SAUSAGE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a procedure for the production of a finger-food sausage.

Background Art

As is well known, the term “finger food” refers to a long-established trend that combines the pleasure of eating comfortably with the need to eat quickly without using cutlery.

In detail, this expression refers to food prepared in small portions and eaten without the use of cutlery generally through the use of one hand.

This type of food tends to be eaten during appetizers or in banquet services at ceremonies or events.

Currently popular finger foods do not include sausages because of the presence of the outer casing, which must be removed before consumption.

Specifically, as is well known a sausage consists of a mixture of ground meat, fat, flavorings and additives, which is then placed in a natural or synthetic casing that must be removed before consumption.

Sausages, such as salami, are served cut into thin slices that are substantially discoidal in shape. Therefore, removal of the outer skin, i.e., the casing, is extremely difficult and often requires two hands and/or the use of cutlery.

This is compounded by the fact that the operations of removing the outer skin of the salami are often inelegant especially in event and ceremonial settings, limiting the use of this food in banquet services.

In addition, the presence of the casing significantly reduces the possibility of flavoring the sausage, the latter being substantially solid and cylindrical in shape which does not allow flavoring substances to adhere thereto.

The conformation of the casing also severely limits the possibilities of varying the shape of the salami itself from those traditionally popular, namely the classic cylindrical shape for slicing.

In fact, known sausage production procedures involve placing the meat-based mixture inside the casing whether it is of vegetable or animal origin, and subsequent drying and curing.

It is necessary to consider that the outer casing is subject to the formation of aging molds, which play a key function during the curing process of processed meats and which naturally form on the casing.

However, because they are molds, they have unpleasant tastes and odors, and therefore it is essential to remove the casing before the salami is consumed so as not to alter the organoleptic perception to the consumer.

At present, there is therefore a particular need for a procedure for the production of a finger-food sausage which has an inviting shape and appearance, varied in the colors and flavors present as well as being easy to handle and easy to consume.

Description of the Invention

The main aim of the present invention is to devise a procedure for the production of a finger-food sausage which allows for the production of a sausage having different conformations by allowing it to be consumed through the use of one hand.

Within this aim, one object of the present invention is to devise a procedure for the production of a finger-food sausage which allows the sausage to be consumed while avoiding the removal of the outer casing.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a procedure for the production of a finger-food sausage which allows the flavoring of the sausage to be tailored to the needs of consumers.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a procedure for the production of a finger-food sausage which can overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art within the framework of a simple, rational, easy and effective to use as well as affordable solution.

The aforementioned objects are achieved by this procedure for the production of a finger-food sausage having the characteristics of claim 1.

Embodiments of the Invention

It is specified that in the context of this disclosure the term “finger-food” refers to a sausage that is prepared in small portions and can be eaten without the use of cutlery, through the use of the hands alone.

The procedure comprises at least the following phases of: preparing at least one mixture comprising at least one of the following ingredients: meat, vegetables, cheese; extruding the mixture to obtain an extruded preparation having a predefined conformation; covering the extruded preparation with a hydro-colloidal liquid mixture; drying the hydro-colloidal liquid mixture, carried out at a temperature comprised between 5°C and 20°C, to obtain a sausage.

Preferably, the mixture comprises at least one of: pork meat, present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the mixture, greater than 50%; and poultry meat, present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the mixture, greater than 50%.

In accordance with a first embodiment, the mixture is pork meat-based and comprises pork fat present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the mixture, of substantially 30%.

At the same time, in accordance with a second embodiment, the mixture is poultry meat-based and comprises poultry fat present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the mixture, of substantially 35%.

Both embodiments for the production of the mixture also comprise: salt present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the mixture, of substantially 3%. sugar present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the mixture, of substantially 1%; natural flavorings present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the mixture, of 0.5 percent.

Next, the phase of extrusion is adapted to allow the mixture to be molded, giving it the predefined shape. Appropriately, the phase of extrusion is carried out at a temperature comprised between 0°C and 4°C.

The phase of extrusion is carried out by means of an extruder device of a type known to the technician in the field and adapted to extrude a plurality of extruded preparations of predefined shape.

Preferably, the phase of extrusion comprises at least one step of forming the extruded preparation wherein the predefined shape is selected from the list comprising: sphere or parallelepiped.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the predefined shape consists of a sphere.

Advantageously, the sphere has a diameter comprised between 1 cm and 5 cm, preferably 2 cm.

The fact that the extruded preparation has a spherical shape greatly enhances the functional value of the present invention; the spherical shape, in fact, allows promoting considerably easier to handle and, therefore, to consume the sausage, which is easy to grasp with one hand.

Next, the procedure comprises the phase of covering the extruded preparation with the hydro-colloidal mixture to obtain the sausage.

Preferably, the liquid hydro-colloidal mixture comprises at least one gelling agent selected from the list comprising: pectin, starch, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, guar gum, xanthan gum, agar agar, carob seed flour, inulin, carrageenan, alginate, curdlan gum, dextran, gellan gum, gum arabic, Karaya gum, ghatti gum, tragantah gum, locust bean gum, tara gum, tamarind gum, konjac, mannan.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the liquid hydro-colloidal mixture comprises alginate.

Advantageously, the liquid hydro-colloidal mixture comprises calcium chloride present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the liquid mixture, comprised between 2% and 5% and alginate present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the liquid mixture, comprised between 0.5% and 5%. In detail, the liquid hydro-colloidal mixture comprises calcium chloride present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the liquid mixture, substantially equal to 3% and calcium chloride present in a concentration by weight, evaluated with respect to the total weight of the liquid mixture, substantially equal to 1.5%.

The procedure then comprises the phase of drying which is carried out at a temperature comprised between 10°C and 15°C.

In detail, the phase of drying is carried out at ambient conditions of humidity comprised between 50% and 80%.

Preferably, the ambient humidity is comprised between 60% and 70%.

The phase of drying is carried out by means of the dispensing of a stream of heated air which is adapted to hit the sausage arranged to rest on a supporting surface.

The stream of heated air has a propagation direction with a first stretch substantially parallel to the supporting surface and a second stretch substantially perpendicular to the supporting surface.

This means that, in contrast to the drying of known sausages which are hung in a heated environment, the sausage obtained by the procedure in accordance with the present invention is subjected to drying by being placed on the supporting surface, in turn, hit by a suitably directed stream of heated air.

In fact, the propagation direction of the stream of heated air has the first stretch arranged below and parallel to the supporting surface and the second stretch arranged perpendicular to the first stretch.

In other words, the propagation direction has an L-shaped trajectory where the second stretch is directed in such a way that it crosses the supporting surface and hits the sausage resting there from bottom to top.

It cannot however be ruled out from the present disclosure that the first stretch of the propagation direction of the stream of heated air is arranged above the supporting surface and the second stretch crosses the supporting surface from top to bottom.

To ensure that sterile conditions are maintained during the performance of the procedure in accordance with this invention and that the absence of microbes, bacteria, viruses, and molds is guaranteed, the procedure comprises at least one phase of sterilization of the stream of heated air.

The phase of sterilization is carried out by means of a UV light treatment.

Once the drying of the liquid hydro-colloidal solution is completed, the latter solidifies to form an outer film covering the extruded preparation.

Such a film is edible and thus avoids the inconvenient and laborious removal operations of the outer casing typical of known sausages.

Finally, the procedure comprises at least one phase of flavoring the sausage by means of the application of one of: cheese, dried fruit, flavoring of plant origin, flavoring of animal origin, vegetables.

This phase of flavoring comprises a step of covering the sausage by means of a powdery or fluid composition comprising at least one of: fat of plant origin, cheese, dried fruit, flavoring of plant origin, flavoring of animal origin, vegetables.

The powdery composition may consist of only one of the aforementioned components or of the mixture of two or more of them.

The phase of covering makes it possible to obtain sausages having different flavors according to the needs of consumers.

In addition to this, the phase of flavoring in combination with the spherical shape of the sausage allows for packages having a plurality of different flavorings.

Below are two examples of the formulation of the sausage obtained from the procedure according to the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

Pork meat: 65.5%;

Pork fat: 30%

- Salt: 3%

Sugar: 1%

Natural flavors: 0.5%

EXAMPLE 2 Poultry meat: 60.0%;

Pork fat: 35%

- Salt: 3%

Sugar: 1% - Natural flavors: 0.5%

The sausage obtained from the procedure in accordance with the present invention has undergone the bacteriological and shelf-life analysis reported below. In the bacteriological analysis, a sausage having the two different formulations have been tested. The first formulation relates to a pork meat- based sausage (SAUSAGE 1 - Tables 1-4) and the second formulation relates to a pork meat-based sausage coated externally with fat of plant origin to define an external confection (SAUSAGE 2 - Table 5):

SAUSAGE 1:

Pork meat: 65.5%; - Pork fat: 30%

- Salt: 3%

Sugar: 1%

Natural flavors: 0.5%

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3 Table 4 SAUSAGE 2:

Pork meat: 65.5%;

Pork fat: 30%

- Salt: 3%

Sugar: 1% - Natural flavors: 0.5%

Table 5

From the above tables, it is observed that the execution of the procedure according to the invention results in a finger-food sausage having an edible film that does not need to be removed before consumption and surprisingly provided with resistance to microbial, bacteriological and fungal contamination.

It has in practice been ascertained that the described invention achieves the intended objects.

It is emphasized that the special expedient of providing for the synergistic combination of a phase of extrusion adapted to give the sausage a predetermined conformation with the phase of covering by means of a liquid hydro-colloidal mixture makes it possible to obtain a finger-food sausage that eliminates the need to remove the outer casing before consumption and allows it to be flavored according to consumer’s needs.