Pick Heaters Assists Start-up Candy Company

Pick Heaters has decades of confectionery experience developing products for customers to test and use. Pick has designed and installed numerous systems throughout the world, and customers have come to rely on Pick’s knowledge of products and experience in the industry. It is that understanding of starch and gelatin based candy cooking that sets Pick Heaters apart from other methods of cooking.

 

Following a unique customer request, and with the assistance of the University of Wisconsin Madison, Pick technicians and University staff were able to create a candy that had the same flavor, texture, color and size as the original candy from decades ago.

 

Pick Sanitary Jet Cooking System

Skid System with Pick Sanitary Jet Cooker

Pick Heaters designed a kitchen that focused on a semi batch process. Every batch follows a scripted order of ingredients and weights. When each ingredient is added it is sensed with kettle load sensors and indicated on the control panel.  Once the ingredients are completely added to the pre-mix kettle the slurry is pre-heated to a pre-set cooking temperature. This is followed by a quick check of the pre-mix brix and then is pumped to
the Pick jet cooking phase and into the flash chamber for steam removal. Next it goes into the color and flavor kettle for a post cook brix reading and the addition of color and flavor. The entire batch is then pumped to the mogul for depositing.  While that is happening a new batch is being made in the pre-mix kettle and the process is repeated. All of the steps are controlled and monitored by a PLC programmed to maintain temperatures to within 1° F.

Cutaway view of Sanitary Steam Injection Cooker

Pick Steam Injection Sanitary Jet Cooker

Each step of the process has both a manual and semi-auto capability. In manual mode an operator would push a button to proceed to each phase. In the automatic mode, the PLC simply looks for the batch to be at the starting weight, and waits for the batch to reach a pre-determined starting temperature, and the product is heated to the specified jet cooking temperature.

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