Patent ID: 8980353
Filing Date: 2015-03-17
Classification: A23B,A23L,A23V

Abstract:
1. A method of making a snack food product comprising, (a) providing a plurality of cut or shaped food pieces comprising a fruit or a vegetable; (b) exposing the food pieces to a solution comprising about 0.1-5 wt % of one or more starch-reducing enzymes; (c) thereafter blanching the food pieces for a time sufficient to inactivate the enzymes, wherein the food pieces have an initial moisture level after the blanching step; and (d) reducing the initial moisture level of the food pieces by cooking the food pieces in bulk in at least one oven or drier set at a first temperature of about 275-375° F. for a first time period of about 0.5-25 min. to reduce the initial moisture level to an intermediate moisture level; e) cooking a bulk quantity of the intermediate moisture food pieces in the one or more driers or ovens set at a second temperature of about 225-300° F. for a second time period of about 4-12 minutes, wherein the second temperature is lower than the first temperature, wherein steps (d) and (e) are conducted without frying the pieces in oil, to yield a snack food product having a moisture level of about 2-5 wt-%; and f) optionally adding a predetermined amount of digestible and/or synthetic oil or fat to the food pieces and/or to the food product, wherein the snack food product exhibits one or more characteristics of a snack food product produced by frying a food piece in oil wherein the characteristics are selected from the group consisting of texture, flavor, crispness, crunchiness, color and appearance, to yield a snack food product containing up to about 35 wt-% fat.