Process for decreasing the discolouration of vegetables

The present invention is directed to a process which includes the steps of forming a mixture by submerging a vegetable food product in an amount of water sufficient to cover the food product; degassing the mixture for a time and amount of pressure sufficient to remove gases from tissues of the vegetative food product and fill intercellular spaces of tissues with water; flushing the degassed mixture with an inert gas for a time sufficient to re-establish a pressure that is substantially atmospheric; draining water from the mixture to obtain the vegetative food product; and freezing the resultant vegetative food product for storage until use, wherein discolouration of the vegetative food product is decreased compared to vegetative food products that are not treated by this process. This process minimises the availability of oxygen in tissue of the vegetative food product while protecting the colour and texture of the product by avoiding mechanical or thermal stresses on the product

Quality sentries: some trends in chocolate manufacturing

In-line control elements are an increasing development in the pursuit of efficient processes in a wide range of manufacturing sectors. Advances in sensor technology and computing power are now providing instruments which can greatly improve the efficiency and accuracy of manufacturing, and at a cost which is moderate in comparison with other costs, such as raw material prices and fuel costs. In the food sector, there are two clear incentives for pursuing in-line monitoring capabilities. Firstly, they raise the quality of the foods produced and secondly, they reduce the waste of valuable raw materials. Increasing commodity prices in regard to food ingredients give particular importance to this aspect

Coated fat-based confectionery products

This invention concerns a fat-based confectionery product which is coated with a film forming agent and characterised in that it is heat resistant and in that it retains its shape when submitted to heat. This invention also disclosed the use of this coated fat-based confectionery in food product, as well as a food product comprising this coated fat-based confectionery, especially chocolate or baked food. Patent CA 2537661 A

Enrobing in the confectionery industry

Enrobing is a process that involves covering a confection or snack with chocolate or chocolate coatings. Traditionally, this process was slow and involved manually dipping the pieces into melted chocolate by hand. As demand for chocolate-coated sweets increased, it became impractical or impossible to employ enough people to dip sweets into melted chocolate to keep up with production demand. Enrobing can be carried out with chocolate or compound coatings (compound coating is a replacement product made from a combination of cocoa, vegetable fat, and sweeteners). An advantage of compound coatings is that they may set faster and no tempering (the process in which chocolate masses are thermally treated to produce a small fraction of homogeneously dispersed, highly stable fat crystals of the correct type and size) is needed1. Some typical examples of enrobed products are shown in Figure 1 (page 37). They include wafer bars, fondant centres, jellies, nuts, biscuits and ice cream

Shaped wafer

The present invention relates to a no- or low-sugar wafer having a form that can not be moulded, and can also be described as a no- or low-sugar wafer with a developable surface where its shape does not have an unobstructed projected surface. It also relates to a method for making said wafer according to a three-stage process comprising a pre-baking step leading to an intermediate pre-baked wafer product with high moisture content, then a shaping step, and finally a drying step to form the final wafer product. Patent WO 2009007260 A