Confections that "swim" in a carbonated beverage

Abstract

An edible confection which repeatedly rises and sinks, i.e., “swims,” in a transparent carbonated beverage due to changing buoyancy resulting from the formation of carbonation bubbles on the surface of the confection, and the escape of the bubbles to the atmosphere when the confection reaches the top of the beverage. An edible surfactant is included as a soluble coating on the confection to influence the confection-atmosphere surface tension, confection-beverage surface tension, and/or beverage-atmosphere surface tension such that the surface tension at the top of the beverage does not inhibit or prevent descension of the confection. Preferably, the surfactant is a powdered gelatin. The coating may also include ingredients which promote the solution of the gelatin. Alternatively, for confections having a liquid coating, the viscosity and thickness of the coating are engineered, and/or the underlying surface is roughened to minimize the sliding of carbonation bubbles when the surface is inclined. The confections are die-cut from a thin multi-color sheet, and discharged onto a packaging card by heating the die to melt the edges of the confections, and applying air pressure. The melted edges act to bond the confections to the packaging card. The confections are powdered with the surfactant while the edges are molten, and therefore only the edges substantially retain the coating powder.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.