A FOOD PRODUCT WITH A FILLING AND A METHOD OF PRODUCING IT

Abstract: The product, formed essentially as a praline, comprises a shell (1, 5) which encloses a creamy filling with very low viscosity (4, 8), possibly enhanced by a nut (3). The shell, which is covered with one or more coating layers (9, 11), possibly with the addition of a sprinkled substance (10) and decorative elements (12, 13), is constituted by two half-shells (1, 5) coupled face to face. One (1) of the half-shells is made of a mouldable substance such as chocolate, whereas the other half-shell (5) is made of wafer. The contribution of the half-shell (1) made of a mouldable substance to the weight of the shell is preferably greatly predominant in comparison with the corresponding contribution of the wafer half-shell (5).

Description: A food product with a filling and a method of producing it The present invention relates to a food product according to the preamble to Claim 1. Food products of this type, particularly, in the form of confectionery products, are known in the art: for example, the products sold under the trade marks "Rocher" and "Confetteria Raffaello" by the companies of the Ferrero group, in which the shell which encloses the filling is constituted by two hemispherical wafer half-shells, may be mentioned. The present invention addresses the problem of producing a product of the type specified above which is particularly suitable for production in the form of a chilled product from both strictly technological and organoleptic points of view. According to the present invention, this object is achieved by means of a food product having the characteristics recited in Claim 1. The invention also relates to a method of producing the product, having the characteristics recited in Claim 18. The invention will now be described, purely by way of non- limiting example, with reference to the appended drawings comprising figures numbered from 1 to 11 which show schematically the production sequence of a product according to the invention, as well as a Figure 12, which corresponds to a section taken on the line XII-XII of Figure 11, on a slightly enlarged scale. In Figure 1, a generally hemispherical half-shell made of a mouldable substance such as, for example, chocolate, is generally indicated 1. The expression "mouldable food substance" is intended to indicate herein any food substance which can be formed into the shape of a half-shell of the type shown, in the liquid or viscous state, for example, as a result of being poured into a mould, and can then be set in the shape thus reached, typically by cooling. Although the reference to a substance such as chocolate indicates a preferred solution, it should in no way be interpreted as limiting of the scope of the invention. This also applies in particular to the use of the term "chocolate" which should not be interpreted herein as being limited exclusively to compositions which can be called chocolate within the meaning of the standards for food products which are in force in some countries . The term chocolate used herein as indicative of a mouldable substance, should therefore be interpreted as including any product or substance having rheological characteristics similar or substantially comparable to those of chocolate. A hemispherical half-shell of material such as, for example, chocolate can be produced by known moulding, pouring and cooling techniques. These are techniques widely known in the confectionery industry and a detailed description of their characteristics is therefore unnecessary in this context. The half-shell 1 preferably has, in its top or polar portion, (for reasons which will become clearer from the following) a recessed portion 2 (which can best be seen and is more noticeable in the section of Figure 12) , produced by means of a corresponding shape of the mould. Figure 2 shows schematically how a filling centre constituted, for example, by a nut such as, for example a hazelnut 3, may possibly (but not necessarily) be located inside the half- shell 1 which is subsequently to be filled with a filling 4 constituted, for example, by a chocolate-flavoured cream. This operation is performed by means normally used in the confectionery industry, which do not need to be described herein. Figure 4 shows in detail the structure of the other element which, together with the half-shell 1, forms the shell of the product according to the invention. This is a half-shell 5 made of wafer and preferably has a generally basin- or cuplike shape. Within the half-shell 5 (which is formed by normal wafer-production techniques) it is therefore possible to distinguish a generally flat base wall 6 and an approximately frusto-conical peripheral or skirt wall 7 the mouth of which has diametral dimensions substantially corresponding to the diametral dimensions of the mouth of the half-shell 1 made of a mouldable substance. It can be appreciated from Figure 4 in particular that the rim of the mouth of the skirt wall 7 of the half-shell 5 is preferably produced by a cutting operation performed in a plane parallel to the general plane of the base wall 6. This result can be achieved on the basis of known solutions described, for example, in EP-B-0 054 229 and EP-B-0 221 033. A similar shaping is to be found in the rim of the mouth of the half-shell 1 which thus extends in a "meridian" plane with respect to the half-shell 1. Figure 5 shows the filling of the wafer half-shell 5 (also performed by known means) with a soft filling 8 preferably similar or substantially similar to the filling 4 in the half- shell 1. Figure 6 shows how, after the moulded half-shell 1 and the wafer half-shell 5 have been completed by their respective fillings, they can be fitted together face to face by virtue of the substantially corresponding diametral dimensions of their respective mouth portions . This gives rise to an intermediate product constituted essentially by a shell formed by the two half-shells 1 and 5 containing a filling formed by the fillings 4 and 8, preferably completed by the centre constituted by the nut 3. The two half-shells 1 and 5 can be fitted together face to face in the manner described above with the use of solutions known in the art such as those described, for example, in EP- B-0 083 324 and EP-A-0 583 739. As a result of the closure of the shell, the product acquires a certain solidity resulting primarily from the connection established between the respective fillings 4 and 8 which are preferably constituted by an anhydrous, low-melting filling containing hazelnuts, formulated with the use of vegetable oils and fats so as to achieve an ideal creaminess at low temperatures . The intermediate product shown in Figure 6 may be subjected, in known manner, to a first covering (coating) step, for example, with a chocolate-based substance 9 which is creamy when hot and can be set by cooling. This coating, which is preferably based on milk chocolate with the addition of nuts and vegetable oils, forms a perfect partnership with the filling of the product. This chocolate-based coating substance may then be completed by a sprinkling of a particulate substance 10 such as chopped hazelnuts, grated coconut, etc., on the product of Figure 7 before the coating 9 has set . As can be seen in Figure 8, the sprinkling operation is preferably carried out in a manner such as to affect the entire surface of the product, possibly with the exception of the recess 2 (if there is one) . This result can be achieved in various ways, for example, by protecting the polar portion of the half-shell 1 in the region of the recess 2 with a screen (not shown) during the sprinkling of the particulate substance 10. Another solution is to arrange for the first coating 9 to be spread over the entire surface of the shell of the product (the half-shells 1 and 5) except for the polar region of the half-shell 1 in which the recess 2 is disposed. As shown in Figure 9, the sprinkled layer 10 applied in the step illustrated in Figure 8 is preferably coated with a further coating layer 11 of a substance identical or similar to that of the coating layer 9. Finally, a decoration constituted, for example, by a rosette of cream 12, possibly covered by a disc-like element 13 made of a substance such as, for example, chocolate, is placed in the recess 2 in the top or polar portion of the half-shell 1. The finished product having the structure shown in greater detail in the sectioned view of Figure 12 is thus produced. As can be seen, this is essentially a praline-like product with a shell constituted by the half-shell 1 of a mouldable substance such as chocolate and by the wafer half-shell 5. The nut 3 and the fillings 4 and 8 are disposed in the shell . The shell is coated with the various coating/sprinkled layers the application of which is described above with reference to Figures 7 to 9 , completed by the decoration 12 , 13 at the top . Although they are made of entirely different materials, the half-shells 1 and 5 are connected by being fitted together face to face, that is, with their respective mouth surfaces in frontal contact with one another, with the mouth surfaces extending so-to-speak in a "meridian" plane with respect to the general shape of the shell, that is, in a plane parallel to the plane in which the base wall 6 of the half-shell 5 extends . The solution of the invention enables the product to retain a certain amount of wafer-like substance, the presence of which is appreciated from an organoleptic point of view as well as being useful for the purposes of the production of the product, at the same time avoiding the presence of too much wafer which could have an unpleasant effect in relation to the general appreciation of a chilled product . By way of example, (which, naturally, should not be interpreted as limiting of the scope of the invention) in the currently-preferred embodiment of the invention, if the overall weight of the shell constituted by the half-shell 1 and by the half-shell 5 is set at a value of 100, the half- shell 1 contributes about 70% of this value, and the half- shell 5 contributes about 30% (the contribution of the half- shell 1 is therefore greatly predominant and preferably at least twice the contribution of the half-shell 5) : it will be appreciated in this connection that the absolute densities (or specific weight) of the respective component substances are usually quite different from one another. Again for the purposes of a preferred embodiment of the invention, it has been found particularly advantageous to use, for the production of the half-shell 5, a wafer with a high sugar content (8/9% by weight with reference to the half-shell 5 after baking) with a wall thickness of the half-shell 5 of the order of 1.7 ± 0.1 mm. With regard to the half-shell 1, the preferred selection, on the other hand, is a particular chocolate constituted by a "dark milk" base to which hazelnuts and cocoa butter are added. Another preferred aspect of the production of the product described above is that the steps of the preparation of the half-shells 1 and 5, including the provision of their fillings 4 and 8, can take place at ambient temperature or anyway without specific temperature control; since a substance such as, for example, chocolate is concerned, the temperature values should in any case clearly not be excessive. Starting from the step of the coupling of the half-shells (Figure 6) , it seems generally preferable to implement a temperature control which keeps the product as a whole at temperatures no higher than 8-10°C during the coating, sprinkling, and possibly decorating steps, so that the normal range of temperatures at which a chilled product is kept (4°C or less) can be reached upon completion of the product . Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the details of construction and forms of embodiment may be varied widely with respect to those described and illustrated, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A food product comprising a shell (1, 5) which encloses a soft filling (4, 8) and is covered externally with at least one coating layer (9, 11) , the shell (1, 5) being constituted by at least two half-shells (1, 5) coupled with one another, characterized in that, of the at least two half-shells, one (1) is made of a mouldable food substance (1) and the other (5) is made of wafer. 2. A product according to Claim 1, characterized in that the contribution of the said one (1) half-shell to the overall weight of the shell (1, 5) is greatly predominant in comparison with the homologous contribution of the other (5) half shell . 3. A product according to Claim 2, characterized in that the contribution of the said one (1) half-shell to the overall weight of the shell (1, 5) is at least twice the homologous contribution of the other (5) half-shell. 4. A product according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that the said one (1) of the half-shells (1, 5) is hemispherical, whilst the other half-shell (5) has a generally basin-like configuration with a flat base (6) . 5. A product according to Claim 4, characterized in that the other (5) of the half-shells (1, 5) has a generally frusto- conical shape. 6. A product according to any one of Claims 1 to 5 , characterized in that the at least two half-shells (1, 5) are fitted together with their respective mouth surfaces coupled face to face. 7. A product according to any one of Claims 1 to 6 , characterized in that the said one (1) of the half-shells (1, 5) is made substantially of chocolate. 8. A product according to Claim 7, characterized in that hazelnuts and/or cocoa butter are added to the chocolate. 9. A product according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 , characterized in that the other (5) of the half-shells (1, 5) is made of wafer having a high sugar content, preferably of the order of 8-9% by weight relative to the wafer half-shell (5) . 10. A product according to any one of Claims 1 to 9 , characterized in that the filling (4, 8) contains a centre constituted by a nut (3) . 11. A product according to any one of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that a particulate substance (10) is added to the at least one coating layer (9, 11) . 12. A product according to Claim 11, characterized in that the particulate substance (10) is constituted by chopped hazelnuts or grated coconut . 13. A product according to Claim 11 or Claim 12, characterized in that the particulate substance (10) is included between two successive coating layers (9, 11) . 14. A product according to any one of Claims 1 to 13 , characterized in that it also comprises a decorative element (12, 13) applied to the said one (1) of the shells (1, 5) . 15. A product according to Claim 14 , characterized in that the said one (1) of the half-shells (1, 5) has a recess (2) for housing the decorative element (12, 13) . 16. A product according to Claim 11 and Claim 14 , characterized in that the particulate substance (10) is absent from the region of the decorative element (12, 13) . 17. A product according to any one of Claims 14 to 16, characterized in that the decorative element is constituted by a rosette of a creamy substance (12) such as whipped cream on which a disc-shaped element (13) is placed. 18. A method of producing a food product according to any one of Claims 1 to 17, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: - providing the at least two half-shells (1, 5) and the soft filling (4, 8), - coupling the half-shells (1, 5) forming the shell enclosing the filling (4, 8) as a result of the connection of the half- shells (1, 5) , and - applying the at least one coating layer (9, 11) to the shell, the steps starting from the coupling of the half-shells (1, 5) being performed in controlled conditions at a temperature no higher than approximately 8-10°C. 19. A method according to Claim 18, characterized in that it comprises the step of bringing the finished product to a temperature of the order of approximately 4°C or less and keeping it at that temperature, giving the product the character of a chilled product.

Inventors: ROSSO RENATO, ROSSO, RENATO
Applicants: FERRERO OHG, FERRERO SPA, ROSSO RENATO, SOREMARTEC SA, FERRERO OFFENE HANDELSGESELLSCHAFT MBH, FERRERO S.P.A., ROSSO, RENATO, SOREMARTEC S.A.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: A23G3
IPC codes: A23G1, A23G3, A23G9