JP6207910B2 - Patterned chocolate confectionery and chocolate confectionery pattern printing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention provides a chocolate confectionery with a pattern and a method for printing a pattern on a chocolate confectionery, which can clearly print a pattern with aqueous ink on the surface of the chocolate confectionery that is an oily confectionery.

Ink-jet printing is suitable for printing a variety of patterns on chocolate confectionery in terms of high-speed printing and sharpness of the pattern.
However, the printing ink used for food needs to be an edible water-based ink. On the other hand, since chocolate confectionery is oily, when ink-jet printing is performed on chocolate confectionery, fine droplets of water-based ink are produced. There is a problem that it is bounced on the surface of the oily confectionery and the pattern is blurred and clear printing cannot be performed.

Therefore, conventional techniques such as printing a pattern on chocolate confectionery are as follows.
(1) Patent Document 1
An image base coating layer is formed on the chocolate confectionery, and a pattern is printed on the coating layer by ink jet printing (claim 1, paragraph 33).
The coating layer contains a binder, a food white pigment and a saccharide (Claim 6), the binder is selected from cellulose, starch, gum arabic, and dextrin (Claim 8), and the food white pigment is selected from titanium dioxide. (Claim 7).
Moreover, in Examples 1-2 (paragraphs 39-40), a coating layer is a sucrose (sugar) saturated solution which disperse | distributed titanium dioxide (white pigment), starch (corn starch; binder), and gum arabic (binder). ), Ethanol, water, and corn syrup.

(2) Patent Document 2
In order to make it possible to print an image on an edible substrate such as chocolate with water-based ink, an image is printed on the surface of the edible substrate through an aqueous edible coating layer by inkjet printing using an aqueous edible ink. (Claim 1, paragraph 6).
The edible coating layer contains a powdery component and a binder, or may further contain a whitening agent and an emulsifier (claims 2 to 4, paragraphs 7 to 9 and 14).
The powdery component is lactose, starch, calcium powder, or a mixture. The binder is powdered sugar (powder of calcium carbonate, eggshell, shell, etc.), chickenpox, gelatin, or a mixture. The whitening agent is titanium dioxide, and the emulsifier is lecithin (claims 2 to 4, paragraphs 7 to 9 and 14).
For example, in Example 1 for creating a chocolate confectionery, the edible coating layer comprises water, lactose (powder component), powdered sugar (binder), titanium dioxide (whitening agent), and lecithin (emulsifier). (Paragraph 22).

(3) Patent Document 3
Water-soluble cellulose (paragraph 19) such as hydroxypropylcellulose and carboxymethylcellulose is coated on the surface of the whole cocoa beans from which the shell has been removed (that is, the whole) to prevent cracking of the cocoa beans. (Claim 1, Claim 3, Paragraph 8, Paragraph 20).
In Examples 4 to 5, a coating agent composed of 90 g of water and 10 g of hydroxypropyl cellulose was spray-coated on hole-shaped cocoa beans, roasted, and then the pre-treated cocoa beans were coated with chocolate to give a chocolate confectionery. Manufacture (paragraphs 41 to 48).

Considering the above Patent Documents 1 to 3, in Patent Document 1, cellulose is used as a binder for chocolate confectionery, and in Patent Document 3, water-soluble cellulose is used for preventing cracking of cocoa beans.
Therefore, from a different viewpoint, the conventional techniques for using cellulose for chocolate confectionery are summarized as follows.
(4) Patent Document 4
A pulp-derived cellulose powder is contained in chocolate confectionery for the purpose of reducing the feeling of roughness called graining (claim 1, paragraph 1).
Examples of cellulose include microcrystalline cellulose and powdered cellulose (paragraph 17). In Example 1, commercially available cellulose powder is added to cocoa butter (paragraph 26).

(5) Patent Document 5
In order to improve the texture, water-in-oil emulsified foods such as butter cream and raw chocolate contain gati gum and / or hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), or further contain microcrystalline cellulose. ).
Preferred examples of microcrystalline cellulose include carboxymethylcellulose salt (sodium, calcium), carrageenan, pectin, indigestible dextrin, and the like (paragraph 24).

(6) Patent Document 6
In order to increase water retention performance and texture during heating after wrapping (see summary), wrapping foods such as meat buns and buns contain water-soluble cellulose (Claim 1).
Examples of the water-soluble cellulose include methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose, and hydroxyethyl ethyl cellulose (Claim 2).

(7) Patent Document 7
In order to suppress absorption of trans fatty acids into the body, water-soluble cellulose is allowed to coexist in foods containing trans fatty acids (claim 1, summary).
Examples of water-soluble cellulose include methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, and methyl ethyl cellulose (paragraph 17).

JP-T-2004-518431 JP 2007-295923 A JP 2008-125490 A JP 2009-232795 A JP 2007-151480 A JP 2011-000119 A Special table 2012-505661 gazette

Although the said patent document 2 aims at preventing the flip of the water-based ink on the confectionery surface and printing a pattern clearly, when printing on the chocolate confectionery which is oil-based confectionery (paragraphs 1 and 4). ), There are many combinations of components constituting the coating layer on the confectionery surface, and it is not easy to select an optimal combination.
On the other hand, in the said patent document 3, the water-soluble cellulose is used for the covering of cocoa beans, and patent documents 4-7 also disclose various water-soluble celluloses.
Therefore, it is conceivable that the water-soluble cellulose is applied to printing on chocolate confectionery with water-based ink, instead of being used for the purpose of coating cocoa beans as in Patent Document 3.
However, for example, even if a salt solution of carboxymethyl cellulose, which is widely used as water-soluble cellulose, is applied to the chocolate surface, a repelling phenomenon occurs and a uniform coating cannot be formed, so printing with oil-based chocolate confectionery with aqueous ink Is not easy.

  This invention makes it a technical subject to print a pattern clearly by the water-based ink on the surface of the chocolate confectionery which makes oily an attribute.

The present inventors may enable clear printing of water-based ink on the surface of oil-based confectionery by selecting components that have a good balance between both the oiliness of chocolate confectionery and the water-based property of water-based ink. Invented, water-soluble cellulose that can be expected to have an affinity for water-based inks, specifically, those described in Patent Document 3 and Patent Documents 4 to 7 have been intensively studied.
As a result, for various water-soluble celluloses, it is often the case that one of the coating properties on the chocolate surface and the printability of the cellulose-containing film with aqueous ink does not satisfy the other, but hydroxypropyl cellulose. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose has been found to satisfy both of the above properties in a well-balanced manner, and the present invention has been completed.

That is, the present invention 1 is a chocolate confectionery having a surface printed with an edible water-based ink.
The surface of the chocolate confectionery is coated with a base buffer layer made of a printing buffer, and the pattern is printed by attaching edible water-based ink to the surface of the base buffer layer.
The printing buffer contains a plasticizer selected from the group consisting of glycerin and propylene glycol in water-soluble cellulose selected from the group consisting of hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC). It is a chocolate confectionery with a pattern.

The present invention 2 is the chocolate confectionery with a pattern according to the present invention 1, wherein the content of the water-soluble cellulose in the printing buffer is 3 to 40% by weight.

The present invention 3 is a chocolate confectionery printing method for printing a pattern with edible water-based ink on the surface,
(A) A buffer for printing containing a water-soluble cellulose selected from the group consisting of hydroxypropylcellulose and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose and a plasticizer selected from the group consisting of glycerin and propylene glycol on the surface of the chocolate confectionery. Coating and forming a base buffer layer;
(B) a step of attaching edible water-based ink to the surface of the base buffer layer and printing a pattern with the edible water-based ink on the surface of the chocolate candy through the buffer layer. This is a pattern printing method.

For example, when ethyl cellulose is selected as the water-soluble cellulose, the lipophilicity is superior to the hydrophilicity, so that a good coating can be formed on the oily chocolate surface, but the aqueous ink is applied to the coating formed with the cellulose. Will also cause poor printing (see evaluation test examples below).
On the other hand, in the present invention, hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) or hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) is selected as the water-soluble cellulose and a plasticizer selected from glycerin or propylene glycol is used in combination. A good balance between the oiliness of the confectionery and the wateriness of the water-based ink can be achieved, so that a good buffer layer can be formed between the oiliness of the chocolate and the wateriness of the water-based ink. For this reason, by coating and forming the cellulose film (underlayer) on the oily chocolate surface, and through this underlayer, a pattern can be clearly printed on the chocolate confectionery with aqueous ink.

  In the chocolate confectionery of Patent Document 3, the water-soluble cellulose is not used as a buffer for printing, but is a coating that covers the entire cocoa beans in order to prevent cracking due to cracks in the cocoa beans. Patent Document 3 is different from the present invention in terms of problems and objects.

In the present invention, first, a base buffer layer made of a printing buffer containing a specific water-soluble cellulose such as hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and a specific plasticizer such as glycerin is coated on the surface of chocolate confectionery. A chocolate confectionery in which an edible water-based ink is attached to the buffer layer, and a pattern is printed on the buffer layer; second, a step of applying the base buffer layer to the chocolate confectionery; and a pattern of the buffer layer with the aqueous ink. It is a pattern printing method of chocolate confectionery which consists of a printing process.

The chocolate confectionery of the present invention 1 is characterized in that the confectionery surface is coated with a base buffer layer made of a printing buffer, and the surface of the buffer layer is printed with an edible aqueous ink.
The chocolate confectionery of the present invention may be of any shape such as milk chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolate, and may have any shape or composition.
The printing buffer contains a specific water-soluble cellulose and a plasticizer described later as active ingredients, and water and / or alcohol as an aqueous solvent.
The water-soluble cellulose of the present invention is selected from hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), and these are used alone or in combination.
Any of the above HPC and HPMC can be used regardless of the molecular weight or the degree of etherification.
When the content of each individual cellulose is shown, the preferable content of HPC with respect to the printing buffer is about 9 to 37% by weight, and the preferable content of HPMC is about 4 to 12% by weight. The content of the water-soluble cellulose in the printing buffer is generally 3 to 40% by weight, preferably 7 to 27% by weight (see the present invention 2 ). If the content of the water-soluble cellulose is less than the proper range, the lipophilicity of the base buffer layer is lowered and the buffer layer cannot be formed well on the surface of the chocolate confectionery. There is a risk of poor printing due to water-based ink.
As the aqueous solvent, one of alcohol and water may be used alone, but a mixed solvent of both is preferable. Examples of the alcohol include ethanol and propylene glycol from the viewpoint of edibility.
In the case of a mixed solvent of water and alcohol, for example, when HPMC is selected as the water-soluble cellulose, it is preferable to add 10% by weight or more of water to the alcohol.

The printing buffer contains the following plasticizer in order to make the coating film flexible .
The plasticizer is selected from glycerin, propylene glycol and the like, and glycerin is particularly preferable. The content of the plasticizer is 6 to 30% by weight, preferably 8 to 27% by weight, based on the solid content of the printing buffer.

The present invention 3 is a pattern printing method for chocolate confectionery characterized in that after the base buffer layer is applied to chocolate confectionery, the pattern is printed on the buffer layer with edible aqueous ink.
First, a cellulose solution (that is, a printing buffer) prepared by dissolving the specific water-soluble cellulose and the specific plasticizer in an aqueous solvent (water and / or alcohol) is prepared, and the cellulose solution is applied to the surface of the chocolate confectionery. Is applied and dried to form a base buffer layer. The coating is performed, for example, by spraying with a spray gun or applying with a brush. Drying is, for example, by cold air drying.
The solid content coating amount is 15 to 110 g / m 2, preferably 30 to 70 g / m 2, and even a very thin coating film can have good printability for aqueous ink.

Next, a pattern is printed on the base buffer layer with water-based ink, but it is essential that the water-based ink is edible, and for the water-based ink, a coloring material and a colorant permitted by the Food Sanitation Law, etc. are used. It contains an aqueous solvent composed of water and / or alcohol, or a plasticizer.
The water-based ink for printing will be described in detail. It consists of four colors of red, yellow, blue, and black, or a combination of seven colors of red, light red, blue, light blue, black, light black, and yellow. Focusing on natural colorants and tar dyes recognized as food additives by the Food Sanitation Act, turmeric dyes, gardenia blue dyes, gardenia yellow pigments, red cabbage dyes, anato dyes, red pepper dyes, red pepper dyes, cochineal dyes, In addition to safflower red pigment, safflower yellow pigment, or water-soluble tar pigment, any pigment can be used without any particular limitation.
If the water-based ink printed on the pattern infiltrates into the chocolate confectionery through the base buffer layer, the sharpness of the pattern may be reduced. It is preferable to do.
The printing method of the water-based ink with respect to the base buffer layer can be selected from any printing method such as ink jet printing, screen printing, and pad printing, and ink jet printing is preferable from the viewpoint of high-speed printability and sharpness of the pattern.

Hereinafter, examples of production of the buffer for printing of the present invention, examples of chocolate confectionery with a pattern using the printing buffer obtained in the production examples, to the chocolate surface when producing the chocolate confectionery with a pattern of Examples An evaluation test example of the coating property of the base buffer layer and an evaluation test example of suitability for inkjet printing on the base buffer layer made of a printing buffer will be sequentially described.
“Part” and “%” in the above production examples, examples and test examples are basically based on weight.
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the following production examples, examples, and the like, and it is needless to say that arbitrary modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

<< Example of production of printing buffer >>
Among Production Examples 1 to 8, Production Examples 1 to 3 are examples in which hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) is used in water-soluble cellulose and dissolved in a mixed solvent of ethanol and water. Production Example 2 is more HPC than Production Example 1. Example 3 in which the content of ss was increased, Production Example 3 was an example in which the content was reduced from Production Example 1. Production Examples 4 to 6 are examples in which hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) is used alone, Production Example 5 is an example in which the content of HPMC is increased from Production Example 4, and Production Example 6 is an example in which the content is reduced from Production Example 4. . Production Examples 7 to 8 are examples in which HPC and HPMC are used together, Production Example 7 is an example in which the mixing ratio of HPC is larger than HPMC, and Production Example 8 is an example in which there is not much difference in the mixing ratio of HPC and HPMC.

  In Comparative Production Examples 1 to 6, Comparative Production Examples 1 and 2 are examples in which sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na) is used as water-soluble cellulose and dissolved in a mixed solvent of ethanol and water. Example 1 is an example in which the content of CMC-Na is large, and Comparative Production Example 2 is an example in which the content of CMC-Na is small. Comparative Production Example 3 is also an example using ethyl cellulose (EC) for water-soluble cellulose, Comparative Production Example 4 is an example using methyl cellulose (MC), and Comparative Production Example 5 is an example using hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC). is there. Although Comparative Production Example 6 is not water-soluble, it is an example using a liquid in which cellulose powder as a general-purpose cellulose product is dispersed in a mixed solvent of water and ethanol.

(1) Production example 1
To 12.3% by weight of water, 73% by weight of 95% ethanol and 2.4% by weight of glycerin were mixed and stirred.
Next, 12.3% by weight of hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC, Selney SSL manufactured by Nippon Soda Co., Ltd.) was added and stirred and dissolved to produce a printing buffer.

(2) Production example 2
Processing was performed in the same manner as in Production Example 1 except that the content ratio of each component was changed as follows based on Production Example 1.
HPC 20.0% by weight
Glycerin 4.0% by weight
95% ethanol 65.1% by weight
10.9% by weight of water

(3) Production Example 3
Processing was performed in the same manner as in Production Example 1 except that the content ratio of each component was changed as follows based on Production Example 1.
HPC 6.1% by weight
Glycerin 1.2% by weight
95% ethanol 79.4% by weight
13.3% by weight of water

(4) Production Example 4
12.7% by weight of water was mixed with 75.5% by weight of 95% ethanol and 2.5% by weight of glycerin and stirred.
Subsequently, 9.3% by weight of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC, Metrows SE-06 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) was added and stirred and dissolved to produce a printing buffer.

(5) Production Example 5
Processing was performed in the same manner as in Production Example 1 except that the content ratio of each component was changed as follows based on Production Example 4.
HPMC 13.5% by weight
Glycerin 3.6% by weight
95% ethanol 71.0% by weight
11.9% by weight of water

(6) Production Example 6
Processing was performed in the same manner as in Production Example 1 except that the content ratio of each component was changed as follows based on Production Example 4.
HPMC 3.8% by weight
Glycerin 0.8% by weight
95% ethanol 81.6% by weight
13.8% by weight of water

(7) Production Example 7
Based on Production Example 1, the same procedure as in Production Example 1 was performed except that the single use of HPC was changed to the combined use of HPC and HPMC, and the content ratio of each component was changed as follows. In addition, the product described in Production Example 1 was used for HPC, and the product of Production Example 4 was used for HPMC.
HPC 10.0 wt%
HPMC 1.9% by weight
Glycerin 2.4% by weight
95% ethanol 73.4% by weight
12.3% by weight of water

(8) Production Example 8
The same process as in Production Example 7 was performed except that the content ratio of each component was changed as follows based on Production Example 7.
HPC 3.1 wt%
HPMC 3.4 wt%
Glycerin 1.5% by weight
95% ethanol 78.8% by weight
13.2% by weight of water

(9) Comparative production example 1
Based on the above Production Example 1, except that CMC-Na (CMC Daicel 1110 manufactured by Daicel Finechem Co., Ltd.) was selected as the water-soluble cellulose, and the content ratio of each component was changed as follows, Production Example 1 Treated in the same manner.
CMC-Na 9.3 wt%
Glycerin 2.5% by weight
95% ethanol 75.5% by weight
12.7% by weight of water

(10) Comparative production example 2
Based on Comparative Production Example 1, the same treatment as Comparative Production Example 1 was performed except that the content ratio of each component was changed as follows.
CMC-Na 2.4 wt%
Glycerin 0.2% by weight
95% ethanol 7.4% by weight
90.0% by weight of water

(11) Comparative production example 3
Based on production example 1 above, ethyl cellulose (EC) (ETHOCEL STD 4cps manufactured by Dow Chemical Co., Ltd.) was selected as the water-soluble cellulose, and the content ratio of each component was changed as follows. 1 was processed.
EC 9.9% by weight
Glycerin 1.0% by weight
95% ethanol 89.1% by weight

(12) Comparative production example 4
Based on the above Production Example 1, methyl cellulose (MC) (Metrozu SM-4 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) was selected as the water-soluble cellulose, and the content ratio of each component was changed as follows. The same treatment as in Production Example 1 was performed.
MC 6.4% by weight
Glycerin 1.2% by weight
95% ethanol 54.6% by weight
37.8% by weight of water

(13) Comparative production example 5
Based on Production Example 1 above, hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) (HEC Daicel SE400 manufactured by Daicel Finechem Co., Ltd.) was selected as the water-soluble cellulose, and the contents of each component were changed as follows. Treated as in Example 1.
HEC 4.2 wt%
Glycerin 0.4% by weight
95% ethanol 4.8% by weight
90.6% by weight of water

(14) Comparative production example 6
Based on production example 1 described above, powdered cellulose (NP fiber 6MG manufactured by Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.) was used as the cellulose, the content ratio of each component was changed as follows, and the cellulose powder was mixed with ethanol and water. The same treatment as in Production Example 1 was conducted except that the dispersion was dispersed in
Cellulose powder 12.3% by weight
Glycerin 2.4% by weight
95% ethanol 72.7% by weight
12.6% by weight of water

Then, the chocolate confectionery with a pattern was manufactured using the buffer for printing obtained in the said manufacture examples 1-8 and comparative manufacture examples 1-6.
<< Example of chocolate confectionery with a pattern >>
(1) Example 1
First, white chocolate (manufactured by Meiji Co., Ltd.) was prepared, and 0.1 g of the printing buffer prepared in Production Example 1 was applied to the chocolate 5 × 5 cm with a spray gun (coating amount was 40 g / m2) was dried with cold air to form a base buffer layer over the entire chocolate surface.
In addition, the component of the said white chocolate is whole milk powder, cocoa butter, sugar, vegetable oil and fat, skim milk powder, a lecithin (derived from soybean), and a fragrance | flavor.
Next, 5 x 5 cm of white chocolate coated with a base buffer layer is left on the printing table of an inkjet printer (MMP813BT-F manufactured by Mastermind Co., Ltd.). After finely adjusting the distance to the chocolate surface appropriately, a floral pattern was ink-jet printed on the base buffer layer coated on the chocolate surface with edible water-based ink to produce a chocolate confectionery with a pattern.

  As described above, the water-based ink for printing is composed of four colors of red, yellow, blue, and black, or a combination of seven colors of red, light red, blue, light blue, black, light black, and yellow. In the case of four-color printing, the red ink was prepared by adding glycerin, glycerin fatty acid ester, alcohol and water to the beige mushroom dye. For each type of color ink, instead of the beige mushroom color, an appropriate color capable of producing each color was selected from the natural colorants recognized as the food additives.

(2) Examples 2 to 8 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6
Example n (n = 2) was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Production Example 1 was replaced with the printing buffer of Production Example n (n = 2 to 8) on the basis of Example 1 above. The chocolate confectionery with a pattern of ~ 8) was produced. For example, the chocolate confectionery of Example 2 (n = 2) using the printing buffer of Production Example 2 and of Example 3 (n = 3) using the printing buffer of Production Example 3 is used. Each was manufactured.
On the other hand, on the basis of Example 1 above, except that Production Example 1 was replaced with the printing buffer of Comparative Production Example n (n = 1 to 6), the same treatment as in Example 1 was carried out, and Comparative Example n ( The chocolate confectionery with a pattern of n = 1-6) was manufactured. For example, the chocolate of Comparative Example 1 (n = 1) using the printing buffer of Comparative Production Example 1 and the Chocolate of Comparative Example 2 (n = 2) using the printing buffer of Comparative Production Example 2 Each confectionery was manufactured.
However, in Comparative Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Example 5, an attempt was made to coat the base buffer layer on the chocolate surface, but a rebound phenomenon occurred on the oily chocolate surface, and a uniform base buffer layer coating film could be formed. Because there was not, the work was terminated on the way without going to the printing work of the pattern.

Then, about each chocolate confection with a pattern manufactured in the said Examples 1-8 and Comparative Examples 1-6, the applicability | paintability of the foundation | substrate buffer layer to the chocolate surface, and the evaluation test example of the inkjet printing suitability to a foundation | substrate buffer layer State.
<< Example of coating properties of base buffer layer for chocolate confectionery >>
About the chocolate confectionery with each pattern of the above Examples and Comparative Examples, the coating film formed when the base buffer layer was formed by applying the printing buffer of the production example or comparative production example to the surface of white chocolate with a spray gun The (underlying buffer layer) was visually observed, and the superiority or inferiority of the coating property was evaluated according to the following criteria.
◯: No repelling phenomenon was observed, and coating was uniform.
X: A repelling phenomenon was observed and the coating was poor.

<< Example of ink-jet printing suitability test for chocolate confectionery buffer layer >>
For the chocolate confectionery with each pattern in the above Examples and Comparative Examples, the printability is printed according to the following criteria by inkjet printing the pattern with aqueous ink on the base buffer layer coated on white chocolate and visually observing the pattern. Evaluation of superiority or inferiority.
◯: No repelling phenomenon was observed, and printing was good.
(Triangle | delta): The flip phenomenon was recognized partially and there was a printing defect in part.
X: There was bleeding due to the flipping phenomenon, and printing was poor overall.

The table below shows the test results.
However, as described above, in Comparative Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Example 5, since the base buffer layer could not be uniformly applied to the chocolate surface, the operation was terminated halfway without proceeding to the pattern printing process. Therefore, “-” in the table below indicates that the printability test was not performed due to the suspension of work.
Coatability on chocolate surface Printability Example 1 ○ ○ Example 2 ○ ○ Example 3 ○ ○ Example 4 ○ ○ Example 5 ○ ○ Example 6 ○ ○ Example 7 ○ ○ Example 8 ○ ○ Comparison Example 1 × −−
Comparative Example 2 × −−
Comparative Example 3
Comparative Example 4 ○ △
Comparative Example 5 × −−
Comparative Example 6

<Comprehensive evaluation of coatability and printability>
(1) Consideration of Comparative Examples 1 to 6 In Comparative Examples 1 and 2 using Na salt of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na) as water-soluble cellulose, regardless of the content, for printing containing CMC-Na When trying to apply the buffering agent to the chocolate surface, a flipping phenomenon occurred, resulting in poor coating, and it was not possible to proceed to the printing process with aqueous ink. Since CMC-Na is hydrophilic, not only in Comparative Example 1 but also in Comparative Example 2 in which the content of CMC-Na is reduced from this, a rebound phenomenon occurred on the oily chocolate surface, which could not be applied. It is guessed.
In Comparative Example 3 using ethyl cellulose (EC), the printing buffer containing EC could be satisfactorily applied to the chocolate surface, which is an oily confectionery. On the other hand, the base buffer layer made of this printing buffer was water-based. When ink-jet printing was performed with ink, bleeding due to a flipping phenomenon occurred, and printing was poor overall. The EC of Comparative Example 3 was more oleophilic than the CMC-Na, so that it could be applied satisfactorily on the chocolate surface, which is an oily confectionery. It is presumed that
In Comparative Example 4 using methylcellulose (MC), the printing buffer was satisfactorily applied to the chocolate surface, which is an oily confectionery. When ink jet printing was performed on the base buffer layer made of this printing buffer with water-based ink, a repelling phenomenon was partially recognized, and a defective portion of printing occurred. The MC of Comparative Example 4 is slightly more hydrophilic than the EC of Comparative Example 3 (that is, the lipophilicity of the methyl group is reduced by the amount of carbon less than that of the ethyl group). MC has more affinity than EC, and it is presumed that the entire printing defect is suppressed to a partial defect.
In Comparative Example 5 using hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), as in Comparative Examples 1 and 2 using CMC-Na, a printing buffer containing HEC was applied to the chocolate surface. The coating process was poor and we could not proceed to the printing process. For example, the HEC of Comparative Example 5 is more hydrophilic than the EC of Comparative Example 3 above because it has a hydroxyl group. Therefore, it is presumed that a flip phenomenon occurred on the oily chocolate surface and the coating could not be performed.
In Comparative Example 6 using a dispersion of cellulose powder, the chocolate surface was satisfactorily coated. However, in printing on the coated base buffer layer, water-based ink was repelled, resulting in poor printing.

In view of the above, as a characteristic of water-soluble cellulose, if hydrophilicity increases, it does not proceed to the printing process without having coating properties on the surface of oily chocolate, and conversely, if oleophilicity increases, coating properties are achieved. However, it turns out that it becomes difficult to satisfy the printability with water-based ink.
Therefore, it is necessary to balance hydrophilicity and oleophilicity in order to achieve both coatability on the oily chocolate surface and printability with water-based ink, and if this delicate balance is lost, coatability and It can be determined that it is difficult to achieve both printability.

(2) Consideration of Examples 1 to 8 Examples 1 to 3 using hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) as water-soluble cellulose, Examples 4 to 6 using hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), and a mixture of HPC and HPMC. In Examples 7 to 8 used, both the coatability to the chocolate surface and the printability with water-based ink were good.
Thus, considering the HPC of Examples 1 to 3 in comparison with the HEC of Comparative Example 5 above, both have the same hydroxyl group, but the propyl group is more hydrophilic than the ethyl group. It is estimated that HPC is more lipophilic than HEC and has better coating on the chocolate surface. Moreover, when HPC of Examples 1-3 was considered with contrast with MC of the comparative example 4, although the partial printing defect was exhibited in the comparative example 4, only a part for which a propyl group has many carbon numbers compared with a methyl group. Although the hydrophilicity decreases, the presence of the hydroxyl group at the end can suppress the decrease in hydrophilicity. Therefore, HPC is more hydrophilic than MC and is presumed to have good printability for aqueous ink. .
That is, HPC is considered to be able to have affinity for both oily chocolate and water-based ink due to a delicate balance between hydrophilicity and oleophilicity, so that both coatability and printability can be achieved smoothly.

Even in the HPMCs of Examples 4 to 6, the amount of methyl group is slightly more lipophilic than HPC, but the point of having affinity for both oily chocolate and aqueous ink is the same as HPC. As in Examples 1 to 3 using HPC, both coatability and printability can be achieved.
Moreover, also about Examples 7-8 which used HPC and HPMC together, the coating property and printability can be made compatible similarly to the Example which used HPC or HPMC alone.
On the other hand, considering Examples 1 to 3 or Examples 4 to 6, even in Example 3 or Example 6 having a small content of HPC or HPMC, the same as Example 2 or Example 5 having a large content In addition, it can be seen that both coatability and printability can be achieved.
Further, considering Examples 7 to 8 in which HPC and HPMC are used in combination, even when there is not much difference in the content (% by weight) of HPC and HPMC (see Example 8), the content of HPC is set to HPMC. It can be seen that both coatability and printability can be achieved in the same manner as in Example 7 where the amount was increased more remarkably.

Claims (3)

In chocolate confectionery with a pattern printed with edible water-based ink on the surface,
The surface of the chocolate confectionery is coated with a base buffer layer made of a printing buffer, and the pattern is printed by attaching edible water-based ink to the surface of the base buffer layer.
The printing buffer contains a plasticizer selected from the group consisting of glycerin and propylene glycol in water-soluble cellulose selected from the group consisting of hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC). A chocolate confectionery with a pattern. Content of the water-soluble cellulose in the buffer for printing is 3 to 40 weight%, The chocolate confectionery with a pattern of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. In the printing method of chocolate confectionery that prints a pattern with edible water-based ink on the surface,
(A) A buffer for printing containing a water-soluble cellulose selected from the group consisting of hydroxypropylcellulose and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose and a plasticizer selected from the group consisting of glycerin and propylene glycol on the surface of the chocolate confectionery. Coating and forming a base buffer layer;
(B) a step of attaching edible water-based ink to the surface of the base buffer layer and printing a pattern with the edible water-based ink on the surface of the chocolate candy through the buffer layer. Pattern printing method.