PROCESS FOR PRODUCING DEHYDRATED WHOLE LENTILS

摘要

A process for producing reconstitutable, dehydrated, whole lentils which includes providing a quantity of uncooked, dried lentils, tempering the lentils by immersion in water (18), draining excess water from same, allowing the lentils to stand for a time sufficient to acquire a moisture content substantially equilibrated throughout the lentils, cooking said lentils in a steam environment for a period of time sufficient to soften them (20), and passing said lentils through a gap between two smooth rollers such that the pericarp outer covering is cracked without penetrating the cotyledon inner seeds (48). Depending on the chosen size of the gap, either no cotyledon inner seed is exposed or up to one millimeter of seed can be exposed. The resulting lentils are then dehydrated (50) and can be easily reconstituted as a ready-to-eat food product.