DIVIDABLE FOOD PRODUCT PRODUCTION METHOD

PRODUIT ALIMENTAIRE POUVANT ETRE FRACTIONNE; METHODE DE PRODUCTION

English Abstract

A mould for a food production machine, said mould 2
having a cavity 1 therein corresponding to the shape of
a food product to be produced. Said mould 2 having a
ridge or ridges 6 along its base 5 to form a groove or
grooves 8 in a food product produced by the mould to
facilitate division of the food product along the groove
or grooves. The cooked food can be conveniently broken
into parts along the line of the groove or grooves 8 in
the food product formed by the ridge or ridges 6 of the
mould.

Claims

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CLAIMS
1. A mould for a food production machine, said mould
having a cavity therein corresponding to the shape of a
food product to be produced, said mould having a ridge
or ridges along its base to form a groove or grooves in
a food product produced by the mould to facilitate
division of the food product along the groove or
grooves.

2. A mould as claimed in claim 1 which comprises a
mould body and a piston, the piston being slidably
engagable with the mould body and forming at least part
of the base of the cavity defined by the mould body and
piston.

3. A mould as claimed in claim 1 in which the cavity
is formed by a plate and ring system, the plate having a
ridge or ridges dividing the cavity defined by the
placement of a ring on the plate, the height of the wall
of the ring defining the depth of the cavity.

4. A mould for a food production machine substantially
as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to
3 of the accompanying drawings.

5. A dividable food product manufactured from a mould
as claimed in any one of the preceding claim which is
conveniently broken into parts along the line of the


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groove or grooves in the food product formed by the
ridge or ridges of the mould.



6. A dividable food product as claim in claim 5 and
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference
to Figures 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

Description

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DIVIDABLE FOOD PRODUCT PRODUCTION METHOD
This invention relates to mech~nis~ for the
manufacture of crumpets and other like food stuffs and
particularly to an improved mould for use with machines
for the production of baked foods.
At present in the food manufacturing business the
most common type of machine for producing crumpets and
the like foods are machines of the general type
described in New Zealand patent specification No. 99425.
Another type of machine is that which the present
applicant developed for a piston mould or griddle for a
food production machine as described in New Zealand
patent specification No. 245803, the disclosure of which
is herein incorporated by way of reference.
Existing machines and methods of manufacture use a
mould to produce a generally flat food product, such as
a round or square crumpet of generally uniform
thickness.
An object of the present invention is therefore to
provide an alternative mould.


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Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention
provides a mould for a food production machine, said
mould having a cavity therein corresponding to the shape
of a food product to be produced, said mould having a
ridge or ridges along its base to form a groove or
grooves in a food product produced by the mould to
facilitate division of the food product along the groove
or grooves.
The mould can comprise a mould body and a piston,
the piston being slidably engagable with the mould body
and forming at least part of the base of the cavity
defined by the mould body and piston.
It is to be appreciated a mould could also be
formed by a plate and ring system, the plate having a
ridge or ridges dividing the cavity defined by the
placement of a ring on the plate, the height of the wall
of the ring defining the depth of the cavity.
In use the mould is filled with an uncooked food
product to cover the ridge or member, the food is cooked
and the resulting food product has a complementary shape
to the mould. The cooked food can be conveniently
broken into parts along the line of the groove or
grooves in the food product formed by the ridge or
ridges of the mould.
Further aspects of the invention which should be
considered in all its novel aspects will become apparent
from the following description which is given by way of
example only.
An example of the invention will now be described by

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way of example only with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a plan view of an example of a
mould;
Figure 2 shows a section on the lines A-A through
the mould shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 shows a section on the lines B-B through
the mould shown in Figure l;
Figure 4 shows a plan view of the top of a crumpet
made in the mould;
Figure 5 shows a plan view of the bottom of the
crumpet made in the mould;
Figure 6 shows a sectional view of the crumpet made
in the mould.
The example of the invention described will be with
reference to the production of crumpets. It is however
to be appreciated that with minor modifications the
invention can be used in a wide variety of other food
production machines. Similarly it is to be appreciated
that while the example shows a mould body and piston
system it is also applicable to a plate and ring system.
Figures 1 to 3 show a mould according to the
invention. The mould has a cavity generally indicated
by arrow 1. The mould consists of a mould body 2 and a
piston 3. The walls of the mould body 4 and the top of
the piston 3 define the cavity 1 in the mould. The top
surface 5 of the piston 3 defines the base of the mould.
The base 5 of the mould is provided with a ridge 6.
Ridge 6 will be of a height and be dimensioned so as to


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facilitate division of a food product along a groove
formed by the ridge. The ridge will preferably be of a
height app-roximately half to one quarter the depth of
the cavity 1.
It is to be appreciated that in an alternative
construction (not shown) the base 5 of the mould may
have more than one ridge or a pattern of ridges
depending on how the product is to be dividable.
In use an uncooked food product or food product mix
is supplied to cavity 1 (see Figure 3). The food
product is cooked in the mould and after cooking the
piston 3 is moved upwardly relative to mould body 2 to
allow removal of the cooked food product. The food
product so formed has a groove 8 formed therein which
corresponds to the shape of the ridge 6.
Figures 4, 5, and 6 show a crumpet made in the
mould. Groove 8 corresponds to the shape of ridge 6.
The general shape of the crumpet 7 corresponds to the
shape of cavity 1. By holding the crumpet at or near
the edges 9 and 10 and bending the crumpet will weaken
it along the line C-C allowing it to be parted into two
generally finger shaped parts 11 and 12.
Thus by this invention there is provided a mould of
a shape and construction which allows for the production
of a food item which can be conveniently broken along
predetermined line or lines.
Particular examples of the invention have been
described and it is envisaged that improvements and


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s
modifications can be made without departing from the
scope or spirit of the appended claims.

Representative Drawing