Regulation of mixing/tumbling process of chocolate processing in conches

摘要

In a continual conche tumbling process for the processing and manufacture of chocolate, the ingredients are mixed together with butter and an emulsifying agent and are converted from the dry phase to a fluid phase. This is effected by a combination of an electric motor-driven combined mixer-shearer mounted on a shaft. The novelty is that: (a) the electrical current required to drive the motor is continually registered and compared with a recipe-dependent target value; (b) at the beginning of the mixing/tumbling process, the quantities of butter and emulsifying agent are corrected using the deviation of the electrical load on the motor from the target value; (c) final adjustments are made to the relative quantities of ingredients at the conclusion of the mixing/tumbling process.