Patent ID: 7815954

Claim:
A method for preparing and dispensing a soft-serve food product comprising the steps of: blending a plurality of ingredients together to form a blended food product; transferring the blended food product in a flowable state into a deformable container having an opening; placing the deformable container filled with the blended food product into a substantially rigid molding sleeve to maintain the deformable container in a predetermined shape while freezing to a hard-frozen condition; and freezing the filled deformable container to the hard-frozen condition; raising a temperature of the deformable container from the hard-frozen condition to a condition for soft-serve dispensing; positioning the deformable container containing the soft-serve food product in the condition for soft-serve dispensing into an enclosed hollow space in a housing; and activating a piston having a head positioned within the housing to slide within the enclosed hollow space to move in a direction to squeeze the deformable container and cause the food product to be extruded from the deformable container through a dispensing spout; wherein the substantially rigid molding sleeve includes a bottom adapted to break away with applied outward force; and wherein the positioning step includes placing the substantially rigid molding sleeve at least partway into the enclosed hollow space, and pushing the deformable container toward the piston to cause the bottom to break away and slide alone into the enclosed hollow space.