Production of shredded or flaked whole grain-containing composite food products
View Patent ↗Shredded or flaked whole grain-containing composite food products, such as ready-to-eat cereals, and sweet and savory snacks, are continuously produced by pelletizing cooked, tempered, whole cereal grain particles in the presence of vegetables, fruit, or dairy cheese. In another aspect, an enrobing coating containing chocolate is applied to a baked shredded laminate product of the pelletization, wherein the shredded product may further optionally include fruit added and present during pelletization.
1. A method for producing a shredded composite food product, the method comprising:
cooking particles of whole cereal grain to provide a cooked whole cereal grain product;
tempering the cooked whole cereal grain product to provide a tempered product, the tempered product having retrograded starch;
adding a food component selected from the group consisting of sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, spinach, broccoli, peas, peppers, zucchini, okra, Brussels sprouts, cucumber, tomatoes, and any combinations thereof to the particles of the whole cereal grain or to the cooked whole cereal grain, before or during a pelletization step;
pelletizing the tempered product, the pelletizing to effect shear in an amount and at a temperature effective to provide composite food pellets having a texture that is softer and more pliable than prior to pelletization, a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight, and a pellet temperature of about 80° F. to about 105° F., the composite food pellets comprising the food component;
shredding the composite food pellets having a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight to provide shredded composite food sheets;
forming a shredded composite food laminate from the shredded composite food sheets; and
frying the shredded composite food laminate to obtain a shredded composite food product.
2. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the whole grain particles are selected from the group consisting of rye, oats, rice, barley, corn, and triticale.
3. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the whole cereal grain particles comprise a combination of different types of whole grain particles.
4. A method for producing a shredded composite food product, the method comprising:
a) providing a whole grain-containing mixture comprising cooked and tempered particles of whole cereal grain and a food component selected from the group consisting of sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, spinach, broccoli, peas, peppers, zucchini, okra, Brussels sprouts, cucumber, tomatoes, and any combinations thereof;
b) pelletizing the whole grain-containing mixture in a pelletizer, the pelletizing to effect shear in an amount and at a temperature effective to provide composite food pellets having a texture that is softer and more pliable than prior to pelletization, a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight, and a pellet temperature of about 80° F. to about 105° F.;
c) shredding the composite food pellets having a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% to provide shredded composite food sheets;
d) laminating the shredded composite food sheets to obtain a shredded composite food laminate;
e) dividing the shredded composite food laminate into discrete composite food pieces; and
f) frying the shredded composite food laminate prior to step e) or composite food pieces after step e) to obtain a shredded composite food product.
5. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the whole grain particles are selected from the group consisting of rye, oats, rice, barley, corn, and triticale.
6. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 5 , comprising, prior to step a), providing the cooked and tempered whole grain particles by admixing whole cereal grain particles with water and pressure cooking the whole cereal grain particles to gelatinize starch of the whole grain particles to provide cooked whole grain particles, and tempering the cooked, whole grain particles to provide the cooked and tempered whole grain particles.
7. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the whole grain-containing mixture comprises a combination of whole grain particles and the food component in a mixing ratio of about 20:80 to about 95:05, on a wt %:wt % basis, respectively.
8. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the cooking is conducted at a temperature of at least about 250° F. at a pressure of about 15 psig to about 30 psig, and wherein the tempering is for about 0.5 hour to about 5 hours at a temperature of less than about 135° F.
9. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 6 , wherein providing the whole grain-containing mixture comprises combining a first food component selected from the group consisting of fruit and the food component with at least one of i) the whole cereal grain particles prior to completion of the cooking thereof, and ii) the cooked and tempered whole grain particles before completing the pelletizing.
10. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the moisture content of the cooked whole grain particles is from about 29% by weight to about 42% by weight, based upon the weight of the cooked whole grain particles.
11. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the food component is selected from the group consisting of a juice, a puree, a powder and combinations thereof.
12. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the whole cereal grain particles comprise a combination of different types of whole grain particles.
13. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the pelletizing effects shear in an amount and at a temperature effective to reduce retrogradation of the starch of the tempered whole grain particles to increase their shreddability.
14. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the pelletizing is at a pressure of about 200 psig to about 700 psig and the pelletizing temperature is controlled to provide a pellet temperature of from about 80° F. to about 105° F. upon exiting the pelletizer.
15. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the composite food pellets have a length of about ⅛ inch to about ¼ inch and a diameter of about 3/16 inch to about 5/16 inch and are produced by extrusion through a pelletizer extrusion die having a plurality of apertures, wherein the extrusion die has an open area of about 25% to about 45%.
16. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 5 , wherein said whole grain particles are obtained by comminuting whole grains or kernels to a particles size of about 0.05 inch to about 0.20 inch.
17. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the shredded composite food laminate is compressed to a thickness of about 0.05 inch to about 0.12 inch and the compressed shredded composite food laminate is cut into pieces.
18. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 5 , wherein whole soy seeds or comminuted whole soy seeds are admixed with the whole grain particles.
19. A method for producing a coated, shredded food product, the method comprising:
cooking particles of whole cereal grain to provide a cooked whole cereal grain product;
tempering the cooked whole cereal grain product to provide a tempered product, the tempered product having retrograded starch;
pelletizing the tempered product, the pelletizing to effect shear in an amount and at a temperature effective to provide food pellets having a texture that is softer and more pliable than prior to pelletization, a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight, and a pellet temperature of about 80° F. to about 105° F.;
shredding the food pellets having a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight to provide shredded food sheets;
forming a shredded food laminate from the shredded food sheets;
dividing the shredded food laminate into discrete shredded food pieces; and
frying the discrete shredded food pieces to obtain fried, shredded food substrates;
coating the fried, shredded food substrates with a coating containing cocoa to provide coated, shredded food products.
20. The method for producing a coated shredded food product as recited in claim 19 , wherein the whole grain particles are selected from the group consisting of rye, oats, rice, barley, corn, and triticale.
21. The method for producing a coated shredded food product as recited in claim 19 , wherein the pelletizing is at a pressure of about 200 psig to about 700 psig and the pelletizing temperature is controlled to provide a pellet temperature of from about 80° F. to about 105° F. upon exiting the pelletizer.
22. A method for producing a shredded composite food product, the method comprising:
cooking particles of whole cereal grain to provide a cooked whole cereal grain product;
tempering the cooked whole cereal grain product to provide a tempered product, the tempered product having retrograded starch;
adding a food component selected from the group consisting of fruits, dairy cheese and combinations thereof, wherein if the food component comprises fruits it is added before or during a pelletization step, and if the food component comprises dairy cheese, the dairy cheese is added before or during the pelletization step but after the tempering step;
pelletizing the tempered product, the pelletizing to effect shear in an amount and at a temperature effective to provide composite food pellets having a texture that is softer and more pliable than prior to pelletization, a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight, and a pellet temperature of about 80° F. to about 105° F., the composite food pellets comprising the food component; and
shredding the composite food pellets having a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight to provide a shredded composite food product; and
frying the shredded composite food pellets to obtain a shredded composite food product.
23. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 22 , wherein the whole grain particles are selected from the group consisting of rye, oats, rice, barley, corn, and triticale.
24. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 23 , wherein the food component is selected from the group consisting of raw fruits, frozen fruits, evaporated fruits, fruit juices, fruit purees, fruit powders, and any combination thereof.
25. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 23 , wherein the food component comprises dairy cheese having a moisture content of less than about 20 wt %.
26. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 23 , wherein the whole cereal grain particles comprise a combination of different types of whole grain particles.
27. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 23 , wherein the pelletizing is at a pressure of about 200 psig to about 700 psig and the pelletizing temperature is controlled to provide a pellet temperature of from about 80° F. to about 105° F. upon exiting the pelletizer.
28. A method for producing a shredded composite food product, the method comprising:
cooking particles of whole cereal grain to provide a cooked whole cereal grain product;
tempering the cooked whole cereal grain product to provide a tempered product, the tempered product having retrograded starch;
adding a food component to the particles of the whole cereal grain or to the cooked whole cereal grain, the food component selected from the group consisting of fruits, and dairy cheese, wherein if the food component comprises fruits, the fruits are added before or during a pelletization step, and if the food component comprises dairy cheese, the dairy cheese is added before or during the pelletization step but after the tempering step;
pelletizing the tempered product, the pelletizing to effect shear in an amount and at a temperature effective to provide composite food pellets having a texture that is softer and more pliable than prior to pelletization, a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight, and a pellet temperature of about 80° F. to about 105° F., the composite food pellets comprising the food component;
shredding the composite food pellets having a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight to provide shredded composite food sheets;
forming a shredded composite food laminate from the shredded composite food sheets; and
frying the shredded composite food laminate to obtain a shredded composite food product.
29. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 28 , wherein the whole grain particles are selected from the group consisting of rye, oats, rice, barley, corn, and triticale.
30. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 29 , wherein the food component is selected from the group consisting of raw fruits, frozen fruits, evaporated fruits, fruit juices, fruit purees, fruit powders, and any combination thereof.
31. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 29 , wherein the food component comprises dairy cheese having a moisture content of less than about 20 wt %.
32. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 29 , wherein the whole cereal grain particles comprise a combination of different types of whole grain particles.
33. A method for producing a shredded composite food product, the method comprising:
a) providing a whole grain-containing mixture comprising cooked and tempered particles of whole cereal grain and a food component selected from the group consisting of fruit, and dairy cheese;
b) pelletizing the whole grain-containing mixture in a pelletizer, the pelletizing to effect shear in an amount and at a temperature effective to provide composite food pellets having a texture that is softer and more pliable than prior to pelletization, a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight, and a pellet temperature of about 80° F. to about 105° F.;
c) shredding the composite food pellets having a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% to provide shredded composite food sheets;
d) laminating the shredded composite food sheets to obtain a shredded composite food laminate;
e) dividing the shredded composite food laminate into discrete composite food pieces; and
f) frying the shredded composite food laminate prior to step e) or composite food pieces after step e) to obtain a shredded composite food product.
34. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 33 , wherein the whole grain particles are selected from the group consisting of rye, oats, rice, barley, corn, and triticale.
35. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 34 , wherein the food component is selected from the group consisting of raw fruits, frozen fruits, evaporated fruits, fruit juices, fruit purees, fruit powders, and any combination thereof.
36. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 34 , wherein the food component comprises dairy cheese having a moisture content of less than about 20 wt %.
37. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 34 , wherein the whole cereal grain particles comprise a combination of different types of whole grain particles.
38. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 34 , wherein the pelletizing is at a pressure of about 200 psig to about 700 psig and the pelletizing temperature is controlled to provide a pellet temperature of from about 80° F. to about 105° F. upon exiting the pelletizer.
39. A method for producing a shredded composite food product, the method comprising:
cooking particles of whole cereal grain to provide a cooked whole cereal grain product;
tempering the cooked whole cereal grain product to provide a tempered product, the tempered product having retrograded starch;
adding a food component selected from the group consisting of garlic, onion, beans and combinations thereof to the particles of the whole cereal grain or to the cooked whole cereal grain, before or during a pelletization step;
pelletizing the tempered product, the pelletizing to effect shear in an amount and at a temperature effective to provide composite food pellets having a texture that is softer and more pliable than prior to pelletization, a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight, and a pellet temperature of about 80° F. to about 105° F., the composite food pellets comprising the food component;
shredding the composite food pellets having a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight to provide shredded composite food sheets;
forming a shredded composite food laminate from the shredded composite food sheets; and
frying the shredded composite food laminate to obtain a shredded composite food product.
40. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 39 , wherein the whole grain particles are selected from the group consisting of rye, oats, rice, barley, corn, and triticale.
41. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 40 , wherein the whole cereal grain particles comprise a combination of different types of whole grain particles.
42. A method for producing a shredded composite food product, the method comprising:
a) providing a whole grain-containing mixture comprising cooked and tempered particles of whole cereal grain and a food component selected from the group consisting of garlic, onion, beans and combinations thereof;
b) pelletizing the whole grain-containing mixture in a pelletizer, the pelletizing to effect shear in an amount and at a temperature effective to provide composite food pellets having a texture that is softer and more pliable than prior to pelletization, a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% by weight, and a pellet temperature of about 80° F. to about 105° F.;
c) shredding the composite food pellets having a moisture content of about 33% to about 38% to provide shredded composite food sheets;
d) laminating the shredded composite food sheets to obtain a shredded composite food laminate;
e) dividing the shredded composite food laminate into discrete composite food pieces; and
f) frying the shredded composite food laminate prior to step e) or composite food pieces after step e) to obtain a shredded composite food product.
43. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 42 , wherein the whole grain particles are selected from the group consisting of rye, oats, rice, barley, corn, and triticale.
44. The method for producing a shredded composite food product as claimed in claim 43 , wherein the whole cereal grain particles comprise a combination of different types of whole grain particles.