BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a composition for edible comestibles such as ice cream, custard, yogurt, pudding, ices and the like. More specifically, the invention relates to a frozen dessert made with frozen ice cream, frozen custard, frozen yogurt, frozen pudding, frozen ices and the like combined with a topping or coating such as chocolate fudge, caramel, strawberry, marshmallow, and the like.

One of the most common examples of the type of edible comestible to which this invention relates is the ice cream sundae topped with chocolate fudge. The chocolate fudge sundae ordinarily combines vanilla ice cream with a chocolate fudge topping or coating.

As well known to any connoisseur of the chocolate fudge sundae, there are generally two ways the sundae is available. The first way is with the chocolate fudge topping or coating heated and poured over the frozen ice cream. The second way is with the chocolate fudge frozen in combination with the ice cream, either as a fudge center or dispersed throughout the ice cream. Many connoisseurs prefer the chocolate fudge heated rather than frozen.

To obtain a sundae with a heated topping, one can either go to an ice cream store or make it from scratch at home. In either case, the sundae is made by placing the frozen ice cream in a container, heating the chocolate fudge topping, and then pouring the hot fudge over the ice cream.

For the individual who makes the sundae from scratch with heated topping, the process requires keeping separate supplies of ice cream and chocolate fudge, usually in quantities greater than what would be required to make a single serving sundae. Further, the process of making the sundae involves the separate time consuming step of heating the fudge topping.

For the retailer supplying sundaes topped with hot fudge, the product requires keeping separate supplies of the basic ingredients and requires significant time and labor to make a sundae with a heated topping. Additionally, the lack of consistent and exact serving portions from sundae to sundae contributes to waste and inventory control problems.

At present, the only alternative to a handmade sundae with a hot topping is a pre-packaged sundae that combines frozen chocolate fudge with the ice cream. Naturally, one cannot heat the fudge in such a combination without melting the ice cream.

The present invention involves a method of making a frozen edible comestible like a fudge sundae that can be subjected to microwave energy in a way that ensures only the fudge melts and heats up while leaving the ice cream substantially frozen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Generally, the principal aspect of, the invention comprises manu¬ facturing an edible comestible comprising a frozen core surrounded by a frozen coating, the coating having a density generally greater than the frozen core and a thickness between about one quarter to about one half of an inch.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of formulating a frozen edible comestible with a core surrounded by a coating that upon being exposed to a predetermined amount of microwave energy only the coating melts, while leaving the core substan¬ tially frozen.

This and other objects, advantages and features will be more fully set forth in the detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the detailed description whieh follows, reference will be made to the drawing comprised of the following figure:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the frozen edible comestible of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 in the drawing, the edible comestible of this invention comprises a frozen core 1 surrounded by a coating 2. The coating 2 has a density that is generally greater than the frozen core 1 and a thickness between about one quarter to one half of an inch.

To construct the edible comestible of this invention, the coating 2 is spread to a thickness between about one quarter to one half of an inch inside the container 3. The core 1 fills the remaining space in container 3 that has been lined with the coating 2. A top layer of coating 4 is spread to a thickness of between about one quarter to one half of an inch over the top of the core 1. The container is closed with a lid (not shown) and frozen.

The frozen edible comestible of the present invention is contructed in a unique way that enables it to be placed in a microwave oven, exposed to microwave energy for a short period of time, and to produce softened and slightly warm coating 2 and top layer 4, while the core 1 remains substantially frozen and of normal texture. Ice is much more transparent to microwave radiation than liquid water, that is ice absorbs less micro¬ wave energy. The dissolved solids levels in the coatings are all greater than the dissolved solids levels in the serum portions of the core materials. The greater the level of dissolved solids, the more the freezing point of the solution is depressed. Therefore, at any given freezing temperature, more ice is present in the core material than in the coating. The water in the coating would be present as a supersaturated solution and not in the form of ice. The inventors believe that because of these circumstances microwave energy is more apt to be absorbed by the liquid water present in the coating, while the microwaves for the most part pass through the ice in the core material. This may be an explanation for why the coating melts while the core remains substantially frozen.

The core 1 of the invention can be made from edible comestibles that can be frozen without detrimental effect such as, ice cream, custard, ice milk, yogurt, flavored ices, and puddings. The coating of the invention can be made from edible comestibles that can also be frozen without detri¬ mental effect such as, but not limited to, chocolate fudge, caramel fudge, strawberry topping, marshmallow topping, and cherries jubilee topping.

It has been found that successful use of the present invention depends at least in part upon the density of the core material 1, and the density of the coating material 2 relative to the core material. The density of the core material 1 ranges between about four to about ten pounds per gallon. The coating material 2 has a density that ranges between about five to about eleven pounds per gallon. Preferably, the core material 1 is made from a substance with high or medium density, such as 20% overrun ice cream with a density of about 7.6 pounds per gallon (high density) or 50% overrun ice cream with a density of about 6.3 pounds per gallon (medium density). Low density substances such as 100% overrun ice milk having a density of about 4.6 pounds per gallon can yield a workable version of the invention, although it is sensitive to microwave energy to the extent that tolerance of overexposure to microwaves is quite limited. Consequently, a

eore 1 made with substance of high or medium density is preferred. With respect to the coating 2, it may have a density that ranges between about five pounds per gallon to about eleven pounds per gallon. In combining the coating 2 with the core material 1, generally the core material 1 should be less dense than the coating 2. ^' In the case of the coating 2 being a marshmallow topping, the core material 1 may be more dense than the coating 2.

The general formulation of the core 1 of the invention has been previously described. There are, however,* numerous specific formulations which are acceptable and the following are examples of such formulations.

Formulation A

The core material is made from a premium French vanilla type ice cream with a high butterfat content, high solids content, and frozen with 20% overrun having a density of about 7.6 pounds per gallon. The ice cream is flavored with one half fluid ounce of pure vanilla extract per gallon of formulation. The ingredients by weight percentage for formu¬ lation A are:

Ingredients Weight Percent

36% Cream 40.972

Sweetened Condensed Skim Milk 22.203

Sucrose 6.734

Sugared Egg Yolks 6.350

Water 23.741

Formulation B

The core material is made from a stabilized version of formulation A having about the same density of that formulation. The ingredients by weight percentage for formulation B are:

Ingredients Weight Percent Formulation A 99.925

Xanthan Gum 0.025

Locust Bean Gum 0.050

Formulation C

The core material is made from a premium type regular ice cream with a high butterfat content, high solids content, and frozen with 20% overrun having a density of about 7.6 pounds per gallon. The ice cream is flavored with one half fluid ounce of pure vanilla extract per gallon of mix. The ingredients by weight percentage for formulation C are:

Ingredients Weight Percent

40% Cream 35.300

Nonfat Dry Skim Milk Powder 8.380

Sucrose 14.290

42 D.E. Corn Syrup 3.080

Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) 0.140

Water 38.810

Formulation D

The core material is made from a premium type chocolate ice cream with a high butterfat .content, high solids content, and frozen with 20% overrun having a density of about 7.6 pounds per gallon. The ingredients by weight percentage for formulation D are:

Ingredients Weight Percent

36% Cream 40.083

Sweetened Condensed Skim Milk 19.040

Sucrose 7.191

Dutch Process Cocoa 4.000

Sugared Egg Yolks 4.432

Water 25.254

Formulation E

The core material is made from a commercially available frozen custard mix with 50% overrun having a density of about 6.3 pounds per gallon. The custard has a high butterfat content and a high solids content. The ingredients by weight percentage for formulation E are:

Ingredients Weight Percent

30% Cream 32.000

Sweetened Condensed Skim Milk 30.750

Sucrose 6.750

Sugared Egg Yolks 6.40

Water 23.956

Xanthan Gum 0.045

Locust Bean Gum 0.099

Formulation F

The core material is made from a commercially available soft serve frozen ice milk with 100% overrun having a density of about 4.6 pounds per gallon. The ingredients by weight percentage for formulation F are:

Ingredients Weight Percent

30% Cream 11.70

Sweetened Condensed Skim Milk 14.30

Sucrose 6.40

Water 55.35

Xanthan Gum 0.05

Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) 0.20

42 D.E. Corn Syrup 12.0

Formulation G

The core material is made by combining a commercially available vanilla pudding with formulation A in amounts where the vanilla pudding is about 37.5 percent by volume of the core material and formulation A is about 62.5 percent by volume of the core material. Formulation G is frozen with 20% overrun having a density of 7.6 pounds per gallon.

Formulation H

The core material is made by combining a commercially available plain yogurt with formulation A in amounts where the yogurt is about 25 percent by volume of the core material and formulation A is about 75% by volume of the core material. Formulation H is frozen with 20% overrun having a density of 6.3 pounds per gallon.

In the following examples, various formulations for ttie core material are combined with coatings selected from materials such as chocolate fudge, caramel fudge, strawberry topping, marshm allow topping, and cherries jubilee topping. In each of the examples, a Sharp Carousel

Microwave Oven, Model R-9330, is used to heat the frozen edible comes¬ tible of the invention. The output power of the Sharp microwave oven is 650 W (2000 cc water load) and at a frequency of 2450 MHz. Other commercially available microwave ovens also produce satisfactory results, but time of exposure to microwaves may need to be adjusted.

Example I

A coating of chocolate fudge is preferably chilled to a temperature

" of 40 F, but may be used at room temperature, and spread to a depth of about one quarter of an inch on the inside surface of a plastic or cardboard container, preferably a cup with about 6 to 8 ounce capacity. The core material made from formulation B is used to fill the remaining space in the plastic or cardboard container lined with the chocolate fudge coating. A top layer of chocolate fudge coating is applied to cover the exposed core to a thickness of about one quarter of an inch. A lid is attached to the container and the contents of the container are frozen at a temperature of at least -10 F. The container holding the frozen edible comestible of the invention is transferred to a tempering cabinet at a temperature of at least -10 F. From the tempering cabinet, the container is transferred to the microwave oven and the contents are subjected to microwave energy on the "high" setting for about 30 seconds. The result is an edible comestible. comprising a substantially frozen core of ice cream with normal texture surrounded by the coating that has melted, softened and become slightly warm.

Example π

The same procedures of Example I are followed using a core made from formulation B and using a coating made from caramel fudge. The results obtained are the same as Example I.

Example πi

The same procedures of Example I are followed using a core made from formulation A and using a coating made from cherries jubilee topping. The results obtained are the same as Example I.

Example IV

The same procedures of Example I are followed using a core material made from formulation D and using a coating made from marshmallow topping. The results obtained are the same as Example I.

Example V The same procedures of Example I are followed using a core material made from formulation C and using a coating made from strawberry topping. The results obtained are the same as Example I.

Example VI

The same procedures of Example I are followed except that the time the contents of the cup are subjected to microwave energy is decreased to about 20 seconds. The core material used is made from formulation E and the coating used is made from chocolate fudge. The results obtained are the same as Example I.

Example VII

The same procedures of Example I are followed using a core made from formulation G and using a coating made from chocolate fudge. The results obtained are the same as Example I.

Example Vm

The same procedures of Example I are followed using a core made from formulation G and using a coating made from caramel fudge. The results obtained are the same as Example I.

Example IX

The same procedures of Example I are followed using a core made from formulation H and using a coating made from chocolate fudge. The results obtained are the same as Example I.

Example X

The same procedures of Example I are followed using a core made from formulation H and using a coating made from caramel fudge. The results obtained are the same as Example I.

Example XI

The same procedures of Example I are followed using a core made from formulation H and using a coating made from cherries jubilee topping. The results obtained are the same as Example I.