Abstract: A frozen French fried potato product possessing unique taste characteristics is manufactured by producing potato pieces having a desired shape, frying the potato pieces, freezing the potato pieces, and applying a topical addition to the frozen potato pieces. The topical addition is preferably an encapsulated topical addition in which a water soluble ingredient other than salt is encapsulated in an encapsulation material. To impart sweet taste characteristics to the frozen French fried potato product, the topical addition is an encapsulated sugar. The resulting frozen French fried potato product is constituted by potato pieces that have been fried and frozen, with the topical addition such as encapsulated sugar applied to the outer surface of the frozen French fried potato pieces.

Abstract: Crumb products for preparing chocolate products are prepared by adding together, mixing and heating ingredients which include milk solids and a sugar ingredient, particularly sucrose, and which include, optionally, cocoa solids and so that the ingredients added together, mixed and heated have a moisture content between 1.2% and 8%. The ingredients added together are mixed and heated so that the ingredients being mixed are heated-up to a temperature in a range of from 85° C. to 180° C. an so that upon being heated-up to a temperature in the range which is a temperature of at least 85° C. and up to 180° C., the ingredients being mixed are maintained at a temperature in a range of from 85° C. to the heated-up temperature for a period of from 2.5 minutes to 25 minutes to provide a heat-treated reaction product, and then the reaction product is dried at a temperature of from 60° C. to 80° C., which may be performed without vacuum conditions.