TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to a method and a product for preparing foods, in particular for preparing beverages. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and a product which enable modifying and processing a basic beverage in order to give the beverage a different taste and/or appearance.

PRIOR ART

As is known, one of the most widespread tendencies at present in bars, cafeterias and other public establishments where food products are served, is to offer customers not only the chance to select from among various types of beverage, among which for example coffee, tea or cappuccino, but also the possibility to choose from a wide range of different tastes or flavourings of the preselected beverage.

A classic example of this tendency is represented by the variants of coffee, such as for example the variant of coffee that is normally prepared by predisposing, on the bottom of a container, typically a small cup or beaker, a semi-fluid substance based on chocolate or a surrogate thereof, on which the hot coffee and milk are then poured, and lastly an upper layer of cream or milk topping and cocoa in powder form. Though remaining the same type of product, this beverage can be given various names according to the regions or foreign countries in which it is prepared, among which for example: Marocchino, Bicchierino, Bicerin, Montecarlo, Mocaccino or other fantasy names. For ease of reference, the above-mentioned beverage will be generically called Mocaccino.

A drawback in the preparation of this beverage consists in the fact that at present the barman can arrange the chocolate internally of the container only with the aid of a spoon. This operation is therefore rather awkward and slow, and does not enable a precise dosing of the quantity of chocolate effectively used, which therefore is entirely dependent on the barman's judgement, with a consequent impossibility of obtaining a perfectly constant and repeatable result.

A further classic example of the above-described tendency is represented by hot chocolate, or liquid chocolate in a cup (drinking chocolate), i.e. the liquid or semi-liquid drink essentially composed of water or milk, sugar and cocoa, having the taste of chocolate and usually served hot in a cup.

In bars or in general in public establishments, hot chocolate is normally prepared starting from water or hot milk, to which is added a powder preparation which contains at least sugar, cocoa and thickening substances. In this way, the powder preparation dissolves in the water or the hot milk, appropriately thickening it and giving it a chocolate taste.

The powder preparation for hot chocolate is generally marketed in single- portion sachets, which are opened by the barman when preparing the beverage, and added to a batched quantity of water or hot milk.

As mentioned above, at present the barman usually offers customers a wide range of hot chocolates, variously flavoured, for example with fruit flavouring, or spices, aromatic plants or combinations thereof.

At present, in order to obtain these flavourings, the various flavouring substances are added directly to the powder preparation and packed in dedicated sachets. In other words, the barman is provided with many types of sachets, each of which contains a powder preparation for hot chocolate to which a specific flavouring substance has been added.

Though effective, this solution nevertheless causes a certain operating difficulty for the barman, especially when he has to contemporaneously prepare a multiplicity of hot chocolate drinks having different flavourings. In these cases, the barman has in fact to prepare each hot chocolate independently of the others, i.e. for each beverage he will have to heat the water or milk, open the relative powder preparation sachet, add the powder preparation to the hot water or milk and then mix them up until reaching the correct thickened texture of the hot chocolate beverage.

To prevent the various flavourings from contaminating one another, all these operations have further to be carried out using various implements (pans, jugs, spoons etc.), which have to be cleaned for each operation. This necessary duplication of operations leads not only to more labour for the barman, but also a considerable lengthening of the overall time required for preparation, and an increase in customer waiting time. To accelerate all the preparation, some barmen tend therefore to heat the water or milk up to boiling point, with the result that the hot chocolate is served at excessively high temperatures, which force the customer to wait even longer until the drinks cool down.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In the light of the above, an aim of the present invention is to provide a preparation method for foodstuffs, in the example beverages and preferably hot beverages, which enables a simplification and an acceleration in preparation time of the beverages.

A further aim of the present invention is to make available a method which enables simplifying and accelerating contemporary preparation of a plurality of the beverages when they are to be flavoured differently.

A further aim of the present invention is to attain the mentioned objectives with a solution that is simple, rational and relatively inexpensive.

The aims are attained by the characteristics of the invention as set down in the independent claims. The dependent claims delineate preferred and/or particularly advantageous aspects of the invention.

In particular, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for preparing a foodstuff, typically a beverage, which comprises steps of:

preparing a basic liquid or semi-liquid basic beverage, preferably a hot drink, pouring the beverage into a container preferably a single-portion container or beaker, and

arranging, internally of the container, a wafer, which comprises at least a solid or semi-solid support realised with a foodstuff substance which is soluble in the basic beverage.

In this way the final beverage is obtained by the mixing of the basic hot beverage with the foodstuff substance of the support.

Thanks to this solution, it is advantageously possible to realise the final beverage, such as for example a mocaccino or a hot chocolate, in a very simple and rapid way. The solution further enables contemporaneously preparing different beverages, using the same basic beverage and simply making available a plurality of wafers having different characteristics of the foodstuff substance in the support. Additionally, this solution also make it possible to solve the problem of batching the ingredients to be added to the basic drink, as the support of the wafer can be first realised with a measured quantity of the foodstuff substance, thus enabling the user to obtain a final beverage having an always-constant and repeatable flavour.

In general terms, the basic beverage can be any type of comestible beverage, preferably based on water or milk.

In a preferred aspect of the invention, the basic beverage can be a beverage containing water or milk and cocoa, for example a hot chocolate, or a drinking chocolate in a cup.

This hot chocolate can be prepared conventionally, for example starting from hot water or hot milk, to which a powder preparation is added which contains at least sugar, cocoa and thickening substances. In this case it is not however necessary for the powder preparation to contain any type of flavouring substance, as it can be is already present in the wafer, as will be detailed in the following.

In a further preferred aspect of the invention, the basic beverage can be a drink containing coffee, for example simple or normal coffee, cappuccino, etc. By simple coffee, general reference is made to the universally known drink obtained by infusion in hot water or steam of roasted ground coffee beans. This solution is advantageous as it enables the method of the invention to realise final beverages such as for example mocaccino or other variants of coffee.

In an embodiment of the invention, the above-described wafer can be rested on the bottom of the container before the drink is poured internally thereof. This embodiment is particularly advantageous in a case in which drinks containing coffee are to be made, as after the introduction of the wafer, the container can easily be located below the dispenser spout of the coffee machine, which in turn can dispense the coffee directly internally of the container, submerging the wafer. This solution can further have the advantage of facilitating the dissolving of the support of the wafer, as before preparing the coffee the container is usually heated up, so that the wafer is in contact with the hot bottom of the container and begins softening even before the coffee is poured.

In a preferred aspect of this embodiment, the support of the wafer is conformed such as to exhibit a complementary shape to the bottom of the container.

By the term complementary it is meant that the support exhibits at least an external surface having the "negative" shape of the internal cavity of the container at the bottom thereof. For example if the bottom of the container exhibits a concave shape, the support of the wafer can exhibit a concave surface having, in negative, the same curved shape. In many cases, the support of the wafer can therefore have a generally hemispherical shape. In this way, the wafer can advantageously contact and rest uniformly on the bottom of the container.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the wafer can be rested on the free surface of the beverage, after the beverage has been poured internally of the container, preferably while the drink is still hot.

This solution is particularly advantageous in the case where drinks such as hot drinking chocolate are to be made, as it enables preparing the basic beverage internally of the container before adding the wafer.

In a preferred aspect of this embodiment, the basic beverage can have a density that is such as to floatingly support the wafer, such that it is visible in the cup up to the complete dissolving of the support.

Returning to the wafer, the foodstuff substance realising the support can be any comestible substance able to dissolve in the basic beverage and, preferably, which has a taste that is able to pleasantly combine with the flavour of the basic beverage.

In a preferred aspect of the invention, the solid or semi-solid foodstuff substance of the support is a foodstuff substance containing cocoa, for example chocolate or a surrogate thereof. The chocolate or chocolate surrogate can be of different types, among which for example: milk chocolate, white chocolate or dark chocolate.

In this way, the chocolate further improves and mellows the taste of the basic beverage it is dissolved in.

In a further aspect of the invention, the wafer can further comprise at least a flavouring substance added to the support, which can be released in the beverage following dissolving of the support.

Thanks to this solution, it is therefore advantageously possible to prepare a wide assortment of beverages with different flavourings, while using in all cases the same basic beverages and simply making available a plurality of pods having a different flavouring substance and/or a different foodstuff substance in the support.

This solution therefore has the advantage of simplifying and accelerating the contemporary preparation of a plurality of the beverages, as it simply requires preparing, for example, with a simple operation, a quantity of basic beverage that is equal to the sum of the rations to be served, pouring a part of the basic beverage into the single cups and finally flavouring the beverage in each cup using a different wafer (which can be arranged in the cup either before or after the beverage according to the single cases).

In a further aspect of the invention, the flavouring substance which is added to the support can comprise a powder substance, or an oleaginous base, or a liquid base, or a paste base or an alcoholic base.

In this way, the flavouring substance can be inseparably mixed with the foodstuff substance of the support during the preparation thereof, substantially forming an indistinguishable blend which completely mixes with the basic beverage to which it is added.

This flavouring substance can be natural or synthetic in origin and can have any type of flavour considered suitable for combining with the taste of the basic beverage.

In particular, the flavouring substance can be selected from among: a flavouring substance with a fruit taste, among which for example orange, hazelnut, pear, banana, coconut, strawberry, bilberry, chestnut etc; a flavouring substance having a spicy flavour, among which for example chilli, cinnamon, coffee, almond, etc; a flavouring substance with the taste of aromatic plants, among which for example mint, rose, tobacco, lavender, etc; a flavouring substance with a liqueur flavour, or other alcoholic flavours, among which, for example, Sambuca, grappa and so on.

Alternatively or additionally to the powder or oily substances, the flavouring substance can comprise a solid food granule, or flakes, pralines, small pieces or whole pieces, of a foodstuff or a complex foodstuff preparation.

In this way, the granule is visible both on the solid or semi-solid support of the wafer and in the final beverage, thus obtaining not only a flavouring effect but also a decorative effect.

In particular, the granule can comprise pieces or flakes of fruit, for example orange peel, pieces of strawberry, coconut or figs, small fruit and berries, etc.; or cereals, nuts, hazel nuts and/or whole or pieces of almonds, etc; or pralines of chocolates or other sweet foods, such as for example pieces of meringue and/or nougat, etc.

In a preferred aspect of the invention, the wafer can further comprise a graphic decoration.

In this way, the graphic decoration is able to decorate and customise both the solid or semisolid support of the initial wafer and the final beverage, obtaining an effective personalising of the product.

The graphic decoration can be obtained by adding garnishing substances to the support of the wafer, in powder, liquid or other form, which are distributed on the support in an ordered way, for example with usual silk-screen techniques, such as to reproduce the desired decoration.

In this regard, the graphic decoration can be of any type, for example it can reproduce a logo, an ornament, a mark, a writing, an image, etc.

The graphic decoration can indicate the origin of the product, for example the manufacturer, the retail chain or the actual shop (bar, cafeteria, restaurant, etc.) in which it is served; or it can indicate the type of wafer, for example it can represent a reference to the flavoured substance contained in the wafer; or it can depict real or imagined subjects, for example cartoon characters. In a further preferred aspect of the invention, the wafer can further comprise a thickening substance added to the foodstuff substance of the support.

The thickening substance can be of natural or synthetic origin. For example, the thickening substance can be selected from among Agar agar, carrageenan or xanthan.

With this solution, the dissolving of the solid or semisolid support of the initial wafer also enable the basic beverage to be thickened.

In a further aspect of the invention, the support of the wafer is modelled in a disc shape.

This shape is advantageous as it is relatively easy to pack and is very suited to cups into which the basic beverage is poured, especially when the basic beverage is a hot chocolate.

The disc preferably has a diameter of between 60 and 70 mm, preferably 68 mm, and a thickness comprised between 2.5 and 4 mm, preferably 3 mm. These dimensions are advantageous as they enable introducing the disc into substantially any type of commonly-used cup, and further provide a correct quantity of substances which are to be added to the basic beverage in order to obtain the final beverage.

In a further embodiment of the invention, a wafer is provided for preparing a foodstuff, typically a beverage, which comprises:

a solid or semi-solid support realised with a foodstuff substance and at least a flavouring substance added to the support;

the support being soluble in a beverage, for example in a hot drink.

This embodiment of the invention enables carrying out the preparation method delineated above, and therefore to attain the relative advantages.

Naturally all the preferred aspects of the invention that have already been described herein above can be applied to the wafer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from a reading of the following description, provided by way of non-limiting example, with the aid of the figures illustrated in the accompanying tables of drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic view from above of a wafer for preparing beverages according in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic lateral view of the wafer of figure 1.

Figures from 3 to 5 show three steps of the preparation method of the beverage according to an embodiment the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic lateral view of a wafer for preparation of beverages according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a schematic view from above of the wafer of figure 6.

Figures 8 and 9 show two steps of the method for preparing a beverage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BEST WAY OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In figures 1 and 2 a wafer 100 is illustrated for preparation and flavouring of a hot chocolate or drinking chocolate beverage.

The wafer 100 essentially comprises a support 105 realised with a solid or semisolid foodstuff substance, which is soluble in hot chocolate. In other words, the foodstuff substance gives the support 105 a solid or semi-solid consistency, and renders it overall soluble in hot chocolate. In the illustrated example, the solid food substance of the support 105 is chocolate or a surrogate thereof. In particular, the chocolate or chocolate surrogate of the support 105 can be white chocolate, milk chocolate or dark chocolate.

The chocolate support 105 is preferably modelled in a disc shape.

The disc can have a diameter comprised between 60 and 70 mm, preferably 68 mm, and a thickness comprised between 2.5 and 4 mm, preferably 3 mm, such as to be introduceable substantially into any type of commonly-used cup.

The wafer 100 further comprises a flavouring substance, which is added to the chocolate of the support 105. Naturally the quantity of the flavouring substance in the chocolate must be such as also to be able to flavour the hot chocolate in which the support 105 is destined to be dissolved.

The flavouring substance can be in powder form or can be oily, and can be added directly to the chocolate forming the support 105, during the preparation step, substantially forming an indistinguishable and inseparable single piece. The flavouring substance can be of natural or synthetic origin and can have any type of flavour which is considered suitable for combining with the flavour of the hot chocolate. In particular, the flavouring substance can be selected from among: a fruit-flavoured substance, among which for example orange, hazel nut, pear, banana, coconut, strawberry, bilberry, chestnut etc; a flavouring substance with a spicy taste, among which for example chilli, cinnamon, coffee, almond, etc; a flavouring substance having a flavour of aromatic plants, among which for example mint, rose, tobacco, lavender, etc. Alternatively or additionally to the flavouring powder or oil-based substance, the wafer 100 can comprise a solid granular foodstuff, denoted in its entirety by 1 10 in the figures, or flakes, pralines, small or whole pieces, of a foodstuff or a complex food preparation. The granules 1 10 can be distributed substantially randomly internally and/or on the upper support face 105 of the chocolate support.

In particular, the granule 1 10 can comprise pieces or flakes of fruit, for example orange peel, pieces of strawberry, coconut, figs, small fruits and berries, etc; or cereals, hazel nuts, walnuts and/or almonds, whole or in pieces, etc; or chocolate pralines or other sweet foods, such as for example pieces of meringue and/or nougat, etc.

A thickening substance can also be added to the chocolate of the support 105, in sufficient quantities to be able, possibly, to thicken (if necessary) the hot chocolate in which the support 105 is destined to dissolve. This thickening substance can be either of natural or synthetic origin and can be selected for example from among Agar agar, carrageenan or xanthan.

In an embodiment that is not illustrated, the wafer 100 can also comprise a graphic decoration which is added to the chocolate support 105, such as to decorate it and customise it. The graphic decoration can be obtained by adding further garnishing substances to the support 105 of the wafer 100, in powder or liquid form or another type, which are distributed in an ordered way on the upper face of the support 105, for example with usual silk- screening printing methods or otherwise, such as to reproduce the desired decoration. The graphic decoration can be of any type, for example it can reproduce a logo, an ornamentation, a mark, a writing, an image etc. The graphic decoration can indicate the origin of the wafer 00, for example the manufacturer or the retail chain; or it can indicate the type of wafer 100, for example it can represent a reference to flavouring; or it can reproduce phrases or mottoes; or it can refer to real or imaginary characters such as cartoon characters, possibly Walt Disney characters, or others besides.

In the light of the many alternatives delineated herein above, the invention includes making available various types of wafers 100, such as to obtain a vast assortment, in which each type of wafer 100 exhibits a different combination between the various ingredients, in particular between the chocolate of the support 105, the flavouring substance, the granule 1 10 and the decoration. All these types of wafers can be researched and realised on the basis of both aesthetic and taste combination considerations.

Each wafer can be singly packed, for example internally of a respective aluminium or PET tray and covered by a foodstuff-standard film. The film can be transparent, such as to enable vision of the wafer 100 internally thereof, or it can be opaque and printed with drawings, writing or any other graphic sign having an aesthetic and/or informative function with respect to the wafer 100 contained therein.

As illustrated in figures from 3 to 5, the preparation of the hot chocolate with the wafers 100 initially involves preparing a milk- or water-based hot beverage 50. In a case in which the wafer 100 contains sufficient thickener, the basic beverage 150 can be water or unadulterated milk, commonly known as white milk. More preferably, the basic beverage 150 is however already a water or milk and cocoa based beverage, in particular hot chocolate.

The hot chocolate can be prepared conventionally internally of a jug 200, for example starting from the water or the hot milk, to which a powder preparation is added which contains at least sugar, cocoa and thickening substances. In this case it is however not necessary for the powder preparation to contain any type of flavouring substance, since it will be provided by the wafer 100. In other words, the basic hot chocolate can have a neutral flavour or can be non-flavour-enhanced.

At this point, the basic hot chocolate beverage 150 is poured into a container, typically a single-portion cup 205, after which a wafer 100 is rested on the free surface of the hot chocolate internally of the cup 205, such that the upper face thereof is facing upwards.

The basic hot chocolate beverage 150 will preferably have such a density as to be able to keep the wafer 100 in a floating state, and a sufficiently high temperature, for example comprised between 60°C and 70°C, such as to facilitate dissolving of the chocolate forming the support 105.

In this way, the support chocolate 105 mixes with the hot chocolate beverage 150, together with the flavouring substance added thereto and/or to the granule 1 10 if present, thus giving the basic hot chocolate beverage 150 (initially having a neutral flavour) a specific flavouring which depends on the flavouring substance and/or the granule 110 contained in the support 105. In particular, the granule 110 (if present) will remain visible on the surface or in the mass of the final hot chocolate, also obtaining a decorative effect. In the same way, the graphic decoration, if present, will remain visible on the surface of the final hot chocolate, i.e. designs, symbols, phrases, etc, which can be realised on the support 105 of the wafer 100, obtaining an effective customisation of the product.

Thanks to this solution, it is therefore advantageously possible to prepare a vast assortment of drinks with different flavourings, using the same basic hot chocolate beverage 150 and simply selecting different types of wafer 100 among those available in the assortment.

This solution further has the advantage of simplifying and accelerating the contemporary preparation of a multiplicity of differently-flavoured hot chocolates, as it simply requires preparing, for example with a sole operation and one jug 200 alone, a quantity of basic hot chocolate beverage 150 equal to the sum of the rations to be served, pouring a part of the basic beverage into the single cups 205, and finally flavouring the hot chocolate in each cup

205, using a different wafer 100.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a wafer 300 for preparation of a particular variant of the coffee, for example a drink known as a mocaccino.

The wafer 300 essentially comprises a support 305 realised with a solid or semi-solid foodstuff drink, which is soluble in coffee. In other words, this foodstuff substance gives the support 305 a solid or semi-solid consistency, and makes it overall soluble in the coffee.

In the illustrated example, the solid foodstuff substance of the support 305 is chocolate or a surrogate thereof. In particular, the chocolate or surrogate of chocolate in the support 305 can be milk chocolate or dark chocolate.

The support 305 is preferably modelled in a hemispherical shape, such that the hemispherical external surface thereof coincides with the internal hemispherical surface defined by the bottom of a coffee cup, such as the one denoted by 400 in figure 8.

The hemispherical surface of the support 305 can have a radius comprised between 20 and 40 mm. The support 305 can further be formed by a quantity of chocolate or surrogate comprised between 5 and 15 grams.

In some embodiments, the wafer 300 can further comprise a flavouring substance, which is added to the chocolate of the support 305. Naturally the quantity of this flavouring substance in the chocolate must be such as to be able also to flavour the coffee in which the support 305 is destined to be dissolved.

The flavouring substance can be in powder or oily form, and be added directly to the chocolate which forms the support 305, during the step of preparation, substantially forming a single part, indistinguishable and inseparable.

The flavouring substance can be of natural or synthetic origin and can have any type of flavouring which is thought to be suitable for combining with the flavour of the hot chocolate. In particular, the flavouring substance can be selected from: a flavouring substance based on fruit, among which for example orange, walnut, pear, banana, coconut, strawberry, bilberry, chestnut, etc; a flavouring substance based on spices, among which for example chilli, nutmeg, coffee, almond, etc; a flavouring substance based on aromatic plants, among which for example mint, rose, tobacco, lavender, etc; a flavouring substance based on liqueurs or other alcoholic drinks, such as for example Sambuca, grappa, etc.

Alternatively or additionally to the powder- or oil-based flavouring substance, the wafer 300 might also comprise a solid comestible granule (not shown in the figures) substantially of the same type and with the same characteristics as those described herein above, i.e. the wafer 100 for hot drinking chocolate in a cup.

Like the wafer 100 for hot drinking chocolate, the wafer 300 too might comprise a graphic decoration which is added to the chocolate support 305, such as to decorate and customise it.

In the light of the many alternatives delineated herein above, this embodiment of the invention too includes the possibility of providing various types of wafers 300, such as to obtain a vast assortment, in which each type of wafer 300 exhibits a different combination among the various ingredients, in particular between the chocolate of the support 305, the flavouring substance, the granule and the decoration. All these types of wafers can be researched and realised on the basis of both aesthetic and flavour- combination considerations.

In this case too, each wafer 300 can be packed singly, for example internally of a respective aluminium or PET tray and covered by a food-use film. This film can be transparent, such as to enable internal viewing of the wafer 300, or it can be opaque or printed-on with designs, writings or any graphic sign having an aesthetic function and/or informative function with respect to the wafer 300 contained therein.

As illustrated in figures 8 and 9, the preparation of the mocaccino with the wafers 300 initially comprises placing a wafer 300 internally of a cup 400. The cup 400 can be pre-heated, for example by resting it on an espresso coffee machine 405, such as the one illustrated in figure 9. Thanks to the hemispherical shape of the lower surface of the support 305, the wafer 300 rests uniformly on the bottom of the cup 400, the heat of which can therefore being softening the support 305. At this point, the cup 400 with the wafer 300 internally thereof can be located below the dispensing spout of the coffee machine 405, which prepares the coffee and dispenses it directly internally of the cup 400, submerging the wafer 300.

In this way, the chocolate of the support 305 dissolves and mixes with the coffee, together with the flavouring substance possibly added to it and/or to the granule if present, remaining however localised on the bottom and thus obtaining the mocaccino.

This solution therefore has the advantage of simplifying and accelerating the preparation of the mocaccino, guaranteeing the possibility of preparing a multiplicity of mocaccinos with identical and repeatable characteristics, as the quantity of chocolate is pre-dosed and forms the chocolate support 305. Thanks to this solution, it is further advantageously possible to prepare a vast assortment of mocaccinos having different flavourings, simply by using different types of wafers 300 among which those available in the assortment, for example by using wafers 300 having a different flavouring substance. Although the invention has been devised for the preparation of drinking chocolate in public establishments, such as bars or cafeterias, the system could also be used in a domestic environment.

Naturally a technical expert in the sector can make numerous modifications of a technical-applicational nature without its forsaking the scope of the invention as claimed in the following.