Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The invention relates to a chewy confection item having a chewing
consistency similar to that of chewing gum and providing a novel
chewing texture, an effect of improved perception of the size of
the item in the mouth of the consumer as compared with convent
tonal chewing gum items of similar size, and a prolonged release
of flavor or sweetness on chewing.
The invention provides a chewy confection having an outer casing
of chewing gum comprising gum base and sweetener, and a center
filling having a chewy consistency approximating that of the
chewing gum outer casing, comprising an aerated, plastic blend
having a moisture content of about 5% to about 20% by weight and
comprising from about 1% to about 15% by weight fat with a melt-
in point about 22C and about 0.1% to about 10~ by weight of a
whipping agent dispersed in a water-soluble, sweet-tasting, chewy
candy matrix constituting about 55% to about 90% by weight of
said blend.
The aerated plastic blend of the center filling may have the
characteristics of nougat, marshmallow, toffee or other type of
chewy candy. At first bite, its consistency is similar to that
of the chewing gum casing and the consumer does not readily per-
chive the presence of the candy portion, although the texture and
mouth feel of the chewed item combines features typical of both
candies and chewing gums. With continued chewing, as the water
soluble candy portion dissolves in the mouth, the texture and
mouth feel of the chewing gum portion become more pronounced.
The aeration of the center filling, together with its fat con-
tent, assist in rendering the consistency of the center filling
similar to that of the chewing gum outer casing. Unexpectedly,
and for reasons that are not presently fully understood, but are
perhaps related to the aerated texture of the center filling, the
item achieves in the mouth of the consumer a perception of some-
what increased size as compared with conventional chewing gum
items of similar size. Further, on initially chewing the item,
there is no immediate impression of the sweetness of the center
filling or of its flavor (as distinct from sweetness) in the
case in which the center filling includes a flavor. The sweet-
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news and flavor, if any, tend to develop with chewing, and tend to be prolonged as compared with conventional chewing gums
containing similar concentrations of sweetener or flavor.
Water-soluble, sweet tasting and chewy candies such as form the
matrix in the center filling in the present confection are in
themselves well known. Usually, these comprise a supersaturated
solution of one or more solid sweeteners (usually a sugar and,
more typically, sucrose) containing a non-crystallizable liquid
sweetener (also usually a sugar such as fructose syrup, invert
sugar, high fructose corn syrups, starch hydrolysates, and, more
typically, glucose syrup, or mixtures of two or more of these),
obtained by cooking a solution of the solid and liquid sweeteners
to a desired solids content which depends on the consistency
desired for the product, the higher the solids content, the
harder the candy. The liquid sweetener interferes with and
retards any tendency for the solid sweetener to recrystallize on
cooling of the product, usually for a period extending well
beyond the normal shelf life of the product. By reason of the
wide availability of sucrose, its low cost, and its ready accept
- 20 lance in confectionery items, a sucrose-based chewy candy is pro-
furred for use in the center filling in the chewy confection of
; the invention. As will be readily appreciated, however, other
chewy candy compositions of physical and organoleptic properties
similar to those of sucrose-based candies may be employed.
us noted above, the center filling should have approximately the
-save chewy consistency as the outer chewing gum casing, so that
at least on first bite through the confection, the consumer does
not perceive an abrupt change of hardness or softness at the
interface between the casing and the filling. The consistency of
the center filling may be varied by varying the consistency of
the candy matrix, the degree of aeration of the filling, the con-
tent and nature of the fat present in the filling, and the moist
lure content of the filling. The consistency of the candy matrix
employed in the filling may in turn be varied by varying the
weight ratio of solid to liquid sweetener present in the candy.
Desirably this is about 0.75:1 to about 7:1 based on the solids
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content of the liquid sweetener. it ratios much below this
range, the candy may tend to be excessively sticky in texture due
to the presence of excess liquid sweetener or may tend to develop
excessive stickiness on storage owing to the humectant properties
ox the usual liquid sweeteners. At higher ratios, the candy may
tend to have an unduly hard consistency. More preferably said
ratio of solid to liquid sweetener is about 0.9:1 to about 4:1.
In the case in which the candy matrix is constituted by a cooked
mixed solution of a liquid sweetener and sucrose as the solid
sweetener, the consistency of the candy also depends on the
solids content to which the mixture is cooked. Preferably, in
order to assist in achieving a chewy candy consistency well
adapted to match the chewy consistency of the outer gum casing,
the mixture is cooked to a solids content of about 93% to about
97% by weight.
The aeration of the center filling assists in imparting to the
center filling a chewy consistency approximating that of the
outer chewing gum casing. Typically, the center filling will be
aerated to an extent that its density is about 75% to about 95%
of its non-aerated density. More preferably, the aerated density
will be about 80~ to about 90% of the non-aerated density. The
aerated filling may be achieved by, for example, forming a foam
of an aqueous solution of the whipping agent and blending into
this foam the chewy candy matrix material in a liquid, for
example, melted condition, and permitting the resulting aerated
mass to harden, e.g. by permitting it to cool. Another example
of an aeration procedure is to form a plastic mass formed from a
mixture of the candy matrix material in a plastic state and an
aqueous solution of the whipping agent, and to stretch and fold
the plastic mass, preferably using a conventional form of candy
stretching and folding apparatus. The whipping agent serves to
assist in the aerating of the center filling, and assists in
maintaining the aerated condition of the product during subset
quint processing steps and in storage. To be effective for these
purposes, the content of whipping agent should be not less than
about 0.1% by weight of center filling. The whipping agent
materials tend to have a somewhat bland taste, and use of amounts
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of whipping agents of more than about on% by weight, based on the
total weight of the entry filling is generally unnecessary, and
may tend to impart an undesirably gelatinous texture or bland
taste to the center filling. More preferably, the content of
whipping agent is about 0.5% to about 5% by weight based on the
total weight of the filling. Examples of suitable whipping
agents include egg albumin, gelatin, cereal protein isolate,
ajar ajar, pectin, and mixtures thereof. Certain of these
materials, notably gelatin, ajar ajar and pectin are golfing
agents which tend to bind water to them, and thus tend to
maintain and stabilize a desired moisture content in the center
filling material during processing and storage.
As noted above, the consistency of the center filling is in part
dependent on the moisture content. Filling materials with
moisture contents less than about 5% will tend to present a
consistency which is unduly hard, and would tend to produce an
undesirably perceptible difference in hardness between the center
filling and the outer casing. Moisture contents in excess of
about 20% by weight based on the weight of the center filling
tend to result in the center filling being too soft and having an
undesirably sticky character. More preferably, the total
moisture content of the center filling, including any moisture
present in the liquid sweetener component of the chewy candy
matrix, is about 7% to about 15% by weight of the center filling.
The presence of fat in the center filling material contributes to
a desired soft chewy consistency of the center filling material,
assists in maintaining the aerated condition of the center fill-
in, and also tenfls to reduce or eliminate sticking of the center
filling material to the teeth of the consumer. The melting point
of the fat should be above normal ambient temperatures, to avoid
any tendency for the fat component to melt during storage,
resulting in product collapse. Thus, the melting point of the
fat should be above 22C, and more typically will be in the range
about 32C to about 40C. Product destined for warm climates
will preferably employ fats having a melting point adjacent the
higher end of this range, while product intended for distribution
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in temperate climates will usually employ a fat melting in the
range about 32C to about 36C. The fat tends to soften in the
mouth with continue chewing, thus tending to result in a
progressive softening of the center filling with chewing. As the
chewing gum outer casing also tends to soften at least during an
initial chewing period, the presence of the fat also tends to
maintain the chewing consistency of the center filling similar to
that of the outer casing material during chewing, so that
discrepancies between the chewed center filling portions and
outer casing portions do not tend to become perceptible in the
mouth of the consumer. The content of fat in the center filling
in order to achieve the desired textural effect should be at
least about 1% by weight based on the total weight of the center
filling, and not more than about 15% by weight as at contents of
fat much above this, the center filling tends to have an undesir-
ably greasy mouth feel. Preferably, the fat content is about 3
to about 7% by weight. It is preferred to employ as the fat an
hydrogenated vegetable oil, cocoa butter or a mixture thereof,
because of the ready availability of these materials, their
desirable organoleptic properties, and their ready acceptance in
confection items.
In order to assist in dispersing the fat material through the
chewy candy matrix an emulsifier is desirably employed, generally
in an amount of up to about 1.5% by weight of the center filling,
and more preferably up to about 0.8% by weight. As will be
readily appreciated, the emulsifier, as with all the other
ingredients present in the chewing confection should be of a food
grade acceptable for use in an edible confection product.
Preferred examples of desirable and effective emulsifiers include
lecithin, glycerin struts and mixtures thereof.
The aerated center filling, as well as the chewing gum outer
casing, desirably include small quantities of flavors, e.g.
fruit flavors such as cherry, strawberry, banana, spice flavors
such as cinnamon, or mint flavors such as peppermint or
spearmint. The center filling and outer casing may be of similar
or different flavors. The chewing gum outer casing and center
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filling may also include small quantities of color. Again, the
casing and filling may be of similar or different colors. The
quantities of flavors and colors employed will typically be up
to about 0.2% by weight of the center filling and of the outer
casing, respectively
The quantity of the aerated center filling present in the
confection item should be sufficient to impart to the item to a
perceptible degree the textural characteristics of the center
filling which become apparent on continued chewing of the item
and also to impart to it the improved size perception in the
mouth of the consumer which appears to result from the aerated
texture of the center filling. Preferably, the center filling
will constitute about 5% to about 70% of the item by weight, more
preferably from about 15% to about 50% of the item by weight.
The outer chewing gum casing may be formed from a conventional
chewing gum composition prepared, for example, by blending to-
getter a commercially-available chewing gum base, sweetener, such
as a mixture of solid and liquid sweetener, flavor, and color.
The chewing gum composition may be formulated to provide or
I achieve a chewing consistency of any of the conventional chewing
gum compositions. Preferred chewing gum compositions for the
outer easing comprise gum base in an amount of about 10% to about
40% by weight, more preferably about 12% to about 35% and a mix-
lure of solid and liquid sweetener in an amount of about 60% to
about 90% by weight, more preferably about 65% to about 88% by
weight (based on the solids content of the liquid sweetener
together with the weight of solid sweetener).
The chewy confection of the invention may be manufactured on
conventional candy forming apparatus employed for forming convent -
tonal center filled candies, as, for example, on co-extrusion
apparatus wherein the plastic chewing gum outer casing is
extruded continuously around a co-extruded continuous length of
the plastic blend of the aerated center filling composition. The
continuous product may then be cut transversely into pieces the
size of conventional candy or chewing gum items, or the co-
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extruded continuous product may be fed to a conventional candy-
forming machine for forming into discrete pieces of conventional
size. The exterior of the outer chewing gum casing of the
product may be coated with a conventional chewing gum coating so-
lotion, e.g. an aqueous solution of liquid and solid sweeteners,
starch and gum Arabic before or after the continuous length of
the product is formed or cut into pieces, to eliminate or reduce
any tendency for the pieces of the product to stick to one
another, or to papers in which the product may be wrapped, and to
eliminate or reduce any tendency for the product to become tacky
and stick to the fingers of consumers.
Examples
Some non-limiting examples of methods of preparation of chewy
confection items in accordance with the invention will now be
given.
Preparation of a chewing gum outer casing material
Ingredients Parts by Weight
Gum base 20
Sucrose 60
Liquid glucose (80% solids) 20
Flavor 0.08
Color 0.02
The gum base was melted and placed in a standard dough mixer.
The liquid glucose was added and mixed for 3-4 minutes. The
sucrose, color and flavor were added and mixed for 4-5 minutes.
The preparation of chewy aerated center fillings is described in
the following examples:
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Example
Ingredients Parts by weight
_
Egg albumen 1.5
Sucrose 43
Liquid glucose (80% solids) 50
Hydrogenated vegetable oil 5
Glycerin menstruate 0.4
Flavor 0.1
The egg albumen was dissolved in 1.5 parts by weight of water and
with 70% of the liquid glucose was whipped to a foam. The
sucrose was dissolved in water, with the remainder of the liquid
glucose, and was cooked to a final soluble solids content of
96%. This cooked syrup was incorporated into the whipped foam
and the molten hydrogenated vegetable oil and glycerin
menstruate and Elavour were mixed in. The mass was cooled to
45~C 5C. The above chewing gum casing material was
co-extruded with the plastic aerated center filling material and
the co-extruded rope thus formed was passed through a standard
candy-forming machine to form it into confectionery pieces. On
cooling to room temperature, the center filling material had a
chewy consistency closely similar to that of the chewing gum
casing material at the same temperature.
Example 2
Ingredients Parts by weight
Sucrose 50
Liquid glucose (80% solids) 45
Hydrogenated vegetable oil 4
Lecithin 0.1
Gelatin (200 Bloom)
Flavor 0.1
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The sucrose was dissolved in water and was cooked with the liquid
glucose, hydrogenated vegetable oil and lecithin to a final
concentration of soluble solids of 94~. The gelatin dissolved
in 5 times its weight of hot water was then blended into the
cooked mixture. This mass was cooled to 65C + 5C after the
flavor was added. The tempered plastic mass was aerated by
means of stretching and folding for 3 to S minutes on a
conventional candy stretching and folding machine.
The above chewing gum casing material was co-extruded with the
center filling material and the co-extruded rope was passed
through a standard forming machine to form it into confection
pieces.
On cooling, the center filling material of Example 2 had a chewy
consistency closely similar to that of the chewing gum casing
material at the same temperature.
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