IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF NEW ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Garret Tongue at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition on the
31st March 1875.-A communication from abroad by Adolphe
Gannal, Doctor of Medicine, of Paris, France.
I, JOHN GARRETT TONGUE, of the Firm of Tongue and Birkbeck,
Patent Agents and Engineers, of 34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF NEW
ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES," (a communication to me from abroad by
Adolphe Gannal, Doctor of Medicine, of Paris, France,) to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a new process or means of preparing
alimentary substances by combining the nutritive elements contained in
rice, semoulina of wheat, or Indian corn gluten, and vegetables with the
azotic principles of soluble meat.
For some years a new alimentary production has come into extensive
use, viz., tapioca boiled with extracts of meat Liebig, first prepared in
England then in France. The establishment in Paris has given to this

page_text: Preparation of Broth.-The concentrated broth of "pot au feu" is
obtained by evaporation at a low temperature, which preparation is well
known and described in most cookery books, only in preparing the "pot
au feu" not an atom of salt must be added. The broth thus obtained
the fat is taken off and when well clarified is evaporated at a
temperature of about "75 degrees centigrade" and until the concen-
trated product shows 25 degrées arés mètre of Beaumé, and at a
temperature of 75° centigrade or thereabout. The broth at this degree
of concentration in cooling becomes a firm jelly which can be entirely
evaporated by exposure to the air more or less rapidly. It is to the
gelatine that the concentrated broth is indebted of this faculty prepared
according to the process which has been described, the gelatine is not
decomposed.
The addition of salt to the "pot au feu" would partly destroy the
property of the broth to become a firm gelly and would render it gluey;
the evaporation and concentration of broth to a higher temperature than
"75° centigrade" would give a similar result.
In the extracts of "Leibig" prepared with meat only, without
vegetables, and by a chemical and not culinary process, the gelatine
exists; notwithstanding all that is said by the manufacturer and the
prospectus of the retailer it still exists in a particular state; it is owing
to this particular state that the "Liebig" extracts which (notwithstand-
ing the bad taste and smell) are employed in "praliner" tapioca are not
fit for the manufacture of products which do not absorb them, such as
rice; whatever may be the quantity used the paste without consistency
remains moist and gluey and therefore cannot be dried and made into
cakes.
The moulded products disintegrate spontaneously, therefore the drying
of the prepared product into cakes is of the greatest importance; the
bulk being reduced helps to preserve it, and considerably reduces the
cost in carriage and in use.
It is not in all cases required that the products be made into cakes,
because applied to tapioca is of no use and even injurious, but is useful
for all the products which do not form into lumps in boiling, in par-
ticular for the supply of these products to the army.
The great difference resulting in the use of concentrated broth of "pot
au feu" or extracts of "Leibig" is that by the difference of action of

page_text: the said products resulting through their difference in quality this
system of "prinalage" is based.
By substituting concentrated broth (instead of the said extracts) the
taste and aroma are very pleasing and agreeable, the preparation and
quality of the same having been previously described.
In preparing products which have never been obtained before it is
desirable to mould them into cakes without using pressure and by
means of the simple adhesive property of the said concentrated broth.
Broth being prepared and concentrated in the manner herein-before
described has a physical quality, which is made use of by applying the
same to the manufacture of new products which form the object of this
Invention.
Preparation of Vegetable Substances.-Dry vegetable substances
being susceptible of formenting, more or less, by containing formenting
matters which act slowly and greatly deteriorate the taste and quality,
besides these substances contain worm eggs which after hatching soon
destroy them. In order to ensure the preservation of these products it
is indispensible to remove all these causes of deterioration. In order
to obtain this result all the vegetable substances which it is intended to
mix with the concentrated broth are submitted to a high temperature of
100 to 110° centigrade, which has for its object the means of destroying
all the formenting properties as well as killing the animal germ.
Pralinage" of the Substances.-The name of "pralinage" has been
given to the processes which employed, and the name of "pralines" to
the products, in fact the process is a real "pralinage." In taking the
vegetable substances to be prepared as they are withdrawn from the
heating apparatus and still having kept part of the heat to which they
have been submitted, they are brewed with 15% of their weight of con-
centrated broth, melted and kept hot until the mixing is perfect and so
that each part of the vegetable product is well saturated with broth,
which process is performed in a few minutes; in that state the product
may be moulded into cakes, which in cooling becomes firm or solid; if
the product requires to be in a granulated state and not in cakes it only
requires to let it cool on a frame, then it is easy by simply rubbing the
material to loosen and detach the grains or lumps one from the other
while they remain in a granulated state; the cakes or granulated

page_text: products are then put into a stove and dried at a low temperature, say
about 30 to 35 degrees centigrade..
The new products prepared by the process previously described are
the following:-Rice "prolina" in concentrated beef broth, semoulina
of wheat or Indian corn, decorticated buckwheat, gluten, a special
article as food for the sick, vegetable tapioca; all these are also "pralines."
Vegetable tapioca being an article requiring a particular fabrication it is
necessary to give a detailed description thereof. Vegetables preserved by
the process of drying require to be boiled a long time. The semoulina
and flower which are made with these dried vegetables have partly the
same inconvenience.
In order to obtain products for easy and quick preparation, the
following are the means of preparing vegetables which answer that
purpose:The vegetables being well boiled are easy to pass through a
sieve, then the paste being dried in a stove is passed through sieves or
strainers of different size in order to convert it into a granulated state
having the form and aspect of tapioca, but preserving the color of each
kind of vegetable.
In order to facilitate the drying process of the paste the substance is
well mixed with fecula, which absorbes the water contained in vegetable
substances; the paste is then treated on a hot metal plate, as used in the
manufacture of tapioca and the product obtained is a real vegetable
tapioca. These products may be used as ordinary tapioca without being
mixed with concentrated broth and a good pottage is obtained in a few
minutes and constitutes quite a new alimentary article. " Pralines "
only, or mixed with rice or semoulina in concentrated broth, are
excellent products for food.