Puffed high fiber R-T-E cereal and method of preparation
AssigneeGeneral Mills, Inc.
InventorsDean W. Creighton, John D. Efstathiou
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed are puffed ready-to-eat breakfast cereal products having a high Total Dietary Fiber content which nonetheless exhibit desirable crispness. The cereal products are characterized by specific densities of about 0.075 to 0.35 g/cc. The Total Dietary Fiber content of the cereal compositions is about 2.5-12 g/oz or about 9% to 42%. The total fat content of the puffed cereal is less than about 4%. The cereal base is in the form of a hollow, pillow shaped piece comprising a thin shell surrounding the hollow core. In preferred embodiments, the cereal is provided with a low level of a sugar presweetening coating. Also disclosed are processes for preparing the puffed high fiber R-T-E cereals from pellets in sheet form.
Claims28
A high fiber puffed R-T-F cereal exhibiting improved organoleptic properties comprising:
- a cereal base in the form of a hollow pillow having an exterior shell and a hollow core,
- wherein the shell has a layer thickness ranging from about 0.5 to 2 mm,
- wherein the cereal base is fabricated from a cooked cereal dough composition comprising:
- about 2.5 to 12 g/oz total dietary fiber and the balance R-T-E cereal ingredients,
- wherein the cereal base has a topical presweetener coating in a weight ratio of cereal base to presweetener coating to about 1-20:1,
- wherein the total fat content is less than about 4%,
- wherein the bulk density of the R-T-E cereal ranges from about 0.075 to 0.35 g/cc, and
- wherein the total dietary fiber comprises an insoluble dietary fiber portion and a soluble dietary fiber portion in a weight ratio of about 2:1 to 4:1.
A method for preparing a high fiber puffed R-T-E cereal, comprising the steps of:
- A. forming a cooked cereal dough comprising
- 1. about 25 to 80% of a farinaceous material by weight of the dough (dry basis),
- 2. about 0.1% to 20% of a nutritive carbohydrate sweetening agent,
- 3. sufficient amounts of a supplemental fiber material to provide the dough with a total dietary fiber content ranging from about 2.5 to 12 g/oz (dry basis) including a soluble dietary fiber fraction and an insoluble dietary fiber fraction in a weight ratio ranging from about 1:2 to 4,
- 4. a moisture content of about 15% to 35%;
- B. extruding the cooked cereal dough into extrudate ropes;
- C. sheeting the ropes into continuous sheets having a thickness ranging from about 1.0 to 2.0 mm;
- D. cutting the sheets to form shaped individual pieces;
- E. drying the pieces sufficiently rapidly to form dried case hardened pieces having a moisture content ranging from about 8% to 14%;
- F. heating the dried pieces to expand the pieces and to form a cereal base comprising puffed pillow shaped pieces having a skin enclosing a hollow interior, said skin having a thickness ranging from about 0.5 to 2 mm and having a bulk density ranging from about 0.075 to 0.35 g/cc (1.2 to 5.7 g/cu inch);
- and
- G. applying a topical sugar coating to the cereal base to form a crunchy and puffed high TDF R-T-E cereal.
A pellet useful for puffing to form a puffed, high fiber R-T-E cereal, comprising:
- a cooked farinaceous dough in the form of a planar parallelogram having a thickness of about 0.5 to 2 mm and a weight ranging from about 0.2 to 0.5 g, said dough comprising:
- A. about 25 to 80 wt % of a first farinaceous material (dry weight basis),
- B. about 0.1 to 20 wt % of a nutritive carbohydrate sweetening agent,
- C. sufficient amounts of a fiber source material having a particle size ranging from about 25 to 1000 microns, so as to provide a total dietary fiber content of about 6 to 9 g/oz,
- D. about 0.1 to 3 wt % salt, and
- E. a moisture content of less than about 4 wt %.
- said pellet having a case hardened surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.