US 20140057027A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2014/0057027 A1 ABLETT et al. (43) Pub. Date: Feb. 27, 2014 (54) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR Publication Classification SMOKE-INFUSING PROTEINACEOUS FOODS AND SMOKED-INFUSED SUCH (51) Int. Cl. PROTEINACEOUS FOOD PRODUCT A23C 9/14 (2006.01) SO-OBTANED B65B3L/02 (2006.01) (52) U.S. Cl. (71) Applicant: CRUSTOCEAN TECHNOLOGIES CPC ............... A23C 19/14 (2013.01); B65B31/024 LIMITED, Charlottetown (CA) (2013.01) USPC .............................. 426/314; 426/582: 53/432 (72) Inventors: Richard ABLETT, Charlottetown (CA); Cyril GALLANT, Souris (CA) (57) ABSTRACT A method of Smoke-infusing proteinaceous foods comprises (73) Assignee: CRUSTOCEAN TECHNOLOGIES the following sequential steps: a) enclosing the proteinaceous LIMITED, Charlottetown (CA) foods in a vacuum-treating Zone; b) introducing Smoke directly or indirectly from a Smoke generation Zone into the (21) Appl. No.: 14/070,680 vacuum-treating Zone; c) subjecting the proteinaceous foods to vacuum purging at a negative pressure in the vacuum treating Zone, thereby infusing Smoke into the proteinaceous (22) Filed: Nov. 4, 2013 foods; d) repeating the steps of introducing Smoke directly or indirectly from the Smoke generation Zone into the vacuum Related U.S. Application Data treating Zone; Subjecting the proteinaceous foods to vacuum (62) Division of application No. 13/059,163, filed on Feb. purging at a negative pressure in the vacuum-treating Zone at 15, 2011, now Pat. No. 8,574,652, filed as application least fifty times in pulsed sequences of Smoke introduction No. PCT/CA2010/000222 on Feb. 18, 2010. stage/vacuum purging stage/vacuum release stage for the effi cient infusion of Smoke into the proteinaceous foods; and e) a (30) Foreign Application Priority Data post-chill resting cycle of the Smoke-infused proteinaceous foods at a suitable temperature and for a suitable period of Feb. 18, 2009 (CA) .................................... 13059 163 time. Patent Application Publication Feb. 27, 2014 Sheet 1 of 5 US 2014/0057027 A1 Patent Application Publication Feb. 27, 2014 Sheet 2 of 5 US 2014/0057027 A1 s O n CN CN S OO CN Patent Application Publication Feb. 27, 2014 Sheet 3 of 5 US 2014/0057027 A1 082 Z82 | | | 9/Z Z93#9 |----- 8/Z OOZ Patent Application Publication Feb. 27, 2014 Sheet 4 of 5 US 2014/0057027 A1 S CO O) CN onCN 1 N TR OO O N CN / CN CN S N. / CN S S Odo E Patent Application Publication Feb. 27, 2014 Sheet 5 of 5 US 2014/0057027 A1 26O US 2014/0057027 A1 Feb. 27, 2014 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR adequately could be reduced if the smoking method could be SMOKE-INFUSING PROTEINACEOUS performed under pressure. It was also found that Smoking FOODS AND SMOKED-INFUSED SUCH Such proteinaceous foods under pressure imparted more PROTEINACEOUS FOOD PRODUCT Smoke flavor to the food and tended to cause such proteina SO-OBTANED ceous foods to retain additional moisture. It was then later found that the time required to Smoke such proteinaceous CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED foods adequately could be reduced if the Smoking and cook APPLICATIONS ing processes could be performed in combination and under 0001. This PCT Application claims priority from Cana pressure. dian Patent Application Number 2,655.426, filed Feb. 18, 0009 Natural smoke can preserve the nutritional compo 2009, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by nents and wholesomeness of dairy products while at the same reference in its entirety. time retarding spoilage. Smoked cheese, such as Smoked cheddar cheese, Smoked ham and Smoked turkey breast are TECHNICAL FIELD Some examples of popular foods treated by Smoke. 0010. Another method of “curing used in less expensive 0002 This invention relates to the field of smoke-infusing cheeses is to use liquid Smoke flavoring to give the cheese the proteinaceous foods, e.g., cheeses, crustaceans, bivalve mol outside appearance of having been Smoked in the more tra lusks, gastropod mollusks, fish, meats and poultry and to the ditional manner. Smoked-infused such proteinaceous foods so-obtained. 0011 Smoked cheese is any cheese that has been specifi cally treated by Smoke curing. It typically has a yellowish BACKGROUND brown outer "coating, which is a result of this curing pro 0003. The preservation of the above-identified proteina cess. Furthermore, a common factor of the known Smoking ceous foods, e.g., cheeses, crustaceans, bivalve mollusks, processes is that the total Smoking time for cheese, Smoked by gastropod mollusks, fish, meats and poultry has been a major method of liquid Smoke, is comparatively long. concern for humanity, and the following is a Summary of the 0012. In the examples given above, the result has been a problems which have been encountered in the preservation of Smoke-flavored food. Thus, the known processes are not com the above-identified proteinaceous foods. pletely satisfactory as regards the uniformity, the color qual 0004 Dating back thousands of years, before the inven ity and color stability and occasionally as regards their taste tion of refrigeration, freezing and canning processes, various especially for cheeses. In many smoking methods, where proteinaceous foods, e.g., cheeses, crustaceans, bivalve mol separate heating Surfaces are arranged in the path of the lusks, gastropod mollusks, fish, meats and poultry, were circulated treating medium (generally predominantly air), cured by natural Smoke. Historically, such proteinaceous these are Susceptible to contamination, wear and tear and foods have been Smoked at atmospheric pressures and vary faults. ing temperature ranges over long periods of time. 0013. In the field of processing of hard and soft shelled 0005 Smoke curing is typically done in one of two ways: crustaceans, e.g., lobsters or crabs or shrimp, the processors namely cold-Smoking; and hot Smoking. The cold Smoking have for many years used post-harvest stabilization as fresh method particularly where the proteinaceous foods products chilled or frozen distribution methods. More typically, the are cheeses can take up to one month depending on the cheese processors Subjected Such lobsters or crabs or shrimp to meth variety. The cold Smoking process Smokes proteinaceous ods of cooking then freezing whole and typically as frozen food materials, e.g. cheese at between 4°C. to 28°C. The cold in-brine packaging (e.g. known popularly in lobster process Smoking method is a less Stringent method and will assist in ing as "popsicle pack”) or by separating the cooked meat of keeping proteinaceous food materials, e.g. cheese moist and such lobsters or crabs or shrimp from the shell and marketing acceptable. Such meat of Such lobsters or crabs or shrimp as frozen 0006 Hot Smoke can partially or completely cook, dry, vacuum-pack or canned products. and dehydrate foodstuffs and thus is not deemed to be suitable 0014. These lobster or crab or shrimp processing indus for cheeses and some other foods, by treating them at tem tries are traditional in their approach and these typical pro peratures ranging from about 60° C. to about 75° C. Obvi cessing techniques are associated with a necessity to handle ously, this should not apply to certain food categories, e.g. unpredictable catches and large seasonal Volumes of raw Such cheeses. Components of the Smoke emitted from various lobsters or crabs or shrimp for which there is a need to stabi types of fuel will enhance the taste and preserve the color of lize such lobsters or crabs quickly and with simplicity. These the food. However, it was found that Smoking and cooking approaches do not necessarily attend the changing demands crustaceans, meat and poultry under pressure imparted more of modern consumers. Smoke flavor thereto tended to cause the crustaceans, meat 0015. In recent years, these lobster or crab or shrimp or and poultry to retain additional moisture, and caused the even the oyster processing industries have responded to con crustaceans, meat and poultry to be more tender as compared Sumer demand for fresh lobsters or crabs or shrimp by adopt to meat Smoked at atmospheric pressure. ing new methods of processing which include the use of the 0007 Thus, with respect to cold-smoking and hot smok separation of the raw meat from the shells of lobsters or crabs ing, the combinations and variations in temperature from or shrimp and Subsequent rapid freezing of Such separated about 4°C. to about 70° C., fuel types, humidity, circulation raw meat. These new methods include the use of freeze-thaw and exposure times are great. separation techniques as well as the use of applied high 0008. Historically such proteinaceous foods have been hydrostatic pressure which has been shown to effect release Smoked at atmospheric pressures and varying temperature of raw meat from the shell material of lobsters or crabs or ranges over relatively long periods of time. It was later found shrimp. Extracted raw meat of lobsters or crabs is then frozen that the time required to Smoke such proteinaceous foods and distributed for Subsequent thawing and cooking. US 2014/0057027 A1 Feb. 27, 2014 0016. Heretofore, packaging of such lobsters or crabs or time and impart a Smoke flavor to the fish. The Smoke com shrimp in buyer-friendly containers having a good visibility pounds act as a natural “bacteriostat” and greatly increase the of such has been virtually unknown as the shells of such refrigerated shelf life of the fish (up to three times the un lobsters or crabs, by virtue of their shape and their sharp smoked shelflife). It is believed that smoking of fish increases appendages, made it inappropriate to vacuum seal the lobster the shelf life by killing a majority of the bacteria initially or crabs product in marketable packaging for retail use.