Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a confec ionery shell using cold-stamping and a confectionery shell produced by the m thod. The m thod facilitates the marrufactnre of confectionery shells of different thicknesses using a single stassp and mould. The method further facilitates the sanufacture of muiti - layered confectionery shells and/or confectionery shells comprising inclusions of varying sise,

Background of fche In entio

Confectionery shells provide a structurally firm outer in which confectionery fillings can be placed and are a well- known aspect of confectionery manu acture. A confectionery shell may also serve as a matrix in which pieces of edible material are dispersed. These inclusions have a different composition to that of the confectionery shell. Confectionery shells having a mxxiti-- layered structure are also known. The layers of the shell may differ in terms of their composition and/or colour ,

It is known to manufacture a confectionery shell by depositing shell material into a mould cavity, vibrating the mould to remove air bubbles in the material and inverting the mould to remove excess material ("inversion method"). However, this method suffers from the disadvantage that the excess material must be collected and treated (e.g. re- tempering of chocolate) to avoid wastage. Also, the shell typically does not nave a uniform thickness, especiall when ^■ using a shell, material having a relatively high viscosity. This im oses restrictions on the composition (e.g. fat content} of the material.

An improved method for manufacturing a confectionery shell involves immersin a chilled stamp into the shell material i a mould cavity to shape and solidify the material against the wail of the cavity ( ⁵¹ cold-- am ing" )„ This produces a shell having a uniform thickness and does not produce as much excess material as the inversion method. Furthermore, cold- stamping is not as dependent on the viscosity of the shell material .

For instance. US-A- 2006 /Q05726S describes a cold- tamping process in which the substance forming the confectionery shell is placed under pressure after the stamp is introduced into the mould. The process uses a stamp having an axial bore through which pressure is exerted by means of a pressure-transmitting medium .

US- - 2006/0257517 concerns a cold- tamping process in which the stamp has a. flange that covers the mould boundary. The flange is fitted with a deformabie toroid sealing means which serves to enclose the substance forming the confectionery shell once the stamp is placed in the mould.

However. producing confectionery shells of a constant thickness by conventional cold- tamping technology requires accurate stamps and moulds. If the stamps and moulds are not accurately dimensioned, the cavity formed between the mould and the stamp is ill-defined and the ensuing confectionery shell is of unacceptable quality.. This limitation also means that a mould/stamp combination, designed for producing one shell thickness cannot, be used to produce soother thickness of shell without having a detrimental effect on product quality. Producing a ew thickness of confec ionery shell therefore requires a new set of well -designed and precision- manufactured moulds and stamps.

The commissioning and manufact re of each set of stam s and moulds is expensive and results in a time delay before a new thickness of confectionery shell can be produced of acceptable quality. Even when the required scamps and moulds are already available, installing these stamps and moulds halts production and is therefore also not cost-effective.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manu acturing a conf ctionery shell which avoids the disadvantages associated with the above methods.

Su.rn.mary ^· of the In ention

The present invention concerns a method for producing a confectionery shell comprising the steps of:

ii) depositing an edible liquid into a mould cavity;

(ii) pressing the edible liquid against the wail of the mould cavity using a stamp having a surface temperature below the solidification temperature of the edible liquid so as to shape and at least partially solidify the edible liquid in the monld cavity and cause part of the edible liquid to be ejected from the Kioaid cavity wherein at least part of the ejected edible liquid is contiguous with the edible liquid inside the mould cavity;

(iii) removing the stamp from the mould cavity;

and

(iv) removing edible liquid elected from the mould cavity or material formed from elected edible liquid by passing scraping means outwardly over the boundary of the mould cavity in two or more different outward directions .

This method enables a single mould and stamp to be used for producing con ectionery shells of different thicknesses without compromising on product quality. In. particular, the method forms confectionery shells having a clean edge partly because of the way in which edible liquid, ejected fro¾ the mould cavity during step (ii), or material formed therefrom, is removed during step (iv) . This clean edge is aesthetically pleasing to the consumer and enables filled confections to be formed with, a clean bottom The user therefore needs fewer moulds and stamps to rsake a wide variety of good quality confectionery shells. which, represents a significant cost saving.

Furthermore. time delays caused by reconfiguring the confectionery shell -producing machinery are reduced because moulds and stamps do not need to be replaced for each new shell thickness. This reduced machinery downtime reduces the associated loss of production and therefore represents a. further cost benefit to the user. The method moreover allows the user to produce new shell thicknesses at short notice because new moulds and stamps are no required for each new thickness. The method therefore enables the user to react more quickly to shifting market demands. The ability to produce confectionery shells of different thicknesses also provides a useful way of compensating for weight differences between different types of fillings. Thus, a range of confections can be produced, having different fillings but having near constant weight, which is more pleasing to the consumer.

The ability to vary the thickness of a confectionery shell enables the production of confeetionery shells comprising inclusions of different si¾es using a single set of stamps and moulds, which is a. further embodiment of the present in ent ion . The ability to vary the thickness of a confectionery shell also enables the production of multi-layer confectionery shells using a single set of stamps and moulds, which is another further embodiment of the present invention,

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure ; an edible liquid deposited within, a mould cavity. Figure 2: immersing a stamp into a mould cavity. The stamp in Figure 2a is immersed until it rests against the surface of the mould and edible liquid ejected from the mould cavity or material formed from ejected edible liquid is physically separated from edible liquid, remaining within the mould cavity. In Figure 2b at least a part of the edible liquid ejected from the mould cavity or material formed from the ejected edible material is contiguous with edible liquid remaining within the mould cavity. Figure 3: a stamp halted a distance \y ^f {Figure 3b) short of the position at which it is pressed, fully into the mould cavity (Figure 3a) .

S

Figure 4: removing edible liquid ejected iron; the mould cavity or material formed from the ejected edible li uid by moving scraping means outwardly {Figure 4a) and inwardly (Figure 4b) over the boundary of the mould cavity.

0

Figure 5; edges of a confectionery shell formed when scraping means is passed outwardly (Figure 5a) and inwardly (Figure 5b) ove the boundary, 5 Figure 6; scraping directions shown on a plan view of a mould cavity.

Detailed Desc i tion of the invention

0

The method of the invention concerns the production of a. confectionery shell. The shell can, for instance, be a shell for a praline, confec ionery block or tablet, an individual confectionery item or a confectionery bar (countiine) .

S

"Liquid" in the context of the present invention means fiowable. i,e. unsolidified to such an extent that the material flows under the action of gravity or an applied force. The liquid can have a range of viscosities, provided0 hat it is capable of being deposited into the mould cavity using a conventional depositor and is capable of being cold- stamped using a conventional cold- stamping apparatus. The edible liquid may contain solid components, and therefore includes, for instance, gels. pastes, suspensions and emulsion . Pieces of solidified material present in the edible liquid can nave a diameter of d 80 , ^' 70 μπρ ≤ 60 pm, < 50 μπι, 40 μ;η or t 35μη·, Moreover, solid m te ial can be present, in an amount of ≤ 80% ≤ 75%, i 70% _f a ^' 60% or ≤ 50% by mass relative to the total mass of the edible liquid.

In one embodiment, the edible liquid is liquid chocolate, therein chocolate includes plain, dark, milk, white and con-pound chocolate .

The edible liquid can also be a mixture of two or more edible liquids, provided that the overall mixture is flow&ble . The mixture can, for instance, be mixture of two or more of plain, da.rk, milk, white and compound chocolate in liquid form .

The edible liquid can be treated prior to deposition to ensure that it has adequate flow properties for deposition and stamping, and to ensure that it has optimal solidification properties. For instance, chocolate can be tempered using a conventional method so that it contains stable crystals. This causes the chocolate to contract slightly upon contact with the stamp, which allows the stamp to be withdrawn without the shell adhering to the stamp.

The mould cavity may be one of a plurality of cavities. For instance, the mould may be a tray mould consisting of one or more lanes of cavities, the cavities also being arranged into rows (e.g. 2-6 rows) , The size and shape of the cavity depends on the type of shell to be produced. In some embodiments, the cavity can have a substantially uniform inner surface which corresponds to the shape of the stamp such that a shell having a uniform thickness is produced when the scamp is pressed fully into the mould cavity.

The mould cavity may contain sib- cavities , For instance, the cavity y be for producing confections; in tablet form, the cablet having blocks which can be broken into manageable pieces .

The edible liquid can be deposited into the mould cavity manually or using a conventional depositor such as a multi- nozzle depositor which deposits into multiple cavities simultaneously. In some embodiments, the edible liquid can be deposited into the mould cavity to form a. layer 1 extending around the wall of the cavity and having a substantially even surface (see Figure I) . This can be achieved by vibrating the mould 2. if necessary. Vibrating can be carried oat using conventional apparatus known in the art . Once the edible liquid has been deposited into the mould cavity, it is pressed using a stamp, A conventional cold-- stamping apparatus may be employed to perform the pressing step. Such an apparatus comprises one or more stamps having a pressing surface. The stamps are usually made from an alloy/metal such as steel or aluminium. The apparatus also comprises a means for cooling the stamps. Cooling is typically achieved by circulating a cooling liquid through the apparatus between the stamps, the cooling liquid being at a temperature less than the desired temperature of the pressing surface of the stamp.

The stamp is immersed into the edible liquid, the immers d surface of the stamp having a temperature which is lower than he solidi ication temperature of this edible liquid. This ensures thas the edible liquid is at least partially solidified by the stanip. Speoificslly, the edible liquid in contact with the stamp is solidiiied to form n inner ^s skirt" which acts to maintain the shape of the shell when the stamp is withdrawn and provide a harrier no material subsequently filled, into the shell. It is therefore not essential that the edible liquid is fully solidified during the pressing step. In this case. the edible liquid can be further solidified after the pressing step by cooling she entire mo ld.

In some embodimen s, the edible liquid is sot made brittle prior to the scraping step. Instead, the scraping step is sometimes performed when the edible liquid is in a leathery, or ductile, stats. This reduces the risk of shell fracture during the scraping step

The surface temperature of the stamp is dependent upon the solidification temperature of the edible liquid and the immersion period (the period in which the stamp is in contact with the edible liquid) , In some embodiments, the stamp can have a surface temperature of less than 10 °C, 0°C or less, ·· 5°C or less, -10 ^a C or less, -15°C or less, and can be in the range of ~2S*C to 0 ^Λ 0, which helps to reduce the immersion period and produce a more rigid shell.

In some embodimen s, the immersion period is less than 10, .9, 8, 7, 6 or 5 seconds, and can be 1-3 seconds,

During the pressing step, the edible liquid conforms to the shape of the gap defined by she stamp 3 and. the wall of the mould cavity -see Figure 2) . In Figure 2a, the stamp 3 is pressed fully into the mould 2, which has the effect that no part of the edible liquid ejected outside the mould cavity or material formed from ejected edible liquid (together referred to as ejected ^edible material* la hereinafter) is contiguous S with the edible liquid lb inside the mould cavity, "Contiguous" here means a direct physical contact between edible material ejected from the rso ld cavity and edible liquid remaining within the mould cavity, "Material formed, from ejected edible liquid" is edible liquid which has

ID changed in some way after having been elected from the mould cavity and includes, for instance, edible liquid which has at least partially solidified. Pressing the stamp fully into the mould cavity, as shown in Figure 2a , is the conventional use of a stamp and caouid and produces confectionery shells of

15 consistent dimensions. However, the required pressing of the stamp fully into the mould cavity restricts each stamp/mould combination to forming a solitary shape of confectionary shell .

20 In contrast. Figure 2b shows a pressing step in which at least a part of the edible material lc ejected from the mould cavity is contiguous with the edible liquid lb inside the mould cavity. Figure 2b therefere schematically represents a pressing step falling within the scope of the invention,

25 This can, for instance, occur when a stamp is not pressed fully into a. mould cavity. The ensuing gap between the stamp and the mould allows ejected edible material lc to remain contiguous with the BOS- ejected edible liquid lb.

SO Incomplete pressing of the stamp into the mould cavity allows the user to form confectionery shells having a greater thickness than is achieved whea the stamp is fully pressed into the mould cavity. The increase in shell thickness can therefore be adjusted by halting the stamp a set distance short of the full pressing position. Here, the "full pressing position" is the position of the stamp when it is pressed to its fullest extent into the mould cavity (i.e. the position in Figure 3a) , Thus, halting the pressing -movement a distance · ' short of the full, pressing position increases che thickness of the shell in the direction the sc m moves by an amount 'y' (see Figure 3b) .

Moreover, halting the pressing movement a distance 'y' short of the full pressing position produces a confectionery shell in which generally the thickness of the con ctionery shell wall itself increases away from the open end of the shell. That is. shell thickness is generally increased to a lesser extent in regions of the shell closer to its open end, A confectionery shell in which the thickness of the wall itself varies provides the benefits of a. more voluminous confectionery shell without having to increase shell thickness throughout its entirety. For instance, relatively large inclusions can be accommodated in the thicker regions of the confectionery shell without unduly increasing the shell thickness throughout the whole shell.

Once the stamp has been withdrawn from the mould cavity, edible material elected from the mould cavity is removed by passing scraping means 4 outwardly over the boundary 5 of the mould cavity in two or more different outward directions (see Figxrre 4a 5. The scrap!xu means passed in each outward direction can be the same or different, and in some embodiments each scrapin means is suitably a knife, which can be made of plastic, ceramic, metal and/or alloy. For instance, one or more scraping means can be a metallic knife. The temperature of each scraping means can be ambient temperature. The boundary 5 of the mo ld cavity is che border where the surface of the mould not forming the mould cavity meets the surface of the would forming the mould cavity; it therefore has a mould cavity aide rid a non-mould cavity side .

"Outward" direction means from the mould cavity side of the boundary 5 to the non-mould cavity side. Thus, the outward direction is opposite to che "inward" direction shown in Figure 4b, wherein the scraping means is moving from the non- mould cavity side of the boundary 5 to the mould cavity side.

In some embodiment s , each outward direction- of the scraping means is substantially in the plane of the mould aurface on the non-mo\uld cavity side of the boundary S . Here substantially in che plane means chat the angle formed between Che outward direction of he scraping means and the plane of the mould surface on the non- mould cavity side of the boundary 5 is 45° or less.

In some embodiments, each outward direction of the scraping means generally avoids crossing the boundary 5 of the mould cavity in an inward direction. Minor inward crossing of the mould boundar is tolera.ted where, for instaxvce , Che shape of che boundary makes crossing the boundary inwardly necessary from a practical point of view. This could be where, for example, che shape of the boundary of the mould cavity is particularly elaborate.

In one embodiment, at lease two of the outward directions are substantially opposite. That is to say, at least two outward directions form an. angle of 180±5° (as shown in Figures 6b and 60} . Scraping tteans can be passed over the boundary S of the mould cavity in two to four or four or wore different outward directions. In some embodiments, scraping means are passed over the boundary 5 of the mould cavity in four different outward directions. In one embodiment where scraping means are passed over the boundary 5 of the mould cavity in four or more different directions, at least two pairs of outward directions can be substantially opposite. That is to say, at least two pairs of outward directions form, and angle within each pair of 1S0±S° (show as separate pairs of directions in Figure 6b and Figure 6c) .

The outward direction of the scraping means causes at least a part of the scraping means to begin, the scraping motion on the mould cavity side of the boundary 5, The relative dimensions of the boundary 5 and the scraping means 4 may mean, that parts of the scraping means begins the scraping motion on the side of the boundary 5 opposite to the mould cavity, but this can. be tolerated provided that the scraping means passes over the boundary 5 in an overall outwardly direction.

By passing the scraping means over the boxsndary 5 in an outward direction, ejected edible material is removed whilst providing the confectionery shell with an edge substantially free of defects (see Figure Sa) . In. particular, ejected edible material remaining contiguous with edible liquid inside the mould cavity is removed whilst avoiding defects on the edge of the confectionery shell. In some embodiments , this scraping motion can cause the wail forming the confectionery shell itself to taper towards the newly- ormed edge. This can be caused by edible liquid forming the confect ionery shell adhering to the scraping means to some extent such that, is dragged away by the raovement of the scraping re¾as . This tapered edge is beneficial if and when a. finishing layer is forced across the open end of the confectionery shell (i.e. bottoming the shell) because a clean edge is formed.

In contrast, passing the scraping means over the boundary 5 in an inward direction causes defects along the edge of the confectionery shell. Figure 5b illustrates two types of such defects. In the first illustration, the scraping mea s has caused a lip to form at the edge of the confectionery shell. In the second illustration, the scraping means has caused part of the confectionery shell to be detached from the wall of the mould cavity. Both of these types of defects make the con ectionery shell less appealing so she consumer and inhibit the formation of a. clean edge when a finishing layer is formed across the open end of the confectionery shell.

The scraping means 4 forms an applied scraping angle Θ with the scraping direction (see Figure 4a) . The applied scraping angle in some embodiments can be 20° or more and in some embodiments can be 45° or less. The applied scraping angle in some embodiments is in the range of from 20° to 4S ^Si . When the scraping angle is 20° or more. the edible material ejected from the mould cavity -which is contiguous with the edible liquid in the mould cavity is more efficiently separated from the edible liquid within the mould. This is thought to he because the scraping means is more likely to penetrate into the ejected material than ride over its surface. When the scraping angle is more than 45° _f removal of ejected material is less effective. This is thought to be because she scraping means tends to bend and enter the mould cavity . IS

Prior to the scraping process, the sho ld can, in some embodiments, be orientated so that edible material removed by scraping fails a ay from the mould under gravity. This helps to prevent removed edible material from collecting in the mould cavities. If edible liquid within mould cavities orientated in this way is already solidified to the extent that is does not flow or deform within the mould cavity, then it is less likel to deform daring this step. The open end of the mould cavities can. sometimes face downwards during the scraping process in order to minimise the amount of re o ed edible material collecting in the mould cavities.

The shell may be de-moulded following pressing, cooling and scraping. On the other hand, further steps may be performed before de-moulding. For instance, a further confectionery shell may be formed inside the confectionery shell just formed. Such a further confectionery shell can be a moisture harrier. In addition., the shell may be filled with, for example, a filling material such as chocolate, cream, caramel, toffee, ganache, emulsion, truffle, alcohol, fruit and combinations thereof. A finishing layer may be formed on the filling to fully enclose it.

A further embodiment of the inven ion concerns the production of conf ctionery shells comprising one or more inclusions. In the context of this application, an "inclusion is a piece of edible material having a different composition to that of the edible liquid deposited into the mould cavities. An inclusion is suitably a. solid component, examples of which are pieces of caramel, toffee, chocolate, fruit, nut, candy etc. In some embodiment , the smallest dimension of each inclusion is at least 0.1 mm. Ι:α this embedinden , the pressing step of the first embodiment is performed when the mould cavity contains edible liquid of the first embodiment and one or more inclusions. The ;na.ss of inclusio (s) presen with the edible liquid is not particularly limited, but can be ≤ 50% by mass or 30% by mass relative to the mass of edible liquid deposited, in the mould cavity

More than one type of inclusion can be present with the edible liquid in the mould cavity. Where more than one type of inclusion is present, the total, amount of inclusions can be the same as mentioned above for one type of inclusion.

The else of inclusions is not particularly limited, provided that they can be accommodated within, a. confectionery shell without protruding outside the shell. Such protrusion could result in damage to the inclusion during subsequent processing steps and a corresponding loss of product quality. Accommodation within the confectionery shells can be achieved by ensuring that at least one of the dimensions of each inclusion is less than or equal to the thickness of the region of the confectionery shell in which it is accommodated. The process by which inclusions and. the edible liquid become coexistent in the mould cavity is not particularly limited. The inclusions and the edible liquid can be combined, before being deposited, into the mould cavity or can be combined only once inside the mould cavity, Where the inclusions and the edible liquid are combined only once inside the mould cavity, the inclusions can be deposited in the mould cavity before or after the edible liquid is deposited.. Because the method of cue present invention enables the production of con ectionery shells of different thicknesses, the method can be used to produce con ectionery shells accomod i g inclusions of varying sises. As mentioned above, this product variation is achieved without replacing the statsps and moulds and without compromising product quality. This means that confectionery shells can be produced accommoda ing different eised. inclusions without the need for expensive new stamps and moulds and without halting production during which fresh scamps and moiiids are fitted.

Changing the thickness of the confectionery shell also enables the user to vary the extent to which the inclusions are visible to she consumer. Specifically, conducting the pressing step to produce a thicker shell will cause the inclusions to be less visible to the consumer, whereas a thinner shell will cause the inclusions to be raore visible to the consumer. Whilst inclusions can be made more visible, in some embodiments the inclusions do not protrude beyond the outer surface of the confectionery shell because the protruding inclusion is susceptible to damage during subsequent processing steps. A mentioned above, the shell thickness can be changed without compromising on product quality, and in particular the edge of the confec ionery shell is substantially free of defects.

Moreover, and as mentioned above, the method of the present invention can be used, to make confectionery shells in which the thickness of the shell itself varies. f the stamp is not pressed fully into the mould, the thickness of the ensuing confectionery shell will generally be greater in regions further from the open end of the shell. Relatively large inclusions can therefore be accommodated in the thicker regions of the confectionery shell wit out und ly increasing the thickness of the entire shell.

A yet further etnbodiment of the invention relates to the production of multi-layered confectionery shells. " ulti- layered* here means two or more layers, adjacent layers differing from one another in sose identi iable way. For instance. adjacent layers can differ in terms of their composition and/or colour. Adjacent layers do not, however, necessarily form a distinct boundary; adjacent layers can sometimes be mixed to a certain, extent to form a boundary zone, provided that the layers on either side are dis ti.nguishah1e . The composition of each layer is not particularly limited, provided that each layer is made from edible material. In some embodiments , the outermost layer can comprise a chocolate composition, and at least one other layer is a layer comprising a (moisture; barrier composition. In some embodiments, the outermost layer can be a chocolate layer and the innermost layer can be a moisture barrier layer.

A moisture barrier composition can be used to prevent moisture transfer from the confection to the environment or within the confection into moisture-sensitive components (e,g, chocolate), especially if the shell is to be filled with a component having a nigh water activity (e.g. a fresh fruit composition) .. The moisture barrier composition can be any conventional moisture barrier composition such as a fat- based moisture barrier composition or a heterogeneous moisture ba.rrier composition, both of which contain crystalline fats. In this embodiment ..■ the depositing and pressing steps can be performed in a mould cavity in which one or more confectionery shells has already been formed. The scraping step ra&y or ma not have been performed on the one or more confectionery shells already existing inside the mould cavity.

Moreover, the method ot this embodiment can be used to prepare a multilayer confectionery shell using a single set of stamps and moulds without adversely affecting product quality. This is achieved by reducing the distance which the stamp penetrates into the mould cavity to form each successive confectionery shell. Although some edible material ejected from the mould cavity might be contiguous with the edible liquid remaining in the mould cavity, this is readily removed by the scraping procedure described above.

It is moreover realised that features of the further embodiments can foe readily combined. For instance, one or more of the layers of the mult1-·layered conf ctionery shell of this further embodiment may contain inclusions of varying sises according to the first further embodiment.

The above -described process is further illustrated by the following Examples, which should not in any way be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. x m les Comparative Example 1

Tempered ilka ^® chocolate mass ·55±1.5 g _; manufactured by Kraft Foods) was manually deposited at BQ^C into 1 cavity of a stamp mould (Brunner-~Glonn _f Germany) , The mould was previously stored in a heating cabinet for 2 days at 30°C, The mould, w s vibrated for 30 seconds using a Knobel ^® VT DUO H shaking table { z Freq. ; 100 Hsg y Freq. ; 100 Hs; y Am l , -. 3 mm) to even the surface of the chocola e mass in the cavities .

The chocolate mass was then pressed in the mould cavity using a Knobel ^® Cold Stamp unit (CP Standard Cold Press Type 07- KCF1--0S, Knobel ... Felbea CH) . The immersion period w s set to 7 seconds, the surface of the stam was -4.9°C and the stamp speed, w s 60 mm s ^": . The stamp pas pressed into the cavity to its fullest extent (i.e. the position of the stamp corresponded to y ^■ ·- 0 mm in Figure 3b; ..

The stamp was withdrawn and the mould stored at ambient temperature for 5 minutes before excess material extending outside the mould cavity was removed by scraping. Scraping was conducted in one scrapinq action along the long sides of the mould cavity and across its full length (i.e. motion ' ' in Figure 6a) . The scraping means used, was a metallic knife at ambient temperature and an applied scrapinq angle of 45° .

The mould was cooled to a temperature of 10 ^« C over a period of 15 min. The chocolate shell was filled with Mii a ^® milk chocolate mouse at a temperature of 28.5°C. The filled shell was cooled for 60 minutes at a temperature of 10 °C before being bottomed using ilka ^® chocolate mass. The confection was cooled, at a temperature of 10°C for 60 minutes before being manually removed from the mould cavity ready for visual inspection. Comparative Example 2

Comparative Example 2 was conducted in the same wanner as Comparative Example 1 except that the pressing motion of trie tam was halted 0.3 mm. short of the final position attained in Comparative Example 1 (i.e. y ~ 0.3 rstn in Figure 3h) .

Example 1 was conducted in the same manner as Comparative Example 2 except that the scraping step comprised two scraping actions. One scraping action was made from the middle of she mould cavity along the long sides and outwards over one of the short sides (i.e. motion ^! b' in Figure 6b) and one scraping action from the middle of the mould cavity along the long sides and outwards over the other short side (i,e. motion 'c' in Figure 6h) .

Example 2

Example 2 was conducted in the same manner as Comparative Example 2 except that the scraping step comprised four scraping actions. The four scraping actions were made from the tniddie of the mould cavity outwardly across each of the four sides of the mould cavity (i.e. motions b' and 'c ^! in Figure 6b and motions ^s d ^f and 'e' in Figure 6c) .

Certain, aspects of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 and Examples 1 and 2 are shown in Table 1 below. Table I

S sss Xe- Stsm ίηί&ϊχ

/ Sos-viS, Posit.io.V! (y) So, of

Bi iiOti ii

Co-.p

0.0 . I 1 Out®ids- Kx . I

0. ?> A , 4 I Ou aid

Kx . :>

1asids to

Sx . I 1.4

short, sides

Inside

Kx , ^' ¾ i . 4

all sidos

Visual inspection of the de -moulded confections is summarised below.

Table j;

CCB!JiliSriti;

COS8>. S .

om . Bottom free of

Senchiiiars. qu l ty

Ex . 1 defects

Οον,νρ . ¾f.«cts ng all

Ixuacoep able quality

Sx. 2 bottom side;?

Mir;or silide detects

S rmUfsr quality to Cortp . Sx, 1.

al ng Acm ss.des

B K ra free of Prod t quality udged to fee the .¾«···« as defects C mp. Sx, 1, vifi slightly better tk&xi Sx. 3.

Comparative Exam le 1 illustrates the benchmark quality of product obtained when stamps are pressed fully into mould cavities. Compara ive Example 2 illustrates some of the problems caused when, the same mould /stamp combination is used to prepare a confectionery shell of greater thickness by not fully pressing the stamps into the mould cavities. Example 1 shows that the product defects of Comparative Example 2 can be avoided using a method according to the present invention. Only the rims of the long sides show any dsfects, a.nd these defects are onl minor. The of produc obtained in Example 2 was indiscernible from that of Comparative Example 1.

Tempered Milka ^® white chocolate mass (100±1.5 g, manufactured by Kraft Foods) at a temperature of 28.5 0 and six Smarties ^® (manufactured by Nestle) were manually deposited into cavities in a stamp mould (Bru.en.er -- Glonn, Germany) , The mould was previously stored in a heating cabinet: for 2 days at 28.5°C. The mould, was then vibrated for 30 seconds using a Kriobel. VT DUO/H shaking table (z Free, ; 100 Hz? y Freq. : 100 Ks ; y A pl. : 3 ram) .

The mixture was pressed in she mould cavities using a Knobs1 ^® Cold Stamp unit (CP Standard Cold Press 07-KCM-09, Exiobel, Feiben CKj . The immersion period was set to 7 seconds, the surface of the stam s was -S^C and the stamp speed was SO mm s ^"! . The stamps were halted 4,5 mm short of the maximum pressing position (i.e. y ~ 4,5 mm in Figure 3b).

The stamps were withdrawn from the mould cavities and the mould was stored at ambient temperature for 5 minutes before excess material extending outside the cavity was removed by two scraping motions. One scraping action was made from the middle of the mould cavity along the long sides and outwards over one of the short sides (i.e. motion ⁴ h' in Figure 6b) and one scraping action from the middle of the mould cavity along the long sides and outwards over the other short side (i.e. motion ^v c' in Figure 6 } , The scraping tceans used was a metallic knife at ambient temperature and an applied scraping angle of 5* . The mould w s cooled to 10*0 over a period of 60 uiin and she confectionery shell removed ready for visual inspection,

Exa le 4 Example 4 was conducted in the same manner as Example 3 except chat 10 g of Smarties ^® was placed in the mould cavities instead of the 6 Smarties ^® used in Example 3.

Example S

Example 5 was conducted in the same manner as Example 3 except that chopped, almonds (IS gc purchased from Brand Schwartau) was placed in the mould cavities instead of the 6 Smarties ^® used in Example 3 and the stamps were halted 3.9 mm short of the maximum pressing position (i.e. y - 3.9 mm in Figure 3b) .

Example 6 ¾?as conducted in. the same manner as Example 5... except that the stamps were halted 3.0 mm short of the maximum pressing position (i,e, y »-· 3.0 mm in Figure 3b) .

Example 7

Example '? as oondicced in the same manner as Example 3,· except that chocolate tubes (15 g, purchased from Brand Schwartau) were placed in the mould cavities instead of trie 6 Smarties ^® used in Example 3 and the stamps were halted 2.0 mm short of the maximum pressing position (i.e. y ~ 2.0 mm in Figure 3b) , Example 8

Example S was coxiducted in the same manner as Example 3 except that 10 g of the chocolate tubes were placed ic the mould cavities instead of 15 g and the stamps were halted 1.0 mm short oi: the maximum pressing portion (i.e, y ~ 1.0 mm in Figure 3b) .

Certain aspects oi Examples 3-8 are shown in Table 3 below Table 3

Visual inspection of the de-moulded con ctions provided the following results. Table 4