Melanger is a device for rolling (grinding) cocoa beans, nuts, grains and seeds during the production of chocolate and nut pastes (urbeci). Melangers are divided into industrial and home-made, domestic ones, in turn, are divided into so-called melangers, mainly intended for grinding rice (Rice grinder) and more reliable, for home-made chocolate.
Content
Creation History
In 1883, in Switzerland, the chocolatier Philippe Suchard invented the melanger, which allows you to produce 50 percent of all Swiss chocolate. Since then, on an industrial scale, chocolate has been produced on large multi-ton melangers. Although recently they have been rapidly supplanted by ball mills, grinding cocoa beans with metal balls.
Principle of Operation
Modern melangers are powered by an electric motor and resemble a stone mill with stone millstones. They are distinguished from analogues of past centuries by the high quality of stone processing, which allows to increase the efficiency of the device.
With the help of an electric motor, the bowl rotates, and the stone millstones begin to rotate due to friction with the granite base of the bowl. A special pressure mechanism adds extra pressure to the runners on the base of the bowl, which also increases productivity. Reducing the pressure on the runners, the grinding process slows down, and the conching process continues with the same intensity. The same technique can be used if the chocolatier believes that the dispersion level of the cocoa particles is sufficient, but the conching process is not yet complete.
Classification
Modern melangers can be divided into two main groups.
1. Suitable for the production of chocolate, the continuous working time of which is 6 or more hours. The further process of conching chocolate may take an additional 1-3 days.
2. Unsuitable for the production of chocolate, the continuous working time of which is less than 6 hours. These include cheap Indian models created for local Indian cuisine. Mostly designed for rolling rice with water. Operation of which is more than 2-3 hours of continuous operation can lead to overheating of the engine and malfunction of the melanger.
Advantages
Granite grinds the ingredients, not the metal. It is a more durable material compared to steel, it is known that in chocolate factories there is a problem with metal particles getting into the finished product, the use of a melanger allows, if not solve it, then at least minimize this problem. The chocolate factory uses a lot of equipment, for mixing, for conching, for pre-grinding, for fine grinding. Melanger allows you to combine all of the above functions in one into one, which significantly saves space, finances and labor. Possible dispersion is 18-20 microns.
Literature
- Kokashinsky G.R. Manufacture of chocolate products. Food Industry., 1966 - Total pages: 198, p. 78 - 84
- Alekseev Yu.A. Melanger., 2017 - Total pages 7