DESCRIPTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an egg-based snack food combined with various fillings and wrapped in puff pastry. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are countless known types of snacks in the food sector which can be prepared with various sweet or savoury ingredients. However, there are not widespread egg-based snacks in the food sector with whole, intact eggs in which the eggs maintain their colouration, the shape of a whole, intact egg and the typical consistency of an egg which has just been cooked even after the subsequent baking of the puff pastry in which it is inserted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a savoury whole, intact egg based snack and a method for its preparation wherein a whole, intact, pre-cooked or raw, flash-frozen egg is inserted inside puff pastry, with or without further filling, and subsequently subjected to further flash-freezing and subsequent baking to complete the preparation of the snack.

The process for the preparation of a savoury whole, intact egg based snack is characterised in that it comprises two steps of flash-freezing a semi-finished product to a temperature equal to or less than -35 °C, preferably less than or equal to -40 °C. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 shows the two sides of a whole, intact egg after cooking it with a filling of ham and cheese; Figure 2 shows a savoury whole, intact egg based snack after the cooking of the semi-finished product;

Figure 3 shows a savoury whole, intact egg based snack after cooking the semi-finished product, cut in two to show the contents inside the snack, where the egg maintains its whole, intact form and has the consistency of a medium-boiled egg.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

"Whole, intact egg" is intended as an egg that has not been beaten, wherein the yolk and the albumen have not been mixed together but are kept distinctly separate and intact.

The term "pre-cooking" is intended, for the purposes of the present invention, as a partial cooking process of the egg that leads to obtaining a "pre-cooked" egg.

The term "pre-cooked" egg is intended as a partially-cooked egg which is obtained as a result of the pre-cooking process above, also indicated, for the purposes of the present invention, as a "semi-cooked" egg.

The term "soft-boiled egg" is intended as an egg wherein the albumen is slightly solid while the yolk remains creamy.

The term "medium-boiled egg" is intended as an egg that preserves a soft yolk while at the same time having an albumen with a consistency that is denser and more similar to that of a hard-boiled egg. A medium-boiled egg is therefore characterised by a yolk that is only partially coagulated in the outermost layer adjacent to the albumen, but which is maintained semi- liquid in its innermost central part, i.e. an egg with a yolk having a consistency that is between medium runny and almost firm.

According to the invention, the process for preparing a whole, intact egg based semi-finished product comprises the following steps:

a) subjecting a raw or pre-cooked whole, intact egg, possibly filled with a savoury filling, to a flash-freezing step for a period of time no less than 60 minutes, preferably comprised between 220 and 260 minutes at a temperature equal to or lower than -35 °C;

b) wrapping the whole, intact egg and the optional filling in two or more sheets of puff pastry, thereby obtaining a whole, intact egg based semi- finished product;

c) subjecting the semi-finished product to a flash-freezing step for a period of time comprised between 40 and 70 minutes and at a temperature equal to or lower than -35 °C.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the step a) is preceded by a pre- cooking step (i), thus obtaining a semi-cooked egg.

In one embodiment of the invention, the pre-cooking step (i) is a step (ia) wherein a raw, intact, whole egg is pre-cooked for a period of time comprised between 8 and 12 minutes at a temperature comprised between 160 and 200°C.

The pre-cooking step (ia) requires that a raw, whole, intact egg is inserted into a suitable mould, preferably a silicone mould, after breaking and removing its shell. The shape of the mould can be round, square or any other shape which is interesting from an aesthetic point of view. The egg inserted inside the mould maintains the initial shape of a whole, intact egg. The pre-cooking of the egg is preferably carried out in an oven or with another system of uniform heating. The cooking time is preferably comprised between 9 and 1 1 minutes. The cooking temperature is preferably comprised between 170 and 190 °C.

Alternatively, the pre-cooking step (i) can be a step (ib) which comprises subjecting a raw, whole, intact egg with its shell to pre-cooking for a time comprised between 15 and 40 minutes, preferably between 20 and 35 minutes, at a temperature comprised between 60 and 70 °C and cooling said egg through immersion in cold water until it reaches room temperature in order to stop the coagulation of the proteins of the egg, thus avoiding that the egg will continue to cook, and subsequently removing the shell from the egg while maintaining the whole, intact form of the semi-cooked egg therein.

In a preferred embodiment of step (ib), once the egg has been shelled, the whole, intact, semi-cooked egg is placed into a silicone mould after the removal of any part of the liquid albumen which may not have thickened. The shape of the mould can be round, square or any other shape which is interesting from an aesthetic point of view. The egg inserted inside the mould maintains the initial shape of a whole, intact egg.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the step a) is preceded by a step (ii) wherein a savoury filling is added to the whole, intact raw egg or whole, intact semi-cooked egg according to step (ia) or (ib).

The filling that can optionally be added is inserted directly into the mould once the egg has been cooked. The filling is preferably a meat or vegetable sauce, cheese and vegetables (e.g., spinach and ricotta), cooked ham and cheese, bacon and cheese (e.g., bacon and Cheddar). Other fillings within the reach of a person skilled in the art are also possible.

The flash-freezing step a) is preferably carried out at a temperature equal to or lower than -40 °C. The flash-freezing time is no lower than 60 minutes, preferably comprised between 230 and 250 minutes. Preferably the temperature is comprised between -35 and -40 °C.

The flash-frozen whole, intact egg and the optional filling are wrapped in two or more sheets of puff pastry, which are cut into the desired shape that can be spherical, square or another shape of aesthetic interest and closed on the open sides.

Before it is wrapped in two or more sheets of puff pastry according to step b), in the embodiment wherein the flash-freezing step a) is preceded by the pre-cooking step (ia) or (ib), the whole, intact semi-cooked egg thus obtained, which can optionally have a savoury filling added to it (step (ii)), has the consistency of a soft-boiled egg. The flash-freezing step c) is preferably carried out for a time comprised between 50 and 65 minutes. The flash-freezing temperature is preferably equal to or lower than -40 °C. The temperature is preferably comprised between -35 and -40 °C.

The two flash-freezing steps a) and c) make it possible to preserve the consistency, colour and the whole, intact form of the egg even after the subsequent cooking of the semi-finished product. In particular, the second flash-freezing (step c)) has the purpose of bringing the two or more sheets of puff pastry to the same temperature as the egg and any filling (already flash-frozen in step a)), around which it was wrapped in step b), thus not only making it possible to preserve the consistency, colour and shape of the whole, intact egg, but also making it possible to obtain a product with a uniform appearance, even after the subsequent cooking of the semifinished product.

In the embodiment wherein step a) is preceded by a step (ia) or (ib) wherein a whole, intact raw egg is subjected to pre-cooking, the flash- freezing steps a) and c) make it even further possible to stop the cooking of the egg, not only making it possible to preserve the colour and shape of the initial whole, intact egg, but also making it possible to obtain the desired consistency of a medium-boiled egg, thus avoiding obtaining a hard-boiled egg (see Figure 3).

The semi-finished product thus obtained is packaged and can be stored for more than 4 months in the freezer, preferably for more than 6 months, preferably at a temperature of -20 °C.

The invention also relates to a process for preparing a savoury whole, intact egg based snack, comprising a step d) of cooking the semi-finished product obtained in step c) for a period of time comprised between 16 and 30 minutes, preferably between 20 and 25 minutes, at a temperature comprised between 150 and 210 °C, preferably between 180 and 200 °C. The semi-finished product obtained as a result of step c) can optionally be brushed with egg yolk before the subsequent cooking step d). Preferably, the semi-finished product is cooked by inserting it in an oven without any prior defrosting.

The consistency of the egg inside the semi-finished product after the cooking step d), whether in the embodiment wherein the flash-freezing phase a) is preceded by the pre-cooking step (ia) or (ib) or not, is that of a medium-boiled egg as shown in Figure 3.

The invention also relates to a savoury whole, intact, egg based semifinished product that can be obtained with the process described above (steps a) - c)) and an egg-based savoury snack which can be obtained after cooking the semi-finished product.

The whole, intact, egg based semi-finished product can have a round shape, square shape or other shape which is interesting from the aesthetic point of view for the consumer.

The semi-finished product comprises two or more sheets of puff pastry closed on the sides with a whole, intact egg and any optional savoury filling inside as described above.

EXAMPLE 1

A whole, intact, fresh egg weighing between about 56 and 67 g is shelled and placed into a silicone mould. The whole, intact egg is transferred into an oven and baked for 8 minutes at 170 °C. When the cooking is finished, a filling of cooked ham and Edamar cheese (13 g each) is added to the whole, intact egg.

The assembled ingredients pass to the flash-freezing step of lowering their temperature by bringing the food from the pre-cooking temperature of about 170 °C to a temperature of - 40 °C in about 200 minutes.

At the end of the flash-freezing cycle the whole, intact egg combined with the other ingredients is removed from the silicone moulds.

The flash-frozen product is wrapped in two sheets of puff pastry (35 g each) trimmed with a pastry cutter to give it a circular or rectangular shape; the step of trimming a rectangular shape reduces the weight of the puff pastry between 6 and 1 1 %.

The semi-finished product thus obtained is flash-frozen to a temperature of - 40 °C for 50 minutes (this flash-freezing process requires less time because it starts with the filling having an already-lowered temperature and the 50 minutes are needed to bring the puff pastry to the same temperature as the other ingredients).

The flash-frozen semi-finished product is packaged and stored in negative cells at - 20 °C; the duration of conservation is up to 4 months.

Directly from a temperature of - 20 °C, the flash-frozen semi-finished product is brushed with egg yolk and then baked in an oven for 19 minutes at 180 °C.

EXAMPLE 2

A fresh, whole, intact egg weighing between about 56 and 67 g, with its shell, is cooked at a low temperature (65 °C) for 31 minutes. Subsequently, the whole, intact, semi-cooked egg including its shell is cooled through immersion in cold water until it reaches room temperature. The egg is then shelled, and placed in a silicone mould after removing the part of any liquid albumen which may not have thickened.

A filling of cooked ham and cheese Edamer (13 g each) is then added to the whole, intact, semi-cooked egg.

The assembled ingredients pass to the flash-freezing step to lower the temperature, wherein the food is brought from room temperature to a temperature of - 35 °C in a time period of no less than 60 minutes.

At the end of the flash-freezing cycle the whole, intact egg combined with the other ingredients is removed from the silicone moulds.

The flash-frozen product is wrapped in two sheets of puff pastry (35 g each) trimmed with a pastry cutter to give it a circular or rectangular shape; the step of trimming a rectangular shape reduces the weight of the puff pastry between 6 and 1 1 %. The semi-finished product thus obtained is flash-frozen to a temperature of - 40 °C for 50 minutes (this flash-freezing process requires less time because it starts with the filling having an already-lowered temperature and the 50 minutes are needed to bring the puff pastry to the same temperature as the other ingredients).

The flash-frozen semi-finished product is packaged and stored in negative cells at - 20 °C; the duration of conservation is up to 4 months.

Directly from a temperature of - 20 °C, the flash-frozen semi-finished product is brushed with egg yolk and then baked in an oven for 19 minutes at 180 °C.