General Mills, Inc.

Kevin H Wright

Steven C Robie

Goeran Walther

Joel R Lafavor

James N Weinstein

Caleb Ian Heck

The present disclosure relates to extruded protein products and methods for producing an extruded protein product. In particular, an extruded piece is disclosed having a high protein content and having a desirable texture and flavor. Methods for making an extruded piece include processing, under extrusion conditions, a combination of a powdered protein ingredient, a protein matrix disruptive ingredient, water, and an oil.

Extruded protein product and methods of making

An apparatus for forming a single extrudable food stream such as a cooked cereal dough into a plurality of differently colored and/or flavored dough streams is disclosed including an extruder having screw augers for advancing a plastic food mass, a head or manifold for dividing the plastic food mass into a plurality of substreams each in turn in fluid communication with a plurality of sub-divided dough passageways, and a die head having a plurality of die ports. Each subpassage is separately supplied an additive and has disposed therein a multiplicity of in-line static mixer elements to admix the additive into the substreams of the plastic food mass before passage through the die ports. In a preferred form, first and second substreams are intermixed in a non-homogenous manner before reaching the exit ports. The extrudates are severed into individual pieces by a rotary cutter.

Methods for producing multiple food extrudates

Cuckoo clock

An apparatus () for forming a single extrudable food stream such as a cooked cereal dough into a plurality of differently colored and/or flavored dough streams is disclosed including an extruder () having screw augers () for advancing a plastic food mass, a head or manifold () for dividing the plastic food mass into a plurality of substreams each in turn in fluid communication with a plurality of sub-divided dough passageways, and a die head () having a plurality of die ports (). Each subpassage is separately supplied an additive and has disposed therein a multiplicity of in-line static mixer elements () to admix the additive into the substreams of the plastic food mass before passage through the die ports (). In a preferred form, first and second substreams are intermixed in a non-homogenous manner before reaching the exit ports (). The extrudates are severed into individual pieces () by a rotary cutter ().

Growing community of inventors

Crystal, MN, United States of America

Kevin H Wright