Mixing Machines for Confectionery
Confectionery manufacturers who transition from ordinary batch mixing equipment to more efficient high shear homogenizers typically realize significant savings. While not inexpensive, this superior industrial high shear mixing technology may improve your bottom line by reducing waste and boosting raw ingredient yields.
Of course, some confectionery processes are more difficult than others. Those that involve the blending of challenging ingredients, such as gums and thickening agents, pose special problems for food & beverage manufacturers and process engineers.
Locust bean gum, pectin, xanthan gum, carrageenan, and acacia are some examples of these ingredients, which are used to add texture and mouthfeel to a wide range of products.
These common thickening and stabilizing substances frequently form agglomerates when introduced into liquids. Raw ingredients can be wasted when this occurs, and mixing time is invariably extended in an effort to achieve thorough agglomerate-free blends.
Premixing dry-powered ingredients
Gummy sweets are a classic example of the sort of popular confections that can be surprisingly challenging to manufacture. While the gums used to achieve these confections add desirable properties, working with them can be frustrating. They may resist dispersion and hydration, taxing even the most efficient old-school agitator or stirrer mixing machines.
Premixing dry-powered ingredients before adding them to liquid media is one approach to minimizing this problem. But mixing ultimately remains an inefficient process when using conventional equipment. Switching to high shear equipment eliminates these problems and even allows you to skip the time-consuming premixing step. The key is to generate enough shear to break down agglomerates and eliminate potential “fish eyes.” As the name indicates, high shear mixers excel at generating extreme shear.
Reclamation Equals Savings
Efficient reworking or reclamation operations can provide significant savings — and reclamation of otherwise rejected product is another area where high shear mixers excel. Off-spec products can be recycled, eliminating a significant source of potential waste. Given the high cost of some ingredients, this can lead to substantial savings. Certain products, such as chocolate, are highly sensitive to temperature. The ability to carefully control temperature during processing and/or reclamation is therefore of paramount importance.
Gelatin (hydrolyzed collagen) also is sensitive to temperature. This key substance is used throughout the food & beverage industry to confer properties such as binding, emulsifying, water binding, film-forming, elasticity and thickening. Its structure breaks down at temperatures above 160 degrees (70 C), so temperature control is an important aspect of success when working with this common ingredient, too.
Sweets manufacturing equipment
High Shear Mixer Manufacturer Quadro® Liquids has accumulated decades of experience working with stakeholders in the food & beverage industry to achieve the most efficient deagglomeration, mixing, reclamation and production processes possible.
For more information about how we can help you achieve more efficient and profitable confectionery processing please contact us. Our experienced sales personnel stand ready to assist you.
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