Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Plant material is basic ingredient other than extract,...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-24
2004-07-06
Tran, Lien (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Plant material is basic ingredient other than extract,...
C426S506000, C426S507000, C426S508000, C426S618000, C426S620000, C426S621000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06759077
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved breakfast cereal biscuit and in particular, to an improved breakfast cereal biscuit comprised of grain which is at least 20% by weight waxy grain. The present invention also relates to a method of manufacture of such improved breaks cereal biscuits.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Breakfast cereal biscuit (BCB) products make up a significant proportion of t international ready-to-eat breakfast cereal market. Some examples of BCB products available on the world market are Weet Bix (Sanitarium Health Food Company, 145 Fox Valley Road, Waroonga, NSW 2076, Australia), Weetabix (Weecabix Ltd. Burton Latimer Ketteing Northamts, NN15JR, England) and Vita Brits (The Uncle Toby's Company Limited, Barkly Street, Wahgunya, Victoria, 3687, Australia). These products which have been available for many years are usually made from wheat, which have other optional inclusions such as flavorings, nutritional supplements, pre-puffed or pre-toasted cereals, fruits, bran, salt, sweeteners or stabilizers.
BCBs are usually marketed as biscuit typically with dimensions of about 8×4×2 cm as well as in an assortment of shapes such as cubes, cylinders etc. They are generally eaten with cold or hot milk and the flakes of grain within the biscuit become soft and mushy within only 2-3 minute of the addition of cold milk and quicker with hot milk. A feature of the BCBs is that the flattened grain flakes are visually discernible within the biscuit produced. This is a feature which distinguishes this type of BCB from shredded wheat biscuits wherein individual grains are not discernible.
The BCBs are generally made from the whole wheat kernel (germ, bran and endosperm), by initially hydrating and cooking the kernel a then rolling the cooked grain into very thin flakes which are then agglomerated and formed into biscuits. A description of this type of process is provided in the video entitled “Breakfast is Ready”, produced in 1993 by Video Education Australasia Pty Ltd, (111 Mitchell Street, Bendigo, Victoria, 3550, Australia).
An alternative method involves the grains being hydrated and cooked followed by flaking and agglomeration along with the addition of flavours, colours, fruits, etc. optional predrying and then the resultant mixture formed in the desired shapes and toasted dry to the final desired biscuit product.
Another type of grain-derived biscuit or cake can be produced from puffed whole grains, as described by Wu in U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,180. These product are produced from non-waxy rice, wheat, rye, corn and the like. The grains are conditioned to a predetermined moisture content, formed in a pre-heated mould and high temperature expanded. Consequently, the taste and texture of this products is quite distinct from the faked grain BCBs. The puffed grain biscuits or are also generally eaten in the form of a bread substitute, rather than with warm or cold milk, as is the case with the flaked grain BCBs.
Waxy grains have not generally been contemplated in the manufacture of BCBs. Waxy grains tend to become sticky when hydrated during cooking and processing steps. This often results in the cooked waxy grains forming a glue-like material and sticking to surfaces of the cooking and processing apparatus. The difficulties associated with processing waxy grain has meant that non-waxy grain has been used in the preparation of BCBs.
There are a number of drawbacks with the BCB producers currently available. One significant disadvantage is that when the BCB is combined with cold milk, the biscuit rapidly absorbs the milk and rapidly loses its crispy texture to become soft and mushy, usually within two to three minutes. The softened flakes also become capable of being dispersed into the milk very easily with a spoon. This short “bowl life”, which refers to the time it takes for a cereal to become soft and mushy when immersed in cold milk, is considered by many consumers To be a disadvantage with BCB products. For example, compared with the bowl life of two to three minutes for known wheat flake BCB, corn flake cereals generally have a bowl life of five to six minutes and oven crisped rice cereals (for example Kellogg's Rice Krispies, Kellogg Co. 235 Porter Street, Battle Creek, Mich. 49016, U.S.A.) generally exhibit a bowl life of six to seven minutes. Within the breakfast cereal industry, a bowl life of six to eight minutes is considered to be desirable.
Furthermore, attempts have been made so improve she nutritional quality of, and to add textural and flavour variety to, flaked wheat BCBs, by adding other cereal grains such as rice, rolled oats, sesame seeds etc. Such products have tended to be more expensive than the simple wheat BCBs, and have in addition been shown to produce a product which is less tender, less crisp and generally less appealing to consumers than the all-flaked wheat BCBs.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or at least substantially ameliorate some of the problems associated with the flaked grain BCB products known to date. Other objects according to the present invention will become apparent from the following description thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has been surprisingly found by the present inventors that by producing BCBs from grain which is at least 20% by weight waxy grain, it is possible to produce a flaked grain BCB product which exhibits extended bowl life, has improved nutritional qualities and is tender and crisp in texture. In particular, BCBs produced from waxy barley develop pleasant natural malted flavours without the need for malty flavour additions, at the same time as requiring reduced energy in the manufacturing process, when compared with standard BCBs produced form flakes of wheat.
Thus, according to one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a breakfast cereal biscuit comprising grain wherein said grain includes waxy grain in an amount of at least 20% by weight of total grain content.
Preferably waxy grain comprises at last 30% by weight, more preferably 90% by weight, most preferably 100% by weight of total grain content.
Preferably the waxy grain is selected from barley, corn, wheat, rice and sorghum, more preferably the waxy grain is barley.
In a particularly preferred embodiment the barley is hydrated to a moisture content of up to 30%, more preferably from 24to 29%, most preferably about 29% w/w.
The BCB of the invention contains flaked waxy grain which typically has been processed by hydration and cooking of the grain either sequentially or simultaneously or both, rolled into flaked, agglomerated into a desired biscuit shape, and toasted. Alternatively the rolled grain is toasted prior to agglomeration into the desired biscuit shape.
One advantage of using waxy grain, in particular barley, is that the processed flakes can be agglomerated without the need for additives such as binders, salt, flavours and other agents to prepare a suitable flaked grain BCB produce.
Nonetheless it is sometimes desirable to add one or more of other grain or grain products, nuts, fruits, fruit juice, nutritional supplements, flavours, colours, salt, sweeteners, stabilisers and the like in the preparation of the biscuits.
According to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a process for producing a breakfast cereal biscuit comprising the steps of:
a) selecting grain which includes waxy grain in an amount of at least 20% by weight of total grain content;
b) hydrating and cooking said grain either sequentially or simultaneously or both,
c) rolling cooked grain into flakes; and either
d) agglomerating the flakes of step c) into a desired biscuit shape; and
e) toasting the product of step d); or
f) toasting the flakes of step c); and
g) agglomerating the product of step f) into a desired biscuit shape.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Throughout this specification is the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” or the term “includes” or variations thereof, will be understood to imply
Lewis David Adrian
Lewis Deborah Ann
Lewis Victor Marcus
Byron Australia Pty. Ltd.
Scully Scott Murphy & Presser
Tran Lien
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