GB2167934A

GB2167934A - Process and apparatus for making a water impermeable hollow wafer

Info

Publication number: GB2167934A
Application number: GB08529898A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sen Franz Haas; Jun Franz Haas; Johann Haas
Original assignee: Haas Franz Waffelmaschinen Industrie GmbH
Current assignee: Haas Franz Waffelmaschinen Industrie GmbH
Priority date: 1984-12-06
Filing date: 1985-12-04
Publication date: 1986-06-11
Also published as: GB8529898D0; IT1183040B; DE3543090A1; NO854911L; JPH0552163B2; JPS61139332A; FR2574250B1; IT8548880A0; DE3543090C2; FR2574250A1

Abstract

A hollow wafer which is made from a flat baked wafer cake is treated, particularly by roll- or brush-coating on at least one surface with a food-grade substance, such as fat or oil, to prevent ingress of moisture, and then while it is still soft and deformable after the baking operation, is wound to form the hollow wafer, particularly a wafer cone. Alternatively, the treatment may be performed during the winding of the wafer cake. The process is carried out by an applicator roller (7) or applicator brush, which engages with one side of the flat wafer cake on the opened baking tong (3), the roller (7) being supplied with fat or oil by pick up roller (6) and reservoir (5). Two applicators may be used to apply substances at different temperatures. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Process and apparatus for making a hollow wafer which is insulated at least superficially and at least on one side by a food-grade substance, such as oil or fat, against an ingress of moisture Background of the Invention Field of the Invention This invention relates to the production of a hollow wafer, which is insulated at least superficially and at least on one side by an insulating layer comprising a food-grade substance, such as oil or fat, against an ingress of moisture, wherein said wafer is made from a discrete wafer cake, which is substantially flat and has been baked from wafer dough and which in a state in which it is still soft and deformable after the baking operation is wound to form a hollow wafer, particularly a wafer cone, and is permitted to harden in a wound shape.

Description of the Prior Art In the production of hollow wafers which are fiiled with ice-cream, so-calied ice cream confectionary, it is known to insulate the finished hollow wafers on the inside with an edible substance, such as coconut butter or peanut butter or chocolate, in order to prevent an ingress of moisture from the ice cream so that the filled hollow wafer can be stored in a frozen state without a softening oqthe hollow wafers by a ingress of moisture which would eliminate their crisp condition.

An ingress of moisture on the outside of the hollow wafer filled with ice-cream is prevented in most cases by an airtight packaging.

Hollow wafers, such as wafer cones, have been insulated as described above in that liquid fat was sprayed into the finished cast wafer cone or into the finished wafer cone that had been made by winding from a substantially flat baked wafer cake. In that case it was intended to cause an absorption of the fat into the wafer cone at least on the inside surface thereof. As the fat is sprayed into the wafer cones, which have such a shape that they are open only at one end, an air pad develops in front of the spray and prevents a uniform spray-coating of each wafer cone throughout its inside surface. This results in an irregular distribution of the fat over the inside surface of the wafer cone so that the latter is not perfectly insulated.In order to avoid that disadvantage the wafer cones can be sprayed while they are held upright with their open end at the top and their pointed end at the bottom so that the fat which has been sprayed into the cone can run down the inside surface of the cone. In that case more fat than is actually required must be applied to the upper half of the cone so that surplus fat can move on the inside surface of the cone into its lower half.

That operation gives rise to a formation of droplets or streams of fat on the inside surface of the cone so that excessive amounts of fat are accumulated in the pointed end portion of the cone and in certain regions of the inside surface of the cone. Such accumulated fat will strongly influence in an undesirable manner the taste of the cone, particularly of its pointed end portion. A further disadvantage is encountered during the further processing of the wafer cones because the accumulated fat will cause the cones to stick together when they have been nested in stacks of cones so that problems arise in the singling of the cones in high-duty filling machines.

Afurtherdisadvantage residing in the spraying of fat resides in the fact that a mist of fat is formed in that operation and will strongly contaminate the environment of the spraying station. That contamination can be controlled only with a very high structural expenditure.

Summary of the Invention It is an object of the invention to eiiminate said disadvantages in a hollow wafer which has been made by winding a discrete, substantially flat baked wafer cake.

In a process of making a hollow wafer, which is insulated at least superficially and at least on one side by an insulating layer comprising a food-grade substance, such as oil or fat, against an ingress of moisture, wherein said wafer is made from a discrete wafer cake, which is substantially flat and has been baked from wafer dough and which in a state in which it is still soft and deformable after the baking operation is wound to form a hollowwafer, particularly a wafer cone, and is permitted to harden in a wound shape, that object is proposed to be accomplished in accordance with the invention in that one or more food-grade substances is or are applied, particularly by spread-coating or rollcoating, to at least one side of the wafer cake when the latter is still soft and deformable after the baking operation before and/or during the winding of the wafer cake. That process results in a uniform distribution of the applied substances throughout the receiving side of the wafer cake so that the hollow wafer which has been made by winding from said cake will be completely insulated, e.g., on its inside surface. By the spread-coating or roll-coating operation the quantity of the substance to be applied in each process step can be exactly controlled. For each substance to be applied, its consistency during the applying operation will determine the depth of penetration of the substance into the wafer cake so that said depth of penetration can be selected in consideration of the surface texture of the wafer cake.

Within the scope of the invention the insulating layer may comprise a surface layer in which the hollow wafer is sufficiently impregnated with the insulating substance to prevent an ingress of moisture through said insulating layer, and/or a coating bonded to the surface of the hollow wafer and consisting only of said insulating substance.

Within the scope of the invention a higher depth of penetration can be achieved in that a highly fluid, liquid substance is applied at least in the first step.

Also within the scope of the invention, that a liquid substance at a temperature that is close to its setting point may be applied at least in the last step.

That processing will ensure a rapid closing of the pores at the surface of the wafer cake. This will be desirable particularly if the surface of the wafer cake is textured.

Also within the scope of the invention, flat wafer cakes having a substantially textured surface may be processed in that highly fluid, liquid fat or oil is applied to the wafer cake in a first step and is permitted to be absorbed by said cake and liquid fat at a temperature close to its setting point is applied in a second step and is permitted to solidify when the wafer cake has been wound.

In the process in accordance with the invention it is possible to exactly control the quantity in which a given substance is applied and its depth of penetration and the process may be carried out to make a hollow wafer which is insulated on the inside or one which is insulated on the inside and outside.

Within the scope of the invention a hollow wafer which is insulated only on the inside may be made in that one or more substances are initially applied to the flat wafer cake only on one side thereof and the flat wafer cake is subsequently wound to form a roll or cone in which that side faces inwardly.

Within the scope of the invention a hollow wafer which is insulated on the inside and outside can be made in that one or more substances are spreadcoated or roil-coated onto the wafer cake on that surface thereof which is intended to form the inside surface of the hollow wafer and at least one substance is subsequently spread-coated or rollcoated onto the wafer cake on that surface thereof which is intended to form the outside surface of the hollow wafer. Within the scope of the invention the spread-coating or roll-coating of one or more substances onto that surface of the flat wafer cake which is intended to form the outside surface of the hollow wafer may be performed before or during the winding of the wafer cake to form the hollow wafer.

The process may be carried out with the aid of a wafer-baking oven having revolving baking tongs for baking the flat wafer cakes, which in the delivery station of the wafer-baking oven are taken from the opened baking tongs thereof. In accordance with the invention one or more applicators is or are provided in the path of the opened baking tongs and said applicator or each of said applicators comprises an applicator roller or applicator brush, which is engageable with one side of the flat wafer cake.

Brief Description of the Drawing Figure lisa top plan view showing an applicator, which is arranged at the forward end of a waferbaking oven having revolving baking tongs and which serves to apply a food-grade substance.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line A-A in Figure 1.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment The invention will now be explained more in detail with reference to an illustrative embodiment of apparatus for carrying out the process, which apparatus is shown on the drawing.

Awafer-baking oven 1 not shown in detail is used to bakeflat wafer cakes in revolving baking tongs 2.

Said flat wafer cakes are wound to form hollow wafers in a rolling apparatus, not shown. The wafer cakes are substantially flat and are provided with a wafer pattern or the like on one side or both sides.

As the baking tongs 2 are opened, the flat wafer cakes stick to one jaw 3 of each baking tongs on the dough-contacting surface thereof and are removed from said jaw and delivered to the winding device.

Attheforward end of the wafer-baking oven the baking tongs 2 are open in the region in which the chain of baking tongs is reversed so that the doughcontacting surface of that baking tong jaw 3 to which the flat wafer cake adheres is moving there in a verticai plane. An applicator 4 is provided in the path for the opened baking tongs 3 and comprises a reservoir 5 for the liquid substance to be applied, a pick-up roller 6 immersed into said substance, and an applicator roller 7, which at its periphery is in non-torque-transmitting contact with the periphery of the pick-up roller. The two rollers rotate in the same sense and are separately driven.The applicator roller 7 contacts the flat wafer cake which sticks to the baking tong jaw 3, That applicator 4 is used to apply liquid coconut butter or peanut butter having a solidification temperature between 28 and 40 to one side of the flat wafer cake when the latter is still warm from the baking operation. That butter is permitted to solidify on the flat wafer cake.

When the flat wafer cake has thus been insulated against an ingress of moisture, it is wound by a winding device, not shown, to form a wafer roll or wafer cone, in which the insulated side faces inwardly, and is permitted to harden as a hollow wafer.

The applicator roller 7 consists of a smooth steel roller or may be provided with a yieldable surface, e.g., of foam rubber. The applicator roller may be replaced by an applicator brush.

The applicator roller or the applicator brush may be cylindrical or frustoconical. By means of a conical applicator roller and of a conical pick-up roller, liquid fat, for instance from a horizontally extending reservoir, may be spread on the flat wafer cake which adheres to the upper baking tong jaw.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in Figure 1 the applicator roller7 is associated with the upper jaws 3 of the baking tongs. If the process of baking the flat wafer cakes in the wafer-baking oven 1 is controiled in such a manner that as baking tongs 2 are opened the flat wafer cake therein adheres to the dough-contacting surface of the lower baking tong jaw 3 rather than to the dough-contacting surface of the lower baking tong jaw 3', the flat wafer cakes can be coated on their upper surfaces if the applicator 4 shown in Figure 1 is pivotally moved through 90 and is associated with the lower baking tong jaw 3'. In that case the applicator roller must be moved into engagement with the flat wafer cake, which adheres to the dough-contacting surface of the lower baking tong jaw 3', and the applicator roller must be adjusted accordingly.

By means of the illustrated applicator a film of liquid fat is applied or spread as follows: The pickup roller 6 is in non-torque transmitting contact with the applicator roller 7 and the latter contacts the fiat wafer cake, which sticks to the upper baking tong jaw 3. As the two rollers rotate in the same sense, liquid fat will be taken from the reservoir 5 by the pick-up roller 6 and will be transported to the applicator roller 7 on the upwardly facing part of the peripheral surface of the pick-up roller.

Adjacent to the nip between the pick-up roller 6 and the applicator roller 7, that film of fat on the pick-up roller 6 is delivered to the applicator roller and is transported to the flat wafer cake on the upwardly facing part of the periphery of the applicator roller. As the flat wafer cake moves in a direction which is opposite to the direction of movement of the adjacent portion of the applicator roller 7, the surface of the flat wafer cake takes liquid fat from the applicator roller 7. Any fat which has not been taken by the flat wafer cake is, transported to the pick-up roller 6 on the downwardly facing part of the peripheral surface of the applicator roller and is received by the pick-up roller 6 adjacent to the nip between the two rollers and is recycled to the supply of fat in the reservoir 5 on the downwardly facing part of the peripheral surface of the pick-up roller.

In the apparatus shown on the drawings the flat wafer cake is insulated with only one substance only on one side.

If a relatively large quantity of insulating substance must be applied to the wafer cake in order to insulate the same on one surface, a plurality of applicators will be arranged one behind the other along the path for the opened baking tongs and each of said applicators will be used to apply a predetermined quantity of the insulating substance.

For instance, two applicators may be arranged one behind the other and the first applicator may be used to apply, e.g., coconut butter in a liquid state whereas the second applicator may be used to apply, e.g., coconut butter which is in a liquid state but at a temperature which is close to its setting point.

It will be understood that the or each substance in the quantity required for a complete insulation may alternatively be applied in a plurality of consecutive steps. In that case the person skilled in the art will use his ability to selectforthe substance a consistency which is desirable for a given applying step. A plurality of substances may be applied in respective consecutive applying steps and the person skilled in the art will select for each of said steps a desirable consistency to be possessed by the substance as it is required.

Relatively large quantities of an insulating substance can be applied to one side of a flat wafer cake without a formation of droplets or streams if the substance is applied by spreading or rolling in a plurality of consecutive steps.

In a preferred practice for insulating a flat wafer cake only on one side, the insulating substance is applied to the flat wafer cake by rolling or spreading as iong as the flat wafer cake still adheres to the dough-contacting surface of the baking tongs of a wafer-baking oven. If it is desired to prevent also an ingress of moisture into that surface of the flat wafer cake which adheres to the dough-contacting surface of the wafer tongs, that surface may be insulated during the winding of the wafer cake and by means of an applicator which is integrated into the winding device, or that surface may be insulated before the winding operation by means of a transfer mechanism, which transfers the flat wafer cake with an upwardly facing surface that is to be insulated to an applicator for applying the insulating substance and further to the winding device.

Non-restricting examples of substances which can be applied to insulate a surface of a flat wafer cake against an ingress of moisture include coconut butter, peanut butter, cocoa butter, as well as substances which contain coconut butter, peanut butter or cocoa butter.

Claims

1. A process of making a hollow wafer, which is insulated at least superficially and at least on one side by an insulating layer comprising a food-grade substance, such as oil or fat, against an ingress of moisture, wherein said wafer is made from a discrete wafer cake, which is substantially flat and has been baked from wafer dough and which in a state in which it is still soft and deformable after the baking operation is wound to form a hollow wafer, particularly a wafer cone, and is permitted to harden in a wound shape, characterized in that one or more food-grade substances is or are applied, particularly by spread-coating or roll-coating, to at least one side of the wafer cake when the latter is still soft and deformable after the baking operation before and/or during the winding of the wafer cake.

2. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that a highly fluid, liquid substance is applied at least in the first step.

3. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that a liquid substance at a temperature close to its setting point is applied at least in the last step.

4. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that a highly fluid, liquid fat or oil is applied to the flat wafer cake in a first step and is permitted to be absorbed by said flat wafer cake, and liquid fat at a temperature close to its setting point is applied in a second step and is permitted to solidify after the flat wafer cake has been wound.

5. A process according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that one substance or a plurality of substances is or are applied to the flat wafer cake on that surface thereof which is intended to face inwardly during the subsequent winding operation.

6. A process according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least one substance is applied to the flat wafer cake on that surface thereof which is intended to face inwardly during the subsequent winding operation, and at least one substance is subsequently applied to the flat wafer cake on that surface thereof which is intended to face outwardly during the subsequent winding operation.

7. A process according to claim 6, characterized in that at least one substance is applied to the outwardly facing surface of the flat wafer cake during the winding operation.

8. Apparatus for carrying out the process according to any of claims 1 to 7 with the aid of a wafer-baking oven having revolving baking tongs for baking the flat wafer cakes, which in the delivery station of the wafer-baking oven are taken from the opened baking tongs thereof, characterized in that one or more applicators is or are provided in the path of the opened baking tongs and said applicator or each of said applicators comprises an applicator roller or applicator brush, which is engageable with one side of the flat wafer cake.

9. A process of making a hollow wafer, which is insulated at least superficially and at least on one side by an insulating layer comprising a food-grade substance, such as oil or fat, against an ingress of moisture, substantially as described hereinbefore.

10. Apparatus for making a hollow wafer, which is insulated at least superficially and at least on one side by an insulating layer comprising a food-grade substance, such as oil or fat, against an ingress of moisture, substantially as described hereinbefore with reference to and as shown on the drawing.