Depositing

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Depositing

Depositors are another type of production that can either be part of a line or the main type of manufacturing in their own right.

Depositing product in its simplest form is achieved by hand with a piping bag. A measured amount of chocolate or soft centre is repeatedly released into a mould or onto a tray.

It is the same principle that takes the process to automation. The machine deposits exact amounts of (say) truffle mix onto a tray or fondant centre into a moulded shell, or chocolate into a mould. If it is to be a solid chocolate shape the mould will be filled, vibrated and cooled. If it is to become a spun shell it will go to a spinning machine or if it is to be moulded, the mould will be treated accordingly.

Depositors are often part of an in-line process such as a moulding line. They deposit chocolate to form the shell, the centre to fill the shell and then chocolate to finish it off. For enrobing, they deposit more viscous mixtures into rounds or tubes or swirls that can then be enrobed or - in some cases - cooled as finished product. Most good depositors are an extremely versatile and economical addition to the production line.

One-Shot

This is a special type of depositor. It deposits the centre and the outer shell of the chocolate at more or less the same time in a precise sequence. In fact the timing is the crucial element and the end result is a mould containing both chocolate shell and soft fondant, praline or toffee centre in one shot. There is no small scale one-shot machine and the main disadvantage of the process is that there is usually a higher ratio of outer shell to centre than is always acceptable. However, state of the art, computerised technology has vastly improved the traditional one-shot product that was at least 50% shell. One-shot lines tend to be expensive and produce a limited product range. However for volume manufacturing of one-shot type products it can replace many processes.