Composition(s) for providing glaze on microwave popcorn, products, and methods

Abstract

Techniques for preparation of a glazed microwave popcorn product are disclosed. In one embodiment, a glazed microwave popcorn product includes a first package comprising unpopped popcorn for popping in a microwave oven, an oil/fat-based slurry, and a second addition package comprising a glazing blend for adding to the popcorn after popping are described. In another embodiment, a one-step process comprises a charge of microwavable popcorn with a particulate glazing blend included with a charge of unpopped popcorn and a charge of oil/fat-based slurry.

1 . A microwave popcorn product for providing a glazed microwave popcorn, comprising: 
 a first package including unpopped popcorn kernels and a slurry, the first package for heating in a microwave oven for producing popped popcorn flakes, and    a second package including a glazing blend,    wherein the glazing blend is for distributing on the popped popcorn flakes for providing the glazed microwaveable popcorn.    
   
   
       2 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 1 , wherein the glazing blend comprises a range of about 6% to about 60% of the edible glazed microwave popcorn based on weight of the unpopped kernels in the microwave popcorn package.  
   
   
       3 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 1 , wherein the glazing blend comprises a material having a glass transition temperature of at least about 68° C. and no more than about 83° C.  
   
   
       4 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 1 , wherein the first microwave popcorn package is an expandable bag.  
   
   
       5 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 1 , wherein the first microwave popcorn package and the second addition package are stored in a storage over-wrap.  
   
   
       6 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 1 , wherein the glazing blend is formed by spray drying an aqueous dispersion including at least one of a sugar, a hydrolyzed starch, a sucralose, a maltodextrin, a modified starch, and an emulsifier.  
   
   
       7 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 1 , wherein the second package includes colored starch pieces.  
   
   
       8 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 1 , wherein the first package further comprises unpopped popcorn kernels, and a slurry in an amount of 90-130%, by weight based on the weight of popcorn kernels.  
   
   
       9 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 8 , wherein the first, package includes at least one of a sweetening effective amount of sucralose and an edible salt in an amount no greater than 2%, by weight based on the weight of unpopped popcorn kernels.  
   
   
       10 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 8 , wherein the slurry further comprises at least one of an oil, a fat, a salt, a coloring, and a flavoring.  
   
   
       11 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 1 , wherein the slurry further comprises: 
 an edible oil, in an amount ranging between about 85% (wt.) and about 97% (wt.) of the slurry,    a sweetener, in an amount ranging between about 0.004% (wt.) and about 0.3% (wt.) of the slurry,    a flavoring, in an amount ranging between about 0.1% (wt.) and about 2.0% (wt.) of the slurry,    a color, in an amount ranging between about 0.1% (wt.) and about 2.0% (wt.) of the slurry, and    a salt, in an amount ranging less than about 2.0% (wt.) of the slurry.    
   
   
       12 . A microwave popcorn product for providing a glazed microwave popcorn, comprising: 
 a charge of unpopped microwave popcorn kernels, in an amount ranging from about 50% to about 80% by weight of a total microwave popcorn product,    an edible oil in an amount ranging from about 5% to about 30%, by weight of the total microwave popcorn product,    a charge of sweetener,    a glazing blend for providing a popcorn glaze, and    a microwaveable package suitable for containing the charge of unpopped microwave popcorn kernels, the slurry, the charge of sweetener, and the glazing blend,    wherein the microwaveable package is for placing in a microwave oven, for popping the unpopped microwave popcorn kernels, and the glazing blend is for dispersing on the popped popcorn.    
   
   
       13 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 12 , wherein the glazing blend further comprises a spray dried aqueous dispersion including at least one of a sugar, a hydrolyzed starch, a sucrose, a maltodextrin, a modified starch, and an emulsifier.  
   
   
       14 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 12 , further comprising an edible salt in an amount of no greater than 0.25% by weight based on weight of the total microwave popcorn product.  
   
   
       15 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 12 , wherein the glazing blend is in a particulate form and at least 80% by weight of the particles have a mean particle size between about 50 and 300 microns.  
   
   
       16 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 12 , wherein the sweetener is sucralose.  
   
   
       17 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 12 , wherein the microwave bag is expandable.  
   
   
       18 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 12 , further including colored starch pieces.  
   
   
       19 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 12 , further including a flavoring, wherein the flavoring is in an amount ranging from about 0.5% (wt.) to about 2% (wt.) of the total package.  
   
   
       20 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 12 , further including a coloring, wherein the coloring is in an amount ranging from about 0.5% (wt.) to about 2.0% (wt.) of the total package.  
   
   
       21 . A process for providing a glazed microwave popcorn product, comprising: 
 forming popped popcorn by popping popcorn kernels included in a microwave popcorn package, in a microwave heating step, and distributing a glazing blend over the popped popcorn, the glazing blend disposed in a second package,    wherein the glazing blend is heated in the second package containing the glazing blend in a second microwave heating step, and the glazing blend is poured on the popped popcorn.    
   
   
       22 . The process in  claim 21 , wherein the glazing blend is heated in a second microwave step, comprising exposure to microwave energy for about 10 to 45 seconds.  
   
   
       23 . The process in  claim 21 , wherein after the step of forming popped popcorn and before the step of distributing the glazing blend, the popped popcorn is removed from the microwave popcorn package and placed in a bowl for subsequent heating and mixing of the popped popcorn and glazing blend.  
   
   
       24 . The process in  claim 21 , wherein the glazing blend further comprises colored starch pieces.  
   
   
       25 . A process for providing a glazed microwave popcorn product, comprising: 
 placing a charge of unpopped popcorn kernels in a microwaveable package,    placing a charge of oil/fat based slurry in the microwaveable package,    placing a charge of a particulate glazing blend in the microwaveable package, and    forming popped popcorn by popping the unpopped popcorn kernels, on which a glaze coating is distributed by the popping action and heating of the particulate glaze, creating a glazed microwave popcorn product in the microwave popcorn package.    
   
   
       26 . The process in  claim 25 , wherein the glazing blend further comprises a particulate glazing blend included with the popcorn kernels, and at least 80% by weight of the particles in the particulate glazing blend are within the mean particle size ranging from about 50 to about 300 microns.  
   
   
       27 . The process in  claim 25 , wherein the charge of particulate glazing comprises a spray dried aqueous dispersion including at least one of a sugar, a hydrolyzed starch, a sucrose, a maltodextrin, a modified starch, and an emulsifier.  
   
   
       28 . The process in  claim 25 , wherein the charge of particulate glazing further comprises colored starch pieces.  
   
   
       29 . A microwave popcorn product for providing a glazed microwave popcorn, comprising: 
 a charge of unpopped microwave popcorn kernels, in an amount ranging from about 50% to about 80% by weight of the microwave popcorn product,    an edible oil in an amount ranging from about 5% to about 30%, by weight of the microwave popcorn product,    a charge of sweetener, in an amount ranging from about 0.05% to about 0.2%, by weight of the microwave popcorn product,    at least one of a flavorant and a color, in an amount ranging from about 0.5% to about 3%, by weight of the microwave popcorn product,    a glazing blend for providing a popcorn glaze, in an amount ranging from about 7% to about 20% of the microwave popcorn product, and    a microwaveable package suitable for containing the charge of unpopped microwave popcorn kernels, the slurry, the charge of sweetener, and the glazing blend,    wherein the microwaveable package is for placing in a microwave oven, for popping the unpopped microwave popcorn kernels, and the glazing blend is for dispersing on the popped popcorn.    
   
   
       30 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 29 , further comprising an emulsifier, in an amount ranging from about 0.25% to about 2%, by weight of the total microwave popcorn product.  
   
   
       31 . The microwave popcorn product in  claim 30 , wherein the emulsifier is lecithin.