GB2367996A

GB2367996A - Ink jet printing on an edible item

Info

Publication number: GB2367996A
Application number: GB0111644A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jeremy Salvesen
Original assignee: GROOVYCHOCOLATE Ltd
Current assignee: GROOVYCHOCOLATE Ltd
Priority date: 2000-06-06
Filing date: 2001-05-14
Publication date: 2002-04-24
Also published as: GB0013574D0; GB0111644D0

Abstract

An edible item wherein at least a portion of one surface comprises an ink jet printed surface. Preferably a method of decorating the edible item consists of a confectionary surround and a planer confectionary insert decorated by ink jet printing. Desirably the insert is made of fondant sugar and may be printed prior to or after combination with the surround. An edible glue such as that made of sugar and water may be used to attach the planer insert to the surround. The insert may be placed into a mould and liquid or semi-liquid confectionary material poured in and allowed to solidify to form the surround before the edible article is de-moulded. Preferably the decorated item is in the form of a greeting card or a plaque incorporating a company logo, pictures or cartoon characters. Provides a low cost method of decorating an edible article, in particular a chocolate product.

Description

Novelty Item The present invention concerns a method of decorating an edible article, in particular a chocolate novelty item, and to the decorated article formed thereby.

Methods of printing onto confectionery products are known, but in general involve transfer printing or screen printing (for example as described in GB-A2,204, 223 or GB-A-2,230, 686). Both methods are time-consuming to carry out and this increases the cost of producing the decorated article.

Alternative methods of decorating chocolate products include moulding 3-dimensional relief shapes or patterns onto the surface of the article or the use of different colours of chocolate in a transfer process.

The present invention provides a low cost method of decorating an edible article, in particular a confectionery product such as chocolate, which allows easy individualisation of the article.

According to the present invention there is provided a method of decorating an edible article, wherein said article comprises a planar confectionery insert and confectionery surround, said method comprising ink jet printing said insert with the desired decoration.

Optionally, the planar confectionery insert may be combined with the confectionery surround prior to the ink jet printing process. Alternatively, the planar confectionery insert may be ink jet printed, and the decorated insert may then be combined together with the confectionery surround.

It is, however, preferred that the complete edible article, comprising the combined confectionery insert and surround, is printed to avoid the possibility of surface damage to the printed surface during the moulding process.

Desirably the decorated edible article so produced is in the form of a greetings card.

Alternatively, the decorated edible article may be in the form of a plaque incorporating, for example, a company logo or other devices, or pictures (such

as football players, cartoon characters or the like).

Thus, the present invention also provides a confectionery greetings card or plaque, wherein at least a portion of one surface comprises an ink jet printed insert.

Combination of the confectionery insert and surround may be achieved by any suitable method.

For example the planar insert may be attached to the confectionery surround by a suitable fixant, such as edible glue. Exemplary glues include a mixture of sugar and water. More preferably, however, the insert will be placed into a suitable mould. Liquid or semi-liquid confectionery material is then poured into the mould, and allowed to solidify to form the confectionery surround before the edible article is de-moulded.

Any suitable edible material may be used for the planar confectionery insert and the only requirement is that the material selected should provide a suitable surface for ink jet printing.

Particular mention may be made of fondant sugar mixtures as being suitable for use as said insert.

Whilst the insert may be of any colour, naturally the colour should be selected to ensure that the desired printed decoration will be clearly visible thereon. White fondant sugar mixtures, including mixtures to which a food grade whitener has been added, may therefore be particularly convenient for

use in this method. The insert may be of any suitable shape or size.

Any suitable edible material may be used as the confectionery surround and the only requirement is that the material chosen should be suitable for shaping by a moulding process. A preferred material is chocolate, including all colours and types of chocolates (and in particular including the so-called 8family chocolate produced in the United Kingdom).

The ink jet printing may be carried out using any suitable apparatus and mention may be made of the zu DEKORIS) printers of Fox sfa, Italy, in particular ) the DEKORISAZZURE printer. The inks used in the method of the present invention should of course be food grade inks, for example as supplied by Fox sfa.

Generally, the decorated edible article of the present invention will have a single confectionery insert. However, the invention is not limited to this and it is of course possible to include multiple inserts where desired. Where two or more inserts are present, these may be located on the same side of the surround, or two inserts may be located on opposite sides of the surround.

Optionally two edible articles each decorated on one side only may be attached back-to-back.

Optionally additional decoration may be included on the decorated edible article, for example piped icing, pre-formed and/or decorated confectionery pieces (e. g. chocolate cake decorations) and the like, or the surface may be additionally decorated by other means (e. g. silk screen printing or by use of an airbrush with edible inks).

EXAMPLE A fondant sugar mixture is prepared with the addition of a food grade whitener to increase the opacity of the substrate. The subsequent fondant mixture is rolled and extruded to the desired thickness of between 1 and 2 mm. Then, by use of an appropriate cutting mechanism, the fondant sheet is cut to produce pieces of the desired shape and size.

These fondant pieces are then transferred to the designated area of a food grade mould and adhered to the surface of this mould by the application of pressure.

The mould is then filled with tempered chocolate before being suitably vibrated and cooled. Once the product is sufficiently cooled it is demoulded.

The finished product is a fully integrated smooth fondant piece incorporated into a chocolate bar and is now suitable for decoration by the application

of food grade inks by means of a modified ink-jet printer.

Claims

Claims : 1. A method of decorating an edible article wherein said article comprises a planar confectionery insert and a confectionery surround, said method comprising ink jet printing said insert with the desired decoration.
2. A method as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the planar confectionery insert is combined with the confectionery surround prior to the ink jet printing process.
3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the planar confectionery insert is ink jet printed prior to being combined with the confectionery surround.
4. A method as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the confectionery surround is formed from a fondant sugar mix.
5. A method as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the insert is formed from chocolate.
6. A method as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the insert is placed into a suitable mould, liquid or semi-liquid confectionery material is poured into the mould and allowed to solidify to form the confectionery surround before the edible article is de-moulded.
7. A method as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein said article comprises more than one planar confectionery insert.
8. A method as claimed in Claim 7 wherein two planar confectionery inserts decorated on one side only are attached back-to-back.
9. An edible item wherein at least a portion of one surface comprises an ink jet printed insert.
10. An edible item as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the edible item is a greetings card or plaque incorporating a logo, device or picture.
11. An edible item as claimed in either of Claims 10 and 11 wherein the edible article further comprises piped icing, pre-formed confectionery, decorated confectionery, silk screen printing or decoration formed by the use of an airbrush with edible inks.
12. The use of an ink jet printer to decorate an edible article.
13. An edible item substantially as herein before described with reference to the Examples.