The invention is directed to a fruit flavored composition additive to farinaceous based material comprising a fruit source, starch, water and nutritional fiber, to a process for preparing the composition and to a fruit flavored farinaceous based material.

A system and method for applying a reduced sugar coating to a food product is provided. The system uses separate applications (simultaneous or sequential) of a non-sucrose carbohydrate syrup from a first applicator and a sucrose syrup from a second applicator. The dual applications of the syrups are applied without an active drying step between applications. The process results in a coated food product with reduced clumping and a desired crystallized appearance even with the reduced levels of sugar.

A coated food product is produced by combining a plurality of dry ingredients to form a dry mix and combining the dry mix with water to form a dough. A plurality of base pieces is formed from the dough. A slurry is prepared by combining at least sucrose, fruit pure and calcium carbonate. The slurry is combined with the plurality of base pieces to coat the plurality of base pieces and form a plurality of coated base pieces. After preparing the slurry and before combining the slurry with the plurality of base pieces, the slurry is stored or held for at least 30 minutes.

An apparatus and method for creating a sheeted food product having a minimal thickness. The apparatus includes grooved feed rollers covered in a nonstick material which prevents the formation of obstructions, allowing a narrower gap for sheeting food product. The process includes mixing a binding agent and dry ingredients, confirming the binding agent has covered the majority of the dry ingredients, rapidly transferring the mixed binding agent and dry ingredients to an extruder, and extruding a sheeted food product having minimal thickness.

An apparatus and method for creating a sheeted food product having a minimal thickness. The apparatus includes grooved feed rollers covered in a nonstick material which prevents the formation of obstructions, allowing a narrower gap for sheeting food product. The process includes mixing a binding agent and dry ingredients, confirming the binding agent has covered the majority of the dry ingredients, rapidly transferring the mixed binding agent and dry ingredients to an extruder, and extruding a sheeted food product having minimal thickness.

A microwaveable popcorn container may be fashioned from glassine or similar materials to provide a susceptor-free, biodegradable, and/or compostable container for cooking microwave popcorn. The material of the container may be translucent in order to advantageously permit inspection of contents during cooking, as well as to permit evaluation of the completeness of kernel popping after microwaving.

A microwaveable popcorn container may be fashioned from glassine or similar materials to provide a susceptor-free, biodegradable, and/or compostable container for cooking microwave popcorn. The material of the container may be translucent in order to advantageously permit inspection of contents during cooking, as well as to permit evaluation of the completeness of kernel popping after microwaving.

A method and popping machine for popping different types of popcorn kernels is provided, where the different types of popcorn kernels include at least mushroom type popcorn and butterfly type popcorn. The method includes determining a selected one of the different types of popcorn kernels to be popped in a first popping cycle based upon a selection made by an operator, and then retrieving and using a first set of predetermined cooking temperature set points associated with cooking the selected one of the different types of popcorn kernels during performance of the first popping cycle. The cooking temperature set points determine several items which may include when to heat a kettle of the popping machine, when to signal an operator to take action such as loading kernels or dumping popped popcorn, and when to add sugar if a sweetened popped popcorn type is desired.

A method and popping machine for popping different types of popcorn kernels is provided, where the different types of popcorn kernels include at least mushroom type popcorn and butterfly type popcorn. The method includes determining a selected one of the different types of popcorn kernels to be popped in a first popping cycle based upon a selection made by an operator, and then retrieving and using a first set of predetermined cooking temperature set points associated with cooking the selected one of the different types of popcorn kernels during performance of the first popping cycle. The cooking temperature set points determine several items which may include when to heat a kettle of the popping machine, when to signal an operator to take action such as loading kernels or dumping popped popcorn, and when to add sugar if a sweetened popped popcorn type is desired.

A method and popping machine for popping different types of popcorn kernels is provided, where the different types of popcorn kernels include at least mushroom type popcorn and butterfly type popcorn. The method includes determining a selected one of the different types of popcorn kernels to be popped in a first popping cycle based upon a selection made by an operator, and then retrieving and using a first set of predetermined cooking temperature set points associated with cooking the selected one of the different types of popcorn kernels during performance of the first popping cycle. The cooking temperature set points determine several items which may include when to heat a kettle of the popping machine, when to signal an operator to take action such as loading kernels or dumping popped popcorn, and when to add sugar if a sweetened popped popcorn type is desired.