Now we come to the final stage: forming and cooling, where the chocolate is poured into molds and finally takes its shape.

After tempering, the chocolate mass is rapidly cooled to crystallize uniformly and achieve the ideal consistency. Low, stable temperatures, around 10-15°C, are essential to ensure the chocolate solidifies without defects, such as air bubbles or irregular surfaces. TCU thermal control units also ensure that the process runs smoothly during this phase, avoiding thermal shocks that could compromise product quality. Furthermore, well-managed cooling speeds up production times and optimizes the efficiency of the production line.

The magic of chocolate ends with this phase, leaving us with perfect bars, ready to be packaged and enjoyed. A precision work that transforms each piece into a masterpiece!

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During tempering, the chocolate is heated, cooled, and then reheated following a very precise thermal cycle (45°C, 27°C, and finally 31-32°C). This process is essential for stabilizing the cocoa butter crystals in their most stable form, which guarantees a shiny, crispy, and heat-resistant final product.

Here, once again, thermoregulation units play a crucial role, ensuring that each step occurs at the correct temperature and with optimal timing. Poorly executed tempering can cause aesthetic defects, such as dull surfaces or streaks, and compromise the chocolate’s consistency. Precise temperature control, on the other hand, allows for a visually appealing product that is pleasing to the palate.

In this sense, the tempering phase is truly the touch of class that makes the difference in chocolate production.

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The refining step is essentially a massage for the chocolate, intended to make it velvety on the palate. During this stage, the cocoa mass is finely ground, reducing the particles to microscopic size to eliminate graininess. To do this, it is essential to keep the mass at a constant temperature, around 50°C, which facilitates processing and reduces viscosity.

During this crucial stage of chocolate processing, thermoregulation units ensure the right amount of heat is applied without overheating the product, which could otherwise lose its precious organoleptic properties. Furthermore, precise temperature regulation helps improve machinery efficiency, reducing energy consumption and production times. It is at this stage that the chocolate begins to take shape, promising unique goodness and consistent quality.

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The overall production starts with the roasting process, the first step in transforming cocoa beans into chocolate. It’s during this crucial phase that the product’s characteristic aromas develop, when the beans are heated to temperatures between 110 and 160°C. This is a highly delicate step, as each cocoa variety requires very specific temperatures to fully release its aromatic potential without burning.

This is where Tempco‘s temperature control units are employed, ensuring precise temperature control, preventing sudden changes that could ruin the product and compromise the entire manufacturing process. Furthermore, maintaining a stable temperature throughout the roasting phase helps preserve the cocoa’s nutritional and organoleptic properties. Perfect roasting, enabled by precise temperature control, is the foundation for creating high-quality chocolate that can compete on the market.

We will soon dedicate further articles to the subsequent phases, and the temperature control applications required for the refining, conching, tempering, and shaping with final cooling, respectively.

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• Treat: it is when optimal thermal management is guaranteed, where temperatures are constantly maintained within the established parameters, ensuring maximum efficiency of the production processes and the desired comfort, without surprises or unexpected changes that make us sweat cold… From this point of view, the ‘treat’ is a sweet, stable and smooth thermal regulation, without fluctuations or surprises that could compromise productivity or quality.
• Trick: it’s when unexpected deviations in thermal regulation occur, which lead to changes or inefficiencies, even process interruptions… and then it gets spooky and creepy. ‘Trick’ can therefore mean a heat peak or a sudden unwanted process cooling, sensors that give readings out of range or energy recovery systems that do not turn-on right on time, putting the stability of the production process at risk.

The goal is therefore always to eliminate any ’trick’ and guarantee a sweet, smooth and constant thermal management.

But let’s get to candies! Speaking of candies and sweets, we have often talked in the past about chocolate production, where our thermoregulation and cooling equipment is often used. A very same thing happens in the production of candies. In fact, when producing candies, or even gummy sweets, the production process involves as well cooling tasks or requires to be thermoregulated.

How are candies made? Essentially, there is a sugar die that gets formed, the candy is made using a mold and the candy enters a thermal treatment system where it usually gets cooled. Cooling is necessary to get rid of moisture within the sugar in order to obtain a very glossy look of the candy achieving an attractive aesthetic appearance.

Following the cooling step, there is a post-heating process aimed at ensuring a controlled temperature before packaging. It’s interesting how every food production needs anyway a control of temperature, regardless of whether it is pasteurization or cooling, or heating. In this case this is not related to a particular process aimed at maintaining organoleptic characteristics but it’s related to a purely aesthetic factor and to get rid of the excess of humidity which would probably also change the taste of the candy.

In addition, in this kind of productions there are also processes involved for the washing of production lines that then require a post-heating in order to dry the overall plant and get it ready for a brand new production.

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The control of temperature is in fact a crucial need in every step of chocolate production. That typical characteristic, which in advertisings is called ‘smoothness’, being that sensation of chocolate melting in mouth and leaving a more or less sweet taste, depending on personal preferences… well, this effect is strictly related on the accuracy on the treatment of chocolate, both in its mechanical processing and the temperature regulation.

Temperature control starts with the conching phase, one of the most delicate production steps aimed to transform chocolate from solid and gritty to smooth and silky. This process employs mono-fluid systems similar to the ones that are used in the pharma industry. In fact, there is a couple of heat exchangers with cooling and heating fluids, aimed to maintain a constant temperature within the conche machine.

Another crucial step, from the point of view of temperature control, is the refining step. Here, the main requirement in related to cooling. And straight forward to the molding of chocolate. That typical glossy look of a chocolate bar, with that precise pattern divided in small squares, is also obtained thanks to a very accurate temperature regulation of the mold where the chocolate is poured.

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One of the basic steps in the processing of chocolate is tempering, that explained in very simple terms is a pre-crystallization of melting chocolate, before the modeling, so as to obtain a stable product over time, which presents a good surface gloss combined with a right internal compactness.

To obtain these results the modern tempering machines use temperature control units, providing heating / water cooling, according to a pre-determined cycle, to precise temperatures, with very narrow tolerances (0.1 ° C). These cycles change on the type of chocolate, but all need for fine regulation of temperature.

The typical tempering cycle passes through 3 stages of temperature:

• first cooling of the chocolate mass
• second cooling
• post heating

The levels of temperature and time are typically between 45°C to 30/32°C and all the steps are verified with appropriate instruments which verify the grade of chocolate tempering.

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