Puffed grain
A process developed by Dr. Alexander P. Anderson of New York City in 1902. It was first manufactured by American Cereal Co. (which became Quaker Oats Co.) and was introduced at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 as puffed rice. As distinct from popcorn, which naturally pops and puffs itself with heating, puffed grain is put under high pressure with steam. When the containment vessel's seal is suddenly broken, the entrained steam then flashes and bloats the endosperm of the kernel, increasing its volume to many times its original size.
Puffed rice or other grain is an occasional street food in China, where peddlers implement this process using an integrated pushcart/puffer featuring a rotating steel pressure chamber heated over an open flame. The great booming sound produced by the release of pressure serves as advertising to attract customers.
One aspect of puffing is its simplicity. For instance, the ingredients for puffed rice can be just rice and perhaps salt for taste. Other products like Rice Krispies or Sugar Pops mix many ingredients into a homogenous batter and then form batter particles to look like kernels and then toast them in a manner that might cause them to rise, but not to puff or pop.
Puffed grains are popular as breakfast cereals and in the form of "rice cakes". While it is easy to recognize that the former came from whole grains, the exapansion factor for rice cakes is even greater, and the final product is somewhat more homogenous.
The following grains can be puffed in a process described above:
Snacks and food products made from puffed grain include:
- Bhelpuri (rice)
- Cheese puffs (corn)
- Golden Crisp (wheat)
- Kix (breakfast cereal)
- Puffed rice
- Smacks (wheat)
- Toffee Crisp (rice)
- Wotsits (corn)
- Yuba (soy beans)
Note that "crisps" get their crispiness from toasting, not puffing.