Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Molding – casting – or shaping
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-06
2002-06-18
Bhat, Nina (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Molding, casting, or shaping
C426S660000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06406733
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of forming shaped or embossed chocolate compositions that can include detailed designs and/or planar surfaces.
2. Related Background Art
The unique flavor and mouthfeel of chocolate is a result of the combination of numerous components as well as the process of manufacture. Chocolate contains solid particles dispersed throughout a fat matrix (the term “fat” includes cocoa butter and milk fat).
Similarly, chocolate-like compositions may also contain fats other than cocoa butter or milk fat. Accordingly, melted chocolate and chocolate-like compositions are suspensions of non-fat particles (e.g., sugar, milk powders and cocoa solids) in a continuous liquid fat phase. The fat phase of milk chocolate, for example, is typically a mixture of cocoa butter, a suitable emulsifier, and milk fat. Cocoa butter is typically the predominant fat in the chocolates.
Cocoa butter is a polymorphic material in that it has the ability to crystallize in a number of different crystal packing configurations (Wille and Lutton “Polymorphism of Cocoa Butter”,
J. Amer. Oil Chem. Society
, Vol. 43 (1966) pages 491-96, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). Six different polymorphic forms are generally recognized for cocoa butter. Forms I and II are produced, for example, by rapidly cooling melted untempered chocolate to low temperatures and are very unstable with low melting points. Forms III and IV melt at higher temperatures than Forms I and II but are not the most desirous forms for confectionery manufacture. Forms V and VI are the most stable forms of cocoa butter. It is desirable to have Form V as the predominant form in a well-tempered chocolate. Form V transforms slowly into Form VI after a period of time. Accordingly, chocolate processing is strongly linked to the crystallization and polymorphic behavior of the fat phase. Before chocolate can be satisfactorily processed from liquid to solid using conventional methods, it must be tempered after which it is gently cooled to form a set chocolate having a stable fat phase.
The most commonly used method of processing chocolate involves the following sequential steps:
A. complete melting of the chocolate fat phase;
B. cooling to the point of initial crystallization of the fat phase (i.e., below the melting point of the liquid fat phase);
C. crystallizing a portion of the liquid fat phase;
D. slight heating to melt out any unstable crystals that may have formed leaving from about 3 to 8 wt % as seeds for crystallizing the remaining liquid fat; and
E. gently cooling to set the chocolate, typically in a cooling tunnel.
During conventional chocolate processing, the chocolate mixture is initially melted at temperatures of about 45° C. and tempered by cooling with agitation to about 29° to 30° C. The tempering of the chocolate results in a chocolate dispersion having fat crystals dispersed throughout the liquid fat phase. The chocolate suspension may then be further processed prior to setting by, for example, enrobing the chocolate onto an edible center or molding the chocolate. The chocolate is finally set into a form sufficiently solid for wrapping by gentle, controlled cooling.
Conventional tempering is the controlled partial precrystallization of the fat phase which is believed to be necessary to produce a stable solid form of the fat in the finished product. Therefore, one important object of tempering is to develop a sufficient number of stable seed crystals so that under appropriate cooling conditions the fat phase of the chocolate is able to crystallize into a stable polymorphic form. Tempering plays a key role in ensuring that the cocoa butter crystallizes in the stable form. “Chocolate must be properly tempered. Undertempered chocolate causes delayed setting in the cooler and adhesion to [processing equipment such as a] conveyor belt, and ultimately bad chocolate color and fat bloom” (see
Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology
, by Minifie, 3rd Ed., p. 218, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
Although it is important that the chocolate is well seeded with stable forms of cocoa butter crystals, the tempered chocolate still contains a high proportion of liquid cocoa butter, estimated from about 92 to 97 wt % of the fat phase. This must be solidified or at least partially solidified in the cooling process so that the set chocolate can be wrapped and ultimately be completely solidified into a stable crystalline form. (see
Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology
, by Minifie, 3rd Ed., p. 195, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
Chocolates having a desired three-dimensional shape or having an image or design imprinted on a surface (herein referred to as “formed chocolates”) are conventionally produced by molding. Molding is the casting of liquid chocolate into molds (plastic or metal) followed by cooling and demolding. The finished chocolate may be a solid block, a hollow shell, or a shell filled with a confectionery material such as fondant, fudge or soft caramel (
Chocolate. Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology
by Bernard W. Minifie, Third Edition, page 183, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
The term molding includes methods wherein chocolate is deposited into molds, allowed to cool and hardened into solid pieces. The chocolates used in molding processes usually can be somewhat more viscous than coating chocolates since the chocolate can be vibrated and/or forced into a mold over a longer period of time than allowed in enrobing, for example. However, chocolate molded with food inclusions generally must be as fluid as coating chocolates.
Formed chocolate products are conventionally produced by depositing tempered chocolate having a liquid fat phase into molds, allowing the chocolate to cool and harden into solid pieces before demolding the chocolate (
Chocolate. Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology
by Bernard W. Minifie, Third Edition, pages 198-206, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
The most commonly used method of producing a shaped chocolate involves the following sequential steps:
A. heating the chocolate to soften, i.e., melting of the fat phase;
B. tempering the chocolate;
C. depositing the tempered chocolate into a mold;
D. shaking the mold to remove air bubbles and fully distribute the chocolate in the mold cavity;
E. cooling to harden the chocolate; and
F. removing said set shaped chocolate from said mold (“de-molding”).
One disadvantage of the conventional molding process is the excessive time required to fill the mold, shake the mold to remove air pockets and solidify the chocolate to form a shaped piece. The molding time typically exceeds 10 to 20 minutes. The requirement of the use of molds to form shaped or decorated products greatly reduces the efficiencies of such commercial production lines.
The decoration or embossing of a surface of a chocolate, typically the top surface, by conventional methods is also disadvantageous. In the hand-dipping days, decorations were made by hand using hand tools (
Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use
by S. T. Beckett, second edition, page 227, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). The Sollich Decormatic [Sollich GMBH &Co., KG, Bad Salzuflen, Germany] and Woody Stringer [Woody Associates, Inc., York, Pa., USA] are two conventional decorating apparatuses. The Decormatic decorates the chocolate by applying additional chocolate through a nozzle. The decoration is limited by the movement of the nozzles in relation to the chocolate product (i.e., circulatory or oscillating movements). The Woody Stringer also functions by applying additional chocolate onto the chocolate product to form a decoration. Such devices are limited to the speed in which the additional decorative chocolate can be applied. Moreover, the types of decorations that can be created are limited to those which are able to be formed with the chocolate applicator. Thes
Collins Thomas M.
Earis Frank W.
Harding William
Lee Ralph D.
Stephens Steven D.
Bhat Nina
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Mars Incorporated
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