FILLING FOR A FOOD PRODUCT, FOOD PRODUCT WITH THE FILLING, METHOD OF MAKING THE FILLING

Abstract

Provided is a filling for a food product including a viscous, essentially anhydrous fat cream and at least one hydrophilic additive embedded in the fat cream, wherein the fat cream includes at least one outer region adjacent to an outer surface of the fat cream, at least one inner region, and at least one transition region disposed between the outer region and the inner region, wherein a mass fraction C of the hydrophilic additive increases continuously along a gradient G from the inner region through the transition region to the outer region.

Claims

1. A filling for a food product a) comprising a viscous, water-free fat cream, b) the fat cream having a higher viscosity than water, and c) at least one hydrophilic additive embedded in the fat cream, d) wherein the fat cream comprises at least one outer region adjacent to an outer surface of the fat cream, at least one inner region, and at least one transition region arranged between the outer region and the inner region, e) wherein a mass fraction C of the hydrophilic additive in the filling continuously increases along a gradient G from the inner region via the transition region to the outer region, f) wherein the hydrophilic additive comprises an aqueous solution or suspension, wherein a minimum proportion C.sub.min of the aqueous solution or suspension on the filling is from 0.01 wt. % to 1.5 wt. % and a maximum proportion C.sub.max of the aqueous solution or suspension on the filling is from 0.6 wt. % to 2.5 wt. %, or g) wherein the hydrophilic additive is at least a monohydric or polyhydric alcohol and/or a sugar alcohol, wherein a minimum proportion C.sub.min of the alcohol and/or sugar alcohol in the filling is from 0.01 wt. % to 1.5 wt. % and a maximum proportion C.sub.max of the alcohol and/or sugar alcohol in the filling is from 0.6 wt. % to 3.0 wt. %.

2. The filling according to claim 1, wherein the mass fraction C increases monotonically from the inner region via the transition region to the outer region.

3. The filling according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface forms at least a partial area of a side surface of the filling, at least an entire side surface of the filling, an entire surface of the filling.

4. The filling according to claim 1, a) wherein the hydrophilic additive comprises an aqueous solution or suspension, water, b) wherein the minimum proportion C.sub.min is from 0.01 wt. % to 1.0 wt. % and the maximum proportion C.sub.max is from 0.6 wt. % to 2.0 wt. %, c) the minimum proportion C.sub.min being from 0.01 wt. % to 0.5 wt. % and the maximum proportion C.sub.max being from 0.6 wt. % to 1.5 wt. %.

5. The filling according to claim 1, a) wherein the hydrophilic additive is at least one monohydric or polyhydric alcohol and/or a sugar alcohol, wherein b) the minimum proportion C.sub.min is from 0.01 wt. % to 1.0 wt. % and the maximum proportion C.sub.max is from 0.6 wt. % to 2.0 wt. %, c) the minimum proportion C.sub.min being from 0.01 wt. % to 0.5 wt. % and the maximum proportion C.sub.max being from 0.6 wt. % to 1.0 wt. %.

6. The filling according to claim 1, wherein the fat cream contains a fat mass fraction of from 20% by weight to 80% by weight, from 30% by weight to 60% by weight, or from 40% by weight to 50% by weight.

7. A food product with a) a solid base body and b) at least one filling according to claim 1, c) wherein the filling is arranged on the base body, in a recess of the base body, d) wherein the at least one outer surface of the filling faces away from the base body.

8. The food product according to claim 7, a) comprising at least one solid cover element, b) wherein the cover element at least partially covers a side of the filling facing away from the base body, and c) wherein the at least one outer surface of the filling is adjacent to the cover element.

9. The food product according to claim 8, a) wherein the cover element is spaced apart from an edge of the depression by an edge distance, the edge distance being 1% to 20%, 2% to 10%, or 3% to 6%, of a diameter of the depression and/or b) wherein the cover element and also the filling forms a projection over the base body.

10. The food product according to claim 7, wherein the at least one inner portion of the filling is adjacent to the base body.

11. A method of making the filling according to claim 1 comprising: a) providing the fat cream and the hydrophilic additive for the filling in storage containers separated from one another, b) simultaneously applying a, turbulent, fat cream stream of the fat cream and applying a, turbulent, additive stream of the hydrophilic additive through at least two channels separated from one another onto a surface, c) wherein the fat cream stream is at least partially mixed with the additive stream outside the channels.

12. The method according to claim 11, a) wherein the channels are configured as channels of a multi-channel nozzle, b) wherein the multi-channel nozzle comprises at least one inner channel and one outer channel, arranged concentrically around the inner channel, c) wherein the fat cream is applied through the inner channel and the hydrophilic additive is applied through the outer channel, d) wherein the fat cream is additionally applied through an intermediate channel of the multi-channel nozzle arranged, concentrically, between the inner channel and the outer channel.

13. A method for producing a food product according to claim 7 comprising: a) preparing the base body of the food product, b) making the filling on the base body, in a recess of the base body, using the method according to claim 11, c) wherein the at least one outer surface of the filling faces away from the base body.

14. A method according to claim 13 comprising: a) preparing a solid cover element of the food product, b) applying the cover element to the filling, c) wherein the cover element at least partially covers a side of the filling facing away from the base body, and d) wherein the at least one outer surface of the filling is adjacent to at least one outer surface of the cover element.

15. The method according to claim 14 comprising: Heating a contact surface of the filling for contact with the cover element and/or a contact surface of the cover element for contact with the filling prior to application and/or during application of the cover element to the filling.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

[0063] Some of the embodiments will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein like designations denote like members, wherein:

[0064] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a food product;

[0065] FIG. 2 shows a schematic profile of an embodiment of the food product;

[0066] FIG. 3 shows another schematic profile of another embodiment of the food product;

[0067] FIG. 4 shows another schematic profile of another embodiment of the food product;

[0068] FIG. 5 shows another schematic profile of another embodiment of the food product; and

[0069] FIG. 6 shows a multi-channel nozzle from two perspectives as a section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] FIG. 1 shows a perspective and schematic representation of a food product 200. The food product 200 is shown as a long-life pastry, in particular a cookie. The food product 200 comprises a base body 210, in which a depression 211 is formed. The recess 211 is filled with a filling 100, which comprises an inner region (not visible) and an outer region (shaded region). A cover element 220 is applied to the outer region.

[0071] FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of the food product of FIG. 1. The filling 100 is divided into an inner region 104 and an outer region 102. A transition region is located between the inner region 104 and the outer region 102, which in the embodiment shown extends around the dashed line. Next to the food product 200, the development of the mass fraction C of the hydrophilic additive to the fat cream is shown as a function of the depth of the depression 211 along the x-axis.

[0072] In the outer region 102, the mass fraction C of the hydrophilic additive is higher than in the inner region 104. In the transition region, the mass fraction C of the hydrophilic additive decreases continuously. The steeper the course of the curve C versus x, the thinner the transition region. In an embodiment, the mass fraction C of the hydrophilic additive in the inner region 104 is equal to or close to 0.

[0073] In the illustrated embodiment, the cover element 220 is embedded within the filling 100 such that the cover element 220 is aligned with the outer surface 101 of the filling 100 and an edge of the base body 210. The outer region 102 and the inner region 104 are dimensioned such that the transition region extends substantially below the cover element 220, and the cover element 220 is surrounded all around by the outer region 102 of the filling 100. The liquid and/or creamy filling 100 of the inner region 104 is surrounded downwardly and laterally by the base body 210. Upwardly, it is prevented from leaking and protected from the ingress of foreign substances by the outer region 102 and the cover element 220 via the transition region.

[0074] FIG. 3 shows a variation of the food product 200 of FIG. 2. The difference is essentially that the transition region in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is located deeper (along the x-axis) in the recess 211 than in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. The progression of the mass fraction C versus x and the dashed line indicate this. A portion of the outer region 102 extends below the cover element 220, which provides a stronger adhesion of the cover element 220 to the filling 100.

[0075] FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of another variation of the food product 200 of FIG. 3.

[0076] In this embodiment, the outer region 102 of the filling 100 extends out of the recess 211 of the base body 210. The filling 100 has a higher mass fraction C of the hydrophilic additive in the outer region 102, so that the filling 100 is solid in the outer region 102 and does not run out of the base body 210.

[0077] The cover element 220 rests on the outer surface 101 of the filling 100 and is held to the filling by the strength of the filling 100 in the outer region.

[0078] The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is a variation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 in two main ways.

[0079] The first difference is that the cover element 220 is embedded in the filling 100 similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. However, the cover element 220 partially protrudes from the outer surface 101 of the filling 100.

[0080] The second difference from the embodiment of FIG. 4 is the variation of the mass fraction C of the hydrophilic additive depending on the depth of the recess 211 along the x-axis. The mass fraction C decreases much more slowly with increasing depth than in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. Due to the slower change in mass fraction C, the transition region is wider. Precise location of the transition region is difficult in the embodiment of FIG. 5, which is why the dashed line is not shown.

[0081] The viscosity of the filling 100 changes more slowly, resulting in further increased mechanical stability of the outer region 102 as it is more strongly bonded to the rest of the filling 100. As a result, the cover element 220 adheres better to the food 200 due to the slower change in mass fraction C.

[0082] FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a multi-channel nozzle 420 from two perspectives. The upper part of FIG. 6 shows a side section (along the x-y-plane) of the multichannel nozzle 420. The lower part of FIG. 6 shows a horizontal section (along the y-z-plane) of the multichannel nozzle 420.

[0083] The multi-channel nozzle 420 includes a plurality of channels, in particular an inner channel 421 and an outer channel 422. The inner channel 421 and the outer channel 422 are separated from each other by the inner channel wall 426. The outer channel 422 is bounded radially inwardly by the inner channel wall 426 and outwardly by the outer channel wall 424.

[0084] In the illustrated embodiment, the inner channel 421 and the outer channel 422 run parallel to each other and are arranged coaxially so that the substances exiting through the channels leave the multi-channel nozzle 420 parallel to each other. Alternatively, the inner channel wall 426 and in particular the outer channel wall 424 may converge conically to improve the mixing of the substances applied through the multi-channel nozzle 420.

[0085] The fat cream flow flows through the inner channel 421. The additive flow flows through the outer channel 422. The mass fraction C of the hydrophilic additive in the filling can be adjusted by the flow rate of the streams. If the additive flow is lower for the same fat cream flow, the mass fraction C is also low. If the additive flow is higher, the mass fraction C is also higher.

[0086] The radii of the channels also determine the fat cream flow and the additive flow. The larger the radii, the more substance can be applied through the corresponding channel. The ratio of the radii also determines the ratio of the flows to each other.

[0087] The amount of fat cream and additive applied can thus be adjusted via the respective flow or pressure in the respective channel and the radius of the respective channel.

[0088] In further embodiments not shown, the multi-channel nozzle 420 may comprise further channels, each concentrically arranged around the other.

[0089] Although the invention has been illustrated and described in greater detail with reference to the preferred exemplary embodiments, the invention is not limited to the examples disclosed, and further variations can be inferred by a person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

[0090] For the sake of clarity, it is to be understood that the use of “a” or “an” throughout this application does not exclude a plurality, and “comprising” does not exclude other steps or elements.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0091]

TABLE-US-00001 100 Filling 101 Outer surface 102 Outer region 104 Inner region 200 Food product 210 Base body 211 Recess 220 Cover element 420 Multichannel nozzle 421 Inner channel 422 Outer channel 424 Outer channel wall 426 Inner channel wall