DESCRIPTION

METHOD FOR PREPARATION OF FOOD PRODUCT COMPRISING THE COOKING AND DEHYDRATION OF VEGETABLES AND COOKED AND DEHYDRATED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

Technical field The present invention relates to a method for the preparation of an alimentary product, composed of one or more cooked, frozen and dehydrated fruits and vegetables and the relative alimentary product obtained from the said method, and an alimentary product composed of one or more cooked and freeze-dried fruits and vegetables. The said alimentary products are ready for use as a meal substitute or a dietary supplement. Background Art

There exist commonly known ready-for-use alimentary products that are designed to substitute a meal or be used as a dietary supplement which allow one to satiate oneself but also to consume nutritional foods. The said products are characterised by the fact that they are sweet in flavour and are cereal- and/or dry fruit/nut-based.

The said alimentary products have various drawbacks, including the fact that they are sweet in flavour, have cholesterol and are devoid of the organoleptic characteristics of Mediterranean alimentary tradition. Disclosure of Invention

The aim of the present invention is to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks with an alimentary product with a non-sweet flavour, which is devoid of

cholesterol, and has the organoleptic characteristics of Mediterranean alimentary tradition, and with a preservation procedure which safeguards the nutritional and organoleptic quality of the product.

A first aspect of the invention is constituted of the choice of alimentary product or products which constitute the compound in question in the invention. Fruits/vegetables allow the realisation of alimentary products with a non-sweet flavour and, likewise, with the organoleptic characteristics of Mediterranean alimentary tradition. The preparation method applied to the alimentary product in question in the present invention develops over various phases. In the first phase, one or more fruits/vegetables are cut into pieces, whose size ranges from 5 mm to 70 mm, with reference to the length of each side and a thickness of between 5 mm and 25 mm. The said dimensions of the fruit/vegetable pieces allow optimal cooking of the fruits/vegetables, which is realised in the second phase, also facilitating the portionability of the compound during the subsequent freezing and dehydration, which are realised in phases three and four of the method. At the end of the first phase there is a compound consisting of one or more types of fruits/vegetables. The method continues with a second phase in which the compound is dry- cooked, preferably in the oven, with olive oil, at a temperature of between 180 ⁰ C and 24O ⁰ C. Dry-cooking of the vegetables is more advantageous and is preferred to cooking in water as dry-cooking, such as oven-baking, allows the drawbacks of cooking the vegetables in water to be overcome. With the said cooking in water, the vegetables may suffer losses of nutritional value as many substances contained in the vegetables are soluble in the cooking water and, likewise, may suffer nutritional losses and inactivation of nutrients. An important advantage of dry-cooking is that it allows the consistency of the vegetables to be maintained, since a lesser alteration of

the cellulose structure occurs with respect to cooking in water. A further advantage of dry-cooking is that it allows the flavour of the vegetable compound to be enhanced by way of the concentration of the carbohydrates present in the structure of the vegetables. Further advantages of the said type of cooking reside in the way volatile substances are trapped in and so also persist after the end of the cooking process, and in the lesser alteration of the chlorophyll, of the anthocyans present in red vegetables and of the flavones and flavonols that are characteristic of many coloured vegetables, allowing the bright colouring to be maintained in cooked vegetables. The optimal cooking temperature for the compound has been established, based on observation, within the interval from 180 ⁰ C to 240 ⁰ C and the cooking is effected with olive oil, as, based on the experience of experts in the field, cooking in olive oil enhances the organoleptic characteristics of cooked vegetables. The method continues with phase three thereof, in which the compound is frozen to maintain the characteristics thereof and subsequently the said compound is dehydrated in the fourth and final phase of the method. The third and fourth phases of the method succeed, advantageously, in allowing the nutritional and organoleptic quality of the compound to be preserved, based on the results of observations.

The method according to the present invention preferably utilises, among the various dehydration processes, the freeze-drying process, as it has been observed that removing the water in a vacuum at low temperatures maintains the organoleptic quality of the compound in terms of the consistency, colour, odour, and flavour thereof, lending the compound a friable consistency. The method in question in the present invention preferably utilises vacuum- portioning and packing of the compound to allow the advantage of a compound that is easy to use and to increase, by means of vacuum-packing

the compound, the further preservability thereof and safeguard the nutritional and organoleptic qualities thereof.

The present invention also relates to food products obtained through the method subject matter of the present invention. In addition, the present invention relates to food products composed of one or more cooked and freeze-dried fruits/vegetables. This food product is constituted of the said fruit/vegetable pieces whose dimensions vary from 5 mm to 70 mm. In fact, it has been observed that the vegetables cut into pieces, when subjected to cooking and freeze-drying, safeguard the nutritional and organoleptic qualities when their size is contained within 5 mm and 70 mm.

The alimentary products in question in the present invention are compounds containing fruit/vegetable pieces, in which the aubergine pieces have a size ranging from 5 mm to 25 mm with reference to the length of each side; the pepper pieces have a size ranging from 20 mm to 70 mm with reference to the length of each side, and a thickness of between 5 mm and 20 mm; the courgette pieces have a size ranging from 20 mm to 70 mm with reference to the length of each side, and a thickness of between 5 mm and 20 mm. In fact, it has been observed that, in each of the said vegetable pieces subjected to cooking and freeze-drying, the nutritional and organoleptic qualities are safeguarded when the surfaces are contained within the said dimensions.