Abstract: The instant invention relates to a process for preparing a decharacterized neutralized fortified wine base and the product therefrom. The wine base is optionally deacidified and is utilized for preparing natural flavor wine coolers such as chocolate and peach wine coolers.

Abstract: Red wines, particularly pressed red wines, contain harsh impurities such as tannins. The instant process removes harsh tannins and other impurites from red wines through the use of ultrafiltration techniques using selective membranes which reduce the amounts of harsh tannins without appreciably affecting the desirable components of the wines such as the red color.

Abstract: The invention provides a ready-to-consume, freezeable, alcoholic beverage composed of water, sugars, alcohol, flavorants and carboxymethylcellulose. The beverage can be placed in a consumer or commercial freezer to form a soft ice, which can be consumed "as is" or can be spooned into a glass to provide, with stirring, an attractive slush-type frozen cocktail.

Abstract: A plastic packaged alcoholic beverage containing essential oils and having a substantial shelf life is provided. The alcoholic beverage has a proof of at least about 10 and includes as an essential taste component one or more essential oils. The alcoholic beverage is packaged in a container which includes as an interior layer in contact with the alcoholic beverage, a polypropylene homopolymer, and a second layer exterior to the interior layer comprising an oxygen barrier polymer. The packaged alcoholic beverage of the invention has a shelf life under standard conditions of at least about one year such that the alcoholic beverage has substantially uniform taste throughout the shelf life.

Abstract: A process for making fried taco shells. Disc tortillas are formed from a sheet of ground corn masa dough, and the formed disc tortillas are passed laterally through a heated baking oven on laterally moving open web support means in successive, appreciably longitudinally spaced transverse rows, each such row including a plurality of the tortillas. The baked tortillas are transferred in the aforesaid row arrangement through an elongated steam chamber and exposed to low pressure steam in the chamber for a time period of about a few seconds to about a few minutes. The steam exposure effects tempering and moisture equilibration in the tortillas. The tempered tortillas are transferred into and through deep fat frying apparatus.

Abstract: Taco shell manufacturing equipment that comprises in combination with suitable means to form and bake disk tortillas, certain means to equilibrate moisture throughout such baked tortillas in a relatively short tempering time of the general order of a few minutes as they are passed in successive longitudinally-spaced groups of substantially transversely aligned disks continuously through an elongated lateral steam chamber upon traveling lateral open web belting means as received from baking means and while being subjected in this chamber to relatively low pressure steam until discharged by this belting means through an exit end opening of the steam chamber as tempered tortillas. Driven lateral transfer means receive the tempered tortillas in the longitudinally-spaced transverse groups from the exit end of the steam chamber and transports them laterally forward to the entrance end of tortillas folding and frying apparatus.