This invention relates to a method of producing pizzatopping. More particularly it concerns a method of producing pizzatopping being suitable to be put on ready formed and raised pizza bottom, to thereafter to bake the bottom and pizzatopping together to obtain a finished pizza of restaurant quality. The invention further relates to a finished, frozen pizzatopping and a support bottom showing a surface with suitable attachment slip property.

The market for pizza is divided into several segments. One market segment is ready, complete, frozen pizzas. In final preparation, possibly after thawing, these pizzas are put into an oven at a recommended temperature and are baked for a recommended time. The pizza may thereafter be consumed. These pizzas are characterised in that the pizza bottom is formed and prebaked at a producers. Subsequent to the necessary cooling, the one side of the pizza bottom is coated with pizza sauce, and thereafter a topping in the form of desired ingredients such as meat raw material, vegetables and mush- rooms and also cheese is applied over the pizza sauce according to the recipe for the produced type of pizza. The complete p ^■ izza, then goes through weight control, packaging and freezing. It is thereafter distributed to shops through an unbroken freezing chain. Another market segment is ready, complete, fresh pizzas. At final preparation these pizzas are put into an oven at a recommended temperature to be baked for a recommended time. The pizza may subsequently be consumed. These pizzas are charac- terised in that they are stored at refrigeration temperature. The pizza is packaged in a modified atmosphere, and has a shelf life of approx. 21 days. The pizza bottom is formed, raised and prebaked at the producers. Thereafter the one side of the pizza bottom is coated with pizza sauce, and subse- quently a topping in the form of desired ingredients such as meat raw material, vegetables and mushrooms and also cheese is applied over the pizza sauce according to the recipe for the produced type of pizza. The complete pizza then goes through weight control, packaging and distribution to the shop .

A third market segment is the restaurant market. In this market the pizza is made from scratch. Pizza dough is formed to bottoms and is raised. Pizza sauce of known type, which may be an in advance made, heat treated pizza sauce, which may contain known preservatives, and desired ingredients in a topping is put on manually after the bottom is raised, but before the pizza is baked. The pizza sauce may also be made from scratch, and may in its simplest form be constituted of crushed tomatoes. After baking the pizza is served in the restaurant. In this market segment belongs also pizzas made in said way and brought to the customer by errand boy, alternatively the customer first orders the pizza and later comes to the shop at a given time to collect the finished pizza. In this market segment belongs also that the pizza bottom is ma- chine made. The bottom is thereafter frozen and brought to the restaurant in the frozen state. The frozen bottom is taken out for thawing and raising, generally a day before use. On order the pizza sauce and a desired topping is applied on a ready raised bottom before the pizza is baked.

Quality wise a finished complete frozen pizza is ranked the poorest and a restaurant pizza the best. A restaurant pizza is characterised in that the recipe used is void of additives that may be used in industrial production of pizza, such as preservatives and thickeners, and that the ingredients are fresh. The cheese in a ready baked restaurant pizza has good string pulling properties.

A problem with frozen pizza is that the bottom is half-baked. This causes, when the consumer bakes the pizza that the pizza bottom is done to a turn before the topping is thoroughly hot, and particularly before the cheese in the topping has melted as desired. The result is that the bottom is overdone, causing a reduced quality. If the pizza is thawed before baking, moisture, particularly from pizza, sauce, but also from topping may migrate into the dough before baking. This results in a so-called raw streak, i.e. parts of the bottom is experienced as raw or underdone .

A problem with fresh pizza that is packaged in a modified atmosphere is migration of moisture, particularly from the watery pizza sauce and into the dough. This results in the above-mentioned raw streak. Another problem is that unsold, fresh pizza must be scrapped at the expiration of its use-by date. This may constitute a considerable loss.

A problem with restaurant pizza is that it is time consuming to produce pizza in this way. Even by the use of ready-formed bottoms, it takes time to spread the pizza sauce over the bottom. It takes particularly long to weigh out the different ingredients according to the chosen recipe and spreading these over the pizza in the desired way. It is a desire that pizzas of the same type shall look alike. This requires that the personnel be trained. The branch is marked by a large turnover of personnel . Wrongly weighing of ingredients may lead to unwanted loss at overdosing, and may lead to com- plaints from customers at underdosing. Demand for restaurant pizza varies during the day and between the weekdays with marked peaks in the demand. At such peaks the time from ordering to delivery may become undesirably long. Another problem in making restaurant pizzas is the desire to offer the customer a selection of different pizzas. This means that there are many recipes and it is necessary to have a series of ingredients ready. This takes up space and at the end of the day a loss occurs in the form of unused raw materials such as already cut vegetables and unused meat raw materials. The meat raw materials represent the most costly part of the pizza raw materials.

The problems in production of pizza are sought solved in different ways. Thus it is known to use ready-formed bottoms that are set for thawing and raising the day prior to their use. Each ingredient for topping is packaged in complete batch packages to achieve the desired recipe. Such a method solves a part of the problem of losses, but it still demands a lot of work since the packages have to be opened and the ingredients arranged on the pizza bottom in an attractive way. This requires training. The batch packages also have a use-by date, which may lead to losses. How the ingredients are arranged on the bottom may vary from one point of sale to another with this method, which may render a largely variable visual result.

The patent document WO 2009/018082 describes a combination of a frozen pizza and a sheet brass. The frozen pizza is provided with cut lines partly intersecting the pizza bottom, so that the pizza after baking may be divided without the use of tools. The sheet brass may be constituted by paperboard, aluminium or crystalline polyethylene terephthalate and be such that it stands baking and that the pizza bottom is released 5 from the sheet brass after baking.

Patent documents US 5,243,899 and US 5,256,432 describe a method for producing a complete pizza topping in the form of a disk being placed on a beforehand provided unbaked or baked ready-formed pizza bottom. More particularly the pizza top-o ping consists of a first layer of cheese constituting between 20 and 80 % of the apportioned amount of cheese in the pizza topping, a second layer consisting of the other chosen ingredients in the topping and possibly a third layer constituting between 20 and 80 % of the apportioned amount of cheese. Ins an alternative embodiment the other ingredients in the topping are mixed with between 10 and 20 % of the amount of cheese. After the topping has received all ingredients, the ingredients are bonded together. This is preferably done by partly melting the cheese for all the ingredients to beo bonded together by the melted cheese. The melting is done relatively gently at about 220 ⁰ C. The patent document also states that the bonding together may be done mechanically by the use of such as vacuum or pressure, chemically by using such as pectin or gelatine or an edible film and thermally by5 melting. The finished topping may be stored at refrigerator temperature or be frozen.

This method has several drawbacks. Pizza sauce is not included in the ready-made topping. It is therefore required to spread sauce on the ready-made pizza bottom before the top-o ping is spread. The topping is not of restaurant quality. The cheese in the preferred embodiment has already undergone a heat treatment. This reduces the string-pulling properties of the cheese and reduces the gustatory qualities of the cheese. Admixture of bonding agents such as pectin or gelatine is unwanted in a pizza of restaurant quality. Use of vacuum or pressure causes soft raw materials such as tomato slices to s be squeezed outwards and loose their natural appearance.

Patent documents US 5,894,028 and US 5,681.602 both having priority in application no. US 08/410,338, states a method to produce a disk-shaped pizza topping also containing pizza sauce. This is achieved by mixing into warm pizza sauce ao heat reversible, gelling additive making the sauce go stiff at room temperature. Examples of such additives are gelatine, starch, alginate, pectin, carrageen, agar-agar, methylcellu- lose, xanthan, locust bean meal. These additives may also be combined. On cooling to room temperature and further coolings these additives will give a stiff sauce being the basis for a disk-shaped topping. If the topping contains cheese, the topping may be given additional mechanical strength by heat- treating the cheese as described in US 5,256,432. The topping is produced by warm sauce with gelling additives being spread0 on a support sheet. This support sheet may be coated with silicon, wax, Teflon, vegetable oil or other material not sticking to the topping. In addition the support sheet shall also be flexible for easy removal of packaging material when the topping is to be used. It has turned out that silicon5 coated baking paper is well suited as it is resistant to moisture and has a good tearing strength. The hot sauce is first cooled so that it may be spread on a suitable support sheet without running outwards. Thereafter the sauce is cooled further, but such that the temperature is above theo freezing point of the sauce and such that the topping reaches the desired gel structure. If there is a need for storing the topping over a longer time span, it may if desired be preserved by freezing in a way known per se. This method has the drawback that unwanted additives are used in the sauce when it is to be used to produce pizza of restaurant quality. Pizza is served oven hot. Before all the pizza is eaten, the temperature in the last eaten pizza pieces will be greatly reduced relative to the oven temperature used. The heating reversible properties in the additive or additives will then lead to the topping stiffening and give the topping a completely different sensory experience than a topping without gelling additive. The consumer may ex- perience that the pizza piece acts gel-like in the mouth, which is not to be expected when consuming pizza products of restaurant quality. This patent document further states that it may be preferable to heat-treat the cheese to give better bonding in the pizza, having the same drawback as described above concerning the string-pull properties of the cheese and sensory properties.

There is thus a need to provide a complete or ready-to-use pizza topping which includes a pizza sauce, cheese and the rest of the ingredients constituting parts in a recipe for a pizza topping without the use of other ingredients and additives than those used in making a pizza in a restaurant.

The object of the invention is to remedy or reduce at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least bring forward a useful alternative to the prior art.

By the meat raw materials is for example meant minced meat, ham, pieces of meat, meatballs, slices of sausage, bacon and meat of aquatic origin such as mussels, crustaceans, squids and fish. The raw materials may contain in that respect known antioxidants, preservatives and additives that are commonly used in production of the raw materials. Cured sausages may for example contain salt, nitrate and nitrite and shrimps may be pickled where the brine may contain such as citric acid, benzoate and sorbate .

By pizza sauce is meant a sauce of known type suitable for spreading on top of a pizza bottom. The pizza sauce may for example be a tomato sauce or a tomato based sauce containing desired spices. It is known within the art that tomatoes have a natural content of pectin. This natural pectin is not considered here as a gelling additive in the production of a pizza of restaurant quality.

It is an object of the invention to provide a pizza topping comprising pizza sauce, cheese and other ingredients without the use of further gelling additives, while the cheese and the other ingredients may contain antioxidants and preservatives such as is known within the art. It is a further object of the invention to provide a suitable support bottom for the topping allowing cold pizza sauce to be applied to the support bottom without the pizza sauce running outwards, and that the support bottom and the topping may be separated without remnants of the topping left on the support bottom and without remnants of the support bottom left on the topping. It is a further object of the invention that the topping shall have sufficient mechanical strength not to break or fall to pieces when it is removed from an enclosing packaging and is placed on a provided pizza bottom.

The object is achieved by the features disclosed in the below description and in the following claims.

It has surprisingly turned out that a pizza topping of restaurant quality having sufficient mechanical strength, may be produced by utilising a per se known freezing technique. More particularly a support bottom having suitable surface properties is provided. Cold pizza sauce that has not been heated with the object of adding gelling additives is spread in a known way on the support bottom. By cold pizza sauce is meant a sauce having a temperature within the temperature range from 0 ⁰ C and to 15 ⁰ C, more preferably within the tempera- ture range from 1 ⁰ C and to 11 ⁰ C and even more preferably within the temperature range from 2 ⁰ C and to 10 ⁰ C and even more preferably within the temperature range from 4 ⁰ C and to 10 ⁰ C. The other ingredients in the topping such as cheese, vegetables and meat raw material are distributed over the sauce according to the chosen recipe without demands to the order of application for these ingredients being made. Thereafter the combined support bottom and the pizza topping is packaged in an enclosing packaging, for example of plastic in the form of sealed preformed basin packages, sealed basins formed in a so-called deep drawing operation or in a so- called flowpack. The support bottom, the pizza topping and the enclosing packaging is frozen in a known way in a freezer room or freezing tunnel so that the temperature is brought from cooling temperature, which may be ambient temperature, such as from 7 ⁰ C and to 15 ⁰ C, and to a freezing temperature which may be approx. -18 ⁰ C. The sealed atmosphere may be filled with air or a modified atmosphere. This causes the pizza topping to be protected against squeezing by the sealed packaging enclosing a cushion of gas. Thus the ready packaged toppings may be stacked on top of each other without the topping being damaged, which is advantageous for distribution. The pizza topping is distributed in an unbroken freezer chain to the location of use.

In production of pizza of restaurant quality, ready-formed, unbaked, frozen pizza bottoms of known type may be taken out beforehand, e.g. the day before its use. These are thawed and thereafter raised. After receiving an order from a customer a chosen pizza topping according to the invention is taken out from an upright freezer, a freezer or equivalent. The enclosing packaging is opened and the support bottom with the pizza topping is taken out of the packaging. The support bottom and the pizza topping are then separated and the pizza topping is placed on the finished raised pizza bottom. Thereby a complete pizza is provided and it is put in an oven and baked in a known way.

It has turned out to be decisive that the surface of the support bottom simultaneously exhibits good attachment proper-o ties and good slip properties. When the pizza sauce is applied to the support bottom then the surface of the support bottom, which is in contact with the pizza sauce, should exhibit the property that the sauce does not flow further outwards. When the pizza sauce and the rest of the topping ares frozen, the support bottom surface in contact with the pizza sauce should not come loose from the pizza sauce. This might cause the pizza topping to move inside the enclosing packaging during transport and thus be damaged. When the support bottom and the pizza topping are separated this shall takeo place without material from the pizza topping sticking to the support bottom and without material from the support bottom sticking to the pizza topping. The support bottom must further let go so easily that the pizza topping does not break, and so quickly that the pizza topping does not start thawing.5 The support bottom may be coated with a surface material showing the desired attachment slip properties. In an alternative embodiment the support bottom as a whole may be made of such a material . The support bottom may for example be made of a plastic material, of a metal, of cardboard or papero or of maize starch. The support bottom may for example be coated with a plastic material such as polyethylene (PE) , polypropylene (PP) , polyethylene terephthalate (PET) , polybu- tylene terephthalate (PBT), a metal foil, a silicon contain- ing material, Teflon or a fatty material such as a wax, oil or a lard. Tests have shown that polyethylene is satisfactory but somewhat less suitable, while polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate are particularly suitable.

Good results have been obtained when the pizza sauce has a temperature of between 4 and 10 ⁰ C. The temperature may be both above and below this temperature range. If however the temperature is too low, the consistency of the pizza sauce may be too thick making it difficult to spread the sauce on the support bottom. At too high temperatures the danger of bacterial growth in the pizza sauce increases. This may involve that too high bacterial content is measured at routine checking of products and in the process line relative to the set hygiene requirements.

Advantageously the support bottom is relatively form stable as this eases removal of the enclosing packaging without the topping getting broken. Alternatively the support bottom may be flexible.

In an alternative embodiment the support bottom and the pizza topping are frozen in a manner known per se in a freezer store or a freezer tunnel before packaging in such as an enclosing plastic packaging. In a further alternative embodiment the support bottom and the frozen pizza topping are separated after freezing but before the pizza topping is packed in a suitable enclosing packaging, such as a plastic packaging .

In a first aspect the invention relates to a support bottom for a frozen pizza topping arranged to be able to be placed on a provided pizza bottom and the pizza topping comprises a pizza sauce; the support bottom is provided with an attachment slip material or is constituted by an attachment slip material, and the support bottom is arranged to be able to be separated from the frozen pizza topping and the pizza sauce is constituted by a pizza sauce free of gelling matter, i.e. a pizza sauce which does not contain added gelling additives. 5 The pizza sauce may further be covered partly or wholly by other pizza ingredients.

The support bottom attachment slip material may be chosen from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, sili-o con, Teflon, metal foil, plastic covered metal foil, wax, oil or lard. The attachment slip material may have the property that the support bottom is easily separated from the pizza sauce without remnants from the support bottom coming with the pizza sauce. In an alternative embodiment the whole ofs the support bottom may be constituted of a material consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, silicon, Teflon, metal or maize starch.

Advantageously the support bottom may exhibit a flexible edgeo portion as this eases the work of separating the pizza sauce and appurtenant ingredients from the support bottom. In an alternative embodiment the whole of the support bottom may be flexible .

In a second aspect the invention relates to a method in pro-5 duction of a pizza topping arranged to be able to be placed on a provided pizza bottom, where the pizza topping comprises a pizza sauce free of gelling matter, where the pizza sauce free of gelling matter exhibits a temperature from 2 ⁰ C and to 10 ⁰ C; where the pizza sauce is spread directly on a sup-o port bottom; pizza topping ingredients are spread over the pizza sauce; and the support bottom, the pizza sauce and the pizza ingredients are frozen. The pizza topping ingredients may be chosen from the group consisting of cheese, meat raw materials, vegetables, fruit or mushrooms.

In an embodiment the support bottom may be coated with an attachment slip material. The attachment slip material may be chosen from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, silicon, Teflon, metal foil, plastic covered metal foil, wax, oil or lard. In an alternative embodiment the whole of the support bottom may be constituted of a material consisting of polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, silicon, Teflon, metal or maize starch.

In a third aspect the invention relates to the use of a frozen pizza sauce free of gelling matter, where the pizza sauce is coated on the surface of a support bottom provided with an attachment slip material and the pizza sauce forms a basis for a pizza topping arranged to be able to be laid on a ready-raised pizza bottom. This has the advantage that a pure pizza sauce without gelling additives may be used to produce a basis for a pizza topping of restaurant quality.

In the following is described an example of a preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of a support bottom carrying a pizza sauce and pizza ingredients; and

Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of a support bottom having an attachment slip coating carrying a pizza sauce and pizza ingredients.

Example 1

A pizza topping (1) according to the invention was produced in a production line of in that respect known type for pro- duction of frozen pizza, e.g. such as supplied by Quantum Topping Systems. The pizza topping (1) had a diameter of approx. 35 cm, adapted to be placed on a ready-raised pizza bottom having a diameter of approx. 40 cm. The production line is in temperature-controlled premises where the minimum temperature is set to 7 ⁰ C, the maximum temperature is set to 15 ⁰ C, and the average temperature is 11 ⁰ C.

As support bottom (2) was used a circular cardboard having a diameter of 36 cm and a thickness of 0.5 mm. The support bottom (2) was coated with an attachment slip material (21) con- stituted by polyethylene terephthalate (PET) . The support bottom (2) was placed on the conveyor belt in the same place as half-baked pizza bottoms are placed when the production line is arranged to produce frozen pizza of known type. The support bottom (2) first passed the station for applying cold pizza sauce (3) of in that respect known type. The pizza sauce is kept in a in that respect known container wherein the temperature is held within 4 - 10 ⁰ C. Opened packaging containing pizza sauce is kept at 4 ⁰ C. The pizza sauce (3) was coated in a known way on the support bottom (2) in that the pizza sauce (3) was supplied through a circular "shower" . Thereby a circular area with pizza sauce (3) having a diameter of 35 cm was formed on the support bottom (2) . The attachment slip material (21) of PET on the support bottom (2) has the desired property that the pizza sauce does not run further outwards. The support bottom (2) with pizza sauce (3) was carried on by the conveyor belt and passed the next stations for applying the rest of the ingredients (4) in the pizza topping (1) , such as cheese, meat raw material and vegetables. This was done in so-called waterfall applicators of known type. Pizza topping ingredients (4) being sprinkled on to the support bottom (2) outside the area of pizza sauce (3) , fell off the support bottom (2) by themselves by the vibrations occurring on the conveyor belt. Thus the support bottom was provided with a ready pizza topping (1) with clean edges and having a diameter of approx. 35 cm as the support bottom (2) arrived at the end of the production line. Thereafter the support bottom (2) with pizza sauce (3) and pizza topping ingredients (4) went through weight control and was packaged in sealed basins formed by deep drawing. The support bottom (2) , pizza sauce (3) and pizza ingredients (4) and packaging was finally frozen to -18 ⁰ C in a freezer chamber.

Packaging containing support bottom (2) and pizza topping (1) produced as described above, was taken out of an upright freezer. The pizza topping (1) was well attached to the support bottom (2) and rested stably on the support bottom (2) inside the packaging. The packaging was opened and the support bottom (2) with the pizza topping (1) was taken out of the packaging. The pizza topping (1) and the support bottom (2) was easily separated without the pizza topping (1) going to pieces and without the ingredients coming loose and falling off and without the pizza sauce (3) starting to melt. The disk-shaped pizza topping (1) was put on top of a ready raised pizza bottom. The pizza was baked in the normal way. The completed pizza was of restaurant quality and the cheese exhibited good string-pulling properties.

The person skilled in the art will know that pizza toppings (1) of different diameters may be produced according to the invention. The pizza topping (1) is neither limited to a circular shape as other geometrical shapes may be produced by applying the pizza sauce (3) on the support bottom (2) in the desired geometrical shape.