CA1049319A - Cereal process and product - Google Patents
Cereal process and productInfo
- Publication number
- CA1049319A CA1049319A CA222,927A CA222927A CA1049319A CA 1049319 A CA1049319 A CA 1049319A CA 222927 A CA222927 A CA 222927A CA 1049319 A CA1049319 A CA 1049319A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- particles
- syrup
- rice
- flakes
- cereal
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A natural, ready-to-eat breakfast cereal or snack pro-duct is produced by agglomerating an assortment of alimentary, farinaceous and proteinaceous particles around a puffed and toasted rice cereal flake which serves as a focus point for the particles and thereby affords a preferred distinctive low density and eating quality.
A natural, ready-to-eat breakfast cereal or snack pro-duct is produced by agglomerating an assortment of alimentary, farinaceous and proteinaceous particles around a puffed and toasted rice cereal flake which serves as a focus point for the particles and thereby affords a preferred distinctive low density and eating quality.
Description
~049;~9 The present invention relates to impr~vements in the art of producing "natural" cereal and snack-type food products which are customarily aggregated as a plurality of assorted particles ranging from cereal grains to nutmeats and may also include fruit associabed therewith. Such products have grown popularity in the m2rketplace by reason of their representation of old fashioned and natural goodness: this manufacture stems in large measure fr~m the ability to incorporate conventional cereal constituents such as rolled oats, wheat germ, and nutmeats such as almonds as well as dried coconut together with fats and oils which are flavorfully combined with less reined sugars such aq dark brown sugar.
Whereas the earlier entry into the market in recent times was simply a dry blend of a good tasting crunchy cereal (e.g.
granola), the esthetic organoleptic limitations of such a product have prompted others to endeavor to aggregate cereal components.
This aggregation has taken the form of blends of cereal grain by-products having various eating textures but many accompanying dis-advantages.
To illustrate, a forerunner in the current "natural"
cereal market was a semi-agglomeratea ready-to-eat cereal of old fashioned rolled oats, ~rown sugar, wheat germ and flavors with raisins separately mixed: in lieu of raisins, other constituents such as coconut shreds could be ~imilarly mixed. Such semi-agglo-meration was effected by means of a mixture of corn syrup and de-fatted wheat germ which served to effect partial adhesion of the rolled oats into a relatively non-uniform, randomized distribu-tion of agglomerates. ~his agglomerate is characterized by the rather prolonged period required for mastication and leaves an objectionable filling sensation after consumption.
Similar products whether high in rolled oats or in levels of fat, syrup or moisture have related limitations. Thus, an agglomeration of natural cereals may be comparatively dense and when possessing a high level of rol~ed oats or the like are pr~ne ~F
.
to collect o~ and adhere to the crown of the tooth, particularly when eaten dry out-of-hand, an eating characteristic found objec-tionable by some.
It would be desirable to provide an agglomerated assort-ment of ~atural cereal and nutmeat particles which has a low density and a unique texture that permits the product to be masti-cated with ease and in a relatively short period of time. The mouthful of such a product should advantageously occupy a spoon-ful without being inordinately high in density and leading to an uncomfortablè filling sensation upon consumption.
In meeting these product requisites, it would be de-sirable that the product be at packageable moisture contents whereat the effects of rancidity are not encountered. Some current products have a high moisture content - say, in the order of 5%
whereat oxidati~e rancidity of natural grains is compensated for by the presence of moisture: in an oat system at say, 5% - the natural oat is less inclined to undergo rancidification. On the other hand, it i5 preferred to have a stable, crisp, less chewy agglomerated natural cereal product such as is afforded at mois-20 J ture levels below 5% - say in the order of 2%, where the product also has an overall pleasant taste, both when eaten dry and when consumed upon liquid milk addition.
It would also be desirable to provide significant levels of fat and sugar to meet intended ~alanced recipe dictates while at the same time permitting aggregating techni~ues which provide a relatively complete agglomerate: a specific object of the inven-tion is to provide a heterogeneous agglomerate which has a rela-tively unifonm particle size. Agglomeration of many prior natural cereals mixtures pro~ides random unpredictable particle size dis-3~ tributions which may stem from an erratic collection of dry parti-cles with amounts of fat or corn syrup; then again many such pro-ducts assume a packaged condition which is, too non-uniform, e.g.
fine particles segregate to the bottom of the bag with clusters ~049319 of ca~ed ag~lomerates collecting at the top of the package due to di~integratio~ during the shipment of the packaged goods and vapor transmission to the packaged contents. Thus, it is desirable to pro~ide uniformly agglomerated cereal mixture which ~u~stan-tially retains its structure when packaged.
The term "cereal mixtures'l herein connotes mixtures of whole grains and by-products such a~ oat, wheat, wheat qerm, flours of like cereal origin and assorted natural balancing in-gredient~ such as subdivided nutmeats, such as coconut, fruit meats ~uch as raisins and fortifying natural ingredients such as non-fat dry milk solid, In accordance with the present object~, such a mixture should be readily consumable and stable under normal packaging conditions against: premature oxidative rancidity; cak-ing due to excessive moisture uptake; and fragility and conse~uent disintegration due to moisture migration in packaging: a stable storage period for purposes of the pre~ent invention would exceed 5ix months at normal room temperature and preferably be at least nine months.
According to the invention there is pro~ided a process for preparing an agglomerated cereal product ha~ing a binary eat-ing quality which comprises intimately mixing subdivided alimentary ~arinaceous and proteinaceous particles; including in the mixture of ~aid particles a puffed toasted rice cereal flake that has been cooked and bumped preparatory to puffing and toasting, said flake having a dextrinous, bli~tered, curled, syrup-ab~orbent surface:
causing a liquified fat to coat and be evenly distributed over the mixed particles and then causing a saccharidal syrup to be applied to and coat the fat-coated particles; continually tumbling the coated particles until they aggregate to form a cluster of smaller particles adhereing around the discrete and separate puf~ed rice flakes; and thence drying the aggregates to produce an agglo-merated structure.
There is also provided an agglomerate comprising sub-~04C~319 divided alimentary farinaceous and proteinaceous particle~ and a plurality of discrete puffed rice flakes ha~ing said particles adhereing thereto, said particles and flakes being surface coated with fat and said agglomerate being characterized by havlng a saccharidal coating surrounding the particles and fla~es, said agglomerate ha~ing a moisture content le~s than 5~ and greater than 1~.
Thus, a cereal mixture i5 agglomerated around fat-and syrup-coated particles of puffed and toasted rice flakes typically an oven-toasted rice flake produced by cooking pearl~d rice ~n a syrup solution, drying the rice, bumping it through 1aking roll~, ànd then oven puffing it by means conventional and known in the art: puffed toasted cereal flake~ may be similarly produced from a variety of milled or semi-milled gelatinized rice grains. The flakes ~hould provide the following characteriQtics in accordance with the in~ention's prerequisites:
1. The toasted atmospheric, vàcuum or otherwise puffed and toasted rice flakes should have a dextrinous surface which, when coated with an aqueous sugar syrup, promotes adhesion of the dis-similar particles; it would appear that the gelatinization ofthe starch and the rupture of surface starch cells through cook-ing promotes an available readily rehydrata~le and activatable tacXifying adhesive surface which facilitates the agglomeration process in an assortmènt of equipments ranging from a coating reel, a ribbon blender, or other mixers known in the art.
Whereas the earlier entry into the market in recent times was simply a dry blend of a good tasting crunchy cereal (e.g.
granola), the esthetic organoleptic limitations of such a product have prompted others to endeavor to aggregate cereal components.
This aggregation has taken the form of blends of cereal grain by-products having various eating textures but many accompanying dis-advantages.
To illustrate, a forerunner in the current "natural"
cereal market was a semi-agglomeratea ready-to-eat cereal of old fashioned rolled oats, ~rown sugar, wheat germ and flavors with raisins separately mixed: in lieu of raisins, other constituents such as coconut shreds could be ~imilarly mixed. Such semi-agglo-meration was effected by means of a mixture of corn syrup and de-fatted wheat germ which served to effect partial adhesion of the rolled oats into a relatively non-uniform, randomized distribu-tion of agglomerates. ~his agglomerate is characterized by the rather prolonged period required for mastication and leaves an objectionable filling sensation after consumption.
Similar products whether high in rolled oats or in levels of fat, syrup or moisture have related limitations. Thus, an agglomeration of natural cereals may be comparatively dense and when possessing a high level of rol~ed oats or the like are pr~ne ~F
.
to collect o~ and adhere to the crown of the tooth, particularly when eaten dry out-of-hand, an eating characteristic found objec-tionable by some.
It would be desirable to provide an agglomerated assort-ment of ~atural cereal and nutmeat particles which has a low density and a unique texture that permits the product to be masti-cated with ease and in a relatively short period of time. The mouthful of such a product should advantageously occupy a spoon-ful without being inordinately high in density and leading to an uncomfortablè filling sensation upon consumption.
In meeting these product requisites, it would be de-sirable that the product be at packageable moisture contents whereat the effects of rancidity are not encountered. Some current products have a high moisture content - say, in the order of 5%
whereat oxidati~e rancidity of natural grains is compensated for by the presence of moisture: in an oat system at say, 5% - the natural oat is less inclined to undergo rancidification. On the other hand, it i5 preferred to have a stable, crisp, less chewy agglomerated natural cereal product such as is afforded at mois-20 J ture levels below 5% - say in the order of 2%, where the product also has an overall pleasant taste, both when eaten dry and when consumed upon liquid milk addition.
It would also be desirable to provide significant levels of fat and sugar to meet intended ~alanced recipe dictates while at the same time permitting aggregating techni~ues which provide a relatively complete agglomerate: a specific object of the inven-tion is to provide a heterogeneous agglomerate which has a rela-tively unifonm particle size. Agglomeration of many prior natural cereals mixtures pro~ides random unpredictable particle size dis-3~ tributions which may stem from an erratic collection of dry parti-cles with amounts of fat or corn syrup; then again many such pro-ducts assume a packaged condition which is, too non-uniform, e.g.
fine particles segregate to the bottom of the bag with clusters ~049319 of ca~ed ag~lomerates collecting at the top of the package due to di~integratio~ during the shipment of the packaged goods and vapor transmission to the packaged contents. Thus, it is desirable to pro~ide uniformly agglomerated cereal mixture which ~u~stan-tially retains its structure when packaged.
The term "cereal mixtures'l herein connotes mixtures of whole grains and by-products such a~ oat, wheat, wheat qerm, flours of like cereal origin and assorted natural balancing in-gredient~ such as subdivided nutmeats, such as coconut, fruit meats ~uch as raisins and fortifying natural ingredients such as non-fat dry milk solid, In accordance with the present object~, such a mixture should be readily consumable and stable under normal packaging conditions against: premature oxidative rancidity; cak-ing due to excessive moisture uptake; and fragility and conse~uent disintegration due to moisture migration in packaging: a stable storage period for purposes of the pre~ent invention would exceed 5ix months at normal room temperature and preferably be at least nine months.
According to the invention there is pro~ided a process for preparing an agglomerated cereal product ha~ing a binary eat-ing quality which comprises intimately mixing subdivided alimentary ~arinaceous and proteinaceous particles; including in the mixture of ~aid particles a puffed toasted rice cereal flake that has been cooked and bumped preparatory to puffing and toasting, said flake having a dextrinous, bli~tered, curled, syrup-ab~orbent surface:
causing a liquified fat to coat and be evenly distributed over the mixed particles and then causing a saccharidal syrup to be applied to and coat the fat-coated particles; continually tumbling the coated particles until they aggregate to form a cluster of smaller particles adhereing around the discrete and separate puf~ed rice flakes; and thence drying the aggregates to produce an agglo-merated structure.
There is also provided an agglomerate comprising sub-~04C~319 divided alimentary farinaceous and proteinaceous particle~ and a plurality of discrete puffed rice flakes ha~ing said particles adhereing thereto, said particles and flakes being surface coated with fat and said agglomerate being characterized by havlng a saccharidal coating surrounding the particles and fla~es, said agglomerate ha~ing a moisture content le~s than 5~ and greater than 1~.
Thus, a cereal mixture i5 agglomerated around fat-and syrup-coated particles of puffed and toasted rice flakes typically an oven-toasted rice flake produced by cooking pearl~d rice ~n a syrup solution, drying the rice, bumping it through 1aking roll~, ànd then oven puffing it by means conventional and known in the art: puffed toasted cereal flake~ may be similarly produced from a variety of milled or semi-milled gelatinized rice grains. The flakes ~hould provide the following characteriQtics in accordance with the in~ention's prerequisites:
1. The toasted atmospheric, vàcuum or otherwise puffed and toasted rice flakes should have a dextrinous surface which, when coated with an aqueous sugar syrup, promotes adhesion of the dis-similar particles; it would appear that the gelatinization ofthe starch and the rupture of surface starch cells through cook-ing promotes an available readily rehydrata~le and activatable tacXifying adhesive surface which facilitates the agglomeration process in an assortmènt of equipments ranging from a coating reel, a ribbon blender, or other mixers known in the art.
2. The rice flakes should ha~e a blistered surface that provides an irregular surface area whereby the foregoing sticky adhesive nature o~ the flaXe surface becomes functional, thus minimizing any tendency to experience unagglomerated farinaceous or prote~nace~us particles as well as non-uniformly adhered parti-cles which may be dislodged in packaging and thus lea~ to a segregated character:
3. The syrup-coated rice flake should be sufficiently 10493~9 cu~ped, i.e., curled, during the rolling or bumping operation to pro~ide a pocket wherein the remaining particles may collect in-cident to the tumbling action to which they are ~ubjected auring the agglomeration: this cupped character i~ believed to assure a uniform di~tribution of the dissimilar particles through the tumbling action and also provides protection against agglomerates initially formed breaking up during final c~ating operations, as will be described hereina~teri
4. The rice flake described hereina~ove should absorb the hot syrup faster than other dry blended ingredients whereby the flake itself ser~es as a focal point for the adhesion of particle~
of cereals and other fortifying con~tituents inasmuch as the latter particles are le~s inclined to agglomerate per se: thus absorp-tion of the syrup and the adhesion provided by the rice surfaces provides a preferential focal point upon which agglomerates collect or particles that are intended to form agglomerates are localized;
of cereals and other fortifying con~tituents inasmuch as the latter particles are le~s inclined to agglomerate per se: thus absorp-tion of the syrup and the adhesion provided by the rice surfaces provides a preferential focal point upon which agglomerates collect or particles that are intended to form agglomerates are localized;
5. Some of the flakes should provide a pitted surface dur-ing blending of the above-specified rice flake and remaining in-gredients of the cereal mixture, causing surface craters to exist, t~us ~urther optimizing the opportunity for adhesion of the dry ingredients or any individual agglomerates thereof which may be formed prior to stationing on the rice flake.
The foregoing functions of oven-toasted bumped rice flakes will occur to varying degrees depending upon the degree of gelatinization of the rice grain itself and the nature of the ingredients being added, some ingredients being more su~ceptible to the agglomeration tendencies of the rlce flake than others.
However, it is believed that all of these foregoing functions exist to some degree in a manner which provides a substantial reduct~on in density, uniformity of particlès size distribution and a di~tinctive eating quality. This provides a functionality to any volume of the agglomerates so produced since it permits more faithful volumetric filling as well as uniormity of eating 10493~
response, thereby ~ifferentiati~g t~.e pre~ent aggl~merate from the foregoin~ prevlously marketed products.
The agglomerates present a uni~ue, two-phased texture~
sy~tem in terms of eating quality; there i9 a ~ufficient quantity of the ~rain, grain by products and nutmeat particleq as~ociated with the cereals to provide a chewy, crunchy "whole~ome" masti-cation expe~ience which has been associated with the common "granola-type" product: yet the presence of the rice flakes pro-viaes a less filling, ~ofter, more friable, easily pulverized and easily masticated cri~py texture. $his binary-texture sy~tem distinguishes it from the prior cereal mixtures discussed above and has been found definitely preferred by consumers who f~nd protracted mastication experience les~ preferable whether such products are consumed with milX or eaten dry from out of hand.
To effect this binary eating ~uality, the level of rice cereal flakes usea may range from two to 15% by weight of the dried agglomerate, preferably being in the order o~ 5-10~: the upper level of such flakes forms no distinct critical part of the invention, the amount being in some mea~ure dictated by the re-maining ingredient~ of the cereal mixture being agglomerated a~well as the fat and syrup le~el; there is, howe~er, a practical upper limit - say, 25~ - a~ove which for a particular added fat-~ugar level, due to the added surface area provided by the rice flakes, complete distribution of coating qyrup cannot be readily obtained thereby providing an opportunity for oxidation sites which contribute towards instability through oxidative rancidity;
it is to be under~tood in this connection that the various fat-coated component~ of the cereal including the rice flakes will be sub~tantially coated in the agglomerate by the sugar ~yrup solute~ which, when the solution is driea, provides the aforesaid substantially continuous barrier against oxidative rancidity, a most important property in view of the natural enzymic and other activity present in the cereals and nutmeats and the level of fat
The foregoing functions of oven-toasted bumped rice flakes will occur to varying degrees depending upon the degree of gelatinization of the rice grain itself and the nature of the ingredients being added, some ingredients being more su~ceptible to the agglomeration tendencies of the rlce flake than others.
However, it is believed that all of these foregoing functions exist to some degree in a manner which provides a substantial reduct~on in density, uniformity of particlès size distribution and a di~tinctive eating quality. This provides a functionality to any volume of the agglomerates so produced since it permits more faithful volumetric filling as well as uniormity of eating 10493~
response, thereby ~ifferentiati~g t~.e pre~ent aggl~merate from the foregoin~ prevlously marketed products.
The agglomerates present a uni~ue, two-phased texture~
sy~tem in terms of eating quality; there i9 a ~ufficient quantity of the ~rain, grain by products and nutmeat particleq as~ociated with the cereals to provide a chewy, crunchy "whole~ome" masti-cation expe~ience which has been associated with the common "granola-type" product: yet the presence of the rice flakes pro-viaes a less filling, ~ofter, more friable, easily pulverized and easily masticated cri~py texture. $his binary-texture sy~tem distinguishes it from the prior cereal mixtures discussed above and has been found definitely preferred by consumers who f~nd protracted mastication experience les~ preferable whether such products are consumed with milX or eaten dry from out of hand.
To effect this binary eating ~uality, the level of rice cereal flakes usea may range from two to 15% by weight of the dried agglomerate, preferably being in the order o~ 5-10~: the upper level of such flakes forms no distinct critical part of the invention, the amount being in some mea~ure dictated by the re-maining ingredient~ of the cereal mixture being agglomerated a~well as the fat and syrup le~el; there is, howe~er, a practical upper limit - say, 25~ - a~ove which for a particular added fat-~ugar level, due to the added surface area provided by the rice flakes, complete distribution of coating qyrup cannot be readily obtained thereby providing an opportunity for oxidation sites which contribute towards instability through oxidative rancidity;
it is to be under~tood in this connection that the various fat-coated component~ of the cereal including the rice flakes will be sub~tantially coated in the agglomerate by the sugar ~yrup solute~ which, when the solution is driea, provides the aforesaid substantially continuous barrier against oxidative rancidity, a most important property in view of the natural enzymic and other activity present in the cereals and nutmeats and the level of fat
-6-~049319 that will be added. P.t flake levels above 1596, it will be diffi-cult to di~trihute tac~ify~ ng syrup onto the fat-coated cri~p rice flakes as a consequence of which the ability to fully or faithfully agglomerate the particles will be lessened and/or over-all distribution uniformity in the agglomerates will be ad-versely affected.
The nature of the saccharidal syrup added to the fat-coated cereal mixture ingreaients as well as the rice flake will also have a sign~ficant effect on the ag~regation and agglomera-tion that stems from tumbling these ingredients. The tacky natureof the ~yrup when wàrm should promote sufficient initlal aggrega-tion to assure that clu~tering of part$cles occurs around the flake. Generally speaking, it will be a preferred embodiment of the lnvention that the syrup have a quantity of reducing micro-crystalline ~accharidal con~tituents 1ncluding dextrins and low - molecular weight sugars, the syrup solids having a D.E. of at least 5; e.g. corn syrup in minor per cent of the syrup solids enhances tackification and adhesion: in this regard, a quantity of honey and brown sugar may optionally be included for tackifi-cation: typically, reducing saccharidal materials or invert-type sugars may be employed all of which serve to enhance the aggrega-tion of the particles as they undergo intimate contact.
Preferably also the charge material undergoing aggrega-tion will be maintained at ambient temperatures or in any event below 120F. whereat they will occasion a better tackification from a given warm syrup at a temperature above that of the charge material to afford distribution of the ~yrup over the part~cles as well as ea~e of distribution onto the charge by a ~pray or other liquid application system.
The stab$1izat$on mechanisms whereby a stable agglomerate is produced by drying the aggregate formed upon addition of the tackifying syrup are deceptively complex. The degree o gelatin-ization and thug the degree of devita~ization can ~e consequen-~04~931~
tial. A significant amount of latent enzymic activity may be present in the cereal componsnts, e.g. the rolled oats or the bumped wheat ~hat is preferably used as the predominant parts of the cereal mixture; the~e cereals and their equivalents have a level of fat that i~ unsaturated and thus prone to undergo ran-cidification in the presence of viabally actlve enzymic con3titu-ents either nat$ve to or associated through admixture of other cereal components or other ingredients which have natural enzymic acti~ity. An important factor in the present proces~ is the u~e in a predominant amount by weight of the added fat o~ a substan-tîally saturated fatty material such a~ coconut oil as the fat-coating material in order to control rancidification stemming from hydrolysis or oxidation of natural fats present in the in-gredients.
The sugar syrup contributes significantly towards stabi-lization of the cereal mixture including the rice flake by enrobing the fat-coated aggregated particles with a substantially contin-uous coating and thus mitigating against oxidati~e rancidity when the eventual aggregate iq stabilized by drying thereof to produce the ultimate agglomerate at a moisture content below 5~ and a~ove 1%. In this connection, the employment of 5-15% and as h~gh as 30% of amorphous saccharides by weight of the sugar syrup solids is instrumental in achieving a glossy, non-crystallizing coating which provides a cont~nuous barrier to oxidation as contrasted with that which may be provided by a crystallizing sucrose syrup, i.e. one which undergoes development into a frosty, non-glossy character which is discontinuous in the agglomerate as packaged or becomes so after pacXaging thereof.
In effecting agglomeration, a coating reel i9 the pre-ferred means for promoting distribution of syrup. Pre-mixing of the dry blend ingredients to be agglomerated, the rate of rotation of the reel, the diameter thereof and the number of flights or baffles emplo~ed to promote a tumbling action are matters within 10493~9 the ~ill of art workers and form no part of the present inven-tion. However, it is preferred in effecting a tumbling action to avoid excesqive heating of the coating reel. It has been found that such low temperatures promote a good syrup distri~ution without premature moisture loss and excessive absorption of the syrup into the base grains and other particles in the cereal mix-ture: a preferred embodiment of the in~ention is that the coat-ing operation proceed at an ambient agglomerating temperature in the zone of aggregation below 120F; the ~yrup will be at a more elevated temperature - say, about 150F. - whereat it will be fluid and evenly distributable and possess requisite sticki-ne~s; the slightly elevated temperature of the syrup promotes ad-he ion of the cereal mixture components as well as the other fortifying particle~ specified herein of the rice flakes surfaces.
The puffed and toasted rice flake proces~ used to make the flake are not a critical aspect of the invention ih its broad-est aspects: typically par-boiled milled white rice will be pres-sure cooked with a flavoring ~yrup whereupon the rice will be dried to a moisture content, ~ay, in the order of 15-20~ and then tempered for a prolonged period ~e.g. 16 hours), whence it will be charged to a pre-heating oven to plasticize and warm the rice to a relatively high temperature to condition the rice for bumping. The rice will be bumped but not flaked to the point of producing a flattened non-resilient rice mass: instead the rice will be flattened to less than that condition and retains its integrity as a grain per se; the bumped rice will thus assume a dimension generally 50-75~ of the cooked tempered rice dimension ~ust prlor to bumping. After bumping the rice will be charge~ to a pu~fing oven where it will be bla~ted with heated air ~450-500F.) at atmospheric conaitions for a period of, say, 1.5-5 minutes to produce the characteristic puffed flake: alternatively, the rice may be processed in a high temperature vacuum oven where-~n the rice will be similarly vacuum puffed in the flake form _g_ 104g319 desired and of u~e as specified herein.
The preferred admixture of cereal grain components will include as at leaat 2D~ by weight of the dried agglomerated structure rolled oat groats and in the order of at least 5~ by weight of a bumped rolled wheat. The level of oat~ and whea~
u~ed will in some measure, of course, be dictated by nutritional requirement~ a~ well as pala~ability and other organoleptic con-sideration~. Other cereal grains may be employed $n lieu of oat~
and wheat while still practicing the distinct aggregating advan-tages accruing from use of a rice ~lake. Buckwheat in either aflaked or pufed form may be employed as the major cereal com-ponent in the total cereal mixture; corn, either puffed or flaked and oat groats that are puff0d as by gun puffing or air puffing through a fluidized bed treatment can al~o be employed; according-ly, the invention i~ not restricted to the preferred embodiment of an oat and wheat mixture but a variety of typical cereal grain~
providin~ a fortifying and balanced organoleptic mixture may be provided.
~he preferred form of matrix-building cereal components, be they oat and wheat mixtures or equi~alents, will be in the form of a bumped shape. The process of bumping i~ practiced a~ter some soaking in cold or warm water to soften the grain~ ~teaming or partial cooking by other means: and ~ub~equent tempering of the cereal grains; whereupon they are flattened and thu~ opened in structure 80 tha~ they are more digestible per se and more readily rehydratable. The act of bumping produces a flattened ~hape which permits the aggregate to nest or bridge by virtue of the exposed dextrinous character of the surfaces thereof as they undergo tumbl-ing in intimate associate with the puffed rice flake. Bumping coupled with the pregelatinization render~ the cereal grain mor~
tender or pliable when consumed either dry or wetted and more organoleptically acceptable due to subsequent toa~ting and coin-cident gelatinization.
.
l~avinq the rice flakes agglomerated with the bumped cereal grains in a low den~ity structure stemming from such nest-ing enhances the palatability ~temming from the binary eating texture. In the foregoing context, the term bumped is synono-mous with rolling or flattening to partially compress and per-manently deform the cereal grain but not flatt~n it to the ex-tent of causing it to lo~e its identity as such.
By the u~e of an oven puffe~ rice flake in the amounts disclosed herein, the eventual agglomerate density of the same ration from which the flake i~ ab~ent will be reduced by at least l~ generally as in the case of bumped cereal component~ and in the case of other cereal components which may be puffed, the den-sity will be reduced still further. The extent of density reduc-tion to some degree will also be dependent upon the level to wh$ch the rice flakes are used and as the level thereof increases upwardly to, say, 15%, a corresponding though not directly re-latable den~ty reduction will be achieve~; as one endeavors to reduce density still further by say 2S% by increasing the level of rice flakes; however, the more consequential contribution of the rice flake will be that of a texture improvement rather than density reduction.
The characterizing flavor and overall taste of the assortment of ingredients will be important, if not paramount, and thus the ability of dried nutmeats and ~ubdivided nuts to be ef~ectively aggregated and agglomerated together with the grain will determine the ultimate upper level of oven puffed rice flakes that are employed. The characterizing nutmeats that will be useful in this invention will be, in addition to or in lieu of the preferred diced almonds and dried coconut, chopped walnuts, peanuts, cashews, like-textured vegetable bean extract3 of legumes, sesame ~eeds, sunflower nutmeats, pumpkin seeds in either diced or subdivided and desicated forms, which forms may either be infused with fla~or or characterizing solutes or may be salted 10493~9 or roasted to quit organoleptic preference.
Havlng effected an aggregated structure, it will then be appropriate to finally establish that structure by compaction to a slight extent and thereby more intimately aggregate the puffed rice flakes with the adhereing discrete and separate parti-cles o~ farinaceous and proteinaceous particles aforesaid.
Broadly speaXing, this compaction will be effected before a f$nal dehydration and the semi-moiqt matrix of fat and sugar coated particles will u~ually have a moisture content ranging between 10-20% durinq compacting, more preferably 12-15%.
After ~uch compaction and densification, the particles will be sub~ected to a final dehydration step wherein the aggre-gate will be dried to a moisture content generally below 5% and above 1~, typically 2-3~. Dehydration is preferably carr~ed out under moderately elevated temperature~ between 200-300F. ~dry bulb). Generally, the sensible heat of the circulating drying ga9 will be such that the particle~ will not be elevated to a temperature above 325F. whereat incipient pyrolyriq and carmeli-zation may occur, since the primary characterizing ~lavoring con-stituency of the agglomerate is effected preparatory to formatio~thereof rather than after; a most preferred sensible heat tem-perature ~uch as that detected by a tharmocouple in a bed of dr~ed particles undergoing terminal dehydration should not exceed 250F. wherein the dangers of any flavor reactions sucb as may .~ .
cccur at elevated temperatures are avoided.
Within the ambit of the foregoing processing conditions, the following is a list of the preferred ingredients and optimal ranges thereof that will be employed in making the dried agglom-erate, expre3sed as a part by weight thereof.
Quick Coo~ing Rolled Oats 20-35 Rolled Whole Wheat (partially gelatinized) 5-25 Oven-puffed Rice Flakes 2 15 Ration-balancinq Protein 0-25 !
Alm~ndY
~on~at Dry Milk ~-20 Brown Sugar 2-35 Corn Syrup 0-lO
Honey 0-lO
Caramel Color 0-5 Fat or Oil 15-30 In the foregoing tabulation it will be noted that the oats are quick-cooking rolled oats but in lieu thereo varying levels of other partially gelatinized cereal component~ may be ~ubstituted, it nevertheles~ being a preferred prerequi~ite that there be at lea~t 20% of a pregelatinized oat component in the agglomerate.
The degree of partial gelatinization for the cereal components 1~ not: readily definable but the expre~ion connotes that the oa~s or wheat per ~e, when immer~ed in an equal volume of water that i~ boiling, will be edible when allowed to be brought to a rolling boil, say, in five minutes broadly ~peaking, more commonly as quickly as two minutes; thi~ degree of pregelatinization will be that wherein the rice starch granule~ are heat treated to the p3~nt where they essentially lose their bire-fringence when viewed under polarizing light. The preferred characterizing ingredient will be a quick-cooking rolled oat product which 18 essentially an oat groat which has been dehulled, steamed and then thin rolled or bump~d, the pr~conditioning being intended to afford palatability or tenderness a~ well as digestability. ~hen oats are part of the ration, it may also contain a nwmber of alternative ration-balanc~ng cereal protein or protein sources e.g. 90y bean curd (TOFU); wheat germ; rye; corn; milo; ~orgum; buckwheat and mix-tures of the~e ingredients, the range of 8uch ration ~alancing cereal proteins ~eing between O and 25 part3 of the total ration ; as indicated. Usually the~e cereal grains or protein source~ a~
in the case of wheat germ or air alassified wheat flour~ or high protein`wheat flour fractions recovered by s~eving will be , . . .
1~49319 selected in accordance with intended nutritional benefits and organoleptic value~ that are compatible therewith. Some o~ the ration balancing agents may be pre-treated or modlfied from ori-ginal form as by oxidizing through a chlorine bleaching wash and in turn a tempering operation in the case of whole grains such as wheat which will be bumped and dried and may subsequently be subdivided, although preferably for sub~tance in the case of rolled whole wheat the wheat will be allowed to remain as such:
in this latter pre~erred embodiment, the wheat grain will be bumped to a point whereat the epidermis or pericarp remaining after dehulllng will be broken and the internal qtarchy endosperm will be gros~ly apparent in the dried bumped form.
The degree of compaction to densify the aggregate will be important in practicing thiR invention: benefits will accrue from a wiae range of density increases. The puffed rice flakes permits the aggregate to be compacted. Compaction i~ controlled 80 that substantial integrity of the puffed rice flakes is main-tained, lt being a preferred embodiment o~ this invention that the degree of compaction after aggregation i~ controlled ~o as to minimize the 109~ of integrity of the pu~fed rice flakes,as such and thus a~ord the distinctive eating quality intended for the total and ultimate agglomerate form of product. The puffed parti-cles will generally as~ume a more or less randomized position in the aggregate form, although this randomness will to some degree be altered by some minimum amount of compaction so that the puffed particle~ more or less assume a two dimensional orienta-~ion.
Importantly, in all of the ~oregoing applications, whether the aggregation be initially effected by the coating reel technique, the dynamic fluidized bed treatment cited herein or an extrusion, the puffed ri~ flakes tend to form focal points for agglomeration of the more discrete and finer particles in a uniform assemblage thereabout to provide a more or less hetero-.~ , :` . : ` .
~0'~93~9 geneous distribution of these particles throughout the composi-tion. As indicated the wet structure of the gelatinized and bumped rice fla~e occasions an adhesion of the surface of the flake to these discrete particles and density-reduction may be effected to between 10-50~ of the original bulk volume, more commonly in the order of 25-30% in the case of the preferred reel-type ~ystem, the degree of compaction being dependent to some degree on the density of the initial aggregate produced.
Preparatory to densifica~ion and compaction, the ali-mentary particles should be sufficiently comixed with the tri-glyceride and the saccharides as to assure two specific physical conditions in accordance with this invention. The first will in-volve a coating of the farinaoeous and proteinaceous particles by the fat and to this end the fat will be desirably, though not nece~sarily, maintained in a more or less liquid if not plastic 8tate. This enrobing operation provides a textural modification to the cereal particles which i5 desirable; thus in the preferred practice both oats as well as the wheat and the puffed r$ce flakes will be fat coated and ~ill ha~e their textures softened therebyi the fat impregnation resulting will eventually modify the final texture of the so-called dry ingredients. The fat coating in turn will effect the rehydratability of the rice flakes and, in most applications, it will be desired to have a more crisp texture stemming from a more complete fat enrobement after wetting of the final agglomerate upon u~e with milk or cream for breakfast cereal application.
A second and equally important consideration will be essentially a substantially complete coating of all of the in-gredients by the saccharides aforementioned whether they be in the form of a syrup initially or be converted to that form in-cident to the act of aggregation. The syrup ultimately produced through liquifaction with water which may be added to the dry powder or which may ~e present as part of the syrup in the pre-10493~9ferred reel~type agglomerating operation serves to provide a more or less continuou~ envelope which limits any pro-oxidation poten-tlal of naturally occurring and unstable fatty material~. The fat level in the total formula will exceed 15% and more commonly ex-ceed 20% but not to the end of losing the other aforementioned desired organoleptic values: accordingly, a practical upper limit only will be, say, in the order of 30% fat (total fat as deter-mined by acid hydrolysis). As a practical matter, the upper limit will be dictated by both processing and palatability problems and forms no real critical aspect of this invention.
~ he saccharide solids le~el in the syrup expressed as a per cent of added dry solids will range from 3-30% and expressed in terms of the final weight of ~ugar ~olids or total sugar~ will not exceed 40%. Generally, the mono- and poly-saccharides added will exceed 1~% by weight of the agglomeratè and will preferably be in excess of 20% by weight of the solids added for agglomera-tion purposes. The amount of sugar and the degree of distribution will, as indicated above, be important to provide an essentially stable matrix of agglomerated cereal and proteinaceous particles that are both fat- and sugar-coated.
~ he method whereby the puffed rice flake is effectively aggregated and thereafter agglomerated will take many forms. The preferred form i8 the seguential application of a liqufied oil followed by a sugar syrup. However, there are alternative pro-cedures which may be employed. Thus in one alternative the tri-glyceride coated particles intended for ultimate agglomeration may be comixed with a dry powderous polysaccharide mixture, e.g.
powdered brown sugar, cane sugar crystals and mixtures thereof with corn syrup solids; after co-mixing the materials are admitted to a humid atmosphere as by being deposited upon a tray which is introduced to a chamber of controllea wet and dry bulb thermometry having a relative humidity typically exceeding 45% and having a relatively high wet bulb temperature, say, in excess of 100F: as a result, the sacchari~e~ will be wetted ~y c~nden~ed water vapor to produce an aggregate which is thereafter dried a~ter compaction as aforesaid to a slight extent and dried to produce the agglom-erate. Still another alternative may be the "creaming" of the afore~aid polysaccharides with the triglycerides in a plastic state to produce a sugar-cream type of plastlc homogeneous matrix forming material. This material will desirably have little or no water added to it and will be whipped or otherwise mixed in a high speed Hobart-type wire whipper mixer to produce a moderate degree of overrun; having produced thi~ low density matrix-forming polysaccharide-fat mixture, the dry ingredients, tha~ i8 the farinaceous and proteinaceous alimentary particles will ~e folded in uniformly to produce a coherent aggregate which with continued mixing again results in the formation of foci points as aforesaia, the degree of agglomeration ultimatel~ producible being a function of the degree of folding which i~ practiced; the folded agglomerate mass results in a compactable mixture which can be ultimately sub-jected to a dehydration or baking ~peration with an optional form-ing operation to suit choice, typically a one inch bed ~eing com-pacted to, say, a 3/~ inch bed and subdivided or bro~en or sizingto the desired agglomerate.
Lastly, another embodiment of these agglomerating tech-niques in~lvmg an intermediate aggregation calls for creating a wet aggregate-producing mix of the preferred character described herein in connection with the oil/syrup application technique employing the coating reel technique whereupon the mix in~redients will be introduced to an extruder and passed under moderately elevated pressures through a jacketed extruding ~arrel and a screw intended to deli~er the aggregated materials to a ~hape-defining orifice for issuance as a semi-expanded shape or as choice may dictate a non~expanded extrudate, say, one having an elongated condition or one that is subdivided just subsequent to extru~ion, all of which manipulations are within the skill of the art: in this application the material extruded mav be a dry blend of thepolysaccharides and the cereal particle~ with the puffed rice flakes to produce the aggregate, sufficient water being added to wet and dissolve at least a part of the saccharides and aid in expansion upon issuance from the extruding chamber; thus, low pressure as well as high pressure extruaing is contemplated within the spirit of this inventior,.
In all of said coating methods, the dry ingredients, typically the guick-coo~ing rolled oats and the whole wheat or other grain components, will be sufficiently intermixed with the puffed rice flake~ so as to promote the aforesaid functional aggregation of particles therearound. In this manner, the binary organoleptic eatlng quality is afforded from the distinctive aggregation of the nutmeats and cereal particles in intimate association with the puffed rice flakes.
BEST MODE
The following dry fraction ingredients are weighed and added to a coating reel (multi-flighted) approximately 3 inches in diameter:
Quick cooking rolled oats 17.7 lbs.
Bumped ~rolled) wheat 7.1 lbs.
Rice "Toasties" ~Oven puffed Rice Flakes) 5 . 7 1~5 .
Almonds ~diced) 3.1 lbs.
Unsweetened, dried coconut 2.9 lbs.
Non-fat Dry milk 2.3 l~s.
~he dry fraction ingredients are allowed to mix in the coating reel which is operated at 30-60 rpm's for 5 minutes.
8.4 Lbs. of pure coconut oil is poured or sprayed onto ~he pre-blended dry fraction ingredients in the rotating coating reel, and the oil-coated dry fraction is allowed to tumble in the coating reel for an adaitional f~ve minutes at the same rpm to insure di~tribution of the liquified oil on the surfaces of the dry in-gredients.
Se~arately a coating syrup i~ prepared having the fol-lowing ingredients:
Brown sugar (aranular)12.3 lbs.
Corn syrup 1.~ lbs.
Honey ~.7 lb~.
Pure caramel powder 0.6 lbs.
Water 5.7 lb~.
The caramel powder, brown ~ugar, corn syrup and honey are dissolved in water at 150F. to produce the coating syrup solution which i~ poured or ~prayed at 150F. onto the oil coated dry ingredlents fraction in the rotating reel, the reel being operated at a range of 30-60 rpm's for an addit~onal five minutes of tumbling 80 as to promote uniform coating of the material.
The o~ yrup coated product ig then removed from the coat~ng reel and loaded onto tray-type dryer ~creens at a bed depth of 3/4" to 1", the material ~eing loaded at a le~el of 10 l~s . per tray having a dimension of 2 " wiath and 3" length. The material is leveled auring drying with a metal spatula to induce slight compression and consequent compaction and aensification.
The loaded screens are then placed on a cabinet-type air circula-tlon dryer wherein the material is dried or 15 minutes using an air temperature of 250-260F. with a maximum updraft air flow.
After completion of pas~age through the dryer, the product is dumped to a trough and mixed for approximately 30 seconds where-after the product is returned to the dryer screen, releveled and slightl~ recompacted as in the in~tial tray loading ana run again through the dryer using the same conditions as in the initial run.
At the end of thi~ second pa6s the material 1~ cooled, broken apart from the sheet formation thereof and sized through a 3/4"
6creen. The sized, cooled product is then bulk bagged for packag-ing. The product entering the dryer initially had a moisture con-tent of 13~ and when dried the first time had a moi~ture content of 8~ and a final moisture content af~er the s~cond drying of 3~.
--lg--.. . .
~049319 It will be obvious from this operative example that a number of alternative plant processing conditions may be employed including the use of dry ingredient bins which promote se~uential feed of the ingredients to a transfer belt and in turn to an undulating V-blending coating reel or equivalent apparatus operative to initially apply oil and thereafter apply syrup. In lieu of the preferred belt-type commercial dryer other means to effectively set the syrup coating and thus produce a preferred distinctively low density eating quality may be employed such as a humid bed agglomerator wherein the syrup is humidified and thereafter dried, all of which varia-tions will occur to persons skilled in the methods ~f coating and drying.
~,,,,,A
The nature of the saccharidal syrup added to the fat-coated cereal mixture ingreaients as well as the rice flake will also have a sign~ficant effect on the ag~regation and agglomera-tion that stems from tumbling these ingredients. The tacky natureof the ~yrup when wàrm should promote sufficient initlal aggrega-tion to assure that clu~tering of part$cles occurs around the flake. Generally speaking, it will be a preferred embodiment of the lnvention that the syrup have a quantity of reducing micro-crystalline ~accharidal con~tituents 1ncluding dextrins and low - molecular weight sugars, the syrup solids having a D.E. of at least 5; e.g. corn syrup in minor per cent of the syrup solids enhances tackification and adhesion: in this regard, a quantity of honey and brown sugar may optionally be included for tackifi-cation: typically, reducing saccharidal materials or invert-type sugars may be employed all of which serve to enhance the aggrega-tion of the particles as they undergo intimate contact.
Preferably also the charge material undergoing aggrega-tion will be maintained at ambient temperatures or in any event below 120F. whereat they will occasion a better tackification from a given warm syrup at a temperature above that of the charge material to afford distribution of the ~yrup over the part~cles as well as ea~e of distribution onto the charge by a ~pray or other liquid application system.
The stab$1izat$on mechanisms whereby a stable agglomerate is produced by drying the aggregate formed upon addition of the tackifying syrup are deceptively complex. The degree o gelatin-ization and thug the degree of devita~ization can ~e consequen-~04~931~
tial. A significant amount of latent enzymic activity may be present in the cereal componsnts, e.g. the rolled oats or the bumped wheat ~hat is preferably used as the predominant parts of the cereal mixture; the~e cereals and their equivalents have a level of fat that i~ unsaturated and thus prone to undergo ran-cidification in the presence of viabally actlve enzymic con3titu-ents either nat$ve to or associated through admixture of other cereal components or other ingredients which have natural enzymic acti~ity. An important factor in the present proces~ is the u~e in a predominant amount by weight of the added fat o~ a substan-tîally saturated fatty material such a~ coconut oil as the fat-coating material in order to control rancidification stemming from hydrolysis or oxidation of natural fats present in the in-gredients.
The sugar syrup contributes significantly towards stabi-lization of the cereal mixture including the rice flake by enrobing the fat-coated aggregated particles with a substantially contin-uous coating and thus mitigating against oxidati~e rancidity when the eventual aggregate iq stabilized by drying thereof to produce the ultimate agglomerate at a moisture content below 5~ and a~ove 1%. In this connection, the employment of 5-15% and as h~gh as 30% of amorphous saccharides by weight of the sugar syrup solids is instrumental in achieving a glossy, non-crystallizing coating which provides a cont~nuous barrier to oxidation as contrasted with that which may be provided by a crystallizing sucrose syrup, i.e. one which undergoes development into a frosty, non-glossy character which is discontinuous in the agglomerate as packaged or becomes so after pacXaging thereof.
In effecting agglomeration, a coating reel i9 the pre-ferred means for promoting distribution of syrup. Pre-mixing of the dry blend ingredients to be agglomerated, the rate of rotation of the reel, the diameter thereof and the number of flights or baffles emplo~ed to promote a tumbling action are matters within 10493~9 the ~ill of art workers and form no part of the present inven-tion. However, it is preferred in effecting a tumbling action to avoid excesqive heating of the coating reel. It has been found that such low temperatures promote a good syrup distri~ution without premature moisture loss and excessive absorption of the syrup into the base grains and other particles in the cereal mix-ture: a preferred embodiment of the in~ention is that the coat-ing operation proceed at an ambient agglomerating temperature in the zone of aggregation below 120F; the ~yrup will be at a more elevated temperature - say, about 150F. - whereat it will be fluid and evenly distributable and possess requisite sticki-ne~s; the slightly elevated temperature of the syrup promotes ad-he ion of the cereal mixture components as well as the other fortifying particle~ specified herein of the rice flakes surfaces.
The puffed and toasted rice flake proces~ used to make the flake are not a critical aspect of the invention ih its broad-est aspects: typically par-boiled milled white rice will be pres-sure cooked with a flavoring ~yrup whereupon the rice will be dried to a moisture content, ~ay, in the order of 15-20~ and then tempered for a prolonged period ~e.g. 16 hours), whence it will be charged to a pre-heating oven to plasticize and warm the rice to a relatively high temperature to condition the rice for bumping. The rice will be bumped but not flaked to the point of producing a flattened non-resilient rice mass: instead the rice will be flattened to less than that condition and retains its integrity as a grain per se; the bumped rice will thus assume a dimension generally 50-75~ of the cooked tempered rice dimension ~ust prlor to bumping. After bumping the rice will be charge~ to a pu~fing oven where it will be bla~ted with heated air ~450-500F.) at atmospheric conaitions for a period of, say, 1.5-5 minutes to produce the characteristic puffed flake: alternatively, the rice may be processed in a high temperature vacuum oven where-~n the rice will be similarly vacuum puffed in the flake form _g_ 104g319 desired and of u~e as specified herein.
The preferred admixture of cereal grain components will include as at leaat 2D~ by weight of the dried agglomerated structure rolled oat groats and in the order of at least 5~ by weight of a bumped rolled wheat. The level of oat~ and whea~
u~ed will in some measure, of course, be dictated by nutritional requirement~ a~ well as pala~ability and other organoleptic con-sideration~. Other cereal grains may be employed $n lieu of oat~
and wheat while still practicing the distinct aggregating advan-tages accruing from use of a rice ~lake. Buckwheat in either aflaked or pufed form may be employed as the major cereal com-ponent in the total cereal mixture; corn, either puffed or flaked and oat groats that are puff0d as by gun puffing or air puffing through a fluidized bed treatment can al~o be employed; according-ly, the invention i~ not restricted to the preferred embodiment of an oat and wheat mixture but a variety of typical cereal grain~
providin~ a fortifying and balanced organoleptic mixture may be provided.
~he preferred form of matrix-building cereal components, be they oat and wheat mixtures or equi~alents, will be in the form of a bumped shape. The process of bumping i~ practiced a~ter some soaking in cold or warm water to soften the grain~ ~teaming or partial cooking by other means: and ~ub~equent tempering of the cereal grains; whereupon they are flattened and thu~ opened in structure 80 tha~ they are more digestible per se and more readily rehydratable. The act of bumping produces a flattened ~hape which permits the aggregate to nest or bridge by virtue of the exposed dextrinous character of the surfaces thereof as they undergo tumbl-ing in intimate associate with the puffed rice flake. Bumping coupled with the pregelatinization render~ the cereal grain mor~
tender or pliable when consumed either dry or wetted and more organoleptically acceptable due to subsequent toa~ting and coin-cident gelatinization.
.
l~avinq the rice flakes agglomerated with the bumped cereal grains in a low den~ity structure stemming from such nest-ing enhances the palatability ~temming from the binary eating texture. In the foregoing context, the term bumped is synono-mous with rolling or flattening to partially compress and per-manently deform the cereal grain but not flatt~n it to the ex-tent of causing it to lo~e its identity as such.
By the u~e of an oven puffe~ rice flake in the amounts disclosed herein, the eventual agglomerate density of the same ration from which the flake i~ ab~ent will be reduced by at least l~ generally as in the case of bumped cereal component~ and in the case of other cereal components which may be puffed, the den-sity will be reduced still further. The extent of density reduc-tion to some degree will also be dependent upon the level to wh$ch the rice flakes are used and as the level thereof increases upwardly to, say, 15%, a corresponding though not directly re-latable den~ty reduction will be achieve~; as one endeavors to reduce density still further by say 2S% by increasing the level of rice flakes; however, the more consequential contribution of the rice flake will be that of a texture improvement rather than density reduction.
The characterizing flavor and overall taste of the assortment of ingredients will be important, if not paramount, and thus the ability of dried nutmeats and ~ubdivided nuts to be ef~ectively aggregated and agglomerated together with the grain will determine the ultimate upper level of oven puffed rice flakes that are employed. The characterizing nutmeats that will be useful in this invention will be, in addition to or in lieu of the preferred diced almonds and dried coconut, chopped walnuts, peanuts, cashews, like-textured vegetable bean extract3 of legumes, sesame ~eeds, sunflower nutmeats, pumpkin seeds in either diced or subdivided and desicated forms, which forms may either be infused with fla~or or characterizing solutes or may be salted 10493~9 or roasted to quit organoleptic preference.
Havlng effected an aggregated structure, it will then be appropriate to finally establish that structure by compaction to a slight extent and thereby more intimately aggregate the puffed rice flakes with the adhereing discrete and separate parti-cles o~ farinaceous and proteinaceous particles aforesaid.
Broadly speaXing, this compaction will be effected before a f$nal dehydration and the semi-moiqt matrix of fat and sugar coated particles will u~ually have a moisture content ranging between 10-20% durinq compacting, more preferably 12-15%.
After ~uch compaction and densification, the particles will be sub~ected to a final dehydration step wherein the aggre-gate will be dried to a moisture content generally below 5% and above 1~, typically 2-3~. Dehydration is preferably carr~ed out under moderately elevated temperature~ between 200-300F. ~dry bulb). Generally, the sensible heat of the circulating drying ga9 will be such that the particle~ will not be elevated to a temperature above 325F. whereat incipient pyrolyriq and carmeli-zation may occur, since the primary characterizing ~lavoring con-stituency of the agglomerate is effected preparatory to formatio~thereof rather than after; a most preferred sensible heat tem-perature ~uch as that detected by a tharmocouple in a bed of dr~ed particles undergoing terminal dehydration should not exceed 250F. wherein the dangers of any flavor reactions sucb as may .~ .
cccur at elevated temperatures are avoided.
Within the ambit of the foregoing processing conditions, the following is a list of the preferred ingredients and optimal ranges thereof that will be employed in making the dried agglom-erate, expre3sed as a part by weight thereof.
Quick Coo~ing Rolled Oats 20-35 Rolled Whole Wheat (partially gelatinized) 5-25 Oven-puffed Rice Flakes 2 15 Ration-balancinq Protein 0-25 !
Alm~ndY
~on~at Dry Milk ~-20 Brown Sugar 2-35 Corn Syrup 0-lO
Honey 0-lO
Caramel Color 0-5 Fat or Oil 15-30 In the foregoing tabulation it will be noted that the oats are quick-cooking rolled oats but in lieu thereo varying levels of other partially gelatinized cereal component~ may be ~ubstituted, it nevertheles~ being a preferred prerequi~ite that there be at lea~t 20% of a pregelatinized oat component in the agglomerate.
The degree of partial gelatinization for the cereal components 1~ not: readily definable but the expre~ion connotes that the oa~s or wheat per ~e, when immer~ed in an equal volume of water that i~ boiling, will be edible when allowed to be brought to a rolling boil, say, in five minutes broadly ~peaking, more commonly as quickly as two minutes; thi~ degree of pregelatinization will be that wherein the rice starch granule~ are heat treated to the p3~nt where they essentially lose their bire-fringence when viewed under polarizing light. The preferred characterizing ingredient will be a quick-cooking rolled oat product which 18 essentially an oat groat which has been dehulled, steamed and then thin rolled or bump~d, the pr~conditioning being intended to afford palatability or tenderness a~ well as digestability. ~hen oats are part of the ration, it may also contain a nwmber of alternative ration-balanc~ng cereal protein or protein sources e.g. 90y bean curd (TOFU); wheat germ; rye; corn; milo; ~orgum; buckwheat and mix-tures of the~e ingredients, the range of 8uch ration ~alancing cereal proteins ~eing between O and 25 part3 of the total ration ; as indicated. Usually the~e cereal grains or protein source~ a~
in the case of wheat germ or air alassified wheat flour~ or high protein`wheat flour fractions recovered by s~eving will be , . . .
1~49319 selected in accordance with intended nutritional benefits and organoleptic value~ that are compatible therewith. Some o~ the ration balancing agents may be pre-treated or modlfied from ori-ginal form as by oxidizing through a chlorine bleaching wash and in turn a tempering operation in the case of whole grains such as wheat which will be bumped and dried and may subsequently be subdivided, although preferably for sub~tance in the case of rolled whole wheat the wheat will be allowed to remain as such:
in this latter pre~erred embodiment, the wheat grain will be bumped to a point whereat the epidermis or pericarp remaining after dehulllng will be broken and the internal qtarchy endosperm will be gros~ly apparent in the dried bumped form.
The degree of compaction to densify the aggregate will be important in practicing thiR invention: benefits will accrue from a wiae range of density increases. The puffed rice flakes permits the aggregate to be compacted. Compaction i~ controlled 80 that substantial integrity of the puffed rice flakes is main-tained, lt being a preferred embodiment o~ this invention that the degree of compaction after aggregation i~ controlled ~o as to minimize the 109~ of integrity of the pu~fed rice flakes,as such and thus a~ord the distinctive eating quality intended for the total and ultimate agglomerate form of product. The puffed parti-cles will generally as~ume a more or less randomized position in the aggregate form, although this randomness will to some degree be altered by some minimum amount of compaction so that the puffed particle~ more or less assume a two dimensional orienta-~ion.
Importantly, in all of the ~oregoing applications, whether the aggregation be initially effected by the coating reel technique, the dynamic fluidized bed treatment cited herein or an extrusion, the puffed ri~ flakes tend to form focal points for agglomeration of the more discrete and finer particles in a uniform assemblage thereabout to provide a more or less hetero-.~ , :` . : ` .
~0'~93~9 geneous distribution of these particles throughout the composi-tion. As indicated the wet structure of the gelatinized and bumped rice fla~e occasions an adhesion of the surface of the flake to these discrete particles and density-reduction may be effected to between 10-50~ of the original bulk volume, more commonly in the order of 25-30% in the case of the preferred reel-type ~ystem, the degree of compaction being dependent to some degree on the density of the initial aggregate produced.
Preparatory to densifica~ion and compaction, the ali-mentary particles should be sufficiently comixed with the tri-glyceride and the saccharides as to assure two specific physical conditions in accordance with this invention. The first will in-volve a coating of the farinaoeous and proteinaceous particles by the fat and to this end the fat will be desirably, though not nece~sarily, maintained in a more or less liquid if not plastic 8tate. This enrobing operation provides a textural modification to the cereal particles which i5 desirable; thus in the preferred practice both oats as well as the wheat and the puffed r$ce flakes will be fat coated and ~ill ha~e their textures softened therebyi the fat impregnation resulting will eventually modify the final texture of the so-called dry ingredients. The fat coating in turn will effect the rehydratability of the rice flakes and, in most applications, it will be desired to have a more crisp texture stemming from a more complete fat enrobement after wetting of the final agglomerate upon u~e with milk or cream for breakfast cereal application.
A second and equally important consideration will be essentially a substantially complete coating of all of the in-gredients by the saccharides aforementioned whether they be in the form of a syrup initially or be converted to that form in-cident to the act of aggregation. The syrup ultimately produced through liquifaction with water which may be added to the dry powder or which may ~e present as part of the syrup in the pre-10493~9ferred reel~type agglomerating operation serves to provide a more or less continuou~ envelope which limits any pro-oxidation poten-tlal of naturally occurring and unstable fatty material~. The fat level in the total formula will exceed 15% and more commonly ex-ceed 20% but not to the end of losing the other aforementioned desired organoleptic values: accordingly, a practical upper limit only will be, say, in the order of 30% fat (total fat as deter-mined by acid hydrolysis). As a practical matter, the upper limit will be dictated by both processing and palatability problems and forms no real critical aspect of this invention.
~ he saccharide solids le~el in the syrup expressed as a per cent of added dry solids will range from 3-30% and expressed in terms of the final weight of ~ugar ~olids or total sugar~ will not exceed 40%. Generally, the mono- and poly-saccharides added will exceed 1~% by weight of the agglomeratè and will preferably be in excess of 20% by weight of the solids added for agglomera-tion purposes. The amount of sugar and the degree of distribution will, as indicated above, be important to provide an essentially stable matrix of agglomerated cereal and proteinaceous particles that are both fat- and sugar-coated.
~ he method whereby the puffed rice flake is effectively aggregated and thereafter agglomerated will take many forms. The preferred form i8 the seguential application of a liqufied oil followed by a sugar syrup. However, there are alternative pro-cedures which may be employed. Thus in one alternative the tri-glyceride coated particles intended for ultimate agglomeration may be comixed with a dry powderous polysaccharide mixture, e.g.
powdered brown sugar, cane sugar crystals and mixtures thereof with corn syrup solids; after co-mixing the materials are admitted to a humid atmosphere as by being deposited upon a tray which is introduced to a chamber of controllea wet and dry bulb thermometry having a relative humidity typically exceeding 45% and having a relatively high wet bulb temperature, say, in excess of 100F: as a result, the sacchari~e~ will be wetted ~y c~nden~ed water vapor to produce an aggregate which is thereafter dried a~ter compaction as aforesaid to a slight extent and dried to produce the agglom-erate. Still another alternative may be the "creaming" of the afore~aid polysaccharides with the triglycerides in a plastic state to produce a sugar-cream type of plastlc homogeneous matrix forming material. This material will desirably have little or no water added to it and will be whipped or otherwise mixed in a high speed Hobart-type wire whipper mixer to produce a moderate degree of overrun; having produced thi~ low density matrix-forming polysaccharide-fat mixture, the dry ingredients, tha~ i8 the farinaceous and proteinaceous alimentary particles will ~e folded in uniformly to produce a coherent aggregate which with continued mixing again results in the formation of foci points as aforesaia, the degree of agglomeration ultimatel~ producible being a function of the degree of folding which i~ practiced; the folded agglomerate mass results in a compactable mixture which can be ultimately sub-jected to a dehydration or baking ~peration with an optional form-ing operation to suit choice, typically a one inch bed ~eing com-pacted to, say, a 3/~ inch bed and subdivided or bro~en or sizingto the desired agglomerate.
Lastly, another embodiment of these agglomerating tech-niques in~lvmg an intermediate aggregation calls for creating a wet aggregate-producing mix of the preferred character described herein in connection with the oil/syrup application technique employing the coating reel technique whereupon the mix in~redients will be introduced to an extruder and passed under moderately elevated pressures through a jacketed extruding ~arrel and a screw intended to deli~er the aggregated materials to a ~hape-defining orifice for issuance as a semi-expanded shape or as choice may dictate a non~expanded extrudate, say, one having an elongated condition or one that is subdivided just subsequent to extru~ion, all of which manipulations are within the skill of the art: in this application the material extruded mav be a dry blend of thepolysaccharides and the cereal particle~ with the puffed rice flakes to produce the aggregate, sufficient water being added to wet and dissolve at least a part of the saccharides and aid in expansion upon issuance from the extruding chamber; thus, low pressure as well as high pressure extruaing is contemplated within the spirit of this inventior,.
In all of said coating methods, the dry ingredients, typically the guick-coo~ing rolled oats and the whole wheat or other grain components, will be sufficiently intermixed with the puffed rice flake~ so as to promote the aforesaid functional aggregation of particles therearound. In this manner, the binary organoleptic eatlng quality is afforded from the distinctive aggregation of the nutmeats and cereal particles in intimate association with the puffed rice flakes.
BEST MODE
The following dry fraction ingredients are weighed and added to a coating reel (multi-flighted) approximately 3 inches in diameter:
Quick cooking rolled oats 17.7 lbs.
Bumped ~rolled) wheat 7.1 lbs.
Rice "Toasties" ~Oven puffed Rice Flakes) 5 . 7 1~5 .
Almonds ~diced) 3.1 lbs.
Unsweetened, dried coconut 2.9 lbs.
Non-fat Dry milk 2.3 l~s.
~he dry fraction ingredients are allowed to mix in the coating reel which is operated at 30-60 rpm's for 5 minutes.
8.4 Lbs. of pure coconut oil is poured or sprayed onto ~he pre-blended dry fraction ingredients in the rotating coating reel, and the oil-coated dry fraction is allowed to tumble in the coating reel for an adaitional f~ve minutes at the same rpm to insure di~tribution of the liquified oil on the surfaces of the dry in-gredients.
Se~arately a coating syrup i~ prepared having the fol-lowing ingredients:
Brown sugar (aranular)12.3 lbs.
Corn syrup 1.~ lbs.
Honey ~.7 lb~.
Pure caramel powder 0.6 lbs.
Water 5.7 lb~.
The caramel powder, brown ~ugar, corn syrup and honey are dissolved in water at 150F. to produce the coating syrup solution which i~ poured or ~prayed at 150F. onto the oil coated dry ingredlents fraction in the rotating reel, the reel being operated at a range of 30-60 rpm's for an addit~onal five minutes of tumbling 80 as to promote uniform coating of the material.
The o~ yrup coated product ig then removed from the coat~ng reel and loaded onto tray-type dryer ~creens at a bed depth of 3/4" to 1", the material ~eing loaded at a le~el of 10 l~s . per tray having a dimension of 2 " wiath and 3" length. The material is leveled auring drying with a metal spatula to induce slight compression and consequent compaction and aensification.
The loaded screens are then placed on a cabinet-type air circula-tlon dryer wherein the material is dried or 15 minutes using an air temperature of 250-260F. with a maximum updraft air flow.
After completion of pas~age through the dryer, the product is dumped to a trough and mixed for approximately 30 seconds where-after the product is returned to the dryer screen, releveled and slightl~ recompacted as in the in~tial tray loading ana run again through the dryer using the same conditions as in the initial run.
At the end of thi~ second pa6s the material 1~ cooled, broken apart from the sheet formation thereof and sized through a 3/4"
6creen. The sized, cooled product is then bulk bagged for packag-ing. The product entering the dryer initially had a moisture con-tent of 13~ and when dried the first time had a moi~ture content of 8~ and a final moisture content af~er the s~cond drying of 3~.
--lg--.. . .
~049319 It will be obvious from this operative example that a number of alternative plant processing conditions may be employed including the use of dry ingredient bins which promote se~uential feed of the ingredients to a transfer belt and in turn to an undulating V-blending coating reel or equivalent apparatus operative to initially apply oil and thereafter apply syrup. In lieu of the preferred belt-type commercial dryer other means to effectively set the syrup coating and thus produce a preferred distinctively low density eating quality may be employed such as a humid bed agglomerator wherein the syrup is humidified and thereafter dried, all of which varia-tions will occur to persons skilled in the methods ~f coating and drying.
~,,,,,A
Claims (20)
1. Process for preparing an agglomerated cereal product having a binary eating quality which comprises;
a) mixing farinaceous material selected from the group consisted of subdivided oat groats and rolled wheat and farinaceous particles selected from the group consisting of subdivided nut meats, fruit meats and vegetable seeds with from about 2% to about 25%, by weight of the agglomerated cereal product, of puffed toasted rice cereal flakes that have been cooked and flaked preparatory to puffing and toasting, said flakes having dextrinous, blistered, curled, syrup-absorbent surfaces, b) coating the mixture of (1) with a liquidified substantially saturated fatty material at ambient temperature conditions below 120°F.
c) applying a saccharidal syrup to coat the fat-coated mixture of (b), said saccharidal syrup comprising from about 5% to about 30% of amorphorous saccharides by weight of the syrup solids, d) tumbling the coated particles until they aggregate to form clusters of smaller particles adhering to discrete and separate puffed rice flakes, and e) drying the aggregates to produce agglomerated structures having a moisture content of from about 1% to about 5% by weight.
a) mixing farinaceous material selected from the group consisted of subdivided oat groats and rolled wheat and farinaceous particles selected from the group consisting of subdivided nut meats, fruit meats and vegetable seeds with from about 2% to about 25%, by weight of the agglomerated cereal product, of puffed toasted rice cereal flakes that have been cooked and flaked preparatory to puffing and toasting, said flakes having dextrinous, blistered, curled, syrup-absorbent surfaces, b) coating the mixture of (1) with a liquidified substantially saturated fatty material at ambient temperature conditions below 120°F.
c) applying a saccharidal syrup to coat the fat-coated mixture of (b), said saccharidal syrup comprising from about 5% to about 30% of amorphorous saccharides by weight of the syrup solids, d) tumbling the coated particles until they aggregate to form clusters of smaller particles adhering to discrete and separate puffed rice flakes, and e) drying the aggregates to produce agglomerated structures having a moisture content of from about 1% to about 5% by weight.
2. The process of claim 1, wherein the level of said rice flakes is 2-15% in said agglomerated structure.
3. The process of claim 1, wherein the level of said rice flakes is 5-10% in said agglomerated structure.
4. The process of claim 1, wherein the charge of sub-divided alimentary farinaceous and proteinaceous particles include at least 20% of a bumped partially gelatinized cereal flake.
5. The process of claim 1, wherein the aggregated clust-ered small particles adhering to the discrete and separate puffed rice flakes are compacted preparatory to drying.
6. The process of claim 5, wherein the clustered particles have a moisture content ranging between 10 and 20%
during compaction.
during compaction.
7. The process of claim 5, wherein the compacted aggre-gates are dried to 1-5% moisture.
8. The process of claim 7, wherein the syrup is produced separately and added to the previously fat-coated discrete alimentary particles.
9. The process of claim 5, wherein a portion of sacchar-ides are partially co-mixed in the dry state as powder with the discrete particles and are thereafter liquified in said syrup during coating.
10. The process of claim 1, wherein the syrup is at an elevated temperature able that of the mixture of particles and includes a non-reducing saccharide at a level above 5 D.E.
11. The process of claim 1, wherein the aggregates are dried to a moisture content less than 5% and greater than 1%.
12. The process of claim 11, wherein the aggregates are dried to a moisture content of between 2-3%.
13. The process of claim 6, wherein the aggregates are compacted to densify the clustered adhering particles and puffed rice flakes to an extent that reduces the original volume of the aggregate by an amount not exceeding 50%.
14. The process of claim 1, wherein the farinaceous and proteinaceous particles include at least 20% partially gela-tinized rolled oat groat and at least 5% partially gelatinized rolled wheat.
15. The process of claim 1, wherein the saccharidal syrup is applied to and coats the fat-coated particle at a tempera-ture elevated above ambient temperature and wherein the atmosphere wherein said particles are tumbled is below the temperature of the syrup undergoing said application.
16. The process of claim 15, wherein the coating opera-tion is caused to proceed under conditions wherein the coating ambient conditions are below 120°F. and the saccharidal syrup is at a temperature above 120°F.
17. The process of claim 1, wherein said puffed rice flakes are produced by gelatinizing the rice, partially drying it, tempering it to plasticize and warm the rice and then bump-ing and oven puffing and toasting the bumped flakes.
18. The process of claim 17, wherein the bumped rice flake is caused to undergo a puffing by exposure to atmospheric or vacuum treatment at a sufficiently elevated temperature to cause rapid evaporation of water.
19. The process of claim 18, wherein the rice is dried to 15-20% moisture content before tempering and wherein the flaked product is subjected to elevated temperatures to induce puffing.
20. The product prepared by the process of claim 1.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US45768774A | 1974-04-03 | 1974-04-03 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1049319A true CA1049319A (en) | 1979-02-27 |
Family
ID=23817739
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA222,927A Expired CA1049319A (en) | 1974-04-03 | 1975-03-24 | Cereal process and product |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1049319A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN114424814A (en) * | 2022-02-14 | 2022-05-03 | 安徽燕之坊食品有限公司 | Instant oatmeal with preserved nutrition and preparation method thereof |
-
1975
- 1975-03-24 CA CA222,927A patent/CA1049319A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN114424814A (en) * | 2022-02-14 | 2022-05-03 | 安徽燕之坊食品有限公司 | Instant oatmeal with preserved nutrition and preparation method thereof |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US4038427A (en) | Process for preparing a dried agglomerated cereal mixture | |
| US5413805A (en) | Low or no fat granola cereal mix and process | |
| AU783754B2 (en) | Food bar | |
| US6800310B2 (en) | Cereal agglomeration process and agglomerated cereal product | |
| US4961943A (en) | Process of preparing cereal-coated dried fruit | |
| US5709902A (en) | Method for preparing a sugar coated R-T-E cereal | |
| US5151283A (en) | High soluble fiber barley expanded cereal and method of preparation | |
| Fast | Manufacturing technology of ready-to-eat cereals | |
| US20050064080A1 (en) | High fiber high protein ready-to-eat cereal | |
| US4097613A (en) | Process for preparing a protein fortified natural cereal | |
| CA1283805C (en) | Agglomerated flavor bits | |
| EP0710448B1 (en) | A biscuit based on cereal flakes and a method for its manufacture | |
| US3640729A (en) | Instant oat cereal product | |
| JPH10511545A (en) | Whole grain food products | |
| US3640728A (en) | Instant oat cereal product | |
| US3162535A (en) | Preparation of directly consumable food ration wheat products | |
| US20160331007A1 (en) | Caffeinated Coffee-Flavored Cereal | |
| US3554763A (en) | Preparation of ready-to-eat cereal characterized by a honey-graham flavor | |
| CA1049319A (en) | Cereal process and product | |
| JP3415337B2 (en) | Chocolate syrup for flaked or granular food coating of cereals | |
| US3505078A (en) | Process for preparing a honey-graham flavored cereal | |
| Maga | Cereal-based snack foods | |
| JPH0574329B2 (en) | ||
| MXPA01003550A (en) | Cereal bar | |
| JPH10225271A (en) | Processed food material |