Method and apparatus for making commercial crustless sandwiches and the crustless sandwich made thereby

Abstract

A method of making a crustless sandwich from two slices of bread with outer crusts, the method comprising: placing a first slice of bread on a platen; forming a mass of a first food spread onto the central portion of the first slice of bread in a position spaced inwardly from a marginal area where the mass is formed with an inner lower layer with an outer rim extending upwardly from the lower layer to define a closed pocket or receptacle recess in the mass; placing a second food spread in the receptacle recess; closing the receptacle recess with a layer of the first food spread generally coextensive with the mass and supported on the outer rim of the mass to encapsulate the second food spread into a center composite food layer; placing a second slice of bread over the first slice to cover the center composite food layer; cutting the bread slices in unison in a cut pattern to remove the crusts of the slices; and, pressing the two bread slices together by force through the slices against a pressure surface on the platen to crimp the slices into a crustless sandwich.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to the art of mass producing crustless sandwiches using thin slices of standard baked bread having a crusted outer periphery.INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE[0002] In recent years a tremendous volume of crustless sandwiches have been mass produced for retail distribution using a technique disclosed in Kretchman 6,004,596. The concept involves an encapsulated center deposited food layer surrounded by bread pieces cut from standard baked white bread. After the pieces have been cut with matching shapes from separate bread slices, they are crimped together at their outer edges so the crimped area is spaced from the center composite food layer. This produces a bread-to-bread sealed joint around the composite food layer. The technology disclosed in Kretchman has resulted in a commercially successful peanut butter and jelly sandwich ideally directed toward consumption as snacks by children and busy adults. Since the present invention relates to an improvement...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming the center filling of a sandwich, such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made under the strict constraints of the technology necessary for making successful crustless sandwiches that have a high quality peripheral seal. The proportion of jelly to peanut butter is not limited by the process. The tendency of jelly to leach from the center filling is eliminated. Consequently, the invention is to a method and apparatus that allows mass production of a crustless sandwich having a composite center filling, wherein the center filling does not drastically decrease or affect the appearance of the product during long term storage required in retail distribution.

Problems solved by technology

Thus, contact of the jelly with the bread would have serious implications for long storage of the product as necessary for hermetically sealed sandwiches stored in freezers and / or on shelves.

Consequently, the amount of jelly was limited.

This does not necessarily give the optimum proportion.

Such seepage as experienced in the past could adversely affect certain portions of the crimped periphery.

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