Method for preparing a mixture of finely crystallized fat and a powder

Claim 1

A method for preparing a mixture of a finely crystallized fat and a powder selected from the group consisting of at least one of skimmed milk powder, whey powder, starch, dextrose, maltose, saccharose, soya flour, fish solubles, protein, and caseinates comprising: a. cooling the fat from a predominantly molten condition to a temperature below its gel point to partially crystallize the fat into a plastic mass; b. shaping the partially crystallized fat by extrusion through an extrusion orifice into ribbons into a space into which the powder is supplied from above and in which knives are rotating on a vertical shaft; c. dividing the ribbons into small fat particles by cutting with said rotating knives immediately after the ribbons emerge from the extrusion orifice; and d. simultaneously with said dividing of the ribbons, uniformly mixing the divided emerging ribbons of fat with the powder in said space in a weight ratio between 2:4 and 1:8 without further cooling of the fat and without entirely coating the fat particles with the powder to form a mixture which can be readily dispersed in an aqueous fluid.

Claim 2

A method for preparing a mixture of a finely crystallized fat and a powder selected from the group consisting of at least one of skimmed milk powder, whey powder, starch, dextrose, maltose, saccharose, soya flour, fish solubles, protein, and caseinates comprising: a. cooling the fat from a predominantly molten condition to a temperature below its gel point to partially crystallize the fat into a plastic mass; b. shaping the partially crystallized fat by extrusion through an extrusion orifice into ribbons into a space into which the powder is supplied from above and in which knives are rotating on a vertical shaft; c. dividing the ribbons into small fat particles by cutting with said rotating knives immediately after the ribbons emerge from the extrusion orifice; and d. simultaneously with said dividing of the ribbons, uniformly mixing the divided emerging ribbons of fat with the powder in said space in a weight ratio between 2:4 and 1:8 without further cooling of the fat and without entirely coating the fat particles with the powder to form a mixture which can be readily dispersed in an aqueous fluid.

Claim 9

A method for preparing a mixture of a finely crystallized fat and a powder selected from the group of food-materials consisting of at least one of skimmed milk powder, whey powder, starch, dextrose, maltose, saccharose, soya flour, fish solubles, protein, and caseinates, said food powder being finely divided in such a way as required for forming a substantially instant aqueous dispersion, comprising: a. cooling the fat from a predominantly molten condition to a temperature below its gel point to partially crystallize the fat into a plastic mass; b. shaping the partially crystallized fat by extrusion through an extrusion orifice into ribbons into a space into which the powder is supplied from above in a weight ratio between 2:4 and 1:8 between fat and powder and in which knives are rotating on a vertical shaft; c. dividing the extruded ribbons into small fat particles having substantially the same range of dimensions as the powder used, by the action of said rotating knives in the presence of the powder falling through said space; thereby at least partly covering the fat particles with the powder; and d. simultaneously with said dividing of the ribbons and said covering of the divided fat particles, uniformly mixing the fallen, divided, and at least partly covered fat particles with the falling powder without further cooling the fat, into a freeflowing powdery mixture which can be readily dispersed in an aqueous fluid.

Claim 10

A method for preparing a mixture of a finely crystallized fat and a powder selected from the group of food-materials consisting of at least one of skimmed milk powder, whey powder, starch, dextrose, maltose, saccharose, soya flour, fish solubles, protein, and caseinates, said food powder being finely divided in such a way as required for forming a substantially instant aqueous dispersion, comprising: a. cooling the fat from a predominantly molten condition to a temperature below its gel point to partially crystallize the fat into a plastic mass; b. shaping the partially crystallized fat by extrusion through an extrusion orifice into ribbons into a space into which the powder is supplied from above in a weight ratio between 2:4 and 1:8 between fat and powder and in which knives are rotating on a vertical shaft; c. dividing the extruded ribbons into small fat particles having substantially the same range of dimensions as the powder used, by the action of said rotating knives in the presence of the powder falling through said space; thereby at least partly covering the fat particles with the powder; and d. simultaneously with said dividing of the ribbons and said covering of the divided fat particles, uniformly mixing the fallen, divided, and at least partly covered fat particles with the falling powder without further cooling the fat, into a freeflowing powdery mixture which can be readily dispersed in an aqueous fluid.