Abstract: A coating composition for foods includes starch and an effective amount of gum acacia to provide enhanced crunchiness and heat retention. A method of making crunchy food includes coating an edible food with the coating composition.

Abstract: A food product includes an edible base and an outer coating that contains a whitener such that the resulting food product has a white light color. The whitener includes titanium dioxide, white dye, or other substance that imparts a white color. A process for making the food product includes incorporating a whitener into the process by such means as addition of the whitener into a dry batter mix, addition of the whitener to the water used to hydrate the dry batter mix, passing the edible base through an aqueous solution of the whitener, addition of the whitener after a batter coating has been applied to the edible base, or a combination of the above.

Abstract: Apparatus in accordance with the invention includes an endless belt conveyor having an insulated bottom belt and a pair of insulated, opposite side belts having longitudinally spaced apart, transverse slots therein for receiving removable electrically conductive plates adapted to form opposite sides of a series of moving baking compartments on the belt. Each compartment is adapted for holding a mass of dough in contact with a pair of plates on opposite sides of the dough mass and an electric current source is interconnected to make contact with the conductive plates on opposite sides of each moving compartment to pass an electric current through the dough mass contained in the compartment for baking the dough as it moves along with the conveyor until baking is complete and the plates are removed from the conveyor.