HERZA Schokolade Develops Micro-Size Chocolate Pieces

These small shapes cannot be made with standard technical equipment, so HERZA has developed special cutting techniques in order to produce them. Customers can choose between little square micro-slivers and micro-drops that are no bigger than the head of a pin.

5/23/2011 --- In Germany and many other European countries the per capita consumption of chocolate is between eight and nine kilograms a year. There can be no doubt that chocolate is very popular with consumers – and not just in the form of chocolate bars, confectionery or snacks. It plays an important role in bakery products, breakfast cereals, ice cream etc. too. HERZA Schokolade now offers its Chocnology specialities in micro-sizes, and is one of the few manufacturers to supply these miniature chocolate pieces.

Sales Director Carsten Braumann: “Industrial manufacturers are showing tremendous interest in micro-size pieces, because they are always on the lookout for ideas for new products that will entice consumers to buy. A further factor is the cost: chocolate is very expensive at the moment. The micro-size pieces enable manufacturers to offer products containing chocolate without unduly increasing the production costs.” The tiny pieces are widely dispersed and give the end product a “chocolaty” appearance although less material has been used. By way of comparison: a kilogram of the classic chocolate ingredients contains about 10,000 pieces; a kilogram of micro-drops contains over 500,000 pieces.

These small shapes cannot be made with standard technical equipment, so HERZA has developed special cutting techniques in order to produce them. Customers can choose between little square micro-slivers and micro-drops that are no bigger than the head of a pin. Then there is “chocolate semolina”, a powdery product that creates a stracciatella effect in muffins, for example. The finished cake is brownish in colour with visible chocolate dots.

The micro-pieces are available as white, milk or dark chocolate and as a three-colour mix of all the variants. There is a coated version, too. That makes it possible to use the slivers as taste carriers by adding special flavouring components like coffee or fruit to the coating. For the micro-range, as for all its other chocolate pieces, HERZA uses only conched chocolate made by the company itself. The micro-range is also complemented by compounds like caramel.

The miniature chocolate pieces are bake-stable, abrasion-resistant and capable of deep-freezing. So they are ideal for bakery products, bakery mixes and ready-made, frozen doughs. In spite of their small size they keep their original shape after baking. Drops and slivers are also popular as decorations for gateaux, ice cream and pastries, and they find their way into muesli bars and fillings for cakes and tarts, too. But there are many other applications, as Carsten Braumann explains: “Among other things, we are noticing an increasing demand from manufacturers of instantized beverage powders like cappuccino. And a host of ideas for new products can be realized with the micro-pieces, too. One possibility is to market the slivers and drops in multiple dispensers, so that consumers can use them for decorating ice cream, home-made desserts or cakes and biscuits.”

Conceivable new applications also include chocolate products, Braumann continues. For chocolate confectionery, for example, the slivers are very effective as an outer shell. With the aid of the micro-pieces, bars of white chocolate can be given a stracciatella effect. And not to forget individual compositions like “creative chocolate”, that consumers can make up themselves through the Internet.

The processing of small chocolate pieces, especially, can quickly result in chocolate dust. The dust impairs the colour of the end products and hampers the production process. With HERZA’s micro-pieces this problem does not arise, as Carsten Braumann explains: “Thanks to a special thermal process, our micro-slivers and drops are highly resistant to abrasion – even without coating, and above all without additives. This abrasion resistance enhances the quality of the end products and simplifies the production process considerably. The parts of the plant that come into contact with the product are much less vulnerable to deposits, lumps and dust. So besides their economic advantages and creative applications, the micro-pieces also facilitate production.”