A process for producing dimensionally stable food products continuously introduces food raw materials and water into the housing of an extruder. At least one screw is arranged in the housing. The screw is rotated to generate a mixture of the food raw materials in the housing. A section ahead of the outlet of the housing is controlled to heat the mixture to at least 60° C. to produce a cooked mass from the mixture. The cooked mass is discharged from the outlet and deposited on a carrier. The carrier is moved in a controlled manner relative to the outlet to produce form-stable food products on the carrier. The depositing of the cooked mass takes place in directly adjacent lanes into mass strips, which preferably lie in at least two planes on top of one another. .

A process for producing dimensionally stable food products continuously introduces food raw materials and water into the housing of an extruder. At least one screw is arranged in the housing. The screw is rotated to generate a mixture of the food raw materials in the housing. A section ahead of the outlet of the housing is controlled to heat the mixture to at least 60° C. to produce a cooked mass from the mixture. The cooked mass is discharged from the outlet and deposited on a carrier. The carrier is moved in a controlled manner relative to the outlet to produce form-stable food products on the carrier. The depositing of the cooked mass takes place in directly adjacent lanes into mass strips, which preferably lie in at least two planes on top of one another. .

Provided is a method which is capable of three-dimensionally forming a food into a desired shape such as a complicated shape or a hollow shape, using a starch powder as a raw material. The method for three-dimensionally forming a food using a starch powder as a raw material comprises the steps of: mixing a starch powder and water together to provide a mixture of the starch powder and the water; irradiating a part of the mixture with laser light to cause starch particles of the starch powder to swell due to the water to form swollen starch particles, followed by causing the swollen starch particles to gelatinize to form gelatinized starch particles, and causing the gelatinized starch particles to gelate, thereby obtaining gelated starch: and extracting the gelated starch from the mixture, wherein the step of irradiating includes irradiating the mixture with the laser light, according to a pattern predetermined based on a three-dimensional shape of a food.

Easy-to-cook and easy-to-brew noodles of physical fabrication process are provided, in which an appropriate amount of strong/medium strength flour or semolina or durum wheat flour is taken as a noodle base material, which is mixed with water and salt to forming a mixture that is extruded to form noodles of various shapes of thin strips spiral, or sheet. The so formed noodle are then steamed and cut quantitatively and the subjected to semi-puff drying or full-puff drying according to the thickness or set brewing time of the noodles so as to make instant pasta through the physical fabrication process, allowing the pasta to be brewed or cooked in a short time, and fast edible. The physical fabrication process does not involve adding of oil or additives, such as leavening agent or starch, and thus does not affect human health.

Easy-to-cook and easy-to-brew noodles of physical fabrication process are provided, in which an appropriate amount of strong/medium strength flour or semolina or durum wheat flour is taken as a noodle base material, which is mixed with water and salt to forming a mixture that is extruded to form noodles of various shapes of thin strips spiral, or sheet. The so formed noodle are then steamed and cut quantitatively and the subjected to semi-puff drying or full-puff drying according to the thickness or set brewing time of the noodles so as to make instant pasta through the physical fabrication process, allowing the pasta to be brewed or cooked in a short time, and fast edible. The physical fabrication process does not involve adding of oil or additives, such as leavening agent or starch, and thus does not affect human health.

A shaped vegetarian meat product comprising: 30-80 wt. % water; 5-35 wt. % oil, said oil having a solid fat content at 20 degrees Celsius (N.sub.20) of at least 1.5%; 2-25 wt. % protein selected from algal protein, bacterial protein, dairy protein, egg protein, fungal protein, plant protein, and combinations thereof; 0-40 wt. % of one or more particulate ingredients selected from herbs, spices, vegetables and combinations thereof. Wherein the vegetarian meat product contains at least 4 vol. % of oil droplets having an equivalent spherical diameter in the range of 100 micrometer to 1,000 micrometer as determined by means of micro computed tomography.

A shaped vegetarian meat product comprising: 30-80 wt. % water; 5-35 wt. % oil, said oil having a solid fat content at 20 degrees Celsius (N.sub.20) of at least 1.5%; 2-25 wt. % protein selected from algal protein, bacterial protein, dairy protein, egg protein, fungal protein, plant protein, and combinations thereof; 0-40 wt. % of one or more particulate ingredients selected from herbs, spices, vegetables and combinations thereof. Wherein the vegetarian meat product contains at least 4 vol. % of oil droplets having an equivalent spherical diameter in the range of 100 micrometer to 1,000 micrometer as determined by means of micro computed tomography.

A retractable guide (200) is provided for use in a cooling die (202) for the manufacture of extruded food products. The retractable guide (200) is configured to be secured between an input end and an output end of the cooling die (202). A method of high moisture extrusion suitable for manufacturing foodstuffs is also provided, which comprises inserting the retractable guide (200) into a cooling die (202).

A retractable guide (200) is provided for use in a cooling die (202) for the manufacture of extruded food products. The retractable guide (200) is configured to be secured between an input end and an output end of the cooling die (202). A method of high moisture extrusion suitable for manufacturing foodstuffs is also provided, which comprises inserting the retractable guide (200) into a cooling die (202).

An apparatus and method for separating the leaner portions of meat trimmings and sparse lean from the fattier portions using an automated system that segregates product based on fat content. One implementation of the method and apparatus includes a piston pump that pushes product through a reduction chamber and on through a feed line and nozzle inlet. The nozzle inlet injects a portion of product into a plurality of product chambers positioned at an outer perimeter of a rotating wheel such that as the wheel rotates, the product chambers revolve about a central axis of the wheel. When the product chamber is adjacent the nozzle, product is injected into the chambers and as the wheel continues to rotate. Another implementation is a method and apparatus including a reduction station; a trim sorter station; a storage bin station; and a plurality of conveyor systems including a dispersion conveyor system extending between the reduction station and the trim sorter station and a sorter conveyor system extending between the trim sorter station and the storage bin station.