Extruded, highly cooked, non-sticky starch products

Abstract

Improved extruded starch-bearing products (e.g., starches, starch-bearing legumes, starch-bearing grains and formulations containing any of the foregoing) are provided having relatively high cook values and low cold water viscosities. The products are prepared by initial preconditioning to partially cook the starting material(s), followed by low shear extrusion cooking, with a total STE/SME ratio of at least about 4.

1 . An extruded product including therein a starch-bearing material, said product produced by extrusion cooking said material with specific thermal energy and specific mechanical energy inputs, the ratio of specific thermal energy to specific mechanical energy being at least about 4, said product having a cold water viscosity of up to about 600 cP and a cook value of at least about 55%. 
     
     
         2 . The product of  claim 1 , said material selected from the group consisting of starch, starch-bearing legumes, starch-bearing grains, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The product of  claim 2 , said starch selected from the group consisting of pure, substantially pure, modified, derivitized, and/or resistant starches. 
     
     
         4 . The product of  claim 3 , said starches selected from the group consisting of rice, wheat, corn, tapioca, potato, arrowroot, arracacha, buckwheat, barley, oat, millet, rye, banana, breadfruit, canna, colacasia, katakuri, kudzu, malanga, oca, polynesian arrowroot, sago, sorghum, sweet potato, taro, pea, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The product of  claim 2 , said starch-bearing legume selected from the group consisting of asparagus bean or snake bean, asparagus pea, baby lima bean, black bean, black turtle bean, Boston bean, Boston navy bean, broad bean, cannellini bean, chickpeas, chili bean, coco bean, cranberry bean, Egyptian bean, Egyptian white broad bean, English bean, fava bean, fava-coceira, field pea, French green beans, frijo bola roja, frijole negro, great Northern bean, green beans, green and yellow peas, kidney beans, lima bean, Madagascar bean, Mexican black bean, Mexican red bean, molasses face bean, mung bean, mung pea, mungo bean, navy bean, pea bean, Peruvian bean, pinto bean, red bean, red eye bean, red kidney bean, rice bean, runner bean, scarlet runner bean, small red bean, small white bean, soy bean or soybean, wax bean, white kidney bean, and white pea bean. 
     
     
         6 . The product of  claim 1 , said product having a cold water viscosity of up to about 350 cP and a cook value of about 80-95%. 
     
     
         7 . The product of  claim 1 , said starch-bearing material being treated by moisturizing and heating the material in a preconditioner to achieve a cook value of from about 15-60%, prior to said extrusion cooking. 
     
     
         8 . The product of  claim 1 , said material being a part of a formulation. 
     
     
         9 . The product of  claim 8 , said formulation being a pet food. 
     
     
         10 . The product of  claim 1 , said product as extruded being essentially free of synthetic surfactant or emulsifying agent.