Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
The present invention relates to a method of
producing a novel food product, and more particularly
a simulated pasta snack product, as wel:L as a half-
: product therefor~
In recent years, a wide variety of expanded
snack products kased mainly on potato or cereal products,
have appeared on the ~arket and many different methods
have been prop~sed for the manufacture of snack products
of this typeO In assence, the majority of such methods
involve the basic steps of forming a dough of suitable
composition, extruding the dough and cutting the ext-
ruded dough into piecelets (generally after a drying
operation) to form a so-called "half-product"O Th;s
half product can be cooked immediately to effect expan-
: 15 sion of the product and thereby form a crispy expanded
snack food product or it can be stored andlor transpor~
ted (provided appropriate precautions are taken against
moisture absorption~ if it i.s not desired to effect
; immediate expansionO
The prior processes broadly outlined above
generally result in a very crisp snack product of a
relat vely low density~ A disadvantage with such proc~
esses is that it is often quite difficult to prepare
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a product having a particular desired shape or con-
figuration since the shape or configuration produced may
be lost when cutt~ng due to the physical characteristics
of the extrudate. This may be a de~isive factor in
detenmining the acceptability of the product by the
consumer, We believe that this lack of definition in
the shape or configuration of the flnal product may be
due to such factors as the constitution of the initial
dough, its extrusion and subsequent treatment.
As a result of considerable re,search in this
field we have discovered a method o producing a new
snack product which has desirable taste and texture
characteristics and which resembles conventional pasta
products in shape or configurationO The new products
lS are therefore described herein for convenience as sim-
ulated pasta snack productsO By means of our new method,
products having a well-defined shape or configuration
can be readily obtainedO The new method is in broad
principle hased upon the process generally outlined
above but involves the use of a pasta~ type press tog~
ether with the selection of various process parameters
including for example the constitution
of the dough, the tempera~ure and pressure in the
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extruder, ~he point at which the ex~ru~ed dough is cut and the drying con-
ditions for the cut piecele~s. We have found that by the use of these
selected parameters (as hereinafter described) a snack product of d0sirable
taste and texture characteristics can be produced.
This invention relates to a method of preparing a half-product for
a simulated pasta snack product, which includes the steps of (a) forming a
dough having a moisture content of 25~5% by admixi.ng with water a dry mix
of 20-80% of a dehydrated potato product wherein the starch cells contained
in said product are substantially unbroken; 20-80% of ungelantinised starch;
2-20% of pregelatinized starch; and less than 3.5% of sodium chloride; (b)
passing the said dough through an extruder under conditions of pressure and
temperature to effect partial gelatinisation of the starch contained in the
dough and to produce an extruded semi-translucent product, the temperature
of the dough during extrusion not exceeding 90C, (c) cutting the extruded
product into piecelets of a pre-determined shape or configuration immediately
or shortly after extrusion; and (d) drying the cut piecelets at a temperature
ot up to 60C to a moisutre content of 9-13% to form a half-produc~. If
desired the half product can be cooked to prepare a simulated pasta snack
product.
The snack products produced by the above-described method accord-
ing to the invention generally have a
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"crunchier" structure and a higher denslty than the
snack products produced by prior processes of the type
generally referred to aboveO Furthermore, as indicated
above, the product can be produced in a wide variety of
shapes thus making available products of Lncreased appeal
to the consumern
The above-described method can be carried ou~
using conventional plant and it therefore has the imp-
ortant economic advantage that it does not require any
extensive outlay on specialised equipment for carrying
out the method.
The dehydrated pot~to product employed in the
preparation of the dough in the above method is generally
a conventional dehydrated product prepared from cooked
potatoes and con~aining up to about 12% of waterO The
product may be in the form of for example mashed potato
powder or flakes but potato granules are preerred.
The potato product is preferably employed in ap amount
of 35 to 65 % of the dry mix.
As used herein in relation to the composition
of the dough mix the term l'ungelat~n.ised starcht' reers
to ungelati~ised s~arch which has been isolated
from such natural sources as ce~.als or tubers , eOgO
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potatoes, rice, wheat, maize, rye~ oats etc. Ungelatinised
potato starch is particularly preferred. The ungelatinised
starch is preferably employed in an amount of 35 to 65% of
the dry mix.
Pregelatinised starch (aften called in the art
"water soluble starch") is advantageously employed in the
dough mix, particularly when the said potato product
comprises potato granules. Such pregelatinised starch may
be derived rom such natural sources as tubers or cereals,
e.g. potatoes, rice, wheat, maize, rye, oats etc.
Pregelatinised potato starch is particularly preferred. The
pregelatinised starch is preferably employed in an amount
of 2 to 20% preferably 4 to 15% o the dry mix.
We have found that the incorporation of sodium
chloride or other non-toxic ionic salt such as potassium `~
chloride, po~assium bromide sodium acetate or sodium citrate
in the dry mix in an amount of less than 3.5% and preEerably,
more than: 0.5%, has an important and desirable effect on
the texture of the final product and the choice of the
specified quantities of the ionic salt represents ~ important
feature of the present invention. Sodium chloride can be
employed if a savoury product is desired while 9 on the other
hand~ if a sweetened product is desired, we may use a d;fferent
non-toxic ionic salt which does nok impair the sweetening
e~fect of sweetening agents present. The quantity of
.
ionic salt in the dough mix can also 'be used to control
the uptake of oil when ~he half-product, is fried in oil
to effect cookingO
The dough mix is formulated with water to form
a dough of the desired consistency, The dough preferably
has a moisture content of up to 45% and not less than ~ ,
25% at a temperature of, for example, 20 ~ 30C
The dough is then passed through an extruder
where it is subjected to temperature and pressure con-
ditions such that partial gelatinisation of the starch
occursO The occurence of this partial gelatinisation
is indicated by the semi-translucent appearence of the
extrudateO We have found that up to 30% o~ ungelati-
rised material originally present in the dough may be
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1~ gelatinised in the extruder by the application of suit-
able temperatures and pressures, The temperature to
which the dough is subjected in the extruder i9 prefer- :
ably below 75C, a temperature range of 50 ~ 75C being
. Pspecially preferred. The temperature of the dough
- 2n upon extrusion should preferably be maintained below
.; .
90C in order to avoid excessive expansion. ~ pressure
of 70 160 Kg/cm 9 advantageously 90 ~ 115 Kg/cm 9 iS
. generally employed in the extruder~
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The extruder employed in the method according
to the invention may conveniently be a conventional
screw-type pasta pressO Standard pasta dies can be
employed in the extrusion head to give the extrudate
the desired shape or configuration, eOgr~ squares~ tubes,sticks~
spirals, spins, grills etcO
The dough extrudate is preferAbly cut into
piecelets ir~mediately ater leaving the extrusion and
while it is still in a plastic state. However, in some
cases it may be desirable to delay cutting the extrud-
ate until it has travelled a distance of up to 50cms
for example from the hea~ in order to ensure it is in
a suitable form for cutting into well-defined shapesO
Thus, for example, with some extrudates, e.g. those
in the form of tubes,if cutting is effected too near
the head, the ends of the cut pieces may be pinched
kogether as a result of the cu~ting process whlch could
be undesixable frorn the p~i~t ~f view of product appear-
ence. The cutting of the extxudate can be effected
in conventional rnanner, e.gO by means of a long goods
cutter or similar device~
The cut piecelets are then dried under carefully
controlled conditions. The drying temperature should
not exceed 60C to avoid the formation of a hard coat-
ing on the surface of the piecelets, the drying temp~
erature preferably being in the range of 30 ~ 50Co ~ -
The drying is generally effected over a period of 5 - 20
hours, advantageously 6 - 10 hours, conveniently in
a drum drier~ The above drying times can however be
reduced by the use of electric ox microwave heatingO ~ :
The drying is preferably effected at a relative humidity
of at least 50% (in order to avoid the formation of a
: 10 hard coating on the surface of the piecelets) and
;
not more than 80%~ , ` `
:
The half-product prepared by drying the extrudate
is in the form of hardg brittle piecelets which, if ~`
~: desired, can be stored for prolonged periods in sealed
15 . containersO
The half product can for ex~mple be cooked by
means of a frying or puffing operation in order to
produce a cooked product. To produce an expanded snack :
product ~he frying operation may be caxried out advan- .
'. ~20 tageously by quick frying the piecelets in edible oil9 e.g.
vegatable oil at a temperature of 175 to 220C, preferably
185 to 205C, the oll content in the final product preferably
` being less than 20%.
.~ The puffing operation may advantageously comprise
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a salt, hot air or gun puffing operationO As an
alternative to the above frying or puffing operations,
the half~product can be cooked by boiling in water.
After cooking, the half-product can bs salted
S or otherwise flavoured prior to packaging.
However, in order to ensure the flavour or
nutxient value of the final product~ various additional
ingredients can also be added to the initial doughO
Examples of such ingredients include flavour enhancing
agents such as monosodium glutamate, antioxidants such as
butylated hydroxy anisole, butylated hydroxy toluene and
propyl gallate~ homogenising agents, sweetening agents
such as sugars, saccharin and sorbitol, and nutrients su~h
as protein materials, especially soy protein, minerals and
vitamins.
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The following Example illustrates the present
invention.
Exame~e
The following ingrediènts were intimately mixed
according to the formula below:
Potato Granules........,.......... ,~4.918 percen~
Potato Starch....................,.......... 44.918 percent
Pregelatinised Potato Starch................. 7.007 percent
Salt...................,.......... ,. 3.009 percent
Monosodium Glutamate............ ..... 0.148 percent
The ingredients were mixed for 8 minutes in a
vertical mixer and the moisture content of the mix was
13 p.c. The dry mix was introduced into a standard
pasta press where the molsture content was adjusted to
35~37 p.c. and fur~her intirnate mixing took place prior
to extrusion. After mixing, the material was compressed
by an auger-type screw, extruded through a die and face
cut into short lengths. The compression barrel had a
hot water jacket which reached a~erage temperatures of
55-65C and the mix was compressed to pressures of 90-115
..
Kg~cm .
~A standard pasta die was used which produced
spiral shape pieces approximately 28 mm in length, lOo 3 mm
at the maximum diameter and with wall thickness of between
1.0 - 1.5 mm. The extrudate had a semi-translucent
appearance and was malleable.
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After extrusion, the pellets were slowly dried in
a continuous drum drier operating at low temperature.
The temperatures in the drums varied bet:ween 37 and 56C
with prevailing relative humidities of 60W80 percent
in a total drying cycle of approximately 6.5 hours.
The inal moisture content of the half-product was
10.5-13.0 percent. The texture of the product was hard
and brittle. The drying cycle resulted in-a certain
shrinkage of the pellets to dimensions of 24-26 mm in
length and 9.0 - 9.5 mm maximum diameter. The pellets
were fairly stable and were stor~ble in sealed containers
for a prolonged period.
The half-product was fried in vegetable oil at a
temperature of 205C for about 14 seconds. The puffed
material showed an expansion on diameter of 1.4-1.6 times
and the uptake of oil was 14-18 percent on a total weight
basis. Finally, the puffed product was either salted
or coated with flavouring~ The resulting prodwct was a
high quality snack with a well defined shape and golden-
brown colour,
.
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