Half products for microwave puffing of expanded food product

Claim 1

A food half product useful for the microwave preparation at home of a puffed food product without a microwave puffing bag, comprising: a quantity of microwave heating expansible pellets, where the pellets are fabricated from a gelatinized, high shear starch dough, said dough including A. about 1% to 50% of rice flour by weight of the dough, B. about 1% to 50% of wheat starch by weight of the dough, C. about 1% to 5% of a fatty triglyceride by weight, D. about 8% to 15% of the dough of moisture by weight, E. about 1% to 5% of the dough of salt by weight, wherein the pellet ranges in weight from about 0.7 to 1.2g, wherein the pellets are least partially case hardened, wherein the pellets are expansible upon microwave heating at a power density of about 0.25 W/cc 3 to at least 3 times its initial volume, and wherein the pellets are free flowing having a clumping resistant topical dried sugar coating in a weight ratio of pellet to sugar coating ranging form about 15 to 30:1.

Claim 11

A method for preparing a half product useful for the microwave at-home preparation of a puffed food product, comprising the steps of: A. forming a preliminary starch-containing mixture, comprising rice flour, wheat starch, and/or flour, oil, salt and added water adequate to bring the total moisture content of the mixture from about 12% to about 355 by weight; B. gelatinizing the starch content of the mixture to form a cooled dough by subjecting the mixture to high shear agitation while heating to prepare a highly worked dough; C. extruding the resulting cooked dough through a shaped die and cutting to provide formed dough pieces: D. drying the formed dough pieces to form dried pieces having a moisture content of from about 9.5% to about 17% by weight under conditions which result in at least some case hardening; and E. sugar coating the half products to provide a sugar coated half product having a weight ratio of dried sugar coating to half product ranging from about 0.02 to 0.08:1 to form free flowing finished half product pieces.

Claim 12

A method for preparing a half product useful for the microwave at-home preparation of a puffed food product, comprising the steps of: A. forming a preliminary starch-containing mixture, comprising rice flour, wheat starch, and/or flour, oil, salt and added water adequate to bring the total moisture content of the mixture from about 12% to about 355 by weight; B. gelatinizing the starch content of the mixture to form a cooled dough by subjecting the mixture to high shear agitation while heating to prepare a highly worked dough; C. extruding the resulting cooked dough through a shaped die and cutting to provide formed dough pieces: D. drying the formed dough pieces to form dried pieces having a moisture content of from about 9.5% to about 17% by weight under conditions which result in at least some case hardening; and E. sugar coating the half products to provide a sugar coated half product having a weight ratio of dried sugar coating to half product ranging from about 0.02 to 0.08:1 to form free flowing finished half product pieces.

Claim 26

A method for the at-home microwave heating preparation of preparing a puffed snack, comprising the steps of: A. providing a quantity of microwave puffable half product pieces, said pieces comprising: a gelatinized starch dough, said dough including 1) about 1% to 50% of rice flour by weight of the dough, 2) about 1% to 50% of wheat starch by weight of the dough, 3) about 1% to 50% of whole grain wheat starch by weight of the dough, 4) about 2% to 4% of an oil by weight, 5) about 8% to 15% moisture by weight of the dough, 6) about 1% to 5% salt by weight of the dough, wherein the half products range in weight from about 0.5 to 3.5g, wherein the half products are at least partially case hardened, wherein the half products have an initial volume, and where the half products are free flowing having a clumping resistant topical dried sugar coating in a weight ratio of half product to sugar coating ranging from about 15 to 30:1, and B. microwave heating the quantity of half products to expand the pieces to form puffed snack pieces having a volume at least three times their initial volume.

Claim 27

A method for the at-home microwave heating preparation of preparing a puffed snack, comprising the steps of: A. providing a quantity of microwave puffable half product pieces, said pieces comprising: a gelatinized starch dough, said dough including 1) about 1% to 50% of rice flour by weight of the dough, 2) about 1% to 50% of wheat starch by weight of the dough, 3) about 1% to 50% of whole grain wheat starch by weight of the dough, 4) about 2% to 4% of an oil by weight, 5) about 8% to 15% moisture by weight of the dough, 6) about 1% to 5% salt by weight of the dough, wherein the half products range in weight from about 0.5 to 3.5g, wherein the half products are at least partially case hardened, wherein the half products have an initial volume, and where the half products are free flowing having a clumping resistant topical dried sugar coating in a weight ratio of half product to sugar coating ranging from about 15 to 30:1, and B. microwave heating the quantity of half products to expand the pieces to form puffed snack pieces having a volume at least three times their initial volume.