HK1037110B - R-t-e cereal and method of preparation - Google Patents

Description

Instant cereal and preparation method thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to food products and methods of making the same. More particularly, the invention relates to ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, particularly breakfast cereals in the form of flakes, and to a process for the preparation of these cereals.

Background

Ready-to-eat ("R-T-E") cereals are popular packaged food products and exist in a variety of forms including flakes, shreds, biscuits and puffed products. The present invention provides improvements in ready-to-eat cereals, particularly cereals in flake form.

Conventionally, ready-to-eat cereals in flake form are prepared by preparing a cooked cereal dough, forming the cooked cereal dough into pellets having the desired moisture content, forming the pellets into wet flakes and baking the wet flakes. Baking results in the ready-to-eat cereal flakes eventually drying, softening and slightly expanding. In particular, the appearance, flavor, and texture properties of the final flaked grain are all affected by the selection and implementation of the steps used in its preparation.

Consumers today are moving towards more naturally flavored food products, including naturally flavored ready-to-eat cereals. Of course, flaked cereal products, even products made from multiple grains, are known, for example, as disclosed in US patent 4,603,055. According to the US4603055 patent, these grains may include wheat, rye, oats, barley, rice, corn and buckwheat. GB patent 1,050,307 relates to a flake-form oat based ready-to-eat cereal. For flaked ready-to-eat cereal products, particularly whole-grain, multi-grain cereals, it is desirable that the flakes have the appearance of whole grain pieces. However, there are a number of problems with providing such a flake ready-to-eat cereal product.

To provide a wafer of cereal grain with the desired appearance characteristics described above, one way is to topically apply pieces of the grain to the surface of the wafer either before baking, or as part of the coating after baking. US patent 3998978 discloses a process in which small amounts of rice are added to a cooked cereal grain mass to obtain a multi-textured cereal product. However, it is desirable that the flakes themselves exhibit the appearance of discernable grain pieces that are part of the cereal flakes.

Since high shear during cooking tends to destroy the integrity of the grain pieces, one technique is to use a low shear long residence time batch cooker to prepare the cooked cereal dough. But such machines are very expensive to use. Moreover, the production rate of such a maturing machine is low due to its long maturing cycle. The current trend in the production of ready-to-eat cereals is more and more dependent on continuous cooking extruders, in particular twin screw extruders, in order to provide faster production rates.

Although a cooking extruder is economically desirable due to its high productivity and short residence or cooking time, as well as its continuous operation, a cooking extruder tends to impart a high degree of shear to the cooked cereal dough formed therein. High shear tends to break the integrity of the grain pieces required herein.

The configuration and operating conditions of the extruder screw may be selected to reduce the degree of shear imparted to the cereal dough. For example, the extruder may be configured to reduce the time within the extruder and thereby reduce the amount of shear experienced to some extent. However, low shear and short residence times in the extruder can in turn lead to "white spots" in the cereal dough. White spots are small, unattractive, white spots that are not completely cooked in the cooked cereal dough or are not completely dispersed in the cereal dough. The problem of white spots is more severe when compared to whole wheat or cooked cereal doughs containing whole wheat, such as whole grain rice.

US4,790,996 entitled "cereal preparation method" (published 1988.12.13, Roush et al) attempts to address the problem of white spots in whole-wheat containing cooked cereal dough prepared by a cooking extruder. The' 996 patent teaches adding a hollow tube to the discharge port of the cooking extruder to further cook the dough by extending the residence time to reduce white spots.

The present invention provides further improvements and improvements over the prior art for preparing ready-to-eat cereals, particularly cereals in the form of whole wheat containing flakes, which ideally exhibit discernible grain fragments. The instant grains of the present invention have minimal white spots and impart low shear to the cooked cereal dough when prepared.

The improvement of the present invention resides in part in steeping the cereal grain under specific conditions prior to forming the cooked cereal dough in the cooking extruder. After forming the cooked cereal dough, the dough is subjected to a second, low shear, long residence time cooker process.

Brief description of the drawings

FIG. 1 is a simplified flow diagram of the process for preparing the instant cereal of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a simple flow diagram of one embodiment of the present invention for making a snack food product.

Summary of The Invention

In its general method aspect, the present invention provides a method of preparing flaked ready-to-eat cereal having discernible grain pieces with improved appearance. The preparation method of the R instant food comprises the following steps:

A. providing free cereal grain pieces having a particle size of about 0.5-2.5mm and a moisture content of at least 20%;

B. forming the cereal grain pieces into a cooked cereal dough in a cooking extruder under low shear conditions sufficient to provide the cooked cereal dough with distinguishable grain pieces, said forming step comprising adding a sufficient amount of moisture to provide the cooked cereal dough with a moisture content of about 22-35%;

C. immediately thereafter subjecting the cooked cereal dough to a second cooking step, said second cooking being at about 121-;

D. forming the cooked cereal dough into pellets, each pellet having a weight of about 0.25-10 g;

E. drying the dough balls to a moisture content of about 18-22%;

F. flaking the dough pieces to form wet flakes having a moisture content of about 16-20% and a thickness of 380-840 μm (0.015-0.035 inches); and is

G. The wet flakes are baked to form a baked ready-to-eat cereal having a moisture content of about 2-4% and having distinguishable grain pieces dispersed therein.

In its ready-to-eat product aspect, the present invention provides a product prepared by the method of the present invention. The article can be characterized as being at least 1mm²Flake ready-to-eat cereal product having distinguishable grain fragments in area thereofAt least 30 per gram of flakes.

In another product aspect, the present invention provides a cooked cereal dough intermediate that can be used to prepare a ready-to-eat cereal and grain-based snack product. The cooked cereal dough comprises about 50-79% whole grain cereal component, about 21-35% moisture and at least 1mm per gram of flakes²There are at least 30 resolvable grain segments in the area. Detailed Description

The present invention provides improved flaked cereal products having enhanced appearance and also provides methods for preparing the improved flaked cereal products.

Throughout the specification and claims, percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated.Steeping a cereal grain-containing raw premix

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates the process of the present invention, which is generally designated by the numeral 10. Furthermore, the figure illustrates that the process 10 of the present invention necessarily includes a first step 20 for providing free cereal grain at a moisture content of at least 20%, preferably about 20-30%.

This step may comprise a first substep of preparing a cereal premix containing at least one, preferably at least two, cereal grain components selected from wheat, corn (maize), oats, rye, triticale and mixtures thereof.

In a preferred variation, at least a portion of the cereal grain is "raw". By "raw" is meant naturally an uncooked or ungelatinized cereal grain.

In addition, the grain component is further primarily characterized by particles that are generally smaller in size than whole grains but substantially larger than flour or meal. The crushed grains are primarily characterized by a particle size of about 0.5 to 2.5mm long, preferably about 1 to 2mm long. Wheat grain in this size range may be provided by, for example, chopping the grain into 2-4 pieces, i.e. one half, one third or one quarter of the fruit, collectively "chopped fruit". This choice of particle size is important to ensure that the grain is fully cooked to avoid white spots while achieving the integrity characteristics of the grain pieces.

If desired, the cereal premix may additionally contain a rice component. Surprisingly, the rice component may be provided wholly or partially from whole or unbroken rice grains. In a less preferred embodiment, all or a portion of the corn (maize) component may be provided by the corn cob. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one grain component is provided by whole grains or pieces including germ and bran fractions thereof.

Supplemental nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners may additionally be included in the blend if desired. Such sweeteners may include, for example, sucrose, fructose, glucose, corn syrup, honey, mechanical syrup solids, fruit juice solids, and mixtures thereof. If present, such nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners may collectively comprise about 0.1-25% of the cooked cereal dough (on a dry basis).

The cereal compositions of the present invention may additionally contain various other minor ingredients which are intended to provide nutritional, organoleptic or visual appeal to the cereal composition. These materials include, for example, vitamins, mineral fortifiers, salts, colorants and flavors, flavor enhancers, and mixtures thereof. These materials, if present, may each comprise from about 0.1 to 2 weight percent of the composition.

Conventionally, these dry materials are in powder form. The balance of all or part of these materials, if any, may be present in the premix as shown in FIG. 1 by the side narrow arrows, and are added to the first maturation stage 30 described below.

Particularly preferred for use herein is trisodium phosphate ("TSP"), which acts as a pH buffer. TSP is used in concentrations of about 0.1 to 0.5%.

One particularly useful material is common salt. Preferably, common salt comprises about 0.1-4%, preferably about 0.5-1.0% of the cereal composition.

The first step 20 may optionally include a second substep of mixing the grain component with all or a portion of the optional dry components in a conventional mixer, such as a ribbon blender, to form a dry cereal premix.

Good results will be obtained from a premix comprising the following ingredients (dry weight):

the preferred dosage isComposition (I) wt％ wt％ wt％White wheat 0-100%, 5-50%, 15-25%, red wheat 0-100%, 15-60%, 20-40%, corn coarse grain 0-100%, 10-60%, 20-40%, whole grain rice 0-100%, 10-60%, 20-40%, bran 0-300%, 8-20%, 10-15%

Of course, only one grain variety may be used, such as a whole corn or whole wheat product.

The primary grain component is characterized by an initial moisture content of generally about 12-14%.

The first step may also include a substep of mixing sufficient amounts of water and/or water-containing ingredients to provide a premix having a water content of at least 20 to about 30%, preferably 20 to 28%. Preferably, the water added is hot water, in order to reduce the soaking time required to reach equilibrium.

By "hot" herein is meant a temperature of at least 65 ℃ (150 ° F), preferably 65 to about 88 ℃ (150 to about 190 ° F). The mixing and soaking steps may be conveniently carried out in a conventional mixer, such as a ribbon blender.

Second, step 20 may include a substep of equilibrating or soaking the wet mixture until the added moisture is uniformly absorbed. Good results are obtained when the soaking step comprises an equilibration time of about 15 to 45 minutes, preferably about 25 to 35 minutes.

In a preferred embodiment, the soaking is done gently in steps but with sufficient agitation to prevent agglomeration or lump formation. Good results are obtained by carrying out intermittent stirring, for example, a repetition period of gentle stirring for 1 to 2 minutes followed by rest for 6 to 12 minutes. This cycle may be repeated for about 15 to 30 minutes until moisture is absorbed to form a steeped or wet cereal premix.

It is desirable to provide the high moisture grain premix in "free" form, wherein the premix may or may not contain added ingredients. By "free" is meant that the objects are discrete without excessive clumping of the grains together so that the grains can pass into the next step of the twin screw extruder.

In a preferred variation, this step does not involve further heating or cooking of the moistened grain. For example, the soaked premix is not subjected to direct or indirect steam heating. As a result, the grain, despite its higher moisture content, is not fully hydrated and is substantially ungelatinized, i.e. less than 5% of the starch is gelatinized.

In a variation of the high fiber product, as shown in fig. 1, the steeped cereal premix may also contain a bran fraction, such as bran of wheat, rice, oats, corn, and mixtures thereof. In a less preferred variant, a non-cereal fibre component, such as psyllium, may be added. In a more preferred variation of the high fiber product, the bran component is included in the premix in an amount sufficient to result in a cooked cereal dough having a total fiber content (including fiber provided by the grain component) of from about 3 to about 6 grams fiber per ounce (101.5 to 202.9 grams per liter) (dry weight) of fiber (including soluble and insoluble fiber). Preferably, the supplemental bran component is added to the mixer after the cereal grain is substantially steeped. In a minor variation of this high fiber embodiment, all or a portion of the bran component may be added to the twin screw extruder in the maturation step 30.Forming the soaked pre-mix into a cooked cereal dough

The method necessarily includes the step 30 of shaping the steeped premix or high moisture content free grain to produce a cooked cereal dough. The first ripening step 30 is carried out for a short period of time under low shear conditions sufficient to provide a ripened cereal grain with distinguishable grain pieces.

As described and well known in the literature, cooked cereal doughs can be prepared in many ways by blending or mixing together the various cereal components with water and cooking to gelatinize the starchy component and produce a cooked flavor. The cooked material may then be mechanically processed into a cooked cereal dough.

In the cooking step 30 of the present invention, the cereal is cooked with steam and water added in sufficient quantity and at a temperature and for a time sufficient to gelatinize the cereal starch and to obtain a cooked cereal dough having a moisture content of substantially about 21-35%. In addition to water, various liquid ingredients such as corn (maize) or maltose syrup may be added. The maltose syrup flavor component comprises about 1-8% (on a dry basis), preferably about 2-5%. Supplemental sugar may be added to the syrup if desired. However, the total sugar content of the cooked cereal dough should be less than 25%, preferably less than 12% (dry weight). For certain product variations, vegetable oils or other fats or equivalents (e.g., oleate (olestra) or other sucrose polyesters) may be added to the twin screw extruder.

This first curing step of the present invention may be carried out using a twin screw extruder. The twin screw extruder may be mixing, heating/cooking and the dough shaping step may all be performed in one piece of equipment. As a result, twin screw extruders can provide practical and commercial economic advantages for practicing the present invention. Single screw cooking extruders are known, some of which include pre-treatment, and generally impart too much shear to the cooked cereal dough, resulting in an undesirable loss of the characteristics of the cereal pieces in the ready-to-eat cereal.

As noted above, all or a portion of some or all of the optional dry ingredients may be added to the twin screw extruder and mixed into the cooked cereal dough if desired.

The twin screw extruder is configured to provide a short maturation time, i.e. residence time, of 1-3 minutes, preferably about 2 minutes. Moreover, the extruder is configured to reduce the degree of shear imparted to the cooked cereal dough. The processing step is carried out with a very low specific mechanical energy ("SME") imparted to the material of the grain base. As the name implies, SME is used to characterize the mechanical energy or work imparted to the material being processed by the extruder. Conventional twin screw extruders produce about 90-150W-hr/kg. (or equivalent 0.09-0.15 kW-hr/kg., or 307-512Btu/kg) of SME to the cooked cereal dough when cooked. The invention is practiced in light of imparting less than 30W-hr/kg. (102Btu/kg) of SME to the grain-based product, preferably about 0.5-20W-hr/kg. (about 1.7-68.3Btu/kg) of SME.

The temperature at which the cereal dough is cooked may be about 250 ℃ and 380 ℃ F. (121 ℃ and 193 ℃). The operating pressure may be about 690-.

Just after the first cooking step 30, it is generally preferred that the cooked cereal dough have a moisture content of about 21-35% by weight, preferably about 28-32% by weight and about 29-30% by weight. The cooked cereal dough is fully gelatinized for all practical purposes, i.e., a starch gelatinization rate of at least 95%, preferably 99%, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry.Subjecting the cooked cereal dough to a second cooking step

The method 10 of the present invention also necessarily includes immediately thereafter subjecting the cooked cereal dough having a moisture content of about 21-35% to a second extended cooking step 40 at about 121-about 180 c (250F-380F) for about 15-45 minutes to form an enlarged cooked cereal dough having distinguishable grains dispersed therein.

By "immediately after" is meant without intermediate steps such as extrusion, shipping or placement steps or exposure to atmospheric conditions. This "immediate after" processing can conveniently be achieved by a short line from the discharge of the twin screw extruder directly to the second curing means, said line being devoid of a die plate or other shear-producing device. Further shearing will impair the characteristics of the whole grain required for the purposes of the invention.

In a more preferred variation, step 40 is performed in a manner that does not ventilate or lose moisture from the dough. In a more preferred variation, no additional material is added to the cooked cereal dough.

Suitable herein for carrying out the second maturation stage are double-jacketed horizontal cylindrical vessels comprising internal conveying means such as archimedes screws. Such apparatus may be found, for example, in australian patent application 9534,340 entitled "cooked cereal manufacture", which is incorporated herein by reference.

Non-critically, the curing apparatus uses a rotational speed of about 1-10 rpm.

The residence time of the cooked cereal dough in the second cooking device is about 15 to 45 minutes, preferably about 15 to 25 minutes.

Although the vessel described herein may be operated with supplemental heating, in a preferred operation of the method, no supplemental heat is applied.

In a preferred embodiment, the cooked cereal dough entering the second cooking step is substantially fully gelatinized. The secondary ripening step is used primarily to enhance flavor.

Due to the slow rotational speed and the nature of the screw structure, very low shear is imparted to the cooked dough during the second cooking step due to the vessel configuration and operation.

The exiting dough had a fuller flavor enhancement with few, if any, white spots and still maintained the desired number of distinguishable grain pieces.

Since no water is lost during the second ripening step, the water content is about 21-32%, preferably about 27-30%.

The matured cereal 45 thus formed may be substantiallyCharacterized by about 50-79% whole grain cereal component, about 21-35% moisture content and at least 1mm per gram²There were at least 29 resolvable grain fragments in the area. Although the following description focuses specifically on providing sheeted ready-to-eat cereal and grain-based snack food products made from cooked cereal doughs, this new cooked cereal dough is a useful intermediate product in the preparation of a variety of food products.Making the cooked cereal dough into pellets

The method 10 also essentially includes a step 50 of forming the cooked cereal dough into pellets of suitable size and shape. In a preferred variation, step 50 may include a first substep of extruding the cooked dough through a die plate having a plurality of dies to form extrudate ropes. For example, a die plate having a diameter of 2-10 inches (about 5-25.5cm) can be assembled to have about 5-50 dies, each die having a diameter of about 3-20 mm. Larger dies are preferred because larger dies produce lower back pressure and lower back pressure results in less shear.

In a preferred variation, step 50 may also include a second substep of cutting the extrudate rope into pieces, for example using a rotating knife to form pellets each weighing about 0.25-10 g.

The process 10 as a whole, and in particular the dough forming step 50, is conducted under conditions of temperature and pressure such that no significant expansion or direct expansion occurs.

In contrast, in a less preferred variation, the dough pellet forming step 50 may be carried out using known low shear methods and techniques for pelletizing cooked cereal dough. For example, a briquetting apparatus (such as available from k.r. komarek) or a granulator (available from LCI) is used. However, it is important that the dough not be sent to the high shear pelletizers conventionally used. One skilled in the art can distinguish between an acceptable low shear pelletizing device and an unsuitable high shear pelletizing device by the retention and loss of grain characteristics in the dough pellets. Conventional high shear forming extruders subject cooked cereal doughs to shear forces that result in the loss of desired piece integrity.Drying of the pellets

Thereafter, the present method of preparing instant cereal grain 10 necessarily includes a step 60 of drying the dough pieces prior to the flaking step 80 to obtain dried dough pieces having a moisture content of about 16-22%, preferably 18-20%.

The present drying step can be carried out using conventional drying techniques and equipment. Conventionally, the dough pieces were subjected to a forced air-heat drying step with air temperatures of 82.2-121.1 deg.C (180 deg.F) to 250 deg.F until the desired moisture content was reached. The drying time is generally 10 to 20 minutes, preferably about 15 minutes.Proofed and dried flour pill

Thereafter, the method 10 also includes in a preferred embodiment the step 70 of proofing (temper) the dried pellets for about 30-90 minutes to form proofed dried pellets. The proofing step 70 allows the moisture in the pellets to equilibrate or, in a less preferred embodiment, the pellets are formed into a sheet without a preferred proofing step.

Conventionally, one or more slow moving belts may be used to provide the desired resting or proofing time. Preferably, the moving belt is covered to prevent contamination of the pellets. Of course, when the pellets are exposed to ambient conditions, the pellets cool and lose some of their moisture.Flaking

The instant cereal process 10 of the present invention also necessarily includes the step 80 of flaking the dried, preferably proofed, dough pellets into so-called "wet" flakes having a thickness of about 380 and 840 microns (0.015-0.035 inches). Conventional sheeting rolls may be used to perform this step. It is preferred to use flakes having a thickness of about 380-. The moisture content of the wet sheet is about 17-19%.

In addition, it is preferred that the flaking step include a step of heating the dough pellets (not shown) prior to the flaking step in order to ensure that the dough pellets are at about 71-77 deg.C (150 deg.F.) just prior to the flaking step. This preheating ensures that the pellets are at a temperature suitable for the next flaking step.Baking

Thereafter, the method 10 of the present invention necessarily also includes a step 90 of baking the wet flakes to form baked, dried ready-to-eat cereal flakes having an enhanced appearance.

The compact, hard, wet flakes can be modified into delicious, porous, tender flakes by rapidly heating the wet flakes to soften, bake and partially expand the cereal flakes. The baking operation may also enhance the color and flavor of the finished cereal product. Baking can be accomplished by heating the wet flakes, typically to 93.3-315.5 deg.C (200 deg.F. and 600 deg.F.). The baking of the ready-to-eat cereal can be carried out in a conventional dryer, vacuum dryer or other commercially available baking equipment. Preferably, the wet flakes are baked at 148.8-315.5 deg.C (300 deg.F) until a moisture content of about 2-5% is reached. Without limitation, such baking typically requires heating for about 3 to 10 minutes.

The improved finished ready-to-eat cereal of the present invention is substantially free of white spots, exhibits distinguishable cereal pieces within the flakes, has good flavor and excellent eating qualities.

The instant flakes are also characterized by at least 1-2mm per gram of flakes²The area contains at least 29 distinguishable grain fragments, preferably at least 35/g slice, most preferably at least 40/g slice. In a more preferred embodiment, the flakes (prior to enrobing) are further characterized by a bulk density of about 100-180 g/L. Other variations of sugar coatings are described below, and preferably the chip appearance characteristics are determined prior to applying any such coatings or pre-sweetener coatings.

The finished dried flaked ready-to-eat cereal of the present invention can then be conventionally packaged and distributed. The finished ready-to-eat cereal product enhances consumer appeal due to its more natural cereal flake appearance characteristics and larger chip characteristics.

Of course, the cooked cereal dough can also be formed into other suitable shapes of ready-to-eat cereal such as chips, chopped biscuits, micro-chips, sheeted biscuits, and the like.

The baked chips may be screened or sieved if desiredA treatment in sub-steps (not shown) to remove all or part of the finer, or other size-reduction step treatment to further reduce bulk density.Topical coating of pre-sweetener

Fig. 1 also illustrates that the present method 10 may also include the step of providing a pre-sweetener or sugar coating to the finished ready-to-eat cereal flakes if desired. Providing a glaze may include the substeps of forming the glaze or a pre-sweet syrup or slurry and the substep of enrobing or coating the sheet with a pre-sweetener coating syrup or slurry to form a slurry-coated sheet 100. In the practice of this step, the sheet may be loaded into a dip coater and topically coated with a pre-sweetener coating (4-20% moisture content). In a preferred variation, the aqueous slurry may contain about 5-20% sugar and optionally an appropriate amount of oil (e.g., 1-10%) using conventional nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners. A sufficient amount of sugar coating is applied so that the resulting ready-to-eat cereal has a ratio of sugar coating to cereal base of from about 2: 100 to about 50: 100 (on a dry basis).

If desired, heat sensitive vitamins can be added to or with the sweetener coating slurry.

Thereafter, the slurry coated ready-to-eat cereal can and step 100 can also include a final drying substep 110 prior to packaging 130 to remove the moisture added by the sugar coating slurry to obtain a finished sugar coated flaked ready-to-eat cereal having a moisture content of about 2-5%. In variations including the application of a low moisture glaze solution, a final drying step may not be necessary.

It will be appreciated that the addition of glaze substantially increases the bulk density of the flake ready-to-eat cereal. The bulk density of the sugar-coated flaky instant cereal of the invention is about 134-³)。

In another variation, all or a portion of the nutritive carbohydrate sweetener may be replaced with a high potency sweetener, such as aspartame, at an equivalent sweetness level.

In another variation, the finished ready-to-eat cereal flakes, whether pre-sweetened or not, can be mixed with various additional ingredients such as raisins, nuts, marbits, dried fruit pieces, and mixtures thereof. Of course, the addition of such relatively heavy additional ingredients readily produces a greater bulk density of the mixed ready-to-eat cereal product.

As noted above, while the present invention is primarily directed to providing sheeted ready-to-eat cereals made from the cooked cereal doughs of the present invention, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the cooked cereal doughs are useful intermediate products and can also be used to provide a variety of cereal snacks and other ready-to-eat cereal products.

Referring now to fig. 2, there is shown an embodiment of the grain-based food product of the present invention generally designated by the numeral 200. Figure 2 depicts cooked cereal dough preparation for a corn (maize) based snack product. The snack preparation process includes a soaking step 220, a short cooking step 230 in a twin screw extruder, and a long cooking step 240. These steps are generally performed as described above.

In one variation, the pellet forming step 250 is performed to provide pellets of suitable shape and size. The process further includes drying the dough pellets 260 to form dried dough pellets having a moisture content of about 7-14% by weight. These pellets or semi-finished products 288 are suitable for use as intermediate products in the manufacture of finished snack products. As such, step 298 may package the dough balls in, for example, a large carton. Conventionally, semi-finished pellets can be manufactured in a single large-scale production facility. Due to its shelf-life stability, the dough balls can be transported from a central manufacturing area to various product handling areas. The semi-finished product (not puffed) is more convenient to transport. The flour ball not only has low volume, but also is rarely damaged in the transportation process. The pellets can be fried to form a fried puffed snack product when the pellets are shipped near end market.

The process 200 also includes the step of forming the semi-finished product or pellets into finished grain-based snack foods. For example, the pellets may be expanded by deep-frying and dried to produce a puffed, fried grain-based snack food (e.g., when deep-fried) having a moisture content of less than 2% and a fat content of about 1-35% by weight, preferably about 15-35% by weight.

If desired, the snack products made from the cooked cereal doughs of the present invention can be seasoned by topical spreading of salt, spices, cheese (not shown) and packaged for distribution and sale.

The finished puffed snack can be packaged 298 in a conventional manner.

In another variation, the cooked cereal dough is formed into pellets having a size of about 0.3 to about 10 grams.

Thereafter, the process 200 includes a step 270 of proofing the dough for about 2-30 minutes. The pellets were cooled to about 140-.

In addition to the above-described proofing, an equivalent proofing method may be used. For example, the dough pellets are pneumatically conveyed from the pelletizing step to the next step, whereby they can function as a proofing step, provided that the desired moisture equilibration and cooling occurs.

Thereafter, in a variation of the present method of making a snack product, the process 200 also includes, in a preferred embodiment, a step 280 of sheeting the proofed dough pieces to form a continuous roll of sheeted dough. Thereafter, optionally, the sheeting step may also include a step (not shown) of cutting the dough sheet into individual strips or ribbons of sheeted dough.

In some variations, the sheet-like dough is folded to form two overlapping layers of ribbons or strips.

Fig. 2 depicts that in a preferred embodiment the process 200 can further include forming the noodle strips or noodles, whether single or double layered, into suitably shaped and sized pellets 282. Such as cookies, spirals, cones, embossments, and various geometric shapes.

The dough pieces so formed are then dried in step 284 to form a semi-finished product 288.

The intermediate product may be fried, air puffed or otherwise processed into finished snack products 290. After topical seasoning, if desired, the finished snack products made according to the present invention can be conventionally packaged for distribution and sale.

The snack products formed as follows have desirable organoleptic attributes, particularly eating qualities. Preferred snack products also exhibit the desired benefits of distinguishable grain piece integrity. However, when a single grain cooked cereal dough is used, such as corn (maize) alone, the distinguishable grain pieces are less distinct.

The invention will be illustrated by the following examples.

Example 1

The multi-grain flake ready-to-eat cereal of the present invention is prepared. First, the four grains were soaked and then added to a twin screw extruder cooker. The particle sizes of the four grains were as follows:

coarse corn particles: 3% on a 2.0mm sieve, 90% on a 1.4mm sieve, and 2% through a 1.00mm sieve.

Crushed red wheat and white wheat: 22% on a 2.0mm sieve, 15% on a 1.4mm sieve, and 6% through a 0.85mm sieve.

The rice has long grains, whole grains and uncrushed grains. All four grains were added to the ribbon blender. Water (heated to a minimum of 65.5 ℃ C.; 170 ℃ F.) was added to the mixer at a water to grain ratio of 1: 6.7. The grain/water mixture was mixed for 5 minutes and then allowed to stand for 10 minutes to allow water to soak into the grains. The mixture was then mixed for 1 minute to prevent water from settling at the bottom. The mixture was then left for another 10 minutes, mixed for 1 minute, left for 10 minutes, and mixed for 1 minute. Thereafter, the mixture was shaken every 10 minutes for a few seconds to prevent compaction of the mixture until it was desired to feed the mixture into a twin screw extruder cooker. At this point, the steeped grain (moisture content 20%) was added to the cooker at the following recipe:

ingredients wt％

The soaked grains are 83.6 percent

Whole grain rice 25.1%

16.7 percent of corn coarse grains

Crushed red wheat 25.1%

Crushed white wheat 16.7%

Syrup 15.5%

Sugar 5.1%

Tricalcium phosphate 0.2%

0.8 percent of salt

6.2 percent of water

Annatto pigment 0.02%

Trisodium phosphate 0.05%

Corn syrup 0.8%

Maltose syrup 2.3%

Vitamin/emulsifier blend 0.9%

Vitamin blend 0.07%

0.8 percent of emulsifier

100.0％

Emulsifiers are processing aids intended to prevent the formation of dough-ball bonds. Water was added to the twin screw extruder cooker at a water to soaked grain ratio of 1: 15. Steam was added to the twin screw extruder cooker at a steam to soaked grain ratio of 1: 7.5. The residence time in the slaker is 2-5 minutes. The temperature is 135 ℃ and 146 ℃ (275 ℃ and 295 ℃ F.). The die pressure (or end pressure) of the curing machine was 400-450psi (2861-3200 kPa). The screw speed was 100 rpm. The screw member is of low shear construction.

The cooked dough enters a second long residence time cooking vessel where the cooking of the dough is continued for 20-30 minutes. The screw rotation speed was 1 rpm. The outlet temperature is 121-126.6 deg.C (250 deg.F) and 260 deg.F.

The dough then passes through a short discharge tube equipped with a die and cutter. The die contains 12 holes with the diameter of¹/₂"(13 mm). The cutter was equipped with two paddles. The dough was extruded into rope form and cut into pellets of about 30 pellets per 10 g. The dough balls contained visible grains but no unripe grains (white spots). The water content was 30%.

The pellets were transported to a dryer where they were dried at 87.8 ℃ (190 ° F) for 15 minutes to 20% moisture. The dried pellets were then transported on two separate proofing belts for a total of 60 minutes. Proofing allows for a thorough balance of moisture in the dough balls and contributes to a more curled finished sheet. The proofed pellets are passed through a flaking roll. The temperature of the pellets was 71 deg.C (160 deg.F). The sheet thickness was 0.025 "(0.0635 cm).

The slices then enter a three-zone broiler. The first zone temperature was 221 ℃ (430 ° F) and the second and third zone temperatures were 165.5 ℃ (330 ° F). The density of the sheet was 120 g/L.

A method for counting the number of large grain pieces visible in flaked grain.

Grain samples were analyzed to determine the amount and distribution of large single grain fragments visible in each flake. 50 slices of each sample were examined under bright light. The number of whole grain pieces greater than 1 square millimeter per sheet was calculated. Wheat pieces are most often seen due to the presence of the bran layer and underlying white endosperm, while rice pieces are white and look like a fine white foam. The corn pieces were bright yellow. Statistical analysis is performed on the basis of the collected data.

The instant cereal flakes of the present invention contain about 33 distinguishable pieces per gram. By comparison, instant chips made from the same raw materials under similar conditions except that the grain size was smaller and was fed directly to the twin screw extruder without soaking, had only about 7 distinguishable chips per gram. The second method is another way to prevent white spots. However, the visual effect of the grains is not good. This test result demonstrates the importance and unexpected advantage of the process of the present invention, which necessarily includes a soaking step.

The baked chips were then coated with a syrup, the slurry having the following formulation:

ingredients wt％

Sucrose 48.00

Corn syrup 2.7

Honey 7.7

Moisture content 40.7

100.00％

About 5g of the slurry and 0.3g of vitamin solution (40% dry vitamin blend, 60% moisture) were added per 100g of baked flakes to form coated flakes. The syrup was preheated to about 82.2 ℃ (180 ° F) and mixed into the vitamin solution just prior to coating the baked cereal flakes. The coated cereal flakes were dried in a fluidized roaster over a bed of about 6cm depth at 96 c (205F) for about 20 minutes and to a moisture content of about 2.5% to form the finished dry coated ready-to-eat cereal flakes of the present invention. The ready-to-eat cereal flakes are then conventionally packaged and distributed.

Claims (33)

1. A process for preparing a flaked ready-to-eat cereal having discernible grain fragments with improved appearance, comprising the steps of:

A. providing free cereal grain pieces having a particle size of about 0.5-2.5mm and a moisture content of at least 20%;

B. forming the cereal grain pieces into a cooked cereal dough in a cooking extruder to provide a cooked cereal dough having distinguishable grain pieces from the cereal grain pieces of step a, said forming step comprising adding a sufficient amount of moisture to provide a cooked cereal dough having a moisture content of about 21-35%;

C. immediately thereafter subjecting the cooked cereal dough to a second cooking step, said second cooking being at about 121 to about 180 ℃ (250 ° F) for about 15 to 45 minutes to form an enlarged cooked cereal dough having dispersed therein distinguishable grain fragments;

D. making the cooked cereal dough into pills; and

E. the dough pieces are flaked to form a flaked ready-to-eat cereal having discernible grain fragments.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step D comprises:

forming the cooked cereal dough into pellets, each pellet having a weight of about 0.25-10 g; and drying the dough balls to a moisture content of about 16-22%.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of, after drying the dough pellets and before flaking: proofing the dried dough pellets for about 30-90 minutes to form proofed dried dough pellets; wherein the dough pieces are sheeted to form a wet sheet having a moisture content of about 17-19% and a thickness of 380-840 μm (0.015-0.035 inches); and baking the wet flakes to form a baked ready-to-eat cereal flakes having a moisture content of about 2-5% and having distinguishable grain pieces dispersed therein.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step a comprises the steps of:

preparing a raw cereal premix comprising at least two cereal grain components, wherein said cereal grain components are selected from the group consisting of wheat, corn (maize), oats, rye, triticale and mixtures thereof, and wherein at least the wheat is provided in the form of crushed fruit; and is

Sufficient water and/or water-containing ingredients are mixed to provide a premix having a water content of about 20-30%.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the cereal grain comprises corn.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein steps B and C are practiced to provide a dough having a specific mechanical energy ("SME") value of less than 30 watt-hours per kilogram of dough.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the raw premix further comprises a bran component.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the cooked cereal dough contains nutritive carbohydrate ingredients in an amount sufficient to achieve a total sugar content of about 0.1-25% (dry weight).

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein at least a portion of the bran is provided by white wheat bran.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein the dough comprises a material selected from the group consisting of sugar, salt, minerals, vitamins, flavors, and mixtures thereof.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein step a comprises a soaking step with batch agitation.

12. A method according to claim 3 wherein said baked ready-to-eat cereal flakes have a distinguishable grain piece count of at least 1mm per gram of flakes²There were at least 30 distinguishable grain pieces in the area.

13. The process according to claim 12, wherein step B is carried out in a twin-screw extruder and the curing step is carried out for about 1-3 minutes.

14. The process according to claim 13, wherein step C is carried out in a cooker having an archimedes screw operating at about 1-10rpm for about 15-45 minutes.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising the step of applying a topical pre-sweetener coating.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the weight ratio of topical pre-sweetener coating to cereal flakes is from about 2: 100 to 50: 100.

17. The method according to claim 14, further comprising the step of heating the dried pellets prior to flaking.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising about 0.1-2 wt% salt.

19. A process according to claim 14 wherein the finished flakes are at least 1mm per grain²With at least 35 resolvable fragments.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the grain comprises corn (maize).

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the cooked cereal dough has a total fiber content of 3 to 6g/oz (101.5 to 203 g/L).

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of forming the cooked cereal dough into pellets and subsequently forming the pellets into a finished grain-based snack.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the rapid heating comprises deep frying to obtain a snack food fried puffed grain base having a fat content of about 15 to 35 wt%.

24. An improved food product made from cooked cereal dough, wherein at least a portion is derived from wheat and ranges from at least 1-2mm²The area contains at least 30 per gram of discriminately matured grain pieces from wheat dispersed therein.

25. A food product according to claim 24 wherein the moisture content is from about 2 to 5%.

26. A food product according to claim 24 wherein the product is in the form of a flaked ready-to-eat cereal.

27. A food product according to claim 26, comprising a pre-sweetener coating.

28. A food product according to claim 25 in the form of a puffed grain snack.

29. A food product according to claim 28 having a fat content of from about 1% to about 35%.

30. A food product according to claim 29 having a fat content of from about 15% to about 30%.

31. A food product according to claim 25 in the form of a biscuit.

32. The food product according to claim 27, wherein the pre-sweetener coating comprises a high-potency sweetener.

33. A process for preparing a flaked ready-to-eat cereal having discernible grain fragments with improved appearance, comprising the steps of:

A. providing a soaked raw pre-mix comprising cereal grain pieces with added water under agitation and providing an unripe pre-mix comprising soaked grain pieces having a moisture content of at least 20%;

B. forming the steeped cereal grain pieces into a cooked cereal dough in a cooking extruder to provide a cooked cereal dough having distinguishable pieces of the grain, said forming step comprising adding a sufficient amount of moisture to provide a cooked cereal dough having a moisture content of about 21% to about 35%;

C. immediately thereafter subjecting the cooked cereal dough having a moisture content of about 21-35% to a second cooking step, said second cooking step being carried out at about 121-;

D. forming the cooked cereal dough into pellets, each pellet having a weight of about 0.25-10 g;

E. drying the dough balls to a moisture content of about 16-22%; and

F. the dough pieces are flaked to form a flaked ready-to-eat cereal having discernible grain fragments.