MANUFACTURING SAID CUP

Technical field

The invention relates to an edible cup and the related method for making it.

5 It is known that, especially in Latin countries, the "coffee break" is very famous: whether this custom takes place at the bar or in private, as a result it is necessary to use large quantities of containers suitable for containing said beverage.

Background art

0 Therefore, in bars and in coffee shops, there is the issue of having to wash, sterilise and dry a large of cups and small cups made of glass, earthenware or pottery, with the consequent use of large amounts of dish washing detergents, water and electricity and the need to have available expensive machines or to assign staff this task.

5 Moreover, the spread of take away refreshments has also increased the use of cups made of plastic or other synthetic materials, all "disposable" and therefore destined to increase the production of waste that is potentially harmful for the environment.

Also, it should not be overlooked that coffee drinkers often like to have a snack0 with their drink, preferably something sweet, to the extent that in many bars and cafes a coffee is served together with a sweet or a small biscuit.

In the pastry making sector, the use of shortcrust pastry is very widespread. The traditional recipe for obtaining this product involves first making a "sand-like" mixture made up of blended flour and butter still cold from the refrigerator, with5 the addition of a pinch of salt. For 1 kilogram of shortcrust pastry, it is recommended that approximately 500 grams of flour and 250 grams of butter are used. The mixture is placed on a worktop, then covered with approximately 200 grams of icing sugar and, once formed into the typical crater shape, the yolks of four eggs and the grated zest of one lemon are added. All of this is combined to0 create a block that is wrapped in transparent film and placed in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Then, the block is worked and rolled out to the appropriate thickness for the desired preparation.

Disclosure of the invention

This invention, as characterised in the claims, relates to an edible cup and to the method for making it.

The main advantage of this invention is the fact that it allows the use of edible coffee cups, suitable as an environmentally-friendly alternative to the traditional cups which have to be washed and the "disposable" types, made of synthetic material. Moreover, since it is made of shortcrust pastry, the edible cup is "supplied" to the customer as a sweet treat along with the coffee.

Brief description of the drawings

Further advantages and features of the invention are more apparent in the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an example of it without limiting the scope of the invention, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention;

Figure 2 illustrates the invention according to the cross-section II - II of Figure 1. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

In particular, the edible cup comprises a cup-shaped main body 1 , constituted of shortcrust pastry, and an inner coating 2, constituted of an insoluble icing. The inner coating 2 allows the invention to be made impermeable and prevents the beverage contained in it from dissolving the cup 10 and automatically becoming sweet by absorbing the sugar contained in the shortcrust pastry.

Production of the shortcrust pastry coffee cup 10, as characterised in the claims, is possible thanks to a method structured in the following steps: initially, a shortcrust pastry dough is prepared (which may be of the traditional type, obtained using wheat flour, or in other variants, for example, using flour that is made of Kamut, vegan, organic, or spinach with matcha). Unlike what happens traditionally, first the butter and sugar are mixed to combine them until a cream is obtained, then the egg yolks and whites are added to combine them with the cream made from the butter and sugar, then finally the flour is added.

Even the quantities of the various ingredients are very different to those normally used. In fact, to obtain approximately 10 kilograms of dough, suitable for making approximately 270 cups 10, the use is recommended of approximately 5.5 kilograms of flour, approximately 1 kilogram of egg yolks, approximately 1.7 kilograms of sugar, approximately 1.3 kilograms of 99% anhydrous butter and approximately 500 grams of egg white, if necessary with the addition of potassium sorbate.

With the dough obtained in this way, avoiding resting times that could compromise its consistency, small balls or small disks are created, weighing between 20 and 100 grams. Then, the small balls (or small disks) are cold-formed into a cup shape, using a mould and a counter-mould that can be heated to different temperatures.

Once the small balls (or small disks) have been inserted in that machine, the action of the mould and counter-mould shapes the small ball (or small disk) into a cup shape. Then comes the cooking of the inside and outside of the cup at different temperatures. The inside is cooked at temperatures of between 180 and 230 °C. The outside is cooked at temperatures of between 200 and 250 °C. In total, the method for cooking the cup-shaped shortcrust pastry lasts between 2 and 5 minutes.

After cooking, the inside of the cup is coated with an insoluble icing.

The icing consists of egg white and sugar mixed in such a way that the icing withstands heat. For the example above (approximately 10 kg of dough), it is recommended that approximately 1.6 kilograms of egg white be beaten until stiff, then 7.4 kilograms of sugar and any flavourings necessary be added to them.

The icing is heated to temperatures of between 180 and 230°C for a time of between 5 and 20 seconds, and is spread over the inside of the cups 10, which are then returned to the oven at a temperature of approximately 50 °C so that they dry more quickly.