| abstract |
A method of manufacturing a fruit-containing snack food comprises providing a fruit material comprising whole fruit solids; providing a binder material, the binder material being selected from the group comprising cereal material, starch material, nuts seeds, egg, soy, pulses and dairy material; mixing together the fruit material and the binder material to form a mixture having a weight ratio of whole fruit solids: binder material solids of from 0.6:1 to less than 4:1, the whole fruit solids and binder material solids each being on a dry basis, and a moisture content of from 49 to 75 wt % based on the weight of the mixture; forming the mixture such that it has a thickness of between 1 and 4 millimetres; and cooking the mixture in a vacuum-controlled atmosphere having a pressure of less than 1 bar absolute. |