FoodVERSATILE PROCESSES
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Precise and Efficient Processing
Extruder features that optimize process stability and enhance versatility
Each component engineered specific for your application
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Abundant Product Possibilities
Puffs, stars, moons, o’s, honey combs, rice crisps & other cereals
Corn curls, balls, tubes, rings & other snacks – and a full range of textured vegetable protein products
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More Benefits Delivered
Improve output-to-energy ratios and simplify maintenance
Increase the life of critical screw and barrel components
Textured Vegetable Proteins
- Target objectives: texture, mouthfeel and appearance
- Textured vegetable proteins: Soy, wheat gluten base, pea, lupin, lentil and legume
- Recipe add-ins: Salt, coloring, starches, oils and flavors
High Moisture Meat Analogs
High Moisture Meat Analogs (HMMA) are plant-based products designed to mimic whole muscle meat. They can be created to:
- Exhibit similar characteristics for moisture, protein and fat contents
- Feature a densely layered, somewhat fibrous structure
- Contain between 50% and 80% moisture after extrusion, corresponding to their whole meat counterparts
Breading Products
Extrusion for Breading Processes
- Reduce equipment, labor and energy costs and space requirements
- Advantages over conventional baking for gluten-free breading
- Relies on protein development and the expansion of starch fraction in the cereal grain instead of fermentation
Traditional Breading Products
- Can be produced by baking loaves of bread with specific cell structures and textures designed for breadcrumb applications
- Predust baking process produces dense breading products but yield fine particle size or granulation when ground
Cracker Meal
- Similar to predust but often includes a small amount of leavening agent
- Creates slightly porous product during baking
- Final texture is not as hard as predust can be used for meat product coatings
Expanded Crumbs
- Includes a fermentation step along with proofing and baking
- Allows a more open, porous cellular structure
- Produces a tender breading that can be used on a variety of food products
- Stuffing and croutons can use the same process
Rusk Breading
- Used as a binder instead of a coating
- Can be mixed in with food such as cutlets, patties or ground meat to bind meat and flavorings when fried
Panko
- Also referred to as Japanese crumb, oriental or Pandora based on geographic region
- Flaky bread crumb used as a crunchy coating for fried foods
- Made from bread baked by passing an electric current through the dough
Cereals
Ready-To-Eat Breakfast Cereals
Extrusion cooking of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals offers processing advantages over conventional methods:
- Quickly and easily change the extruder for countless shapes and textures
- Add components to the system to create numerous flaked products
- Add the ability to coat the product with various flavors and dry and liquid additives
- Use raw material specifications to formulate products with higher nutritional value and greater textural variety
Direct Expanded Breakfast Cereals
Using a short length/high-speed process, direct expanded breakfast cereals can be created with a series of options.
- Water and flavoring slurries can be added to raw materials
- Short periods at high temperatures (over 200°C) avoids burning or destruction of flavor
- Pressure, temperature and moisture content combine to create steam that expands the product
- Rapid evaporative cooling results in the product structure
- Barrel length can be adjusted to deal with special recipes, such as those containing more than 50% oat flour
Flaked Breakfast Cereals
A similar process is employed for flaked breakfast cereals.
- Less energy is added to the product via friction due to higher moisture content and lower viscosity of the product
- Maximum temperature of 100°C
- Product is held in a low shear environment for up to 2 minutes
- Products is discharged with little or no expansion, forming a bead that can be cooled and flaked
Snacks
Produce a full range of snacks in an array of controlled shapes, sizes, colors and textures from a wide variety of ingredients.
Ingredient Flexibility
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Rice and corn flours, grits and meals
- Ancient grains such as quinoa and sorghum
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Dried fruit powders
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Vegetables such as peas and pumpkin
Ancillary Products Coating & Drying
A post-extrusion coating and drying solution for syrup application uniformly coats and dries flaked and shaped cereals and snacks with slurry coating and flavoring materials.
- Sugar, cocoa, non-fat dry milk, corn syrup, honey and molasses
- Nut, fruit or granola bits also may be added during coating
Dryers & Ovens
Automatic Control Systems
Coating Systems
Seminar Pricing
Early Bird rate (until May 31) $1,800
Standard rate (after June 1) $2,200
Closes August 1, 2025
This seminar is limited to 30 participants.
Safety Shoes will be required to be on Wenger Technical Center floor for Hands On portion of the Training.
Confirmation and payment information will follow within 24hrs once your registration is received.
Request Info
to discuss the feasibility, design and implementation for your project
Research & Product Development
The Wenger Technical Center is an agrifood laboratory equipped with the latest in research and production scale extrusion and drying equipment. Let us assist you with:
- Product development
- Laboratory analysis
- Process evaluation
Project Feasibility, Design & Implementation
Count on our knowledge base and breadth of experience that is unsurpassed in extrusion processing and facilities construction.