Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Preparation of product which is dry in final form
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-21
2004-12-14
Bhat, N. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Preparation of product which is dry in final form
C426S094000, C426S594000, C426S560000, C426S447000, C426S448000, C426S516000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06830768
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A number of expanded snack products are known in the art. The following are examples:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,685 to Persson et al. discloses a biscuit comprising agglomerated granules of a cooked-extruded base coated with a binder, the base comprising from 40 to 80 parts by weight of cereal flour, up to 20 parts sucrose and from 0.5 to 3 parts of oil or fat, and the binder comprising from 8 to 30 parts by weight of sucrose and/or mixtures of glucose and its polymers.
JP 01174322 (QP Corp.) discloses a drop or cookie for babies and infants obtained by baking a dough consisting of starch, saccharides and milk, containing a powder of fruit juice but no egg material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,159 issued to Lutz, discloses a ready-to-eat expanded cereal product in the form of thin flakes, suitable for the feeding of junior age infants, obtained by cooking-extruding-expanding a moist blend comprising cereal grain, slicing the expanded rope of cooked-extruded blend into flakes and drying the flakes.
WO89/04121 (HEINZ SCHAAF OHG) discloses a process for manufacturing cereals by cooking-extruding a mixture of cereal material, vegetable and/or fruits with a partial amount of sugar and milk, cutting the expanded rope of cooked-extruded mixture into pieces having a large surface, spraying an aqueous suspension of sugar and milk onto the just cut, hot and moist pieces, coating the moistened pieces with a remaining part of components in powder form and drying the coated pieces.
WO93/17592 (SCHAAF TECHNOLOGIES GMBH) discloses a process and an apparatus for cooking-extruding-expanding vegetable and/or fruit containing cereals, in which expansion is carried out in a large expansion zone provided for after an extrusion zone and before a cutting zone.
EP-A-0431203 (SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S. A.) discloses extrusion-cooked cereal flakes having a layered, crumbly texture and a density of 75 to 200 g/l.
DE 2712311 A (VAASAN HOERMYLLY OY) discloses a porous flat bread which may have a protein content between 25-30% which results from the addition of e.g., concentrated milk albumin.
Despite these products, there still remains a need for improvements in this area, and the present invention satisfies this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a cooked-extruded-expanded snack product mainly comprising amylaceous material and milk solids, and has a fine, porous, crunchy, smooth and melt-in-the-mouth texture, while being dietetically valuable. The present invention also provides a process for manufacturing such a snack product.
The present invention also provides a cooked-extruded-expanded snack product which may be coated with a sugar based coating, and one that further comprises milk solids.
The present invention also provides a cooked-extruded-expanded snack product, which may be filled with fruit, vegetable or cream based filling.
The a cooked-extruded-expanded snack product has a porous texture and a specific weight of from 60 to 180 g/l. The product preferably comprises, in percent by weight, from 5.5 to 27.5% of non-fat milk solids, from 2.5 to 12.5% of milk fat and/or vegetable fat, from 50 to 80% of amylaceous material, up to 15% of sugar and from 1 to 8%, residual water, and preferably 1.0 to 3.0% residual water.
The process for manufacturing the snack product consists of cooking-extruding-expanding at 120° to 170° C. under 40 to 160 bar for 5 to 50 s a mixture comprising, in parts by weight, from 5.5 to 27.5 parts of non-fat milk solids, from 2.5 to 12.5% of milk fat and/or vegetable fat, from 50 to 80% of amylaceous material, up to 12 parts sugar and added water up to a water content of from 11 to 19% by weight of the mixture, thus obtaining a rope of a thermoplastic mass having a porous texture, cutting the rope into pieces and optionally drying them down to a residual water content of from 1 to 3%.
“Being dietetically valuable” may be understood as designating a snack product based on amylaceous material especially comprising, in percent by weight, from 5.5 to 27.5% of non-fat milk solids, and from 2.5 to 12.5% of milk fat and/or vegetable fat, which means a snack product based on amylaceous material which is rich in protein and calcium.
As a whole, beside a few percent of each of residual water, ash and dietary fiber, the snack product may generally comprise, in percent by weight, from about 6 to 18% of protein, from about 60 to 80% of available carbohydrate and from about 2.5 to 15% of fat.
It has surprisingly been found that with a high content of milk solids, for example, a content more than about 16%, of whole milk solids, which is more than about 11% non-fat milk solids and more than about 5% milk fat, it is still possible to obtain an expanded snack product that has a fine, porous, crunchy, smooth, and melt-in-the-mouth texture, which is not hard.
The snack product comprises from 5.5 to 27.5%, and preferably more than 11 to 22%, and more preferably more than 11 to 27.5% of non-fat milk solids, from 2.5 to 12.5%, and preferably more than 5 to 10% and more preferably more than 5 to 12.5% of milk fat and/or vegetable fat, from 50 to 80% of amylaceous material, up to 15% of sugar, and from 1.0 to 8.0%, and preferably from 1 to 3% of residual water.
In addition to the calcium already present in the snack product, the snack product may further comprise up to 3% of additional calcium, preferably in the form of calcium carbonate. The snack product may also farther comprise added vitamins, oligoelements, sodium chloride and/or a source of dietary fibers.
The non-fat milk solids in the cooked-extruded bases may be powdered skimmed milk. The milk fat and/or vegetable fat in the cooked-extruded bases may be butter oil, vegetable oil or fat which may act as lubricating agent in the cooking-extruding process. The milk solids in the binder may be whole milk powder.
The amylaceous material may be cereal flour, a starch and/or maltodextrin, for example. The cereal flour may be wheat, barley, oat, rice and/or corn. The starch may be a native starch from wheat, barley, rice, tapioca, potato and/or corn, especially waxy corn. The sugar may be sucrose, dextrose and/or fructose. The source of dietary fiber may be a cereal bran.
The snack product may be eaten as such, or after having been coated with a sugar based coating, or after having been filled with a fruit, vegetable or cream based filling.
Depending on the way the snack product is intended to be eaten, it may have different shapes such as the shape of simple granules intended to be coated with a sugar base coating and agglomerated into a biscuit, a shape of fruits, vegetable or familiar items such as star, flower, heart, square or loop, intended to be coated with a sugar base coating and to be eaten with the fingers especially by toddlers but also by infants or adults, or a hollow shape of tube or cup intended to be filled with a fruit, vegetable or cream based filling.
An adequate coating may have a milk solids content which is lower, similar to or even more than the milk solids content of the snack product itself.
An adequate filling may have an Aw of from between 0.2 to 0.5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
For carrying out the present process for manufacturing a snack product, a mixture is prepared which comprises, in parts by weight, from 5.5 to 27.5 parts, preferably from more than 11 to 22 parts and more preferably from more than 11 to 27.5 parts of non-fat milk solids, from 2.5 to 12.5 parts, preferably from more than 5 to 10 parts and more preferably from more than 5 to 12.5 parts of milk fat and/or vegetable fat, from 50 to 80 parts of amylaceous material, up to 12 parts of sugar, and added water up to a water content of from about 11 to 19%, such a water content being adequate for obtaining a correct expansion after cooking-extruding the mixture.
The mixture may further comprise up to 3 parts of additional calcium, preferably in the form of calcium carbonate, in addition to the calcium already present in the non-fat milk solids. The mixture may further comprise added vitamin
Houlmann Agnes
Mikota Paul
Neidlinger Sylke
Bhat N.
Nestec S.A.
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