Method for making a puffed food starch product

Abstract

The present invention includes a method of making a puffed food starch material snack, in particular starch material from grains, having an improved crispy texture and a more aesthetic appearance. The products may be snack chips, cakes, crackers or the like, made from food starch material. Preferably, the starch material is provided primarily in the form of individual kernels or pellets of a cereal grain, such as rice, corn, wheat, rye, oats, millet, sorghum, barley, buckwheat, or mixtures thereof. According to one method, a puffing chamber is provided having inner surfaces and a chamber volume. An amount of the food starch material is placed into the puffing chamber. The amount of food starch material is caused to volumetrically expand. The expanding food starch material is constrained in its expansion in at least a first dimension, while permitting unconstrained expansion of the amount in at least a second dimension.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.