Abstract: Dehydrated potato pellets are made by preparing an aqueous mixture of dried potato pieces, an emulsifier, and oil, and, optionally, a freshly cooked potato, homogenizing the mixture to produce a pumpable, flowable aqueous dispersion, mixing the dispersion with more dried potato pieces and, optionally, freshly cooked potatoes, forming the mixture into pellets, and drying them.

Abstract: A method for making a bean-based oil substitute comprising the steps of making an aqueous liquid dispersion of comminuted beans in a stable flowable form, homogenizing said aqueous dispersion, and mixing an emulsifier with said comminuted beans before, during or after homogenization, said homogenized aqueous dispersion including less than about 2% weight of added oil, and drying the dispersion. Also, the substitute made by the method and a dehydrated refried bean product made using the oil substitute.

Abstract: Dehydrated potato pellets are made by preparing an aqueous mixture of dried potato pieces, an emulsifier, and oil, and, optionally, a freshly cooked potato, homogenizing the mixture to produce a pumpable, flowable aqueous dispersion, mixing the dispersion with more dried potato pieces and, optionally, freshly cooked potatoes, forming the mixture into pellets, and drying them.

Abstract: Dehydrated potato pellets are made by preparing an aqueous mixture of dried potato pieces, an emulsifier, and oil, and, optionally, a freshly cooked potato, homogenizing the mixture to produce a pumpable, flowable aqueous dispersion, mixing the dispersion with more dried potato pieces and, optionally, freshly cooked potatoes, forming the mixture into pellets, and drying them.

Abstract: A method for making a bean-based oil substitute comprising the steps of making an aqueous liquid dispersion of comminuted beans in a stable flowable form, homogenizing said aqueous dispersion, and mixing an emulsifier with said comminuted beans before, during or after homogenization, said homogenized aqueous dispersion including less than about 2% weight of added oil, and drying the dispersion. Also, the substitute made by the method and a dehydrated refried bean product made using the oil substitute.

Abstract: A method for making a bean-based oil substitute comprising the steps of (a) homogenizing comminuted cooked beans in an aqueous liquid dispersion to form a homogenate, and (b) mixing an edible oil with said comminuted beans, before or after homogenization of the beans, to form a flowable stable dispersion oil substitute of the comminuted beans dispersed in a mixture of oil and water. The oil substitute is used to replace part of the oil in making dehydrated refried beans.

Abstract: A method comprising treating a potato wastewater stream containing suspended free starch particles with a potato starch-complexing emulsifier to form agglomerated starch particle-emulsifier complexes, and separating the complexes from the remainder of said wastewater stream. Also the separated starch complex suitable for human or animal consumption alone or in combination with other food ingredients. In various embodiments, the products comprise (a) at least about 2000 mg/100 g, BDS, glutamic acid; and/or (b) at least about 2500 mg/100 g, BDS, aspartic acid; and/or (c) at least about 10 g/100 g, BDS, total protein.

Abstract: A method for making a dehydrated mashed potato product by cooking fresh potatoes including defects, ricing the cooked potatoes by urging the same through multiple openings in a ricing barrier to form riced moist potato pieces exiting the ricing barrier separated from potato defects which do not pass through the ricing barrier, reforming (e.g., by extrusion) the riced moist potato pieces by applying pressure to form riced, reformed moist potato pieces, and drying the riced, reformed potato pieces to a moisture content of about 5–10%. A dried mashed potato product comprising dried potato pieces which reconstitute in water at 180° F. under light stirring conditions to a mashed potato product having soft lumps characteristic of fresh mashed potatoes at a concentration of about 10 g to 80 g of soft lumps per 400 g of rehydrated product.

Abstract: Dehydrated potato pellets are made by preparing an aqueous mixture of dried potato pieces, an emulsifier, and oil, and, optionally, a freshly cooked potato, homogenizing the mixture to produce a pumpable, flowable aqueous dispersion, mixing the dispersion with more dried potato pieces and, optionally, freshly cooked potatoes, forming the mixture into pellets, and drying them.

Abstract: A method for treating potato wastewater comprising the steps of pretreating a potato wastewater stream including suspended and dissolved solids with an alpha amylase enzyme to hydrolyze starch in the wastewater, ultra-filtering the enzyme-treated wastewater from step (a) to filter and remove a portion of the suspended solids in a first concentrate stream separated from the wastewater, and reverse osmosis-filtering the ultra-filtered wastewater from step (b) to remove at least about 70% of the wastewater dissolved and suspended solids in a second concentrate stream.

Abstract: A starchy food-based fat mimetic suitable for use in smooth-textured products, and methods of making the fat mimetic are disclosed. In one method, potato granules are comminuted to fine particles so that at least 90% by weight of the fine potato particles have a particle size of less than about 50 microns. The potato granules can be comminuted by dispersing the potato granules in an aqueous liquid to form a slurry and homogenizing the slurry. The homogenized slurry can be used as a fat mimetic, or it can be dried to form a potato powder which can be added to food products as a fat mimetic. Also, mimetics made by the same process from other starch foods such as fresh potatoes, potato flakes, corn, wheat, rice or beans.

Abstract: A method for making dehydrated, shelf-stable, puffed, rapidly-rehydratable, vegetable or fruit food pieces by puffing and drying moist food pieces (e.g. potato shreds) by conveying them in a bed through an impingement drying zone maintained at substantially atmospheric pressure in which streams of pressurized heated gas in a plurality of spaced fluid conduits exit from the conduits in spaced impinging streams at a velocity in excess of about 1,000 feet per minute are directed against the moist food pieces to cause the pieces to be suspended in a fluidized bed. In one case, the heated gas causes the moisture content of the moist food pieces to be reduced rapidly to puff them into porous pieces which exit the impingement drying zone having a moisture content of at least about 4% with a texture and appearance suitable for use as a rehydratable food piece.

Abstract: A method for producing a quick-reconstituting foodstuff including thawing previously frozen foodstuff under conditions to result in thawed foodstuff, freezing said thawed foodstuff to result in a multiply frozen foodstuff, subsequently thawing multiply frozen foodstuff under conditions to result in a multiply frozen and thawed foodstuff; and removing moisture from multiply frozen and thawed foodstuff under conditions to produce a finish-dried foodstuff having a storage stable moisture content of less than about 12% by total weight and exhibiting a Rehydration Ratio representing the replacement of at least 95% of previously removed moisture after reconstitution for less than about 10 minutes in simmering 205.degree. F. water.