The cake making implement may be used to simultaneously smooth icing on a top surface and a side surface of a cake. The cake making implement may include a top smoother and a side smoother. The top smoother may be adapted to smooth the top surface of the cake. The side smoother may be adapted to smooth the side surface of the cake up to the top surface.

A dough-like confectionery material contains a solid particulate, a liquid, and a diffusion controller. The dough-like confectionery material is an effective replacement for panned coatings, and it can be applied to an edible substrate, such as candy or chewing gum to form a layered confection. Methods and apparatus for forming layered confections are also described.

A dough-like confectionery material contains a solid particulate, a liquid, and a diffusion controller. The dough-like confectionery material is an effective replacement for panned coatings, and it can be applied to an edible substrate, such as candy or chewing gum to form a layered confection. Methods and apparatus for forming layered confections are also described.

A dough-like confectionery material contains a solid particulate, a liquid, and a diffusion controller. The dough-like confectionery material is an effective replacement for panned coatings, and it can be applied to an edible substrate, such as candy or chewing gum to form a layered confection. Methods and apparatus for forming layered confections are also described.

A drum-type coating apparatus for applying breading material to food product is configured to eliminate, in most circumstances, a hard cylindrical drum, to be replaced by a U-hanging belt, the belly of which provides all the operative utility of a cylindrical hard drum, but better than that, provides more clearance for cleaning operations, since the upper hemi-cylinder of a hard cylindrical drum provides no utility for tumbling purposes and only, to make matters worse, obstructs cleaning operations. Also, the overall coating apparatus for supporting the U-hanging belt, flexible drum is provided with provisions for the exchangeable substitution or elimination of accessories of the tumbling and/or flipping nature, including the U-hanging belt, flexible drum itself. In the elimination configuration, food product is not routed through any tumbling and/or flipping accessory but is instead run through a flat bed configuration. That way, delicate food product is protected from disintegration.

An apparatus to apply seasoning to a foodstuff comprising a plurality of individual food portions comprises a rotatable drum supportable in a generally horizontal position and having an inlet at a first end, an outlet at a second end and a bore extending through the drum from the inlet to the outlet, with a substantial portion of the bore having a generally frustoconical interior with a larger diameter end of the frustoconical interior disposed proximal to the inlet and a smaller diameter end of the frustoconical interior portion disposed proximal to the outlet. In one embodiment, the frustoconical interior portion extends substantially from the inlet to the outlet and converges in that direction. In another embodiment, the generally frustoconical portion extends from a generally cylindrical interior portion, that is intermediate the inlet and the frustoconical interior portion, to the outlet and converges in that direction.

An apparatus to apply seasoning to a foodstuff comprising a plurality of individual food portions comprises a rotatable drum supportable in a generally horizontal position and having an inlet at a first end, an outlet at a second end and a bore extending through the drum from the inlet to the outlet, with a substantial portion of the bore having a generally frustoconical interior with a larger diameter end of the frustoconical interior disposed proximal to the inlet and a smaller diameter end of the frustoconical interior portion disposed proximal to the outlet. In one embodiment, the frustoconical interior portion extends substantially from the inlet to the outlet and converges in that direction. In another embodiment, the generally frustoconical portion extends from a generally cylindrical interior portion, that is intermediate the inlet and the frustoconical interior portion, to the outlet and converges in that direction.

The apparatus (100) includes a die head (118) for extruding a main comestible material to form an extrudate body. A plurality of nozzles (160, FIG. 7) is located within the die head for introducing a comestible fluid into the extrudate body to form a plurality of filled capillaries. A control system (182) is capable of selectively connecting at least one of the nozzles to any one of at least two different fluid filling sources (150A, 150B). The control system may be capable of connecting each of the nozzles independently to different fluid sources or the nozzles may be arranged into two or more groups of fluidly interconnected nozzles that can each be independently switched between different fluid sources. The apparatus can be used to form products in which the fillings in the capillaries are varied or in which an image is formed in cross section. The apparatus can also be used to switch production between products having different fillings without stopping extrusion.

The present invention is directed to a method of forming a polymer coating on a substrate. The method comprising the steps of providing in an evacuated reaction chamber a substrate having a surface to be coated; and providing a first source of polymer forming material and a second source of radicals. According to the invention the first source and the second source are separated from each other and from the reaction chamber, and the polymer forming material as well as the radicals are, at least temporarily, conducted contemporaneously but spatially separated to the substrate's surface, so that a reaction of the polymer forming material with the radicals is avoided before they reach the substrate's surface. Further, the present invention is directed to a device for carrying out the method according to the invention.

The present invention relates to an improved apparatus and method for delivering a comestible coating substance and more particularly, though not necessarily, to an improved apparatus for delivering a powder coating to disc-like or disc-shaped or products such as rice cakes, potato crisps/chips, dairy product and crisp/chip-like products in a manufacturing and/or packaging procedure. The present invention seeks to provide an improved system and provides a delivery system that enables first and second major surfaces of the disc-like products to be coated simultaneously.