Continuous Tempering for Chocolate Production

A machine for tempering small volumes of cocoa butter used in chocolate production. The machine allows precise temperature control and mixing of cocoa butter to achieve proper tempering. It uses a peltier device instead of resistive heaters to provide accurate temperature control. The machine has a digital thermostat, current regulator, and mixer to precisely temper and mix small volumes of cocoa butter.

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A method for predicting the tempering level and/or viscosity of tempered chocolate to improve control, variability, and throughput of the chocolate tempering process. The method involves using a computer to predict the tempering level and/or viscosity of the tempered chocolate based on parameters like temperature, particle size, and shear rate during tempering. By predicting the tempering and viscosity, it allows real-time adjustments to optimize the tempering process and maintain quality. This compensates for ingredient variability and temperature fluctuations during tempering.

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Preparing heat-resistant chocolate products using a unique process that involves specific steps and ingredients. The process involves providing a mixture containing sugar, cocoa components, and optionally reducing sugars. The mixture is heated, cooled, and then reheated if desired. This creates a chocolate product that can withstand higher temperatures without melting or becoming sticky compared to conventional chocolate. The heat resistance is due to sugar crystallization and cocoa fat solidification during cooling. Aging the chocolate further enhances heat resistance. The resulting heat-resistant chocolate can be used in foods to prevent melting in hot conditions.

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Continuous chocolate tempering machine for improving chocolate quality during processing. The machine uses a heated tank with a rotating stirrer and scrapers to continuously agitate and scrape the chocolate. This prevents chocolate from sticking to the tank walls and overheating, which can degrade quality. Steam heating circulates water in the tank, condensing to remove heat. A motor rotates the stirrer and scrapers to agitate the chocolate. Temperature sensors monitor the tank and adjust steam temperature to maintain constant chocolate temperature. The scrapers prevent chocolate from sticking and overheating.

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Chocolate syrup tempering device to prevent agglomeration during chocolate processing. The device has a tank to hold the chocolate syrup, a heating section to raise the temperature, and a cooling section to lower the temperature. The key innovation is a wall contact feature where the cooling section has a section that contacts the tank wall. This allows rapid cooling by transferring heat directly to the tank instead of just the syrup. This prevents agglomeration by quickly bringing the temperature down if it rises too high. The heating section has a section that contacts the tank wall for fast heating as well. This allows rapid temperature adjustment to prevent agglomeration. The tank has insulation to prevent heat loss.

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Continuous tempering machine for chocolate processing that provides uniform heating and scraping to prevent chocolate from sticking and degrading during tempering. The machine has a heating tank with a rotating rod inside. Stirring rods on the rod agitate the chocolate. Side and bottom scrapers move against the tank walls to remove chocolate that sticks. The chocolate is heated by steam generated from condensed water that circulates in a closed loop. Temperature is monitored and controlled by adjusting the steam supply.

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Cold plasma processing as a new technique for pre-crystallization in chocolate production. Cold plasma involves exposing food to a non-thermal, non-destructive gas discharge containing reactive species. The plasma conditions can be adjusted to modify food properties. In chocolate, cold plasma is applied to promote crystal nucleation during crystallization instead of traditional tempering. By exposing the melted chocolate to cold plasma, it facilitates nucleation of stable cocoa butter crystals without requiring long tempering times or equipment. The cold plasma treatment can also be combined with seeding chocolate with pre-formed beta V or VI crystals for synergistic effects.

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Predicting and controlling tempering of chocolate and other fat-containing crystallizable masses to improve batch-to-batch consistency, reduce waste, and enhance quality. The method involves using temperer process parameters to predict the temper level and viscosity of the tempered mass. This allows real-time adjustment of the tempering process to maintain the predicted values and mitigate variability from ingredients, processing, and external factors.

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Chocolate molding and tempering device that improves efficiency and reduces molding time compared to traditional methods. The device has a larger container inside a housing that contains an evaporator for cooling and a heater. A touchscreen allows setting temperatures. Before molding, a fluid is added to the housing to ensure uniform heat extraction. The molding elements contact the evaporator to rapidly extract heat. This allows faster, more efficient molding compared to separate heating and cooling steps.

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A versatile and efficient machine for making chocolate and other fillings that allows making a wide variety of products beyond just chocolate. The machine has a tank for initial heating of the product to a chocolate melting temperature, and a sealed processing cylinder for further heating steps. This allows making different products with different temperature requirements. The cylinder can also be isolated for continuous processing. The heating is done using a thermodynamic cycle heat exchanger instead of direct heating elements. This provides more precise and consistent temperature control. The machine can also be connected to a thermal treatment plant for further heating steps.

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A chocolate tempering apparatus that improves hygiene and simplifies design compared to conventional chocolate tempering machines. The apparatus circulates chocolate through pipes instead of using a separate pump and stirrer. It has a heat exchanger inside one or both of the pipes to regulate temperature. This eliminates the need for a separate pump motor and stirrer motor, reducing complexity and size. It also allows better cleaning since the pipes can be disassembled for thorough sanitizing. The chocolate circulates through the pipes without external exposure, preventing contamination from air or foreign objects.

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Automated and efficient method for producing high-quality 72% dark chocolate. The method involves grinding the cocoa powder, cocoa butter, sugar, milk powder, and lecithem together in a continuous high-shear mixer to create a homogenous slurry. This slurry is then pumped into a refiner where it is continuously agitated and refined to the desired particle size. The refined chocolate is then tempered, molded, and cooled to create the final chocolate bar. The automated process eliminates manual grinding steps and allows for consistent, high-quality chocolate with improved efficiency and reduced labor costs.

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Chocolate tempering machine with improved efficiency and faster tempering times compared to conventional machines. The key innovation is a scraping system near the temperature and screw transfer tower that prevents chocolate film buildup. This prevents sealing and allows better heat transfer for faster chocolate tempering. The scraping system has vanes next to the tower that continuously remove chocolate from the gap between the tower and the vanes. This prevents a thin film from forming that seals the cooling and hinders temperature transfer. The scraping vanes ensure consistent contact between the chocolate and the cooling surfaces to speed up the tempering process.

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Efficiently tempering fats and oils like cocoa butter for chocolate production using a crusher instead of adjusting temperature. The method involves treating the melted fats and oils with a crusher to form stable crystal structures. The stress from crushing contributes to efficient crystal nucleation and alignment. This avoids the need for seeding agents or expensive temperature control equipment.

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A simplified and automated process, apparatus, and computer program for continuous tempering of crystallizable masses like chocolate, nougat, or creme. The process involves cooling the mass in two stages: pre-cooling to a temperature above crystallization and then cooling further to crystallize. The apparatus has a touch-screen interface that allows easy adjustment of key parameters like mass flow rate, pre-cooling temperature, and crystallization rate. The computer executes the steps of the process based on these user inputs, automating the tempering control. It provides a simple, user-friendly way to achieve consistent, high-quality tempering without expertise in chocolate crystallization theory.

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A method to produce chocolate that has improved upper limit temperature for automatic temper recovery without softening the chocolate. The method involves adding a seed agent containing stable BOB crystals to the melted chocolate dough. The dough also contains an emulsifier with specific fatty acid composition. The BOB crystals seed the chocolate to set and the emulsifier prevents softening at higher temperatures. The emulsifier has 50% saturated fatty acids with 16-24 carbon atoms, with behenic and stearic acids preferred. This allows the chocolate to have an automatic temper recovery temperature of 37°C or higher without compromising snap.

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A professional chocolate tempering machine that can consistently produce high-quality tempered chocolate without requiring constant monitoring by a skilled chocolatier. The machine uses sensors to automatically adjust parameters like temperature, agitation, and chocolate flow rate to achieve the desired chocolate consistency. The sensors monitor factors like viscosity, weight, and torque, and the machine's controller uses this data to optimize the tempering process. The machine also has a user interface to display sensor readings and set parameters. This allows reproducible chocolate quality without needing constant supervision.

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A manufacturing method for chocolates that allows high temperature resistance without compromising crispiness. The method involves adding a small amount of behenic acid-containing seed crystal to tempered chocolate during production. The seed crystal stabilizes the chocolate's crystal structure when it cools, preventing blooming at high temperatures. To enable high temperature resistance while preserving crispness, the chocolate base contains an emulsifier with an HLB of 7 or less. This allows dispersing the seed crystal without thickening the chocolate. The seed crystal and emulsifier prevent blooming at temperatures up to 45°C, while the low HLB emulsifier preserves chocolate crispness.

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Automated chocolate tempering machine that uses a rotating plate with scraper to efficiently temper chocolate. The machine heats chocolate in a tank using a water bath. As the chocolate reaches the right viscosity, a rotating plate coated with chocolate scrapes against an upper scraper to discharge the tempered chocolate. This allows continuous tempering without needing to remove and replace the chocolate.

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A method to produce tempered chocolate with improved snap property and high temperature stability without blooming. The method involves using an emulsifier with an HLB of 7 or less when seeding chocolate with BOB (behenic acid and oleic acid triglyceride) crystals. The low HLB emulsifier helps prevent BOB seed crystals from dissolving in the chocolate during tempering and storage. This preserves undissolved BOB crystals at temperatures up to 37-45°C, allowing the chocolate to automatically recover without blooming when cooled after high temperature exposure. The low HLB emulsifier also reduces BOB dissolution in the chocolate fats, preventing snap property loss.

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