Process for preparing puffed cereal articles
AssigneeMars, Incorporated
InventorRoberto A. Capodieci
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides processes for the preparation of puffed cereal cakes, in particular puffed rice cakes. The processes comprise molding puffed or unpuffed cereal grains under pressure with the application of ultrasound. The ultrasound assists bonding of the cereal grains to form a solid cake. The ultrasound reduces fouling of the mold and increases processing speed. In one aspect, the starting material is prepuffed cereal grains, and these grains are coated with a binder agent and then bonded together at low temperature using ultrasound energy. This permits the formation of puffed cereal cakes with edible inclusions of temperature-sensitive foodstuffs, and also the rapid formation of puffed cereal cakes with shaped or profiled top and/or bottom surfaces.
Claims25
A process for the preparation of a puffed cereal article comprising the steps of:
- providing a mold comprising a plurality of mold elements including a reciprocably movable piston element for compressing material inside said mold;
- introducing a predetermined quantity of unpuffed cereal grains into said mold;
- compressing the cereal grains in the mold;
- applying ultrasonic energy to the cereal grains in the mold;
- moving said piston element to expand the mold by a predetermined amount while applying said ultrasonic energy to the cereal grains to cause expansion and bonding of the cereal grains to form the puffed cereal article;
- and
- removing the puffed cereal grain article from the mold.
A process for the preparation of a puffed cereal article, comprising the steps of:
- providing a mold comprising a plurality of mold elements including a reciprocably movable piston element for compressing material inside the mold;
- introducing a predetermined quantity of prepuffed cereal grains into the mold;
- compressing the prepuffed cereal grains in the mold;
- applying ultrasonic energy to the compressed prepuffed cereal grains in the mold to bond said grains together to form the puffed cereal article;
- followed by
- removing the puffed cereal article from the mold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.