Process for making tortilla chips with controlled surface bubbling

• US 6,572,910 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2001
• Issued: 06/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kellogg North America (Kellogg Company)
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: Hsieh, Yen-Ping Chin, Jones, Charles Edward, Fiteny, Mark Joseph, Lanner, David Arthur, Groves, Russell William, Zimmerman, Stephen Paul, Teras, Lee Michael, Herring, John Russell
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN LIEN, THUY
• Application Number:
  US09/866,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20020022076A1
• Time in Patent Office: 740 Days
• Field of Search: 426/808, 426/96, 426/438, 426/439, 426/496, 426/549, 426/502, 426/560
• US Class Current: 426/438
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 7/117 Flakes or other shapes of ready-to-eat type; Semi-finished or partly-finished products therefor cereal granules or flakes to be cooked and eaten hot A23L7/143; cereal germ products A23L7/152
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 7/13 Snacks or the like obtained by oil frying of a formed cereal dough
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 426/808 Starch base snack product

Abstract

Uniformly shaped snack chips, preferably tortilla-type chips, having raised surface features and a method for preparing the same. The chips can be made from a dough composition comprising pre-cooked starch-based material and pregelatinized starch. Preferably, the snack chips have raised surface features comprising from about 12% to about 40% large surface features; from about 20% to about 40% medium surface features; and from about 25% to about 60% small surface features. In one embodiment, the average thickness of the snack chip is from about 1 mm to about 3 mm; the average thickness of raised surface features is from about 2.3 mm to about 3.2 mm; the maximum thickness of the chip is less than about 5.5 mm; and the coefficient of variation of the chip thickness is greater than about 15%.

Claims

1. A process for making a snack chip having raised surface features, wherein said process comprises the steps of:

A. providing a dough comprising;

(1) from about 50% to about 80% of an ingredient blend comprising;

i. at least about 50% of a precooked starch-based material, wherein said precooked starch-based material has;

a. a pasting temperature of from about 140°

F. to about 209°

F.;

b. a peak viscosity of from about 200 centipoise to about 1500 centipoise;

c. a final viscosity of from about 500 centipoise to about 2200 centipoise;

d. a water absorption index of from about 2 to about 4; and

e. a particle size distribution such that the amount of precooked starch-based material by weight that remains on a #16 U.S. sieve is from about 0% to about 15%;

the amount that remains on a #25 U.S. sieve is from about 5% to about 30%;

the amount that remains on a #40 U.S. sieve is from about 5% to about 30%;

the amount that remains on a #100 U.S. sieve is from about 20% to about 60%;

the amount that remains on a #200 U.S. sieve is from about 3% to about 25%; and

the amount that passes through a #200 U.S. sieve is from about 0% to about 20%;

ii. at least about 0.5% pre-gelatinized starch, wherein said pre-gelatinized starch is at least about 50% pre-gelatinized, and wherein said pre-gelatinized starch has;

a. a peak viscosity of from about 20 centipoise to about 5000 centipoise;

b. a final viscosity of from about 10 centipoise to about 4000 centipoise; and

c. a water absorption index of from about 4 to about 20; and

(2) from about 30% to about 60% total water;

wherein said dough has a tensile strength of from about 75 grams-force to about 400 grams-force, an extensibility of greater than about 3 mm, a viscosity at a shear rate of from about 5 to about 10 sec<sup>−

1</sup> of from about 5,000 pascal-sec to about 50,000 pascal-sec, a viscosity at a shear rate of about 100 sec<sup>−

1</sup> of from about 3,000 pascal-sec to about 20,000 pascal-sec, and a viscosity at a shear rate of about 1000 sec<sup>−

1</sup> of from about 200 pascal-sec to about 7,000 pascal-sec;

B. forming a dough sheet from said dough;

C. forming a snack piece from said dough sheet;

D. cooking said snack piece to form a snack chip having raised surface features, wherein;

(1) large surface features comprise from about 12% to about 40% of the total surface features;

(2) medium surface features comprise from about 20% to about 40% of the total surface features; and

(3) small surface features comprise from about 25% to about 60% of the total surface features.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein said dough sheet has a dough sheet temperature of less than about 120°

F.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein said dough sheet temperature is from about 50°

F. to about 120°

F.

4. The process of claim 3, wherein said dough sheet temperature is from about 75°

F. to about 120°

F.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein said step of forming a dough sheet comprises forming a dough sheet using a back sheeting roll having a temperature of from about 34°

F. to about 80°

F. and a front sheeting roll having a temperature of from about 85°

F. to about 120°

F.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein said cooking step comprises frying said snack piece in a fat composition.

7. The process of claim 6, wherein said cooking step comprises frying said snack piece in a fat composition but not baking said snack piece.

8. The process of claim 7, wherein the atmosphere surrounding the snack piece before said snack piece enters the fat composition is less than about 1000 grains of moisture per meter³ of head space.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein the atmosphere surrounding the snack piece before said snack piece enters the fat composition is from about 100 to about 1000 grains of moisture per meter³ of head space.

10. The process of claim 7, wherein oil is applied to the surface of the snack piece prior to the immersion of said snack piece into the fat composition.

11. The process of claim 10, wherein said oil is applied at a rate of from about 0.1 to about 15 pounds of oil per pound of snack piece dough.

12. The process of claim 1, wherein said step of forming a dough sheet comprises extrusion through a die.

13. The process of claim 1, wherein said step of forming a dough sheet comprises rotary molding.

14. The process of claim 1, wherein said step of forming a dough sheet comprises sheeting and gauging.

15. The process of claim 7, wherein said step of forming a dough sheet comprises extrusion through a die.

16. The process of claim 7, wherein said step of forming a dough sheet comprises rotary molding.

17. The process of claim 7, wherein said step of forming a dough sheet comprises sheeting and gauging.

18. The process of claim 1, wherein said precooked starch-based material comprises from about 40% to about 95% corn masa flour.

19. The process of claim 7, wherein said precooked starch-based material comprises from about 40% to about 95% corn masa flour.