IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MALTED FARINACEOUS FOOD FOR INFANTS AND INVALIDS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Julius Schweitzer of Loughborough Park Brixton in th
County of Surrey for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF MALTED FARINACEOUS FOOD FOR INFANTS AND INVALIDS
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Julius Schweitzer at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd September 1882.
;
JULIUS SCHWEITZER of Loughborough Park Brixton in the County of Surrey
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MALTED FARINACEOUS FOOD FOR INFANTS
AND INVALIDS
"
The Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of Malted
farinaceous food for Infants and Invalids
For this purpose I subject the flour, while baking, to the action of steam
introduced into the oven by means of a pipe so that the steain comes into actual
contact with the baking flour.
Previous however to treating the flour in the manner above described I according
to my present Invention mix it with a small per centage of acid, either phosphoric,
hydrochloric, citric, tartaric or other suitable acid.
The combined action of heat in the oven, steam and acid facilitate materially the
baking of the flour and the breaking up of the starch granules.
The acid after the flour is baked is removed or neutralized in the flour by the
addition of soda, potash or other alkali suitable to the acid used, and the flour
baked and prepared as above is afterwards mixed with malt flour and converted in
the usual way into a self digesting food for Infants and Invalids.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Julius Schweitzer in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st March 1883.
JULIUS SCHWEITZER of Loughborough Park Brixton in the County of Surrey
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MALTED FARINACEOUS FOOD FOR INFANTS
AND INVALIDS
"
The invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of malted
farinaceous food for Infants and Invalids.
For this purpose I as heretofore subject the flour while baking to the action of
steam introduced into the oven by means of a pipe so that the steam comes in
actual contact with the baking flour.
Previous however to treating the flour in the manner above described I according
to my present invention mix it with a small per centage of acid, either phosphoric
hydrochloric, citric, tartaric or other suitable acid.
The combined action of heat steam and acid facilitate materially the baking of
the flour and the breaking up of the starch granules.
The acid after the flour is baked is removed or neutralized in the flour by the
addition of soda, potash or other alkali suitable to the acid used.
I will now proceed to describe the method and apparatus I employ in carrying
out the above manufacture.
The oven I use (but which however I do not claim as part of my present
invention) is of iron, the bottom and top of the oven consist of steam jackets, it is
twelve feet broad six feet deep and eighteen inches high and holds for one baking,
usually three sacks of flour or 7 hundred weight, it is however preferable to bake
a smaller quantity (say one sack) at a time as the heat and steam penetrate and act
more readily on a thinner layer of flour. When the oven is hot and the pressure
of steam in the jackets is from 10 to 20 pounds to the square inch, I allow the
steam to enter the oven by means of a pipe and tap, the pipe enters the oven near
the upper portion and preferably branches into a number of pipes which conduct
the steam to the sides and back of the oven and spread the steam uniformly all
over the top of the flour so as to fill in fact all the space left vacant between the
flour and the top jacket of the oven with an atmosphere of heated steam, the oven
though not steam tight should confine the steam as much as possible.
During the baking of the flour the steam in the jackets is caused gradually to
rise to a pressure of about 35 to 40 pounds to the square inch.
About every half hour during the baking process I turn the steam off and turn
the flour well over which when baking large quantities of flour at a time, is
necessary to ensure that the steam may be thoroughly diffused amongst the flour
and permeate and come into contact with every particle of it, and in order to
prevent the said steam from introducing into the oven any condensed water. I
conduct the steam first into a small vessel a, such as that represented in the
accompanying drawing in elevation at Figure 1 and in plan at Figure 2.
This vessel is about 18 inches high and capable of holding about 2 gallons.
The steam enters this vessel near the bottom thereof at b and is thence conducted
into the oven by a pipe fixed near the top of the vessel at c.
The condensed water is occasionally removed from the said vessel by means of a
tap at d. The steam so introduced into the heated oven does not make the flour
pasty as would be the case if the condensed water were not removed from the
steam previous to its introduction into the oven but causes the flour to become
simply somewhat clammy, this assists in conducting the heat right through the

page_text: mass of flour and in breaking the starch granules without either scorching or
unduly wetting the baking flour. The acid mixed with the raw flour effects a
more ready and more perfect baking, any kind of acid will effect this object, but
for the purpose of the present invention that is to say for the production of an
article of diet, I have found powdered tartaric acid most convenient, I use about
2 pounds of tartaric acid to each sack of flour containing 280 pounds of flour, the
higher the temperature at which the steam is introduced and the flour baked, the
smaller is the amount of acid required to be used while at a comparatively low
temperature and when a large quantity of flour is baked at a time rather more acid
is required to produce the desired effect.
When the flour (say three sacks) is baked in the manner above described which
at a temperature gradually rising to from about 300 to 330 degrees Fahrenheit
takes about 6 hours while for a smaller quantity it takes less time, the flour is dried
and mixed with about one third its weight of malt flour and for every pound of
acid used in the baking I add about 20 ounces of bicarbonate of potash which
converts the tartaric acid into a harmless and pleasant cream of tartar.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the mode in which
I carry the same into effect I would have it understood that I lay no claim to the
oven or other apparatus used nor to the introduction of steam into the oven
But what I claim as my invention of improvements in the manufacture of malted
farinaceous food is
First. Mixing an acid with the raw flour to assist the baking operation and
improve the result substantially as herein described
Second. Adding to flour baked as herein described and mixed with malt flour a
certain proportion of an alkali suitable to the acid used substantially as herein
described and for the purpose stated.
In witness whereof I the said Julius Schweitzer have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Twentieth day of March in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.