Extrusion cooked products can normally stand reasonably high temperatures (177-190oC/351-374oF) without impairment of nutritive value for the first 4 to 6 minutes they are in the dryer; but the temperature of the drying air should be reduced during the last half of the drying cycle lest a Maillard (non-enzymatic browning) reaction should develop to the nutritive disadvantage of the product. The temperature of the drying air can be reduced in the last half of the dryer length by blowing modulated amounts of ambient air into the last half of the hot air duct conveying preheated air to the dryer.