US 12,550,922 B2 · Extruded gelling food products, extruded gelling food product ingredients, and methods for making extruded gelling food products and extruded food product ingredients

Abstract

A gelling food product constituent extrudate that forms a gel when water is added that is used as an ingredient of a food product in place of a gelling gum, like guar gum, xanthan gum, or carrageenan. The gelling extrudate is composed of cold-water soluble gelling pregelatinized starch formed of starch in a cereal grain and/or legume containing admixture modified by extrusion at pressures greater than 2000 PSI that causes the extrudate to gel when mixed with water. The gelling extrudate preferably also is composed of other starch in the admixture extrusion modified into different molecular weight polymers of a cold-water soluble gellant that also polymerizes and forms a gel, preferably a hydrocolloid gel, more preferably a self-gelling gel, even more preferably a thermo-reversible gel, when mixed with water. When mixed with water, a gelling extrudate of the present invention forms a thicker gel whose viscosity increases over time.

Claims46

Dependent claims

A food product comprising:

(a) a first food product constituent that provides at least one of nutrition, taste, flavor, smell, texture, and mouthfeel;
and
(b) a second food product constituent comprised of starch modified during extrusion in an extruder at an extrusion pressure of at least 2000 PSI into an extrusion-modified gelling starch that gels or forms a gel when mixed with water;
and
(c) water in an amount sufficient for at least a portion of the extrusion-modified gelling starch in the second food product constituent to gel or form a gel;
wherein the food product (i) is a homogenous mixture in which one of the first and second food product constituents is dispersed throughout the other one of the first and second food product constituents;
(ii) contains a gel formed of the extrusion-modified gelling starch, and (iii) remains in a viscous state having a viscosity of at least 10,000 centipoise;
and
wherein the food product comprises a closed system where the water in the food product remains therein by preventing evaporation therefrom.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Extruded gelling food products, extruded gelling food product ingredients, and methods for making extruded gelling food products and extruded food product ingredients

Life of this patent

Extruded gelling food products, extruded gelling food product ingredients, and methods for making extruded gelling food products and extruded food product ingredients

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims46