Corn sticks: how are they made in production and at home?

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Prepared by: Ira Samokhina

10/14/2017 Cooking time: 30 min

I want to recommend this sweet, quick and very tasty dessert to you for a reason. Our family loves him very much! And when you don’t have time to bake, but want something sweet, then you’ve come to the right place

What are corn sticks made from?

Raw materials for the production of corn sticks are immediately supplied to the plant in large quantities. Literally tons of it are delivered to the enterprise. The raw materials are corn grits, which is made from durum corn, powdered sugar, salt and refined deodorized vegetable oil. These are all the ingredients required to make corn sticks, familiar to everyone since childhood.

The composition of salted or other flavored sticks is similar, but instead of powdered sugar, simply salt or an appropriate flavoring such as bacon, cheese, etc. are added.

2Corn sticks with cheese

This recipe for corn sticks will definitely appeal to those who like to experiment with taste. Also, salty sticks will be an excellent snack for beer.

Required ingredients:

• baked milk - 150 ml;
• butter - 70 g;
• “Russian” cheese – 50 g;
• corn flour - 200 g;
• chicken egg - 1 pc.;
• salt - to taste.

If you don’t have a pastry syringe in your kitchen arsenal, you can make one yourself from a napkin or plastic bag.

• Step 1 - bring the milk to a boil;
• Step 2 - melt the butter in a water bath and pour into boiling milk;
• Step 3 - grate the cheese on a fine grater;
• Step 4 - add corn flour and grated cheese in small parts to boiling milk;
• Step 5 - transfer the resulting mass into a blender bowl and beat until a homogeneous air mass is formed;
• Step 6 - salt the resulting corn dough and add 1 egg, beat with a blender on low for 30 seconds.
• Step 7 - take the air mass with a pastry syringe and squeeze it out in small portions onto a baking sheet covered with parchment.
• Step 8 - bake for 25 minutes at 160-170 degrees.

Tip: while baking the sticks, try not to open the oven so that your favorite delicacy “rises” well.

Equipment for making corn sticks

The production line for the production of corn sticks includes several types of equipment: a mixer for preparing cereals, a mill for producing powdered sugar, an extruder, a coating complex, a powdered sugar dispenser and a device that packages corn sticks. How products are made at the factory and at home and in what volume depends on the power of the extruder. By the way, the same equipment is used in the production of other breakfast cereals.

The device for making sticks comes in low, medium and high power. It is suitable for small, medium businesses and large factories respectively. In the first case, the productivity will be 30 kg of products per hour, in the second - 100 kg per hour, in the third - 250 kg per hour.

Nutritional and energy value:

Corn sticks: how they are made at the factory

Thus, production capacity and equipment costs depend on the size of the enterprise. How are corn sticks made at the factory?

The entire technological process takes no more than 10 minutes. During an 8-hour production shift, about three tons of sweet treats are produced. The production process itself consists of several stages:

1. First, corn grits are fed to an extruder, the temperature inside of which ranges from 40 to 150 degrees.
2. Under the influence of high temperature and pressure, the raw material acquires the consistency of dough.
3. The plastic mass falls onto a special matrix with holes, when passing through which the dough sharply increases in size, as if exploding and acquiring the structure of a corn stick. This happens due to a sharp change in pressure. The shape and size of the holes on the matrix determine what the corn sticks will be: round, square, star-shaped, etc.

The sticks that come out of the extruder remain too wet, so they do not have their own taste and do not yet crunch on the teeth. To do this, they need to be glazed and dried in a special drum.

Leading Process Equipment

The EMT extrusion plant (Fig. 2) processes pre-prepared raw materials. The installation is equipped with a frequency converter for screw rotation and a turbo unit. It is also possible to install a pre-humidification device. The turbo unit, located in the pre-matrix space, ensures equalization of pressure across the entire plane of the matrix, a stable, even shape of the product, and an increase in the service life of the main components.

Rice. 2.EMT extruder

The extruder consists of a frame 1, a hopper 2, an extruder working body 3, a cutting mechanism 4, a tray 5, a plate 6, a drive casing 7, and an electric motor 8.

Technical Specification of EMT Extruder

• Capacity, l/h 120
• Auger diameter, mm 75
• Extruder working area length, mm 135
• Power, kW 22
• Overall dimensions, mm 1400×1000×2000

The filling and packaging machine TPA-1200 RA (Fig. 3) is equipped with a weighing dispenser and a unit for printing the date on the product. The filling machine "TPA-1200 RA" forms a "standing" package with a lining or a "pillow". It works both with and without a photo tag. Can be equipped with an outflow conveyor. Also equipped with strain gauges and electronics from CAS Corp, pneumatics and a Camozzi valve system.

Rice. 3. Filling and packaging machine TPA-1200 RA Technical characteristics of the filling and packaging machine TPA-1200 RA

• Productivity, pack/h 600
• Dosing, g 30…2000
• Package length, mm up to 320
• Power consumption, kW 0.7
• Overall dimensions, mm 1100x650x1750
• Weight, kg 270

Extruder A1-KHP (Fig. 4) is designed to produce sticks from corn grits by heat and mechanical treatment.

Rice. 4. Extruder A1-KHP

The extruder consists of a frame 1, a hopper 7, a bearing housing 9, a cylinder 3, a cutting mechanism 4, a variator, and a control panel with heaters. The machine has two individual drives: for the auger and the cutting mechanism. On the top plate of the welded frame, an electric motor 8 drives the auger, connected through a coupling to the high-speed gearbox shaft 10. The latter, in turn, is connected to the shaft of the bearing housing using a coupling. The cast bearing housing contains a shaft that rotates in radial rolling bearings. To absorb the axial load from the forming screw, a thrust ball bearing is installed in the housing.

A welded cylinder with a screw located inside it is attached to the bearing housing by a flange. On the opposite side the cylinder is closed by a matrix. The temperature in the working area is controlled by thermocouples introduced into the zone through plug 5. To heat the corn mass, a block of electric heaters 6 is installed in the front part of the cylinder.

At the front end of the matrix there is a cutting mechanism with rotating knives, which is driven by a separate electric motor through a stepless variator. The electric motor and variator are located inside the frame. The rotation speed of the variator is controlled by handle 2, installed in close proximity to the control panel. For ease of maintenance, the cutting mechanism is moved to the side.

A hopper for receiving corn grits is installed above the cylinder. Corn grits from the machine's hopper enter through an adjustable valve into the receiving opening of the cylinder, where the product is pressed and heated to a temperature of 145 °C.

As a result of exposure to heat, moisture and pressure, the cereal turns into a plastic mass, which is squeezed out by a screw through the holes of the matrix. When leaving the holes of the matrix, the mass swells under the influence of steam generated from superheated moisture, forming a porous crispy vein. The cutting mechanism divides the emerging strands into sticks, which are carried away by a conveyor.

Serving of cereal (1.5…2.0 kg at a temperature in the cylinder of 80…145 °C)

prepared 30...60 minutes before starting the machine.

The cylinder heating mode is selected for each machine individually depending on the type, grinding, moisture content of the grain and the degree of wear.

Technical characteristics of extruder A1-KHP

• Productivity, kg/h 75
• Power, kW: drive 21 electric heaters 3.84
• Number of screws 1
• Screw rotation speed, min-1 71
• Auger diameter, mm 155
• Maximum temperature in the heating zone, °C 145
• Maximum permissible extrusion pressure, MPa 10
• Overall dimensions, mm 1750x890x1635
• Weight, kg 1300

Extruder B8-KH-ZP (Fig. 5) is designed for the production of sticks from corn grits through its thermal and mechanical processing, followed by packaging on other machines.

Rice. 5. Extruder B8-KH-ZP

The extruder consists of a frame 1, a forming mechanism 2, a mechanism 5 for cutting sticks to length, a turner 3 for corn grits, and a block of electric heaters 4.

The forming mechanism consists of a male screw with a right-hand thread, a screw bushing with a left-hand thread, a matrix with twelve holes with a diameter of 3 mm, a cage with four cutting knives, driven into rotation through a chain and V-belt drive from an electric motor.

The agitator is a housing, inside of which a shaft with blades rotates, mixing the grain coming from the bunker.

The electric heater block is designed to heat the working area of ​​the machine during the start-up period and automatically maintain a constant temperature from 160 to 180 °C. To avoid overheating of the machine in the loading area, forced water circulation cooling of the forming mechanism body is provided with a connection to the water supply network.

There is provision for manual control of the electric drives of the screw and knife, as well as manual and automatic control of the heater block.

Before starting the machine, the working area of ​​the forming mechanism is heated for 30...35 minutes to 160...180 °C using an electric heater block. 25...30 minutes before starting the machine, the first portion of cereal with a moisture content of 20...21% is prepared. The prepared cereal is manually poured into a special tray in a small stream into the opening of the loading zone when the machine is turned on. After the sticks leave the forming matrix, the valve opens and cereal with a moisture content of 13...14% enters the machine.

Technical characteristics of extruder B8-KH-ZP

• Productivity, kg/h 90
• Power, kW: drive 18.5 electric heater 2.8
• Number of screws 1
• Screw rotation speed, min-1 79.3
• Auger diameter, mm 74
• Maximum temperature in the heating zone, °C 160-180
• Maximum permissible extrusion pressure, MPa 12
• Overall dimensions, mm 1200x1200x1900
• Weight, kg 950

Rice. 6. Matrix with annular (a) and conical (b) holes

Rice. 7. Graphs for determining the flow characteristics f of channels of various cross sections: 1 – rectangular; 2 – trough-shaped; 3 – oval; 4 – elliptical.

How to make corn sticks with flavoring additives

At the next stage, after the products leave the extruder, they are dried in a special drum. Next, the sticks enter the coating complex - this is a device that resembles a long drum, with the help of which powdered flavoring additives are applied to the products. At the same time, vegetable oil is supplied through the sprayer. It is heated inside the drum and sprayed evenly in a small amount onto the corn sticks. How are they glazed? Read on.

After the sticks are saturated with oil, they go into the next compartment of the drum. Here they are sprinkled with powdered sugar on all sides. When it comes into contact with warm vegetable oil, it melts, forming a sweet glaze on top of the product. At the next stage, ready-made sticks come out of the drum. Then they are packaged by special equipment in automatic mode. Finished sticks are packaged and sent to the warehouse, and then directly to the wholesale buyer.

Business relevance

Sweet corn sticks are a simple and inexpensive dessert made from corn grits and powdered sugar. It was invented in the USA at the end of the 19th century, but quite quickly the simple airy sweetness spread throughout the world. In the USSR they were prepared not only from corn, but from rice cereals. Manufacturers experimented with cereals, flour, powdered sugar, chocolate coating and oils.

There is no exact data on the dynamics of demand for corn sticks. However, the assortment of any supermarket includes this dessert from different manufacturers. It can be assumed that the demand for the product is moderate, but does not depend on the season. It is definitely inferior to chocolate, cookies, and waffles in popularity. But it costs the manufacturer much less, being characterized by low cost and ease of manufacture. From this point of view, the production of air sticks is relevant as a business idea.

Corn sticks are a popular and inexpensive dessert made from corn grits and powdered sugar.

Now about the cons. The reputation of the product was spoiled by enterprises that over the past few decades have used low-quality oils, artificial flavors and skimped on powdered sugar. Corn sticks are high in carbohydrates and have a calorie content similar to that of chocolate (approximately 500 calories per 100 grams, depending on the amount of powdered sugar), which makes the product suitable only for limited consumption. During heat treatment, corn grits loses vitamins, and the final product is useless for the body. Correct positioning of the product and the use of quality ingredients will help correct these shortcomings.

Market analysis

A business plan for the production and sale of corn sticks should include not only the organization of the enterprise and start-up investments, but also potential distribution channels. will sell the bulk of its products Opening your own retail outlet with one category of goods is impractical, at least in the first stages of work.

A good idea would be to sell sticks online in small wholesale . Some families are interested in purchasing several tens of kilograms of product at a better price than in the store. There should be no problems with transporting orders: the product is voluminous, but light and not fragile. Another sales option is confectionery manufacturers. This product is the basis of the popular Golden Key cake.

How to make corn sticks at home

You won’t be able to make corn sticks at home without special equipment. Products acquire an air structure only when passing through an extruder, which provides the necessary sharp pressure drop. Neither a traditional screw meat grinder, nor, especially, a pastry bag can replace professional equipment in this case.

How to make corn sticks at home? Very quickly if equipment and raw materials are available. First of all, for this you will need a special apparatus for making corn sticks UKP-M. The productivity of the device is 15 kg of products per hour.

To prepare the sticks, corn grits are first poured into a special funnel on the body, passed through a humidification system and subjected to thermoplastic processing. The entire process occurs almost instantly in a continuous mode. Then the mass is pressed at a certain speed through a special matrix with cutting, which gives the required shape to the finished product. The simplest corn sticks are ready! Now they need to be coated with glaze or sprinkled with powdered sugar, and they can be served.

In addition to corn sticks, the UKP-M device is used for the production of products from wheat, pearl barley, rice in the shape of stars, tubes, etc.

Benefits and harm to the body

The benefits and harms of corn sticks are simultaneously due to their high carbohydrate content. If corn porridge is rich in “slow” carbohydrates, which are more difficult to digest by the body, then under the influence of heat and mechanical processing the carbohydrates in corn sticks become “fast”. Therefore, after consuming this product, the level of glucose in the blood quickly increases, and the body is charged with energy.

But this positive aspect also has a downside. The same heat treatment almost completely destroys the vitamins A and E contained in the cereal. However, you can replenish the supply of vitamins while eating sticks by simply pouring juice over them. Such a breakfast will charge you not only with energy, but also with vitamins.

But it is worth remembering that if the body does not use up “fast” carbohydrates in the near future, then they will just as quickly settle as extra centimeters and an orange peel on the waist and hips. This is another possible harm to the body.

Calorie content and composition

The composition of many children's favorite delicacy does not contain many components. To make corn sticks, you only need corn grits (in industrial production, grits are used, not flour), refined and deodorized vegetable oil, finely ground table salt and powdered sugar for coating (sometimes it is mixed with milk powder or cocoa).

Of course, modern manufacturers often additionally use dyes, flavor enhancers, preservatives and stabilizers. Such ingredients make the taste more intense, but the benefits of consuming such a product are significantly reduced.

The average calorie content of sweet puffed corn sticks is 518 kcal/100 g. The ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, respectively, is 6/28/58.

History of Corn Delight

The ancestors of corn sticks were flakes made from this cereal. They were accidentally invented at the end of the 19th century by the brothers of the Kellogg family from America. While preparing porridge from maize flour (maize is sweet corn) for the guests of the Battle Creek sanatorium, they overlooked the process and overcooked the dish.

In order not to throw away an impressive portion of the product, resourceful, and perhaps practical and even greedy, owners of the establishment decided to make maize dough from the sticky mass. But after passing through the rollers, the pressed dough turned into flakes.

To improve the taste and make the corn flakes crispy, they are fried in aromatic corn oil. As a result, the product was saved and served as a new dish, which the guests of the sanatorium liked. Some time later, on May 31, 1895, US entrepreneurs received a patent for the “Technology for preparing Hulled Corn Cereals.”

About 50 years later, with the development of physics as a science and the introduction of extrusion technology into the food industry, the now familiar corn sticks began to be produced in the States. In the Soviet Union, the first production of this product was established in 1963 at the Food Concentrates Plant in the city of Dnepropetrovsk. Today, in many countries, large and small enterprises are successfully operating, producing corn sticks of various shapes, sizes and tastes.