← Back to Patent Explorer
US4620981A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Process for preparing a highly expanded oat cereal product

Assignee: Quaker Oats Co
•
Filing: 1984-06-19
•
Granted: 1986-11-04
•
Expires: 2004-06-19
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract A method is disclosed for making a highly expanded, porous oat cereal product having a density of below about 12 ounces per 121.5 cubic inches comprising the steps of: a. classifying an oat flour to separate out a low β-glucan oat flour with a β-glucan content of less than about 3.3%, b. cooking a mix comprising the low β-glucan oat flour wherein the low β-glucan oat flour comprises at least about 55% of cereal flour in the mix, c. expanding and shaping the cooked mix into a shaped cereal product, d. heat setting the shaped cereal product, and e. drying the heat seat cereal product to a moisture content at which it is structurally stable.

Inventors

  • 👤 Warren A. Gordon
  • 👤 Walter L. Hempenius
  • 👤 James R. Kirkwood

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-04 19:13
CPC Classifications
A; A23; A23L; A23L7/00; A23L7/10; A23L7/161; A23L7/165; A23L7/17; A23L7/117

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim 168 words
A method of making a highly expanded, porous oat cereal product comprising the steps of: a. classifying an oat flour by separating particles of the flour into at least two classes of differing particle size to separate out a particle size having a low beta-glucan oat flour with a beta-glucan content of less than about 3.3%; b. cooking a cereal flour mix comprising the low beta-glucan oat flour in a cooker-extruder wherein the low beta-glucan oat flour comprises at least about 55% of cereal flour in the mix and the mix has a moisture content of about 25% to 40%; c. expanding and shaping the cooked mix into a shaped cereal product by expressing the mix from the cooker-extruder under expanding conditions; d. immediately heat setting the expanded, shaped cereal product; and e. drying the heat set cereal product to a moisture content at which is is structurally stable to obtain a porous oat cereal product having a density or below about 12 ounces per 121.5 cubic inches.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 168 words
A method of making a highly expanded, porous oat cereal product comprising the steps of: a. classifying an oat flour by separating particles of the flour into at least two classes of differing particle size to separate out a particle size having a low beta-glucan oat flour with a beta-glucan content of less than about 3.3%; b. cooking a cereal flour mix comprising the low beta-glucan oat flour in a cooker-extruder wherein the low beta-glucan oat flour comprises at least about 55% of cereal flour in the mix and the mix has a moisture content of about 25% to 40%; c. expanding and shaping the cooked mix into a shaped cereal product by expressing the mix from the cooker-extruder under expanding conditions; d. immediately heat setting the expanded, shaped cereal product; and e. drying the heat set cereal product to a moisture content at which is is structurally stable to obtain a porous oat cereal product having a density or below about 12 ounces per 121.5 cubic inches.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the low β-glucan oat flour has a β-glucan content of less than about 2.2%.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 23 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the mix low β-glucan oat flour comprises at least about 80% of cereal flour in the mix.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the mix is cooked and expanded at a temperature in the range of about 290° F. to 340° F.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 17 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the shaped cereal product is heat-set in a hot air stream.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the shaped cereal product is heat-set at a temperature above about 430° F.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the dried cereal product has a moisture content of less than about 5%.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US2554873A Cited
US2552290A Cited
US2552291A Cited
US2653095A Cited
US3054677A Cited
US3246990A Cited
US3579352A Cited
US4211801A Cited
US4028468A Cited
US4208259A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1989-11-03 1990-05-05 1990-11-04 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1993-11-03 1994-05-05 1994-11-04 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1997-11-03 1998-05-05 1998-11-04 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag