Within the fast food segment the food products are expected to become continually easier to prepare. This reflects itself in that ever more of the food being warmed up by the retailer must be of a nature that can be warmed up, for example, on a roller grill or other conventional means for warming up food products and keeping then warm. When filled food products of yeast dough or other types of dough are to be prepared on a roller grill, it is essential that the products have a shape that make them able to rotate on the grill, i. e. that they must have a substantially perfect cylindrical shape.

Usually, dough is allowed to rise for a period before it is somehow cooked or baked in a convection oven. This process is unfavourable in view of ensuring a cylindrical shape for a filled product. What would happen is that the product becomes flattened on the underside due to the gravity that presses the loose dough and the fill against the surface onto which the product is placed. This would render impossible the subsequent rotation of the product on a roller grill.

In order to make possible the preparation of a food product of the above type on a roller grill after having been frozen, the food product should preferably be pre- cooked before it is frozen, distributed, and stored, after which it is thawed and warmed up on a roller grill. In this manner, the food product is given a firm, substantially cylindrical shape that resists thawing on a roller grill.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a food product that meets the following requirements: - the food product must include dough that resists deep-frying, - the food product must maintain a substantially cylindrical shape both before as well as after deep-frying,

- the food product must be allowed to contain a fill that comprises a relatively large amount of water without losing its cylindrical shape and without splitting open during warm-up processing at the producer and/or retailer.

It is also an object that the food product be simple to manufacture in an automated, space-saving process, at a low cost, and without excessive capital investments.

Deep-fried yeast dough is known, for example, in connection with so-called doughnuts and bismarks. However, these are both sweet dough and do not represent filled products of the type of interest in this application.

The challenge is to develop yeast dough yielding the desired taste and consistency through deep-frying while at the same time maintaining a substantially cylindrical shape and being allowed to contain a fill comprising a relatively large amount of water. If, for example, only white flour is used in the recipe, the product will be crispy like a biscuit after the deep-frying process. Another problem is that the resulting food product must be adequately warmed throughout, without the bread surrounding the fill being overcooked having cold fill inside.

EP 1 157 613 A1 discloses a co-extruded food product in which a fill is surrounded by a dough, wherein the food product can be warmed up on a roller grill. In paragraphs 18 and 19 of this publication it is mentioned that the products must be allowed to rest in designated forms following co-extrusion. This is necessary because the dough contains white flour as the only farinaceous ingredient, and requires large and costly investments in bakery equipment as well as a big production area that cannot be used for other earnings. Moreover, the dough would not withstand deep-frying, and also requires application of oil thereon after freezing.

GB 2 270 613 A discloses a food product that is formed into a desired shape before being deep-fried. The dough comprises durum wheat, white flour, and water. However, it is not described that the resulting food product is to contain a fill or that it is to be warmed up on a roller grill.

The present invention provides a co-extruded food product comprising a filler having a high water content and being surrounded by a dough, wherein the food product maintains a substantially cylindrical shape at all times after the co- extrusion process and is subject to a deep-frying process before being frozen.

Then, the food product is ready for being warmed up on a roller grill, without undergoing cracking or being unevenly warmed up in the process. According the invention, this is accomplished in that the dough is made from about 1/3 of water at about 8-15°C, about 1/3 wheat flour at 10-20°C, about 1/3 durum wheat at about 10-20°C, small amounts of sugar, yeast, and salt, as well as possibly other flavouring agents, stabilisers and conserving agents, wherein the dough is extruded outside of a fill having a high water content so that the food product exhibits a substantially cylindrical shape, the resulting food product being cooked in a deep-fryer.

Having spent a lot of effort, the inventors have discovered that dough possessing the above features meets the requirements necessary for yielding a food product suitable for being warmed up on a roller grill.

Additionally, the fill must have a consistency that prevents it from floating out following the extrusion of the fill and the surrounding dough. Nor must the fill be so hard that it seems different than other types of fill. By the use of preferably a modified cold swelling starch, the fill can be allowed to have a relatively high water content, making the fill more tasteful and juicy while at the same time preventing it from contributing to the collapse of the food product following the extrusion. Other starching agents that help preventing a fill having a relatively high water content from undergoing excessive sinking and otherwise possess acceptable taste and consistency characteristics will be equally applicable. After the deep-frying of the food product has been completed, the bread, which has formed outside the fill, will help ensuring that the food product maintains its cylindrical shape. However, it is also an important aspect of the present invention that the bread that forms enclosing the fill are capable of being frozen, thawed, and warmed up on a roller grill without causing the resulting food product to split open, become unevenly cooked, or have an indelicate consistency, taste, and/or texture.

The extrusion is accomplished by placing the fill into a compartment that carries it to the centre of a larger tube through which the dough is pressed. Thus, the fill and the dough are guided together towards an opening and are discharged in the form of a sausage consisting of dough outside and a fill inside. Preferably, the thickness of the dough layer is approximately 2 mm, as this will ensure that the dough becomes crispy outside and slightly softer in towards the fill.

Following the extrusion, the food product may be put directly into a deep-fryer for deep-frying (preferably at about 180°C for about 80 seconds), with no need for resting or rising before the deep-frying process. In this manner, the excessive use of space and time is avoided, with the associated savings. In the deep-frying process the product will be surrounded by hot oil that closes the dough from all angles without causing the product to collapse on any side. This results in a product having a uniform crust that ensures the cylindrical shape for further processing, and also avoids a further step of application of oil onto the food product. Thus, following the completion of the deep-frying process, the food product will comprise a layer of oil on its outer surface that is sufficient to allow it to be put directly onto a roller grill in a frozen condition without getting stuck or being burnt in the thawing/warming process. Moreover, the oil also contributes to give the food product a delicate outer surface after the warm-up process.