A roasting and glazing apparatus includes a housing having a top peripheral surface with an opening defined by an interior edge, a roaster bowl movable from within the housing, through the opening, to an elevated position above the housing, and a pour tray configured to detachably couple to the interior edge, and to receive and guide a fluid exiting the roaster bowl when the roaster bowl is in the elevated position. The pour tray has a bottom surface and a mounting bracket extending from the bottom surface. The mounting bracket is configured to detachably couple to the interior edge of the housing defining the opening. In an assembled configuration, the bottom surface of the pour tray is oriented at an angle relative to the top peripheral surface of the housing and supported by a shoulder or side peripheral surface of the housing.

A roasting and glazing apparatus includes a roaster, an agitator mounted within the roaster bowl for mixing a mixture of nuts and sugar during a roasting or glazing operation, a heater controlled to heat the roaster bowl during the roasting or glazing operation, and a cover removably mounted to the roaster bowl. The cover includes a reservoir for receiving water from a user and restricting water flow from the reservoir into the mixture of nuts and sugar in the roaster bowl. The cover and the roaster bowl together define a vent on a side of the cover opposite the reservoir. The vent is configured to direct steam out of the roaster bowl in a direction away from the reservoir.

A method of roasting nuts comprises placing water and a mixture of nuts and sugar in a roaster bowl, mixing the water and mixture, heating the roaster bowl during mixing to roast and sugar coat the nuts, covering the roaster bowl with a cover after roasting and sugar coating, adding water to a reservoir disposed within the cover wherein the reservoir includes at least one metering hole, flowing through the metering hole, from the reservoir to the roaster bowl, the water added to the reservoir, glazing the nuts during the flowing of water into the roaster bowl from the reservoir, and removing the cover from the roaster bowl after glazing the nuts. The measured flow of water through the reservoir results in well coated glazed nuts and prevents the formation of a large burst of steam, thus protecting the operator against being scalded during glazing of the roasted nuts, as well as providing other benefits.

The present invention, in embodiments, is a chocolate composition product that includes an outer shell having a legume flour and a hydrophilic binding agent, and an inner portion that includes a chocolate composition. In embodiments, the outer shell surrounds the inner portion, the product is a ready-to-eat food, an average moisture content of the outer shell is between 0.1% and 5%, and, when the chocolate composition product is tested by exposing the product to 37° C. for 3 minutes, the chocolate composition product exhibits substantially no visible leakage.

The rancidity of prepackaged candied or sugared nuts, especially, sugar coated almonds, pecans and cashews, is inhibited by packaging the foodstuffs in a GRAS plastic material. This enables the nuts to be exposed to continuous heating or heating and cooling cycles such as within a conventional food warmer or exposure to heating lamps at temperatures up to about 200° F. for extended periods of up to about thirty (30) days while impeding the rancidity of the nut products. Suitable GRAS packaging materials include low-density polypropylene, low-density polyethylene, PET polyester laminates, and the like. The packaging can be in any geometric form. The sugar coated nuts are prepared by coating the nuts with a natural sweetener which may be sugar, corn syrup or like natural sweeteners.

A coating having no non-intact sugar sources and having a good texture, flavor, structure, and bowl life is described. A coating includes erythritol in an amount of about 40% to about 70% by dry weight and a sprouted whole grain ingredient in an amount of about 10% to about 30% by dry weight. Also described are coated food pieces and methods of making coated food pieces using a novel coating.

A multilayer edible product includes a center; a barrier layer directly encompassing at least a portion of the center. The barrier layer includes a hydrophilic powder and a source of fat. The multilayer edible produce further includes an outer layer directly encompassing the barrier layer and indirectly encompassing the center. The center has at least one of a fat content that is either greater than or less than a fat content of the outer layer, or a water activity that is either greater than or less than a water activity of the outer layer. A composition of the barrier layer is different than a composition of the center and a composition of the outer layer, and the multilayer edible product does not include any added sugar.

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.

The present invention discloses a snack food product comprising a plurality of savory clusters, each cluster comprising a dry mixture comprising at least one grain, at least one seed and at least one nut, the mixture being coated with a binder, wherein the binder comprises or consists of a mixture of a soluble dietary fibre component and a low dextrose equivalent (DE) sugar syrup, the low dextrose equivalent (DE) sugar symp having a maximum dextrose equivalent (DE) of 40, in a weight ratio within the range of from 30:70 to 70:30, and each cluster comprises from 65 to 85 wt % of the mixture and from 15 to 35 wt % of the binder, each wt % value being the based on the total weight of the cluster. The snack food provides a satisfying snack between meals or in place of a meal.

This present disclosure provides reliable methods and apparatus for delivering a pharmaceutical active ingredient to a substrate. In some examples, the pharmaceutical active ingredient is applied to the substrate after the substrate has been fully prepared. The substrate can be an edible product or an inedible substrate. The edible product can be a baked or otherwise cooked good. In some examples, the edible product can be fruits and/or nuts. The method and apparatus for delivering the pharmaceutical agent can be configured to deliver microquantities of the pharmaceutical active ingredient to the substrate.