Description
John Flanyak, PhD, Flanyak Scientific, LLC. Presented at the 2012 conference
Aeration and vacuum expansion (or puffing as it is sometimes known) are a series of steps and processes whereby a candy mass is processed to a specific low moisture content; aerated to a desired level (by any number of techniques, which will be covered in this paper);subjected to high vacuum (via vacuum tube or vacuum oven chamber); and, finally, properly cooled and packed. The final product will contain an altered air cell and bubble structure. The objective of this paper is to cover the steps involved in hard candy processing, aeration methods and techniques, product formulations and vacuum-expansion processing methods to manufacture such a product. In addition, various types of equipment used for complete vacuumization to produce a value-added, aerated and vacuum-expanded hard confection will be analyzed. Detailed equipment parameters that affect the overall efficiency of a vacuum aeration process will be discussed.
