Fruit and vegetable products
A method for producing a fruit or vegetable product, wherein the method consists essentially of (a) infusing a whole or sliced fruit or vegetable with an infusible molecule to between 10 and 55° Brix; (b) pre-drying the whole or sliced fruit or vegetable at a temperature between 80° C. and 120° C. to produce a pre-dried fruit or vegetable; (c) exposing the pre-dried fruit or vegetable to freezing temperatures and to vacuum to a temperature between −1° C. and −40° C. and a pressure between 7.5 mmHg and 0.53 mmHg, thereby partially subliming the fruit or vegetable; (d) puffing the fruit or vegetable under vacuum between 0.1 mmHg and 600 mmHg at a temperature between 40° C. and 110° C.; (e) cooling the fruit or vegetable under vacuum to a temperature between 0° C. and 40° C., to thereby produce the fruit or vegetable product.
1. A food product comprising a fruit or vegetable, wherein the fruit or vegetable has:
a moisture content of about 1% to about 7% moisture;
a porosity of about 0.4% to about 0.8%; and
a hardness of about 500 g to about 15000 g.
2. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable has a moisture content of about 1% to about 3%.
3. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable has a bulk density of about 0.1 to 0.4 g/cc, an apparent density of about 0.2 to about 0.7 g/cc, and a true density of about 0.3 to about 1.5 g/cc.
4. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable has a bulk density of about 0.13 to 0.27 g/cc, an apparent density of about 0.28 to about 0.42 g/cc, and a true density of about 0.6 to about 1.4 g/cc.
5. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable has a hardness of about 12000 g.
6. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable has a hardness of about 13000 g.
7. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable is an infused fruit or vegetable with a Brix content of about 20° Brix to about 55° Brix.
8. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable is a cranberry, a blueberry, an elderberry, a chokeberry, a lingonberry, a raspberry, a gooseberry, a huckleberry, a strawberry, a blackberry, a cloudberry, a grape, a blackcurrant, a white currant, or a redcurrant.
9. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable has a hardness of 10000 g.
10. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable has a hardness of about 11000 g.
11. The food product of claim 10 , wherein the food product is a cranberry product.
12. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable has a hardness of about 14000 g.
13. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable has a hardness of about 15000 g.
14. A method for producing a fruit or vegetable product, wherein the method comprises:
(a) providing a frozen whole or sliced fruit or vegetable;
(b) pre-drying the whole or sliced fruit or vegetable at a temperature of 70° C. to about 120° C.;
(c) puffing the whole or sliced fruit or vegetable under vacuum at or above a glass transition temperature;
(d) dehydrating the whole or sliced fruit or vegetable under a vacuum pressure of about 0.5 mmHg or about 1 mmHg to a moisture content of about 1% to about 7% moisture; and
(e) cooling the whole or sliced fruit or vegetable under vacuum pressure, to thereby produce the fruit or vegetable product.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising, after step (a):
thawing the whole or sliced fruit or vegetable.
16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising, after step (a):
extracting juice from the whole or sliced fruit or vegetable.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the glass transition temperature is between 26° C. to about 110° C., inclusive.
18. The method of claim 14 , wherein step (c) comprises applying a vacuum of about 0.1 mmHg to about 600 mmHg.
19. The method of claim 14 , wherein step (c) comprises applying a pressure of about 20 mmHg to about 80 mmHg.
20. The method of claim 14 , wherein step (d) comprises applying a vacuum of about 100 mmHg to about 200 mmHg and a temperature at or above the glass transition temperature.
21. The method of claim 14 , further comprising, after step (a):
infusing the whole or sliced fruit or vegetable with an infusible molecule to about 10° to about 55° Brix.
22. The method of claim 14 , wherein step (c) is performed by an apparatus and step (d) is performed by the same apparatus.