Panning - but not for gold!

[Dark side]

Hello panners! 

Have acquired my kitchenaid panning attachment and having fun! Finding what seems like an awful lot of chocolate is ending up stuck to the drum by the end of a batch. Is this normal or is there a way to reduce waste while panning? 

Thank you! 

[Kerry Beal]

6 hours ago, Dark side said:

Hello panners! 

Have acquired my kitchenaid panning attachment and having fun! Finding what seems like an awful lot of chocolate is ending up stuck to the drum by the end of a batch. Is this normal or is there a way to reduce waste while panning? 

Thank you! 

It's a dance you do when coating - you heat carefully (and slowly) the outside of the pan in strips from front to back. This melts the chocolate on the pan which then coats the product. The dance is between heating the outside, cooling the inside. You will have a gloriously clean pan when you are done. 

[Dark side]

3 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

It's a dance you do when coating - you heat carefully (and slowly) the outside of the pan in strips from front to back. This melts the chocolate on the pan which then coats the product. The dance is between heating the outside, cooling the inside. You will have a gloriously clean pan when you are done. 

Those results sounds impeccable. I didnt realise heating the outside was necessary.. A heat gun?  Any good tutorial videos you could point me to? 

So if the drum is warm and the centres are cold that would be a good first step?

 

I thought maybe my batch sizes were too small and the chocolate i was pouring in was just making more contact with the drum because there were enough "fillers."

Also, do you use tempered or untempered chocolate? Ive been using tempered, maybe that is contributing to build up. 

 

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, Dark side said:

Those results sounds impeccable. I didnt realise heating the outside was necessary.. A heat gun?  Any good tutorial videos you could point me to? 

So if the drum is warm and the centres are cold that would be a good first step?

 

I thought maybe my batch sizes were too small and the chocolate i was pouring in was just making more contact with the drum because there were enough "fillers."

Also, do you use tempered or untempered chocolate? Ive been using tempered, maybe that is contributing to build up. 

 

I use either a heat gun or a hair dryer.

 

Warm just a strip of the drum -keep the cooling going in the centers.

 

untempered always 

[Dark side]

8 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

I use either a heat gun or a hair dryer.

 

Warm just a strip of the drum -keep the cooling going in the centers.

 

untempered always 

I don't actually use a cooling tool either...😬 I guess the chocolate build-up might be my sacrifice for not using heating/cooling. 

 

What temp melted chocolate do you recommend?

 

[Kerry Beal]

Just now, Dark side said:

I don't actually use a cooling tool either...😬 I guess the chocolate build-up might be my sacrifice for not using heating/cooling. 

 

What temp melted chocolate do you recommend?

 

35-37 º C. Do you have access to dry ice?

[Dark side]

5 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

35-37 º C. Do you have access to dry ice?

I haven't tried to look!

[Dark side]

For my next querie- this youtube video of candy coated chocolate eggs. What temp/stage do you think she's cooked her sugar solution to?

 

 

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by Dark side (log)

[Kerry Beal]

9 hours ago, Dark side said:

For my next querie- this youtube video of candy coated chocolate eggs. What temp/stage do you think she's cooked her sugar solution to?

 

 

 

70-80% solids - I don't know if that's a much a temperature thing or a add 70 -80% solids to water and bring to a boil. Note in this article that a more dilute syrup is used at the end to smooth which she didn't do - as I recall it's just a matter of taking the existing syrup - adding a bit more water and applying that. Dragees

 

Here's my dextrose panning instructions - 

 

Dextrose Panning

 

2200 grams dextrose monohydrate

300 grams water

4500 grams centers

 

80% solids - bring water and dextrose just to a boil

to the 4500 grams of centres wet surface just enough - then charge with 150 grams of dry dextrose

add second charge of syrup when surface appears to be drying - don’t let it get dusty

continue until you use up about 2/3 of your syrup - to the remainder add colour (make sure your colour contains no sucrose) -

add 5% water to the remaining syrup and use to smooth

Edited March 5, 2022 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Kerry Beal]

11 hours ago, Dark side said:

For my next querie- this youtube video of candy coated chocolate eggs. What temp/stage do you think she's cooked her sugar solution to?

 

 

 

Here is another eG topic on sugar panning

[Dark side]

On 3/5/2022 at 4:14 AM, Kerry Beal said:

70-80% solids - I don't know if that's a much a temperature thing or a add 70 -80% solids to water and bring to a boil. Note in this article that a more dilute syrup is used at the end to smooth which she didn't do - as I recall it's just a matter of taking the existing syrup - adding a bit more water and applying that. Dragees

 

Here's my dextrose panning instructions - 

 

Dextrose Panning

 

2200 grams dextrose monohydrate

300 grams water

4500 grams centers

 

80% solids - bring water and dextrose just to a boil

to the 4500 grams of centres wet surface just enough - then charge with 150 grams of dry dextrose

add second charge of syrup when surface appears to be drying - don’t let it get dusty

continue until you use up about 2/3 of your syrup - to the remainder add colour (make sure your colour contains no sucrose) -

add 5% water to the remaining syrup and use to smooth

Thanks Kerry, this recipe might prove helpful! Wondering what the purpose of dextrose is, instead of regular cane sugar which is what I primarily work with.  Any thoughts?

[Kerry Beal]

11 minutes ago, Dark side said:

Thanks Kerry, this recipe might prove helpful! Wondering what the purpose of dextrose is, instead of regular cane sugar which is what I primarily work with.  Any thoughts?

Dextrose panning is a whole lot easier than sucrose panning - goes a whole lot faster and gives a shell with a cooling feel to the mouth. I added it though to illustrate how to make 80% solids syrup and that you don't need to boil it to a particular temperature. 

 

[Dark side]

On 3/8/2022 at 2:37 PM, Kerry Beal said:

Dextrose panning is a whole lot easier than sucrose panning - goes a whole lot faster and gives a shell with a cooling feel to the mouth. I added it though to illustrate how to make 80% solids syrup and that you don't need to boil it to a particular temperature. 

 

Got some dextrose. Hoping to try it today! 🤞

[Kerry Beal]

1 minute ago, Dark side said:

Got some dextrose. Hoping to try it today! 🤞

Wear a mask! Gets dusty 

[Dark side]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

Wear a mask! Gets dusty 

Lord knows I’ve got those around lol.
question for your dextrose recipe. Is the full 2200 g added to the water, or is 150g dry charge set aside first and 2050g added to the water?

[hvea]

Hello, I'm very new to panning, trying out some stuff.

 

Do you cover every center with gum arabic? for example do you need to cover coffee beans? (I'm not even asking about doubles or triples, I guess it's extremely hard to prevent that. I just wonder how packaged chocolates do that on a factory. I don't think it worths the labor to really prevent the doubles on beans?)

 

I was able to go for covering nuts without gum arabic. does it take time for the oil to get to the shell? Let's say I'm not targeting for a very long shell life, do I still need to use it?

 

I am also polishing naturally, letting it roll on a clean drum for a day. Do I need to cover it afterwards?

 

Thanks

[minas6907]

I had plenty of success with not covering every type of center with gum Arabic. Nuts, raisins, other dehydrated fruit was fine. That being said, I mostly used cocoa powder or confectioners sugar to finish, so I wasn't concerned about any fat migration. I did pan macadamias with no precoat, then with chocolate, I polished them with a gum Arabic solution. I held onto those for about 6 months, I never saw any fat migration. After a while I stopped worrying about it because I was producing for special events (people preferred the powdered coat since it looked more natural) not for products that will be stored in the long term and shipped out. 

 

Coffee bean I did try to pan without a precoat, and it didn't work. I made another batch with a gum Arabic precoat, and the chocolate adhered just fine, it was a pretty stark contrast to the other centers, so lesson learned there. 

 

As for polishing, I never tried the natural polish, so I can't speak to that. Hope you the above can help you some, and hope you can streamline your process. Panning is satisfying, but boy can it be problematic haha.  

[SweetSymphonybyM]

On 12/22/2014 at 4:15 PM, emmalish said:

Love seeing this! This has been on my list of things to try for ages now. Much as I want one, I can't justify buying that fancy kitchenaid attachment though. :-(

 

(I reeeeeally want one)

Perhaps look into the Aieve panning attachment? At a little over $100 with prime shipping it definitely can't be beat in the price aspect. Just received mine, but haven't unboxed/used yet. 

[Kerry Beal]

8 minutes ago, SweetSymphonybyM said:

Perhaps look into the Aieve panning attachment? At a little over $100 with prime shipping it definitely can't be beat in the price aspect. Just received mine, but haven't unboxed/used yet. 

Looks like it only fits on the Kitchen-aids with a lifting head. 

[minas6907]

4 hours ago, SweetSymphonybyM said:

Perhaps look into the Aieve panning attachment? At a little over $100 with prime shipping it definitely can't be beat in the price aspect. Just received mine, but haven't unboxed/used yet. 

Let us know how you like it. I just looked it up, that price surprised me actually, much cheaper then any of the other panning attachments out there, but It does look a little smaller. It's nice to see other options coming out. 

[SweetSymphonybyM]

Will do, although with my history it might be a couple of years)...It is smaller, but that is what actually attracted me to it. 

[tschaefges]

On 10/26/2023 at 7:41 PM, SweetSymphonybyM said:

Perhaps look into the Aieve panning attachment? At a little over $100 with prime shipping it definitely can't be beat in the price aspect. Just received mine, but haven't unboxed/used yet. 

Mine showed up last week and I tried it for the first time yesterday. The drum is small, but for my hobby use it should be fine. I've been wanting to try panning for a long time and the low price finally made it possible to experiment. I panned caramelized almonds in dark chocolate. They came out pretty well, but they are not polished. I found some polish and glaze at Chef Rubber that should be here in a week or so. It's clear there is quite a learning curve and very little "how to" information is available. I found this thread as I was searching for information. Experimenting will be fun and even the ugly stuff will be edible.

[minas6907]

7 hours ago, tschaefges said:

I found some polish and glaze at Chef Rubber that should be here in a week or so. It's clear there is quite a learning curve and very little "how to" information is available. I found this thread as I was searching for information.

Hey nice work on the dragees! Your right about the learning curve, its time consuming, and like you said, theres not too much information on the topic. Personally, over the years I feel like I've been able to glean tidbits here and there, this forum, a few people on the phone, random books, etc.

 

I searched for the polishing liquid on Chef Rubber, and was very surprised that they had one. Its been forever since I've ordered anything from them, and I recall them only having the confectionery glaze, the shellac, but it looks like they have their own products for polishing dragees. If you wouldnt mind, I'd be interested in knowing what the ingredients read on the label, if you did purchase the "Confectionery Polishing Liquid." It says its water based, but I just wanted to know whats inside.

 

When it comes to polishing dragees, the best results I've gotten was by following advice from a tech at Tic Gums. I was trying to get samples of their products but was unable since I'm not a manufacture. But gave me to following to make a polish from gum acacia. Heres part of his email:

-------

In this process, you should make up a solution of sealing syrup comprised of 40% gum acacia in water. To prepare the solution:

1. Add 40 parts gum acacia to 60 parts water.

2. Heat up to 80°C to ensure the acacia is fully hydrated.

3. Maintain a temperature between 25-60°C while applying.

For the application process, using the 40% gum acacia syrup, add a charge of ~1 part syrup per 100 parts dragee(by weight) to provide a protective film. Dry with air. Repeat this step two more times. This coating will have some shine, but not quite as much as a shellac will.

-------

I attached two pictures of results I got with the polish. The espresso beans in the demitasse cup were just coated with the solution above. They can be a bit delicate in storage, but they do look nice, and it was only once step. I was honestly very surprised by the result. The macadamia nuts I did the above polish and a coating of the shellac. The shellac is some serious stuff, no joke. Wear gloves, and be careful as to what it gets on, you need a solvent to remove it. My coating pan was a nightmare to clean after using the confectionery glaze, so after a few times of messing with that, I just opted to just stick with the gum acacia solution, much easier to clean off. 

One thing that I remembered about the glazing of the product with the shellac, is that when the product of done, put it on a parchment lined sheet pan in a single layer, dont stack them all over each other, they will dry with a bunch of contact marks on them.

Chocolates and Confections 2nd edition has some information on chocolate panning, but especially when your just messing with this stuff for fun, you'll learn alot just by doing it and seeing what works. Another book that had good information in it was Confectionery Science and Technology, it focuses on manufacturing, but theres still good info to glean from it. A few years ago I was also recommended the book Silesia Confiserie Manual No.4 (Panned Goods). Its available to purchase on DataSweet, and I meant to get a copy, but just havent, I havent been panning as much as I used to.

[SweetandSnappyJen]

Hello!

 

With the DeBuyer attachment I got a few years back (only minor dabbling) I decided to really give it a go with three varieties-- pistachio duja covered cherries, coffee hazelnut with crunchies (soft center) and caramelized hazelnuts. A couple of questions for the group:

 

1) They took FOREVER. I used a hair dryer/dry ice method and it seemed fairly straightfoward but took like, 7 hours. Is this normal?

2) For the hazelnuts, i used some Capol samples for the polish and glaze, this is how they turned out. The bumpy bits were there after tumbling but after the polish/glaze they're still there. Any ideas?

 

Thank you!

Jen