IMPROVEMENTS IN PReparing Grain FOR Food
Year: 1871

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Edward Newton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th August 1871.-A communication from abroad by Robert
Berkley Fitts, of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania,
United States of America.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patenta, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PReparing Grain FOR
Food," to be as follows :--
It is well known that some kinds of grain possess a glutinous and
starchy substance, which renders the bread made from flour obtained
from the grain in an unprepared state indigestible and unwholesome.
Other kinds of grain are liable (even when growing) to diseases such as
must and rust, which renders them unfit for human food. Many
attempts have been made to cleanse grain from such impurities by
means of rubbing, brushing, and other mechanical operations, but such
processes have only been partially successful.

page_text: The object of the present Invention is to treat such grains with a view
to remove and and destroy any impurities which may be combined there-
with, or to neutralize any damage it may have sustained, and also to cook
the glutinous and starchy substance of the grain and render the whole
friable, so that it may be made into flour which will retain all the phos- 5
phatic and bone, muscle, and brain nourishing elements, and at the same
time bring all the useful properties of the grain into a condition for easy
digestion and ready and perfect assimilation by the functions of the
human system.
The Invention consists, firstly, in subjecting the grain to the action of 1
boiling water, and then submitting it to a drying heat until the grain is
in a suitable condition for the mill. The grain may be subjected to the
action of the boiling water for the space of from five to fifteen minutes.
Simple washing and drying will not effect the intended object, which is
to convert the starchy, glutinous, and indigestible portions of the grain 1
into a wholesome, nutritious, and palatable substance. It is important
therefore that heat should be employed, either by the use of boiling
water, superheated steam, or hot air, so that a chemical change should
be effected in the grain.
The most convenient way of carrying out the Invention is to place 2
the grain in a wire gause cylinder mounted in a vessel containing boiling
water. By causing the cylinder to rotate so as to agitate the grain in
the water all the impurities will be washed out and carried away by the
water. When the grain has been cleansed the foul water and impurities
may be run off, and superheated steam or hot air introduced into the 2
vessel. The wire gauze cylinder must be kept in constant rotation in
order to agitate the grain. The hot air or steam will not only drive off
the moisture from the grain, but it will complete the chemical change
that was commenced by the boiling water, and will bring the grain to a
crisp condition and well fitted for the mill or market. Grain prepared 3
in this manner may be cracked or made into "grits" and prepared for
the table in the ordinary manner. It may be ground into meal or fino
flour, and thus prepared for use in various ways. If the grain be clean
and free from impurities it may be brought into the condition above
described by the use of either saturated or superheated steam and any 3
suitable drying process thereafter, the heat of the steam being sufficient
to effect the desired chemical change; or the grain may be roasted in a
suitable vessel surrounded by steam, the steam supplying the requisite

page_text: heat, while the grain is agitated to prevent scorching. At the com-
mencement of this roasting process there must be a free circulation of
air through the chamber or vessel containing the grain, not simply to
aid evaporation, but as the best possible means of carrying off all
5. disagreeable odours. The grain may be subjected to the action of hot
air in a rotating chamber or vessel arranged for rapid evaporation, and
also for a high degree of heat without scorching and without evaporating
the desirable flavoring oils it contains. By this means the charac-
teristics of the constituent elements of the grain are changed, and a
O portion of the starch is converted into dextrine, and the particles of
gluten in the hull are caused to separate, and the whole kernel rendered
friable, so as to be easily pulverized when it is desired to prepare the
grain in that condition.
.
The resultant article of this treatment of the grain is in dietic
3 economy of the very greatest service to the public, as the starch is
converted into dextrine while the phosphatic elements are retained.