CA2048588A1 - Multigrain snack food - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

There is disclosed an unpuffed cooked cereal grain composition suitable for manufacture of fried snack foods, said composition comprising a total moisture content of about 20% to 35%, about 3%
to 8% of added vegetable oil and the remainder being principally cooked grains and optionally pieces of food. The added oil minimizes absorption of oil on frying of the composition and improves mouth feel and texture of the fried products. The grain composition is preferably a wheat based multigrain composition which is processed in a twin screw cooker extruder.

Description

R.I.F.-2245 4-20-g TITLE: MULTIGRAIN SNACK FOOD

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention This invention relates to a food composition in the form of a snack food. In particular, this invention relates to a non-puffed, cereal grain dough extrudate which can be further processed such as for the manufacture of an oil-fried snack, particularly a multigrain snack.

Back~round Art Snack food products have long been prepared from wheat or corn by mixing the respective flour with water to form an extrudate which is then fried. Alternatively, potatoes have been thinly sliced and deep-fat fried to produce snack foods. Snack foods can thus include chip products, crackers, puffed dough articles and cookies.

Fried snacks have included, for example, the snack foods produced by the method of Willard in U~S. Patents 4,769,253 of Sept. 6, 1988 and 4,770,891 of Sept. 13, 1988. These patents relate to expanded fried snacks prepared from ~arious extruded cereals.

R.I.F.--2245 4-20--91 U.S. Patent 4,517,204 of May 14, l9B5 to Mottur et al.
relates to a puffed snack product. The puffed snack contains microcrystallinQ cellulose. In order to improve the texture and increase the expansion of the batter upon extrusion due to the presence of the cellulose, about 0.5% to 4% by weight of edible oil is added to the batter. The products of the Mottur et al.patent are preferably ~aked. A~out 0.1% to 1% of nonionic emulsifiers can also be added to the oil in order to improve expansion of the product.

A commercial product which is a relatively low calorie version of Cheese Doodles~ of Borden Inc., includes corn ~eal and bran in its composition and additionally contains about 1% of vegetable oil. This product is baked.

Frito-Lay, Inc. has manufactured a multigrain snack, marketed as Sunchips~, which is made from whole wheat, corn and other natural ingredients. The Sunchips~ product is corn-based having approximately 50% by weight corn meal and about 25% by weight whea~
on a before frying basis.

Vanderveer et al. U.S.Patent 4,777,045 of Oct. 11, 1988 relates to a ~rand containing snack of various cereal grains which are extruded from a twin screw cooker extruder. The extruded pieces are coated with from 1% to 10% of vegetable oil and a ~:
- ' , ~' ~
. . .

~ ' ~

a~

R . I . F . - 2 2 4 5 4--2 0--9 1 powdered flavorant is applied over the oil wherein the oil allegedly improves adhesion of the flavor particles, enhances flav~r acceptability and improves mouth feel organoleptically.

Irvin et al. U.S.Patent 4,985,269 of Jan. 15, 1991 relates to use of twin screw extruders for making corn dough masa which is further processed for the production of tortilla chips. This reference also discloses the use of a~out 0.1% to 0.6% of a nonionic emulsifier which can be added to the corn feed prior to extrusion.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cereal grain cooked dough composition which is suitable for further processing, such as by frying, to produce a snack product which is low in fat and cholesterol, possesses good flavor and exhibits improved texture and mouth feel.

It is also an object of the present invention to produce such dough compositions and snack products from a multigrain mixture which have visually discernable pieces of whole red wheat or other visually discernable pieces of food in the composition.

Yet another object of the present invention is a process for the preparation of the above dough compositions and snack products.

, - : :
.
, '-, '' ~' ' :., . ' .

ii8~
R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 SUMMARY OF THE INVE~TION
This invention is directed to the formation of a fried snack food and its cooked dough composition precursor. The food products of this invention are low in cholesterol and fat, possess a unique grain flavor, and exhibit improved texture and mouth feel. In a preferred form, the invention is directed to a multigrain product, particularly a wheat based product. The dough composition is made - under conditions which do not cause puffing on extrusion.

It has been found that the addition of about 3~ to 8% of a plasticizer, e.g.vegetable oil, in dough compositions comprising about 20% to 35% total moisture; and about 45% to 77% of grain, minimizes the pick up of oil on frying as compared to such compositions without the added oil. Furthermore the fried snack can contain less plasticizer , e.~. vegetable oil, as compared to the fried product which does not contain the added plasticizer.
This is the case when the quantity of added plasticizer is from about 4% to about 7% by weight of the dough composition. Also, about 3% to 8% of plasticizer improves the mouth feel or texture of the fried snack product.

In one embodiment of the invention there is disclosed dough compositions as described above suitable for making fried snacks, as well as snack products produced from such compositions wherein such compositions contain one or a variety of cereal grains.

.~ ~ . -' -' ' ~ '' ZQ4~s5~3 R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 In another embodiment of the invention there is disclosed cooked dough compositions and snack products which have visually discernable pieces of food in the product.

In still another embodiment the dough composition is sheeted, shaped and cut into pieces which are dried to prepare pellets or half products which are then packaged for cooking by the consumer, e.g., by baking, frying or ~icrowaving. The drying can ~e accomplished by conventional means such as by merely permitting the pieces to air dry overnight, e.g. to about 10% to 14% of moisture.

In still a further embodiment there is disclosed processes for the production of the above mentioned dough compositions and snack products, particularly by the use of cooker extruders such as twin screw extruders.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Fig. l is a process flow diagram of the present invention.

, ~
Fig. 2 is a schematic side elevation of a twin screw extrusion apparatus which can be used in this invention.

Fig.3 is a schematic view of the extruder barrel and twin screws taken along line 3-3 of Fig.~.

, .

:

- .
. , ~. : ,.... . .
. . ,.. ' . ' . , : :' - ' ' :

R.I.F.-2245 4-20-g DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Fig. 1 is a process flow diagram of a preferred embodi~ent of the present invention. Ground grain from the ribbon blender, is metered into the main feed opening of the extruder. Also fed to the main feed opening of the extruder are metered amounts of oil and water, although the oil and water can be premixed with the ground grain prior to being fed to the main feed opening. The ingredients which are introduced through the main feed area of the extruder are referred to herein as the base feed. The base feed is cooked in the extruder.

Optionally, cooked and gelatinized unground whole red wheat which has water added thereto and cooked and gelatinized in a steamer is added to the base feed which is cooked in the extruder.
Such addition is made through a secondary feed opening which is near the extruder exit or die head. There is some mixing of the unground whole red wheat with the previously cooked and ground base feed in the extruder and eventually the mixture is expelled from the extruder. The mixing of the unground whole red whe3t is not vigorous and does not completely blend the unground whole rèd wheat in the mixture so that even after extrusion, whole red wheat pieces are visually discernible in the dough composition. In some cases such as when pieces of dried nuts, e.g. roasted nuts, are added to the base feed, the nuts are added without going through the .

:. ' ': ' . ~ . .
.

- : :

R . I . F . - 2 2 4 5 4 - 2 0--g 1 steaming step. Alternatively, the base feed which is cooked in the extruder can pass through the extruder without addition of the whole red wheat or other food pieces for subsequent processing, e.g. frying.

Various dies such as sheeting dies can be mounted on the exit end of the extruder. After extrusion, the extrudate goes into the forming machine where it is sized and cut into appropriate sized and shaped pieces and then placed on a conveyer belt for transfer to the optional toaster or directly into the fryer. Alternatively, the dough composition can be extruded through narrow die slits, cut at the extruder and go directly into the toaster or fryer. The toaster is an open flame gas oven where the cut pieces are placed for about 15 to 20 seconds at about 600 F to 650 F to remove surface moisture and help equilibrate the moisture content of the cut pieces. The cut pieces then, either from the cutting operation or the oven, are placed in a fryer maintained at conventional temperatures for conventional periods of time such as a temperature of 325 F to 410 F for about 1 to 3 minutes so that the moisture content of the final product will be about 1% to 3% by weight.

The fried pieces are then conveyed through a coater where optionally some vegetable oil can be sprayed on to the surfaces of the fried pieces at a level of about 3% to 5% by weight of the finished product or the pieces can pass through a rotary tumbler,not shown, where salt is applied by dusting on to the .

2~ 8~
R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 pieces such as at a quantity of about 1% to 2% by weight of the finished product. The product is then transported to the packaging machines on conveyors.

Fig.2 is a schematic side elevation view of a twin screw cooker-extruder apparatus which can be used in this invention. The apparatus 1 includes a twin screw extruder 2, a die mounting block 3, a die head 5,and a main feed opening or funnel 7, for receiving the base feed ingredients although liquids such as added moisture (water) or plasticizer can also be received into the extruder through conduit 9. The extruder has a first, second, and third section. Each of these sections is further divided into two parts, not shown. The first section is principally a blending section, the second is a cooking section and the third a cooling section.

The apparatus 1 also has means 11, 11. and 11 for measuring temperature in each section of the extruder barrel, and element 13 for heating the extruder barrel of the second section, and cooling water inlet ports 15 15.and 15, to each section if needed, although water is used for cooling in the third section. A motor driven shaft 17 which through gearing means not shown drives the extruder screws 19.19 in the same direction (co rotating) within extruder ~arrel 21 as more fully shown in Fig.3. A secondary feed funnel 24 can receive pieces of food directly into the cooling zone, namely the third section of the extruder 1-.
~'.

R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 Fig. 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of Fig ~ and shows a cross-section of extruder barrel 21 and co-rotating screws 19! 19.

The cooker extruders used in this invention can be single screw extruders but are preferably twin screw extruders. The single screw extruders give a more erratic rate of feed due to the low friction between the screw and base feed occasioned by the relatively high oil content of the feed. Lack of steady feed rate causes sputtering on extrusion as well as changes in ~he composition of the extrudate, particularly when pieces of food are added to the base feed through funnel 24 of Fig. 2. The twin screw extruders can have screws which are co-rotating or counter-rotating. The rotation of the screws convey the product from the inlet to the outlet while applying a mixing action as well as various amounts of shearing force to the mixture or dough. Heat is generated by higher shearing forces, principally in the second (cooking) section of the extruder. The extruder outlet is equipped with a die or shaped orifice for forming or shaping of the dough, e.g. in the form of a sheet, as it is extruded.

The cooker extruders used in this invention have three main functional sections although eash section can be further subdivided, generally into two subsections. The three main ~ections are: first, the mixing and blending section; second, the cooking section; and third, the cooling section. The first section contains a conveying screw or screws which mix the base feed and . .
, . . .
- ~
' . - . : -.: - '' , ' .
..

R. I . F . -2245 4--20-gl form a dough while moving the dough to the second section. The first section exerts low shear and low compression forces of the ingredients. The dough is then conveyed ~y the screws to the cooking section where some external heat is generally added, such as by thermostatically controlled induction heaters, e.g. 13 in Pig 2, although some of the heat is generated from the shear of the screws within the extruder barrel working against the dough. The cooker section has the Peak Tempèrature, i.e. the highest temperature attained in the extruder. Most of the cooking and gelatinization of the dough takes place in this second section of the extruder.

The dough is conveyed by the screws from the second section to the third section where the dough is cooled prior to discharge from the extruder. Also, secondary feed 24 as shown in Fig 2 can provide pieces of food directly into the ~oving dough of the base feed in the third section. The third section is one of low shear.
Preferably, the screw configuration at the area of the secondary feed does not produce much pressure on the dough such as by the use of a reverse screw configuration. This facilitates any addition of feed through the secondary feed 24. The discharge from the extruder is generally through a die, such as a sheeting die. Cooling of the barrel in this third section is generally accomplished by tap water circulation about the extruder barrel.

- The dough composition of this invention is not puffed as it ~'" ;` ~ 10 ,, . :. :

~ .I.F.-2~45 4-2~-gl exits the extruder. Puf~ed products are made in extruders under puff extrusion cooking conditions which are well known in the art, and generally include temperatures at or above the boiling point of water and pressures of from about 2,000 to 4,000 pounds per s~uare inch at the outlet of the extruder. In contrast to "puff conditions", applicants' dough composition, at the outlet of the extruder, is extruded at a temperature below a~out 165 F and preferably below about 155 F and at a pressure below about 550 pounds per square inch so that there is no puffing of the extrudate.
Although the preferred process for making the dough composition is by use of an extruder other equipment for cooking the base feed, or cooking and mixing the dough composition can be used , e.g. the use of a Hamilton type kettle or a Stephan cooker-mixer. The dough composition can then be sheeted and ~ut to appropriate size and shape by conventional equipment.

~ nless otherwise indicated, the percentages of the various ingredients set forth herein are by weight and based on the total weight of either the dough composition, e.g. the cooked extrudate, or the fried snack, as appropriate. Furthermore, all ingredients except water (moisture) are on a moisture free (dry) basis. By the terms "dough composition" or "cooked dough composition" we mean the cooked composition before cutting and sizing, e.g. the extrudate which is used to make the snack product.
The cooked dough composition of this invention will comprise 51~3 R . I . F . -2245 4--20--91 a mixture of: from about 20% to 35% of total moisture, from about 3% to 8% of a plasticizer, and from about 45% to 77% of grain wherein at least 45% of the grain is cooked ground grain and up to 32% is pieces of food which are visually discernible in the co~position due to color differences of the food pieces from the base feed; about 0% to 10% of sugar , and about 0% to 2% of flavorants such as malted barley. The pieces of food are in the form of whole or pieces of grain, e.g., whole red wheat or another food e.g. such as flaked, chopped, or shredded nuts, which can withstand the further processing of the dough composition after it exits from the extruder, e.g. frying, ~aking etc. The pieces of food, although visually discernable, will generally have their shape altered by going through the extruder die and due to the mixing in the extruder cooling zoné. Thus, in the case of cooked whole red wheat, the pieces will often resemble flakes. Apart from the whole red wheat the food pieces can be made up of dried fruit, particularly nuts.

The plasticizer is a vegetable oil which is in addition to any oil inherent in the grain, and mixtures of vegetable oil with a nonionic emulsifier wherein the quantity of emulsifier is not more than about 2% and preferably not more than 0.5%, based on the weight of the dough composition. The plasticizer is intimately admixed with the ground grain as part of the base feed.

When a portion of the ground grain is substituted with whole R . I . F .--2245 4-20--91 red wheat or pieces of another foodstuff, the ~uantity of such pieces can vary from about 10% to 32% by weight of the dough composition, and preferably from about 15% to 30% on a dry, moisture free basis, based on the weight of the dough composition.
The dough composition of this invention can also contain fillers such as potatoes or other starchy foods.

The total moisture as recited herein is the sum of moisture (water) in the dough composition such as that which may be added with the base ingredients, pieces of food or otherwise to the composition as well as the inherent moisture of the grain and other ingredients in the dough composition. The total a~ount of moisture can generally be calculated from a knowledge of the inherent moisture content of the various ingredients plus the added water.
Also the total moisture can be determined by the analytical method found in the Fifteenth Edition of the AOAC, Method A in part 926.07 which is by the vacuum oven moisture technique. The quantity of all ingredients, apart from the water, e.g.grain,pieces of food and plasticizer are on a dry or moisture free basis, e.g. in the case of grain it is the weight of the grain less it's inherent moisture content.

Water is added to the ground grain prior to cooking. ThUc~
about 5% to 15% of water based on the weight of the finished dough composition is normally added to the ground grain and plasticizer prior to cooking when gelatinized whole red wheat is added through R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 the secondary feed. When the dough composition does not contain the pieces of foodstuff and additions are not made to the dough through the secondary feed, the entire amount of added water is mixed with the ingredients prior to addition or at the time of addition to the extruder. Such quantity of water can vary from about 5% to 20 % by weight of the dough composition. When pieces of food is added at the secondary feed, the quantity of water added for gelatinization of the cooked pieces can vary from 5 to 20% and preferably 8% to 16%, based on the weight of the final dough composition.

The dough compositions of the present invention contain from about 20% to 35% of total moisture, preferably about 25% to 32%
total moisture and particularly about 28% to 30% thereof based on the weight of the dough composition. It is preferred that the moisture content not exceed about 30% since it has been found that increased water content causes increased oil pick-up in the frying step.

In the case when all of the ingredients are cooked in the extruder, all of the grain, e.g. 52% to 71% of the composition, is ground and such embodiment does not provide for discernable pieces of differently colored food in the composition. The added moisture which is provided with the base feed is that which will provide a total moisture content in the dough composition of from 20% to 35%, such as by the addition of from about 10% to 25%

~4 R.I.F.-2245 4-20-9 moisture ~ased on the base feed.

The quantity of plasticizer used in the dough composition can vary from about 3~ to 8~, based on the weight of the dough composition. A preferred amount of plasticizer in the dough composition is from 4% to 7% and particularly from about 5% to 7%
by weight of the dough composition. At about the 4% to ?~ level of plasticizer addition it has been found that the fried product contains less oil than when the dough composition is fried without the addition of plasticizer. Purthermore, at less than about 4% of plasticizer in the extrudate (dough composition), particularly at less than about 3~ of plasticizer, the fried snack product is too light in texture. Additionally, when the dough composition contains at least 10% of unhulled grain or bran equivalent to the amount found in about 10~ of unhulled grain, the fried product has a gummy mouthfeel. At about 8% and particularly above 10~ of plasticizer in the dough composition (extrudate), the fried snack becomes mealy and falls apart in one's mouth.

Vegetable oils which are preferred for incorporation into the dough of the present invention include corn oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, coconut oil, their hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated derivatives and mixtures thereof. Corn oil and canola oil or mixture thereof are particularly preferred.

: ~ :
:- ' ' ~ :'.:

., ~ . , 2~

R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 The nonionic emulsifiers which can be used with the vegetable oil are those having an HLB of about 3.2 to 5.0, The emulsifier is preferably an ester of a polyol and a long chain fatty acid such as that having from about 12 to 20 carbon atoms. Illustrative of suitable polyols there can be mentioned those of glycerin, ethylene oxide, sorbitol, and glycols. The polyol will preferably have from 2 to 6 hydroxyl groups. Preferred emulsifiers are those of mono-and di-glycerides such as that of glycerol monostearate, glycerol distearate, glycerol dioleate, glycerol monopalmitate, and the like.

The quantity of grain, on a moisture free (dry) basis used in the dough compositions of this invention can vary from about 45% to 77% by weight based on the weight of the dough composition.
Preferably the quantity of grain is from about 52% to 71% by weight of the dough composition. The solid pieces of food in the dough composition can vary from 0% to about 32% , dry basis, based on the weight of the dough composition. Preferably, the pieces of food vary from about 10% to 32% and particularly about 15% to 30%. Also, it is preferred that the cooked dough compositions of this invention contain grains wherein from about 10% to 30% thereof are unhulled and particularly wherein about 12% to 28% thereof are unhulled. By "unhulled" we mean grain which contains its bran.
Also, by the term "whole" as it relates to grain we again mean unhulled grain wherein its hull has not been removed. In a preferred embodiment the dough composition is a multigrain ZQ~

R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 composition such as one containing a~out 20% to 60% of wheat; 10 to 60 % corn ; 0~ to 30% rice; and 0% to 15% oats. However, minor quantities, e.g., not more than about 15% of other grains such as sorghum, soya, rye, and barley can also be used. In case whole red wheat is used as the pieces of food the quantity of whole red wheat can vary over a broad range such as that of from about 10% to 32%
being whole red wheat with the remainder being white wheat or another grain or mixtures thereof but the unhulled red wheat should ~e avoided in such remainder so that there is a color contrast of the hull of the red wheat with the lighter color of the other grains.

The grains used in this invention can be in various forms.
Thus the ground rice can be that of various rice flours such as that of brown or white rice. Rice is also lighter in color than wheat or corn flours and can therefore be added to achieve a desired color lightness in the fried snack product. The ground wheat in the present invention can be various fractions of the wheat kernel. Soft wheat, in both the spring or winter wheat varieties, are particularly useful in the present invention.

~ .
The corn used in the compositions of the present invention can be soft flour or break flour ~from the grinding of the soft endosperm portion of the corn kernel), sharp flour or reduction flour (from the horny endosperm p rtion of the corn kernel), ~ran, .: .

.
:
.
: - . ~ ' `
.
,~
' ' ' .
.

2~
R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 germ, fines, or the combination of these which is often called hominy feed. Additionally, the corn useful herein can be the corn milling products known as grits, coarse corn meal, medium corn meal, and cones. Yellow corn, such as yellow dent corn, and white corn, or mixtures thereof are also useful as the source of corn in the present invèntion.

The grain fed to the main feed of the extruder is generally ground so that 100% thereof passes through a U.S. Series No.10 sieve. Preferably, hard horny grains are milled to a size wherein 100% passes through a No.16 sieve and less than 20% remains on a No. 20 sieve. Examples of hard horny grains include certain dent corns, brown rice, and popcorn. Preferably, soft grains are milled to a size wherein 100% pass through a No. 10 sieve and less than 20% remain on a No. 20 sieve. Examples of soft grains include red wheat, oats, various varieties of corn, and white wheat.
.

Although the grains used in this invention contain some oil, the quantity of such inherent oil is not sufficient to significantly affect the properties of the fried snacks. ~hus, oats contain substantial guantities of fat (oil), namely, about 10% in whole dried oats, but the quantity of oats is limited ~in this invention to not more than about 15%. Furthermore, there is little or no oil in corn meal, about 4% in whole dried corn, about 2% oil in whole dried wheat, and less than 1%, generally, less than 0.5%

~; in whole dried brown rice.
~' , . ~
... .
'. ~

',' '.' .' ' , ` :

R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 When pieces of food are added to the base ingredients thr~ugh the secondary feed, such pieces need to have a different color from tne base feed in order to be visually discernible in the dough composition as well as the snack product. Preferred pieces of food which can be used are those of unground whole red wheat and dried fruit such as pieces of peanuts and coconut. The whole red wheat in such embodiment is pre-cooked prior to mixing with the other grains. The whole red wheat is, in this embodi~ent, cooked in an excess of water under conditions sufficient to cause the wheat to imbibe or absorb up to about 35% to 45 % and preferably 40%,by weight of water based on the dry weight of the whole red wheat.
The cooking of the whole red wheat can be, for exa~ple, by exposure to steam or by soaking in boiling water. During cooking it is preferred that partial gelatinization of all the starch in the wheat takes place. The hydrated, whole cooXed red wheat is then preferably chilled to below 60 F and more preferably to about 40 F.
This can be achieved, for example, by refrigeration overnight. It has been found that if the cooked and hydrated wheat is cold (e.g., 40 F) when added to the other cooked grains, a significant reduction in expansion of the extrudate at the die is achieved.
Still another reason for partially gelatinizing all of the starch in the whole red wheat before blending with the other cooked grains is that when the whole red wheat is not gelatinized, the subsequent break up of the grains on extrusion leaves white streaks on the extrudate as well as on the fried product from the raw starch in ~he wheat.

'' `

, -: :
.
. . .
,' ~
, : - ' ' ' P8~3 R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 In a preferred formulation, the quantity of the various ingredients is: from about 4~ to 7% of added plasticizer; from about 25% to 32 % of total moisture; about 19% to 26% of fine corn meal; about 15~ to 21% of whole red wheat; about 8% to 12% of whole brown rice; about 4% to 6% of ground white wheat; about 4% to 6% of ground white oats;about 4% to 6% of powdered brown sugar; and from about 0.5% to 1% of malted barley.
In another embodiment, the cut pieces of the dough composition ,e.g. the extrudate, are allowed to air dry overnight and are then fried. The drying can take place by other means in order to limit the moisture content ,e.g. to about 10% to 14% of the dough composition. Such cut pieces which have been dried are known as pellets or half products. Alternatively, the half products can ~e packaged for frying, baking, or microwave cooking by the consumer.
The low moisture content prevents the half product from spoiling.
The half products, fried as described above, can then be topically seasoned by methods and ingredients well known in the art.

Generally the extrudate will contain from about 0 to 10% of sugar such 2S white cane sugar, white beet sugar brown sugar , and the liXe. It is preferred that the level of reducing sugars be kept low ~ecause these tend to form caramelized and burnt flavors and also darken the color of the food composition produced.

~ ~0 ~~

R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 The product produced from the frying step is a slightly expanded, cooked, oil-fried, snack food. The product exhibits no cholesterol and has a fat content dictated only by the frying conditions utilized. The oil or fat pick-up is minimized by the incorporation of the plasticizer into the formulation of the dough.
After frying, the product is drained of excess frying oil and optionally topically flavored such as with salt. The resulting snack food product exhibits a uniqu~ texture and mouthfeel, particularly when a blend of grains is used.

The fried snack products of this invention will generally contain less than about 32% of total plasticizer (oil plus any emulsifier), by weight of the snack product, and preferably less than 28% such as 25% to 27% of plasticizer. This is a relatively small quantity of oil for a fried snack which generally contain above 30% or 35% of plasticizer and at times at least 5~% of plasticizer. Of course ~uch of this plasticizer content is oil which is picked up in the frying step.

In order that those skilled in The art may more fully understand the invention presented herein, the following examples, tables and procedures are set forth. In the examples, as well as elsewhere in this application, all percentages are by weight and unless otherwise indicated, the percentages of grains or pieces of food are on a dry ( moisture free ) basis in relation to the R . I . F . -2245 4--20--91 dough composition, e.g.extrudate, or fried snack, as appropriate.

PROCEDURE USED IN THE EXAMPLES
Several examples of a multigrain snack food product were prepared according to the present invention. Table I provides the composition for 17 examples, apart from added water and added plasticizer in the base feed. The amount of water added to the base feed was about 10%, based on the weight of the final dough composition. The quantity of added plasticizer in the dough composition, which was part of the base feed, based on the weight of the extrudate, for s~me of the examples is shown in Table 2.

In the case where the pieces of whole red wheat were used, e.g. Examples 2-6 and 11-15 the process was as follows: The extrudates were prepared by pre-blending the ground grains in a mixer until the moisture was of uniform consistency and homogeneity. To this mixture was added with further blending sugar (white cane), oil, and/or glycerol monostearate (GMS) as indicated in Table I. Water, 5% to 25% by weight based on the weight of the base feed was then added to the mixture with blending until uniform. Each mixture was then fed into a Clextral BC 45 twin screw extruder at a rate of from 180 to 1000 grams per minu`te.

Whole red wheat was cooked by adding the wheat and enough water to achieve 50% solids in a swept surface kettle. The wheat was cooked on medium heat for about 30 minutes covered, then the 2~

. , ~
' ~Sd ~ '(?L ~
R.I.F.-224S 4-20-91 heat was turned up to high for about 15 minutes. The cover was then removed from the kettle and cooking was continued (about 15 mi-nutes) until a moisture content in the wheat of about 40~ weight was attained.

The whole cooked red wheat was fed into the extruder containing the mixture if grains. The addition to the extruder was made at the secondary feed 24 near the discharge end of the extruder at a rate of about 26% of the pre-blended ~rain feed rate.
The mixture was then extruded at a thickness of about 0.08 inches and sheeted using either a standard pasta-type or a snack chip-type die. The peak barrel temperature during extrusion was 200-350 F and the screw speed was varied from 25 to 300 revolutions per minute. Examples which use dried fruit were run in much the same way except that the fruit was added in a relatively dry state, after being roasted.

The extrudate from the above processing was then put through sizing rolls to reduce its thickness to a thickness of between about 0.02 and 0.050 inches. The sheet was then cut into desired shapes, often called pellets. In one embodiment, the pellets were immediately fried in a vegetable oil at, for example 350F for about 60 seconds.

Specific parameters used for the manufacture of the dough composition prepared in Example ll of Table 1 by the use of a ~3 ~ ' - ~. :

.
-. ~

~9~ 5~ ~

R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 Clextral RC 45 Twin screw extruder with a low shear screw were as follows: screw speed of 100 rp~; motor amps of 17; feed rate for the base feed of 230 grams/minute ; cooled whole red wheat feed ra~e of 100 grams/min.; thrust bearing pressure of 508 psi; die head pressure of 420 psi; die head temperature of 134 F ; and extrudate temperature of 150 F. Each of the three sections of the extruder are subdivided into two zones with zones 1-2 being part of section 1; zones 3-4 being part of section 2 and zones 5-6 being part of section 3 ( the cooling zone). The barrel temperatures in the various zones were as follows; zone 1 of 150 F; zone 2 of 300 P; zone 3 of 300 P; zone 4 of 300 F; zone 5 of 61 F and zone 6 of 119 F. The extrudate of Example 11 was sheeted to 0.025 inches thickness, cut to round shape and subsequently fried at 350 F for 60 seconds.

' .

r r r~ _ _ _ O _ _ _ _ O r _ ~ _ ~ i n O i i i ll ~ r ll _ _ _ I
I ~

I c ~o _ n n n ~ l ~ __ _ _ o ¦
L o ~ ~ ~ ~ ll ~ ll ll o ! o l l o L~ n _ ~o ~ _ ~ _ a ~ _ O __ _ I
E~ ~ ~ ~ o o ~ ll ll o- l ll ~
~ ~ _~ ll ~ o _1 l l o ll l I
l~ ~ ~

1~ ~ L !

:

- : : :.. :

,: . . .
, . - ... : .. . ... . ' ' . :
- .: ...... , .... . ,. : . . .
. .. ~: . ... . : . , : ~ .

~,~3'~
R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 TABLE 1 (CONTINUED) H~% % On _ Dry Basis Example 14 15 16 17 Whole Red Wheat (Cooked) 40 27.3 25.7 26.0 25.9 Whole White Wheat Flour 12.8 7.7 7.3 9.2 7.2 Whole Oat Flour 11.5 7.4 7.0 6.9 6.9 Corn Meal 11.8 34.0 32.1 34.9 31.9 Whole Kernel Corn Flour 12.0 Whole Brown Rice Flour 11.7 15.4 14.5 9.2 14.5 Malted Barley Flakes 9.0 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.0 Brown Sugar --- 7.2 6.8 6.9 6.8 Popped Popcorn 5.5 --- --- ~-- ---GMS --- --~
Corn Or Canola Oil --- --- 5.7 6.2 6.1 .
.. ',. ' '' ~ ' ~

;~ 3 r~8 ~3 R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 The added plasticizer in the extrudates for some of the examples from Ta~le 1 were compared with the total amount Qf plasticier in the fried snack after ~ryin~. The results are shown in Table 2. It can be seen from Table 2 that the use of about 3%
to about 8~ of added plasticizer inhibited the amount of oil picked up from the frying step. The plasticizer in all cases is measured on a moisture free basis for the extrudate. The abbreviation of GMS
in the table as well as the previous Table 1 refers to glycerol monostearate which was used at the 1.9% level in the extrudate whereas the remaining examples were with corn oil or canola oil as the plasticizer. The frying medium was either corn oil or canola oil and the procedures for preparing the extrudate and frying of the product is that which has been set forth hereinbefore.

It can be seen from Table 2 that at levels of about 4% to about 7%, the added plasticizer in the base feed provides a fried product with less total plasticizer than frying of the product without the added plasticizer. However, even below about 3~ and abo~e about 7% of added plasticizer the total quantity of plasticizer ~ generally vegetable oil~ in the fried product is less than that which is calculated by adding the added plasticizer .. : . . . .
: : ,: - : ,. . .:

-.

2~

R. I . F.--2245 4--20--91 to the a~ount picked up on frying without the added plasticizer. It has also been discovered that at levels above about 8% or 10~ of added oil the final product becomes unacceptably mushy and falls apart in the consumer's mouth. Thus, while conventional oil frying of snack foods typically results in an oil( plasticizer) content in the snack food of 30% to 35% by weight and often 50% by weight or higher, the present invention can produce a fried snack food with less than about 30% by weight total oil, and preferably less than 28% by weight.

.
.
~. . . .
.- .

'~ ' : , , ~

R.I.F.-2245 4-20-91 COMPARISON OF AMOUNT OF PLASTICIZER ADDED TO DOUGH WITH AMOUNT OF

Example Plasticizer Added Total Oil 14 0% 30.3 1 1.9% 31%
13 2% 31%
3.4% 30 . 3%
9 4.8% 27.7%
S.7% 26 . 4%
16 6.2% 25%
17 6 . 1% 25%
11 6.5% 29.4%
12 8% 33.3%

.

Claims (33)

1. An unpuffed cooked dough composition suitable for making a fried snack food, said composition comprising a mixture of:
A. about 20% to 35% of total moisture;
B. about 45% to 77% of solid food on a moisture free basis, wherein:
a. at least 45% of said food is cooked ground grain selected from the group consisting of wheat, rice, corn, not more than 15% of oats, and mixtures thereof; and b. up to 32% of said food are pieces of food which are visually discernible in the composition; and C. about 3% to 8% of a plasticizer selected from the group consisting of a vegetable oil and a nonionic emulsifier intimately admixed with said ground grain, said oil being in addition to oil inherent in said grain and wherein the quantity of emulsifier does not exceed about 2%; all of the above percentages being based on the weight of the dough composition.

2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the quantity of the ground grain is at least 52%.

3. The composition of claim 1 which contains from about 10%
to 32% of pieces of food.

4. The composition of claim 3 wherein the pieces of food are that of whole red wheat.

5. The composition of claim 3 wherein the pieces of food are that of dried fruit.

6. The composition of claim 5 wherein the pieces of food are that of nuts.

7. The composition of claim 1 wherein from about 10% to 30%
of the ground grain is whole ground grain.

8. An unpuffed cooked dough composition suitable for making a snack food, said dough comprising a mixture of:
A. about 20% to 35% of total moisture;
B. about 45% to 77%, on a dry basis, of a cooked grain selected from the group consisting of wheat, rice, corn, up to 15%
of oats and mixtures thereof with at least 10% of the grain being whole ground grain;
C. about 3% to 8% of a plasticizer selected from the group consisting of a vegetable oil and a nonionic emulsifier intimately admixed with said ground grain, said oil being in addition to oil inherent in said grain and wherein the quantity of said emulsifier does not exceed about 0.5%, the percentages of all ingredients being based on the weight of the composition.

9. A snack food prepared by frying the composition of claim 8.

10. The composition of claim 8 wherein from about 15% to 30%
thereof, on a dry basis, is that of pieces of food admixed in said composition, the color of said pieces differing from the dough and being visually discernible in the composition.

11. The composition of claim 8 wherein the visually discernable pieces of food are selected from the group consisting of whole red wheat and dried fruit.

12. The composition of claim 8 wherein the visually discernible pieces of food are that of unground whole red wheat.

13. The composition of claim 12 wherein:
A. the plasticizer is a vegetable oil selected from the group consisting of corn oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, coconut oil and partially hydrogenated derivatives thereof in a quantity of from about 4% to 7%; and B. the composition further contains from about 5% to 10%
of sucrose and about 5% to 10% of cooked whole ground oats, on a dry basis.

14. A snack food prepared by frying the composition of claim 13.

15. A process for making an unpuffed dough composition suitable for a fried snack food which comprises mixing:
A. about 3% to 8% of a plasticizer selected from the group consisting of a vegetable oil and not more than 2% of a nonionic emulsifier with B. water and from about 45% to 77%, on dry basis, of a cooked grain, said grain selected from the group consisting of corn, wheat, rice, and up to 15% of oats and mixtures thereof with at least 45% of the grain being ground grain and wherein the percentage of plasticizer and grain is based on the weight of the composition and the total moisture in said composition is from about 20% to 35% by weight of the composition.

16. A process of claim 15 wherein 10% to 30% of the ground grain is whole ground grain.

17. A continuous process for making a dough extrudate suitable for a snack food which comprises the stops of:
A. providing to a twin screw cooker extruder having a main feed opening, a mixing zone adjacent the main feed opening, a cooking zone adjacent the mixing zone and a cooling zone adjacent the cooking zone wherein the cooling zone has a secondary feed opening to the extruder, from about 3% to 8% of plasticizer selected from the group consisting of a vegetable oil and not more than 2% of a nonionic surfactant, at least about 45% of ground grain, on a dry basis, said grain selected from the group consisting of corn, wheat, rice, up to 15% of oats and mixtures thereof with at least 10% thereof being ground whole grain; and water; and B. mixing the water, plasticizer and ground grain in the mixing zone of the extruder to form a mixture;
C. cooking the mixture in the cooking zone of the extruder; and F. cooling the mixture in the cooling zone while adding thereto from about 15% to 30%, on a dry basis, of pieces of a food having a color which is different from the ground grain so that the pieces are visually discernable in the dough upon extrusion and extruding the dough and pieces of food from the extruder to produce an extrudate having a total moisture content of from about 20% to 35%, the quantity of all of said ingredients being based on the weight of the extrudate.

18. The process of claim 17 wherein the extrudate is subsequently cut into predetermined sized pieces and fried to a snack product.

19. The process of claim 17 wherein the pieces of food are that of whole red wheat wherein all to the starch in the red wheat is partially gelatinized.

20. The process of claim 17 wherein the quantity of total moisture varies from 25% to 32%, the plasticizer is a vegetable oil selected from the group consisting of corn oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, and partially hydrogenated derivatives thereof in a quantity of from about 4% to 7%.

21. A cooked unpuffed multigrain extrudate comprising:
A. from about 20% to 35% total moisture;
B. from about 3% to 8% of a plasticizer selected from the group consisting of a vegetable oil and up to about 0.5% of a nonionic emulsifier, said oil being in addition to that inherent in the grain;
C from about 52% to 71% of grain, on a moisture free basis, selected from the group consisting of about 19% to 26% of ground corn meal, from about 4% to 6% of whole white wheat, about 15% to 21% of pieces of unground whole red wheat, and from about 8%
to 12% of ground whole brown rice, the quantity of all ingredients being in relation to the weight of the extrudate.

22. The extrudate of claim 21 which includes from about 5% to 10% of sucrose based on the weight of extrudate.

23. The extrudate of claim 22 which includes from about 5% to 15% of ground whole oats, on a moisture free basis, based on the weight of the extrudate.

24. The extrudate of claim 21 wherein the quantity of the unground whole red wheat is from about 15% to 30% on a moisture free basis, based on the weight of the extrudate.

25. The extrudate of claim 21 wherein :
A. the total moisture content of the extrudate is 25% to 32%; and B. the plasticizer is a vegetable oil selected from the group consisting of corn oil and canola oil in an amount of about 4% to 7%.

26. A fried food product prepared by sheeting, sizing, cutting and frying the extrudate of claim 25.

27. An unpuffed cooked food extrudate suitable for making a snack food, said extrudate comprising a mixture of:
A. about 20% to 35% of total moisture;
B about 45% to 77% of a ground grain selected from the group consisting of wheat, corn, rice, and oats, wherein the quantity of oats does not exceed 15%, and wherein at least 10% of the ground grain is whole ground grain;
C. about 0 to 30% of visually discernable pieces of food in the extrudate due to color differences of said food from the remaining extrudate, said pieces of food selected from the group consisting of cooked whole red wheat and dried fruit; and D. about 3% to 8% of added plasticizer selected from the group consisting of vegetable oil and not more than 2 % of a nonionic emulsifier, said percentages based on the weight of the extrudate.

28. The extrudate of claim 27 wherein the quantity of the pieces of food are from 10 to 32% and are selected from the group consisting of whole red wheat and nuts and the quantity of ground grain is from 45% to 55%, on a dry basis, based on the weight of the extrudate.

29. A half product prepared by cutting into predetermined sized pieces and then drying the extrudate of claim 27.

30. A continuous process for making a cooked extrudate which comprises:
A. providing the following ingredients to a twin screw cooker extruder: (1) about 3% to 8% of a vegetable oil, (2)at least 45% of a mixture of ground grains selected from the group consisting of corn, wheat, rice, and up to 15% of oats with at least 10% thereof being ground whole grain, and (3) added moisture, said oil being in addition to oil inherently in the grains;
B. cooking said ingredients in the extruder;
C. adding to said cooked ingredients while in the extruder from about 10% to 32% of pieces of food having a color which is different from the color of the cooked ingredients;
D. mixing the cooked ingredients with the food pieces;
E. extruding the mixture of cooked ingredients and food pieces from the extruder at a temperature of less than about 165°F

and at a pressure of less than about 550 pounds per square inch so as to avoid production of a puffed product; and wherein the percentages of the oil, ground grain, and pieces of food are on a dry basis based on the weight of the extrudate and the total quantity of moisture in the extrudate is from about 20% to 35% by weight thereof.

31. The process of claim 30 wherein: the pieces of food are that of whole red wheat; all of the starch in said red wheat is partially gelatinized; the total moisture is from about 25% to 32%;
and the quantity of plasticizer is from 4% to 7%.

32. The process of claim 31 wherein the extrudate is fried.

33. The process of claim 30 wherein the extrudate is subsequently cut into predetermined sized pieces and dried to form a half product.