Encased Snack

Abstract

The invention is directed to a process for the preparation of an encased snack comprising in this order the steps of (1) providing crumb material, (2) forming the crumb material under pressure to produce a shell, (3) introducing a filling into the shell, (4) forming a cover of crumb material on the filling in the shell under pressure, and (5) optionally baking the thus formed assembly. The invention is also directed to the encased snack obtainable by the process and to a mould comprising a lower die and first and second upper dies for use in the process.

1 . A process for the preparation of an encased snack comprising in this order the steps of
 1) providing a crumb material,   2) forming the crumb material under pressure to produce a shell,   3) introducing a filling into the shell,   4) forming a cover of the crumb material on the filling in the shell under pressure, and   5) optionally baking the thus formed assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the crumb material is shredded baked dough material, breadstuff, cereal-based material, deficient waste material from snack production, cheese-based material, meat-based material, soy protein-based material, tofu-based material, or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The process according to  claim 2 , wherein the crumb material contains a food grade binder. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 3 , wherein the food grade binder is a pre-gelatinized starch. 
     
     
         5 . The process according to  claim 2 , wherein the filling is chocolate, fruit, dairy products, vegetables, cereals, meat-based material, vegetable-based materials, vegetable-based fat, protein spreads, or mixture thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The process according to any  claim 2  wherein the thus formed assembly is baked using infrared radiation. 
     
     
         7 . An encased snack obtainable by the process according to  claim 5 . 
     
     
         8 . The encased snack according to  claim 7  comprising 10 wt % or more of filling, based on the weight of the snack. 
     
     
         9 . The encased snack according to  claim 8 , wherein the crumb material and the filling both have water activities of 0.60 or more. 
     
     
         10 . The encased snack according to  claim 8 , wherein the crumb material contains a food grade binder. 
     
     
         11 . The encased snack according to  claim 10 , wherein the food grade binder is a pre-gelatinized starch. 
     
     
         12 . A process for the preparation of an encased snack, said method comprising
 1) providing a crumb material,   2) forming the crumb material under pressure using a first mould to produce a shell having a wall thickness,   3) introducing a filling into the shell,   4) forming a cover of the crumb material on the filling in the shell under pressure using a second mould to form an unbaked encased snack, and   5) baking the unbaked encased snack to obtain the encased snack;   wherein the first mould comprises a lower die and a first upper die and the second mould comprises the lower die and a second upper die.   
     
     
         13 . The process according to  claim 12 , wherein the first upper die has a top rim which is conical with an inversely angle α. 
     
     
         14 . The process according to  claim 13 , wherein the inversely angle α is about 45° to about 60°. 
     
     
         15 . The process according to  claim 13 , wherein the second upper die has an exposed rim with a width that is approximately equal to the wall thickness of the shell. 
     
     
         16 . The process according to  claim 14 , wherein the second upper die has an exposed rim with a width that is approximately equal to the wall thickness of the shell.