Retrofit options to upgrade confectionery plant
Date: 02 January 2003
Generating a wider selection of products Baker Perkins has developed a range of retrofit options that upgrade confectionery plant to generate a wider selection of products, or reduce operating costs.
Colour/flavour incorporator
Depositing is a means of producing hard confectionery purchased for beneficial purposes - medicinal or functional products. Baker Perkins developed a colour/flavour incorporator to introduce active ingredients and flavours into hard candy at outputs up to 1,000kg/hour.
A key feature is that high efficiency mixing in an enclosed cylinder minimises liquid loss of expensive ingredients through flash-off or evaporation: this can reduce ingredient usage by up to 20% compared with conventional systems.
Additionally, an ability to mix slurries into hard candy to produce coffee and chocolate flavoured confectionery makes this an ideal option to add flexibility to any depositing plant.
Sugar free confectionery
New technology developed by Baker Perkins allows confectionery makers to produce a wide range of sugar-free candies on new or existing production systems. Vacuum skids have been developed for retrofitting to installed plant, and provide confectioners with the option of extending their product range.
Sugar free candies can be produced with the same wide variety of colours and flavours, such as milk and crème, as conventional confectionery. The added-value options of stripes, layers and liquid centres are all available.
This distinct style of confectionery involves blending and cooking a sugar free material, or polyol, as a sugar replacement. Isomalt is a typical polyol used successfully by Baker Perkins customers: derived from sucrose, Isomalt has physical properties similar to sugar resulting in confectionery products that have a texture and flavour similar to those made with sucrose.
The retrofit package is added to the conventional production system, in order to achieve the level of viscosity necessary for depositing. This was proven in the Baker Perkins Innovation Centre at Peterborough, where production scale equipment is available for trial and development work by customers.
Direct to indirect condenser conversion
In a conventional direct condenser, water used to convert vapour from the cooker is flushed away - the ratio is 95% water + 5% vapour. The cost of water (representing a high cost in some regions) reduces profitability. There's also the risk of a build up of sucrose which is not pumped away.
In an indirect condenser, process water is retained in a heat exchanger and continuously re-cycled. It circulates separately from the vapour, which is the only liquid drained off. A skid-mounted conversion kit can easily be adapted to an existing line and offers a short-term return on investment.
Pressure dissolving
This is an option that can save both energy and running costs.
Conventional atmospheric dissolving of the sugar and glucose typically requires around 24% of water in the total pre-mix, and the sugar dissolves at 105°C. In a pressure system, the sugar dissolves at higher temperatures - usually 120 - 130°C, and only 15% of water needs to be used in the premix - cutting process energy and time.
Two-colour products
This conversion kit allows products to be created in stripes or two layers, of distinctly different flavours and colours.
It involves feeding two candy streams to the depositor before separate 'shots' fill the mould. Strawberry/cream, banana/toffee and chocolate/caramel are typical combinations, but in reality the choice is limited only by the imagination.
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