Buffered meal component and a kit for making a meal

• US 20040033295A1
• Filed: 08/19/2002
• Published: 02/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Unilever Bestfoods North America (Unilever PLC)
• Original Assignee: Unilever Bestfoods
• Inventors: Gimelli, Kenneth, Sullivan, Daniel Thomas
• Application Number:
  US10/223,207
• Publication Number:
  US 20040033295A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 426/120
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 23/00 Soups; Sauces soya sauce A23L27/50; salad dressings, mayonnaise or ketchup A23L27/60; Preparation or treatment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 7/111 Semi-moist pasta, i.e. containing about 20% of moist; Moist packaged or frozen pasta; Pasta fried or pre-fried in a non-aqueous frying medium, e.g. oil; Packaged pasta to be cooked directly in the package

Abstract

A buffered meal component and a kit comprising the buffered meal component and a sauce are described. The sauce has an acidic pH that is increased by the buffered meal component during cooking to produce a fresh looking and tasting meal that can be prepared in under 40 minutes.

Claims

1. A buffered meal component comprising from about 0.1% to about 3.5% by weight of a buffering agent.

2. The buffered meal component according to claim 1 wherein the buffered meal component is a carbohydrate-based product, meat, vegetable, fruit or mixture thereof.

3. The buffered meal component according to claim 1 wherein the meal component is a carbohydrate-based product and the-carbohydrate-based product is pasta.

4. The buffered meal component according to claim 1 wherein the buffering agent is sodium citrate, sodium malate, sodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, sodium carbonate, sodium hexametaphosphate, potassium citrate, potassium phosphate, potassium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium hexametaphosphate, potassium malate, glucono-delta lactone, buffering salts of food acids or mixture thereof.

5. The buffered meal component according to claim 1 wherein the buffered meal component is suitable to increase the pH of a sauce having a pH from about 3.5 to about 4.5.

6. A kit comprising:

a) a buffered meal component;

b) a sauce;

c) instructions to combine the buffered meal component with the sauce and a liquid to produce a mixture comprising buffered meal component; and

d) instructions to cook the mixture comprising the buffered meal component.

7. The kit according to claim 6 wherein the buffered meal component is a carbohydrate-based product, meat, vegetable, fruit or a mixture thereof, having been buffered with a buffering agent.

8. The kit according to claim 7 wherein the buffering agent is sodium citrate, sodium malate, sodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, sodium carbonate, sodium hexametaphosphate, potassium citrate, potassium phosphate, potassium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium hexametaphosphate, potassium malate, glucono-delta lactone, buffering salts of food acids or mixture thereof.

9. The kit according to claim 7 wherein the buffered meal component is a carbohydrate-based product and the carbohydrate-based product is pasta.

10. The kit according to claim 6 wherein the liquid is milk, cream, water, broth or a mixture thereof.

11. The kit according to claim 6 wherein the sauce has a pH from about 3.5 to about 4.5.

12. The kit according to claim 6 wherein the kit comprises about 1.0 part buffered meal component for about every 0.5 to 1.5 parts of sauce.

13. The kit according to claim 6 wherein the instructions suggest adding a volume of liquid that equals about 1 to 3 times the weight of the buffered meal component plus the sauce.

14. The kit according to claim 6 wherein the instructions suggest to cook the mixture comprising the buffered meal component either on a stove top microwave oven, or in an oven for a period that does not exceed 40 minutes.

15. A method for making a meal comprising the steps of:

(a) combining a sauce, a buffered meal component and a liquid to produce a mixture comprising a buffered meal component;

(b) cooking the mixture comprising the buffered meal component to produce a meal.

16. The method for making a meal according to claim 15 wherein the buffered meal component is a carbohydrate-based product, meat, vegetable, fruit or mixture thereof, and the buffered meal component is buffered with about 0.1% to about 3.5% by weight of a buffering agent which is sodium citrate, sodium malate, sodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, sodium carbonate, sodium hexametaphosphate, potassium citrate, potassium phosphate, potassium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium hexametaphosphate, potassium malate, glucono-delta lactone, buffering salts of food acids or mixture thereof.

17. The method for making a meal according to claim 15 wherein the sauce has a pH from about 3.5 to about 4.5 prior to cooking, and a pH from about 4.85 to about 5.75 after cooking.

18. The method for making a meal according to claim 15 wherein the sauce is alfredo-based, teriyaki-based, cheddar-based or tomoato-based.

19. The method for making a meal according to claim 16 wherein the buffered meal component is carbohydrate-based and the carbohydrate-based buffered meal component is pasta.

20. A meal made by the method of claim 15.