Cereals

Micronized cereals, and in particular wheat and oats, form the basis of many healthy whole food diets, such as the muesli type breakfast. Another specific application is malted, toasted wheat for inclusion in bread, whereby the bitter taste of malted wheat is eliminated and replaced by a caramelized aromatic flavour. Grains may be cooked in a variety of physical forms, from flakes to ‘soft grains’, from flour to grits. Micronizing is able to eliminate the steeping stage for some of these products, and gives optimal starch gelatinization.

More recent techniques include instantizing of rice and wheat, reducing cooking times by half or more, while the product retains its natural, healthy appearance. As a post extrusion cooker, the Micronizer is used for all types of healthy snack products, enabling a puffed, expanded finish without deep fat frying, resulting in a lower fat content.

Natural foods, such as cereals, oilseeds, pulses and beans, are increasingly regarded as healthy ingredients essential for good nutrition. Food industries that have adopted the Micronizing technique include speciality bakery ingredients, bread  crumbs, toasted products, rice flakes and rice flour products, cake flour, snack products, stabilized wheat bran, soups, muesli breakfast cereals, ingredients for vegetarians, quick cook products and brewery cereals.