Fried snack, fried snack dough and process for making the same

Details Fried snack, fried snack dough and process for making the same Fried snack, fried snack dough and process for making the same

2000-08-21

2001-08-21

Corbin, Arthur L. (Department: 1761)

Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products

Processes

Preparation of product which is dry in final form

C426S440000, C426S443000, C426S446000, C426S496000, C426S516000, C426S549000, C426S559000, C426S656000, C426S658000, C426S661000, C426S808000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06277423

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
This application relates to a fried snack, a fried snack dough, and a process for preparing the same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A wide variety of farinacious (starch and protein-based) snacks are presently available to consumers. Many of these snacks are in the form of chips, strips, or extruded tubular pieces. Some of these snacks are expanded or puffed and contain a cellular or honeycombed internal structure. Many of these conventional snacks have random or non-uniform shapes.
Consumers consider a number of factors when evaluating the desirability of a snack. In addition to taste and texture, visual appeal is an important consideration. Many consumers find snacks shaped into a design such as an animal, bird, or face, to be visually appealing and distinctive. This enhances their enjoyment of the snack. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide consumers with a snack that can be produced in a variety of eye-pleasing three- dimensional shapes. In particular, it would be desirable to provide consumers with a fried, extruded, three-dimensional snack having adjacent dough planes that articulate a design when the snack is viewed in cross-section.
Many problems are encountered when trying to make such a snack. The shape of the die and the size of the planes can present problems with shaping the dough as it emerges from the extruder. Furthermore, the dough shape must stay intact and not distort as the dough is fried. The finished snack must be strong enough to resist breakage, yet not too hard or brittle. The finished snack must also be crispy, crunchy, and thin.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fried, extruded snack that can be produced in a variety of shapes, especially shapes where adjacent dough planes articulate a design when the snack is viewed in cross-section. It is also an object to provide a dough and a method for making the fried snack.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fried, extruded snack that can be produced in a variety of shapes, including shapes where adjacent dough planes articulate a design when the snack is viewed in cross-section. The finished snack is crispy, crunchy, and thin, yet not too hard or brittle. The process of preparing the snack comprises the steps of:
(a) extruding a dough comprising:
(1) from about 35% to about 60% starch based flour containing from about 6% to about 15% protein, wherein the ratio of gelatinized to ungelatinized starch in the starch based flour is from about 15 to 85 to about 65 to 35;
(2) from about 2% to about 25% pregelled modified starch; and
(3) from about 25% to about 55% added water;
said extrusion being at a pressure of from about 500 psig (3.45×10
6
Pa) to about 1500 psig (10.34×10
6
Pa) and a temperature of from about 70° F. (21.1° C.) to about 150° F. (65.6° C.);
(b) extruding the dough through a shaped orifice of from about 0.02 to about 0.05 inches (0.05 to 0.13 cm) to form a snack piece which is cut to at least 0.12 inches (0.3 cm) thick; and
(c) frying said snack piece.
The snack pieces are fried at a temperature sufficient to form snacks having a light, crispy, crunchy texture, improved flavor, and a fat content of from about 20% to about 40%. The water content of the fried snack is less than about 3%.
These and other features and aspects of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A. Definitions
As used herein, all percentages and proportions are “by weight” unless otherwise specified.
As used herein, “added water” refers to water which has been added to the dry dough ingredients. Water which is inherently present in the dry dough ingredients, such as in the case of the sources of flour and starches, is not included in “added water”. (The level of water in flours and starches is usually from about 3% to about 12%.) The amount of added water includes any water used to dissolve or disperse ingredients, as well as water present in corn syrups or hydrolyzed starches.
As used herein, “fat,” “shortening,” and “oil” are used interchangeably unless otherwise specified. The terms “fat,” “shortening,” and “oil” refer to edible fatty substances in a general sense, including natural or synthetic fats and oils consisting essentially of triglycerides, such as, for example, soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, coconut oil, canola oil, fish oil, lard, and tallow, which may have been partially or completely hydrogenated or modified otherwise, as well as non-toxic fatty materials having properties similar to triglycerides, herein referred to as non-digestible fats, which materials may be partially or fully indigestible, reduced calorie fats such as those made with long chain and medium or short chain fatty acids, and mixtures thereof.
B. Dough
A particularly important aspect of the present invention is the dough. The dough comprises: (1) starch based flour having both gelatinized and ungelatinized starch, (2) pregelled modified starch, and (3) added water. This dough can be processed in an extruder to provide a shaped dough piece which remains intact when fried to form thin, crispy, shaped snack products with a light, crunchy texture.
1. Flour
An important component of the dough is a starch based flour. The dough comprises from about 35% to about 60% of a starch based flour which contains from about 6% to about 15% protein. The ratio of gelatinized to ungelatinized starch in the starch-based flour is from about 15 to 85 to about 65 to 35. Tuber and grain flours, such as corn, potato, tapioca, peanut, wheat, oat, rice, and soy meal can be used. Suitable potato flours include dehydrated potato flakes and granules, mashed potato materials, and dried potato products. Corn flour is the most preferred source of starch based flour. Suitable sources of corn flour include corn masa and ground corn. Preferred masas include white corn masa and yellow corn masa. These starch based flours can be blended to make snacks of different composition and flavor. The flours inherently contain starch, but other starches can also be added. Suitable starches include potato starch, tapioca starch, corn starch, oat starch, rice starch, and wheat starch.
The flour should have a ratio of gelatinized to ungelatinized starch of from about 15 to 85 to about 65 to 35. While not intending to be limited by theory, it is believed that pregelatinized starch helps to bind the dough once hydrated, enabling formation of the shape during extrusion, and provides a cohesive structure in which the leavening and steam can uniformly expand during frying to yield both optimal texture and visual definition of shape.
The protein level of the flour should be about 6% to about 15%. Preferably, a corn masa is used to provide the protein. In a preferred dough, from about 35% to about 60% corn masa is used, from about 2% to about 10% corn flour or corn meal, and from about 2% to about 25% pregelatinized modified starch.
2. Emulsifier
A particularly important aspect of the present invention is the inclusion of emulsifier in the dough. Emulsifier helps maintain the integrity of the dough's starch structure and rheology throughout the extrusion process.
The dough comprises from about 0.1% to about 3% emulsifier, preferably from about 0.1% to about 1.3%, and more preferably from about 0.5% to about 0.9%. Preferred emulsifiers include polyglycerol monoesters, mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoglycerides (DATEM), and mixtures thereof. The most preferred emulsifier is DATEM.
Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Monoglycerides (DATEM)
DATEM is a fatty acid ester of glycerine which is esterified with diacetyl tartaric acid and a fatty acid having from about 12 to about 22 carbon atoms. The fatty acid may be saturated or unsaturated. Preferably, the Iodine Value of the DATEM is from about 0 to about 110, more preferably from about 50 to 110, and most preferably from about 70 to about 85. As used herein, “DATEM” can include esters o

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Fried snack, fried snack dough and process for making the same does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Fried snack, fried snack dough and process for making the same, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Fried snack, fried snack dough and process for making the same will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2508284