Improvements in the Process of Manufacturing Flour and Meal.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 21st May, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Process of Manufacturing Flour and Meal.
I, WILLIAM JAGO, of Godrevy House, Wilbury Avenue, Hove, Sussex, Analytical
and Consulting Chemist and Chemical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows;-
-
The outer envelope of the wheat grain (and also that of other cereals used for
bread-making purposes) contains much valuable nutritive matter, but the
physical nature of this envelope renders such nutritive matter almost entirely
incapable of assimilation by the human digestive system. Further the presence
of fragments of this envelope, when broken, (which fragments for convenience
are herein termed "bran" irrespective of their actual size) in flour frequently
exercises an injurious influence during the fermentation of dough as part of the
process of bread-making. Also, the presence of bran in bread and other articles
of food is liable to set up an irritative action on the digestive tracts of delicate
persons. My invention consists in a special method of treatment of bran by
which its nutritive matter is rendered available for human digestion, and the
injurious influences before referred to overcome.
or less
In order to carry my said invention into practice-I first separate as completely
as practicable the bran of wheat, or other cereal under treatment, from the
remainder of the grain, by any convenient milling process. I next treat this
separated bran with some chemical or other agent which shall more
break down its physical structure, and set free the nutritive matter. For this
purpose I find either of the two following preparations and methods of treatment
suitable and convenient: —
"wort "which may
(1). A filtered aqueous infusion of ground barley malt, or
be prepared in the usual and well-known manner at a temperature which should
not exceed 160° F., and conveniently ranges between 140° and 160° F. I add
this wort to the bran and maintain the mixture at a temperature, of 160° F., for
some time say about an hour. I then gradually raise the temperature to the
boiling point. I next evaporate the mixture of bran and wort to complete dry-
ness, using for this purpose a vacuum pan or other convenient appliance. Finally,
I reduce this dried bran residue to either a powder or fine meal and thoroughly
mix it in with the flour from which it was in the first instance separated, which
flour is previously spoken of as "the remainder of the grain."
(2). A dilute solution of pure hydrochloric acid of such strength that the
quantity used to the bran shall produce, on neutralisation with sodium carbonate
or bicarbonate, the quantity of sodium chloride (or common salt) that would be
required in making the whole of the resulting meal into bread. Such salt amounts
to about 4 lbs. per sack of 280 lbs. of meal. The quantities of acid and carbonate
necessary to produce such 4 lbs. of salt would require to be determined by simple
and well-known analytic methods; for example, commercial samples used by the
inventor were required in the proportion of 6 lbs. 8 oz. of acid to 5 lbs. 12 oz. of

page_text: bicarbonate to produce 4 lbs. of salt. For say 280 lbs. of wheat. I take the
separated bran and add to it the necessary amount of acid, for example,
6 lbs. 8 OZ. diluted with about twenty times its weight of water. In a
suitable vessel, I boil the bran and dilute acid together, taking care that the
upper part of the vessel remains full of steam and that the source of heat does not
impinge on that part of the vessel in contact with the surface of the mixture of
bran and acid. (Should it do so the mixture is liable to blacken or caramelise
round the edges). After the boiling has continued for about half an hour, I add
sodium bicarbonate in quantity rather more than sufficient to neutralise the acid
employed, say in the present case, 5 lbs. 14 oz. The mixture is stirred until the
bicarbonate is thoroughly incorporated with every part thereof, after which it is
evaporated to complete dryness, reduced to powder or fine meal and thoroughly
mixed in with the flour from which it had been separated as before. The meal
prepared in this manner does not require the addition of salt at the time of bread-
making.
To
exc
100
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Process of Manufacturing Flour and Meal.
I, WILLIAM JAGO, of Godrevy House, Wilbury Avenue, Hove, Sussex, Analytical
and Consulting Chemist and Chemical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The outer envelope of the wheat grain (and also that of other cereals used
for bread making) contains much valuable nutritive matter, but the
physical nature of this envelope renders such nutritive matter almost entirely
incapable of assimilation by the human digestive system. Further, the presence
in flour of fragments of this envelope when broken (which fragments for con-
venience are herein termed "bran" irrespective of their actual size) frequently
exercises an injurious influence during the fermentation of dough as part of the
process of bread-making. Also, the presence of bran in bread and other articles
of food, is liable to set up an irritative action on the digestive tracts of delicate
persons.
My invention consists in a special treatment of bran by which its nutritive
matter is rendered available for human digestion and the injurious influences
before referred to are overcome, the treatment being such that other valuable food
constituents are incorporated with flour or meal to which the treated bran is
applied.
In order to carry my said invention into practice, I first separate the bran of
wheat, or other cereals under treatment, from the remainder of the grain by any
convenient milling and sifting operations.
I treat the separated bran with a chemical or other agent which more or less
breaks down its physical structure and sets free the nutritive matter.
A suitable agent for this purpose is wort that is to say a filtered aqueous infusion
of ground barley malt which I preferably prepare and apply as follows:
Assuming that 100 lbs. of flour and bran are to be treated, I mix about 25 lbs.
of ground or crushed malt with water at a temperature of 140° F. to 160° F. in a
mash tun. While being well stirred from time to time or continuously the malt
and water are maintained at about the temperature mentioned until as much as
practicable of the soluble constituents of the malt is obtained in the infusion

page_text: condition. I filter off the wort from the "grains" then wash or sparge the grains
with water at about 160° F. and run the second wort thus obtained into the first.
The quantity of water employed may be altogether 10 to 14 gallons. I treat the
bran with the wort thus obtained in the following manner.
I mix the wort which should have a temperature of about 140° F. with the bran
and after raising the temperature to 160° and maintaining it for about an hour,
I gradually raise the temperature to the boiling point. I concentrate the mixture
of bran and wort by boiling off the water taking care that the solid parts of the
mixture do not "catch" or adhere to the surface of the vessel and so get burnt.
In order to prevent such burning I prefer to employ a steam jacketted vessel for
concentrating and evaporating, and, especially during the latter stages of the con-
centration and evaporation, to stir the material well and to detach such portions
as may adhere to the side or bottom of the vessel.
After thus concentrating and thoroughly drying the material I grind it to meal
or fine powder, which I thoroughly mix with flour.
The proportions of the materials the temperatures and the methods of mixing
and drying may be somewhat varied, I find those which I have stated give good
results.
Instead of treating the whole of the bran in the first instance with wort, a portion
such as one third or one fourth may be retained, to be afterwards added to and
mixed with the paste resulting from the boiling down of the wort treated bran.
This promotes the drying of the paste and renders the product more friable.
I would have it understood that I make no claim to the preparation of wort from
malt or to any particular apparatus for concentrating and drying the product,
but having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1 The manufacture of flour and meal, by separating the bran from the flour,
treating the bran with malt wort concentrating, drying and pulverising the
product and mixing it with flour, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. Flour or meal combined with bran treated as above set forth.
Dated this 12th day of January 1898.
ABEL & IMRAY..
Agents for the Applicant.