Modified oat and corn grit products and method

Abstract

A coated, uncooked oat product is provided that has no added fat and comprises uncooked oat flakes having a coating adherent to the oat flakes. A coated, oat flake agglomerate is also provided, wherein each agglomerate comprises at least two uncooked oat flakes and has a fat-free coating. A flavored, coated oat product in bulk and a flavored, coated, agglomerated oat product are provided, both of which products have flavors uniformly distributed throughout the bulk. Corn grit products are also provided and include (1) individual pieces of corn grit having a fat-free coating and (2) clusters of corn grit pieces having a fat-free coating.

We claim:  
     
         1 . An uncooked oat product comprising uncooked oat flakes having a fat-free coating adhering to the oat flakes, the coating comprising at least one material selected from the group consisting of colorants, flavors, nutrients, and sweeteners.  
     
     
         2 . The product of  claim 1  wherein said coating comprises from about 0.1% to about 60% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the coated, uncooked oat product.  
     
     
         3 . The product of  claim 1  wherein said coating comprises from about 20% to about 50% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the coated, uncooked oat product.  
     
     
         4 . The product of  claim 1  wherein said coating comprises from about 35% to about 45% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the coated, uncooked oat product.  
     
     
         5 . The product of  claim 1  comprising a mixture of a plurality of coated oat flakes of a first color present in the coating of said oat flakes and a plurality of other coated oat flakes of a second color, distinct from the first color, said second color being present in the coating of said other oat flakes, said colors provided by water-soluble colorants and when said product is placed in an aqueous liquid, a new color is formed in said liquid from a combination of said first and second colors.  
     
     
         6 . The product of  claim 5  wherein the first color is yellow and the second color is blue.  
     
     
         7 . The product of  claim 5  wherein the first color is red and the second color is yellow.  
     
     
         8 . The product of  claim 5  wherein the first color is red and the second color is blue.  
     
     
         9 . The product of  claim 1  wherein said nutrients include compounds selected from the group consisting of vitamins, minerals, natural nutrients, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         10 . The product of  claim 9  wherein said vitamins are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of vitamin A, beta-carotene, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B 6 , vitamin B 12 , vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folic acid, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         11 . The product of  claim 9  wherein said minerals are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         12 . The product of  claim 9  wherein said natural nutrients are selected from the group consisting of Echinacea extract, gingko biloba extract, ginseng, bee pollen, St. John's wort extract, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         13 . The product of  claim 1  wherein said sweeteners are selected from the group consisting of sugar, fructose, honey, corn syrup, molasses, fruit juice, artificial sweeteners, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         14 . The product of  claim 1  packaged in a bulk quantity.  
     
     
         15 . An uncooked, oat product comprising agglomerated, flaked oats composed of at least two uncooked oat flakes and having a fat-free coating adhered to the oat flakes; said coating comprising at least one material selected from the group consisting of colorants, flavors, nutrients, and sweeteners.  
     
     
         16 . The product of  claim 15  wherein said coating comprises from about 20% to about 60% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the coated, uncooked oat flake agglomerate.  
     
     
         17 . The product of  claim 15  wherein said coating comprises from about 35% to about 45% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the coated, uncooked oat flake agglomerate.  
     
     
         18 . The product of  claim 15  wherein said agglomerate comprises from two to ten oat flakes.  
     
     
         19 . The product of  claim 15  wherein said agglomerate comprises more than ten oat flakes.  
     
     
         20 . The product of  claim 15  comprising a mixture of a plurality of coated oat flakes of a first color present in the coating of said oat flakes and a plurality of other coated oat flakes of a second color, distinct from the first color, said second color being present in the coating of said other oat flakes, said colors provided by water-soluble colorants and when said product is placed in an aqueous liquid, a new color is formed in said liquid from a combination of said first and second colors.  
     
     
         21 . The product of  claim 20  wherein the first color is yellow and the second color is blue.  
     
     
         22 . The product of  claim 20  wherein the first color is red and the second color is yellow.  
     
     
         23 . The product of  claim 20  wherein the first color is red and the second color is blue.  
     
     
         24 . The product of  claim 15  wherein said nutrients include compounds selected from the group consisting of vitamins, minerals, natural nutrients, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         25 . The product of  claim 24  wherein said vitamins are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of vitamin A, beta-carotene, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B 6 , vitamin B 12 , vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folic acid, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         26 . The product of  claim 24  wherein said minerals are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         27 . The product of  claim 24  wherein said natural nutrients are selected from the group consisting of Echinacea extract, gingko biloba extract, ginseng, bee pollen, St. John's wort extract, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         28 . The product of  claim 15  wherein said sweeteners are selected from the group consisting of sugar, fructose, honey, corn syrup, molasses, fruit juice, artificial sweeteners, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         29 . The product of  claim 15  packaged in a bulk quantity.  
     
     
         30 . The agglomerated oat flake product of  claim 20  wherein said coating is applied in a substantially uniform manner to the surface of the oat flakes.  
     
     
         31 . A method of coating uncooked oat flakes with a desired coating material comprising: 
 feeding uncooked oat flakes into a rotating drum;    coating the oat flakes by spraying the oat flakes with a stream of said fat-free coating material until said coating material is applied to the oat flakes in a substantially uniform manner; and    drying the coated oat flakes until the oat flakes aftain a desired percentage of moisture.    
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said coating material is prepared by 
 mixing at least one component selected from the group consisting of colorants, flavors, nutrients, and sweeteners with water to form a coating mixture; and  
 heating the coating mixture to about 100°-160° F. to dissolve the components of said coating mixture and form said coating material.  
 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said coating material is applied to said uncooked oat flakes at a concentration of from about 0.1% to about 60% by weight of the coated oat flakes.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said coating material is applied to said uncooked oat flakes at a concentration of from about 35% to about 50% by weight of the coated oat flakes.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said coated oat flakes are dried at a temperature in the range of from about 100° F. to about 500° F.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said coated oat flakes are dried on a continuous belt dryer.  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said drying step is achieved on a fluidized bed, forced air dryer.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said coating and drying steps occur simultaneously.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 31  wherein said coated oat flakes are dried to about 3-14% moisture on a dry weight basis.  
     
     
         40 . A method of forming coated, uncooked oat flake agglomerates that have no added fat comprising: 
 feeding uncooked oat flakes into a rotating drum;    coating the oat flakes by spraying said oat flakes with a stream of a coating material comprising a binding material until said oat flakes form oat flake agglomerates, each said oat flake agglomerate comprising at least two oat flakes; and    drying said oat flake agglomerates to a desired percentage of moisture.    
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40  wherein the binding material is selected from the group consisting of sugar, fructose, honey, corn syrup, molasses, fruit juice, hydrocolloids, maltodextrin, and corn syrup solids and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 40  wherein said coating material is prepared by 
 mixing at least one component selected from the group consisting of colorants, flavors, nutrients, and sweeteners to form a coating mixture; and  
 heating the coating mixture to an elevated temperature to dissolve or disperse the components of said coating mixture and form said coating material.  
 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 40  wherein said coating material is applied to said uncooked oat flakes to form oat flake agglomerates having a coating concentration of from about 20% to more than 60% by weight of the coated oat flake agglomerate.  
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 40  wherein said coated oat flake agglomerates are dried at a temperature in the range of from about 100° F. to about 500° F.  
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 40  wherein said coated oat flake agglomerates are dried on a continuous belt dryer.  
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 40  wherein said drying step is achieved on a fluidized bed, forced air dryer.  
     
     
         47 . A flavored oat product in bulk having flavors uniformly distributed throughout the bulk and comprising uncooked, coated flaked oats; the coating being fat-free and adhered to the surface of the flaked oats; the coating comprising at least one flavoring component and at least one material selected from the group consisting of colorants, nutrients, and sweeteners.  
     
     
         48 . The product of  claim 47  wherein said coating material comprises from about 0.1% to about 60% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the flavored oat product.  
     
     
         49 . The product of  claim 47  wherein said coating material comprises from about 20% to about 50% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the flavored oat product.  
     
     
         50 . The product of  claim 47  wherein said coating material comprises from about 35% to about 45% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the flavored oat product.  
     
     
         51 . The product of  claim 47  comprising a mixture of a plurality of coated oat flakes of a first color present in the coating of said oat flakes and a plurality of other coated oat flakes of a second color, distinct from the first color, said second color being present in the coating of said other oat flakes, said colors provided by water-soluble colorants and when said product is placed in an aqueous liquid, a new color is formed in said liquid from a combination of said first and second colors.  
     
     
         52 . The product of  claim 51  wherein the first color is yellow and the second color is blue.  
     
     
         53 . The product of  claim 51  wherein the first color is red and the second color is yellow.  
     
     
         54 . The product of  claim 51  wherein the first color is red and the second color is blue.  
     
     
         55 . The product of  claim 47  wherein said nutrients include compounds selected from the group consisting of vitamins, minerals, natural nutrients, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         56 . The product of  claim 55  wherein said vitamins are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of vitamin A, beta-carotene, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B 6 , vitamin B 12 , vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folic acid, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         57 . The product of  claim 55  wherein said minerals are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         58 . The product of  claim 55  wherein said natural nutrients are selected from the group consisting of Echinacea extract, gingko biloba extract, ginseng, bee pollen, St. John's wort extract, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         59 . The product of  claim 47  wherein said sweeteners are selected from the group consisting of sugar, fructose, honey, corn syrup, molasses, fruit juice, artificial sweeteners, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         60 . A flavored oat product in bulk comprising agglomerated, coated, flaked oats composed of at least two uncooked oat flakes having a fat-free coating; said coating comprising at least one material selected from the group consisting of colorants, flavors, nutrients, and sweeteners.  
     
     
         61 . The product of  claim 60  wherein said at least one material is uniformly distributed throughout the product in bulk.  
     
     
         62 . The product of  claim 60  wherein said coating comprises from about 20% to about 60% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the flavored agglomerated oat product.  
     
     
         63 . The product of  claim 60  wherein said coating comprises from about 35% to about 45% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the flavored agglomerated oat product.  
     
     
         64 . The product of  claim 60  wherein said agglomerate comprises from two to ten flakes.  
     
     
         65 . The product of  claim 60  wherein said agglomerate comprises more than ten oat flakes.  
     
     
         66 . The product of  claim 60  wherein said agglomerate comprises from 20 oat flakes to more than 40 oat flakes.  
     
     
         67 . The product of  claim 60  comprising a mixture of a plurality of coated oat flakes of a first color present in the coating of said oat flakes and a plurality of other coated oat flakes of a second color, distinct from the first color, said second color being present in the coating of said other oat flakes, said colors provided by water-soluble colorants and when said product is placed in an aqueous liquid, a new color is formed in said liquid from a combination of said first and second colors.  
     
     
         68 . The product of  claim 60  wherein the first color is yellow and the second color is blue.  
     
     
         69 . The product of  claim 68  wherein the first color is red and the second color is yellow.  
     
     
         70 . The product of  claim 68  wherein the first color is red and the second color is blue.  
     
     
         71 . The product of  claim 60  wherein said nutrients include compounds selected from the group consisting of vitamins, minerals, natural nutrients, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         72 . The product of  claim 71  wherein said vitamins are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of vitamin A, beta-carotene, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B 6 , vitamin B 12 , vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folic acid, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         73 . The product of  claim 71  wherein said minerals are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         74 . The product of  claim 71  wherein said natural nutrients are selected from the group consisting of Echinacea extract, gingko biloba extract, ginseng, bee pollen, St. John's wort extract, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         75 . The product of  claim 60  wherein said sweeteners are selected from the group consisting of sugar, fructose, honey, corn syrup, molasses, fruit juice, artificial sweeteners, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         76 . The product of  claim 60  wherein said coating is applied in a substantially uniform manner to the surface of the oat flakes.  
     
     
         77 . A corn grit product comprises individual pieces of unflaked corn grit coated with a fat-free coating comprising at least one material selected from the group consisting of colorants, flavors, nutrients, and sweeteners.  
     
     
         78 . The product of  claim 77  wherein said coating comprises from about 5% to about 40% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the coated corn grit.  
     
     
         79 . The product of  claim 77  comprising a mixture of a plurality of coated corn grits of a first color present in the coating of said corn grits and a plurality of other coated corn grits of a second color, distinct from the first color, said second color being present in the coating of said other corn grits, said colors provided by water-soluble colorants and when said product is placed in an aqueous liquid, a new color is formed in said liquid from a combination of said first and second colors.  
     
     
         80 . The product of  claim 77  wherein said nutrients include compounds selected from the group consisting of vitamins, minerals, natural nutrients, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         81 . The product of  claim 80  wherein said vitamins are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of vitamin A, beta-carotene, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B 6 , vitamin B 12 , vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folic acid, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         82 . The product of  claim 80  wherein said minerals are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         83 . The product of  claim 80  wherein said natural nutrients are selected from the group consisting of Echinacea extract, gingko biloba extract, ginseng, bee pollen, St. John's wort extract, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         84 . The product of  claim 77  wherein said sweeteners are selected from the group consisting of sugar, fructose, honey, corn syrup, molasses, fruit juice, artificial sweeteners, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         85 . A corn grit product comprising clusters of corn grit pieces having a fat-free coating, wherein said coating comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of colorants, flavors, nutrients, and sweeteners.  
     
     
         86 . The product of  claim 85  wherein said coating comprises from about 5% to about 40% by weight, on a dry weight basis of the corn grit cluster.  
     
     
         87 . The product of  claim 85  wherein said coated cluster comprises at least 2 pieces of corn grit.  
     
     
         88 . The product of  claim 85  comprising a mixture of a plurality of coated corn grit clusters of a first color present in the coating of said corn grit clusters and a plurality of other coated corn grit clusters of a second color, distinct from the first color, said second color being present in the coating of said other corn grit clusters, said colors provided by water-soluble colorants and when said product is placed in an aqueous liquid, a new color is formed in said liquid from a combination of said first and second colors.  
     
     
         89 . The product of  claim 85  wherein said nutrients include compounds selected from the group consisting of vitamins, minerals, natural nutrients, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         90 . The product of  claim 89  wherein said vitamins are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of vitamin A, beta-carotene, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B 6 , vitamin B 12 , vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folic acid, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         91 . The product of  claim 89  wherein said minerals are selected from the group consisting of derivatives of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         92 . The product of  claim 89  wherein said natural nutrients are selected from the group consisting of Echinacea extract, gingko biloba extract, ginseng, bee pollen, St. John's wort extract, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         93 . The product of  claim 85  wherein said sweeteners are selected from the group consisting of sugar, fructose, honey, corn syrup, molasses, fruit juice, artificial sweeteners, and mixtures thereof.