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
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.