Patent Application
20140030400
The present invention relates to the industry which prepares fruit arrangements for special occasions.
The creation of fruit into decorative arrangements has been pioneered by Edible Arrangements, Inc. These arrangements are colorful, festive and appealing to the eye. By being comprised of fruit, they are also edible and fun to experience. These arrangements have become extremely popular as a substitute for floral arrangements given for special occasions such as holidays, Valentine's Day, birthdays and the like. However, these arrangements are more than a “fruit basket” comprising an assembly of fruit, such arrangements have special appearances which mimic flowers such as daisies and the like. These clever designs present an eye appeal which renders the arrangements as fruit representing art.
The preparation of the fruit into suitable configurations for assembly into arrangements has become a specialized task. Many hours of creativity has been required in order to develop methods of processing fruit which can be done in a manner which is easily replicated for consistent application among franchisees of such business for maintaining the good will of the business.
While prior fruit arrangements have become very popular, a need constantly arises for newer designs which will appeal to the masses both visually and in taste.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide for an innovative method of preparing a pineapple for incorporation into a fruit arrangement.
A process for preparing a fruit for a fruit arrangement includes providing a sectioned pineapple meat with the core present. Then establishing a skewer channel within the pineapple meat and core. Once the skewer channel is established, applying a first coating of chocolate to a first portion of the sectioned pineapple meat. Then inserting a skewer into the skewer channel and applying a second coating of chocolate to a second portion of said pineapple meat.
For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are not drawn to scale, in which:
As required, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. These embodiments are meant to be examples of various ways of implementing the invention and it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in alternative forms. The figures are not to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular elements, while related elements may have been eliminated to prevent obscuring novel aspects. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
As shown in
Once the meat of the pineapple with the core is provided, the meat is sectioned into slices of preferred thicknesses. In the preferred embodiment, as shown in
The fruit cutter has a bottom portion 152 for positioning the palm of a hand into the cutter and an opposite cutting edge 154.
Once the pineapple meat with the core has been cut into the desired shape, a channel in the pineapple is created for subsequent receipt of a skewer for positioning the pineapple cupcake in a vertical secured position within an arrangement. The creation of the channel is established at step 300 by inserting a skewer through the base of the pineapple meat, through the meat and into the core of the pineapple. This forms the channel all the way into the core of the pineapple. Such construction is important in that the rigidness of the pineapple's core will provide stability for the cupcake when positioned within a fruit arrangement. Once the channel is defined, the skewer is removed in order to enable further processing of the pineapple.
Once the channel has been defined within the interior of the pineapple, a first portion of the pineapple is dipped into a vat of a desired coating at step 400. In the preferred embodiment a cone dip warmer from Server, www.server-products.com, is utilized for retaining melted dark chocolate for dipping. In the preferred embodiment the pineapple is held by the crown portion with the skewer removed such that the base of the “cupcake” may be dipped into the cone tip warmer such that the base portion of the cupcake may be covered in the dark chocolate.
After the base has been dipped in the chocolate, the pineapple is removed and the skewer is inserted back into the skewer channel and into the core of the pineapple. In the dipping process it is desired that the dark chocolate enter into the skewer channel and pervade throughout the channel all the way into the core. With the wet chocolate in the core, the skewer is inserted into the skewer channel and as the dark chocolate is allowed to cool the chocolate within the skewer channel will bind onto the skewer and the interior of the pineapple providing a secure connection between the skewer and the pineapple. With the skewer in place, the pineapple is set aside to enable the dark chocolate to cool.
The establishment of a skewer channel prior to the initial dipping of an initial coating on the pineapple has been determined critical by the inventors. In order to provide a double coating on the pineapple, the initial coating must be done with the skewer disengaged from the pineapple in order to allow the portion of the pineapple which will eventually engage the skewer to be coated. Having the skewer in place would result in the skewer being submersed in the coating creating an unacceptable mess. Accordingly, the absence of a skewer during the initial coating of the base is required. However, with the coating of the base of the pineapple cupcake being applied, subsequent attempts of positioning a skewer into the meat and core of the pineapple without a pre-established skewer channel requires extensive force in order to penetrate the core. While the application of such force is possible if the pineapple section was placed on a flat table top, having the wet coating present on the pineapple results in the wet coating being smudged onto the flat table top establishing a messy working area, a waste of dipping product, and a non-uniform appearance on the pineapple cupcake with the possibility of certain uncoated areas being established. Hence, the establishment of a skewer channel prior to the coating of the base of the product is essential.
As shown in
In the preferred embodiment, the second dipping station consists of white chocolate to provide a “frosting” appearance of the pineapple cupcake. The white chocolate in combination with the dark chocolate provides for a distinct two taste experience. The dark chocolate and pineapple provides for a zesty, chocolate experience while the white chocolate and pineapple provides for a pina colada taste. Additionally, the preferred sequence consists of applying the dark chocolate prior to applying the white chocolate. Dark chocolate has a melting point of approximately ninety-nine degrees Fahrenheit, while white chocolate has a melting point of eighty-four to eighty-seven degrees Fahrenheit. Accordingly, by applying the dark chocolate first and letting it cool and subsequently applying the melted white chocolate, should an overlap of the two chocolates occur at the transition point between the “base of the cupcake holder” and the “crown of the cupcake”, the white chocolate will merely overlap the dark chocolate while avoiding a re-melting of the dark chocolate and establishing a “marble” appearance.
Once the second dipping coating is applied, the pineapple cupcake is removed and allowed to cool. If desired sprinkles may be applied to the wet white chocolate coating. Once the entire product is cooled, the pineapple cupcake with the skewer may be positioned within a fruit arrangement. The skewer enables the pineapple cupcake to be positioned in a container having foam and the like and supporting the pineapple cupcake in an upright manner.
