GB2249934A - A process and installation for producing starch jelly confectionery product - Google Patents

Abstract

A process and installation for producing starch jelly confectionery products. Heated glucose and other ingredient materials are delivered to a mixing vessel 15 in which they are mixed to form a slurry. The slurry is cooked at 115 DEG C-130 DEG C and then cooled at or above atmospheric pressure and delivered to pouring hoppers 40 at 65 DEG C-85 DEG C. Slurry is dropped from the hoppers 40 into starch moulds. The moulds are formed by shallow trays 45 containing powdered starch 46, a plurality of depressions 47 being formed in the starch for reception of slurry to form the products. The products are dried in the trays 45 to a desired moisture content. A stack of trays 45 of the formed products are delivered to a tray handling machine which empties the trays 45, and then forms new moulds with the trays 45, the new moulds then being delivered beneath the hoppers 40 to receive the slurry. At an inlet of the tray handling machine tray guide means is provided to ensure correct alignment of the trays 45 for entry into the tray handling machine. <IMAGE>

Description

"A process for producing a starch jelly confectionery product" This invention relates to a process and installation for producing starch jelly confectionery products of the types commonly known as "wine gums", "jelly babies", "fruit slices" and the like.

According to the invention there is provided a process for producing starch jelly confectionery products, the process comprising the steps of: (a) delivering quantities of ingredient materials including starch, sugar, glucose and gelatin from storage hoppers to a mixing vessel, the glucose being heated to a temperature of between 60 C and 80 C prior to delivery, (b) delivering a preset quantity of water at a temperature of at least 880C to the mixing vessel, (c) mixing the ingredient materials and water in the mixing vessel to form a slurry, (d) cooking the slurry by continuously delivering the slurry through a heat exchanger in which the slurry is cooked at a temperature of between 115"C and 1300C for a period of between one and two minutes, (e) cooling the slurry discharged from the heat exchanger, the cooling being carried out at or above atmospheric pressure, (f) mixing preservative, flavouring and colouring agents with the slurry, (g) delivering the slurry to one or more pouring hoppers, (h) preparing a starch mould comprising a tray containing dry powdered starch with a plurality of shaped depressions in the starch, (i) pouring measured amounts of the slurry from each pouring hopper into the depressions in the starch mould to form the confectionery products, (j) stacking a number of the trays on top of each other, (k) drying the confectionery products in the trays to a preset moisture content, and (1) removing the confectionery products from the trays.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention after drying the confectionery products each stack of trays is delivered to a tray handling machine which empties the trays thus removing the confectionery products and starch from the trays and prepares new starch moulds, wherein the process includes correctly aligning the trays in each stack of trays and guiding each aligned stack of trays into engagement with the tray handling machine.

In another embodiment the process includes the step of regulating cooling of the slurry such that the temperature of the slurry at each hopper is between 650C and 85"C.

In a further embodiment the process involves the step of hearing the glucose with waste heat obtained when cooling the slurry.

In another embodiment after removing the confectionery products from the trays an exterior of the confectionery products are coated with sugar by passing the confectionery products through a steam bath and then delivering the confectionery products on a vibrating conveyor to a sugar coating machine.

The invention also provides an installation for carrying out the process previously described, the installation comprising means for weighing out predetermined amounts of hot water and ingredient materials including starch, sugar, glucose and gelatin, means for heating the glucose, mixing means to mix the ingredient materials and hot water to form a slurry, a heat exchanger for cooking the slurry, a slurry cooler downstream of the heat exchanger, means for mixing additives including preservative, colouring and flavouring agents with the cooked slurry, a number of pouring hoppers downstream of the additive mixing means to receive the slurry, a tray handling machine to receive a stack of trays, empty the trays, fill the trays with dry powdered starch, imprint a plurality of spaced-apart shaped depressions in the starch, convey the trays beneath the pouring hoppers to fill the shaped depressions with slurry to form the confectionery products and to stack the trays containing the confectionery products1 guide means being provided at an inlet of the tray handling machine comprising two spaced-apart pairs of vertically mounted rollers for engagement with tray sides to align a stack of trays and guide the aligned stack of trays to an inlet of the tray handling machine for correct engagement of the trays by the tray handling machine.

In another embodiment downstream of the tray handling machine a sugar coating machine is provided with an associated steam bath and conveyor means to deliver confectionery products from the tray handling machine through the steam bath to the sugar coating machine, vibration means being provided to shake the portion of the conveyor between the steam bath and the sugar coating machine.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating the process according to the invention, Fig. 2 is an diagrammatic elevational view of pairs of spaced-apart rollers for aligning a stack of trays for feeding the trays into engagement with a tray handling machine used in the process, Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of the rollers of Fig.

2 in use, and Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic side, part sectional view of portion of an installation used for carrying out the process.

Referring to the drawings, quantities of ingredient materials including starch, sugar, glucose and gelatin are delivered from respective storage hoppers 10, 11, 12, 13 to a mixing vessel 15. The correct quantities of each ingredient material is determined by cumulative weighing of the ingredient materials in the mixing vessel 15 as each ingredient material is delivered in turn to the mixing vessel 15.

Some examples of typical recipes in current use are as follows: ReciPe No. 1 Water 63 Kgs Gelatine 13 Kgs Sugar 90 Kgs Starch 24 Kgs Glucose 107 Kgs Citric Acid 3 Kgs Recipe No. 2 Water 56 Kgs Gelatine 12 Kgs Sugar 105 Kgs Starch 23 Kgs Glucose 105 Kgs Citric Acid 3 Kgs Recipe No. 3 Water 58 Kgs Gelatine 22 Kgs Sugar 84 Kgs Glucose 136 Kgs Citric Acid 3 Kgs Prior to delivery of glucose from the glucose hopper 12 to the mixing vessel the glucose is heated to a temperature of between 60"C and 80"C in a heater 17 to facilitate pumping of the glucose.

Water is heated in a water boiler 20 to a temperature of at least 88"C and preferably between 900C and 95"C. Heated water is delivered from the water boiler 20 to the mixing vessel 15.

The ingredient materials and hot water are thoroughly mixed in the mixing vessel 15 to form a slurry the temperature of the slurry being approximately 700C. When mixed the slurry is delivered to a slurry holding tank 21.

A ring main conduit 22 is provided for circulating slurry from the slurry tank 21 through the ring main conduit 22 and back to the siurry tank 21.

Tapping off from the ring main conduit 22 is a delivery line 23 which delivers slurry to a preheater 25 in which the temperature of the slurry is raised from 70"C to about 100"C.

From the preheater 25 the slurry is delivered through a heat exchanger 26 in which the slurry is cooked at a temperature of between 115"C and 1300C depending on the recipe for a period of 1 to 2 minutes to gelatinise the starch. The cooking temperature for recipes 1 and 2 above is 126"C and for recipe 3 it is 115"C.

Downstream of the heat exchanger 26 the slurry is partially cooled to a temperature of between 650C and 85"C depending on the recipe in a cooler 29. The temperature of slurry discharged from the cooler 29 is regulated to maintain a slurry temperature of about 650C to 850C depending on the recipe at pouring hoppers to be described later. The cooling is regulated to ensure that the slurry is deposited from the pouring hoppers into starch moulds (described later) at as low a temperature as possible without causing premature gelatinisation. For example recipes 1 and 2 above are poured at a temperature of between 800C and 850C, and recipe 3 is poured at a temperature of between 650C and 700C. From the cooler 29 the slurry is delivered to an open holding container 30 in which the slurry is further cooled and can be viewed and tested for the correct consistency.Downstream of the holding container 30 a preservative is injected at 31 into the slurry and thoroughly mixed with the slurry in a static mixer 32.

Slurry from the static mixer 32 goes to a distribution manifold 35. A number of separate delivery lines 36 exit from the distribution manifold 35 and suitable colouring and flavouring agents are injected at 37 into each of the delivery lines 36 and thoroughly mixed with the slurry in each delivery line 36 by means of static mixers 38. The same or different colouring and flavouring agents may be injected to each of the different delivery lines 36. Each delivery line 36 discharges into separate slurry pouring hoppers 40.

Starch moulds are prepared by filling shallow trays 45 with dry powdered starch 46 and imprinting a plurality of shaped depressions 47 in the starch 46. A number of rows of depressions 47 are made in the starch 46 the number of rows corresponding to the number of pouring hoppers 40. As the tray 45 is passed beneath the pouring hoppers 40 a measured quantity of slurry is deposited from each pouring hopper 40 into the depressions 47 to form jelly sweets of the required shape. A number of the trays 45 are stacked on a trolley 50 and depending on the recipe left to cool to room temperature.

This cooling partially solidifies the sweets in each tray 45.

Next the trolley 50 is delivered into a stove (not shown) and the trays 45 of jelly sweets are dried over a period of one to three days, depending on the type of jelly sweet being produced, to the required moisture content. For example products of recipes 1 and 2 above are stoved at a temperature of 45"C for up to 48 hours. For recipe 3 the stoving temperature is 30"C and time is about 18 hours.

The trolley 50 of stacked trays 45 is then delivered to a tray handling machine (not shown) which empties each tray 45 in turn to remove the jelly sweets and refill the trays with dry powdered starch and prepare the starch mould and deliver the trays 45 beneath the pouring hoppers 40 as previously described. It will be appreciated that due to handling the trays 45 on the trolley 50 may be out of alignment as the trolley load of stacked trays 45 is fed into the tray handling machine. This can cause the machine to stop or jam resulting in downtime while the fault is corrected. To overcome this problem guide means is provided to ensure correct alignment of the trays 45 in each stack of trays 45.This guide means comprises two pairs of substantially vertical spaced-apart rollers 60, 61 (see Figs. 2 and 3) which engage with ends 62 of each tray 45 to correctly align all the trays 45 in a stack of trays 45 as the stack of trays 45 is moved between the pairs of rollers 60, 61. It will be noted that means is provided for adjusting the distance between the pairs of rollers 60, 61. In some cases one or both pairs of rollers 60, 61 may be spring biased to urge the rollers 60, 61 into engagement with the trays 45. In the tray handling machine each tray 45 in turn is inverted above a screen which catches the jelly sweets but allows the starch to pass through, the starch being recycled for further use. The jelly sweets are then delivered to a packaging station.

Optionally, to coat an exterior of the sweets with sugar the sweets are passed through a steam bath in conventional fashion and this makes outer surfaces of the jelly sweets tacky. The jelly sweets are then delivered to a conventional sugar coating machine by a conveyor. Preferably the conveyor is vibrated to prevent the jelly sweets from sticking to each other while they are still tacky prior to being coated with sugar.

Fig. 4 shows a diagrammatic sectional view of the holding container 30. This comprises an open cylindrical pot 70 having an outlet 71 and a centrally mounted sieve 72. The sieve 72 has a cylindrical body 73 with an inlet 74 at an upper end of the body 73. A plurality of radially arranged outlet holes 75 are provided at a lower end of the body 73.

Fixed at a bottom 77 of the sieve 72 is a frusto-conical skirt 78 extending outwardly and downwardly from the bottom 77 of the sieve 72. A lower rim 79 of the skirt 78 terminates above a base 80 of the pot 70. In use slurry is delivered through the inlet 74 and is discharged through the holes 75 to run down the skirt 78 cascading off the rim 79 into the pot 70.

It will be appreciated that the slurry passes over the skirt 78 in a thin layer and this assists cooling. It will be noted also that an operator viewing the curtain of slurry cascading from the skirt 78 is able to visually monitor the slurry for the correct consistency. Further the skirt 78 delivers the slurry into the pot 70 in a controlled manner minimising agitating and splashing which would entrain air in the slurry.

Samples for testing can readily easily and quickly be taken from the pot 70 if required.

The novelty of the invention lies in the combination of a number of improvements to an existing process. While each of these improvements may appear to be relatively minor, collectively they have allowed a significant improvement in production speed and efficiency to be achieved. The quality of the confectionery product has been also improved and is easier to control.

Heating the glucose prior to delivery of the glucose to the mixing vessel allows the glucose to be more easily pumped between the glucose storage hopper and mixing vessel. It will be appreciated that at normal handling temperature glucose is extremely viscous and therefore difficult to pump. A further advantage of heating the glucose is that it is then easier to mix with the other ingredient materials giving a saving in time and energy required to mix the ingredient materials to form the slurry.

Advantageously gelatine is mixed with the other ingredient materials prior to cooking. By doing so it allows for continual production. If the gelatine was to be added after cooking a batch production system would have to be used, thus slowing the process.

Cooling the slurry at or above atmospheric pressure after cooking is also advantageous. In a known process the cooling is achieved by passing the slurry through a vacuum vessel, portion of the slurry evaporating under the vacuum conditions thus extracting heat from the remainder of the slurry. A problem with this method is that it can be difficult to pump slurry out of the vacuum vessel and this often leads to surges of slurry in the delivery line downstream of the vacuum vessel. The temperature of the slurry downstream of the vacuum vessel is also difficult to control adequately and therefore product quality can suffer. By using a heat exchanger at or above atmospheric pressure to cool the slurry there are no pumping difficulties and smooth flow of slurry through the system is achieved and easily regulated.Further, the temperature of the slurry can be easily controlled to within desired limits.

A conventional tray handling machine receives a stack of trays and automatically engages each tray in turn to empty the tray removing formed confectionery products and starch from the tray and refills the tray with dry powdered starch and forms a mould for the product by making depressions in the starch.

The trays are delivered under pouring hoppers to fill the depressions in the starch with slurry and then the trays are automatically stacked. A problem with the tray handling machine is that when feeding a stack of trays into the tray handling machine if any trays in the stack are out of alignment, which regularly happens as each stack of trays is moved about on a trolley to and from drying stores, the tray handling machine will jam. This means the process has to be stopped to clear the jam after which the. process can be resumed. This downtime particularly when it happens a number of times in each run through of the process greatly reduces the efficiency of the process. To overcome this in the process according to the invention two spaced-apart pairs of rollers are mounted at an inlet to the tray handling machine.

The rollers engage opposite ends of each tray in a stack of trays passed between the pairs of rollers, the rollers urging the trays into correct alignment with an inlet of the tray handling machine. These rollers have cut out the downtime which occurred previously due to regular jamming of the tray handling machine.

In some types of confectionery products an exterior of the confectionery products are coated with sugar. This can be done by passing the formed confectionery products through a steam bath which makes an exterior of the confectionery products tacky. The confectionery products are delivered on a conveyor to a sugar coating machine in which sugar adheres to an exterior of the confectionery products. A problem arises downstream of the steam bath in that very often a number of the confectionery products will tend to stick together if they touch on the conveyor. After sugar coating those products which have stuck together have to be rejected.

To overcome this it has been found that by vibrating the conveyor between the steam bath and the sugar coating machine the confectionery products will tend not to stick together.

The efficiency of the process is improved as there is a reduced rejection rate for the sugared confectionery products.

To further improve the efficiency of the installation heat extracted from the slurry in the cooler 29 may be used to preheat the glucose prior to delivery of the glucose from the glucose hopper 12 to the mixing vessel 5. For example coolant used in the cooler 29 can either be passed through a heating coil located in the glucose hopper 12 or through the heater 17 mounted adjacent an outlet of the glucose hopper 12.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail.

Claims (10)

1. A process for producing starch jelly confectionery products, comprising the steps of: (a) delivering quantities of ingredient materials including starch, sugar, glucose and gelatin from storage hoppers to a mixing vessel, the glucose being heated to a temperature of between 600C and 80"C prior to delivery, (b) delivering a preset quantity of water at a temperature of at least 880C, to the mixing vessel, (c) mixing the ingredient materials and water in the mixing vessel to form a slurry, (d) cooking the slurry by continuously delivering the slurry through a heat exchanger in which the slurry is cooked at a temperature of between 1150C and 1300C for a period of between one and two minutes, (e) cooling the slurry discharged from the heat exchanger, the cooling being carried out at or above atmospheric pressure, (f) mixing flavouring, colouring and preservative agents with the slurry, (g) delivering the slurry to one or more pouring hoppers, (h) preparing a starch mould comprising a tray containing dry powdered starch with a plurality of shaped depressions in the starch, (i) pouring measured amounts of the slurry from each pouring hopper into the depressions in the starch mould to form the confectionery products, (j) stacking a number of the trays on top of each other, (k) drying the confectionery products in the trays to a preset moisture content, and (1) removing the confectionery products from the trays.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1 in which after drying the confectionery products each stack of trays is delivered to a tray handling machine which empties the trays removing the confectionery products and starch from the trays and prepares new starch moulds, wherein the process includes correctly aligning the trays in each stack of trays and guiding each aligned stack of trays into engagement with the tray handling machine.

3. A process as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 including the step of regulating cooling of the slurry such that the temperature of the slurry at each pouring hopper is between 650C and 85"C.

4. A process as claimed in any preceding claim including the step of heating the glucose with waste heat obtained when cooling the slurry.

5. A process according to any preceding claim wherein after removing the confectionery products from the trays the confectionery products are coated with sugar by passing the confectionery products through a steam bath and then delivering the confectionery products on a vibrating conveyor to a sugar coating machine.

6. A process substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. Starch jelly confectionery products whenever prepared by the process of any of claims 1 to 6.

8. An installation for carrying out the process of any of claims 1 to 6 the installation comprising means to weigh out predetermined amounts of hot water and ingredient materials including starch, sugar, glucose and gelatin, means for heating the glucose, mixing means to mix the ingredient materials and hot water to form a slurry, a heat exchanger for cooking the slurry, a slurry cooler downstream of the heat exchanger, means for mixing additives including preservative, colouring and flavouring agents with the cooked slurry, a number of slurry pouring hoppers downstream of the additive mixing means, a tray handling machine to receive a stack of trays, empty the trays, fill the trays with dry powdered starch, imprint a plurality of spaced-apart shaped depressions in the starch, convey the trays beneath the pouring hoppers to fill the shaped depressions with slurry to form the confectionery products, and to stack the trays containing the confectionery products, guide means being provided at an inlet of the tray handling machine comprising two spaced-apart pairs of vertically mounted rollers for engagement with tray sides to align a stack of trays and guide the aligned stack of trays to an inlet of the tray handling machine for correct engagement of the trays by the tray handling machine.

9. An installation as claimed in claim 8 wherein downstream of the tray handling machine a sugar coating machine is provided with an associated steam bath and conveyor means to deliver confectionery products from the tray handling machine through the steam bath to the sugar coating machine, vibration means being provided to shake that portion of the conveyor between the steam bath and the sugar coating machine.

10. An installation substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.