A FOOD PRODUCT, FOR EXAMPLE, A PRALINE

Abstract: The product includes a wafer casing (2) without, or substantially without, sugars and with a high salt content. The filling (3) comprises a non-fried vegetable oil base such as oil-seed oil, supplemented with powdered milk, and/or whey, cheese and various flavourings such as fine herbs. The coating (4) has a formulation similar to that of the filling, with the substitution of the oil in the filling (3) by a non-fried vegetable fat to give a generally paste-like coating (4), in comparison with the filling (3) which is essentially creamy. The coating contains granules, for example of almonds, and is resistant to high temperatures.

Description: A food product, for example, a praline The present invention concerns a food product, for example, a praline . Food products of this type are known and widely available commercially, essentially in the form of confectionery products . The food products sold by the firm Ferrero under the commercial names "Rocher" , "Confetteria Raffaello", "Giotto" and "Tonus" can be mentioned by way of example. The present invention relates to the sector of products usually known as "snack" products, which are intended to be consumed at home and, especially, in bars together with aperitifs, cocktails and similar beverages. A salty taste is generally preferred for snack products, usually together with other organoleptic characteristics typical of foods intended to be consumed during a meal . This has resulted in the development of various snack products over the years , such as : crisps (chips) and similar products (potato-based products, corn chips etc) prepared in various forms, but usually fried; baked products such as crackers, salted biscuits and articles generally similar to pretzels; and natural products such as olives, gherkins, various dried fruits (peanuts, almonds, etc.) which have been treated in various ways . Leaving aside the organoleptic aspects, which are also tied to cultural factors and habit, the increasing sensitivity to dietetic factors means that the traditional products described above are considered not entirely satisfactory. This is especially true as regards the use of fried ingredients, which are not considered ideal from the dietetic point of view. Other problems or requirements exist in addition to those outlined above, which are not adequately satisfied, for example, the preservation of the product which affects both the distribution to the place of consumption (with the need to provide for, at least in some cases, distribution in the so- called cold chain), and the fact that the product can change, even significantly, if not consumed rapidly. The object of the present invention is to produce a food product, in particular a snack product, which is able to satisfy the requirements and problems listed above in an excellent manner and which, at the same time, lends itself to mass production. According to the present invention, this object is achieved by virtue of a food product having the characteristics referred to in Claim 1. The invention will now be described, purely by way of non- limitative example, with reference to the accompanying drawings which comprise a single figure showing a food product according to the invention sectioned in an imaginary longitudinal plane . In the drawing, the reference numeral 1 generally indicates a food product, specifically a so-called snack product, which is spherical in shape with the dimensions of a small praline. According to a structure which is in itself known (and which corresponds substantially to that of the products of the firm mentioned in the introduction to the present description) , the product 1 includes : - a wafer casing or shell usually formed from two half- shells 2 preferably - but not necessarily - being hemispherical in shape and joined together along their complementary edges; - a creamy filling 3 which fills, usually completely, the cavity within the casing formed by the two half-shells 2 ; and - a generally paste-like coating (or "enrobing") 4. The terms "cream" (used in relation to the filling 3) and "paste" (used in relation to the coating 4) respectively are generally understood as comparing a mass which, if not contained, will not maintain a shape, with a generally more solid mass which, if not contained, will keep its own shape. Experiments conducted by the applicant have shown that, in order for a snack product in the form of a praline to be completely satisfactory from an organoleptic point of view, it is important for the filling 3 to be essentially creamy. A paste-like filling can in fact be too compact and therefore unpleasant to chew. This is true even for products 1 of generally small dimensions. Currently, the preferred dimensions for a product 1 such as that described are, for a spherical praline, approximately 1-1.5 cm and preferably about 1.2 cm in diameter. In the case of larger products, it is even more important that a paste-like filling be avoided since, as with a compact bolus, chewing gives rise to an unpleasant effect . On the contrary, the presence of the coating 4 (which - in this case - is thin, of the order of fractions of a millimetre) ensures the cohesion of tne product 1, with a sufficiently firm frontal connection of the two half-shells 2, without the need to provide specific sealing means (droplets of adhesive food material etc.) around the respective edges. As regards the wafer casing (the half-shells 2) , the solution according to the invention envisages the manufacture of a wafer according to the current process. However, a starting batter is used which, although of generally conventional formulation (a mixture of flour or flours in water, usually with the addition of further ingredients such as milk, lecithin, as emulsifiers, raising agents etc.), is characterised by a complete or substantially complete absence of added sugars, together with an increased salt content. The specific reference to added sugars should clearly be understood as intended to take account of the fact that the wafer in any case contains carbohydrates from the flour. As experts in the field know, the current formulations for making wafers envisage the presence of a certain quantity of salt, usually approximately 0.25% of the weight of the cooked wafer. However, the solution according to the invention envisages the presence of a generally greater quantity of salt than the usual percentage, preferably of the order of 1.5-2% and, typically, approximately 1.8%. The aforesaid values are understood as being by weight and with reference to the cooked wafer. As regards the creamy filling 3 , the main component is envisaged as being a vegetable oil (usually not fried) such as an oil-seed oil, for example, sunflower oil, corn oil, peanut oil and related combinations present, for example, in an amount of approximately 60% by weight with reference to the amount of filling. This vegetable oil base is supplemented by approximately 25-30% by weight, typically approximately 28%, of powdered milk and/or whey with the further addition of approximately 5-10% by weight, typically approximately 8%, of cheese such as powdered cheese. The filling 3 is preferably completed by various additives such as maltodextrose etc and, as a defining aspect from the organoleptic point of view, various flavourings such as, typically, spices and/or so- called "fine herbs" (oregano etc) . In the currently preferred embodiment, the addition of a minimum quantity of salt to the filling 3 is envisaged, it being possible to take that introduced by the cheese in this respect . The formulation of the coating 4 is substantially similar to that of the filling, with two fundamental differences: - the substitution of the vegetable oil component with a corresponding component of vegetable fats (typically palmo- stearic fats) again not usually fried; and - the presence in the coating of dried fruit granules, typically almonds (usually not fried) . In particular, the use in the coating 4 of flavourings such as fine herbs is also envisaged, these being chosen so as to coordinate with the corresponding addition to the filling 3, together with the complete, or at least substantially complete absence of salt . In comparison with conventional snack products, the snack product according to the invention has many advantages . In particular, a wide range of different products can be formed while retaining the same basic structure, for example, wafers filled in different ways and/or with different fillings . The absence of fried products means that ingredients , in particular fats, which are not considered ideal from the dietetic point of view, can be avoided. The product according to the invention can be manufactured very efficiently on an industrial scale and does not need to be distributed in the cold chain, a normal package, for example of the "flow-pack" type, sufficing for this purpose. In addition, exposure to the air over a reasonably extended period of time does not have harmful effects due to the protective effect of the coating, even when it contains flaked almonds . In particular, the product according to the invention, especially the preferred embodiment described here by way of example, is characterised in that it is a salted wafer product which has no fried components, which has a creamy filling and a firm outer coating which is resistant to high temperatures, which has no sugar added to the wafer, which includes granules (for example, of almonds), and which can be made with more or less filling so as to enable the calorie content to be varied. Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the details of manufacture and the embodiments may be varied widely with respect with that described and illustrated, without thereby departing from the ambit of the present invention.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A food product including: - a wafer casing (2) without, or substantially without, added sugars , and with a high salt content ; - a creamy filling (3) contained in the wafer casing (2) , the filling being based on vegetable oils supplemented with flavourings, and - a paste-like coating (4) which surrounds the casing; the coating (4) being based on vegetable fat and containing pieces of dried fruit . 2. A food product according to Claim 1, characterised in that the wafer casing (2) includes more than 1% by weight of salt in the cooked wafer. 3. A food product according to Claim 2, characterised in that the wafer casing (2) contains approximately 1.5 to 2% by weight of salt in the cooked wafer. 4. A food product according to Claim 3 , characterised in that the wafer casing (2) contains of the order of approximately 1.8% by weight of salt in the cooked wafer. 5. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 , characterised in that at least one, and preferably both, of the vegetable oil in the filling (3) and the vegetable fat in the coating (4) are not fried. 6. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 5 , characterised in that the vegetable oil in the filling (3) is an oil-seed oil, preferably chosen from the group constituted by sunflower oil, corn oil, peanut oil and their combinations. 7. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 6 , characterised in that the filling (3) contains of the order of approximately 60% by weight of vegetable oil. 8. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 7 , characterised in that the vegetable oil in the filling (3) is supplemented with cheese . 9. A food product according to Claim 8, characterised in that the cheese is powdered cheese. 10. A food product according to Claim 8 or Claim 9, characterised in that the cheese is present in a quantity of the order of approximately 5-10% by weight of the weight of filling (3) . 11. A food product according to Claim 10, characterised in that the cheese is present in a quantity of the order of approximately 8% by weight of the weight of filling. 12. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 11 , characterised in that the vegetable oil in the filling (3) is supplemented with powdered milk and/or whey. 13. A food product according to Claim 12, characterised in that the powdered milk and/or whey is present in a quantity of the order of approximately 25-30% by weight of the filling. 14. A food product according to Claim 13, characterised in that the powdered milk and/or whey is present in a quantity of the order of approximately 28% by weight of the filling. 15. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 14 , characterised in that the flavourings include fine herbs . 16. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 15, characterised in that the filling (3) includes added salt. 17. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 16, characterised in that the formulation of the coating (4) is substantially similar to the formulation of the filling (3) , with the quantity of vegetable fat in the coating (4) corresponding substantially to the quantity of the vegetable oil in the filling (3) . 18. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 17, characterised in that the dried fruit granules in the coating (4) are flaked almonds. 19. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 18, characterised in that the granules are prepared from non-fried dried fruit . 20. A food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 19, characterised in that the coating (4) contains substantially no salt .

Inventors: ROSSO RENATO, ROSSO, RENATO
Applicants: FERRERO OHG, FERRERO SPA, ROSSO RENATO, SOREMARTEC SA, FERRERO OFFENE HANDELSGESELLSCHAFT M.B.H., FERRERO S.P.A., ROSSO, RENATO, SOREMARTEC S.A.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: A23G3
IPC codes: A21D13, A23L1