Whalen et al. FIGURE 3 Side and cross-sectional views of an atmospheric cereal cooker commonly known as the James Cooker. (From Ref. 66.) factors in the cook. A trade-off between mechanical versus heat-damaged corn, excessive fines or flour, and new crop thermal input is often the solution for making half-prod-year variations. ucts for flaking or puffing. This requires the equipment to Doughs are usually subjected to forming via a second be operated within a fairly narrow margin to achieve ap-extrusion step, dough conditioning or sheeting. Materials propriate downstream results. Product defects originating are usually face cut off a forming extruder or dried slightly in the cook are usually not salvaged by adjustments in unit to allow sizing and cutting. Extruded doughs may be pro-operations downstream in the production process. Ingredi-duced in strands or strips directly off the extruder to elimi-ent quality, especially grain based, can have a dramatic im-nate the need for a separate forming extruder or sheeting pact on extrusion operations. This includes such common operation [11,92]. In twin screw extruders, this necessi-issues as sprout damage in wheat, rancidity in oat flour, tates matching the cook section with the requirements for