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Thermal processing techniques such as extrusion cooking generate complex chemical and physical changes in ingredients to produce final products with desired characteristics. An extrusion technologist can use a variety of technical tools such as polymer science to enhance his or her understanding of these changes. However, measuring the glass and melt transition of the complex recipes used in extrusion has proven difficult, if not impossible. The Phase Transition Analyzer, a closed-chamber capillary rheometer, may be one useful tool for measuring the controlling glass and melt transitions of complex recipes. Information gained for the Phase Transition Analyzer contains the basis for enhancing our understanding of the extrusion process as well as the potential for predictive control of the extrusion system based on raw material properties.