Foods and beverages: apparatus – Mechanical – fluid or heat treatment of dairy food – With temperature or atmosphere modification
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-13
2001-10-23
Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Mechanical, fluid or heat treatment of dairy food
With temperature or atmosphere modification
C099S483000, C099S516000, C099S537000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06305275
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to apparatus for preparing refrigerated products, particularly dessert products, and for combining differing compositions for preparing a composite product and more particularly, for preparing a mousse product which contains pieces of chocolate.
Refrigerated products containing pieces of chocolate are already available on the market. However, these known products have a storage life in a refrigerator of less than 10 days. This is because, from the moment when pieces of chocolate are dispersed in a mousse treated by a UHT, the diffusion of water from the mousse into the chocolate creates microbiological problems because the chocolate is not sterilized. On the other hand, due to the high sugar content of the chocolate, the diffusion of water breaks the crispy texture of the chocolate and the consumer no longer has any sensation of the presence of pieces of chocolate in the mousse.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The problem addressed by the present invention was to provide the consumer with a mousse-based product containing pieces of chocolate which would keep in a refrigerator for 5 to 6 weeks and in which the pieces of chocolate would remain intact over that period.
The present invention provides for obtaining a product based on at least one mousse and containing pieces of chocolate in which the mousse contains between 2 and 10% by weight of chocolate, the chocolate being sterilized and containing, by weight, from 50 to 70% of fats, from 30 to 50% of cocoa powder and from 1 to 10% of sugar, and the chocolate may contain from 1 to 3% by weight sugar.
To the end of preparing the product described above and for carrying out a process, as described below, for preparing the product, the present invention further provides an apparatus wherein members are associated together in a first line for transporting, sterilizing and overrunning an ingredient mixture suitable for preparing a mousse, members are associated together in a second line for transporting and sterilizing a chocolate composition, and the two lines are connected to a nozzle. In one embodiment, wherein the nozzle enables introducing the chocolate into the mousse ingredient mixture so that a strand is formed in the mousse ingredient mixture, a cutting system is provided for cutting the strand of chocolate for obtaining a mousse product containing chocolate pieces, and a volumetric metering system is connected with the cutting system for receiving a mousse containing the pieces and for filling the same into a container. In a second embodiment, the second line provides passages for transporting sterilized chocolate composition streams and has valves positioned for opening and closing the passages for intermittently delivering and distributing portioned amounts of the chocolate composition streams into the mousse ingredient mixture in the nozzle for obtaining a mousse product containing chocolate pieces, and a volumetric metering system is connected with the nozzle for filling the product into a container. In another embodiment, in a case when another mousse is filled also in a container with the chocolate-piece-containing mousse product, the nozzle employed is a rotary nozzle for receiving the mousse products from separate volumetric metering systems for filling in a container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the context of the invention, a mousse is understood to be an overrun milk-based product additionally containing sugar, a flavoring ingredient (such as cocoa, chocolate or the like), cream and a thickener or gelling agent. An overrun product is understood to be a product which has undergone an increase in volume of from 80 to 120% through overrunning. However, it is pointed out that these limits are not critical.
According to the invention, a product with a longer storage life can be obtained because the chocolate used has been sterilized, the mousse being treated by UHT before overrunning. This treatment is only possible because of the low sugar content of the chocolate. The sugar used in the chocolate is sucrose or invert sugar or fruit sugar, such as glucose.
The refrigerated product according to the invention normally contains, in a cup, two different mousses each containing pieces of chocolate in the proportions indicated above. The invention also encompasses a refrigerated product based on two mousses, of which only one contains pieces of chocolate, and encompasses a product consisting of a single mousse containing the pieces of sterilized chocolate mentioned above. If the refrigerated product contains two mousses, filling may be carried out so that vertical or horizontal layers are formed, and if a rotary metering head is employed, spiral layers may be formed. A surface layer based on cream, for example whipped cream, may also be provided.
In terms of fats, the chocolate used consists of cocoa butter. The pieces of chocolate are between 1 and 4 mm in size and are uniformly distributed throughout the mousse.
The product keeps in a refrigerator at a temperature of from 4 to 8° C.
In the process provided for the production of the refrigerated product mentioned above in which the chocolate is sterilized and the mousse is separately treated by UHT and then overrun, a strand or pieces of chocolate is/are simultaneously delivered to an injection nozzle substantially in the middle of the stream of mousse, the chocolate is cut and then mixed with the mousse, and the mousse is introduced into containers either on its own or in combination with a second mousse by means of a rotary metering head.
In carrying out the process of the present invention, the chocolate is normally sterilized in a tank for from 10 to 30 minutes at a temperature of from 110 to 130° C. The mixture for the mousse is treated by UHT, i.e., for from 5 to 40 seconds at a temperature of from 130° to 150° C., and then overrun to obtain an increase in volume of from 80 to 120%.
The chocolate has to be delivered to the injection nozzle in the liquid state, i.e., at a temperature of from 25 to 30° C.
The mousse is delivered to the nozzle at a temperature of from 8 to 12° C. When the two streams are combined, the strand of chocolate has to be given time to solidify. Accordingly, a contact time of from 30 to 60 seconds has to be allowed before the strand of chocolate is cut.
The strand of chocolate is cut in such a way that the pieces of chocolate have an average size of from 1 to 4 mm.
In the embodiment based on the strand of chocolate, the strand and the mousse have to be delivered to the injection nozzle in such a way that they arrive at the same rate, namely at a rate of from 0.05 to 0.15 m/s.
The rate at which the mousse and the chocolate arrive at the nozzle is not critical and depends on the desired output.
In the second embodiment of the process, portioned amounts of chocolate for providing the pieces of chocolate are directly injected into the nozzle. This may be done, for example, with an alternating metering system comprising two lines each equipped with a valve, each of the lines alternately delivering the pieces of chocolate into the stream of mousse at a very high rate, which provides for intermittent delivery and distribution of the chocolate.
The mousse containing the pieces of chocolate then arrives in a tank which feeds a volumetric metering head which in turn directly fills the cup placed beneath it in the case of filling with a single mousse. If the cup is filled with two mousses, one containing pieces of chocolate and the other containing no chocolate, a volumetric metering unit for each mousse feeds a rotary metering head which then simultaneously delivers the two mousses into the cup.
In the apparatus installation of the present invention, the mousse preparation line operates continuously with an overrunning system before the injection nozzle. The chocolate sterilization line operates discontinuously and consists of a tank equipped with a heating jacket for sterilization. Arranged at the tank exit is a pump which delivers the chocolate to the nozzle under a pressure of from 2.5
Grassler Walter
Wild Manfred
Nestec S.A.
Simone Timothy F.
Winston & Strawn
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