Cereal-based product with improved eating quality fortified with dietary fiber and/or calcium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9560877-B2
Application number	US-201213418980-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 13, 2012
Priority date	Mar 13, 2012
Publication date	Feb 7, 2017
Grant date	Feb 7, 2017

Abstract

Inhibition of expansion of a cereal product, such as a ready-to-eat cereal, by a particulate insoluble component such as fiber and/or calcium is avoided by pelletizing the particulate insoluble component. A binder component, such as gelatinized starch, is used to bind particles of the particulate insoluble component into a coherent mass which is formed into non-expanded pellets for fortification of the cereal product. The expanded cereal products, such as extruded puffed RTE cereals which contain the pellets, exhibit a crisp, uniform texture and cell structure, improved, prolonged bowl life, a non-gritty mouthfeel, and a smooth, uniform surface appearance even though they are fortified with high amounts of the solid or particulate insoluble nutritional components.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for producing an expanded ready-to-eat cereal which is fortified with a particulate insoluble component comprising:
admixing at least one flour, water, and pellets in an extruder to form a dough, the pellets formed by admixing a particulate insoluble component, water, and a binder component in an extruder to bind the particles of the particulate insoluble component into a coherent mass, wherein the extrusion is conducted at a temperature of the mass at the extruder exit of less than 100° C. and a pressure of less than about 150 bars whereby the pellets are not expanded during extrusion, the binder component comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of partially gelatinized starches and fully gelatinized starches, extruding the mass through a die to obtain an extrudate rope, cutting the extrudate rope into pieces, and drying the pieces to obtain pellets, wherein the amount of binder component is from about 5% by weight to about 40% by weight, and the amount of the insoluble component is from about 60% by weight to about 95% by weight, based upon the total dry weight of the particulate insoluble component and the binder component, and the pellets have a particle size of from about 500 μm to about 1.5 mm;
extruding the dough through an extruder die to expand the dough, and cutting the expanded dough into pieces to obtain an expanded ready-to-eat cereal wherein a plurality of the pellets are distributed substantially uniformly throughout the pieces of expanded ready-to-eat cereal, the expanded cereal pieces having a cell structure comprising cell walls which form voids, the pellets are partially or completely contained in the cell walls or attached to the cell walls, the amount of the pellets is from about 5% by weight to about 50% by weight, based upon the total weight of the ready-to-eat cereal, wherein the particulate insoluble component of the pellets comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of fibers and calcium components, and the binder component of the pellets comprises the partially or fully gelatinized starch in an amount of at least about 50% by weight, based upon the weight of the binder component.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the particulate insoluble component comprises fiber.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the fiber comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of wheat bran, wheat fiber, corn bran, oat hull fiber, pea hull fiber, soy hull fiber, soy cotyledon fiber, sugar beet fiber, rice fiber, barley fiber, rye fiber, resistant starch, sugar cane fiber, sorghum fiber, vegetable fiber, fruit fiber, and microcrystalline cellulose, the total amount of the insoluble component and the binder component is at least about 75% by weight of the pellet, and the pellet contains at least one additive in an amount of up to about 25% by weight of the pellet.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the particulate insoluble component comprises insoluble dietary fiber.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the amount of the particulate insoluble component is from about 75% by weight to about 90% by weight, and the amount of the binder component is from about 10% by weight to about 25% by weight, based upon the total dry weight of the particulate insoluble component and the binder component, and the pellet has a particle size of from about 500 μm to about 1.5 mm.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the amount of the particulate insoluble component is from about 80% by weight to about 85% by weight, and the amount of the binder component is from about 15% by weight to about 20% by weight, based upon the total dry weight of the particulate insoluble component and the binder component, and the pellet has a particle size of from about 800 μm to about 1200 μm.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the amount of insoluble dietary fiber is from about 75% by weight to about 90% by weight, and the amount of the binder component is from about 10% by weight to about 25% by weight, based upon the total dry weight of the particulate insoluble component and the binder component.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the binder component comprises a gelatinized starch in an amount of at least about 50% by weight, based upon the weight of the binder component, and an additional binding agent in an amount of up to about 50% by weight, based upon the weight of the binder component, wherein the additional binding agent is at least one member selected from the group consisting of hydrocolloids, soluble fibers, proteins, converted starches, dextrins, maltodextrins, glucose syrups, and sugars.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the binder component is a gelatinized starch.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the gelatinized starch is a pregelatinized starch.

11. A method for producing pellets as claimed in claim 1 wherein the particulate insoluble component comprises at least one particulate fiber component selected from the group consisting of wheat bran, wheat fiber, corn bran, oat hull fiber, pea hull fiber, soy hull fiber, soy cotyledon fiber, sugar beet fiber, rice fiber, barley fiber, rye fiber, resistant starch, sugar cane fiber, sorghum fiber, vegetable fiber, fruit fiber, and microcrystalline cellulose, wherein the amount of fiber is from about 75% by weight to about 90% by weight, and the amount of the binder component is from about 10% by weight to about 25% by weight, based upon the total dry weight of the fiber and the gelatinized starch, and wherein the particulate insoluble component which is added to the extruder has a particle size of less than about half the diameter of the extrusion die.

12. A method for producing an expanded ready-to-eat cereal as claimed in claim 1 wherein the particulate insoluble component comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of wheat bran, wheat fiber, corn bran, oat hull fiber, pea hull fiber, soy hull fiber, soy cotyledon fiber, sugar beet fiber, rice fiber, barley fiber, rye fiber, resistant starch, sugar cane fiber, sorghum fiber, vegetable fiber, fruit fiber, and microcrystalline cellulose, the binder component is a gelatinized starch, the amount of the particulate insoluble component of the pellets is from about 75% by weight to about 90% by weight, and the amount of the binder component is from about 10% by weight to about 25% by weight, based upon the total dry weight of the particulate insoluble component and the binder component.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the pellets have a particle size from 800 μm to 1200 μm.

Assignees

• Van Lengerich Bernhard H
• Lukecart Nathan W
• Meuser Friedrich P
• Oberdoerfer Dieter
• Bindzus Wolfgang
• Gen Mills Inc

Inventors

• Van Lengerich Bernhard H
• Lukecart Nathan W
• Meuser Friedrich P
• Oberdoerfer Dieter
• Bindzus Wolfgang

Classifications

• A23V2002/00

  Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs · CPC title

• A23L33/21 Primary

  Addition of substantially indigestible substances, e.g. dietary fibres · CPC title

• A23L7/115

  Cereal fibre products, e.g. bran, husk · CPC title

• A23L33/15

  Vitamins · CPC title

• A23L7/117

  Flakes or other shapes of ready-to-eat type; Semi-finished or partly-finished products therefor (cereal granules or flakes to be cooked and eaten hot A23L7/143; cereal germ products A23L7/152) · CPC title