Today it’s hard enough to find a person who wouldn’t try chocolate, sweets, as well as other sweets made with his participation at least once in his life. Since childhood, we well know what it looks like, but we can hardly imagine what the technology of chocolate production is. This product is based on ingredients such as cocoa beans and cocoa butter. The finished product directly depends on their quality.
Manufacturing process
Process chocolate production - A rather fascinating activity for enterprising people. Especially when it comes to designer chocolate. Making such sweets is a creative and interesting business, which you can be proud of with confidence.
The technological process begins with the preparatory work for the processing of cocoa beans. First of all, they must be cleaned, sorted and calibrated. Next, the beans are fried. This is a rather important stage, since the taste and aroma of the resulting finished chocolate depend on the quality of this process.
Next, the beans are crushed. This production can be safely classified as waste-free, since as a result of crushing, large fractions of cocoa nibs are used to make chocolate in the form of tiles, and small ones can be used in chocolate icing, as well as as a filling for sweets or sweets.
The next step is the grinding of cocoa nibs to a grated state (powder). In this case, the choice of equipment for the production of chocolate is of great importance. The profitability of this economic activity, as well as the quality of the finished product, depends on this. Experts say that the taste of chocolate depends on the size of the particles of grated cocoa (the smaller they are, the brighter the taste appears).
Chocolate making
This is the next step. The classic recipe is the use of powdered sugar, grated cocoa and cocoa butter. To produce dessert chocolate, manufacturers add flavor enhancers, flavors and stabilizers.
However, in order to get a high-quality product, the right choice of chocolate manufacturing equipment must be made. At this stage, it is with the help of special equipment that the chocolate mass is rolled, during which the cocoa particles in the chocolate mass become much smaller.
The next step is to dilute the resulting mixture with certain ingredients. It is at this stage that chocolate manufacturers add flavoring, wine and palm oil. But dried apricots, waffles, candied fruits, raisins and nuts are added later, already at the stage of the formation of finished tiles.
Then make conching, which consists in prolonged mixing of warm chocolate mass. The quality of this process, like all previous ones, is significantly affected by the choice of equipment for the production of chocolate.
Chocolate forming
This is the last stage of the production process, sometimes it lasts over 40 hours. After pouring the chocolate mass into molds, you need to strictly observe a certain temperature. Only in this case will it harden correctly. If the temperature regime is not maintained, then the chocolate will have a bad taste, a noticeable whitish coating forms on its surface. Ready chocolate is packaged, packaged and sent for storage for further sale.
Choosing Chocolate Making Equipment
Of course, the list of equipment is not limited to a set of molds and a conch machine. In order for the chocolate production line to function properly, other special devices are also required.
For example, kindling of cocoa butter is carried out in a special grease-fired boiler (its value is determined at 0.3 million rubles). And rolling is carried out by ball mills filled with steel balls in the form of bearings.
Also, tempering equipment will be needed (its cost is about 1 million rubles) in conjunction with a vertical cooling tunnel (another 2.5 million rubles), which provides quick cooling of already formed products. However, these devices cannot be dispensed with in any way, since their application requires technology.
And this is just the basic technique that is needed in the chocolate manufacturing process. Among the additional equipment, it is necessary to highlight: thermostats and hoods located in the warehouses of finished products, as well as conveyor belts, special planetary pumps and aeration plants.
We must not forget about the need to use heated pipelines, which are used to move the chocolate mass in a warm form between the units. Thus, the cost of additional equipment is about 5 million rubles.
Determining the profitability of production
Despite the significant costs (about 10 million rubles), they quickly pay off by a detailed examination of the cost of production of chocolate in comparison with its selling price.
If we consider bitter ordinary chocolate with the absence of additives such as soy, palm oil and other cheap substitutes, then the main expense item is raw materials for chocolate production (60%). When summing the cost of cocoa powder, powdered sugar, labor costs, taxes and depreciation, the cost price is about 500 rubles. per kilogram. If we take into account the price of one chocolate bar at 100 rubles, then the minimum profitability will be - 200%. And this is only the lower limit.
Cheaper chocolate
There are methods to reduce the cost of chocolate, through the use of which profitability can be increased significantly. However, often the addition of various substitutes can significantly degrade the taste of this product. And sometimes it can even become unhealthy.
Thus, it is safe to say that the production of chocolate and products from it is one of the most profitable and interesting business areas.
