Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Oct., 1886.
Complete Left, 5th July, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 13th Sept., 1887.
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The objects of my invention are:-1st. To act on the wheat germ so as to bring it
into a condition more suitable for use as an article of human food; 2nd. To greatly
improve the flavor and quality of wheaten flour; and, 3rd. To toughen all parts of the
skin of grains of wheat.
I attain my first object by submitting the germ of wheat to the intimate action of
steam in an enclosed space, by which means such germ is rendered more suitable for
use in conjunction with flour for the manufacture of bread or other article of
human food.
To improve the flavor and quality of wheaten flour I utilize the steam which has
already been used to act upon the germ as above described in connection with the
first object of my invention, by causing it to act upon broken wheat at any stage
between the first and last breaks. The broken wheat thus treated will produce a flour
of greatly improved flavor and quality.
The action of steam upon broken wheat will further have the advantage of
toughening all parts of the skin of the grains of wheat, and thereby enable the bran to
be more effectually separated from the flour.
It is well known that the action of steam has a beneficial effect upon the skin of
the grains of wheat, in as much as by toughening such skin before the grain is
reduced, it is prevented from being comminuted during subsequent treatment and so
getting mixed with the flour, middlings, or semolina. But it has hitherto only been
the practice to submit the grains to the action of steam prior to reduction. The con-
sequence of this is that the part of the skin in the cleft of the grain, by reason of the
two lobes being tightly in contact, remains practically unaffected, as the steam cannot
come in contact therewith. This is very detrimental, as that portion of the skin
in the cleft most requires to be acted upon by the steam in order to prevent its
comminution.
The third object of my invention is to enable all parts of the skin of the grain to be
submitted to the action of steam.

page_text: For this purpose I propose to submit the grain to the action of steam subsequent
to its receiving the first break, by which means, in consequence of the grains being
opened, all parts of the skin will be exposed, and can readily be acted upon by the
steam, and further the steam by its action will improve the flavor and quality of the
flour produced from the broken wheat so treated, as described according to the second
object of my invention. For this purpose the steam may be either applied so as to
act on the grain before it leaves the machine in which it receives the first break, or
after it has left such machine. Further the steam may if desired be caused to act on
the broken wheat any number of times and at any period between the first and last
breaks.
It will be understood that steam which has not been first employed to act on the
germ may be used, but I prefer to use steam which has been so previously employed,
as I thereby further improve the flavor and quality of the flour produced from the
broken wheat so treated.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Treatment of the Wheat Germ and Broken Wheat.
I, RICHARD SMITH, Flour Mill, Stoke on Trent, in the County of Stafford, Miller,
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 objects of my invention are, 1st. To act on the wheat germ with superheated
steam in such a manner as to bring it into a condition more suitable for use as an
article of human food; and 2nd. To greatly improve the flavour of broken wheat by
acting upon the same with the steam which has been already used for steaming the
germ, and which has consequently acquired the empyreumatic flavour of the steamed
germ.
For this purpose of carrying my invention into practice I take the germ of wheat
which has been separated from the other parts of the grain in any suitable manner,
and proceed as follows, referring to the drawing annexed hereto which illustrates a
suitable form of apparatus to be employed for the purpose.
A is a tubular steaming vessel of any desired capacity furnished with a hollow
revolving spindle b, b. This spindle b, b, is perforated along a portion of its length
with small apertures to permit of the escape of the steam or the steam may be
admitted through the stationary casing or tubular steaming vessel A between the
blades a with which the spindle is provided, and which blades are so bevelled that
when the spindle b, b, revolves, the germ in the vessel A is caused to travel in the
direction of the arrows e, e. The spindle b, b, is caused to revolve by means of a
pulley B c is a steam pipe conducting steam into the centre of the spindle b, b. Dis
a trough which feeds into A. This trough is constantly kept full of germ so as to
prevent the steam escaping in that direction. E is a trough into which the germ falls
after it has undergone the process of steaming. The steam after it has operated on
the germ is carried off by the trough H, a fan being employed for the purpose if
necessary, and it then meets the broken wheat passing down the trough F, F. I
prefer to treat the wheat with the steam after the first break and before the second
break, but the process of steaming may with advantage be repeated at any time before
the last break. Whatever the pressure of the steam may be at various times in the
boiler from which the steam is taken, it is advisable to use a reducing valve so as to
obtain one uniform pressure, say about 20 lbs per square inch, in the pipe between
the reducing valve and the steaming vessel A; and as it is necessary to use the steam
as dry as possible, I superheat the steam after it has passed the reducing valve, which
causes less waste by condensation and gives generally a better result. The germ
passing out at E is preferably conveyed along an open worm for cooling and drying,
then sifted by any suitable machine to take out lumps made by condensation, after
which it may be mixed with the flour made from the grain with great advantage
to its nutritive power.

page_text: Before submitting the germ to the action of steam, as above described, I preferably
add a small quantity of salt thereto, such quantity being capable of being varied
within large limits, as it will naturally depend on the degree of saltness desired to be
imparted to the germ, and to the proportions in which it is to be mixed with the flour
made from the grain, and will be greatly a matter of taste, but an addition of from 3
to 6 per cent of salt will in most cases be found sufficient. This addition of salt to
the raw germ will further improve the flavour of the flour produced from the germ
after it has been steamed, and will simplify the baker's work by removing the necessity
of adding salt when making such flour into bread or other article of human food,
and reducing the making of the bread to the mixing of the yeast, water and flour
thoroughly together 3 or 4 hours before baking.
By the above treatment the germ of wheat which has been separated from the other
parts of the grain, and which hitherto has only been of use as food for cattle, is
rendered suitable for use as an article of human food, preferably to be mixed with the
flour made from steamed broken wheat. The germ not only imparts a superior
flavour to the flour produced from the admixture, but has the peculiar property
of increasing the weight of bread which can be produced from a given weight of
flour.
By steaming the broken wheat with the superheated steam impregnated with the
empyreumatic flavour obtained from the germ, this flavour is transferred to the wheat,
and the value of the flour produced (even if it should not be deemed desirable to add
to it any germ Hour) is greatly increased.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The steaming of the germ of wheat after it has been separated from the other
parts of the grains of wheat and either with or without the addition of salt, substantially
as specified.
2. The use of the steam which has been used already for the steaming of the germ
of wheat (either alone or with the addition of salt), for the purpose of steaming
broken wheat, substantially as specified.
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