Overnight oats and method of making same
Food compositions having a milk ingredient and steam-treated uncooked grains are described. The compositions provide a convenient alternative to overnight oats. The food compositions preferably include yogurt and uncooked steam-treated oats, which form a food product that has a shelf stability at 4° C. of at least 60 days. Methods of making and using such food compositions are also described wherein the grains are treated with steam just before being mixed with the milk ingredient.
1. A method of making a refrigerated food product, the method comprising:
treating a supply of unprocessed grains with steam to form steam-treated uncooked grains;
mixing the steam-treated uncooked grains with a milk ingredient to form a food composition having about 1% to about 50% steam-treated uncooked grains by weight of the food composition; and
refrigerating the food composition to form the refrigerated food product.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the refrigerated food product has a shelf stability at 4° C. of at least 70 days.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the grains comprise oats.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the milk ingredient is yogurt.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the food composition has a viscosity within a range of 20,000 to 40,000 cps, the viscosity staying within the range at least 35 days.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steam is supplied to the unprocessed grains at a flow rate in a range of about 0.2 to about 0.4 lb. per minute.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the steam is supplied to the unprocessed grains at a temperature in a range of about 105° C. to about 135° C.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the mixing step is performed in a blender with a blending shaft rotating in a range of about 1.8 to 15 rpm.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a microbial load in the steam-treated uncooked grains, wherein the microbial load in the steam-treated uncooked grains is below 10 CFU/g before mixing with the milk ingredient.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the unprocessed grains are treated with steam just before the steam-treated uncooked grains are mixed with the milk ingredient.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising placing the food composition in a package and wherein mixing the steam-treated uncooked grains with the milk ingredient causes the steam-treated uncooked grains to be about 5% to 25% by weight of the food composition.
12. A refrigerated food product comprising:
a shelf-stable food composition including:
a milk ingredient; and
steam-treated uncooked grains, the steam-treated uncooked grains being about 1% to about 50% by weight of the food composition, wherein the food product is refrigerated.
13. The refrigerated food product of claim 12 , wherein the food product has a shelf stability at 4° C. of at least 70 days.
14. The refrigerated food product of claim 12 , wherein the steam-treated uncooked grains comprise oats having a thickness in a range of 0.25 mm to 1.8 mm.
15. The refrigerated food product of claim 14 , wherein the milk ingredient comprises a yogurt.
16. The refrigerated food product of claim 15 , wherein the food composition comprises from 50% to 99% yogurt by weight of the food composition.
17. The refrigerated food product of claim 12 , wherein the food composition has a viscosity within a range of 20,000 to 40,000 cps, the viscosity staying within the range at least 35 days.
18. The refrigerated food product of claim 12 , wherein the food composition further comprises 0.015 to 0.5% citric acid and has a pH of 4.6 or less.
19. The refrigerated food product of claim 12 , wherein the food composition further includes up to 10% of a fruit ingredient or a nut ingredient by weight of the food composition.
20. The refrigerated food product of claim 12 , wherein the steam-treated uncooked grains comprise oats having a protein content of at least 18% by weight of the oats and the steam-treated uncooked grains are about 5% to 25% by weight of the food composition.