| Q: Why
manufactured puree bread mix? |
| A: Nursing homes are required by law to provide
the same or very similar foods to patients on special diets, i.e. pureed or low
salt diets, as those on their regular diets. However, bread and bread products;
such as muffins, Danish, and cinnamon rolls; are difficult to puree or prepare
in a way that is reasonably appetizing. Darlington Farms developed Caring
Cuisine Puree Bread, Biscuit & Roll Mix to solve this problem. |
| Q: How
is the Caring Cuisine Puree Biscuit, Roll, & Bread Mix prepared? |
| A: The mix consists of finished vs. raw
ingredients such as flour. Therefore, it is as simple as mix and serve. All you
have to do is mix 2 cups of bread mix with 1 3/4 cups of water and 1/4 cup of
vegetable oil. Then, using a #24, red handled scoop, one scoop will provide
exactly one bread portion. |
| Q: How
much nutrition does each serving have? |
| A: Each serving contains 15 grams of
carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, and 1 gram of protein; very similar to a
whole-wheat bread serving. |
| Q: How
much does each serving cost? |
| A: Each case contains enough bread mix to make up
222 servings. So each serving, with a little bit of vegetable oil and water is
approximately 10¢. |
| Q: Do I
need to heat or refrigerate the finished product? |
| A: No. The product should be served at room
temperature, just like regular bread products. It does not need to be
refrigerated or heated. |
| Q: How
long can the product be held at room temperature? |
| A: The completed bread mix recipes have been
tested for bacterial growth and can be held with no concerns for up to 2 hours
according to HAACP requirements. |
| Q: Once
the product is made up, how long is it good in the refrigerator? The freezer? |
| A: The product can be refrigerated for 48 hours
and can be frozen for 30 days. It should not be microwaved but allowed to thaw
at room temperature. |
| Q: What
is the shelf life of the product? |
| A: The product can be held in storage, unopened
for 6 months. Once the product has been opened, it is like other bread crumbs
that it can become stale over time. In general, an opened case of product
should stay good for at least 30 days. |
| Q: Mashed
potato consistency is sometimes too thick for some of my patients with a severe
swallowing condition, what can I do for them? |
| A: The bread mix is designed for flexibility in
dysphagic diets, so water can be added at any time. We recommend that a serving
be scooped into a cup or small mixing bowl, and a small amount of water is
added and mixed. Then transfer the revised portion to a small serving dish and
garnish just like a regular puree serving. This method maintains the
nutritional integrity of each serving. |
| Q: Can
I use butter or margarine instead of vegetable oil? |
| A: We recommend that you do not use butter or
margarine. Melted butter or margarine cools in the mix, re-solidifies, and
makes the recipe too firm for most puree diets. Liquid butter or liquid
margarine alternatives can be used but add to the cost of the recipe. |
| Q: Can
I use hot water in mixing up the product? |
| A: Yes. Hot tap water can be used. Many nursing
homes want to serve bread products slightly warm and using hot tap water helps
with this. However, caution needs to be taken with the water temp. Temperatures
above 170 degrees begin to activate the eggs and starches within the bread mix,
and can also begin to break down the glutens within the breads, and could cause
the product to become lumpy and gooey. |
| Q: Can
I make bread slices with the product? |
| A: Yes. There are 2 simple recipes, a heated
method and a refrigerated method, that allow easy preparation of bread slices
that can be served as sandwiches and other sliced breads. |
| Q: If I
decide to make puree bread slices, when do I use the heated method and when do
I use the refrigerated method? |
| A: In general, the heated method can be used for
all applications, while the refrigerated method could be used for cold and room
temperature applications such as bread slices and meat salad sandwiches. For
some kitchens, not having to use ovens or steamers for preparation is desirable
and so they choose to utilize the refrigerated recipe. |
| Q: In
making the heated bread slices, what is the best heating method? |
| A: It is preferable to use a steamer. The heat is
moist heat, which helps with the texture, and it is virtually foolproof at 8
minutes. For a conventional or convectional oven, oven calibrations can vary
and ovens can be uneven in their baking. Also, kitchens tend to operate the
ovens at one temperature (350F) and are putting in and pulling out many
different items into the oven. This can create inconsistencies in cooking times
for the bread slice recipe. That being said, different nursing homes using
ovens successfully find that it is a matter of testing the recipe to find the
time at their normal temperature that bakes the bread mix without overcooking
it and repeating that for each recipe. |
