Elenka turns to F.B. Lehmann for quality control

Elenka supplies fine ingredients such as pastes, coatings, toppings and powder to the ice cream and patisserie sectors in particular. Its customers are producers of premium products, and as such demand ingredients of the highest quality.

With more than 150 years experience in chocolate and cocoa processing, F.B.Lehmann was the obvious choice of partner when it came to finding a solution to how to extend the shelf life of Elenka's products without the associated problems of fat bloom.

F.B. Lehmann installed a KBF/1 scrape heat exchanger and an EVE 5 liquifier in Elenka's existing production line at a point after the chocolate and paste is prepared but before the mass is dosed into bins.

The scrape heat exchanger treats and cools the mass running continuously out of the processing line to below depositing temperature up to approximately 22°C. The mass is then homogenised and liquefied by the jacketed liquefier, which also heats it up slightly.

Adding these two new functionalities to the Elenka processing line has significantly improved the consistency and stability of the mass. A higher quantity of small tri-glycerin crystals are created in the stable ß-form, which helps prolong the product's shelf life, reduce stickiness improve the quality of both gloss and colour.

Depending on the recipe, the new equipment can help eliminate either fat separation or the white fat bloom. Fat blobs are also suppressed.

The machinery allows Elenka to reach the lowest depositing temperature possible can be reached - depending on the product, no further cooling is required after depositing.