MOGUL technology

The world of mogul products consists of far more than just simple gummy bears. In accordance with that, the production processes are diverse and complex.

Gelatin fruit gums

During the second half of the last century, gelatin based fruit jelly prevailed, particularly in Western Europe and North America, so that even today on most mogul plants gelatin fruit gums are produced in a variety of shapes and colours. Mainly single layered, one- or two-colour design products such as gummy bears, worms and cola bottles are manufactured. The two- or three-layered products are usually generated by successively depositing the masses on the consecutive  positioned depositors. It is important for these products that the sequence is in accordance to the specific weights. For this reason, many layered fruit gums, such as apple or peach rings have foam layers on the back of them.

Products with a semi-liquid filling have increasingly appeared on store shelves in recent years. The manufacturing of these products is carried out with a one-shot depositor which nests the two masses together by a concentric nozzle system and special piston controlling. Due to the very slow gelling of the gelatin, the filling can move quickly from the centre at different densities of the masses. For this reason, the filling is often set slightly lighter than the shell mass. After the one-shot depositing process, a foam cover is deposited on the product, which prevents further rise of the filling, so that the core can be positioned even without exact weight adjustment in the centre of the fruit gums.

Of course, some products are produced with only one one-shot depositor. Here, however, the key is to pay attention to a very accurate density adjustment of both masses. Often small amounts of pectin are added to accelerate the gelatin gelling speed.

Starch and pectin

In addition to multicoloured and multi shaped gelatin products, fruit gums are often made with starch and pectin as a binding agent. Starch products show rubber-like elasticity and are represented strongly in Arab regions (they are halal approved) and Anglo-American areas. Pectin products have an irreversible, short and fragile jelly structure. For both variants, the vegan raw material origin is increasingly advertised. Agar agar and arrageen can also be used as gelling agents.

Oiling and sugaring

After their depowdering, gum and jelly products are usually polished with beeswax and carnauba wax or covered with a sandy layer of sugar, which may also partly contain crystalline acid. The oiling is carried out after a second cleaning step in a special oiling drum.

During the sugaring process the products are vapourised after the second cleaning with saturated steam, whereby the surface of the gum and jelly products is melted. The sticky products are then put together with crystalline sugar in a perforated drum, where the sugar is evenly distributed on the surface, while the products are wiped to ensure even distribution.

Confectionery like pralines

In Eastern Europe, Russia and the other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, pectin and agar jelly products have a long tradition. Here, many fondant, toffee and sweet foam products (zefir, bird milk) are produced. All of these products are manufactured on a mogul plant. Elastic rubber products play only a minor role. The products with 10-15g are consistently heavier and larger and are almost always covered with chocolate to a praline confection. Since the products are preferably sold piecewise on the market, the products are typically wrapped or packed individually.

Thus, the range of products produced with a mogul in Western countries differs
significantly. To meet these product requirements, Winkler und Dünnebier
Süßwarenmaschinen (WDS) has developed various technical solutions that make it possible to produce such chocolate confections fully automatically, in various performance levels with precision.

Mogul plants for such applications must depowder the articles in regimented formation, i.e. the filled product starch trays are turned on a wire mesh belt in the ‘grid-air’ depowdering unit (GL), lifted and the surrounding starch is removed completely via suction and blowing nozzles.

The arrangement of the products is not changed. Clean and row by row, the products leave the mogul plant and are then coated with chocolate. The speed of such a GL depowdering unit is a maximum 22 trays per minute. Since most of these chocolate confections do not have to be dried, particularly through the molding powder, but only experience a shaping and cooling, WDS offers climate-controlled cooling tunnels through which the tray pallets pass with product on fully automated track systems.

The entire mogul/GL and cooling tunnel method is combined to form a continuously running cyclic production process, so that the starch trays no longer have to be driven to external drying and conditioning rooms.

Foam products

Typical products that are produced on these plants are fondant pralines, caramel, chocolate or jelly filling, toffee with chocolate filling or toffee with own liquid core (korovka). Aerated confectioneries are also produced in large varieties. Agar milk foams, which are also widely known as bird’s milk or soufflé, may also be multilayered or filled (with chocolate cream, fruit jelly or caramel) on a mogul. In addition to the chocolate coated confectioneries, jellies are also made with a mogul. Some carrageen products have already achieved wide acceptance.

Due to rapid gelling, carrageen is, like pectin, suitable for filled jelly products.

Crusted pralines

A special case in the mogul technique is crusted pralines. The principle of crusted praline manufacture is that a sugar supersaturated, hot liqueur solution is poured into hot starch and through the inevitably occurring dehydration of the liqueur solution, it begins to crystallise in the outer layers. In order to have a uniform crystallisation, the staple of starch trays must be completely turned after a few hours. For this purpose, there are special turning devices available. The starch stacks are here laterally not open but completely closed so that the product and the starch cannot fall out. After completion of crystallisation, the products are also depowdered and cleaned carefully in the depowdering unit, so they can be immediately coated with chocolate to liqueur pralines.

WDS plant capacities

WDS manufactures mogul plants, where a variety of confectionery products are deposited and moulded into starch powder – mainly corn starch.

In an unregimented product depowdering, WDS mogul plants move 35 trays per minute through the system. In a standard mogul plant 462 B / 1 (tray width 800 mm), up to four tons of product can be made each hour, depending on product size. In the larger version with a tray width of 1,200mm, productivity increases to seven tons per hour.

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