Prepared Foods
/pri-paird food/
1. Food which has been prepared by manufacturers and is sold to be eaten and enjoyed at home. The list of products within this category is large and diverse.
Soups; Sauces; Spreads; Condiments; Puddings; Cereals; Pasta Noodles; Snacks; Seasonings and Spices; Meals; Bars
The range of finished products within the Prepared Foods group is extensive, diverse and many are complex systems and emulsions, from soups and sauces to snacks, seasonings and condiments, and spreads and cereals.
Extrusion is a cooking process in which a set of mixed ingredients are forced through an opening in a perforated plate, or die, with a design specific to the food and is then cut, shaped and formed. There is cold, hot, steam-induced and co-extrusion. Cold extrusion is used for foods like pastas and doughs, where high temperature extrusion processes are used for foods like cereals and snacks, and also some pet foods.
In the retort process and packaging, a food is filled into a pouch or metal can, sealed and then heated to very high temperatures in order to render the product commercially sterile.
Ingredients must not only be stable through such processing conditions as extrusion or retort, which can involve intense temperatures and pressures, but must provide the proper shade and intensity, with all of the characteristic flavor notes which are desired, initially and throughout the shelf life of the product. We offer a range of solutions to satisfy the demanding food processing requirements, like extrusion and retort, as well as those foods which have milder or simpler processing and manufacturing conditions.
Prime Ingredients provides the technical expertise and creativity to support any product development and application need.
