Food extrusion

Food extrusion is like playing with Play-Doh! Imagine squeezing Play-Doh out of the container to create fun shapes and patterns. But instead of Play-Doh, food manufacturers use a special machine to squeeze different types of food through small holes to make pasta, snacks, or breakfast cereal!

The food-making machine, called a food extruder, has a big hopper that holds the food ingredients which are mixed together. Think of it like a big mixing bowl. The ingredients are then pushed towards a small hole using a screw or a paddle that rotates inside the machine. The pressure created by the screw or paddle forces the food through a small opening called a die that shapes the food into the desired form.

Food extrusion is perfect for making foods with a consistent size and texture. The machine can make food with different shapes like stars, noodles, or squares. It can also create different flavors by adding spices, flavors, or colors to the food mixture. Food extrusion is a popular way of making many snack foods, such as potato chips, pretzels, and cheese puffs.

In summary, food extrusion is when food is mixed together and then squeezed through a small hole in a machine to create fun shapes and textures. Kids may not realize it, but they already love food made using extrusion - from the colorful Froot Loops in their cereal bowl to the crunchy Goldfish crackers in their lunchbox!