Claims
- 1. A process for manufacturing a tridimensional pasta product comprising the steps of:
preparing a mixture of cereal flour or semolina and water; kneading the mixture to obtain a dough; injecting the dough into a mold having a tri-dimensional shape, under conditions such that the dough undergoes substantially no expansion in the mold during injection; and removing the dough from the mold to provide an injection molded pasta product having the tri-dimensional shape.
- 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the mixture has a water content of from about 10% to 35%.
- 3. The process of claim 2, wherein the mixture has a water content of from about 22% to 26%.
- 4. The process of claim 2, wherein the mixture has a water content of from about 24% to 25%.
- 5. The process of claim 1, wherein the cereal is selected from the group consisting of Durum or hard wheat, rice, corn, and mixtures thereof.
- 6. The process of claim 1, which further comprises adding to the mixture at least one additive selected from the group consisting of wheat protein, soft wheat flour, egg material, sodium chloride, spices, and mixtures thereof.
- 7. The process of claim 1, wherein the injecting comprises using a screw enclosed in a jacketed barrel, the screw being rotatable and longitudinally translatable in the barrel and the barrel having a downstream end in the form of a nozzle; and the mold comprises two parts engageable with one another and held together by a clamping means.
- 8. The process of claim 1, wherein the dough is heated during the injecting means to a temperature of from about 30°C. to 150°C.
- 9. The process of claim 8, wherein the dough is heated during the injecting means to a temperature of from about 60°C. to 95°C.
- 10. The process of claim 8, wherein the dough is heated during the injecting means to a temperature of from about 80° C. to 85° C.
- 11. The process of claim 1, wherein the dough is injected into the mold under a pressure of at least about 200 bar.
- 12. The process of claim 11, wherein the dough is injected into the mold under a pressure of between about 1000 and 3000 bar.
- 13. The process of claim 1, wherein the dough is heated in the mold to a temperature of from about 30°C. to 150°C. before removing the dough.
- 14. The process of claim 13, wherein the dough is heated in the mold to a temperature of from about 50°C. to 80°C. before removing the dough.
- 15. The process of claim 13, wherein the dough is heated in the mold to a temperature of from about 55°C. to 65° C. before removing the dough.
- 16. The process of claim 13, further comprising the steps of drying the injection molded pasta product to a residual water content of from about 4% to 13.5% and cooling the molded pasta product.
- 17. An injection molded tridimensional pasta product prepared according to the process of claim 1.
- 18. An injected molded tridimensional pasta product prepared according to the process of claim 1 having organoleptical properties when cooked comparable with those of regular Durum wheat “al dente” cooked pasta products.
- 19. The injection molded tridimensional pasta product of claim 11 further comprising at least one additive selected from the group consisting of wheat protein, soft wheat flour, egg material, sodium chloride, spices, and mixtures thereof.
- 20. The pasta product of claim 17, wherein the cereal flour is selected from the group consisting of Durum or hard wheat, rice, corn, and mixtures thereof.
- 21. The pasta product of claim 17, having a water content of from about 4% to 32%.
- 22. The pasta product of claim 17, wherein the pasta product has a gelatinization degree of greater than about 69 percent.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
99200802.9 |
Mar 1999 |
EP |
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
1. This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 09/525,001, filed Mar. 14, 2000.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09525001 |
Mar 2000 |
US |
Child |
09725960 |
Nov 2000 |
US |