Intermittent flow extrusion process and food product

A process for making a food product having an inner component and an outer component, consisting essentially of the steps of:

• supplying a first composition under pressure to a forming manifold;
• supplying a second composition under pressure to the forming manifold;
• dividing the first composition into a plurality of core streams using the forming manifold;
• dividing the second composition into a corresponding plurality of flows using the forming manifold;
• extruding the core streams through corresponding orifices of the forming manifold, each core stream having a lateral surface shaped by the corresponding orifice;
• shaping each of the plurality of flows to substantially encase the lateral surface of the core stream;
• extruding the plurality of flows through forming surfaces of the forming manifold;
• intermittently interrupting the plurality of flows while extrusion of the core streams continues so as to obtain continuous cores with a plurality of masses spaced longitudinally therealong and so as to control dribbling;
• separating the core streams between adjacent ones of the plurality of masses to obtain food products without further molding or shaping,
• wherein the step of intermittently interrupting the plurality of flows:
• stops the plurality of flows for a first time interval;
• permits the plurality of flows to discharge from the forming manifold for a second time interval;
• and
• sequentially repeats the stopping and permitting steps;
• and
• wherein the step of intermittently interrupting the plurality of flows further includes cyclically moving a pair of gates between a first position where the gates abut and occlude the plurality of flows from being discharged from the forming manifold and a second position where the gates are spaced from one another and simultaneously permit the extruding of the plurality of flows onto the plurality of core streams wherein the step of intermittently interrupting the plurality of flows further includes operating a first valve to stop flow of the second composition to the forming manifold so as to relieve pressure.