| Rice-based snack chip and method of making same -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
  Rice-based snack chip and method of making sameUSPTO Application #: 20070116847Title: Rice-based snack chip and method of making same Abstract: A rice-based snack chip made from a dough including the dry ingredients of bumped rice kernels, long-grain pregelatinized rice flour, medium-grain course white rice flour and in which the bumped rice kernels are partially hydrated, bumped, partially dehydrated and fried as the chip is made. (end of abstract) Agent: H. Michael Brucker - Emeryville, CA, US Inventor: Richard Gorski USPTO Applicaton #: 20070116847 - Class: 426560000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Food Or Edible Material: Processes, Compositions, And Products, Products Per Se, Or Processes Of Preparing Or Treating Compositions Involving Chemical Reaction By Addition, Combining Diverse Food Material, Or Permanent Additive, Basic Ingredient Is Starch Based Batter, Dough Product, Etc., Flakes, Chips, Filaments, Sheets, Or Pellets The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070116847. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] The present invention relates to snack food chips and, in particular, to a dry mix, a dough, and a processed brown rice product for use in making rice-based snack chips and to methods for making same. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The world of snack chips includes a wide variety of base materials, including, for example, potatoes, corn, taro, sweet potatoes and cheese, to name a few. Prior to the present invention, however, the use of rice as the primary base material (the major component) for a snack chip has eluded the snack food industry. [0003] In order for a snack chip to be commercially successful, it must taste good, look good, feel good when eaten and be capable of large scale production. The look good and feel good features usually translate into the chip having a structure that keeps the chip from crumbling during processing, packaging, transport or use (prior to reaching a mouth). Further, the structure of the chip wants to give it a fresh "crunchability" when eaten. The look good feature translates into the chip having a toasted appearance that is usually associated with crunchiness. [0004] Some of the difficulties in using rice as a base material for a snack chip are that it does not naturally acquire a toasted appearance, it tends to crumble easily and is sticky when cooked and made into a dough, making it unusable with existing machinery commonly used to make chips from other base materials. [0005] By the use of different forms of rice, the present invention overcomes these problems and produces a tasty snack chip that has desirable characteristics and necessary structural integrity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0006] The present invention combines in water at least two different rice materials, together with other ingredients, to make a dough that can be sheeted, cut, parbaked and fried using presently existing equipment. The resulting chips are tasty, look appetizing, have the "crunch factor" that characterizes a good snack chip, and are structurally strong enough to remain whole until eaten. [0007] It is the combination of different forms of rice that give the present invention the ability to make a dough that can be formed into a commercial snack chip using existing equipment commonly used to make a tasty snack chip from other base materials. [0008] One of the forms of rice used in the present invention is bumped rice that has been cooked and then oven-toasted. [0009] Bumped rice is typically a transient state of rice between a parcooked rice grain and crisp rice. Crisp rice is a well known and frequently used product in the manufacture of crisp candy bars, cookies, granola bars and other snacks and confections, in addition to its well known use as a breakfast food. [0010] A typical crisp rice process is an oven-puffing process which begins with whole kernels of rice. The rice kernels are first cooked in a retort for several hours, together with sugar, salt and malt. The cooked kernels are then dried to a moisture content of 25% to 30%, tempered for about 15 hours to equilibrate moisture, and dried again to a moisture content of 18-20%. The dried kernels are then radiantly heated to plasticize the outside layers of the kernel, "bumped" on widely spaced flaking rolls, and tempered for 24 hours. At this point, the rice is in the form of hard, generally disk-shaped kernels not suitable as a constituent in a food product without further processing. For purposes of the present invention, rice at this stage of processing-bumped and tempered rice formed into hard, disk-shaped kernels-is referred to as "bumped rice kernels". In the prior art, the bumped rice kernels are puffed and toasted in a toasting oven for 30-45 seconds, resulting in a highly expanded cereal product with a tender, crisp structure. Rice in this form is commonly referred to as "rice crisp". [0011] In the bumping step, the rice kernels are flattened, but not beyond the point wherein they lose their integrity as a grain per se; the bumped rice will thus assume a thickness dimension generally 50%-75% of the cooked tempered rice dimension just prior to bumping. [0012] In the present invention, bumped rice kernels are used as one of the rice constituents in the dough from which chips of the invention are made. The bumped rice kernels, however, are further processed in a way that makes them suitable as a food constituent, but does not permit them to expand fully into rice crisp, as is done in the prior art. [0013] Bumped rice kernels, as used in the present invention, is a commercially available product (for example, Item #CB04200 from California Cereal Products, Inc., in Oakland, Calif.) used exclusively to make crisp rice. [0014] In the present invention, bumped rice is made a desirable snack chip ingredient by unique processing that transforms the bumped rice kernels from dense, hard-to-chew kernels to crunchy, but not airy, nuggets of nutty rice flavor. Bumped rice kernels processed according to the present invention are referred to herein as "rice nuggets". [0015] In the present invention, bumped rice kernels, rice flour, as well as other ingredients, are mixed with water to form a dough. In forming the dough, the bumped rice kernels are partially hydrated along with the other ingredients. When the dough is formed into sheets by the rollers of a mechanical sheeter, the partially hydrated bumped rice kernels are bumped again. When the sheeted dough is baked to partially dehydrate the dough before frying, the partially hydrated and bumped rice kernels are also partially dehydrated. When the dough is cut into chip-size pieces and fried in oil along with the other constituents of the chip of the present invention, the processed bumped rice kernels do not puff up as they would had they not been further processed as described above. Instead, the bumped rice kernels enlarge only slightly, but enough to make them crisp and crunchy (but without being airy). In this state, the bumped rice kernels have been transformed into what are referred to herein as "rice nuggets". The rice nuggets provide the chip with a distinct flavor (whether made from plain or malted bumped rice kernels), an interesting texture and an attractive, contrasting toasted color (when the bumped rice kernels are made from brown rice). Rice nuggets are significant in making the chip look good, taste good and feel good when eaten. [0016] Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a snack food chip having rice as its base ingredient which tastes good, looks good and feels good when eaten. [0017] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a snack food chip having rice as its base ingredient which can be made on existing machinery. [0018] It is another object of the present invention to use rice nuggets as a significant component of a snack food chip. [0019] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a dry mix including bumped rice kernels and rice flour from which a snack chip can be made. [0020] Still another object of the invention is to provide a dough including bumped rice kernels and rice flour from which a snack chip can be made. [0021] Another object of the invention is to provide a dough including bumped rice kernels and pregelatinized long-grain rice flour from which a snack chip can be made. [0022] An additional object of the invention is to provide rice nuggets. Continue reading... Full patent description for Rice-based snack chip and method of making same Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Rice-based snack chip and method of making same patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Rice-based snack chip and method of making same or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Flour formulations for making gluten-free food products Next Patent Application: Aerated products with reduced creaming Industry Class: Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Rice-based snack chip and method of making same patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 1.59368 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Electronics: Semiconductor , Audio , Illumination , Connectors , Crypto , |
||
