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to the engrossing syrup, keeping in mind the effect low pH has on the rate of sugar inversion. Powdered acid can be mixed with sugar and dry charged directly onto the product. Care needs to be taken to avoid dry charging with crystalline dry acids so as not to cause pitting on the inside surface of the pan. Subcoat ingredients are typically used with centers that are sensitive to moisture. Perfect examples are peanuts or other nutmeats that would be subject to an increase in oxidative rancidity if exposed to the moisture from engrossing syrup. Subcoat ingredients can be gum arabic, maltodextrin/tapioca dextrin, gelatin, modified starches or a combination of these. Inclusions like colored sugar or other small particulates can be added in the last engrossing steps to provide an interesting appearance. Color dispersions or other colored films can be added as speckles or spots on the surface as well. Polishing will be discussed in another paper but the ingredients that are used in these steps also can be included in minor and optional ingredients. Waxes, typically carnauba and/or beeswax, are used on soft-panned products to impart a shine, whereas confectioners glaze can be used as a sealant over the wax polish to maintain the shine and protect the product over time. Pigmented confectioners glazes can be used as an optional ingredient to speckle finished polished products. Some of the latest versions of these products are even made with newly available pearlescent pigments. Edible ink can be printed onto various softpanned products to denote brand name, for seasonal decoration or possibly to denote flavor or variety. There are many variations of ingredients that allow a growing variety of softpanned products (Figure 1). Sugarfree and Dextrose Before discussing the soft-panning process itself, a few comments need to be made regarding the differences in ingredients when sugarfree or dextrose panning is desired. In sugarfree it is most logical to substitute a noncrystallizing syrup for the traditional engrossing syrup, followed by fine uniform crystalline sugar substitutes. Sugar substitutes may not be available in varying particle sizes so only one size of uniform distribution should be used. Remember, a high-intensity sweetener may need to be added to the engrossing syrup if the combined relative sweetness of the ingredients used is significantly lower than sugar. Despite the differences in ingredients, the examination of the cross section of a sugarfree gourmet jelly bean shows the structure of the shell to be similar to any gourmet jelly bean. Most suppliers of sugarfree ingredients can give you suggestions for the specific use of their products in panning. Before choosing sugarfree ingredients, hydroscopicity, ease of use, performance, possible laxation effect, label acceptability and cost are all major factors to be considered. When using dextrose to make softpanned products, it seems the major differences are the makeup of the engrossing syrup and the use of dextrose as the dry charge sugar. A different engrossing syrup composition is needed to avoid crystallization faults in the soft coating. This major contributing factor is due to the dextrose level of the corn syrup used. Suggestions included the addition of either highfructose (may be slightly sticky to work with) or high-maltose corn syrup to avoid this problem.Whether using sucrose, dextrose or many sugarfree substitutes, the process is the same. THE PROCESS Now that the ingredients have been reviewed the process should be discussed next (Fig- Soft Panning In sugarfree it is most logical to substitute a noncrystallizing syrup for the traditional engrossing syrup, followed by fine uniform crystalline sugar substitutes. Decorative Ingredients for Soft-panned Products Pearlescent Pigmented Confectioners Glaze Figure 1 Edible Ink Vanilla Bean Seeds 58 th PMCA Production Conference, 2004 43 ➤
Soft Panning Soft panning is probably the most challenging panning process to move into the larger automated pans. Sugar on Jelly Beans Dry sugar on surface of in-process jelly bean After 5 minutes of run time, sugar has worked into surface of in-process jelly bean Figure 3 ure 2). Suggested room conditions for soft panning are temperatures between 60º to 70ºF and relative humidity below 55 percent. Normally, rotary pans from 36 to 42 inches in diameter are used for most soft-panned products.These can be round or tulip shaped and they are normally stainless steel. However, for nonacid products, copper pans can be used. Pans can be ribbed or roughened with a combination of syrup and sugar prior to running to assist in tumbling. Soft panning is probably the most challenging panning process to move into the larger automated pans. The first reason that this is such a challenge is due to the normally tender/soft nature of the typical center and the fact that some of these larger pans can have fairly deep bed depths. In conventional pans, pan speeds from 20 to 22 rpm seem to be the most commonly used. Since the idea is to attach the dry charge material with the engrossing syrup and not to dry and crystallize the engrossing syrup, drying air is not normally used. Prepared engrossing syrup is applied to tumbling centers and allowed to distribute evenly over the pieces. The idea is to add a dose of engrossing syrup that is big enough to wet the entire surface of the center without gluing the centers together. The scoops of dry material are added and allowed to pack onto the surface. As the tumbling action continues, the syrup begins to surround the dry powder and what is typically referred to as sweatback occurs. This means the surface appears once again to be moist. More of the dry charge material is added gradually until it does not sweat back. Sometimes it may seem that the end point has been reached but if the product is allowed to tumble a little longer the sugar can work into the surface (Figure 3). Many factors contribute to the timing of the dry powder addition and that is the second challenge for the large, more continu- ous pans when making soft-panned items. The combination of one application of syrup followed by the scoops of dry charge material needed to dry the surface make up one layer. Next, another charge of engrossing syrup is added followed by scoops of dry material in a similar fashion to the first wetting. Generally, two to four layers are added but depending on the thickness of the desired coat, there can be up to 10 layers added. Normally, the finer particle size of dry material is added in the last layer or layers. This finer material can pack in between the larger particles and form a smoother exterior, which will allow for a more easily polished surface.The last layer is usually powdered sugar. Product should be removed to trays to stand overnight to allow excess moisture to be released to the air or at least to equilibrate with the center. If an insufficient amount of powdered sugar is added to the pieces and sweatback occurs after the pieces are trayed then the pieces will have a tendency to stick together and the coating can even peel off when separated. After standing overnight the product is ready for finishing and polishing, a topic covered by another paper. Soft panning is a process that seems to be simple and should be easy. However, it is difficult to do well. One might consider this a “Goldilocks” process. One porridge Soft Panning Process Figure 2 Prepared Centers Prepared Syrup Drying Sugar Engrossing Process Finishing and Polishing 44 58 th PMCA Production Conference, 2004 ➤
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