Panning
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
At what point would you speed up or slow down the pan?
Forum Activity for @Ash Maki
Panning
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thank you, that is the most informative post on panning I have been able to find anywhere...
Panning
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hi Meira,
I realize this is a bit late, but I'm still happy to answer your question.
In order to pan products, you must have some sort of specialized machine for it; the Kitchen Aid attachment is a good beginning option and not overly costly. From there, stand-alone panning machines can range in the $3000 - $6000 USD range, or even above to $16,000 or more. When purchasing equipment, consider how much product you would have to sell in order to pay for that machine. A large reason people do not do the process anymore is because larger companies have made it so incredibly cheap to buy, and a small confectionery shop would have to charge significantly higher prices to make a profit. While many people are happy to pay for a quality product, there are 10 times more who either cannot or will not choose that option.
There is no standard recipe for panning, just as there is no standard recipe for caramel, ganache, etc.; each chocolatier or confectioner employs their own unique process depending on what ingredient they want to coat, what they want to coat it in, how they want to finish their product (some products are given a glazed or shiny appearance, others are given a truffled appearance) and the equipment they have available.
That being said, there is a standard process that most follow in order to get a quality product. In addition, to my knowledge there is not a lot of information or literature available on the panning process, and very few people actually perform it nowadays. It is mostly something reserved for large confectionery companies, i.e. Mars, Nestl, etc.
Basic Technical Process:
For sake of example, let's use hazelnuts, however you could use most any nut, or even freeze-dried fruits like bananas, raspberries or blueberries.
- Caramelize your hazelnuts (most people use sugar, we prefer to use honey - both work well).
- Spread them on a non-stick surface and allow them to cool, then proceed to separate them.
- Place them in your panning machine.
- Begin rotating your confectionery drum.
- Add a coating of crystallized chocolate (let's say 100-150 g per addition of chocolate for 500 g of product (in this case hazelnuts).
- Apply cold air to help the product set quickly, or simply wait (some machines come with a built-in fan, or you can use a pressurized can of cold air).
- Once the product begins to set, you may add another layer of chocolate; most often you do not wait until it is fully set and hard.
- At these times, you may also add other products, such as feuilletine, to introduce another texture.
- Once you reach a thickness that you prefer - in this case, the total amount of chocolate you use to coat your product depends on two things: a. the shape of your product; the object of the panning process is to make a round product, so if you start with something such as an almond, which is flatter and has more surface area, rather than a hazelnut, the amount of chocolate you need to add will be much greater, and b. the desired thickness that you prefer in your confection. So you see there is really no standard recipe, as it depends on a number of factors.
- Now you are ready to finish your product. If you would like a truffled appearance: once you have reached your desired thickness, add one final coat of chocolate to your product. Then immediately add cocoa powder, allow your product to complete a few more revolutions in the panning drum and then stop the machine. If you allow the machine to continue too long after adding the cocoa powder, your products will take on a duller appearance. In addition, cocoa powder is an example ingredient; if you were coating with white chocolate, you may want to add a white finish such as confectioner's sugar, coconut powder, etc, or therefore any color you desire by adding food-grade powder. We use alfalfa, hibiscus, blueberry and beet powder to obtain different finishes.
- If you would like a shiny or glossy finish, there are additional steps to take. Once you have reached a final thickness that you prefer, remove your product from the machine and clean your machine thoroughly - there is a large amount of chocolate stuck to the drum, which you may heat and remove, and reserve for another use.
- Once your machine is clean, add your coated product back into the drum. Now you will do a two-step process called glossing and lacquering.
- An example of a glossing recipe is: 350 g water, 570 g maltodextrin, 80 g cocoa butter - Melt the cocoa butter. Warm the water and dissolve the maltodextrin powder. Combine the water into the butter mixture. Keep between 30-35C.
- An example of a lacquer recipe is: 170 g water, 85 g gum arabic powder, 250 g 70 proof liquor - Heat the water and dissolve the gum arabic. Combine in a mixer while gradually adding the liquor.
- Now to proceed with glossing your product. Weigh out 1% of your nuts in glossing solution.
- With your machine running, and your product inside, use a heat gun to VERY slightly warm the outside of your coated product, just enough to make it soft but not melt. At this point, add your 1% of glossing solution all at once.
- Allow your glossing solution to dry. This may take up to 30 minutes, but at this point the nuts should be starting to shine.
- Weigh out 0.5% of lacquer solution in relation to the amount of product you are coating. Once the glossing solution is dry, you may add the lacquer solution. Allow to dry again.
- Remove the products from the machine, and allow them to dry; alternatively, dry them with a fan.
- You may need to repeat the process an additional time in order to achieve the desired level of shine.
That is the basic, and by basic I mean fairly complex and intricate, process. It represents only a small portion of what you may do with panning products, and as always with chocolate, your imagination is the only limit.
A basic quantity recipe you may start with could be:
400 g hazelnuts
135 g sugar + 45 g water (to caramelize the nuts)
1000 g crystallized chocolate
100 g cocoa powder
One final note on the panning process: some people prefer to use non-crystallized chocolate (and may advise you to do so), at a temperature of about 40C (104F), however we do not. We have found better results with a crystallized product than not, but you may certainly experiment yourself.
Feel free to ask any other questions; I will be happy to answer as best I can.
Kind regards,
Kristofer
Panning
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I would like to learn if there is a standard recipe for panning.If any of you chocolatier would give me any instruction how panning works?
updated by @Meira Neggaz: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Caramel Sauce Co-Packer
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
I'm looking for someone that can manufacture unlabeled jars of caramel and chocolate sauces at a good price.I thought I'd ask here first, if anyone here has this capability/interest then post here or email me george@georgepaulchocolates.com
updated by @George Trejo: 04/07/25 13:00:14
Caramel/roller cutter
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Please see my parts list above for a cheaper/more diy solution.
9 blades $25, rod $10, handles $14, spacers $7, nuts $4, giving a spacing of 1.375". You would need to pay about $7 more for the spacers (and stack pairs) to get 1.25". Give or take $65 for a cutter to your specifications.
-Jon
Caramel/roller cutter
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks! 9 blades (plus rod) will cut a 12" toffee at 1.25 inch increments (leaving .75 inch) for $177.59. This could be the best deal out there and it appears to be the same or pretty close to the one that retails for $485. Unfortunately they are out of stock.
Caramel/roller cutter
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Interesting about the pizza wheels getting caught.
I guess I got lucky with the pizza blades that I selected. They have a hub in the center, about 1/8" thick and 3/4" in diameter, with a 3/8" hole. They ride perfectly on the all-thread.
I was just doing a search for something else, and found this:
http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_432703
They sell the central rod and the blades separately. The central rod is $30, the blades are $16 each (ouch!). If you only need a few blades (say for scoring bark) then this might be a reasonable way to go.
-Jon
Caramel/roller cutter
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I'd advise against using pastry cutter. We tried that and had terrible issues with the spacing between the blades. There is too much play in the accordion mechanism, and the wheels are wobbly. If you do use one, the best thing I've seen is to screw the spacing to a piece of hardwood. This will eliminate most of the play in the accordion, but won't do much for the sloppy wheels.
- If you would like to buy my pastry cutter, I'll sell it for $10. 
We ended up building a roller cutter similar to what Jon posted above. (The part numbers are FABULOUS!) Thank you Jon.
I tried using all-thread with various spacers, but found the pizza blades would get stuck in a thread and get cock-eyed (non-parallel). So, we went witha length of bar then used cap nuts to hold it all together.
I imagine we could get our bar threaded and thus be able to have nice handles. That will be a great step up.
Caramel/roller cutter
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I'd be curious to know as well! Also, if something like this pastry cutter wheel set would work...
In any case, when i use a knife, i rarely get a full cut in one knife length which requires lifting and moving (the 'frames' i use are clearly the wrong size for knife cutting). so eager to find alternatives that don't cost such a mighty amount!
Caramel/roller cutter
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I have not had good luck with rolling cutters for ganache; the ganache tends to stick to the side of the roller. However another chocolate life member has pictures showing good luck...as well as their home-made roller cutters.
http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/diy-guitar?commentId=1978963%3AComment%3A134163
I have also made my own rolling cutter; materials for one 12" wide with cutters on 5/8" centers would cost about $90.
I used the following components:
replacement pizza cutter blades, http://www.katom.com/166-PCW4.htm l
parts from McMaster-Carr ( http://www.mcmaster.com ):
stainless steel threaded rod 93250A460
nylon unthreaded spacers 94639A212
tapered handle with threaded insert 57455K64
stainless steel hex nuts 92673A125
They have different sized spacers. It is trivial to make a couple of different cutters for the different sizes that you need.
-Jon
Caramel/roller cutter
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
The vendor of the most expensive one said their cutter would work, but I was also looking for the opinion of someone on the forum who had used one and so far no one has responded. Assuming any of them might work, I would have thought more people might have used them as a cheaper alternative to a guitar or until a guitar was necessary. The mid-priced one is adjustable without having to remove the blades and add spacers. I think you probably need to buy extra blades for the $400 cutter so the price is probably closer to $485. It would be nice to know if the $200 scored caramel/toffee and also cut ganache up to a half inch thick, at least better than I can do freehand.
Caramel/roller cutter
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hi Jim
Did you get anywhere with this?
I am thinking along the same lines of buying a caramel cutter to use for ganache slabs.
Cheers
Lisa
Caramel/roller cutter
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I was wondering if anyone had successfully used one of these for ganache or pate de fruits. Three models that I've seen are around $200, $400 and $850 with the more expensive ones being able to cut thicker items.
updated by @Jim Braunagel: 04/11/25 09:27:36
rev delta overnight mode
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks for the helpful info!
rev delta overnight mode
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
If you leave it in overnight mode, make sure the machine is nearly full, that way it wont need to cycle as much and you wont have to worry about the chocolate beginning to set.
rev delta overnight mode
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I've used this a couple times and in general it works great to come in to melted chocolate. Chocovision actually recommended that I use this as I was having efficiency issues with my tempering machines.
rev delta overnight mode
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
does anyone who uses the rev delta 3210 ever use the overnight mode. l read once about it causing motor burnout, and ever since i have been hesitant to use it. but it would be great to have the chocolate melted first thing in the morning. would love to hear others' experiences.
thanks!
updated by @mary amsterdam: 04/11/25 09:27:36
hand-dipping truffles
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
If you're hand-dipping square truffles, you'll ideally want to use what's called a 'bottoming mix.' Basically, take 50/50 Cocoa Liquor and Cocoa Butter, mix and melt to about 32-34C, stir and cool to about 29/30C, and apply to the top or bottom of your truffles.
Most often, the easiest way to do this is by taking a pastry brush and brushing the bottom of a piece of parchment, putting your ganache frame on top and finally filling it with your ganache before it is fully set. 
The other way to do it would be once your truffles are cut, to place them evenly apart on a tray and spray that bottoming mix through a compressed air system. Of course, if you are doing very low volume, other methods may make more sense (but these are the most time-efficient).
hand-dipping truffles
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I actually do both. but i love using transfer sheets and so i started enrobing truffles.
hand-dipping truffles
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Yes, thanks Larry. i will try it!
hand-dipping truffles
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I pre-coat mine. Wearing gloves I put a nickel size amount of chocolate in my palm and roll truffle, then drop onto pan (I drop them a little hard so that the bottom is flat). The ganache I make is a bit soft, so rolling them in chocolate before dipping them helps keep the round shape. After they are set I dip them, I use a fork and a toothpick. I hold the fork at an angle, and use the toothpick to help slide it off. If your ganache is firm enough though I wouldn't pre-coat, but I always keep toothpicks around to help me out
hand-dipping truffles
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I was just thinking about the angles I mentioned above. I think I got them backwards. - Instead of going from 45 to 35 degrees, I'm moving the tip of the fork away from the chocolate which should increase the angle. So the chocolate would stay at 45 degrees but the fork would move to a higher degree with the tip slightly pulling off the base of the chocolate, say 55 degrees.
Does that make sense?
hand-dipping truffles
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Mary,
From your picture, it looks like your truffles are square. This will make it much easier (and quicker) to precoat them. There are two ways you could pre-bottom your truffles.
1. spread your chocolate out before putting your ganache frames down and pouring your ganache. thus once your ganache sets, and you cut it, you'll already have a very smooth bottom.
2. pour your ganache into your frame & when you are about ready to dip, coat the top of the ganache, let the chocolate set a bit, & then flip it over & cut it. I prefer this method because you can cut the chocolate before it fully sets. This helps prevent the chocolate from cracking when you cut it.
Our centers are very softso pre-coating the bottom prevents the center from sinking into the dipping fork and thus sliding off much easier.
To get the truffle off the fork, i like to keep the fork warm in the chocolate (this prevents the chocolate from setting to the cold tines of the fork). Also, I like to dip with tip of the fork thus the truffle only needs to slide a short distance.
Also, once the truffle is sliding off the tip, I'll set the front end on the paper & push my fork down to break the tension and slide it out more easily. This sounds peculiar - If the truffle and fork are at a 45 degree angle, i'll set the tip of the truffle on the paper & push the tip of the fork to say 35 degrees and thus the fork pulls away from the truffle and it is easier to slide the fork out.
Then, we'll slide the fork out a bit & push the center back onto the foot. This helps minimize any feet.
Then lay the fork flat& pull it out.
I hope this helps.
hand-dipping truffles
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I recently started hand-dipping my truffles instead of shell molding so i am still working out my techniques. I read somewhere that it's good to coat the bottom of the truffle with a "crumb coat" of chocolate before you dip to make it easier to slide off the dipping fork. i have tried this, and it's a time-consuming process. does any one know if this is really necessary? any tips on getting the dipped truffle off the fork smoothly and quickly (besides lots of practice - which i am certainly getting this season!)
thanks
updated by @mary amsterdam: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Organic Walnut Chocolate Bar
Posted in: Opinion
I agree that it is important. I buy direct trade. Most small farms and co-ops cannot afford the certification fees for fair-trade or organic.It's good that Hershey has this line available, however I would be impressed if they took steps to ensure all of the cocoa they purchase is fairly traded.
Organic Walnut Chocolate Bar
Posted in: Opinion
Hello Chocolate lovers,
I'm a new member here and very excited to get to know you guys . I am actually a business student of UC Berkeley Extension who of course loves chocolate. However, being a good world citizen, I am alway aware of unfair trade products, especially products I frequently consume like chocolate.
As you guys might already know about child labor and human trafficking problems in cocoa industry in Ghana and other West African Region, I'd like to ask you for opinions about fair trade chocolate products. Are you usually aware of that? and Do you normally check the label before buying?
Here's a new product line of Hershey's chocolate barthat supports the idea of ending child labor in this industry. Please go to our Facebook page and share your valuable ideas and opinions with us! Let make the world a better place together and make our favorite chocolate bar more valuable as well
https://www.facebook.com/fairtradechocolatebar
Pim
ppimwipa@yahoo.com
updated by @pimwipa palahong: 04/12/15 02:34:21
fermentation - the light came on?
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
If it's really that serious of a health issue, it sounds like a gamble to me to attempt to consume it. I can't stress enough that there is no current safe method of producing raw cocoa consistently that has safe microbiological levels.
I'm not versed enough in the formation pathways of biogenic amines in the various process steps of cocoa, nor in their subsequent pathways upon ingestion to know if the above is a known element or an educated guess. I've never heard of it, which leads me to believe it's fantastically rare, which leads me to believe it's not well studied.
As sorry to say this as i am, i'd steer clear of it. Your either playing russian roulette with your disease, or salmonella. At minimum i'd keep a course ofquinolone or floroquinolones nearby.
fermentation - the light came on?
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
Thank you Sebastian. I think I'm narrowing down the reasons why chocoloate is an issue for people with histaminosis.
1. Biogenic amine formation during thermogenic changes, mostly during drying, roasting and grinding.
2. Milk powder in milk chocolated; biogenic amine formation during the production of milk powder
3. Cocoa is potentially a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAO Inhibitor); thus effecting neurotransmitter levels which ain't a good thing for some histaminosis sufferers as biogenic amines already tend to mess with neurotransmitters.
4. Cocoa seems to be a histamine liberator (causing mast cells to release histamine)for some unknown reason (to me)
So the best I can do is use raw cocoa which have the least amount of biogenic amines butwith a possible high microbiological count. And to avoid milk chocolate. Any other suggestions?
fermentation - the light came on?
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
There are a few important steps that could impact the formation of biogenic amines. Most of them do not form during fermentation, i'm afraid.
The first is fermentation - fermentation can take up to 7 days, and can be done a variety of ways. One of the things that occurs during fermentation is the consumption of raw materials (i.e. sugars are consumed), which results in the increase of non-consumed components. This leads to a higher fat content, which is important for future processing. Unfermented cocoa beans, on their own, will have a fat content that is too low to enable the cocoa bent to be fluid once it's ground. Those processing it won't be able to pump it. Most free amino acids are in the pulp at this stage, which drains away. Pyrazines begin to form at this stage. Temperatures can get fairly high here (150F +) - since there is no definition of 'raw' - it becomes difficult to say if fermented beans are raw or not - however the general consensus in the raw community is that if temperatures exceed 118F, it's not raw. Since it's quite common for the ambient environmental temperatures where cocoa is grown to exceed 118F, never mind the temperatures during fermentation, most of the raw community wouldn't consider cocoa to be raw.
Next is drying - if you don't dry the beans, they'll have very high moistures and rot, or if low enough prevent rotting, they can still be high enough to give viscosity issues during further processing. Temperatures can be very high here, but most use the power of the sun. A complex cascade of internal chemical reactions is occurring here.
Next is roasting - very high temperatures. Here is where most of your amino changes are occurring, with lots of strecker degradation reactions occurring as a result of the thermogenic induction. This is also your primary micro kill step. It's reducing your moisture down to ~1% level so you can process it (again, it will be too viscous if you don't), and since raw cocoa beans have extraordinarily high microbiological counts (this is the reason they're not safe to consume pre-roasting), this is the step - and the only step - where those counts will be reduced to safe levels. Since flavor precursors are forming during fermentation (hence the pyrazine comment above), roasting of unfermented beans doesn't result in a flavor improvement.
For cocoa powder production - what happens next is the beans are ground up (turned into liquor) - where they become flowable. The grinding process itself generates heat (i'm unaware of any work that has been done to examine the changes in peptide profiles at this step), and then it goes to a very, very high pressure hydraulic press. Since this press requires the liquor to be flowable and fluid, if the beans were not fermented, the processor would not be able to do this. A very small amount of cocoa powder has it's butter extracted via supercritical fluid extraction, but that still requires the liquor to be fluid enough to pump it.
The net/net is - any commercial cocoa powder you purchase is highly likely to be fermented and roasted. Most biogenic amine formation is driven by thermogenic - not enzymatic - changes, and free amino acids (including tryptophan), are present in un-fermented cocoa to begin with. If you don't ferment the beans, the beans will be unprocessable from a viscosity standpoint; if you don't roast the beans, they will be unsafe to consume from a microbiological standpoint.
fermentation - the light came on?
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
This may be a stupid/newbie question, but how do I know if my raw cacao powder has been fermented or not?
Without repeating myself too much, in the introduce yourself section you can read that I get ill from chocolate. People with histaminosis get ill from most fermented foods/ingredients. This is because during fermentation enzymes break down some of the protein into various amines which we can't tolerate. Amines are not destroyed by heat.
So I believe the light came on, on why I get ill from chocolate, to do with the fermentation. Do I understand correctly that most commercial chocolate are made from fermented beans? Because if fermentation is indeed my issue and if 'my people' do tolerate raw better due to no fermentation, then my answer is in using unfermented beans/cacao but yet roast it to kill the bugs (and obviously increase the flavor)?
If I can just figure out on whether it is indeed the case that my raw cacao is also unfermented? Please help with that.
And how do youroast cacao powder? Sorry for all the questions...
updated by @bongaan: 12/13/24 12:16:49
Packaging the chocolate
Posted in: Opinion
Please help me. How can i seal my chocolate to protect it for spoilage.
Thank you!
updated by @Peter John J Briol: 04/20/15 09:15:38
Mix & Match Enrobing Equipment
Posted in: Opinion
Clay,
Please forgive my poor choice of words. In referring to a 'larger machine' I simply mean an enrobing capable machine. i.e. a hilliards 80 or 240, a choco TT, an Air 2.0... We are currently using some revolation 3210s & a Hilliard Little Dipper to dip by hand. - There are a lot of 'larger machines' out there.
In setting my goal at 20 belt feet per hour, I'm thinking along the lines of run 16 inches, stop - cut paper, run 16 inches, stop cut paper... So while the belt may be moving at 1.5 Feet per Minute, is isn't running continuously.
I'll do more homework on blowers. From my preliminary reviews, it is interesting that a blower isn't listed as an option on the Perfect Enro 6, any of the Hilliard machines, or the Bakon Mini Enrober. If they are listening, perhaps adding that option would be a bright ideal. 
I'll hunt for the posts about DIYing a blower.
Thank you,
Larry
Mix & Match Enrobing Equipment
Posted in: Opinion
Larry -
The issue is NOT NECESSARILY a larger tempering machine. If you put 500 pieces/hr through the enrober at (given the size) 5gr of chocolate per piece, you only need 2.5kg chocolate/hr. A 30kg working bowl capacity wheel machine (batch) should keep you going for 10 hours easily. A 7kg working bowl continuous temperer will keep you going for as long as you want to work if you keep the working bowl topped up as you go. You cannot begin to use the capacity of a 25kg working bowl continuous tempering machine with a 6 or 7" belt.
20 belt feet/hr is 1/3 foot per minute. Slowest most machines run is about 1.5 feet/minute. You have a lot of headroom here to grow production. If your work is organized well you can think about 2000-2500 pieces in 4-6 hours without pushing things.
Make sure that whatever belt you get has a blower to remove excess chocolate or be prepared to make one DIY.
Mix & Match Enrobing Equipment
Posted in: Opinion
Thank you Clay! I haven't used an enrober yet, but I've done a fair amount of research & dreaming. - Not to mention stalking the classifieds.
I really appreciate your insight about how many chocolates we'll be able to get per foot of belt. Getting an extra row on the belt really changes the math of how much we can do.
I'm not ready to jump ona purchase yet. - Perhaps by saving up through Christmas we'll be able to make something happen.
I'll also keep watching the classifieds. - Larger tempering machines come up on a regular basis, but I've had questions about getting a larger temperer and getting the belt later.- Thus the mix & match question.
Boy! If I could push 20 belt feet/hr (with two people) that turns into an awful lot of chocolate per hour. It would be so much easier get control of our man-hours.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Larry
Mix & Match Enrobing Equipment
Posted in: Opinion
Larry:
You've got a pretty good handle on how to figure production, which is more dependent on the width of the belt than it is on the capacity of the working bowl.
If your pieces are 7/8" square, with practice you'd be able to get 4 pieces on a 6" belt and 5 pieces on a 7" belt. At the same spacing you'd be able to get 8 rows/foot with practice.
That's between 30-40 pieces per foot with a belt running at between 1.5- 3 feet per minute.
Now you are right that taking the product off the belt will slow things down, but that's also a factor of what kinds of decorating you're doing and how many people are working the belt.
300 pieces/hr is not a lot of production for an enrober.
A new Selmi R200 belt, all by itself, is more than your entire budget (list is 6900/$9400).
A new Hilliard's Six Inch Coater cost about US$18,000 last time I priced them (2011).
FBM offers a 7kg bowl capacity machine with a 7" enrober belt for about 11,000 (less 10% for ChocolateLife members) new.
A new machine that might be in your price range is a Bakon wheel tempering machine with mini-enrober. Last time I looked it was squarely in your price range and I have been able to offer discounts to ChocolateLife members in the past, I would have to contact Bakon to see what current pricing is and if there is still a discount program I can offer. In looking at the video I notice there is no air blower but there is a de-tailer. I would call a blower a requirement, so I would ask them about that. If you want to DIY a blower, it'll be easier than trying to hook up a Choco-TT to a Selmi R200 belt.
Mix & Match Enrobing Equipment
Posted in: Opinion
It may also help to add that our chocolates are 7/8" square before dipping.Thanks