Abstract:
A method for creating bite-sized or segmented pieces of a cold formed bar such as a granola bar. The invention is an improved process for manipulating and shaping granola without having the granola lose its characteristic texture. In one aspect, the invention adds a rotary cutter to a conventional slabbing operation. In one aspect, the invention uses a rotary molder to force granola into female molds where it can be shaped as desired.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1.Technical Field  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to the composition and process of preparing granola bars and more particularly to a method of preparing segmented granola bars.  
         [0003]     2.Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     Granola is a well-known product in the food industry. Granola typically comprises of cereal grains, crisp rice, binder syrup and optionally inclusions, a term in the art for pieces of fruit, nuts, or chocolate. Binder syrup is made of an aqueous solution of simple sugars such as corn syrup, glucose, or fructose.  
         [0005]     U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,488, issued to Cook, on May 29, 1984, teaches the manufacture of chewy granola and is hereby incorporated by reference. Chewy granola is produced from the ordinary ingredients of granola with the addition of polyhydric alcohols to the binder syrup. Gylcerin and sorbitol are typical polyhydric alcohols added to the binder syrup. Table 1 lists the ingredients in a typical formulation for binder syrup used to produce chewy granola. This formulation for binding syrup includes corn syrup, granulated sugar, corn syrup solids, gylcerin, sorbitol, salt, vegetable shortening, and water, as shown by percent weight in the example listed in Table 1. The granulated sugar is constituted of one or more edible saccharides such as glucose, fructose, maltose, saccharose, honey, or molasses.  
                                           TABLE 1                           Ingredients for Binder Syrup for Chewy Granola                Ingredient   Formula wt. %                            Corn Syrup   47.0           Sugar, granulated   15.0           Corn Syrup Solids   14.0           Gylcerin, usp 99%   11.0           Sorbitol solution, 70% (w/w)   3.0           Salt   1.0           Vegetable Shortening   8.0           Water   1.0           Total =   100.0                      
 
         [0006]     Binder syrup is typically prepared by heating the gylcerin, sorbitol, shortening and corn syrup together in a tank to 120° F. The remainder of the ingredients (granulated sugar, corn syrup solids, and salt) are then added to the tank. This mixture is heated to 130° F.; once it has reached this temperature, it is ready to be mixed with the other ingredients of chewy granola shown in Table 2.  
         [0007]     A typical chewy granola comprises granola cereal, crisp rice, binder syrup (such as that described above), and inclusions. An example of a specific formulation is shown in Table 2. In this application, all percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified.  
                                           TABLE 2                           Ingredients for a Typical Chewy Granola                    Formula wt. %           Ingredient   (With Inclusions)                            Granola Cereal   47.0           Crisp Rice   8.0           Binder Syrup (see Table 1)   34.0           Inclusions   11.0           Total =   100.0                      
 
         [0008]     The process to create granola bars is relatively straightforward and is shown in  FIG. 1 . The ingredients  10  are serially added to a continuous mixer  15 . The cereal grains and rice are added first, the binder syrup is added second and the inclusions are added last. The inclusions are added last because they may be susceptible to melting from the relatively hot binder syrup. Also, the inclusions are more susceptible to mechanical breakdown and should receive as little processing time as possible.  
         [0009]     The mixture at this stage is between ambient temperature (typically 70° F.), and the temperature of the binder syrup (about 130° F.). The overall mixture of granola ingredients, or chewy granola, at this stage is about 6% water by weight. Manufacturers typically use a continuous flow interrupted flight or paddle mixer for production because it mixes the ingredients in the shortest amount of time, transfers the least amount of energy to the ingredients, and causes relatively little mechanical breakdown.  
         [0010]     The granola mixture at this point is transferred onto a slabbing conveyor  20  where the mixture is compressed with compression rollers  25  to a desired thickness, typically one-half inch. A typical slabbing conveyor is about three feet in width. The mixture is partially cooled  35  as it is rolled out. The slab is sliced  50  and then cut into rectangular bars with a guillotine cutter  60 . Each granola bar at this point is about three and one-half inches in length, one to one and one-half inches wide, and weighs between 28 and 35 grams. The bars are cooled  70  to ambient temperature, about 70° F., and packaged  80 . The final overall water content is about 6%, about the same as when the granola mixture entered the production process. The composition of the granola does not change throughout the production process.  
         [0011]     A traditional apparatus for slabbing, compressing, and cutting granola is illustrated in  FIG. 2   a  and  FIG. 2   b .  FIG. 2   a  and  FIG. 2   b  are both schematic representations of the process where  FIG. 2   a  is a head-on view and  FIG. 2   b  is a side view. With reference to  FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b , the granola mixture is transferred along a conveyor table  21  from left to right on a conveyor belt  23  (shown in  FIG. 2   a , but hidden from view in  FIG. 2   b ). The mixture passes beneath a series of product rollers  22  in a void space  24  where the mixture is gradually compressed to a desired thickness, typically one-half inch, creating a continuous sheet of product. After compression, the granola mixture is cooled and passes through a slab slicer  50  in order to divide the continuous sheet into multiple lanes of product. These lanes are then cut into bars by a guillotine cutter  60  before being cooled to roughly ambient temperature and sent to packaging.  
         [0012]     The traditional production process is limited in several ways. One limitation is the slicing and cutting speed. The typical production rate is about 6,000 pounds per hour. The conveyor table  24  and guillotine cutter  60  limit the form of granola bars to a rectangle bar. The guillotine cutter  60  is economically bound to operate within a specific range of operation. It is undesirable for the guillotine cutter  60  to cut granola into smaller bars or pieces because for each cut, granola generates non-recyclable waste fragments. The ratio of waste to finished product increases as the size of the finished granola product decreases. Thus, the smaller the pieces, the higher the waste and hence expense of the product. Another economic limitation is related to production speed. A bite-sized piece of granola is difficult to produce because either the cutting speed may have to be increased beyond its normal limit, or the line speed may have to be slowed with a concomitant reduction in production efficiency. For example, a Quaker Chewy® granola bar is typically about 1.125 inches wide and 3.62 inches long and weighs 29 grams. A line speed of 18 feet per minute requires the guillotine cutter  60  to operate at approximately 60 cuts per minute and yields approximately 6,400 pounds of product per hour. A bite sized piece that is about 1.125 inches wide and 1.125 inches long would require a guillotine cutter  60  to run at 192 cuts per minute to maintain the same line speed and accompanying production rates. Unfortunately, guillotine cutters cannot presently operate faster than 180 cuts per minute. Thus, even when the guillotine cutter operates at the maximum possible speed of 180 cuts per minute, line speed drops to 16.9 feet per minute. Thus, when smaller pieces are produced, overall production is slowed, which results in a higher costs of operation.  
         [0013]     There are other known substitutes for cutting granola into bars, but they operate at even slower speeds than the guillotine cutter  60 . For example, a Bepex brand ultrasonic guillotine is limited to 80 cuts per minute. A water knife cutter, which makes cuts as it travels back and forth across the belt width, can travel only 100 feet per minute. Thus, for belt width of approximately 3 feet, there is a maximum of only 33 cuts per minute.  
         [0014]     Another limitation arises in the traditional production process because Granola is not susceptible to significant manipulation during production because its texture is easily destroyed. The dry grains of granola are susceptible to mechanical destruction and are generally not suited to extrusion or other similar processing.  
         [0015]     Accordingly, a need exists for an improved apparatus and method to economically create, in large quantities, a segmented food bar such that a consumer can break bite-sized pieces or segments from the food bar. Further, a need exists for an apparatus and method to create a food bar from a cold-formable dough including a granola-type dough that can be formed into an arbitrary shape or form. Finally, a need exists for a method to create a granola bar having integral bite-sized pieces or segments where the granola maintains its traditional and expected texture, appearance and flavor.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]     The proposed invention comprises a novel process to generate a segmented food bar such that a consumer can separate the segments to create bite-sized portions. The present invention comprises the steps of first making a cold formable dough and then forming the dough into a segmented food bar. The invention discloses two embodiments to achieve this objective.  
         [0017]     In one embodiment, the cold formable dough is made into a slab by a plurality of compression rollers. The dough slab moves along a conveyor where an impression roller makes a series of transverse indentations or partial cuts through the slab to make a segmented slab. The spaces between these indentations define the segments. In one embodiment, the segmented slab is cut into discrete bars having at least two segments by slicing the slab into strips in the longitudinal direction and cutting the slab transversely with a guillotine cutter.  
         [0018]     In an alternative embodiment, the cold formable dough is placed into a rotary molder comprised of a pair of rollers below a hopper for the cold formable dough. One of the rollers comprises a plurality of female molds. As the rollers turn inward toward each other, the cold formable dough is forced into the molds and thereby takes the shape of the mold and forms a segmented food bar. The segmented food bar is then ejected from the mold.  
         [0019]     In one embodiment, the segmented food bar of the present invention has an appearance and texture substantially similar to chewy or crunchy granola bars produced by prior art methods with the traditional and expected texture, appearance and flavor of chewy granola.  
         [0020]     The above as well as additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following written description.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]     The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a flow chart of the typical prior art process for forming a granola bar product;  
         [0023]      FIG. 2   a  is a head-on schematic view of a typical slabbing conveyor used to roll a granola bar product;  
         [0024]      FIG. 2   b  is horizontal schematic view of the same slabbing conveyor of  FIG. 2   a  showing the compression rollers, slicer, and guillotine cutter used to form granola bar product;  
         [0025]      FIG. 3   a  is a flow chart showing the process for forming segmented granola bars pursuant to one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0026]      FIG. 3   b  is a horizontal schematic view of a slabbing conveyor in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0027]      FIG. 3   c  is a side schematic view of the rotary cutter in accordance one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0028]      FIG. 4   a  is a flow chart showing the process for forming segmented granola bars in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0029]      FIG. 4   b  is a perspective view of a rotary forming apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0030]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a resultant segmented granola bar formed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
       [0031]     Where used in the various figures of the drawing, the same numerals designate the same or similar parts. Furthermore, when the terms “top,” “bottom,” “first,” “second,” “upper,” “lower,” “height,” “width,” “length,” “end,” “side,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” and similar terms are used herein, it should be understood that these terms have reference only to the structure shown in the drawing and are utilized only to facilitate describing the invention.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0032]      FIG. 3   a  is a flow chart showing the process for forming segmented granola bars pursuant to one embodiment of the present invention. First, food ingredients  10  are mixed  15  into a dough and the dough is formed into a slab on a slabbing conveyor  20 . In one embodiment, the dough is formed from food ingredients  10  selected from the group consisting of grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, chocolate chips, vegetables, polyhydric alcohols, water and combinations thereof to form a dough. In one embodiment, a binder syrup can also be used. Examples of ingredients that can be used to produce doughs can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,461,488, 4,871,557, 6,773,734, and U.S. Pat. App. No. US-2005-0053697-A1, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. Further, although the present invention is directed towards granola-type products, the invention can apply to any cold-formable dough. As used herein a cold-formable dough is defined as a suitably ductile dough such that it can be shaped or formed and is cohesive enough to retain its shape at its forming temperature. The forming temperature is preferably less than about 100° F., more preferably less than about 92° F. and most preferably between about 85° F. and about 92° F. Any set of food ingredients or particulates that can be made into a cold-formable dough can be used.  
         [0033]      FIG. 3   b  is a horizontal schematic view of a slabbing conveyor in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b , after the dough is placed on the slabbing conveyor  20 , it next compressed with compression rollers  25  to a desired thickness. The dough is then partially cooled  35  as it is rolled out along the slab conveyor in the longitudinal direction towards an impression roller or rotary cutter  40  having a plurality of teeth or spikes about the outer radius. As the rotary cutter  40  rotates, a first spike will make a first partial cut or indentation through the slab in the transverse direction. As the ductile dough slab moves along the slab conveyor a second spike will make a second partial cut or indentation through the ductile dough slab in the transverse direction thereby defining a segment between the first and second cuts.  
         [0034]     Next, the segmented slab is sliced  50  into a plurality of strips and then cut into bars with a guillotine cutter  60 . In one embodiment, the segmented slab is the width of the final food bar and no slicing step is required. In one embodiment, each segmented food bar at this point comprises four segments, each segment is between about ½ inch and about 1½ inches in length. In this embodiment, the granola bar is about 3 to about 5 inches in length, about ½ to about 1 1/2  inches wide, and about ¾ inches to about 1¼ inches tall and weighs between 28 and 35 grams. In one embodiment, the segmented food bar comprises at least two segments. In one embodiment each segment weighs between about 5 and about 10 grams. These ranges are provided for purposes of illustration and not limitation.  
         [0035]     In one embodiment, the segmented granola bars are next baked 65 in an oven to remove the extra water to make a crunchy granola bar. In one embodiment, the granola pieces are transported through the oven on a sheet metal conveyor made of solid carbon steel. In one embodiment, the baking  65  process is carried out at a sufficiently low temperature to dry the chewy granola, but not to overly modify or cook the same. This can be accomplished by drying the granola in an oven for 5-15 minutes at a temperature of less than about 400° F. In one embodiment, the baking 65 step is achieved by baking for about 10 minutes at 370° F. In an alternative embodiment, the segmented bars are dried such that the water content is less than 4% by weight. In one embodiment, the segmented bars are dried in an oven for 10-20 minutes at a temperature greater than 250 ° F. The segmented bars can then be cooled  70  by cooling fans blowing ambient or chilled air over the segmented bar after the either the guillotine cutter  60  or the optional baking step  65 .  
         [0036]     After cooling  70 , in one embodiment, the segmented bar is fully or partially enrobed  75  in chocolate or other material. In one embodiment, the segmented bar is partially bottom-coated or enrobed by routing the segmented bars on a chain link conveyor submerged in chocolate or other material. In one embodiment, the segmented bar is completely enrobed in chocolate or other material. The granola pieces can then transported along conveyor belts to be packaged  80 .  
         [0037]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a resultant segmented granola bar formed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the segmented food bar  100  comprises four segments  102   104   106   108 . The first segment  102  and second segment  104  are separated by an indentation  103 . The distance D from the indentation  103  to the bottom of the bar  100  can be manipulated as desired depending upon several factors including the rigidity of the food bar and desired ease of separation of segments  102   104 . The rigidity of the food bar, for example, can be important if a food bar is desired that produces minimal sag when held by one of the end segments  102   108 . Further, the distance D can differ based upon the inherent strength of the food bar. For example, a brittle, crunchy granola bar may require a shorter distance than a more ductile, chewy granola bar. Moreover, whether the food bar is enrobed can also be a factor in determining the desired distance D, as enrobing can add to the strength of the bar. In one embodiment, the distance D is between about ⅛ and about ½ inches.  
         [0038]      FIG. 3   c  is a side schematic view of the rotary cutter in accordance one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIGS. 3   c  and 5, the length and geometry of the resultant segments can be manipulated by changing the length  44  between spikes and the geometry of the spikes  43 . Further, the depth of the partial cut or indentation imparted by the rotary cutter  40  can be manipulated to achieve the desired distance D. In one embodiment, the length  44  between spikes is between about ¼ and ¾ inches and the spike  43  height is between about ¼ to about 1 inches. In one embodiment, distance from the center of the rotary cutter  40  to the base of the spike (e.g. inside radius) is between about  2  and about 3 inches. It should be pointed out that while the spikes  43  are shown to be triangular in shape, such example is given for purposes of illustration and not limitation. In one embodiment, the tip of the spike  43  is rounded and has a radius of curvature of between about 1/32 inches to about ⅛ inches. In one embodiment, all or a portion of the spikes  43  and/or the portion between the spikes  44  comprises a fluoropolymer -coated stainless steel. In one embodiment, the temperature of the rotary cutter  40  is adjusted to facilitate removal of the dough from the cutter  40 . The temperature can be adjusted accordingly, by for example, jacketing the cutter  40  with hot or cold water. In one embodiment, the water temperature is between about 40° F. and about 60° F. and more preferably between about 43° F. and 56° F. One advantage of the present invention is that, in one embodiment, many shapes of a segmented bar can be made with little or no resultant scrap. This is because the rotary cutter does not actually cut the cold formed bar, but rather, through compression, forms an indention in the cold formed dough.  
         [0039]      FIG. 4   a  is a flow chart showing the process for forming segmented granola bars in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention. First, food ingredients  10  are mixed  15  into a dough for processing in a rotary molder  30 . Rotary molders  30  are known in the art and are commonly used to provide high definition to cookie or confectionery products, but have not been heretofore used to provide general shape to cold formed doughs, including granola-type bars.  FIG. 4   b  is a perspective view of a rotary molder or forming apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Any rotary molder can be used. A rotary molder  30  comprises a pair of rollers  32   34  below a hopper  31  for storing a dough. The rollers  32   34  turn inward toward each other, the first roller  32  turning in a clockwise fashion and the second roller  34  turning in a counterclockwise fashion. The second roller  34  comprises a plurality of female molds  36 . The molds  36  can be designed to shape the dough into segmented bars. The granola is forced through the rollers  32   34 , into the molds  36 , and is then released from the molds  36  and onto a wetted cotton belt conveyor  38 . The scraper, adjacent the second roller  34 , forces the dough into the mold cavities  36  where the dough takes the shape of the mold  36 . In one embodiment, the second roller  34  comprises between about 4 and about 11 molds  36  across the width of the roller and about 4 to about 10 molds  36  around the circumference of the roller  34 . In one embodiment, the roller  34  is between about 9 and about 12 inches in diameter and about 8 to about 40 inches in width. Such measurements are provided for purposes of illustration and not limitation.  
         [0040]     As the second roller  34  engages the wetted cotton belt conveyor  38 , the segmented bars  100  are pulled by friction onto the conveyor belt  38 . In one embodiment, the mold cavities  36  are coated with a flouropolymer. Referring back to  FIG. 4   a , the segmented bars can then be routed to an optional baking step  65 , cooling  70 , optional enrobing and packaging  80  as described above. One advantage of the rotary molder embodiment depicted in  FIG. 4   a  and  4   b  is that it that can produce a segmented bar with fewer unit operations than the embodiment depicted in  FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b  that incorporates the rotary cutter into the standard conveyor table  21 . Another advantage of the rotary molder embodiment is that because fewer unit operations are required, the rotary molder is easy to place into a food processing line and requires less space than a traditional slab conveyor embodiment.  
         [0041]     There are numerous advantages provided by the instant invention. First, the instant invention discloses a novel method for making a segmented food bar from a cold formable dough. The segments or bite-size pieces can be easily separated from the food bar by the consumer. The invention provides a novel way to shape a cold formable dough, including a granola dough into an arbitrary shape or form. Further, the instant invention discloses one embodiment whereby an existing slab conveyor used to process granola can be easily converted to produce a segmented granola bar having bite sized pieces. Finally, the instant invention provides a method for economically making large quantities of a segmented granola bars whereby the granola maintains its traditional and expected texture, appearance and flavor.  
         [0042]     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the dimensions may be changed to increase or decrease the overall size of the cold formed bars; the shapes of the granola pieces may be changed; and the granola composition may be varied to adjust the texture and flavor of the final product, and to accommodate various flavor combinations and/or inclusions. Further, the means for cutting the product need not be one particular type, but could include any number of commonly available cutting devices. Different thicknesses of the final product may be desired. The overall intent of this invention is to create a cold-formed segmented food bar.