GB2266221A - Pie manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for making a pie by forming pastry into a dished case in a mould, depositing a pie filling in the case, laying a sheet of pastry over the filled case, sealing the pastry sheet to the case, around the inside of the latter, to close the pie, and ejecting the pie at station 15 from the mould 17 prior to baking. The apparatus provides means for performing the manufacturing steps as successive stations along an endless conveyor. <IMAGE>

Description

Pie Manufacture The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the manufacture of pies and has particular but not exclusive application to the manufacture of pasties.

Conventionally, pies are made in foil cases or baking tins constituting moulds in which billets or sheets of pastry are shaped to form the bases of the pies prior to the introduction of a filling. Further sheets of pastry are then laid over the filled bases to form the tops of the pies and the edges of the bases and tops are joined together, usually by crimping. The foil cases or baking tins have outwardly extending rims on which the superposed edges of the bases and tops rest for crimping and trimming. The trimming leaves a relatively thick, crimped edge of pastry around the outsides of the pies, which forms a hard crust upon baking. The pies are then baked in the foil cases or baking tins. Pies made in foil cases may remain in their cases after baking, for wrapping, sale and even cooking or reheating by the consumers.

This method is usually performed with a greater or lesser amount of automation by apparatus having successive stations for blocking the pastry bases of the pies in the foil cases or baking tins, filling the pies, applying the sheets of pastry for the tops of the pies, crimping and trimming the edges of the bases and tops around the outer periphery of the pie, and transferring the pies, still in their cases or tins, to an oven for baking.

Pasties are conventionally made by machine or by hand, without the use of foil cases or baking tins, from sheets of pastry which are folded over to envelop a filling, the juxtaposed edges of the resulting pastry envelope then being cut and sealed together to form a curved crust or crimp with a castellated or rope-like appearance. The crimp extends around one side in the case of a Cornish pasty and across the top in the case of a Devonshire pasty. The crimp may be formed as a surface impression by the machine or it may be produced in a traditional manner by pressing and folding the pastry by hand. Traditional hand-crimped pasties have a distinctive appearance which is sought after by consumers but are laborious to reproduce on a commercial scale.Regardless of whether the pasties are made by machine or by hand, however, they still have a relatively thick crust of solid pastry (the crimp) which tends to be discarded by the consumer.

The object of the present invention is to enable pies, particularly pasties of a traditional appearance, to be made without the formation of a thick crust.

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a method of making pies, including the steps of: - forming pastry into a dished pastry case in a mould, - depositing a pie filling in the pastry case, - laying a sheet of pastry over the filled case, - sealing the pastry sheet to the case, around the inside of the latter, to close the pie, and - ejecting the pie from the mould prior to baking.

Prior to the sealing step, it may be necessary to cut the sheet and the case around the perimeter of the mould cavity to remove excess pastry.

Preferably, in the sealing step, the edge regions of the case and the sheet are pressed or squeezed together to form an upstanding bead and, although the bead may be left to become flattened upon ejection and subsequent baking of the pie, the method preferably also includes a step of tamping the bead to flatten it and to make the sealed edge region of the case and the sheet substantially flush with the remainder of the sheet. This also serves to consolidate the sealed region.

In a second aspect, the invention provides apparatus for making pies, including a mould, means for depositing pastry in the mould, means for forming the pastry into a dished case, means for depositing a pie filling in the pastry case, means for laying a sheet of pastry over the filled case, means for sealing the pastry sheet to the case, around the inside of the latter, to close the pie, and means for ejecting the pie from the mould. Preferably, the apparatus also includes means for cutting the sheet and the case around the perimeter of the mould cavity to remove excess pastry from around the mould before sealing, and means for tamping the region of sealing between the sheet and the case prior to the ejection of the pie from the mould.

The components of the apparatus preferably form successive stations along an endless conveyor line which carries a plurality of moulds and the active pass of which carries the moulds from station to station in a series of indexed steps.

Preferably, in the method and apparatus of the invention, a billet (or, in some cases, a sheet) of pastry is first deposited in the mould and formed into the case by a heated punch; the mould itself is also heated. A filling is then introduced into the case and is tamped to a level slightly below the edge of the case. In the next step, a sheet of pastry is laid over the filled case either from a sheet extruder or as a preformed sheet of substantially the same shape and size as the outline of the mould cavity. Before the pastry sheet is laid over the case, water may be applied to the pastry of the case, above the level of the filling, to promote the formation of a good seal between the sheet and the case. The sheet and the case are then cut around the perimeter of the mould cavity, preferably immediately to the outside of the lip of the cavity, to remove excess pastry.After it has been cut, the sheet is pressed into and against the case and is sealed to the case around the inside thereof.

The cutting and sealing steps may be performed by respective heated punches at separate stations but are preferably carried out at the same station by a compound tool comprising an outer, annular cutter and an inner sealing punch coaxial with and slidable relative to the cutter. In use, the cutter is lowered independently of the sealing punch to cut through the pastry of the case and the sheet and is then kept in its lowered position in contact with the mould, preferably by spring pressure or in an equivalent manner by hydraulic or pneumatic pressure, while the sealing punch descends inside the cutter to squeeze the cut edge regions of the case and the sheet together in a space between the inner annular surface of the cutter and an outer cylindrical surface of the sealing punch.

Once sealing has been effected, the cutter and the sealing tool are retracted and the mould is advanced to the next step.

Because the pastry in the region of sealing between the case and the sheet is squeezed into the space between the cutter and the sealing punch, it tends to remain as an upstanding bead after the two tools have been retracted, and the next step preferably involves the tamping of this bead. In this step, a plate or other tamping means are lowered to flatten the bead, making the sealed edge region of the pie substantially flush with the sheet and consolidating the sealed region to maximise the integrity of the seal.

After the tamping step, the raw pie is ejected from the mould, for example, mechanically and/or pneumatically, onto a collecting tray or conveyor for transfer to an oven for baking, perhaps after intermediate operations such as glazing. The mould may have a displaceable central portion to facilitate the mechanical ejection or knocking out of the pie. Alternatively, the mould may be overturned at the end of the active pass of the conveyor so that the pie simply falls out onto the collecting tray or conveyor.

In a preferred embodiment, however, the pie is ejected pneumatically from the mould, which is inverted, onto a plate or conveyor which is raised or tilted upwardly towards the mould at the time of ejection of each pie so as to minimise the distance that the pie has to fall onto the plate or conveyor when it is ejected from the mould and thus to limit the risk of damage to the pie.

In this embodiment, each mould has a central through-hole between the bottom of its cavity and the reverse side of the mould (that is, the side opposite the mouth of the mould cavity) and the ejection station includes an air-line with a terminal cup which is brought against the reverse side of the mould, in register with the hole, at the time of ejection so that a blast of air can be directed through the hole to eject the pie from the mould.

The method and apparatus of the invention lend themselves particularly to the manufacture of pasties because the pastry case is formed directly in an appropriately-shaped mould without the need to use a foil case or baking tin and because the sealing of the pastry sheet around the inside of the pastry case does not result in the relatively thick, hard, projecting crust or crimp which characterises conventional machine-made pies and pasties.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, for making pasties, the mould cavity is generally eyelid-shaped in plan and is profiled to reproduce the appearance of a crimped crust in the pastry case, the pasty being turned over upon its ejection from the mould so that the case formed in the mould becomes the top of the pasty. To reproduce the characteristic side crimp of a Cornish pasty, the mould cavity is scalloped along one, curved side (the side of greater curvature if both sides are curved) whilst, to reproduce the top crimp of a Devonshire pasty, the bottom of the mould cavity has a channel with part-helical transverse ridges along its major axis or nadir line.The pasty thus formed reproduces the appearance of a traditional hand-crimped pasty but the "crimped" portion is formed by a purely ornamental moulding no thicker than the rest of the pastry case, rather than by a solid crust of pastry, and the base is formed by a separate sheet of pastry sealed to the case around the inside thereof.

Finally, in a third aspect, the present invention provides a pie, whether raw or baked, comprising a dished pastry case containing a filling and closed by a sheet of pastry which is sealed to the case around the inside thereof, substantially flush with the edge of the case.

Preferably, the pie comprises a pasty and the pastry case is formed with a crimp-like moulding around one side or across its top, the crimp-like moulding being of substantially the same thickness as the rest of the pastry case.

The present invention will now be more particularly described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic side view of pie-making apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention; Figures 2(a) to 2(g) are diagrammatic sectional views of details of the apparatus of Figure 1 on an enlarged scale, showing respective steps of the method of the invention; Figure 3 is a schematic, partially-sectioned side view of one embodiment of the ejection station of the apparatus of Figure 1, on an enlarged scale, Figure 4 is a partially-sectioned perspective view of a mould usable with the apparatus of the invention, and Figure 5 is a partially-sectioned perspective view of a pasty according to the invention, formed in the mould of Figure 4.

As shown in Figure 1, apparatus for making pies includes a conveyor line, generally indicated 1, which is formed, for example, by two transversely spaced apart, endless chain conveyors and carries a plurality of moulds 2 with open-topped, dish-shaped cavities (not visible in Figure 1). In use, the upper, active pass of the conveyor line 1 advances the moulds 2 in indexed steps through a plurality of successive stations along the line 1, in the direction of the arrow A.These stations comprise in sequence a pastry-billeting unit 3, a blocking unit 4 with a heated punch 5 of a shape complementary to the shape of the mould cavities, a pie-filling hopper 6, a tamper 7, a water sprayer 8, a pastry-sheet extruder 9, a cutting and sealing unit 10 with a compound cutting and sealing tool 11, a further tamping unit 12 with a flat tamping or pressure plate 13, a scrap take-off 14 for removing excess pastry, and an ejection station 15 with, for example, a mechanical or pneumatic ejector 16. The punch 5, the tamper 7, the cutting and sealing tool 11 and the tamping plate 13 effect vertical working and return strokes driven, for example, pneumatically or hydraulically.

The method of operation of the apparatus of Figure 1 will now be described with particular reference to Figures 2(a) to 2(g) which show a mould 2 at various stages of the method.

Initially, at the start of the active pass of the conveyor line 1, a billet of, for example, shortcrust pastry is deposited in the cavity 17 of each mould 2 by the billeting unit 3 and the mould 2 is advanced to the blocking unit 4 where the pastry in the mould cavity 17 is formed into a dished case 18 by the heated punch 5 of the unit 4 (Figure 2(a)). The mould 2 and the blocking punch 5 may be heated to about 300-600C; the heating of the mould to a temperature of this order will keep the pastry in the mould at about 180C throughout the various stages of the method. The mould 2 then passes beneath the hopper 6 which deposits a charge of filling 19, for example, a meat and vegetable mixture, in the pastry case 18 and the filling 19 is tamped by the tamper 7 to a level slightly below the edge of the case.In the next step, Figure 2(b), a sheet 20 of shortcrust pastry is laid over the filled case 18 as the mould 2 passes beneath the sheet extruder 9; the mould 2 is then advanced to the cutting and sealing unit 10.

The compound cutting and sealing tool of the unit 10, generally indicated 11 in Figures 2(c) and 2(d), comprises an outer, annular cutter 11A and an inner, substantially cylindrical sealing punch 11B which is coaxial with and slidable relative to the cutter llA.

The sealing punch 11B has an annular leading or working portion 11C with an outline shape complementary to the perimetral shape of the mould cavity 17 in plan and the outer transverse dimensions of which are less than those of the cutter 11A so that there is a space between the portion 11C of the punch 11B and the inner surface of the cutter llA.

In the cutting step, shown in Figure 2(c), the cutter 11A descends first to cut the overlapping edges of the case 18 and the sheet 20 around the perimeter of the mould cavity 17, immediately to the outside of the lip of the cavity. After cutting, the cutter lIA is kept in its lowered position against the mould 2 by compression springs 11D acting between the cutter 11A and part of the structure of the tool 11, while the sealing punch llB is lowered to perform the sealing step.As shown in Figure 2(d), the sealing punch 11B pushes the edge region of the sheet 20 into the case 18 and seals the sheet to the case around the inside (that is, within the internal profile) of the latter by squeezing the cut edge regions of the case and the sheet together in a sealing zone 21 defined by the annular space between the punch 11B and the cutter 11A.

The punch llB operates at a temperature of, for example, from 56 to 65 0C and applies heat to the pastry in the sealing zone 21 as the case and the sheet are squeezed together. The case and the sheet are each compressed to about half their normal thickness in the sealing zone 21 so that there is substantially no overall thickening of the pastry of the sealing zone 21 relative to the normal thickness of the case or the sheet. In order to promote a good seal between the case 18 and the sheet 20, water may be sprayed onto the case from the sprayer 8 before the sheet is laid in place over the case.

Once the case 18 and the sheet 20 have been sealed together, the cutting and sealing tool 11 is retracted to leave the pastry of the sealing zone 21 upstanding as a bead 22 (Figure 2(e)). The mould 2 is then advanced to the further tamping unit 12 where the tamping plate 13 descends to flatten the bead 22 against the sheet 20 and the lip of the mould cavity 17 (Figure 2(f)). The tamping of the bead 22 also serves to consolidate or strengthen the seal, thus maximising its integrity.

The pie is complete as raw product at the end of the tamping step (Figure 2(g), with the sealed edge region of the case 18 and the sheet 20, defined by the flattened bead 22, substantially flush with the rest of the sheet 20. In practice, the flattened bead 22 may remain as a slight prominence around the sheet 20 in correspondence with the edge of the case 18 but this tends to be flattened further upon ejection and subsequent baking of the pie.

The scrap take-off 14 removes any excess pastry resulting from the cutting step and recycles it to the sheet extruder 9. Meanwhile, the mould 2 is advanced to the ejection station 15 where the completed but unbaked pie is ejected by the ejector 16 onto a collecting tray or conveyor 23 (Figure 1) for transfer to a glazing station and then to an oven (not shown) for baking. The pies ejected from the moulds may be deposited on the conveyor 23 by a transfer device such as a chute (not shown). The moulds 2 may have central portions (not shown) displaceable by a mechanical ejector to knock the pies out of the moulds, or, in some cases, the pies may be allowed simply to fall onto the conveyor 23 from the moulds as the latter pass around the end of the conveyor to enter the return pass of the conveyor line 1.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, the ejection station 15 has a pneumatic ejector 16 comprising a compressed-air line 25 with a terminal cup 26 and each mould 2 has a central through-hole 27 between the bottom of the mould cavity 17 and the reverse side of the mould (that is, the side of the mould opposite the mouth of the cavity 17). The ejection station 15 also has a receiving conveyor 23 beneath the position occupied by a mould in the ejection station 15. The ejector 16 and the receiving conveyor 28 are movable upwardly and downwardly, towards and away from the mould 2 in the ejection station 15, in the directions indicated by the double arrows B and C respectively, by means of respective actuator cylinders and associated linkages, generally indicated 29A and 29B.

To eject the completed pies from the moulds 2, which are overturned as they pass around the end of the conveyor line 1, each mould 2 is indexed to the ejection station 15 and the ejector 16 is then lowered towards the mould to bring the cup 26 against the reverse side of the mould in register with the hole 27 so that the air-line 25 communicates with the latter.

The cup 26 is preferably made from a material, such as rubber, suitable for effecting a seal against the mould in the lowered position. At the same time as the ejector 16 is lowered, the receiving conveyor 28 is tilted upwardly towards the mould 2 about a transverse axis X at its end adjacent the conveyor 23 so that it is immediately beneath the mould. A blast of air is then delivered through the line 25, the cup 26 and the hole 27 to eject the pie P from the mould 2 onto the conveyor 28 for transfer to the collecting conveyor 23.

The close proximity of the conveyor 28 to the mould 2 from which the pie P is ejected minimises the distance that the pie P has to fall and thus limits the risk of damage. After ejection, the ejector 16 and the receiving conveyor 28 are moved away from the conveyor line 1 to allow the next mould 2 to be indexed to the ejection station 15.

The return pass of the conveyor line 1 passes through a station 24, a tunnel in the embodiment illustrated, where the moulds 2 may be cleaned, greased or heated as appropriate, ready for re-use.

As stated above, because the pies are formed directly in the moulds 2 without the use of a foil case or baking tin and the finished pies (Figure 2(g)) lack a relatively thick, projecting crimp which can form a hard crust upon baking, the method and apparatus of the invention are particularly suitable for the manufacture of pasties.

Figure 4 shows a mould 30 for making Cornish pasties.

The cavity 31 of the mould is generally eyelid-shaped in plan and is obliquely scalloped 32 along the side with the greater degree of curvature so as to reproduce in the moulded pastry case of the pasty the rope-like crimp of a handmade pasty. At least the sealing punch 11B of the cutting and sealing unit 10 has a scalloped surface complementary to the side of the mould to ensure a proper fit between the pastry case and the pastry sheet which is sealed therein by the punch. A pasty made in the mould 30 is turned over as it is ejected from the mould so that the case formed in the mould becomes the top of the pasty and, as stated above, any slight prominence remaining after the tamping of the bead 22 by the tamping plate 13 is further flattened against the sheet now constituting the bottom of the pasty.

Figure 5 shows a Cornish pasty as made in the mould 30 of Figure 4. The pasty 33 has a dished pastry case 34 which forms the top of the pasty as baked, wrapped and sold, and which is formed with a crimp-like moulding 35 around one side. The moulding 35 is of substantially the same thickness as the rest of the pastry case 34 and is purely ornamental. The case 34 contains a filling 36, for example, of meat and vegetables, and is closed by a pastry sheet 37 which is sealed to the case 34 within internal profile thereof to form the bottom of the pasty 33. The bead 22 is virtually indistinguishable from the sheet 37 and the latter is substantially flush with the edge of the case 34.

Claims (22)

1. A method of making pies, including the steps of: - forming pastry into a dished pastry case in a mould, - depositing a pie filling in the pastry case, - laying a sheet of pastry over the filled case, - sealing the pastry sheet to the case, around the inside of the latter, to close the pie, and - ejecting the pie from the mould prior to baking.

2. A method according to Claim 1, in which the sheet and the case are cut around the perimeter of the mould cavity prior to sealing.

3. A method according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the edge regions of the case and sheet are squeezed together in the sealing step to form an upstanding bead.

4. A method according to Claim 3 when dependent on Claim 2, in which the cutting and sealing steps are performed by a compound tool comprising an outer, annular cutter and an inner sealing punch coaxial with and slidable relative to the cutter, the cutter being lowered independently of the sealing punch to cut through the pastry of the case and the sheet and then being kept in its lowered position in contact with the mould while the sealing punch descends inside the cutter to squeeze the edge regions of the case and the sheet together in a space between the inner surface of the cutter and an outer surface of the sealing punch.

5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which water is applied to the pastry of the case prior to sealing to promote a good seal and heat is applied to the pastry in the region of sealing during the sealing step.

6. A method according to Claim 3 or Claim 4, in which it also includes the step of tamping the bead to flatten it and to make the sealed edge region of the case and the sheet substantially flush with the rest of the sheet.

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the mould is overturned for ejection of the pie and the pie is ejected from the mould onto a plate or conveyor which is raised or tilted upwardly towards the mould at the time of ejection.

8. A method according to any preceding claim, for making pasties, in which the pastry case is formed in a mould the cavity of which is generally eyelid-shaped in plan and is profiled to reproduce the appearance of a crimped crust in the pastry case, the pasty being turned over upon its ejection from the mould so that the case formed in the mould becomes the top of the pasty.

9. Apparatus for making pies, including a mould, means for depositing pastry in the mould, means for forming the pastry into a dished case, means for depositing a pie filling in the pastry case, means for laying a sheet of pastry over the filled case, means for sealing the pastry sheet to the case, around the inside of the latter, to close the pie, and means for ejecting the pie from the mould.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 9, in which the apparatus also includes means for cutting the sheet and the case around the perimeter of the mould cavity prior to sealing.

11. Apparatus according to Claim 10, in which the cutting means and the sealing means are constituted by a compound tool comprising an outer, annular cutter and an inner sealing punch coaxial with and slidable relative to the cutter, the cutter being capable of being lowered independently of the sealing punch to cut the pastry of the case and the sheet and of being kept in its lowered position as the sealing punch is lowered, a space being defined between the inner surface of the cutter and an outer surface of the sealing punch into which the cut edge regions of the case and sheet are squeezed and sealed together by the punch upon its descent.

12. Apparatus according to Claim 11, further including means for tamping the sealed edge region of the case and the sheet to make it substantially flush with the rest of the sheet.

13. Apparatus according to any one of Claims 8 to 12, in which the apparatus is arranged to invert the mould for ejection of the pie, and in which the mould has a central through-hole between the bottom of its cavity and the reverse side of the mould, opposite the mouth of the mould cavity, and the ejection means include an air-line with a terminal cup which can be brought against the reverse side of the inverted mould, in register with the hole, at the time of ejection so that a blast of air can be directed through the hole to eject the pie from the mould.

14. Apparatus according to Claim 13, in which the apparatus includes a receiving conveyor arranged beneath the ejection means to receive the pie ejected from the mould, the receiving conveyor being tiltable upwardly towards the inverted mould at the same time as the cup of the ejection means is brought against the reverse side of the mould.

15. Apparatus according to any one of Claims 8 to 14, for making pasties, in which the mould cavity is generally eyelid-shaped in plan and is profiled to reproduce the appearance of a crimped crust in the pastry case, the pasty being turned over upon its ejection from the mould so that the case formed in the mould becomes the top of the pasty.

16. Apparatus according to Claim 15, in which the bottom of the mould cavity is scalloped along one, curved side to reproduce the side crimp of a Cornish pasty.

17. Apparatus according to Claim 15, in which the bottom of the mould cavity has a channel with part-helical transverse ridges along its major axis or nadir line to reproduce the top crimp of a Devonshire pasty.

18. A pie comprising a dished pastry case containing a filling and closed by a sheet of pastry which is sealed to the case around the inside thereof, substantially flush with its edge.

19. A pie according to Claim 18, in which it comprises a pasty and the pastry case is formed with a crimp-like moulding around one side or across its top, the crimp-like moulding being of substantially the same thickness as the rest of the pastry case.

20. A method of making pies, substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

21. Apparatus for making pies, substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

22. A pie substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, Figures 2(g) and 5 of the accompanying drawings.