Coating is a key step in agro-food production with a direct effect on the appearance, texture, structure and taste of the product. The visual aspect is particularly important since it is the first thing that the consumer appreciates when opening a package: the coating thus makes it possible to give a visual aspect and the desired complement of taste to the finished product.
Why use coating machines?
Since it decides the bite and flavor of the finished product, the coating process is critical to the consistency and appearance of the final food products before hitting the market. The final appearance of the end product, which is considered one of the most critical stages of food production, influences the consumer’s choice of product.
Different applications
Coating mechanisms are used to add liquid or dry ingredients in precise amounts to food materials. Batter, breadcrumbs, marinade, tempura, or spices added as dried seasonings, oil and water-based coatings. Further cocoa, yogurt, and others are used as well.
Sweet Coating For Breakfast Cereals
The sweet coating is made with a sugar syrup containing many ingredients such as sucrose, glucose, dextrose syrup, maltose, honey, etc. In order to improve the functionalities and taste qualities of the products, other ingredients can be added such as fruit juice concentrates, oils, flavors (especially honey), citric or malic acid, cocoa powders, etc.
The coating is carried out in a drum and the product is then dried, in particular to prevent the cereals from sticking together.
Several types of sweet coating are available, allowing to obtain specific characteristics sought by manufacturers of breakfast cereals or sweet snacks:
Glossy coating: it gives a glossy appearance to the product. The ingredients used are: sucrose, dextrose, oil, chocolate, honey, etc.
“Glazed” coating: it gives a mat and “glazed” appearance to the product. Crystallization takes place during drying. The main ingredient used is sucrose.
Matt coating: gives the product a matt appearance. The ingredients used are sucrose, dextrose, oil, chocolate, honey, etc.
Salty Coating For Aperitif Snacks
In order to provide the taste profile expected by consumers, extruded snacks are subject to a coating step during which they are covered with liquid and / or powdery flavors.
The coating is carried out in a drum equipped with a spray boom; the coating product itself is prepared in a specific skid (set of tanks and pumps). The coating platform is very flexible in order to work with various types of coating and sometimes very complex such as those loaded with cheese powder for example.
The Key Points Of The Coating Process
- Drums and spray bars should be sized for optimal sweet or salty coating (residence time, coating rate, coating homogeneity)
- It is important to have preparation schedule with integrated CIP, working at high BRIX degree for sweetness
- Control of the physical characteristics of the process: viscosity, BRIX degree, syrup temperature and temperature conditions
If you are in the food industry and want to invest in a coating machine, then contact our agents today. We offer a free no-obligation quote and on-site demonstration.