Improved adhesion of powdered and particulate color and flavoring to dry snack foods such as, but not limited to: chips, pretzels, crackers, and puffed, popped, baked or extruded compositions is provided. The improved adhesive is a milk or water based composition with added high quality protein selected from one or more of milk, whey, milk concentrate, whey concentrate, isolated milk protein, soy concentrate, soy milk, soy isolate, egg, egg white, egg protein isolate, or combinations from animal, grain or legume sources with an essential amino acid composition that meets human growth and maintenance standards. The improved adhesive is applied to the surface of snack foods providing an adhesive surface for binding dry flavoring and colors. Examples show snack food compositions with improved nutrient content including reduced fat content, an increase in protein content and a beneficial increase in the protein quality measured by the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score.

Extruded vegetable-based food products and methods for their manufacture are described herein. In some variations, the extruded vegetable-based food products provide healthy snack options, which may be savory or sweet. In other variations, the extruded vegetable-based food products include sufficient complete protein along with other nutrients to provide healthy meal replacement options.

The use of a compound according to formula (I) or the edible salts thereof in an edible composition to mask or modulate an undesired taste or off-taste contained in the edible composition ##STR00001##
wherein
R.sub.1 is an alkyl residue containing 6 to 20 carbon atoms, or an alkene residue containing from 9 to 25 carbon atoms with 1 to 6 double bonds, R.sub.1 together with the carbonyl group to which it is attached is a residue of a carboxylic acid, and NR.sub.2R.sub.3, in which R.sub.3 is H or together with R.sub.2 and the N-atom to which they are attached, a 5-membered ring, is a residue of an amino acid, in particular a proteinogenic amino acid, ornithine, gamma-aminobutyric acid or beta alanine, or a 1-amino cycloalkyl carboxylic acid.

The use of a compound according to formula (I) or the edible salts thereof in an edible composition to mask or modulate an undesired taste or off-taste contained in the edible composition ##STR00001##
wherein
R.sub.1 is an alkyl residue containing 6 to 20 carbon atoms, or an alkene residue containing from 9 to 25 carbon atoms with 1 to 6 double bonds, R.sub.1 together with the carbonyl group to which it is attached is a residue of a carboxylic acid, and NR.sub.2R.sub.3, in which R.sub.3 is H or together with R.sub.2 and the N-atom to which they are attached, a 5-membered ring, is a residue of an amino acid, in particular a proteinogenic amino acid, ornithine, gamma-aminobutyric acid or beta alanine, or a 1-amino cycloalkyl carboxylic acid.

A variegator and a process for using it. The variegator permits the manufacturer to obtain desirable patterns of distribution of sauce and chunks in frozen confections while at the same time permitting fast cleaning-in-place times to minimize factory downtime. The variegator comprises a) one or more conduits, each suitable for feeding a base frozen confection to a first opening or set of openings into a chamber, b) one or more conduits suitable for feeding a fluid variegating material such as a sauce through a second openings or set of openings at a level below the first set into the chamber below the base frozen confection opening, and c) a static mixer below the variegating material opening, the static mixer comprising at least two baffles.

Salt particles adhered to a bulk carrier of the present invention are improved over prior alternative salts by having smaller salt particles adhered to a bulk carrier are achieved through modifications of variables for production of salt adhered to carrier particles, including starting solid composition, salt-carrier slurry composition, inlet and outlet drying temperature, slurry temperature, and moisture content control. The resulting salt-carrier product of salt adhered to carrier particles can be produced with much smaller salt particles of about 100 nanometers to less than 2 microns adhered to a carrier, which in turn improves electrostatic forces that help the salt-carrier product better adhere to and coat a food product than salts not adhered to a carrier particle.

Salt particles adhered to a bulk carrier of the present invention are improved over prior alternative salts by having smaller salt particles adhered to a bulk carrier are achieved through modifications of variables for production of salt adhered to carrier particles, including starting solid composition, salt-carrier slurry composition, inlet and outlet drying temperature, slurry temperature, and moisture content control. The resulting salt-carrier product of salt adhered to carrier particles can be produced with much smaller salt particles of about 100 nanometers to less than 2 microns adhered to a carrier, which in turn improves electrostatic forces that help the salt-carrier product better adhere to and coat a food product than salts not adhered to a carrier particle.

An apparatus and method for continuously at atmospheric pressure rotary steam fry potato slices, the apparatus comprising an inlet conveyer for taking the slices from a lower atmospherically opened inlet into a rotary conveyor with steam permeable mantle surface for tumbling and conveying potato slices inside a hermetically closed top through a pre heat zone and a frying zone until gravity fed out through an atmospherically opened outlet below the hermetically closed top, an oiler for totally covering the slices with oil before entering the frying zone, a loop heating system consisting of at least one separator, one gas blower and one heat exchanger adapted for pushing superheated stem, with temperature of 110 to 300 C, through the conveyor with steam permeable mantle surface and through a deep bed of potato slices, heating the oil on the potato slices surface which in tum heats the potato slices.

An apparatus and method for continuously at atmospheric pressure rotary steam fry potato slices, the apparatus comprising an inlet conveyer for taking the slices from a lower atmospherically opened inlet into a rotary conveyor with steam permeable mantle surface for tumbling and conveying potato slices inside a hermetically closed top through a pre heat zone and a frying zone until gravity fed out through an atmospherically opened outlet below the hermetically closed top, an oiler for totally covering the slices with oil before entering the frying zone, a loop heating system consisting of at least one separator, one gas blower and one heat exchanger adapted for pushing superheated stem, with temperature of 110 to 300 C, through the conveyor with steam permeable mantle surface and through a deep bed of potato slices, heating the oil on the potato slices surface which in tum heats the potato slices.

A multi-zone fryer (100) and method for preparation of fried food products (187) comprising an elongated cooking trough (105) for holding a volume of heated cooking oil (115), at least first and second rollers (106a, 106b), and a conveyor (110) arranged to extend and transport the food products in a direction from the first roller (106a) at an inlet end (120), along the bottom (121) of the trough to the second roller (106b) at an outlet end (122), wherein the elongated cooking trough (105) comprises at least a first and second cooking zone (140, 145), each cooking zone having oil level sensors (170,175,180,181) configured to co-operate and control an oil inlet control valve (184;184a) and an oil outlet control valve (185;185a) arranged in fluid connection with the trough (105) and an oil circulation system to ensure that a predetermined oil level is kept in the trough.