Sweets are one of the most common and beloved sugar-based confectionery products by children and adults. They can have a different composition, taste, shape and design, made from one or several candy masses at once. Candy assortment is several hundred items. Experts count about 500 types of these delicacies.
The production of sweets is carried out at specialized and universal confectionery factories, in large and small confectionery shops. There are several classifications of sweets: by design and availability of packaging (wrapped, not wrapped, in corrections made of polymer and other materials, in fillets, in capsules, in foil, etc.), by consistency (soft and hard), depending on methods of preparation and decoration (unglazed, glazed, chocolate with fillings and embossed drawings on the surface, in powdered sugar, in wafer crumbs, with colored powder, etc.).
That main part of the candy, which is under the glaze, experts call the body. Candy cases are made from a variety of candy masses. Fine chocolate mass is made from sugar and cocoa products with the addition of milk, fat, nut crumbs, vanillin and other flavoring and aromatic additives. The roasting base is a solid amorphous mass, which is made from sugar, various processed foods (berries, fruits, nuts) and other flavoring and aromatic components. The liquor mass, as a rule, has a liquid or syrupy partially crystallized consistency. It is prepared on the basis of sugar with or without alcoholic beverages (if we are talking about sweets for children), fruit and berry convenience foods and other additives.
Plastic and viscous marzipan pulp is made from sugar and unroasted nuts with the addition of various aromatic components. Fondant has a fine crystalline structure and is prepared from sugar and molasses. To improve the taste, various components are added to it (semi-finished products from berries and fruits, nuts, milk, etc.).
The milk mass may be partially or fully crystallized. It is made on the basis of milk, as the name implies, and sugar with the addition of butter, fruit and berry fillers and other additives.
The fruit mass is viscous in consistency and looks like jelly. It is made from sugar and fruit and berry semi-finished products. The creamy mass, oily and whipped in consistency, is made from sugar, fat, chocolate with various additives. The finely ground praline is made from roasted nuts, sugar and fat with the addition of cocoa products, milk powder and other components. The whipped foam mass is prepared from a foaming agent, sugar, gelatinizing agent and various additives (milk, cocoa powder, berry puree, etc.).
Jelly-fruit mass is similar in consistency to jelly and is made from sugar, a gel-former, molasses and fruit and berry semi-finished products. Jelly mass has the same composition, with the exception of fruit and berry supplements.
Cases of sweets can be made from one or several candy masses. If there are several layers, then, as a rule, they are separated by wafers. They also cover the body of the product. In addition, nuts, berries and fruits, cookie crumbs, etc. are often used as fillers.
Confectionery, in general, refers to the highly mechanized and automated food industry. Most of the sweets are produced in a flow-mechanized way, except for expensive hand-made chocolates. A wide selection of equipment for the manufacture of any type of confectionery, from caramel to chocolate, is on sale. The flow-mechanized line allows the production and packaging of cast glazed sweets with fondant, fondant-milk, jelly, milk and other cases. The maximum productivity of such a line is up to 10, 000 products per minute.
Consider the process of manufacturing sweets on the example of products from fondant and fondant-candy masses. The manufacturing procedure for this type of sweets consists of several main stages: preparation, boiling of sugar and milk syrup, its filtering, knocking down fondant, dosing and mixing of semi-finished products, tempering of candy mass, molding of sweets and their packaging.
Fondant, depending on the components, is ordinary, dairy and creme brulee. The basis of any such mass is sugar, molasses and water. Only in milk fondant, most of the water is replaced by milk, and in the composition of the mass of creme brulee there is baked milk. In addition to the main ingredients, the recipe also includes cocoa powder, red dye and vanillin.
There are several technologies for cooking fondant. For example, according to one of them, pre-sifted and purified from impurities sugar is loaded using a batcher into a mixer, where molasses enters from the tank through a plunger batcher, and water is supplied through another batcher. All these components, falling into the mixer, form a mixture of granulated sugar and a solution of sugar in a water-solvent mixture. Using a plunger pump, the flow of which can be regulated, this mixture enters the apparatus, which is heated by steam. Over the course of its journey, the mixture gradually heats up, the sugar dissolves and forms a concentrated solution, which, in turn, is filtered and collected in a collector. The resulting semi-finished product is still too liquid, so for further work with it it is fed into the cooking apparatus.
All released steam is separated in a steam trap, where the boiled solution enters. Then the syrup is filtered again and flows into the funnel of the lipstick machine. It is fed gradually, which helps to cool the liquid. The cooled solution is mixed in a fondant apparatus, which leads to the crystallization of sugar. The resulting lipstick is transferred to a heated collection box equipped with a special mixer. Heating is needed so that the fudge does not freeze ahead of time. At this stage, flavoring and aromatic substances, as well as coloring agents, are added to it. The resulting mass is brought to the desired temperature, molded and wrapped in a wrapper.
Molding is the process of giving sweets a certain shape and appearance, including various finishes. Formation, depending on the type of candy, is carried out in two main ways: with the receipt of a candy layer or bundle, followed by cutting it into separate portions or by producing immediately individual products. Candy layer is formed in two ways - spreading and rolling. In the second case, molding is carried out by casting or depositing.
Casting is carried out in molds that are stamped in rice or corn starch. The first method is somewhat more complicated and consists of several procedures: preparing the candy mass, molding the mass into the formation, matting the layers and cutting them into separate products or bodies, if we are talking about the production of whipped and cream candy masses.
When using the method of pressing out, the mass is squeezed out in the form of a bundle through a hole in the matrices. Then the tows are cooled and cut into separate pieces. This method is usually used in the manufacture of sweets from fondant and praline masses. One variation of this method is jigging. In this case, the mass is squeezed out in a vertical plane. In this way, cream, whipped, nut and fondant masses are molded.
After molding, according to the recipe, sweets can be glazed. This is done to protect the inner part of the product from environmental influences, increase nutritional value, giving it a more attractive appearance and better taste. The sweet mass that covers the body of sweets is called glaze. Glaze can be chocolate (it costs more and tastes better) or fatty.
The procedure for coating the body of the candy with glaze is carried out using special equipment. Tempered glaze is fed into a container from which it flows to a candy. And the lower side of the product, where the glaze does not fall from above, is glazed with the help of rollers. Then the candy is blown with air, which removes excess glaze, and is cooled in a cooling cabinet at a temperature of 6-10 degrees Celsius for five minutes.
The finished candy is wrapped, wrapped in cardboard boxes or packed in boxes. Most products are available in wrappers or in plastic packaging. With the help of packaging equipment, sweets are wrapped on machines in a label or foil and in a label with a wrapping of waxed paper and foil. Ready-made sweets are poured into packs or boxes of corrugated cardboard or into plywood boxes, in which they go to stores.
There are other technologies for the production of fondant sweets with the addition of molasses (at least 3% by weight of sugar), which acts as an anti-crystallizer. When the mixture enters the lipstick machine, it cools, which allows you to maintain any crystallization mode. The degree of readiness of the syrup is determined by its moisture content. To obtain fondant, flavors, flavors and dyes are introduced into it.
Thus, the line necessary for the production of fondant sweets includes the following equipment: digester, filter, fondant preparation plant, tempering and jigging machines, and a steam generator. Equipment in this configuration will cost 900 thousand rubles. The payback period, according to suppliers, is less than six months. To service such a line, four workers per shift are sufficient.
The production of caramel products, which make up over 20% of the total production of confectionery products in our country, has some differences. As raw materials for their production, molasses, sugar and various fruit and berry semi-finished products, as well as all kinds of confectionery masses (dairy, churned, nut-chocolate, etc.) are used.
Technological processes include the preparation of caramel mass, its cooling, tempering, dosing, mixing with additives, rolling and molding of caramel, cooling, dividing the reservoir into individual products, feeding the products to packaging.
First, sugar and syrup caramel syrup is produced with a moisture content of about 15%, which is boiled into a caramel mass with a moisture content of 1.5-2.5%. The resulting mass is molded and cooled to a temperature of 45 degrees Celsius, wrapped in a wrapper, packaged in packs and packed in boxes. For the production of caramel, you need a digester with an agitator, an intermediate tank, a temperature table, forming rollers, a conveyor-type cooling machine, a vibrating tray, and tables for packing ready-made sweets. Such a line with a capacity of 150 kg of products per hour is also served by 3-4 workers. Its cost is about 1.2 million rubles.
Equipment for the production of truffle sweets, which include cocoa in various forms (grated, powder, butter), iris essence, coconut oil, will cost a similar amount. Truffles are made in several stages, which include the preparation of candy mass, tempering (one of the important stages of production, primarily chocolate candies), body molding, cooling, cocoa powder sprinkling, decoration and packaging of sweets.
The production line includes a digester, tempering machines, whipping, jigging, cooling and conveyor equipment, glazing machines, a steam generator, a conveyor belt for feeding sweets for laying. A line with a productivity of 150 kg of sweets per hour will cost 1-1.5 million rubles. The payback period is more than six months according to manufacturers.
The cheapest is the line for the production of dragees - small round candies in a glossy shell or in a polished sugar shell. The dragee consists of a casing and an external coating, which is rolled onto the casing in special rotary boilers installed at an angle. First, the base of the dragee is prepared, then this mass is poured, glossed. Ready candies are packed and packed in boxes. Perhaps these are some of the easiest confectionery products to make.
A line with a capacity of 100 kg of dragees per hour, consisting of a micro mill, a digester, a pan, a sugar sifter and a packaging machine, will cost 200-250 thousand rubles. An area of 30 square meters is sufficient to install this equipment. m, and for his service enough three people.
No matter what type of candy you are going to produce, you will also need a specially equipped warehouse for their storage with a constant temperature of about 18-20 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 75%.
Entrepreneurs who do not have a large start-up capital are advised by specialists to choose one direction for a start. For example, you can only produce caramel and dragees or chocolates and truffles. Then, as the company develops and its profit grows, you can gradually expand the range of products.
Large factories use lines with a capacity of over 1000 kg of products per hour, and small enterprises acquire equipment that allows them to produce about 150-200 kg of sweets per hour. Especially popular among entrepreneurs are mini-lines of domestic and foreign production. A small area (about 100 square meters) is enough for their placement. Compactness and reasonable price allow to buy these lines in the future, as soon as the company has the opportunity to expand the range of confectionery products it produces.
So, to open your own confectionery factory, you will need a suitable room, brought into line with all sanitary standards, equipment, skilled workers, including a confectioner and a technologist. The quality of your products and, consequently, the success of your business directly depend on the qualifications of the last two specialists.
Often, small confectionery is located in the regions, as the average level of wages there is much lower than in large cities. The competition in the candy market is quite high both among domestic manufacturers and among Western companies. Small enterprises operating in the region sell their products through retail chains, individual grocery stores and private entrepreneurs. Some of them open their own points of sale - from individual retail stalls to shops.
If you plan to work with other regions, you will need a manager to find wholesale customers. In addition, it is worth thinking about creating your own website with company contacts and assortment data.
Confectionery sales are seasonally dependent. The peak of sales of sweets in sets falls on the period of various holidays (September 1, March 8, New Year, etc.), sweets by weight sell well from autumn to mid-late spring. In summer, there is a significant decline in the market for chocolates, sweets, soufflés, but it does not affect the caramel and dragee segments.
Liliya Sysoeva
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