The United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of

William G Schultz

George H Robertson

Wayne M Camirand

Karel Popper

Earl Hautala

John E Schade

Ladell Crawford

Bernard J Finkle

Harry J Neumann

Novel process for peeling fruits and vegetables which yields maximum skin removal coupled with minimum loss of flesh. The fruit or vegetable is contacted with an aqueous dispersion of a 3-18 carbon carboxylic acid at elevated temperatures for a time sufficient to loosen the peel, which can then be removed by mechanical action.

Method of peeling fruits and vegetables with carboxylic acids

Pigment is extracted from seeds containing the same by contacting the seeds with water containing one or more alpha-enzymes for a period of time and at a temperature sufficient to extract the pigment. In particular, annatto pigment can be extracted from the seeds of Bixa orellana L. by the aforementioned process.

Method of removing pigment from annatto seed

Bite-size pieces of fruit are prepared by a process wherein the fruit is partially dehydrated, puffed, and then heated to obtain a crisp outer surface thereon. The fruit is puffed by immersing it in a pool of liquid carbon dioxide under pressure and then rapidly releasing the pressure.

Preparation of puffed fruit

Process for removing residual solvent from materials containing the same which involves extracting the material with liquid CO.sub.2, separating the phases, and evaporating CO.sub.2 from the treated material. For example, residual hexane can be removed from de-fatted soybeans by this procedure.

Growing community of inventors

El Cerrito, CA, United States of America

William G Schultz