Steam Infusion is a direct-contact heating process in which steam condenses on the surface of a pumpable

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

product. Its primary use is for the gentle and rapid heating of a variety of food ingredients and products including milk, cream,

soymilk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...

, ketchup, soups and sauces. Unlike

steam injection Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. ...

and traditional vesselled steam heating; the steam infusion process surrounds the liquid food product with steam as opposed to passing steam through the liquid. Steam Infusion allows food product to be cooked, mixed and pumped within a single unit, often removing the need for multiple stages of processing.

History

Steam infusion was first used in

pasteurization Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. The ...

and has since been developed for further liquid heating applications.

First generation

In the 1960s

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launched the first steam infusion system under the Palarisator brand name. This involves a 2-stage process for steam infusion whereby the liquid is cascaded into a large pressurized steam chamber and is sterilized when falling as film or droplets through the chamber. The liquid is then condensed at the chilled bottom of the chamber. Illustrated in the image on the right hand side of the page.

Second generation

The Steam Infusion process was first developed in 2000 by Pursuit Dynamics PLC as a method for marine propulsion. The process has since been developed to be used for applications in brewing, food and beverages, public health and safety, bioenergy, industrial licensing, and waste treatment worldwide. On the right a diagram shows how the process creates an environment of vaporised product surrounded by high energy steam. The supersonic steam flow entrains and vaporises the process flow to form a multiphase flow, which heats the suspended particles by surface conduction and condensation. The condensation of the steam causes the process flow to return to a liquid state. This causes rapid and uniform heating over the unit making it applicable to industrial cooking processes. This process has been used in industry, predominantly in

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...

and sauces applications. Its possible benefits include reduced cooking times, easier cleaning with no burn-on, ingredient reduction and energy savings. The Pursuit Dynamics PLC food and beverage business was sold to Olympus Automation Ltd. in April 2013. In 2013, Pursuit Dynamics PLC, following significant financial losses, was acquired by Gaming Realms plc, in a reverse merger transaction.

Applications

Pasteurization

Steam infusion can be used to pasteurize a variety of

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

products. For ultra pasteurization, also known as ultrahigh-temperature (

UHT Ultra-high temperature processing (UHT), ultra-heat treatment, or ultra-pasteurization is a food processing technology that sterilizes liquid food by heating it above – the temperature required to kill bacterial endospores – for 2 ...

) pasteurization, the milk is heated to temperatures in the order of 140 °C. During steam infusion, milk is brought into contact with steam at 140 °C for one or two seconds. The heating is instantaneous, and the milk is cooled rapidly by evaporative cooling exposure to a slight vacuum, removing any water added to the milk by

condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor to ...

of the steam.

Cooking

Steam infusion is used in cooking applications on fluid based products. The heat addition on particulate level in a low pressure environment makes steam infusion cooking especially applicable to soups and sauces where particle integrity is important. Steam Infusion has shown the potential to improve the nutritional content of food and is being researched by the

University of Lincoln , mottoeng = Freedom through wisdom , established = 1861 – Hull School of Art1905 – Endsleigh College1976 – Hull College1992 – University of Humberside1996 – University of Lincolnshire and Humberside2001 � ...

References

{{reflist Food science Industrial processes