Food products that have enough flavor to be desirable and a psychological effect to enable longer fasting periods without the physiological effects of increased insulin production and increased blood glucose and without interrupting the metabolic processes of lipolysis or ketosis are described herein. The food products are a gelled food product, a dehydrated gelled food product, and a crisp formed from a dehydrated gelled food product. Methods of making such food products are also described herein. The food products can include agar-agar.

Food products that have enough flavor to be desirable and a psychological effect to enable longer fasting periods without the physiological effects of increased insulin production and increased blood glucose and without interrupting the metabolic processes of lipolysis or ketosis are described herein. The food products are a gelled food product, a dehydrated gelled food product, and a crisp formed from a dehydrated gelled food product. Methods of making such food products are also described herein. The food products can include agar-agar.

There is provided a double-compression, pneumatic-driven popping apparatus for making chip-like snack foods. The apparatus includes a first and second popping machine sections, each having a pneumatic-driven compression cylinder; and a mold plate coupled to the pneumatic cylinder and responsive to urging of the first pneumatic cylinder. A ring mold is located between the first and second machine sections and is subjected to compression by the first mold plate and the second mold plate. The apparatus has a pneumatic drive system including a compressed gas vessel, and a controller configured to control the pneumatic-driven compression cylinders independently through fast-acting control valves. During use, the apparatus applies pneumatic double-compression in a controlled manner such that a time interval between the first and the second compression steps is in the range of milliseconds, to produce a chip-like snack food product.

There is provided a double-compression, pneumatic-driven popping apparatus for making chip-like snack foods. The apparatus includes a first and second popping machine sections, each having a pneumatic-driven compression cylinder; and a mold plate coupled to the pneumatic cylinder and responsive to urging of the first pneumatic cylinder. A ring mold is located between the first and second machine sections and is subjected to compression by the first mold plate and the second mold plate. The apparatus has a pneumatic drive system including a compressed gas vessel, and a controller configured to control the pneumatic-driven compression cylinders independently through fast-acting control valves. During use, the apparatus applies pneumatic double-compression in a controlled manner such that a time interval between the first and the second compression steps is in the range of milliseconds, to produce a chip-like snack food product.

A porous, crunchy dried banana food product is made by mixing a ripe banana puree and either ripe or unripe banana flour to form a composition, and exposing the composition to microwave radiation at a pressure less than atmospheric to puff and dry the composition, producing the porous, crunchy dried banana food product. The method enables a food product based on banana puree to be dried to a porous, crunchy snack product by means of microwave vacuum drying without requiring non-banana thickeners.

A porous, crunchy dried banana food product is made by mixing a ripe banana puree and either ripe or unripe banana flour to form a composition, and exposing the composition to microwave radiation at a pressure less than atmospheric to puff and dry the composition, producing the porous, crunchy dried banana food product. The method enables a food product based on banana puree to be dried to a porous, crunchy snack product by means of microwave vacuum drying without requiring non-banana thickeners.

Methods for manufacturing reduced or zero added sodium expandable snack food pellets by controlling the manufacturing conditions to control the expansion ratio of the pellets. Methods for manufacturing reduced or zero added sodium expanded snack food by controlling the manufacturing conditions to control the bulk density of the resulting expanded snack food. Reduced or zero added sodium expandable snack food pellets having specific expansion ratio and/or glass transition temperature, and reduced or zero added sodium expanded snack food products prepared from the pellets. Reduced or zero added sodium expanded snack food having specific bulk density.

Methods for manufacturing reduced or zero added sodium expandable snack food pellets by controlling the manufacturing conditions to control the expansion ratio of the pellets. Methods for manufacturing reduced or zero added sodium expanded snack food by controlling the manufacturing conditions to control the bulk density of the resulting expanded snack food. Reduced or zero added sodium expandable snack food pellets having specific expansion ratio and/or glass transition temperature, and reduced or zero added sodium expanded snack food products prepared from the pellets. Reduced or zero added sodium expanded snack food having specific bulk density.

An expanded snack food product comprising a rigid matrix defining a cellular structure, and a batter for making an expanded snack food product comprising a substrate, an emulsifier and starch. A method of manufacture and a kit is also disclosed.

An expanded snack food product comprising a rigid matrix defining a cellular structure, and a batter for making an expanded snack food product comprising a substrate, an emulsifier and starch. A method of manufacture and a kit is also disclosed.