Isothermal preparation of chocolate products

Abstract

Chocolate products are formed by feeding solid set chocolate to an extruder and passing the chocolate through the extruder at a temperature below the pour point of the chocolate to deform and extrude the chocolate.

I claim: 
     
       1. A process for forming chocolate products comprising feeding solid set chocolate into an extruder having a zone of convergence and an extrusion die outlet and passing the chocolate under pressure and at a temperature below its pour point temperature through the extruder .Iadd.and .Iaddend.to and through the zone of convergence and the outlet to .Iadd.thereby .Iaddend.deform, plasticize and extrude a .Iadd.non-pourable, flexible, .Iaddend.plasticized chocolate extrudate from the outlet .[.so that the chocolate deformed, plasticized and extruded.]. .Iadd.and controlling the temperature, extrusion pressure and extrusion rate to form a plasticized extrudate that .Iaddend.has a temperature below the pour point temperature of the set chocolate .[.and.]. so that, at a temperature which approximates the temperature of the extrudate upon issuance from the outlet, the extrudate maintains plasticity for from 5 minutes up to 4 hours prior to hardening. 
     
     
       2. A process according to claim 1 wherein the chocolate is plain chocolate. 
     
     
       3. A process according to claim 2 wherein the plain chocolate is passed through the extruder and extruded at a temperature of from about 20° C. to about 27° C. 
     
     
       4. A process according to claim 1 wherein the chocolate is milk chocolate. 
     
     
       5. A process according to claim 4 wherein the milk chocolate is passed through the extruder and extruded at a temperature of from about 18° C. to about 26° C. 
     
     
       6. A process according to claim 1 wherein the chocolate is extruded under a pressure of from about 1 bar to about 1000 bar and at a rate of from about 0.1 cm/sec to about 1 m/sec. 
     
     
       7. A process according to claim 1 wherein the zone of convergence has a convergence ratio of at least 1.5. 
     
     
       8. A process according to claim 1 wherein the solid set chocolate fed to the extruder is in a granulated form. 
     
     
       9. A process according to claim 1 wherein the solid set chocolate fed to the extruder is in a form of buttons. 
     
     
       10. A process according to claim 1 wherein the chocolate is passed through the extruder without heating the extruder to heat the chocolate and without cooling the extruder to cool the chocolate. 
     
     
       11. A process according to claim 1 further comprising heating the solid set chocolate to a temperature below its pour point temperature and feeding the heated chocolate to the extruder and heating the extruder to a temperature below the pour point temperature of the chocolate. 
     
     
       12. A process according to claim 1 further comprising bending the extrudate prior to hardening of the extrudate to alter the extrudate shape. 
     
     
       13. A process for forming chocolate products comprising feeding solid set chocolate into an extruder having a zone of convergence and an extrusion die outlet and passing the chocolate under pressure through the extruder to and through the zone of convergence and the outlet at a temperature below its pour point temperature to deform, plasticize and extrude a flow of plasticized chocolate from the outlet so that the chocolate deformed, plasticized and extruded has a temperature below the pour point temperature of the chocolate, and at a temperature below the pour point temperature of the set chocolate, separating the chocolate flow to a plurality of separate flows, reducing a cross-section size of each separate flow to obtain flows having reduced cross-section, passing each reduced cross-section flow into a separate mold, filling each mold and then, releasing each filled mold from extrusion pressure. 
     
     
       14. A process according to claim 13 wherein the chocolate is plain chocolate. 
     
     
       15. A process according to claim 14 wherein the plain chocolate is passed through the extruder and extruded at a temperature of from about 20° C. to about 27° C. 
     
     
       16. A process according to claim 13 wherein the chocolate is milk chocolate. 
     
     
       17. A process according to claim 16 wherein the milk chocolate is passed through the extruder and extruded at a temperature of from about 18° C. to about 26° C. 
     
     
       18. A process according to claims 13 wherein the chocolate is extruded under a pressure of from about 1 bar to about 1000 bar and at a rate of from about 0.1 cm/sec to about 1 m/sec. 
     
     
       19. A process according to claim 13 wherein the zone of convergence has a convergence ratio of at least 1.5. 
     
     
       20. A process according to claim 13 wherein the solid set chocolate fed to the extruder is in a granulated form. 
     
     
       21. A process according to claim 13 wherein the solid set chocolate fed to the extruder is in a form of buttons. 
     
     
       22. A process according to claim 13 wherein the chocolate is passed through the extruder without heating the extruder to heat the chocolate and without cooling the extruder to cool the chocolate. 
     
     
       23. A process according to claim 13 further comprising heating the solid set chocolate to a temperature in a range below its pour point temperature and feeding the heated chocolate to the extruder and further comprising heating the extruder to a temperature below the pour point temperature of the chocolate. 
     
     
       24. A process according to claim 13 wherein the reduced cross-section flow has a cross-section size of from 100μ to 500μ. .Iadd. 
     
     
       25.  A process for forming a chocolate product which comprises: heating solid set chocolate to a temperature below its pour point temperature;   feeding the heated chocolate into an extruder having a zone of convergence and an extrusion die outlet;   heating the extruder to a temperature below the pour point temperature of the chocolate; and   passing the chocolate under pressure and at a temperature below its pour point temperature through the extruder and to and through the zone of convergence and the outlet to thereby deform, plasticize and extrude a non-pourable, flexible, plasticized chocolate extrudate from the outlet, the extrudate having a predetermined form, a temperature substantially the same as the temperature of the chocolate prior to extrusion and a plasticity at a temperature which approximates the temperature of the extrudate upon issuance from the outlet, which plasticity is maintained prior to hardening for a period of time sufficient to allow the form of the extrudate to be changed or modified to form the chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.26. A process for forming a chocolate product which comprises:   feeding solid chocolate into an extruder having a zone of convergence and an extrusion die outlet; and   passing the chocolate under pressure and at a temperature below its pour point temperature through the extruder and to and through the zone of convergence and the outlet to thereby deform, plasticize and extrude a non-pourable, flexible, plasticized chocolate extrudate from the outlet, the extrudate having a predetermined form, a temperature substantially the same as the temperature of the chocolate prior to extrusion and a plasticity at a temperature which approximates the temperature of the extrudate upon issuance from the outlet, which plasticity is maintained prior to hardening for a period of time sufficient to allow the form of the extrudate to be changed or modified to form the chocolate product;   positioning a confectionery center in a mold;   directing the extrudate into the mold until the mold is filled to allow full consolidation of the chocolate to occur, thus coating the center as the extrudate fills the mold; and   
     
     
       opening the mold to obtain the chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.27.  A process for forming a chocolate product which comprises: feeding solid chocolate into an extruder having a zone of convergence and an extrusion die outlet;   passing the chocolate under pressure and at a temperature below its pour point temperature through the extruder and to and through the zone of convergence and the outlet to thereby deform, plasticize and extrude a non-pourable, flexible, plasticized chocolate extrudate from the outlet, the extrudate having a predetermined form, a temperature substantially the same as the temperature of the chocolate prior to extrusion and a plasticity at a temperature which approximates the temperature of the extrudate upon issuance from the outlet, which plasticity is maintained prior to hardening for a period of time sufficient to allow the form of the extrudate to be changed or modified to form the chocolate product; and   coextruding the plasticized chocolate extrudate with another food material to form the chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.28. The process of claim 27, which further comprises coextruding the plasticized chocolate extrudate with a fondant to form the chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.29. The process of claim 27, which further comprises coextruding the plasticized chocolate extrudate with ice cream to form the chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.30. A process for forming a chocolate product which comprises:   feeding solid chocolate into an extruder having a zone of convergence and an extrusion die outlet;   passing the chocolate under pressure and at a temperature below its pour point temperature through the extruder and to and through the zone of convergence and the outlet to thereby deform, plasticize and extrude a non-pourable, flexible, plasticized chocolate extrudate from the outlet, and   controlling the temperature, extrusion pressure and extrusion rate to form a plasticized extrudate having a predetermined form, a temperature substantially the same as the temperature of the chocolate prior to extrusion and a plasticity at a temperature which approximates the temperature of the extrudate upon issuance from the outlet, which plasticity is maintained prior to hardening for a period of time sufficient to allow the form of the extrudate to be changed or modified to   
     
     
        form the chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.31.  The process of claim 30, which further comprises physically manipulating or deforming the form of the extrudate into a chocolate product having a form which is different from that of the extrudate prior to hardening..Iaddend..Iadd.32. The process of claim 31, wherein the plasticized extrudate is bent or tied into knots to provide a complex from for the chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.33. The process of claim 30, wherein the extrusion die outlet is integrated with a mold so that the plasticized extrudate is injection molded at substantially the same temperature as the chocolate to provide a complex form for the chocolate product. .Iadd.34. The process of claim 30, wherein the plasticized extrudate is injection molded through a gate having a cross-section size of from 100 μm to 500 μm to form a flexible filament of semi-solid chocolate..Iaddend..Iadd.35. The process of claim 34, which further comprises directing the plasticized filament of semi-solid chocolate into a mold until the mold is filled to allow full consolidation of the chocolate to occur; releasing the extrusion pressure; and then opening the mold to obtain the chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.36. The process of claim 30, wherein the plasticized extrudate maintains its flexibility for from 5 minutes to 4 hours..Iaddend..Iadd.37. The process of claim 30, which is substantially isothermal, and the extrusion is conducted through a zone of convergence having a convergence ratio of at least 1.5 at a temperature of 10° C. to 35° C. under a pressure of 1 to 1000 bar and at an extrusion rate of from about 0.1 cm/sec to 1 m/s..Iaddend..Iadd.38. The process of claim 30, wherein the chocolate fed to the extruder is in the form of buttons, and the chocolate is passed through the extruder without heating the extruder to heat the chocolate and without cooling the extruder to cool the chocolate..Iaddend..Iadd.39. The process of claim 30, wherein the extruder has a zone of convergence with a contraction ratio of greater than 1.5; and which further comprises applying pressure to the chocolate upstream of the zone of convergence and extrusion die outlet at a temperature of from 0 to 35° C. and a pressure of from 1 to 1000 bars; and extruding the chocolate through the extrusion die outlet at an extrusion rate of greater than 0.1 cm/s..Iaddend..Iadd.40. The process of claim 39, wherein the extrusion die outlet is integrated with a mold so that the extruded material is injection molded into a complex form prior to hardening..Iaddend..Iadd.41. The process of claim 39, which further comprises coextruding the chocolate with another food material to form a chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.42. The process of claim 39, which further comprises coextruding the chocolate with a fondant to form a chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.43. The process of claim 38, which further comprises coextruding the chocolate with ice cream to form a chocolate product..Iaddend..Iadd.44. A process for forming a chocolate product which comprises: feeding a liquid, pourable paste, or semi-solid form of a fat-containing confectionery material into an extruder having a zone of convergence and an extrusion die outlet;   cooling the material to a set form so as to form a non-pourable material; and   passing the non-pourable material under pressure and at a temperature below its pour point temperature through the extruder and to and through the zone of convergence and the outlet to thereby deform, plasticize and extrude a non-pourable, flexible, plasticized chocolate extrudate from the outlet, and   controlling the temperature, extrusion pressure and extrusion rate to form a plasticized extrudate having a predetermined form, a temperature substantially the same as the temperature of the chocolate prior to extrusion and a plasticity at a temperature which approximates the temperature of the extrudate upon issuance from the outlet, which plasticity is maintained prior to hardening for a period of time sufficient to allow the form of the extrudate to be changed or modified to form the chocolate product..Iaddend.