Mughal technology

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The mogul process , also known as starch or powder casting, is a method for molding sweets from pourable masses, such as wine gum and mousse . It works on the principle of the lost form by having a punch, a recess in a layer of starch powder is pressed, this is filled with the mass, and after solidifying the powder by sieving is. The process is suitable for a wide range of sugar confectionery made from jelly , gum and mousse, soft caramel and fondantand others. Today it is usually largely automated and runs on so-called mogul systems. The name comes from an old American brand name, but is used today in the confectionery industry across all manufacturers and gave the whole process its name.

The advantage of using starch molds is that the molded bodies are particularly easy to remove from the mold. The disadvantage is the high expenditure for the recurring production of the molds and for reusing the starch powder. Powderless systems have therefore been developed as an alternative, which are based on elastic shapes and various release processes (spreading, turning over, compressed air, pins). But they have not replaced the Mughal process.

description

The process consists of several steps:

  • Preparation of the molds: The starch powder is first spread out into an even layer about 25-50 mm high, in so-called powder boxes, which are typically made of wood and are approximately 82 × 40 cm in size. Then the forms are pressed in with dies made of plaster of paris , plastic or metal . The punches should be wider at the top than at the bottom in the form of a draft angle so that the mold walls remain undamaged when pulled out; You can often see this technologically conditioned design feature on gummy bears , wine gums and other sweets.
  • Pouring: In the next step, the molds are guided under nozzles from which they are filled with the mass. With slower systems, the molds stop briefly under rigidly mounted nozzles; with faster systems, they run continuously under nozzles that perform a pendulum movement and follow the movement of the mold while the mass is being released. There are also so-called inoculation molding machines which dispense different types of mass at the same time and thus, for example, cast multicolored articles.
  • Solidifying: The powder boxes must then stand for a certain period of time, possibly in drying rooms, while the mass solidifies. The setting time depends on the recipe and the humidity of the molding powder and the ambient air , but it can take several hours. For example, pectin-bound masses solidify in one hour at high temperatures, those based on gum arabic in a cooler environment within 24 hours.
  • Powdering: After the solidification time has elapsed, the powder boxes are turned over, their contents fall onto a vibrating sieve that catches the cast bodies and lets the starch powder fall through. The products are then freed from adhering starch residues - for example by brushing or compressed air - and processed further, for example by surface treatment with steam or fat, coating with granulated sugar and the like.

The sieved starch is cleaned by further sieving of product pieces and any wood splinters from the powder boxes and reused. Since it has absorbed water during the process, it must be dried before it is used again, otherwise its moisture would continue to rise and it would stick to the castings. Powder drying must be done carefully because the starch is sensitive to thermal and mechanical stress. Despite the stress caused by the process and , depending on the recipe, also reacting with salts and acids in the casting compound, the molding powder can remain in use for years. It is even the case that “well-run-in” powder is considered to be particularly dimensionally stable and setting up a new production facility with only fresh powder is considered a delicate matter. In the long run, problems are mainly caused by impurities that are difficult to remove.

The starch powder is a mixture of wheat , corn or rice starch ; Potato starch is not suitable because it would clump together as it dries.

Manufacturer

The manufacturers of mogul systems include:

Manufacturers of powder boxes include:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Hartmut Hoffmann, Werner Mauch, Werner Untze: Sugar and sugar products . 2nd, revised edition. Behr, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-86022-937-0 , pp. 124 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  2. ↑ a b Endless diversity - state of the art in Mughal systems . In: Confectionery . No. 4 , 1998, ISSN  0721-0825 ( sweet vision website [accessed October 4, 2014]).
  3. ↑ Hoffmann, Mauch, Untze 2002, p. 127.
  4. ↑ Hoffmann, Mauch, Untze 2002, p. 134
  5. ↑ Eckart Wilhelm: Formpuder - possibilities and limits . In: Confectionery . No. 12 , 1998, ISSN  0721-0825 ( sweet vision website [accessed October 5, 2014]).
  6. ↑ Driver Trays website. Retrieved June 21, 2017 (American English).