Better batters and slurries

While cooling is not as critical to many cake batters and slurries, controlling the process keys better consistency, noted Bob Peck, vice-president of engineering for E.T. Oakes Corp.

“All of our continuous mixing heads have cooling jackets to provide control based on the nature of the mixing climate,” he said. “We can circulate cold water or glycol. If we’re adding 10 (degrees) F with mixing, we can pretty much eliminate the temperature increase with 20 (degrees) F glycol fluid in the mixing head.”

Prior to mixing, E.T. Oakes also incorporates a scraped-surface heat exchanger to further cool down the batter or slurry before it enters the mixing head.

“The type of technology we use all depends on the application and the customer’s requirements,” Mr. Peck noted.

Tonelli Group offers cake slurry batter and cream pre-mixers and continuous mixers with heat exchangers. The mixers also can be configured with a vacuum system, integrated cooling and heating systems, double-walled vessels and piping to control the product temperature throughout the processing.

“Our PLC and recipe management software control the variables to mitigate product temperature fluctuations,” Mr. Wilkinson said. “We offer the ability to raise or lower product temperature in-line, depending on the process needs.”