Snack Food Pellets

Abstract

A snack food pellet comprising a plurality of starch granules forming a layer, the granules comprising ungelatinized starch, the granules being pressed together into mutual contact to form an agglomerate of the starch granules. Also disclosed are a method of manufacturing such a snack food pellet and a method of producing an expanded snack food piece from such a snack food pellet.

Claims

1. A snack food pellet comprising a plurality of starch granules forming a layer, the granules comprising ungelatinized starch, the granules being pressed together into mutual contact to form an agglomerate of the starch granules.

2. A snack food pellet according to claim 1 wherein the pellet comprises from 90 to 99 wt % starch granules and from 1 to 10 wt % continuous starch-based matrix between the granules, each based upon the weight of the total starch in the pellet.

3. A snack food pellet according to claim 2 wherein the pellet comprises from 95 to 99 wt % starch granules and from 1 to 5 wt % continuous starch-based matrix between the granules, each based upon the weight of the total starch in the pellet.

4. A snack food pellet according to claim 1 wherein the pellet consists of the plurality of starch granules pressed together to form the agglomerate and the pellet does not comprise a continuous starch-based matrix between the granules.

5. A snack food pellet according to claim 1 wherein the layer is an elongate layer which has two opposite surfaces and a thickness therebetween.

6. A snack food pellet according to claim 5 wherein the thickness is from 0.5 to 4 mm.

7. A snack food pellet according to claim 6 wherein the thickness is from 0.7 to 1.8 mm.

8. A snack food pellet according to claim 5 wherein the two opposite surfaces each have a surface area of from 1250 to 1970 mm.sup.2.

9. A snack food pellet according to claim 8 wherein the two opposite surfaces each have a surface area of from 1520 to 1660 mm.sup.2.

10. A snack food pellet according to claim 5 wherein the two opposite surfaces each have from 600 to 1800 starch granules per mm.sup.2 of the respective surface.

11. A snack food pellet according to claim 10 wherein the two opposite surfaces each have from 675 to 1725 starch granules per mm.sup.2 of the respective surface.

12. A snack food pellet according to claim 1 wherein the pellet has a moisture content of from 10 to 12 wt %.

13. A snack food pellet according to claim 1 wherein the agglomerate of the starch granules comprises from 60 to 99 wt % ungelatinized starch and from 1 to 40 wt % gelatinized starch, each based upon the weight of the total starch in the pellet.

14. A snack food pellet according to claim 13 wherein the agglomerate of the starch granules comprises from 80 to 99 wt % ungelatinized starch and from 1 to 20 wt % gelatinized starch, each based upon the weight of the total starch in the pellet.

15. A snack food pellet according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of starch granules comprise at least one starch derived from of a cereal or a vegetable.

16. A method of manufacturing a snack food pellet, the method comprising the steps of: i. providing a dough comprising a plurality of starch-based granules, the granules comprising ungelatinized starch, and a moisture content of from 15 to 20 wt % based upon the weight of the dough; ii. locating a portion of the dough in a heated pressing apparatus; and iii. pressing the dough portion in the heated pressing apparatus to form a pellet comprising a plurality of starch granules forming a layer, the granules comprising ungelatinized starch, the granules being pressed together into mutual contact to form an agglomerate of the starch granules.

17. A method according to claim 16 wherein the dough has a moisture content of from 16 to 18 wt % based upon the weight of the dough.

18. A method according to claim 16 wherein the pressing time and pressing temperature are controlled to provide that the pellet has a moisture content of from 9 to 12.5 wt % based upon the weight of the pellet.

19. A method according to claim 18 wherein the pressing time and pressing temperature are controlled to provide that the pellet has a moisture content of from 10 to 11.5 wt % based upon the weight of the pellet.

20. A method according to claim 19 wherein the pellet has a moisture content of from 10.5 to 11 wt %, based upon the weight of the pellet.

21. A method according to claim 16 wherein the pressing temperature is from 100 to 140 C.

22. A method according to claim 21 wherein the pressing temperature is from 100 to 120 C.

23. A method according to claim 16 wherein the pressing time is from 10 to 50 seconds.

24. A method according to claim 23 wherein the pressing time is from 20 to 30 seconds.

25. A method according to claim 16 wherein the pressing pressure is from 100,000 to 400,000 N/m.sup.2.

26. A method according to claim 25 wherein the pressing pressure is from 300,000 to 400,000 N/m.sup.2.

27. A method according to claim 16 wherein the dough portion has a volume of from 2,000 to 8,000 mm.sup.3.

28. A method according to claim 27 wherein the dough portion has a volume of from 2,300 to 4,500 mm.sup.3.

29. A method according to claim 16 wherein the pressed pellet has a volume of from 1,200 to 3,800 mm.sup.3.

30. A method according to claim 29 wherein the pressed pellet has a volume of from 1,200 to 2,700 mm.sup.3.

31. A method according to claim 16 wherein the heated pressing apparatus comprises a pair of pressing elements between which the dough portion is located and pressed to form the pellet.

32. A method according to claim 31 wherein at least one of the pressing elements is heated to a pressing temperature.

33. A method according to claim 31 wherein the pressing elements each have a surface area of from 1250 to 1970 mm.sup.2.

34. A method according to claim 33 wherein the pressing elements each have a surface area of from 1520 to 1660 mm.sup.2.

35. A method according to claim 16 wherein the layer is an elongate layer and has two opposite surfaces and a thickness therebetween.

36. A method according to claim 35 wherein the thickness is from 0.5 to 3 mm.

37. A method according to claim 36 wherein the thickness is from 0.6 to 1.5 mm.

38. A method according to claim 35 wherein the two opposite surfaces each have a surface area of from 1250 to 1970 mm.sup.2.

39. A method according to claim 38 wherein the two opposite surfaces each have a surface area of from 1520 to 1660 mm.sup.2.

40. A method according to claim 35 wherein the two opposite surfaces each have from 600 to 1800 starch granules per mm.sup.2 of the respective surface.

41. A method according to claim 40 wherein the two opposite surfaces each have from 675 to 1725 starch granules per mm.sup.2 of the respective surface.

42. A method according to claim 16 wherein the portion, prior to pressing, has a thickness of from 1.5 to 5.5 mm.

43. A method according to claim 42 wherein the portion, prior to pressing, has a thickness of from 1.7 to 3.5 mm.

44. A method according to claim 16 wherein the pressing time and pressing temperature are controlled to provide that the agglomerate of the starch granules comprises from 60 to 99 wt % ungelatinized starch and from 1 to 40 wt % gelatinized starch, each based upon the weight of the total starch in the pellet.

45. A method according to claim 44 wherein the pressing time and pressing temperature are controlled to provide that the agglomerate of the starch granules comprises from 80 to 99 wt % ungelatinized starch and from 1 to 20 wt % gelatinized starch, each based upon the weight of the total starch in the pellet.

46. A method according to claim 16 wherein the pellet consists of the plurality of starch granules pressed together to form the agglomerate and the pellet does not comprise a continuous starch-based matrix between the granules.

47. A method according to claim 16 wherein the pellet comprises from 90 to 99 wt % starch granules and from 1 to 10 wt % continuous starch-based matrix between the granules, each based upon the weight of the total starch in the pellet.

48. A method according to claim 47 wherein the pellet comprises from 95 to 99 wt % starch granules and from 1 to 5 wt % continuous starch-based matrix between the granules, each based upon the weight of the total starch in the pellet.

49. A method according to claim 16 wherein the plurality of starch granules comprise at least one starch derived from of a cereal or a vegetable.

50. A method of producing a snack food, the method comprising the steps of: i. providing a plurality of pellets according to any one of claims 1 to 15 or manufactured according to the method of any one of claims 16 to 49; and ii. expanding the pellets during a cooking step to produce a plurality of snack food pieces.

51. A method according to claim 50 wherein the cooking step comprises frying, baking or microwaving.

52. A snack food produced by the method of claim 50 wherein the snack food comprises a cellular microstructure having cellular voids with an average elongation, defined as the maximum cellular void length divided by the minimum cellular void width within the range of from 1.41 to 1.46.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0033] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a process flow diagram of a method of manufacturing a snack food pellet in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an apparatus for manufacturing a snack food pellet in accordance with the method of FIG. 1;

[0035] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a snack food pellet produced by the method of FIG. 1; and

[0036] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a micrograph of a pellet surface of a pellet produced by the method of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Referring to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, there is schematically illustrated a process flow of a method of manufacturing a snack food pellet according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 illustrates an apparatus for carrying out the method.

[0038] In the method, in step I a dough is provided which comprises one or more starch-containing ingredients, derived from starch sources such as potato and cereals, for example wheat, maize, rice, oats, barley, etc. Other cereal crops could be used, as well as starch from pulses, legumes, cassava, etc. The starch-containing ingredients may be added as whole foods (e.g. potato flakes/granules; wheat flour) or as refined/isolated constituents (e.g. potato starch). The ingredients may be used individually or in combination with other starch-containing ingredients. The dough may further comprise one or more ingredients such as sugars, raising agents, seasoning, salts, emulsifiers, fats/oils, humectants, acids, bases, proteins, fibres, dairy ingredients, texture modifiers, acidity regulators or any combination thereof.

[0039] In the method, the dough comprises a plurality of starch-based granules. The starch granules comprise ungelatinized starch, and typically the starch component consists of ungelatinized starch. Typically, the plurality of starch granules comprise or consist of potato starch and the starch component of the starch-based granules is comprised of or consists of potato starch.

[0040] The dough is formed by simple mixing of the starch-based granules, and optional ingredients such as seasoning, with water to form a substantially homogeneous dough mixture. The dough has a moisture content of from 15 to 20 wt %, preferably from 16 to 18 wt %, based upon the weight of the dough. The mixing is readily controlled to provide a uniform distribution of fine water droplets throughout the dough so that a corresponding fine and uniform water distribution is present in the resultant pellet. This in turn provides a uniform expansion of the pellet as a result of localised steam generation during cooking of the pellet, for example by frying.

[0041] In step II The dough is divided into portions, typically of a pre-set weight or volume, and each portion is intended to form an individual pellet. Typically, the dough portion has a volume of from 2,000 to 8,000 mm.sup.3, preferably from 2,300 to 4,500 mm.sup.3. The dough portion may have a weight of from 1 to 4 grams, preferably 1.5 to 2 grams. The portion, prior to pressing, has a thickness of from 1.5 to 5.5 mm, preferably from 1.7 to 3.5 mm.

[0042] Then, in step III the portion of the dough is located in a heated pressing apparatus 2, illustrated in FIG. 2. The heated pressing apparatus 2 comprises a pair of pressing elements 4, 6 between which the dough portion 8 of the dough is located and pressed to form the pellet. There are upper and lower pressing elements 4, 6. The pressing elements 4, 6 are in the form of platens and typically each have a surface area of from 1250 to 1970 mm.sup.2, preferably from 1520 to 1660 mm.sup.2.

[0043] At least one, and optionally both, of the pressing elements 4, 6 is or are heated to a pressing temperature which is from 100 to 140 C., preferably from 100 to 120 C.

[0044] Thereafter, in step IV the dough portion 8 is pressed in the heated pressing apparatus 2 to form a pellet. The pressing time is from 10 to 50 seconds, preferably from 20 to 30 seconds. The pressing pressure is from 100,000 to 400,000 N/m.sup.2 (1 to 4 Bar), preferably from 300,000 to 400,000 N/m.sup.2 (3 to 4 Bar).

[0045] The temperature, pressure and pressing time are readily controlled to minimise or avoid any premature expansion of the starch as a result of stream generation in the starch at the elevated temperature of heat pressing.

[0046] Referring to FIG. 3, the resulting pellet 10 comprises a plurality of starch granules pressed together to form an agglomerate of the starch granules. The pellet 10 is in the form of a layer 12. The structure and texture of the snack food product after expansion is strongly influenced by the nature and composition of the starch-containing ingredients in the pellet 10.

[0047] Typically, the pellet 10 consists of the plurality of starch granules pressed together to form the agglomerate and the pellet does not comprise a continuous starch-based matrix between the granules.

[0048] The pellet 10 typically comprises from 90 to 99 wt % starch granules and from 1 to 10 wt % continuous starch-based matrix between the granules, preferably from 95 to 99 wt % starch granules and from 1 to 5 wt % continuous starch-based matrix between the granules, each based upon the weight of the total starch in the pellet 10.

[0049] The pressed pellet 10 has a volume of from 1200 to 3800 mm.sup.3, preferably from 1200 to 2700 mm.sup.3. The layer 12 has two opposite surfaces 14, 16 and a thickness therebetween. The thickness is from 0.5 to 4 mm, preferably from 0.7 to 1.8 mm. The two opposite surfaces 14, 16 each have a surface area of from 1250 to 1970 mm.sup.2, preferably from 1520 to 1660 mm.sup.2. The two opposite surfaces 14, 16 each have from 600 to 1800, optionally from 675 to 1725, starch granules per mm.sup.2 of the respective surface.

[0050] The pressing time and pressing temperature are controlled to provide that the pellet 10 has a moisture content of from 9 to 12.5 wt %, preferably from 10 to 11.5 wt %, further preferably from 10.5 to 11 wt %, based upon the weight of the pellet 10.

[0051] The pressing time and pressing temperature are controlled to provide that the agglomerate of the starch granules comprises from 60 to 99 wt % ungelatinized starch and from 1 to 40 wt % gelatinized starch, preferably from 80 to 99 wt % ungelatinized starch and from 1 to 20 wt % gelatinized starch, each based upon the weight of the total starch in the pellet 10.

[0052] The resulting pellet 10 is used in a method of producing a snack food. The method comprises providing a plurality of the pellets 10 and expanding the pellets 10 during a cooking step to produce a plurality of snack food pieces. The cooking step comprises frying, baking or microwaving.

[0053] The pellet 10 may be shaped and dimensioned to provide any desired shape and dimensions to the resultant expanded snack food piece using shape and dimension selection techniques well known to those skilled in the snack food art.

[0054] The present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the following non-limiting Examples.

Example 1

[0055] A starch-based dough was prepared. The dough comprised a plurality of starch-based granules consisting of ungelatinized potato starch. In particular the dough comprised 0.2 g potato flakes, 1.1 g native potato starch, 0.2 g pre-gelatinised starch, and 0.0957 ml water.

[0056] The dough was substantially homogeneous and had a moisture content of 16 wt %, based upon the weight of the dough. A dough portion having a volume of 3000 mm.sup.3 and a weight of 1.6 grams was placed in an aluminium foil tray and then located in a heated pressing apparatus. The heated pressing apparatus comprises a pair of platens, a stationary lower plate on which the tray was positioned and an upper movable platen which was lowered down onto the dough portion to press the dough to form a pellet in the form of a disc-like layer. The pressing temperature was 120 C., the pressing time was 30 seconds, and the pressing pressure was 400,000 N/m.sup.2 (4 Bar).

[0057] The resultant pellet had a uniform starch microstructure, as summarised in Table 1. It was determined that with this moisture content, pellet formation by heat pressing was fully successful.

[0058] The pellet surface was examined by microscopy and a representative view of the pellet surface, indicated by reference numeral 18, is shown in FIG. 4. It may be seen that the pellet consists of a compacted agglomerate of starch granules, a granule being indicated by reference numeral 20, which remained intact, and with a minimal continuous starch matrix, of gelatinized, and amorphous, starch was formed.

[0059] The starch granules are derived from the potato flakes and the native potato starch ingredients. The minor proportion of continuous starch matrix, of gelatinized, and amorphous, starch is primarily derived from the pre-gelatinised starch ingredient.

[0060] The average number of starch granules per 200 m200 m area was within the range of from about 27 to about 69. This equates substantially to from 600 to 1800, typically from 675 to 1725, starch granules per mm.sup.2 of the pellet surface.

[0061] The pellet was fried to produce an expanded snack. The expanded snack comprised a starch matrix including a uniform distribution of cellular voids. The shape and dimensions of the cellular voids was analysed by microscopy and by C-Cell analysis which as used to measure the aspect ratio, or elongation of the cellular voids in the expanded snack food piece. The average cell elongation in a variety of expanded snacks produced from heat pressed pellets was analysed by C-Cell analysis; the C-Cell instrument and associated analytical software are available from C-Cell, Warrington, Cheshire, UK, (http://www.c-cell.info/). The average cell elongation is defined as: The average length to breath ratio of cells, independent of their relative orientation; Values close to 1 indicate rounded cells, and values >1 indicate greater elongation.

[0062] A variety of expanded snack food pieces produced according to Example 1 were analysed and the average cell elongation, or aspect ratio, of the cells was found to be within the range of from 1.41 to 1.46, as shown in Table 1.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Dough Moisture Pellet Pellet Cell Elongation wt % Process Properties Expanded Snack Example 16 Heat Uniform starch 1.41-1.46 1 pressing microstructure Example 18 Heat Uniform starch 1.38-1.41 2 pressing microstructure Example 20 Heat Uniform starch 1.39-1.42 3 pressing microstructure Comp. 8 Heat Non-uniform Unexpanded Ex. 1 pressing starch therefore not microstructure measured Comp. 12 Heat Non-uniform Unexpanded Ex. 2 pressing starch therefore not microstructure measured Comp. 14 Heat Non-uniform Unexpanded Ex. 3 pressing starch therefore not microstructure measured Comp. 25 Heat Non-uniform Unable to Ex. 4 pressing starch measure microstructure Comp. 35 Heat Non-uniform Unable to Ex. 5 pressing starch measure microstructure Comp. 35 Extrusion Uniform starch 1.466 Ex. 6 microstructure Comp. 35 Extrusion Uniform starch 1.48 Ex. 7 microstructure Comp. 35 Extrusion Uniform starch 1.52 Ex. 8 microstructure

Examples 2 and 3

[0063] Example 1 was repeated but with varying moisture content of the dough as shown in Table 1, Example 2 using 18 wt % moisture content and Example 3 using 20 wt % moisture content. The resultant pellets had a uniform starch microstructure. It was determined that with this moisture content range, pellet formation by heat pressing was substantially successful. A variety of expanded snack food pieces were analysed and the average cell elongation, or aspect ratio, of the cells was found to be within the range of from 1.38 to 1.41 for Example 2 and 1.39 to 1.42 for Example 3, as shown in Table 1.

Comparative Examples 1 to 5

[0064] Example 1 was repeated but with a moisture content of the dough of 8, 12, 14, 25 or 35 wt % for Comparative Examples 1 to 5 respectively. The resultant pellets of Comparative Examples 1 to 5 each had an unacceptable non-uniform starch microstructure as summarised in Table 1. It was determined that with these moisture contents, pellet formation by heat pressing was unsuccessful in Comparative Examples 1 to 5.

[0065] Table 1 shows that there is a clearly preferred moisture content range of from 15 to 20 wt %, more preferably from 16 to 18 wt %, based upon the weight of the dough for achieving a heat pressed pellet with the desired uniform microstructure.

Comparative Examples 6 to 8

[0066] Comparative Examples 6 to 8 were a commercial expanded snack food piece produced from an extruded pellet and sold in the United Kingdom under the trade mark Quavers by Walkers Crisps, Leicester, UK. The extruded pellets have a high dough moisture content of 35 wt %. The known expanded snack food piece of Comparative Examples 6 to 8 were analysed by C-Cell analysis and the average cell elongation, or aspect ratio, of the cells was found to be within the general range of greater than 1.46 to 1.52 for the various Comparative Examples, providing an overall average of 1.48.

Examples 4 to 8

[0067] A variety of expanded snacks produced from heat pressed pellets as described in Example 1 were analysed by C-Cell analysis. The results are shown in Table 2. These examples had varying proportions of native potato starch, as shown in Table 2. It was found that the average cell elongation, or aspect ratio, of the cells was within the range of 1.43 to 1.44.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Dough Native Potato Average Cell Elongation Moisture Starch Expanded Snack wt % wt % (based on 4 replicates) Example 4 16 30 1.43 Example 5 16 40 1.44 Example 6 16 50 1.43 Example 7 16 60 1.44 Example 8 16 70 1.43

[0068] The experimental data of the Examples and Comparative Examples shows that the heat pressing method to produce pellets in accordance with the present invention produces a pellet having new product attributes which are also manifested in the resultant expanded snack food piece. Therefore, the heat pressing process of the present invention can not only reduce the manufacturing costs and complexity of the pellet manufacturing process, but also can produce new product attributes which can be utilized to produce new snack food products, with new textures, mouthfeel, crispiness, etc., as compared to known products produced using pellet extrusion.

[0069] Various other modifications to the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.