Coping with caramel coatings
A caramel mass may consist of various ingredients, however a standard caramel mass would contain sugar, water, glucose, fat and condensed milk. It is the mixture between these ingredients and the boiling process that form the base of a good caramel. The handling of the caramel mass goes through different critical points on the way to the perfect final caramel product.
The making of the caramel mass
The sugar boils with water, glucose, fat and condensed milk. It is important that the temperature of the mass is correct in order to have the perfect liquid caramel mass. The water content of the caramel is significant for the physical qualities of the caramel. A few degrees can be of essential importance for the consistency of the final caramel. If for instance the caramel mass is boiled to 1120C, the final caramel will be liquid. At 1140C the final caramel will be more chewy, and if the caramel is boiled at up to 1180C, the final caramel will be hard. In other words, it is very important to supervise the temperature in order to reach precisely the correct temperature to have the intended viscosity of the mass.
The Caracoat caramel enrober
In principle the Caracoat caramel enrobing machine (pictured) consists of one heated service tank (water and glycerine combined 50/50), lobe type pumps for feeding from service tank to flow pan, and a conveyor band for transport of the articles to be enrobed. A caramel enrober contains two flow pans and one blower with a maximum speed up to 10-12m/min.
The articles to be enrobed are carried through the machine on a wire mesh band, divided in two: a short band for entrance and a main conveyor band in the area with caramel.
The amount of liquid caramel on the articles can be regulated in different ways. A shaking and blowing system regulates the amount of enrobed mass and two licking rollers fitted with scrapers control the amount of bottoming. To remove caramel drops underneath the articles the machine is furthermore equipped with a detailer.
The caramel enrobing machine must be fed with caramel in a continuous flow regulated by the speed of the feeding pump and level control sensor. This ensures the constant temperature of caramel mass, which is extremely important to prevent the liquid caramel mass from sticking to shafts, pipes, etc. It is therefore essential that the control of the temperature is very punctual and accurate.
The speed of the blower is a decisive factor, since it controls the thickness of the enrobed caramel layer. The more blowing, the less layer. The blowing system with calibrated air nozzle should provide a uniform air pressure and amount of air in full width of the wire mesh band.
Cleaning
Cleaning is an important parameter. As the service tank and all components inside the Caracoat caramel enrober are not removable, the cleaning after production is done by a damphex steam machine/hot water pressure cleaner, ie shafts, scrapers, pumps, pipes and wiremesh belt are all cleaned with this steam system. The caramel enrober further includes an exhaust device for removing of steam and all humidity from the machine during cleaning.
Enrobing with caramel
To sum up – when enrobing with a caramel mass the following parameters are necessary to control:
- Temperature of the mass
- Viscosity of the mass
- Flowability of the mass
When these are fully under control during the production, the result will be nicely caramel enrobed products, ready for further handling.
If the products are to be covered with chocolate to have a stabile covering, it is important to have the correct cooling time for the caramel to cool down before enrobing the final chocolate layer.
By Gitte Svenstrup, food technologist and business developer at Aasted
