IE43784B1 - Production of chocolate pieces - Google Patents

Abstract

Chocolate pieces are manufactured from granulated, solid chocolate. Chocolate granules of a mean particle size of at least 1 mm are uniformly packed into tablet moulds and shaped into pieces under pressure at a temperature of below 17 DEG C. The process is particularly suitable for manufacturing chocolate, or chocolates, with a sculptured surface.

Description

The present invention relates to the production of confectionery and more especially to the production of chocolate pieces having decorative or other relief features .

Xt is known in the confectionery and pharmaceutical industries to produce sweets or tablets having surface indentations such as letters or numbers from dry sugarbased compositions by the use of embossed punches or dies in a so-called tabletting press. Hitherto, however, it has not been considered practicable to produce a piece having surface relief features from a fatty material such as chocolate by a tabletting process.

Now, in accordance with this invention, it has been found that chocolate can be tabletted to form a precisely defined piece by a process which comprises; preparing chocolate granules having a mean particle size not less than 1 mm of which at least 85% by weight lie within the particle size range of 0.7 to 3.7 mm; charging the granules uniformly into a tabletting press; and forming them under pressure in the press at a temperature below 17°C.

The invention is particularly suited to the production of pieces with surface relief features, which cannot be formed by the conventional moulding process. Moreover, the invention is not confined to the production of tablets with indented indicia such as letters or numbers but can S 7 G -1 - 3 be employed in the manufacture of chocolate pieces with any surface relief pattern or design capable of being formed in a tabletting press.

The chocolate granules can be produced by milling solid chocolate, which will normally be tempered, and the granules are preferably conditioned before introduction into the tabletting press.

Conditioning, the necessity for which decreases the narrower the particle size range of the granules, is carried out by holding the granules at a temperature within the range of 17 to 22°C for redistribution of properties. The mass of granules being conditioned will usually be agitated because agitation greatly accelerates the conditioning process. If the granules are conditioned by tumbling this should be continued for at least three minutes but there is no critical upper limit to the time of treatment. In an agitation process such as tumbling it is necessary to use a mass of granules of sufficient dept to ensure that the passage of particles over one another actually occurs.

An alternative way of providing chocolate granules suitable for tabletting is by extrusion of refinings (i. e. powdered chocolate as obtained from a roller refiner) followed by fragmentation and spheronization of the fragments .

In order to obtain acceptable throughput of material in extrusion it is preferred that the diameter of the extrudate should be at least 2mm, and to provide granules of the preferred size the diameter is preferably not greater than 2.7 mm. The extruded particles are usually 1-4 cm in length.

The extrudate is cooled and fed into a spheronizer, usually a cylindrical vessel in the bottom of which is a rotating grooved plate (as in that sold under the trade mark Marumerizer). The preferred input temperature is in the range 4-14°C but most preferably 9-12°G. In the spheronlzer the extrudate particles are broken up and rolled into spheres, and dust particles tend also to agglomerate into spheres. Since the spheronized product becomes warmed in the machine, for example to 23°C, the spheres are conditioned by the end of the process.

It is noteworthy that, in contrast to the tabletting of sugar-based compositions, it appears to be advantageous in tabletting of chocolate that fines be restricted to a low proportion. Particles of sizes of the same order as the press die diameter should also be avoided. The usually preferred range of mean particle diameter is from 1 to 3 mm.

The preferred temperature for tabletting is in the range 12-17°C, although lower temperatures may be found practicable in some circumstances, for example down to 4°C.

Formed tablets with indicia or like indented markings can be smoothed by tumbling, preferably at a temperature father above the forming temperature, say about 20°C, to remove the surface crazing corresponding to the individual granules. Smoothing should, however, be halted before the indented markings are rubbed excessively.

Where appropriate, a stronger contrast between the marking and the chocolate can be achieved by filling indentations with powder. This may be done by tumbling the formed tablets with the selected powder at a temperature rather below the smoothing temperature, for example about 18°C. An excess of powder over the amount actually necessary to fill the indentations should be used. Examples of powdered food grade materials that may be used for this purpose include skim or full cream milk powder, lactose, starch, pulverized sugar or mixtures of these. The powder may be coloured for decorative purposes.

After the powder has been embedded in, the excess 4378 4 - 5 may be largely removed by a cool air blast and the powder filling the indentations can be sealed in by the addition of an aqueous gum solution. The resulting surface provides a satisfactory base for final polishing or glazing.

The following is a more detailed description of two preferred procedures for the manufacture of chocolate sweets in accordance with the invention, given by way of example.

Example 1 Solid chocolate, which has been tempered in the conventional way, is granulated to a mean particle size of 1.7 mm with a size distribution defined by the following weight percentages of the granules retained by successive screens of the size indicated: passing 4 mm 0%, 2.8 mm 9.0%, 2.0 mm 26.5%, 1.7 mm 14.7%. 1.4 mm 14.2%, 1.0 mm 11.7%, 0.5 mm 17.4%. passed 0.5 mm 6.5%. The granules are then conditioned by tumbling a mass of the granules 4-5 inches deep at a temperature of 19°C for about 5 minutes.

The conditioned granules at a temperature of 13°C are supplied to a conventional tabletting press so that the dies are evenly filled with granules before pressing, the press being cooled by a supply of cool air at 10°C.

After any flash or excess granules have been sieved off, the tabletted sweets are tumbled in a polishing pan at a temperature of about 20°C until the surface crazing disappears .

The resulting tablets may be considered satisfactory, but if a strong contrast in appearance between the relief marking and the chocolate is desired this may be achieved by filling the indentations with powder in the manner described above. - 6 Example 2 Chocolate refinings are extruded at ambient temperature, say about 22°C to a diameter of 2.5 mm. The extrudate is cooled to 10°C and refrigerated and spheronized in batches in a cylindrical vessel with a grooved plate rotat ing at 450 r.p.m. for 4 minutes with an exit temperature of 23°C.

The resulting spheronized material had the following particle size analysis as calculated in Example 1: 4 mm ) 0.5%, 3 mm 23%; 2.8 mm 15.8%; 2 mm 21%; 1.5 mm 7.5%; 1 mm 22%; passing 0.5 mm remainder.

The spherical granules are tabletted as in Example 1 3 7 S ·ί

Claims (13)

1. A process for the production of chocolate pieces which comprises: preparing chocolate granules having a mean particle size not less than 1 mm of which at least 85% by weight lie within the particle size range of 0.7 to 3.7 mm; charging the granules uniformly into a tabletting press; and forming them under pressure in the press at a temperature below 17°C.

2. A process according to claim 1 in which the pieces are formed at a temperature in the range 12 to 17°C.

3. A process according to claim 1 or 2 in which the chocolate granules are formed into pieces having surface relief features.

4. A process according to claim 1, 2 or 3 in which the granules are produced by milling solid chocolate.

5. A process according to any of claims 1 to 4 in which the granules are conditioned at a temperature in the range 17 to 22°C before being formed in the dies.

6. A process according to claim 5 in which the granules are conditioned by agitation of a mass of the granules at the desired temperature for at least three minutes.

7. A process according to any of claims 1 to 3 in which the granules are produced by extruding chocolate powder, fragmenting the extrudate and forming the resulting fragments into substantially spherical shape.

8. A process according to claim 7 in which the fragmentation and spherical formation of the granules effects conditioning of the chocolate.

9. A process according to any preceding claim in which the formed pieces are smoothed by tumbling at a temperature above the forming temperature.

10. A process according to any preceding claim in which tablets are formed having indented markings which are subsequently filled by tumbling the formed tablets with an edible powder at a temperature below the smoothing temperature.

11. A process for the production of chocolate pieces substantially as described in Example 1 herein.

12. A process for the production of chocolate pieces substantially as described in Example 2 herein.

13. Chocolate pieces produced by a process according to any preceding claim.