Flowable Filling Particulate Food with Chocolate Coating
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing particulate food components for dairy products, such as yoghurt or curd cheese, typically have solid fillings that do not provide a flowable or 'surprising' sensory experience, and their coatings lack the desired combination of flavor and texture variations.
Innovation Solution
A particulate food component with a flowable filling, such as fruit preparations or cocoa, coated with a layer of food-grade cocoa or chocolate products, and optionally flavored and colored fats, creating a firm yet attractive sensory impression, is developed. The filling is flowable at room temperature and has a viscosity of 0.1 Pa.s to 100 Pa.s, and the coating can consist of a single or multiple layers, ensuring the component is aseptic and free of yeast or mold.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If solid fruit purees or gelatinous fillings are used in particulate food components, then the structural stability is improved, but the sensory experience is reduced to lack of flowability and surprise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the filling from solid/gelatinous to flowable at room temperature. The filling is designed to have a viscosity that allows it to flow and deform under pressure, creating a surprising sensory experience while maintaining structural integrity through the coating and controlled viscosity parameters
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure combining a flowable filling material (fruit preparation, honey, cocoa, etc.) with a firm coating layer (chocolate, fat-containing materials). This composite allows the filling to provide flowable sensory experience while the coating maintains structural stability and prevents collapse
2Ease of operation
If flowable fillings are used to enhance sensory experience, then the taste and texture appeal is improved, but the risk of leakage and loss of structural form increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a coating layer (shell) made of chocolate products, fat-containing materials, or other suitable materials that provides a flexible yet firm enclosure. This shell is thick enough to contain the flowable filling and maintain structural form, yet flexible enough to allow the filling to flow and deform under pressure, creating the desired sensory experience
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure combining a flowable filling material with a firm coating layer. The coating layer acts as a containment structure that prevents leakage while allowing the filling to maintain its flowable properties. The composite design ensures both structural integrity and sensory appeal
3Ease of operation
If multiple coating layers are applied to enhance flavor and texture, then the sensory appeal is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the coating into functional layers: an inner coating layer (optional) made of chocolate products or fat-containing materials for flavor and texture, and an outer coating layer made of similar materials providing the final appearance and protective function. This segmentation allows each layer to serve specific sensory purposes while maintaining manageable manufacturing complexity
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a particulate food constituent comprising a filling and a coating, characterised in that the filling is a food preparation which is free-flowing at room temperature and selected from the group consisting of fruit preparations, other preparations and mixtures thereof, and in that the coating consists of a layer composed of a constituent selected from the group of suitable cocoa products, chocolate products, and hydrophobic food ingredients, especially optionally aromatised and/or dyed food-grade fats or fatty materials that have a minimum fat content of 80 %, or mixtures thereof. The average particle diameter of the food constituent is between 6 and 18 mm, preferably between 8 and 11 mm.