Legume Cereal Flake Structural Integrity via Cold Pellet Forming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods fail to effectively form ready-to-eat cereal flakes with significant amounts of legumes that maintain structural integrity, texture, size, shape, and appearance similar to conventional grain-based flakes, as legumes do not contribute to physical properties like elasticity and cohesiveness.
Innovation Solution
A method involving combining grains and protein isolate, cooking with gum acacia, milling, and cold forming with legumes to create non-expanded pellets, which are then flaked and toasted to achieve desired moisture and structural characteristics, resulting in cereal flakes with 7-9 grams of protein and 6-8 grams of fiber per serving.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If legumes are used as a significant ingredient in ready-to-eat cereal flakes, then nutritional benefits (protein and fiber content) are improved, but structural integrity and physical properties (elasticity and cohesiveness) deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses grain-based dough as an intermediary matrix that provides the necessary structural integrity and physical properties, while legumes are incorporated as included elements within this matrix. The grain-based dough acts as a binding medium that holds the legumes together, allowing the cereal flakes to maintain their shape and structural strength while containing significant amounts of legumes (10-50% by weight).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material system combining grain-based dough (providing structural framework) with legumes (providing nutritional benefits). This composite approach allows the final product to exhibit both the structural properties of grain-based cereals and the nutritional advantages of legume-containing products, resolving the contradiction between nutrition and structure.
2Reliability
If legumes are incorporated into cereal flakes, then health benefits and nutritional quality are improved, but texture and appearance similar to conventional cereal flakes deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by distributing legumes throughout the grain-based dough matrix rather than having them dominate the entire structure. The grain-based dough maintains the conventional cereal flake appearance and texture in the regions where it forms the continuous phase, while legumes are locally distributed to provide nutritional benefits without compromising overall texture and appearance.
3Productivity
If conventional extrusion methods are used for legume-containing products, then production efficiency is maintained, but the ability to form flakes with desirable structural properties deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by first preparing a grain-based dough with optimized protein content and physical properties before incorporating the legumes. This pre-formed dough matrix is then used as the basis for flake formation, ensuring that the structural framework is established before the legumes are added. This sequence allows conventional extrusion and flaking equipment to be used effectively while achieving the desired flake structure with legume incorporation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method produces cereal flakes with desirable taste and structural integrity, providing nutritional benefits of legumes while matching the texture and appearance of conventional cereal flakes, maintaining crunchiness in milk for over two minutes and having a bowl life similar to conventional flakes.
Implementation Method 1
gum acacia as a processing aid... maintaining the food mass together as a coherent structure
Implementation Method 2
cooking the food mass in the cooker at a pressure of 137895.15 to 172368.93 Pascals (20 to 25 pounds per square inch)
Implementation Method 3
cold forming said combined mass into non-expanded pellets while maintaining said combined mass at a temperature of 31.78 °C (100°F) or less
Implementation Method 4
drying the pellets to a moisture content of from 14 to 21 weight percent... drying and toasting the flakes to a final moisture content of from 1 to 5 weight percent
Implementation Method 5
flaking them at a temperature of from 43.33°C to 65.56°C (110 to 150°F)
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Ready-to-eat cereal flakes include 10 to 50 weight percent (wt%) legumes, such as black beans, and have a can weight of 19 to 22 ounces per 231 cubic inches and structural integrity similar to conventional ready-to-eat cereal flakes. The cereal flakes also include 6 to 13 wt% protein isolate, processing aid in an amount of 3 to 9 wt% and 18 to 66 wt% grains. The cereal flakes provide at least 7 grams of protein and at least 6 grams of fiber per 52 gram serving. In one process, the cereal flakes are formed by cooking and extruding a combined mass of the legumes, protein isolate, processing aid and grains without expansion of the combined mass. The extruded mass is processed in a cold pellet former and cut into a plurality of non-expanded pellets which are dried to a moisture content of 14 to 24 wt%. The pellets are then flaked at a temperature of 1 10 to 150° F and dried to a final moisture of 1 to 5 wt%.