Described herein is a process for applying granular material on an outer side of a foodstuff product (P). This process comprises the steps of: providing a mould (2; 102) having a mould cavity (S; S) that is delimited, at least partially, by at least one mobile wall (22B; 106); positioning the product (P) in said mould cavity by setting said outer side (p1) in a position facing and at a distance from said mobile wall (22); introducing granular material in the gap (24; 112) comprised between said mobile wall (22B; 106) and said outer side of said product; and moving said mobile wall (22B; 106) towards said outer side of said product so that it comes to press said granular material against said outer side (p1) of said product (P).

A product conveying and coating system includes multiple, sequentially arranged conveyor units, with at least one conveyor unit being an open belt type. A carrier sheet is placed on a first of the conveyor units, a web of coating material in liquid form is deposited on the carrier sheet and spaced ropes of soft and sticky material are deposited on and settle into the web. The carrier sheet, web and ropes are transferred to a second conveyor unit after the coating material of the web solidifies, whereupon the ropes are cut into bar-length pieces. Thereafter, the carrier sheet is removed while the web and pieces are transferred to the open belt conveyor unit and exposed to an enrober. The enrober coats the pieces while melting portions of the web between the pieces in order to form full coated or encapsulated food products with soft and sticky cores.

A product conveying and coating system includes multiple, sequentially arranged conveyor units, with at least one conveyor unit being an open belt type. A carrier sheet is placed on a first of the conveyor units, a web of coating material in liquid form is deposited on the carrier sheet and spaced ropes of soft and sticky material are deposited on and settle into the web. The carrier sheet, web and ropes are transferred to a second conveyor unit after the coating material of the web solidifies, whereupon the ropes are cut into bar-length pieces. Thereafter, the carrier sheet is removed while the web and pieces are transferred to the open belt conveyor unit and exposed to an enrober. The enrober coats the pieces while melting portions of the web between the pieces in order to form full coated or encapsulated food products with soft and sticky cores.

A method for making dessert confections within a crunch/crisp encasement comprising the steps of: preparing a mixture of crunch/crisp material with an edible binder; placing a first portion of the mixture into a first open mold to form a first structure; forming a retention cavity in the first structure; placing a second portion of the mixture of crunch/crisp material with edible binder into a second open mold to form a second structure; allowing the first and second mixture structures in the first and second molds to harden; removing the first and second mixture structures from the respective first and second molds; placing a structurally self-supporting filler dessert material into one or both of the retention cavities of the first and second mixture structures; and connecting the first and second mixture structures, to form an enclosure comprised of the crisp/crunch material with binder and filler dessert material in a hollow therein.

A first edible layer is placed atop a tray and inside a first annular member, leaving an annular gap around the edible layer. A spreadable material is spread atop and laterally on the first edible layer. A second annular member is stacked upon the first annular member with a second edible layer centered in the second member but with an annular gap between the two. Spreadable material atop and laterally to the second edible layer. The annular members each have an overall transverse dimension greater than its height. These members are part of a reusable kit with the first member has an outwardly projecting pair of handles A tool for shaping spreadable material is shown as a plate with an opposite pair of finishing edges, one being straight, the other undulating. The lower edge of the tool is located between the finishing edges, and has an opposite pair of guide notches. Each of the notches can be pressed against the edge of the tray to regulate the tool's working depth.

A system for depositing foodstuff material in the fluid state on a foodstuff product is provided. The system includes a product conveying line; at least one foodstuff material dispensing unit including a plurality of rows of nozzles; and a dispensing control unit. The dispensing unit includes a valve device associated to each individual nozzle to control foodstuff material flow through the nozzle. The valve device includes an open/close member; a solenoid; and a magnetic element operatively connected to the open/close member and mobile between a first position in which it closes the respective nozzle, preventing dispensing of the foodstuff material therethrough, and a second position in which a passage is opened through the nozzle for dispensing the foodstuff material.

A first edible layer is placed atop a tray and inside a first annular member, leaving an annular gap around the edible layer. A spreadable material is spread atop and laterally on the first edible layer. A second annular member is stacked upon the first annular member with a second edible layer centered in the second member but with an annular gap between the two. Spreadable material atop and laterally to the second edible layer. The annular members each have an overall transverse dimension greater than its height. These members are part of a reusable kit with the first member has an outwardly projecting pair of handles A tool for shaping spreadable material is shown as a plate with an opposite pair of finishing edges, one being straight, the other undulating. The lower edge of the tool is located between the finishing edges, and has an opposite pair of guide notches. Each of the notches can be pressed against the edge of the tray to regulate the tool's working depth.

A process for the production of a confectionery composition and a confectionery composition producible by the process. The process comprises introducing discrete droplets of a liquid filling (20) into a flowing matrix material (12) by means of an array of nozzles(16). The matrix material comprising the droplets of liquid filling is then deposited into a mould or a confectionery shell(14). The matrix material may be moving at a speed of at least 0.01 ms.sup.1. The matrix material may be chocolate and liquid filling filling may have a very low viscosity.

An apparatus (1) for producing cores (33) of a fat-containing confectionery mass includes a molding apparatus (20) and a separate cooling apparatus (5). The molding apparatus (20) is cooled and serves to mold the cores (33). The molding apparatus (20) includes two molding rollers (23, 24) including a multitude of impressions (25). The molding rollers (23, 24) are driven in opposite directions. The impressions (25) hold the liquid confectionery mass flowing into the impressions (25) to form the cores (33). The cooling apparatus (5) includes a cooling roller (6) and is arranged upstream of the molding apparatus (20).

A confection having a specialized sensory effect includes a sugar base a sensory additive and/or a patterned surface that exhibits an anaglyph image; a stereoscopic image; steganography; lenticular printing; a mirrored finish; a cryptogram; a hologram; or any combination of the images. The sensory additive is a physiochromic agent; a glitter; a candy dust; a sensate agent; or any combination of the additives. These confections add an element of surprise and create a lasting impression on a consumer.