceptance of popcorn as a stable food product is appears to be generally less than the amount of flavor well established and with its acceptance has also come 55 ant typically needed in internal flavoring of popcorn as the addition thereto of flavors, such as salt, butter, in my present invention to produce a natural type or cheese and caramel, to enhance and improve consumer level of odor and taste in the popped kernels. acceptance. Methods for flavor addition to popped So far as is presently known, however, no prior art popcorn are well known and some attempts have beef teachings exist wherein hulled cereal grain, particularly made to externally fix or coat flavorant compositions to 60 popcorn, has been internally flavored with organic popcorn prior to the popping thereof in an effort to flavorant. improve flavor distribution and execution in the popped Furthermore, no art is now known wherein an inter CO nal flavoring of hulled cereal grain has been accom For example, Nairn U.S. Pat. No. 2,518,247 describes plished in such a way that the product material, as in the coating popcorn kernels to inhibit change in moisture 65 case of popcorn especially, is not only shelf life stable, content thereof during storage using a coating composi but also can be popped or otherwise further and finally tion of vegetable and animal fats and oils, salt, and a processed into an edible food without an appreciable flavorant. loss of kernel popability, or endosperm expansion capa 4,640,842 3. 4. bility, or other property associated with normal un Another aspect of the present invention relates to treated starting hulled cereal grain. hulled cereal grains which are flavored internally and Moreover, no prior art is known where an internally which are adapted for further processing with or with flavored hulled cereal grain product can have during out inclusion with other components into snack foods, such further processing (e.g., popping or the like) a cereal foods, paste, and the like, including also low distinct aroma of a predetermined or desired character, calorie content foodstuffs. and the resulting product can have a distinct taste con Other and further objects, aims, purposes, features, parable to that of a natural product whose flavor the advantages, examples, embodiments and the like will be flavorant resembles. apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings of The art needs new and improved methods of flavor O the present application. ing hulled cereal grain both for improving and strength ening the usability of conventional techniques for hulled DETAILED DESCRIPTION cereal grain processing and utilization, and also for As used herein, the term "flavorant' has reference to making possible entirely new and very useful food prod a substance which when added to food imparts thereto ucts based thereon. 15 a specific organoleptic perception. A flavorant does not produce a physiological organoleptically sensed sweet BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION taste; thus, a flavorant is not a sweetener.

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