METHOD OF MAKING SNACK FOODS Russian patent published in 2018 - IPC A23L19/18 A23L19/00 

FIELD: food industry.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the food industry, particularly to a method of producing a snack product. Method comprises a cooking step comprising microwave cooking of a plurality of snack food slices to obtain cooked snack food slices having an average moisture content of 10 to 20 wt% based on the total weight of the snack food slices. During microwave cooking, the snack food slices are disposed in a layer having a first thickness. Further, method comprises a stacking step of disposing the cooked snack food slices as a loosely packed bed having a second thickness of 5 to 75 mm which is greater than the first thickness. Method then includes a drying step comprising applying multimode microwave energy to the bed for a period of 30 to 180 seconds to reduce the moisture content of the dried snack food slices to an average of 6 to 8 wt% based on the total weight of the snack food slices. During the drying step the temperature of the bed is maintained at a value below 100 °C which is lower than the glass transition temperature of starch in the snack food slices. Moisture content in the dried snack food slices is provided with a smaller standard deviation, than the moisture content in the cooked snack food slices provided at the slice preparation step. After the drying step, each snack food slice from substantially all, optionally, at least 99 % of their amount, has a moisture content in the range of 6 to 8 wt% based on the total weight of said slice. At the step for final drying of said snack food slices in a hot air dryer, the moisture content of the snack food slices is reduced to an average of 1 to 2 wt% based on the total weight of the snack food slices.

EFFECT: invention makes it possible to reduce the spread of moisture values both inside the slice and between slices, without losing a light crunchy texture.

19 cl, 1 dwg