WO2004023892A1 - Production process of broken, nixtamalized, dehydrated corn grain using any kind of corn - Google Patents

Abstract

Production process of broken, nixtamalized, dehydrated corn grain using any kind of corn, in which no residual waste water (Nejayote) is originated and the dough obtained has improved qualities. The process has several stages: 1) fractionation of the corn grain to a size of 4-4.5 mm. 2) addition of 0.6-1% of lime and 35-65% weight/volume of water, both in relation to the quantity of corn, maintaining a temperature of 55-65°C for 35-120 minutes in continuous agitation. 15 minutes before this nixtamalization stage ends, the following chemical compounds are added: hydrosulphite, calcium chloride, titanium dioxide and glycerin. Thanks to these additives, the process doesnot have adverse effects on the dough consistency. 3) dehydration of the corn grain.

Description

 PRODUTION PROCESS OF BROKEN, NIXTAMALI21ED, DEHYDRATED CORN GRAIN USING ANY KIND OF CORN

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new process for obtaining dehydrated nixtamalized broken corn, in which no nexayote is produced and the resulting mass of grounding of the nixtamalized broken corn has improved qualities, and can be applied in any type of corn.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

What at first was apparently a religious practice, in which the corn grain was cooked with the calcined bones of some important prisoner, subsequently resulted in the most widespread food in Mexico, Guatemala and all those countries where nationals of these countries live .

This process, later known as nixtamalization, has been the subject of many studies, where the effect of its factors: corn, temperature, time and alkali concentration, as well as the alkali used, has been elucidated. It is currently known that the nutritional effect of nixtamalization is positive, usually corn is deficient in two essential amino acids: Usina and tryptophan. On the other hand, the most abundant protein in said cereal, zein, has an imbalance of amino acids that is improved with nixtamalization.

There have been attempts to specify a characteristic of corn that determines the levels of the different factors to be used during nixtamalization. One of these factors is the hardness of corn. The type of endosperm, floury or cornea, and the ratio of quantities of both in the corn grain, is the determinant of the hardness of the different varieties of corn. And this factor is one of the determinants of the levels of the other factors.

The thickness of the pericarp (skin) is another factor that must be taken into account. In order for hot water with the alkali to penetrate to the innermost layers of the grain, some of the chemical components that form the pericarp cells are required to be dissolved. A greater thickness of the pericarp requires more time, temperature, and lime concentration than when the pericarp is thinner.

Finally, the size of the grain also intervenes in the levels of the different factors of the nixtamalization process. Especially in the time the process lasts, but also in the temperature and concentration of the lime. As a grain is larger, so that the hot alkaline water penetrates to the innermost layers, it it will require more time and therefore a higher temperature.

After much experimentation, it can be concluded that the factors are interdependent and time can be replaced by temperature, temperature by time, concentration of lime by temperature and time, etc.

But even now it has not been quantitatively determined nor the interaction of the conditions, nor the levels of the same to obtain a good nixtamalization, this makes the experimentation necessary to define these levels, its determination not being obvious.

In application 994883, whose inventor and owner is the same as the one presented, an important step is taken in the state of the art, by means of a reduction in particle size, two favorable effects are provoked that facilitate nixtamalization: It reduces the distance between the inner and outer layers, making the nixtamalization process faster and eliminates the need to hydrolyze the pericarpial cells and hemicelluloses to penetrate the grain.

Subsequently, a series of deficiencies of the described process could be perceived: a deficient mass belt; an oxidation of the dough, especially when the outside of the dough was very much in contact with the air; and a poor amount of retained water.

Another process solved very well the problem of belt, oxidation and water retention to allow the preservation of good qualities in tortillas made from said dough. This process, in addition to using specific levels of temperature, time and concentration of lime, includes the addition, in one of the steps, of certain additives, in certain amounts related to the amount of corn to nixtamalize, that is, 15 minutes before the end of the nixtamalization process is added, to the corn-water-lime trinomial, with respect to the amount of corn to nixtamalize, between 0.24 and 0.44% glycerin, between 0.24 and 0.44% of gum arabic, between 0.28 and 0.52% of H2S2O3, between 0.14 and 0.26% titanium dioxide and between

0.28 and 0.52% of CaCI ₂ .

However, this procedure that gave very good results with the corn that was being processed at that time, when the type of corn used was changed, the required quality levels were not reached.

On the other hand, this process included the addition of gum arabic, which somehow provided texture of external origin to that of the corn elements themselves.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

One of the objectives of the present invention is to achieve a process of nixtamalization of broken corn to a certain particle size, which allows it to be used in any type of corn. Another objective of the present invention is to achieve a process of nixtamalization of broken corn at a certain particle size, which does not produce any effect on the belt, at the expense of chemical compounds independent of the corn grain.

Yet another objective is to achieve a procedure with the above qualities and that also achieves a broken, nixtamalized and dehydrated corn kernel, which has a long shelf life without being enriched or reproduced in this fungus, also allowing a adequate rehydration thereof.

Another objective is to give broken, nixtamalized and dehydrated corn such characteristics that, when rehydrated and ground, a dough with optimal water absorption characteristics, texture, belt and sufficient shelf life, without being oxidized , using any corn for its process.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to achieve a broken corn grain, nixtamalized and dry, which, when rehydrated and ground, results in a mass that retains water and does not form the crust of dry mass in its outer layer.

And all those qualities and objectives that will become apparent when making a description of the present invention, supported by the illustrated modalities. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Broadly speaking, the present invention consists of a process that consists of three steps: reduction of the particle size of the raw corn, nxtamalization of said corn and drying thereof, adding certain additives in one of the process steps.

The mode of application of the additives is to add them during the nixtamalization process, so that it is fully absorbed in the grain. For this, it is added in the nixtamalization reactor 15 minutes before the end of the nixtamalization.

In the first step, the fractionation of the corn, in the aforementioned patent application, the application of the same inventor and the same applicant, is taught that the appropriate particle size is between 4 and 4.5 mm.

Nixtamalization is carried out 1) adding to a certain amount of fractionated corn, between 0.6 and 1.0% lime with respect to the amount of corn, 2) between 35 and 65% weight / volume of water with respect to the amount of corn to nixtamalize, at a temperature of 55 and 65 ° C; and 3) maintaining this temperature for a time between 35 and 120 minutes, keeping the corn-water in motion.

Because dehydration is carried out in a parallel process by injecting air at a temperature of 90 ° C and maintaining Do contact the broken corn nixtamalized with this air for 120 minutes or until the grain moisture is between 13 and 14%,

The additives to be added are added 15 minutes before the end of the nixtamalization process, adding to the corn-water-lime trinomial, with respect to each kg of corn to nixtamalize, between 0.5 and 2 grams of hydrosulfite, 2 to 6 grams of chloride calcium, 2 to 6 gr of titanium dioxide and 2 to 7 milliliters of gllcerine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

We proceeded to work with various types of corn to determine the appropriate conditions, and the qualitative and quantitative compositions of the additives.

EXAMPLE 1

100 kg of corn from the fractionated Bajío were taken, 700 g of lime was added and 100 I of water was added at a temperature of

90 ° C Heat was applied to keep the temperature at 90 ° C for 90 minutes, keeping the corn-water-lime in motion.

When grinding the rehydrated nixtamal object of this treatment, it was a mass that absorbed enough water, that had a little oxidation but that because it was very taffy, made the manufacture of the tortilla impossible. Example 2

100 kg of corn from the fractionated American was taken, 700 g of lime was added and 100 I of water was added at a temperature of 90 ° C. Heat was applied to keep the temperature at 90 ° C for 90 minutes, keeping the corn-water-lime in motion.

When grinding the rehydrated nixtamal object of this treatment, it was a mass that absorbed enough water, that had a little oxidation but that because it was very taffy, made the manufacture of the tortilla impossible.

Example 3

100 kg of corn from the fractionated Bajío were taken, 600 g of lime were added and 35 I of water was added at a temperature of 55 ° C for 35 minutes, keeping the corn-water-lime in motion.

It dried later.

By grinding the rehydrated nixtamal object of this treatment, a mass that absorbed enough water, which had a little oxidation, but had acceptable organoleptic qualities was found.

Example 4

100 kg of fractionated American corn were taken, 600 g of lime were added and 35 I of water was added at a temperature of 55 ° C for 35 minutes, keeping the corn-water-lime in motion.

It dried later. By grinding the rehydrated nixtamal object, this treatment resulted in a mass that absorbed little water, had a little oxidation, and had poor organoleptic qualities.

Example 5

100 kg of fractionated American corn were taken, 1000 g of lime was added and 65 I of water was added at a temperature of 65 ° C for 120 minutes, keeping the corn-water-lime in motion. It dried later.

When grinding the rehydrated nixtamal object of this treatment, it was a mass that absorbed little water, that had a little oxidation, and had organoleptic qualities of a little tacky.

Example 6

100 kg of corn from the fractionated Bajío were taken, 1000 g of lime was added and 65 I of water was added at a temperature of 65 ° C for 120 minutes, keeping the corn-water-lime in motion. It dried later.

When grinding the rehydrated nixtamal object of this treatment, it was a mass that absorbed little water, that had a little oxidation, and had organoleptic qualities of a little tacky.

EXAMPLE 7

The conditions of example 3 and 15 minutes were applied before completing 35 minutes of treatment, was added to the corn trinomial. water-lime, 200 ml of glycerin, 50 g hydrosulfite, 200 g of titanium dioxide and 200 g of CaCI ₂ .

The mass obtained is still present, in a smaller amount, than in example 3, a small oxidation and a little dryness.

EXAMPLE 8

The conditions of example 4 and 15 minutes were applied before the 35 minutes of treatment were completed, 200 ml of glycerin, 50 g hydrosulfite, 200 g of titanium dioxide and 200 g of CaCI were added to the trinomial corn-water-lime ₂ .

The mass obtained is still present, in a smaller amount, than in example 4, a small oxidation and a little dryness.

EXAMPLE 9

The conditions of example 3 and 15 minutes were applied before completing 35 minutes of treatment, 700 ml of glycerol, 200 g of hydrosulfite, 600 g of titanium dioxide and 600 g of CaCI were added to the trinomial corn-water-lime ₂ .

The mass obtained has very good organoleptic qualities.

EXAMPLE 10

The conditions of Example 4 and 15 minutes were applied before the 35 minutes of treatment were completed, 700 ml of glycerin, 200 g hydrosulfite, 600 g of titanium dioxide and 600 g of CaCI were added to the trinomial corn-water-lime . The mass obtained has very good organoleptic qualities.

EXAMPLE 11

The conditions of example 3 and 15 minutes were applied before the 35 minutes of treatment were completed, 350 ml of gllcerin, 100 g hydrosulfite, 300 g of titanium dioxide and 400 g of CaCI were added to the trinomial corn-water-lime ₂ . The mass obtained has very good organoleptic qualities.

EXAMPLE 12

The conditions of example 4 and 15 minutes were applied before the 35 minutes of treatment were completed, 350 ml of glycerin, 100 g hydrosulfite, 300 g of titanium dioxide and 400 g of CaCI were added to the trinomial corn-water-lime ₂ . The mass obtained has very good organoleptic qualities.

EXAMPLE 13

The fractionated nixtamalized corn obtained from treatment 11 was placed in a dryer where air was injected, in parallel, at 60 degrees Celsius during a residence time of 120 minutes, achieving a fractional grain with a good shelf life and which when re-drained and Grinding gave a dough with excellent characteristics.

EXAMPLE 14 The fractionated nixtamalized corn obtained from treatment 12 was placed in a dryer where air was injected, in parallel, at 60 degrees Celsius during a residence time of 120 minutes. giving himself a fractionated grain with a good shelf life and which, when rehydrated and ground, gave a dough with excellent characteristics.

Also with this proportion of water with respect to the established amount of corn, it made on the one hand that the level of corn was in constant contact with the water contained in the lime. As corn lime water is constantly moving, each time a different part of corn is being discovered, the amount of water is absorbed or evaporated. The same steam generated in the reactor also has the virtue of participating in the heating of the grain and thus achieving the chemical reaction, simultaneous, homogeneous and stable in its fiber and starch.

This achievement allows a) an optimal nixtamalization, b) The elimination of the cooking broth as the vehicle for nixtamalization with the consequent elimination of water residues and the washing of nutrients id rosol or bles of corn.

With the elimination of water residues and the washing of water-soluble nutrients, a better significant conservation in the nutritive volume is being achieved in the first place.

Its achieved an important benefit to resolve the negative effect on the environmental impact of the traditional nixtamalization process that also achieves a reduction in drinking water consumption. By having less water to heat, the nixtamalization temperature is reduced and the process time is reduced, these last two, because the reduction of the particle made in the first step of the process, significantly reduces the consumption of renewable fuels in the nixtamalization process and also in the subsequent use or application in mills or tortillerías.

Another notable effect of the application of the process that is to be protected in the present application, is to allow more performance in the raw material in the application of the product in the mills and tortillerías, with respect to the good quality because more surface area of Contact reduces the cost in the dough and tortilla. With all these examples, it is concluded that with this level of temperature, time and with the amounts of additives, a process that can be used in any type of corn is achieved.

The invention has been described sufficiently that a person with average knowledge in the field can reproduce and obtain the results mentioned in the present invention. However, any skilled person in the field of the art that is in charge of the present invention may be able to make modifications not described in the present application, however, if for the application of these modifications in a nixtamalization process, the matter claimed in the following claims, said processes must be included within the scope of the Invention.

Claims

CLAIMS Having described the invention sufficiently, it is considered as a novelty and the content in the following clauses is therefore claimed as a novelty. 1. Process of production of broken, nixtamalized and dehydrated corn grain, of the type in which the corn grain is divided to a size between 4 and 4.5 mm, this grain is nixtamalized and dehydrated, characterized in that the Nixtamalization is carried out 1) adding to a certain amount of fractionated corn, between 0.6 and 1.0% lime with respect to the amount of corn, 2) between 35 and 65% weight / volume of water with respect to the amount of corn to nixtamalize, at a temperature of 55 and 65 ° C; and 3) keeping this temperature for between 35 and 120 minutes, keeping the corn-water-lime in motion. 2. Process of production of broken, nixtamalized and dehydrated corn grain, as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the amount of water added is 50% with respect to the weight of corn to be nixtamalized, the temperature is 60 ° C, applied for a time of 60 minutes. 3. Process of production of broken, nixtamalized and dehydrated corn grain, as claimed in any of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that 15 minutes Before finishing the nixtamalization process, between 0.5 and 2 grams of hydrosulfite, 2 to 6 grams of calcium chloride, 2 to 6 grams of titanium dioxide and 2 to 7 milliliters of corn are added for every kg of corn to be nixtamalized. glycerin. 4. Process for the production of broken, nitrated and dehydrated corn grain, as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that 15 minutes before the end of the nixtamalization process, are added, for each kg of corn to nixtamalize, 1 grams of hydrosulfite, 4 g of calcium chloride, 3 gr of titanium dioxide and 3.5 milliliters of glycerin. 5. Process of producing broken, nixtamalized and dehydrated corn grain, as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the dehydration thereof is carried out in a parallel process by injecting air at a temperature of 90 ° C and keeping the nixtamalized broken corn in contact with this air for 120 minutes or until the grain moisture is between 13 and 14%