A cooked slice of a meat mass formed of a ground meat mixture and expanded pellets of cellular material provides a crispy, light meat snack product. In some embodiments, the pellets are rendered skin having a low pre-expansion moisture content. A method of making the meat snack product includes making a meat form by adding pellets of cellular material having a moisture content of less than 10% by weight to a ground meat mixture, batch cooking, chilling and slicing the meat form, and cooking the slices of the meat form to expand the pellets of cellular material to result in a crispy meat form slice.

Provided is an instant food product comprising puffed dried rice eatable with a thick and rich sauce, such as curried rice or rice with hashed meat, wherein the instant food product can be cooked even in the outdoors or indoors without a microwave oven so as to be eatable.

The present invention provides an instant food product comprising puffed dried rice eatable by pouring hot water, wherein the puffed dried rice is directly stored in a container together with a solid seasoning. The puffed dried rice has a bulk specific gravity of 0.43 to 0.53 g/ml and a final moisture content of 5% by mass or more and 10% by mass or less.

A puffed grain flour food with high polyphenol content showing unsuppressed puffing is provided. A puffed grain flour food containing any of the following cacao compositions (a) to (d): (a) a cacao composition having a particle size distribution in the range of 10 ?m to 1.5 mm and containing undisrupted cacao bean cells, (b) a cacao composition having a free fat content of 60% by weight or lower based on oil content, (c) a cacao composition containing 30% or more of undisrupted cacao bean cells in cacao bean cells, and (d) a cacao composition containing undisrupted cacao bean cells, which has a breaking strength of 3 kgf or lower.

A puffed grain flour food with high polyphenol content showing unsuppressed puffing is provided. A puffed grain flour food containing any of the following cacao compositions (a) to (d): (a) a cacao composition having a particle size distribution in the range of 10 ?m to 1.5 mm and containing undisrupted cacao bean cells, (b) a cacao composition having a free fat content of 60% by weight or lower based on oil content, (c) a cacao composition containing 30% or more of undisrupted cacao bean cells in cacao bean cells, and (d) a cacao composition containing undisrupted cacao bean cells, which has a breaking strength of 3 kgf or lower.

The present invention relates to the preparation of granules and popped granules comprising functional substances, or active substances, and a carbohydrate carrier material, or matrix material, to the use of such granules, and the granules thus obtained. In the inventive preparation, a water-soluble dietary fiber is mixed with the functional substance in the presence of water or other aqueous solution, dried, and, after drying, converted in granules. The granules with improved properties thus obtained can be popped, providing popped granules with improved properties.

The present invention relates to the preparation of granules and popped granules comprising functional substances, or active substances, and a carbohydrate carrier material, or matrix material, to the use of such granules, and the granules thus obtained. In the inventive preparation, a water-soluble dietary fiber is mixed with the functional substance in the presence of water or other aqueous solution, dried, and, after drying, converted in granules. The granules with improved properties thus obtained can be popped, providing popped granules with improved properties.

A system for producing a food item includes a plate and a printhead disposed above the plate for extruding an edible printing mass to generate a three-dimensional configuration of printing mass on the plate. A cooking head is disposed above the plate for cooking a three-dimensional configuration of printing mass on the plate. A rotation device rotates the plate and the printhead and/or cooking head relative to one another about an axis of rotation, so as to position the printhead and/or cooking head above different points on the plate located on a circle around the axis of rotation. A radial device varies a radius of the circle. A control unit obtains a recipe for producing a cooked food item and controls the printhead, the cooking head and the radial device in accordance with the recipe to produce the cooked food item.

The present invention concerns an extrusion die for extruding a food product having a humidity level between 2.5 to 6.5%, the extrusion die being intended to be connected to the end of an extruder, said extrusion die presenting in transversal cross-section: a circular central opened portion; and a peripheral indented opened portion comprising indentations in which the indentions are in communication with the circular central portion. The invention also relates to an extruder, process and method utilising said extrusion die and to an extruded or co-extruded individual food item produced using said extrusion die.

Provided is an expanded food that does not substantially contain a wheat-derived protein, a dough composition for use in the production of the expanded food, and a method for producing expanded food by using the dough composition. The dough composition of the present invention comprises at least the following ingredients and does not substantially comprise a wheat-derived protein: (a) a milk protein in a proportion of 90 mass % or more based on the total protein; (b) a starch; (c) a leavening agent; and (d) water, wherein the dough composition is expanded by heat treatment to form a support matrix.

Systems and methods for producing sprouted popcorn kernels are provided, which can be popped into sprouted popped popcorn having unique organoleptic qualities. In an embodiment, a system incorporates a germination unit having one or more sensors to track the germination progress of unsprouted popcorn kernels and to automatically transition sprouted popcorn kernels to a drying process to provide dried sprouted popcorn kernels suitable for popping as a ready to eat product or for packaging for consumer popping preparation. The system promotes the preparation of commercial scale sprouted popcorn kernels through tracking of moisture content of the popcorn kernels through one or more processes of sprouted popcorn kernel production.