CUTTING OR EMBOSSING TOOL FOR FROZEN CONFECTIONERY PRODUCTS

Abstract

A cutting or embossing tool for frozen confectionery products includes at least two elements, each element comprising a void with an inner contour corresponding to the outer contour of the product to be cut or embossed. At least one of the elements comprises at least one knife or embosser with a blade or an embossing surface extending along the inner contour of the void. The tool can be used to cut lines or a line pattern shape into the surface of a frozen confectionery product, in particular in coating.

Claims

1. A method comprising: holding, with an insert, a frozen confectionary product with an outer layer and an inner core; closing, around the frozen confectionary product, a plurality of elements each comprising (i) a void with an inner contour corresponding to the outer contour of the frozen confectionary product and (ii) a set of knives extending in parallel along the inner contour of the void, wherein the set of knives are pushed into the outer layer of the frozen confectionary product when the plurality of elements are closed around the frozen confectionary product; cutting a spiral cutting line into a surface of the frozen confectionery product with the set of knives; and opening the plurality of elements of the cutting tool to release the frozen confectionary product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the outer layer of the frozen confectionary product is a gel layer.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising holding the frozen confectionary product with the insert during the cutting of the spiral cutting line and during the opening of the plurality of elements.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sets of knives form the cutting line at an inclination between 5 and 25 degrees relative to a plane extending perpendicularly to a symmetry axis of the spiral of the cutting line.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the insert comprises a stick, and the symmetry axis is the axis of the stick.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the frozen confectionary product is held in a fixed position during the cutting of the spiral cutting line.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein neither the frozen confectionary product nor the sets of knives are rotated during the closing of the plurality of elements, during the cutting of the spiral cutting line, and during the opening of the elements of the cutting tool.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of elements comprises two halves.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the cutting of the spiral cutting line comprises pushing the sets of knives fully through the outer layer up to the core.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the outer layer of the frozen confectionary product is a peelable gel coating.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing the frozen confectionery product having the spiral cutting line.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising packaging the frozen confectionery product having the spiral cutting line.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising preparing the frozen confectionary product before the cutting of the spiral cutting line, the preparing of the frozen confectionary product comprising preparing a gel mix, filling the gel mix into moulds, subjecting the moulds comprising the gel mix to cooling such that the gel mix forms a shell that is the outer layer, filling the shell with ice cream that forms the inner core, and then inserting the insert into the frozen confectionary product.

Description

FIGURES

[0024] The present invention is further described hereinbelow referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one preferred embodiment of the invention and an example of a product made using same.

[0025] FIG. 1 shows an example of a frozen confectionery product made using a tool according to the invention.

[0026] FIG. 2 shows the product of FIG. 1 with a gel layer being partially peeled off

[0027] FIG. 3 shows an example of a cutting tool according to the invention

[0028] FIG. 4 shows the cutting tool of FIG. 3 in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a frozen confectionery product which comprises a cylindrical ice-cream core 10 (cf. FIG. 2) which is completely coated with a frozen flexible edible gel layer 14. A cutting line 16 extends spirally over the gel layer 14 and allows to peel-off the gel-layer 14 in a continuous spiral 18 (cf. FIG. 2).

[0030] The product is produced as follows:

[0031] For the gel layer, a mix is prepared according to the following recipe:

TABLE-US-00001 Corn syrup solids 10% Sucrose 25% Citric acid 0.5% Carrageenan 0.4% Locust bean gum 0.3% Colors, flavors 1% Remainder is water

[0032] The mix is pasteurized at 85 C. for 30 seconds and filled into moulds at a mix temperature of 50 C.

[0033] As already mentioned above, it is also possible to use a recipe containing in addition to a polyanionic gelling hydrocolloid, or any other gelling agent, a gelation controller or inhibitor. In particular one of the recipes described in EP 1339290 B1 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,097 B1 can be used. In this case the mix can be cooled down after its preparation and stored in the cooled down state. Due to the added gelation controller or inhibitor it can be kept in this state for a relatively long period of time without any degradation. Before use, the mix is reheated, additives that will trigger the gelation are added, and the mix is then processed in the same way as the mix without gelation controller or inhibitor.

[0034] The moulds containing the gel mix are cooled in a cold brine bath until a frozen layer with a thickness of around 3 to 5 mm is formed. The remaining mix, which is still liquid, is then sucked back out of the mould. One thereby obtains a shell of edible, flexible frozen gel in the mould.

[0035] The shell is then filled with a standard vanilla ice cream mix. A wooden stick is inserted into the product and the product is frozen completely.

[0036] Once frozen, the product is demoulded. For the demoulding, the mould is warmed up through a warm liquid that is sprayed on the outside of the mould. This allows the surface layer of the product to warm up slightly and to soften, so that demoulding is facilitated. The softening also helps to perform the subsequent process step of cutting.

[0037] In the following step, the cutting lines are cut into the gel layer 14 using a cutting tool shown which is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The cutting tool 20 consists of two halves 20a, 20b, each of the halves having a void 22a, 22b which has the form of a half-cylinder. The voids are limited in each of the two halves 20a, 20b by a set of knives 24, 24, 24. In the present case, four substantially parallel knives 24, 24, 24 are arranged substantially in parallel along the void.

[0038] To cut the spiral into the gel layer, the two halves 20a, 20b of the cutting tool 20 are placed on either side of the product (cf. FIG. 4) and then pushed towards the product until the knives 24, 24, 24 from both halves touch each other. Together, the knives 24, 24, 24 from both halves form a spiral that is pressed into the gel layer at the surface of the product. The dimensions of the tool 20 and the knives 24, 24, 24 are chosen in such a manner that the gel layer is completely cut through, i.e. the cutting lines 16 will have a depth of at least 3 mm.

[0039] The cutting tool 20 is then opened, i.e. the two halves 20a, 20b are taken apart.

[0040] As it is illustrated in FIG. 2, when the product is allowed to warm up slightly, the gel layer 14 at the surface can be peeled off from the product core in a spiral.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0041] 10 Core

[0042] 12 Stick

[0043] 14 Gel Layer

[0044] 16 Cutting line

[0045] 20 Cutting tool

[0046] 20a, 20b Element of cutting tool

[0047] 22a, 22b Void

[0048] 24, 24, 24 Knife