Ice cream coating is usually a very highfat product which will change viscosity and behaviour during production. Therefore, this well tasting coating is often a source to production, quality and price problems, but it does not need to be so! By Arne Pedersen, Product Manager Bakery & Confectionery. Palsgaard A/S. Using the right emulsifier systems reduces the potential problems and in addition to this opens the possibility of making a stable production of low-fat and costeffective coating which will improve the competitiveness of your products. For the ice-cream industry chocolate and compound coatings are widely used to add extra value to the ready-to-eat products. The combination between the relatively sweet ice-cream base and the relatively distinct cocoa flavour creates a well balanced flavour appreciated by most consumers. The usage of coating has not been given too much attention in the literature taken into consideration its complexity, difference from ordinary chocolate and that it is a source for potential problems. In many ways chocolate is by nature incompatible with the ice-cream and this can create problems at the production stage. In the manufacturing process of chocolate it is a general rule to avoid water during the entire process, and in the conching step a lot of effort is exercised to re- duce the total water content in the chocolate well below 1%. Higher content of water will increase the viscosity of the chocolate dramatically making it unsuitable for production as the flow properties will become too poor. On the other hand, icecream is a system typically holding 65% water which is mainly frozen in the final stage, but during the manufacturing process a great proportion of the water will be found in a liquid stage. Where it is attempted to keep the temperature as low as possible during manufacturing of icecream, the chocolate has to be heated to 30 - 40o C in order to remain liquid. The contact between the frozen surfaces of the icecream sticks and the warm chocolate will thaw some water which will migrate into the chocolate causing an increase in viscosity and yield value resulting in increased layer thickness and crystallization time. Emulsifiers like lecithin – but especially PGPR (polyglycerol polyricinoleate), are known to improve the flow properties of the liquid chocolate mass and to a certain extend counteract this negative effect of water. It is therefore interesting for the ice-cream industry to take food emulsifiers into consideration when working with liquid chocolate or ice cream coatings. Chocolate for ice cream – typical enrobing Chocolate is in many countries a protected product where a certain purity standard must be followed. There are restrictions on the minimum content of cocoa components and on the type of fats allowed. Also the use of food emulsifiers is restricted and regulated according to Palsgaard Technical Paper, September 2009 Troubleshooting emulsifiers for ice-cream coatings 2
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