What is the process of chocolate grinding in detail？
The usual processing steps, as known from the classic production processes, are integrated into the RUMBA process. Dry-conching, the most important step in the quality development of the chocolate, is particularly effective in the RUMBA process. By using agitator bead mills rather than five-roll refiners for grinding the chocolate, the processes of grinding and liquid-conching run simultaneously. This reduces processing times considerably, with no difference in quality compared to chocolate from conventional plants.
1 Melting
When the solids are added for dry grinding, cocoa butter and cocoa mass are melted down at the same time. The temporary storage tanks are equipped with an agitator to maintain good homogeneity.
Dry-conching
Liquid-conching
2 Dry and liquid-conching
As the core process in chocolate production, conching is critical to the quality, refined flavor and melting behavior of the chocolate.
After pre-tempering, the conche is charged with the pre-ground solids and part of the liquid components.
A specially-designed, horizontal mixing shaft provides for thorough mixing of the components.
Dry-conching is the most important step for the development of the quality of the chocolate.
Under a strong flow of tempered air, the discharge of undesired aromas and flavors is especially effective.
Since this process runs with less cocoa butter content (15% to 18% rather than 23% to 26%) than usual in the RUMBA plant, an optimum transfer of the cocoa aroma to the sugar is achieved.
The lower fat content has two decisive advantages: First, there is more free surface area of sugar available, which accelerates the conching process.
Second, the mass is lighter, which is reflected in lower drive power and, thus, lower power consumption during conching.
After the dry-conching process, cocoa butter is added and the conche is set to the desired temperature. This is followed by homogenization and liquid-conching of the mass.
During liquid-conching, the recipe is completed as needed with the addition of lecithin and other components (e.g. vanilla).
3 Fine grinding
Parallel to the conching process, wet fine grinding is carried out with the MASTERREFINER agitator bead mill. Thanks to the effective separator system, trouble-free operation with high throughput and constant temperature is possible.
This means the desired qualities or finenesses can be set easily and you get a homogeneous product with a narrow particle size distribution.