Methods of processing chocolates at low viscosities and/or...

Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Surface coating of a solid food with a liquid – By chocolate or theobroma cocoa derived

Reexamination Certificate

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C426S307000, C426S601000, C426S607000, C426S610000, C426S613000, C426S660000, C426S515000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06391356

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods of processing chocolates and products produced using the same. More specifically, the invention relates to methods of processing tempered chocolates at higher temperatures and/or without the detrimental increases in apparent viscosity typically associated with the processing of tempered chocolates. In addition, the invention relates to improved products made according to the processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Documents and references which pertain to the field of this invention or are otherwise relevant to the practice of the invention are cited in this disclosure with a full citation for each. Each citation is hereby incorporated by reference.
Chocolate confection have a very distinct taste and mouthfeel that have been enjoyed by individuals for many years. The unique flavor and mouthfeel of chocolate is a result of the combinations of its numerous components as well as its process of manufacture.
Chocolate contains solids particles dispersed throughout a fat matrix. The term “fat” includes, for example, cocoa butter and milk fat. Similarly, chocolate-like compositions may also contain fats other than, or in combination with, cocoa butter. 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 with cocoa butter being typically the predominant fat in the chocolate.
Cocoa butter is solid at room temperature (21°-24° C.). Accordingly, chocolate is firm and solid at room temperature thereby providing good “snap” at initial bite as well as resistance to deformation and/or surface marking. Above room temperature, the fat phase melts progressively until completely melted at about 36° C. Therefore, chocolate is typically fully melted at body temperature (about 37° C.). This rapid melting in the mouth at the body temperature provides the smooth, creamy mouthfeel which results in a strong flavor impact.
Cocoa butter, however, 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. Am. Oil Chem. Soc.,
Vol. 43 (1966) pages 491-96). 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 and have a lower melting point. 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 may transform 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 finished solid confection using conventional methods, it must be tempered after which it is gently cooled in order to form a set chocolate having a stable fat phase.
Before the development of tempering machines, this process was carried out by pouring the chocolate onto a marble slab and working it with a flexible spatula until it began to thicken. At this point both stable and unstable polymorphic forms were crystallized, and the thick “mush” was mixed into a bowl of warm chocolate to melt out the unstable crystals prior to use. At this stage the chocolate was tempered.
The most commonly used method for currently tempering chocolate typically 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 to form stable and unstable fat crystals;
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. cooling to set the chocolate, typically in a cooling tunnel.
Accordingly, 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 precise temperature-time profiles used when tempering a chocolate will vary depending on the recipe of the formulation, the tempering equipment and even the purpose for which the chocolate will be used. 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 solidification, for example, by enrobing the chocolate onto an edible center or molding the chocolate into a shape or form. The chocolate is finally set into a sufficiently solid form for wrapping by gentle, controlled cooling.
Conventional tempering therefore 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. It is an important object of tempering to develop a sufficient number of stable fat crystals so that under appropriate cooling conditions the fat phase of the chocolate is able to crystallize into a stable polymorphic form. Accordingly, the purpose of tempering is to ensure that the cocoa butter crystallizes in a stable form.
Since melted chocolate is a suspension of solid particles, e.g., sugar, milk powders and cocoa solids, in a continuous liquid fat phase of cocoa butter, chocolate suspensions have non-Newtonian flow behavior including the presence of a yield stress. The yield stress represents a minimum threshold of force that must be applied to a suspension, for example the force applied to toothpaste, in order to make it flow. Below this threshold, no flow occurs. The non-Newtonian behavior of chocolate is sometimes described by fitting the rheological data to the Casson equation which defines a Casson yield value and Casson plastic viscosity. This minimum force mentioned above is then referred to as the “Casson yield value”. The “Casson plastic viscosity” approximates the work done to keep the suspension flowing uniformly. Alternatively, an apparent viscosity can be used to describe the flow behavior of chocolate.
A variety of factors influence the flow properties or the rheological behavior of chocolates. These factors include fat content, emulsifier content, moisture content, particle size distributions, particle shapes, temperature, conching conditions, including time and temperature of conching, and temper level.
To provide good flow properties, every particle dispersed in the chocolate suspension should be coated with fat. It is important that fat covers the surface of all or substantially all the solid particles to minimize the particle-particle interactions which reduce flow. Accordingly, the amount of flowing liquid phase in the suspension in relation to the amount of solid is a significant factor which influences the rheology of a suspension.
The rheological behavior of chocolate is important for manufacturing. Previous methods of maintaining a controlled viscosity during processing rely on careful control of the temperature of the chocolate as well as temper level. Many applications for chocolates require careful control of rheology. One example of such an application is “enrobing”, the process of coating chocolate onto an edible center. Enrobing is accomplished when the chocolate is in a fluid-like state. Since enrobing is a coating application, it requires good flow properties to provide a high quality coating layer. For enrobing, proper yield value and viscosity must be maintained in order to produce a satisfactory coated product. Uncontrolled viscosity changes of an enrobi

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