AU726120B2 - Method to produce soft-type ice confection - Google Patents

Description

I, r W I P/00/01i1 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: METHOD TO PRODUCE SOFT-TYPE ICE CONFECTION The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: PHPSYDMENATPOO320\971 14015.8 CA97010002.0 1 METHOD TO PRODUCE SOFT-TYPE ICE CONFECTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method of producing soft-type ice confection which achieves its softness characteristics without additives.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional "hard type" shaved ice is the most common type of shaved ice product marketed.

However, by the time it gets to a retail outlet it can be so hard that customers cannot stick spoons in it immediately after purchase. They thus cannot immediately eat it, except by chipping at its surface.

10 In the production process of conventional shaved ice, ice blocks are first crushed or shaved into particles. These ice particles are mixed with syrup at room temperature without temperature control. The mixing of the ice particles and the syrup forms a sleety product which is poured into containers, and the containers are stored in refrigerators at freezing temperatures. It is in these refrigerators that the shaved ice takes on a "hard type" consistency because ice and 15 moisture present and any moisture of the syrup re-freezes making the product hard.

The soft type shaved ice which is available, uses the previously mentioned conventional manufacturing techniques for producing hard type shaved ice, with the addition of food additives, such as stabilisers or polysaccharide thickeners. The food additives prevent the refreezing of the moisture and ice combination, but give the final product a highly viscous 0:9" 20 consistency.

The soft type shaved ice produced by using food additives is soft enough that people can stick spoons into it, and eat it immediately after purchase. However, because this type of shaved ice includes additives, some of the features of fresh shaved ice are lost, such as the refreshing image, consistency and texture of the ice, due to a highly viscous consistency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a method of producing soft type ice confection, including the steps of: refrigerating syrup to be mixed with small ice particles to a temperature warmer than the freezing point of the syrup, said temperature also being colder than the melting point of ice, said syrup being maintained in a liquid or substantially liquid state; CA97010002.0 2 mixing said syrup with said small ice particles in a mixing means to produce a sleety product, said mixing means being refrigerated to a temperature colder than the melting point of ice and warmer than the freezing point of the syrup.

Preferably the small ice particles are made by either crushing or shaving a large block of ice to produce said small ice particles.

Preferably said small ice particles are produced by shaving a large block of ice which has been refrigerated at -IO°C or colder, for approximately 8 hours or more.

Preferably the method further includes refrigerating said small ice particles, after they have been formed, at -10 0 OC or colder for approximately 8 hours or more.

10 Preferably the method further includes refrigerating said sleety product at a temperature near to ooooo but warmer than the freezing point of said syrup, for 30 minutes or longer, most preferably the temperatures are in the range of -10C to -30 0

C.

Preferably the method further includes pouring said sleety product into packages at a cold air ooo.oi S temperatures in the range of -5 'C to -15'C, to produced a packaged product.

15 Preferably said packaged product is refrigerated at at least -25C for at least two days before distribution.

Preferably the large block of ice is a substantially cylindrical or rectangular prism of ice.

Preferably said small ice particles measure approximately 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm in thickness.

Preferably said small ice particles have a width and a length of approximately 3mm to S 20 Preferably said syrup and said relatively small particles of ice are combined in a ratio of approximately Preferably said syrup and said relatively small particles of ice are combined in a ratio of approximately 6 kg to 10 kg.

Preferably said mixing means is refrigerated by means of a brine, propylene glycol, calcium chloride or other refrigeration solution.

Preferably said mixing means includes a double jacketed container or bowl having a refrigeration solution passing therethrough.

Preferably said mixer, depending upon the type of syrup used, is refrigerated in the temperature range of-5°C and -30 0

C.

CA97010002.0 3 Preferably said mixing means is refrigerated in the temperature range of -10'C and Preferably said mixing means is refrigerated in the temperature range of -13"C and Preferably said syrup is refrigerated in the temperature range of -5°C and -25°C, depending on syrup type, to get the syrup to a temperature near to its freezing point so that it will be as cold as possible yet maintain liquid or substantially liquid characteristics.

Embodiments of the above invention will provide a method to produce a soft-type ice confection, such that if the ice is correctly transported and stored in retail outlets in the conventional way, the ice confection produced by the method of the invention is such that when it is taken out from refrigerators, people can insert spoons into it, and eat it. It has the refreshing image, consistency and texture of ice but does not have hardness which is found in So• prior art hard type shaved ice or a high viscosity as is present in prior art soft shaved ice which uses additives to produce the "softness" feature. Soft or Softness, being the term which .ooo.i S generally represents the ease of insertion of a spoon after being taken out of a colder than zero too, refrigeration.

15 Another advantage discovered when ice confection is produced by the above method is that the features of the soft-type ice confection can be maintained for 1-1.5 years when stored at around or colder, without the use of food additives such as stabilisers or polysaccharide thickeners.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 20 An example of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with Soreference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure IA is a cross section of a schematic of the production process, from ice shaving to temporary storage; Figure 1B is a side elevation of a schematic of an ice shaver; Figure 1C is a front view of the ice shaver; Figure 2 is a cross section of a schematic of the stirring and mixing process and a side-view cross section of a schematic of a mixer; and Figure 3: is a cross section of a schematic of the filling process, and of a refrigerator CA97010002.

4 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS The foregoing description will refer to temperatures, melting and freezing points or temperatures. These temperatures and points are measured at 1 Bar of atmospheric pressure and may need to be varied according to the atmospheric pressure at time of manufacture.

Illustrated in Fig. 1A is an ice shaver 1. This is shown in more detail in Fig. 1B, where an ice block 2, is placed into contact with an ice-holding plate 5. The ice block 2 measures 13 cm x 13 cm x 13 cm because of the particular type and brand of ice shaver utilised. If desired, a cylindrical ice block having a diameter of 13 cm could also be used. The ice-holding plate 5 is a rotating plate driven by a motor which is not illustrated. The ice block 2 is fixed to the iceholding plate 5 by a series of pins.

In Fig. 1B is an ice-shaving blade 4a, which is mounted below the ice block 2 so as to engage the ice block 2. More than one ice shaver 1 can be used to produce ice shavings in the method if desired and each ice shaver has an ice-shaving blade 4a. A controller 4b adjusts the angles between the ice block 2 and the ice-shaving blade 4a by rotation of the blade 4a, to orient the blade 4a relative to a surface of the ice block 2, which will be engaged by it. The controller 4b adjusts the ice-shaving blade 4a, so that thinly sliced ice shavings or relatively small ice a particles of approximately 3mm to 5mm in width and length and approximately 0. lmm to 0.3mm in thickness are produced.

The thinly sliced ice shavings are produced by rotating the ice-holding plate 5, so that the ice block 2 rotates and the ice-shaving blade 4a thinly shaves the ice block to produce relatively small ice particles.

Referring now to fig 1A, pieces of thinly shaved ice 3a, flow down into a stainless-steel container 7, which has been maintained at a temperature in the range of -15'C to -20 0 C. From this container 7 the pieces of shaved ice 3a are poured into a plastic container 8a, at approximately 10kg per container 8a, and refrigerated at a temperature in the range of -20'C to for 15 hours or longer. It is expected that refrigeration at -10 0 C or colder for 8 hours or more will suffice.

Illustrated in Fig. 2 is a mixer 9 which includes a double-jacketed stainless-steel container If desired, and if the heat transfer properties and other material characteristics are satisfactory at low temperature, the double-jacketed container 10 can be made from plastics or appropriate polymer. The stainless-steel double jacketed container 10 is maintained at -13 0 C to -18C by circulating an anti-freezing or refrigeration solution (such as a propylene glycol or a calcium CA9701000 2 chloride solution), which is maintained, at a temperature in the range of -13'C to -18°C, through the inside of the stainless-steel container 10 via a circulating pipe 11. The temperature of the refrigeration or anti-freezing solution can be maintained in the temperature range desired, by commonly known heat transfer mechanisms.

In the bowl portion of the stainless steel container 10 is a mixing arm 12 to stir and mix the thinly sliced ice shavings with syrup. The temperature at which the mixer 9 is maintained at will be dependent on the type of syrup used and its freezing point. The temperature is selected to be warmer than the freezing point of the syrup, but preferably within 10°C to 15 0 C of the freezing point. Thus for most syrups generally used, a temperature in the range of -5°C and 30'C will suffice.

The syrup utilised is of a type that is compatible with ice and is compatible for mixing and S coating of ice to obtain a substantially homogeneous mixture of the ice particles and syrup. The syrup utilised will have a freezing point which is colder than the melting point of ice by approximately 5°C to 20'C. The melting point of ice at approximately 1 bar pressure is 0 0

C.

The syrup used is a sherbet-like syrup generally designated by the numeral 13.

Approximately 6kg of syrup 13 is combined with 10kg mass of thinly sliced ice shavings in S" container 8a. The syrup 13 will have been refrigerated at approximately -20'C, which is just warmer than the freezing point of the syrup. Depending upon the syrup, refrigeration to a temperature in the range of -5°C and -30'C will be required to refrigerate the syrup to just warmer than the freezing point of the syrup, and colder than the melting point of ice.

The pieces of thinly sliced ice shavings, 3b, being approximately 10kg in mass and which have been refrigerated at a temperature in the range of-20'C to -25°C for 15 hours or longer, are poured together with the syrup 13 into the stainless-steel container 10. By rotating the mixing arm 12, the syrup 13 and ice shavings 3b are mixed and stirred to form a sleety product 14. The sleety product 14 is removed from the stainless-steel container 10 and poured into a plastic container 8b, and refrigerated at a temperature in the range of -20'C to -25°C for 30 minutes or longer. If desired the temperature can be in the range of -10°C and The mixing arm 12 is not refrigerated by means of the anti-freeze or refrigeration solution.

However, it is kept in a relatively cold condition because it is in contact with the ice shavings, syrup and sleety product. While the mixing arm 12 may add a minuscule amount of heat energy to the sleety product while it is being formed, because of its movement through the sleety product being formed, this energy input is cooled and thus compensated for by the double- CA97010002.0 6 jacketed container 10 being refrigerated by the refrigeration or anti-freeze solution, which passes through the double-jacketed container 10, to keep all components in the container 10 at the desired temperature.

As shown in Fig. 3, the sleety product 14 is poured into a stainless-steel receptacle 15, which is maintained at a temperature in the range of -10°C to -15 0 C. The sleety product 14 is then poured or inserted into individual packages 16 for retail sale, and refrigerated in a refrigerator 17, at -25 0 C for 2 days or more, before transportation or distribution. Re-refrigeration of the packaged product at -10 0 C or less for 8 hours or more will also suffice.

The product is then preferably transported at -5C or colder, to the point of sale, or can be stored for up to 1 to 1.5 years at -10 0 C or colder.

The above-mentioned method does not use any food additives such as stabilisers or polysaccharide thickeners. Immediately after products produced according to the method are oooo* taken out from refrigerators, people can stick spoons into them and eat them without difficulty.

The method produces soft-type shaved ice, which is not highly viscous like soft ice having additive and has a refreshing texture and consistency and image of ice. The products can maintain the above-mentioned features for 1-1.5 years.

While the above description relates to a shaving method to produce ice particles, it will be readily understood that the ice particles could be produced by means of a crushing process, or any other process to produce relatively small ice particles.

20 The above embodiment re-refrigerates the ice shavings after formation; the combined ice particles and syrup (sleety product); and the packaged product. These re-refrigeration steps are only preferable for quality control purposes.

The foregoing describes an embodiment of the invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (20)

1. A method of producing soft type ice confection, including the steps of: refrigerating syrup to be mixed with small ice particles to a temperature warmer than the freezing point of the syrup, said temperature also being colder than the melting point of ice, said syrup being maintained in a liquid or substantially liquid state; mixing said syrup with said small ice particles in a mixing means to produce a sleety product, said mixing means being refrigerated to a temperature colder than the melting point of ice and warmer than the freezing point of the syrup.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said small ice particles are made from a large block of ice by one of the following methods: crushing; shaving.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said small ice particles are produced by •shaving a large block of ice which has been refrigerated at -10 0 C or colder, for .oeo.i approximately 8 hours or more. •15

4. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims further including refrigerating said small ice particles, after they have been formed, at -10°C or colder for approximately 8 hours or more.

5. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims further including refrigerating said sleety product at a temperature near to, but warmer than, the freezing point of said 20 syrup, for 30 minutes or longer.

6. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims further including pouring said sleety product into packages at a cold air temperatures in the range of -5 "C to -15'C, to produced a packaged product.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein said packaged product is refrigerated at at least -25C for at least two days before distribution.

8. A method as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the large block of ice is a substantially cylindrical or rectangular prism of ice.

9. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said small ice particles measure approximately 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm in thickness.

CA97010002.0 8 A method as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein said small ice particles have a width and a length of approximately 3mm to

11. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said syrup and said relatively small particles of ice are combined in a ratio of approximately

12. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said syrup and said relatively small particles of ice are combined in a ratio of approximately 6 kg to 10 kg.

13. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said mixing means is refrigerated by means of a brine, propylene glycol, calcium chloride or other refrigeration solution.

14. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said mixing means -o..oi includes a double jacketed container or bowl having a refrigeration solution passing therethrough. a..

15. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claim, wherein said mixer, depending upon the type of syrup used, is refrigerated in the temperature range of -5 0 C and 15

16. A method as claimed in any on of the preceding claims, wherein said mixing means is refrigerated in the temperature range of 10C and

17. A method as claimed in any on of the preceding claims, wherein said mixing means is refrigerated in the temperature range of -13 C and -15 C.

18. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said sleety product is 20 refrigerated at a temperature in the range of -10°C to -30 0 C, after it is formed.

19. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said syrup is refrigerated in the temperature range of -5 0 C and -25°C, depending on syrup type, to get the syrup to a temperature near to its freezing point so that it will be as cold as possible yet maintain liquid or substantially liquid characteristics.

20. A method of producing soft type shaved ice being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 24th day of April 1997 Muhyo Kobo Co, Ltd by its patent attorneys Freehills Patent Attorneys