Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Carbohydrate containing
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-06
2004-08-10
Paden, Carolyn (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Carbohydrate containing
C426S658000, C426S660000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06773744
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND INTRODUCTION
The invention relates to confectionery products and methods for producing them.
The products and methods of the invention provide numerous advantages. In one example in the chocolate confections field, efforts to reduce fat levels frequently produce undesirable crystallization of components in the final product or the commonly referred to problem of “bloom,” where fat or sugar components of the final product migrate to the surface upon storage. By creating a novel combination of processes typically used in sugar confectionery with those typically used in chocolate confectionery, the inventors have surprisingly and advantageously overcome these problems and identified additional advantages. In one aspect, the products and methods of the invention allow those in the art to produce high quality, stable, and/or depositable confectionery ingredients or products. In another aspect, the methods result in products with low water activity, which among other things allows them to be used with wafers and other mixed confectionery ingredients. In general, the products may have various fudge-like textures and flavors, good stability, and an acceptable shelf life of at least six months at room temperature. In another aspect, the products according to the present invention resemble fudge and can be produced with conventional confectionery equipment as stand alone products or as components of molded, enrobed, or panned chocolate confectionery intended for retail sale.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
Various attempts to produce reduced fat confectionery have been documented. In U.S. Statutory Invention Registration #H1,527 a method for preparing confections with chocolate-like textures and flavors that contain 5-20% total fat is discussed. This method relies on the use of (1) a crystallizable saccharide (greater than 50%) to maintain water activity below about 0.5; and (2) a starch ingredient that is critical to the application. Furthermore, crystallization of the saccharide is induced in a supersaturated syrup through use of a “seeding component” at required mixing temperatures of 220° F. or less. This temperature minimum must be achieved to strike a balance between hydration of added starch, while at the same time not melting the added seed crystals. Because of crystallization in these products, dough-like consistencies are obtained, thereby making extrusion necessary and preventing uses as a depositable or flowable product or ingredient.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,786 discusses a chocolate chip-like product with conched flavor, fat-like mouthfeel, thermostability in the oven, and storage stability. The moisture content is 10-20% and water activities (Aw) are 0.8-0.9. This Aw level is above that desired for a product in contact with a wafer and also suggests a tendency for crystallization. The product is made by wet milling regular or defatted cocoa powder with an aqueous sugar syrup in a Dyno-Mill using ceramic beads. The micro-milled cocoa powder is reduced in size from 75 microns to an average of 2-7 microns. Water or skim milk can be used as the liquid medium. The ground paste consists of 10-15% cocoa powder, 55-65% sugar, and 25-35% liquid. After grinding, a dough is formed by mixing 30-50% paste, 45-55% additional powdered sugar, and 5-15% additional cocoa powder. The dough is shaped and cut in a pasta maker with a rotary knife. Another variation of this method, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,664, also discusses water activities between 0.8-0.9.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,982 discusses a “reverse phase” chocolate in which sucrose is dissolved in water at the boiling point. Corn syrup, lecithin, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and microcrystalline cellulose (especially coated with surfactant) are then blended using a high-speed mixer. The product is dried under vacuum until the final moisture reaches 3% or less. The product is then cut into pieces to be consumed. Fat contents between 13-27% are alleged. A similar product is discussed that incorporates sweetened condensed milk.
The patent literature also contains examples in the area of incorporating water into chocolate pastes. One area is the addition of pre-made emulsions to chocolate. One example of this approach is U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,957. This patent discusses a method for producing a chocolate-like product containing 2-16% water. Conventional chocolate is blended at temperatures not exceeding 40° C. with a water-in-oil emulsion that also contains an edible emulsifier and a sugar alcohol. The hydrated chocolate is then enrobed with regular chocolate. This process requires a pre-emulsion preparation step, and there is no attempt to control sugar crystallization beyond simple cooling. Enrobing of the hydrated mass with chocolate is required for extended shelf life since crystallization in the final product causes moisture migration and subsequent drying out.
There are also products in which water is simply blended with other ingredients, including gelling agents, to form a creme that is added to chocolate paste. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,509 discusses a product and process that incorporates from 1-16% moisture into chocolate. Cocoa butter is mixed with cocoa and an emulsifier in order to completely coat the cocoa powder. Also water, sweetener, and milk solids are blended to form an aqueous product. The two mixtures are blended under low shear and the resulting mix is tempered before pouring into molds.
Each of the above methods exhibits one or more process inefficiencies or shortcomings in the characteristics of the final product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a product and its process of manufacture that, in a few aspects, results in a water-continuous matrix that has fudge-like textures and flavors, and/or stable water activities that vary no more than ±0.05, preferably not more than ±0.02, over six months at room temperature. More generally, the invention relates to a novel combination of candy confectionery techniques and chocolate confectionery techniques. The results of this novel combination can be manipulated, as exemplified below, to provide suitable low fat, reduced-fat, flowable, depositable, and/or stable or bloom resistant confectionery products or ingredients.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a method of making a confectionery, such as a bar, or a confectionery used as an ingredient in a product, such as a flowable or depositable filling between layers of wafer or other ingredient, or a confectionery capable of use in enrobing or moulding. The method comprises heating a bob syrup, adding a hydrocolloid to the heated bob syrup, and mixing the bob syrup with added fat component, wherein the amount of hydrocolloid added results in a water activity of the final confectionery of below 0.6, and wherein the final solids content is about 80 to 90% total solids by weight. As known in the art, a bob syrup comprises water, a sugar, and here a humectant, such as a composition of sorbitol and glycerine, or other humectants of the art. Typically, a bob syrup is a mixture of sugars, such as a blend of sugar, corn syrup, and water (see Pancoast, et al. Handbook of Sugars, AVI Publ. Co., 2
nd
Ed. 1980, specifically incorporated herein by reference). One skilled in the art is familiar with the production of a bob syrup and the selection of appropriate ingredients, which may include one or more of high maltose corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, anhydrous dextrose, and sucrose, for example. Any type of suitable humectant can be selected for use and a number have been approved as generally recognized food additives. A humectant functions to absorb and/or promote the retention of moisture in a confectionery. A composition or combination of sorbitol and glycerine is a preferred humectant. However, a sugar alcohol or sugar alcohol-containing composition can be selected. In a preferred example, a carrageenen is added as the hydrocolloid. A hydrocolloid is a water-soluble compound, typically a polymer such as a polysaccharide or protein, that functions to im
Bouzas Jorge O.
Emsing Julie A.
Ritchey Beth Anne
Ward Philip C.
Hershey Foods Corporation
Paden Carolyn
Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP
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