Production method using gelatinized starch

Nowadays, most breakfast cereals are made either by original traditional processes or by using alternative extrusion methods. Commercial flakes, shreds, and oven-puffed cereals could be alternatively manufactured via extrusion. There are two major types of extrusion processes cold and thermoplastic. Cold extrusion is almost exclusively applied for production of pasta products (Chapter 10), whereas thermoplastic extrusion is used for manufacturing breakfast cereals and snack foods (Chapter 12). Undoubtedly, the most popular and versatile extrusion process is thermoplastic, defined as the combination of heat and mechanical shear to enhance starch gelatinization and dextrinization, protein denaturation, and inactivation of microorganisms, enzymes, and antinutritional factors. The changes in the properties of the starch and proteins result in the formation of a plastic material that could be formed and/or restructured into desired configurations. 

---