Rigid shirred food casing articles, and related methods and compositions
Rigid shirred food casing articles (e.g., shirred sticks of casing material) include a cohesion-enhancing solution applied to at least one surface of the casing material. The cohesion-enhancing solution comprises at least one polysaccharide (e.g., dextrin) and a predominantly non-aqueous solvent (e.g., comprising propylene glycol). The coherency-enhancing solution comprises less than 50 wt. % water. Related methods and compositions are also disclosed.
1. A shirred food casing article, comprising:
a casing material; and
a coherency-enhancing solution on or in the casing material, the coherency-enhancing solution comprising:
at least one polysaccharide; and
a predominantly non-aqueous solvent, the predominantly non-aqueous solvent comprising at least 50 wt. % of the coherency-enhancing solution, the predominantly non-aqueous solvent comprising one or more of propylene glycol, glycerin, and triglyceride;
the coherency-enhancing solution comprising less than 20 wt. % water.
2. The shirred food casing article of claim 1 , wherein the at least one polysaccharide comprises dextrin.
3. The shirred food casing article of claim 1 , wherein the predominantly non-aqueous solvent comprises the propylene glycol.
4. The shirred food casing article of claim 3 , wherein the coherency-enhancing solution comprises at least 50 wt. % the propylene glycol.
5. The shirred food casing article of claim 1 , wherein the casing material comprises nylon.
6. The shirred food casing article of claim 1 , wherein the casing material is non-permeable.
7. The shirred food casing article of claim 1 , wherein the shirred food casing article comprises at least 140 ft (42.7 m) of a maximum effective length of the casing material.
8. A method for forming a shirred food casing article, the method comprising:
applying a coherency-enhancing solution to at least one surface of a casing material, the coherency-enhancing solution comprising:
at least one polysaccharide; and
a predominantly non-aqueous solvent, the predominantly non-aqueous solvent comprising at least 50 wt. % of the coherency-enhancing solution, the predominantly non-aqueous solvent comprising one or more of propylene glycol, glycerin, and triglyceride;
the coherency-enhancing solution comprising less than 20 wt. % water; and
shirring the casing material to form the shirred food casing article comprising the casing material and the coherency-enhancing solution on or in the casing material.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein applying the coherency-enhancing solution to the at least one surface of the casing material comprises applying the coherency-enhancing solution to the at least one surface of the casing during shirring of the casing material.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein applying the coherency-enhancing solution to the at least one surface of the casing material comprises applying the coherency-enhancing solution to the at least one surface of the casing before shirring of the casing material.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein applying the coherency-enhancing solution to the at least one surface of the casing material comprises applying the coherency-enhancing solution to an outer surface of the casing material.
12. The method of claim 8 , wherein applying the coherency-enhancing solution to the at least one surface of the casing material comprises applying the coherency-enhancing solution to an inner surface of the casing material.
13. The method of claim 8 , wherein applying the coherency-enhancing solution to the at least one surface of the casing material comprises applying the coherency-enhancing solution to both an inner surface and an outer surface of the casing material.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein applying the coherency-enhancing solution to both the inner surface and the outer surface of the casing material comprises applying a different composition of the coherency-enhancing solution to the inner surface than to the outer surface of the casing material.
15. The method of claim 8 , wherein shirring the casing material comprises shirring the casing material on a shirring mandrel.
16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising removing the shirred food casing article from the shirring mandrel without providing a constraining article to inhibit axial expansion of the casing material.
17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising removing the casing material from the shirring mandrel without inserting a supportive structure within a central opening of the shirred food casing article.
18. The method of claim 8 , wherein the method does not include axially compressing the casing material during the shirring.
19. The method of claim 8 , wherein the method does not include axially compressing the casing material after the shirring.
20. A cohesion-enhancing solution for inclusion on or in a shirred casing material, the cohesion-enhancing solution comprising:
at least one polysaccharide; and
a predominantly non-aqueous solvent, the predominantly non-aqueous solvent comprising at least 50 wt. % of the cohesion-enhancing solution, the predominantly non-aqueous solvent comprising one or more of propylene glycol, glycerin, and triglyceride;
the cohesion-enhancing solution comprising less than 20 wt. % water.