Glistening Chocolate for Valentine’s Day

February 4, 2016 | By Business Wire News

CHICAGO

More than just sugar, chocolate and nuts go into your box of Valentine’s Day candy.

Did you ever wonder what gives each piece of chocolate a glossy, mouth-watering appearance? What keeps pieces of chocolate from sticking together? Polishes and glazes are the “secret” ingredients that help make that happen.

Developed from natural and sustainable raw materials, polishes and glazes stabilize chocolate products without affecting their taste. Expert food developers, application engineers and technical product managers can spend weeks, even years, working with candy makers to develop new, innovative solutions for your holiday box of chocolates and other “panned” candies with sweet or salty centers.

Chocolate, of course, is virtually synonymous with Valentine’s Day. A study from the National Confectioners Association reports that 83 percent of all Americans will likely share chocolate or candy with friends, family or that special someone on Valentine’s Day. The survey notes that in 2014, 69 percent of all Americans, including 83 percent of all men, indicated they preferred a gift of chocolate over flowers.

Part of the Freudenberg Group, Capol GmbH is a global developer and manufacturer of glazes for the confectionery industry. For this year’s holiday season, the company is expanding its product offerings with a new line of gum-acacia-based coatings and polishes.

“It all starts with an idea,” notes Yassine Soufiane, an innovation developer at Capol. “From there, creativity and expertise are what is needed to develop a polish or glaze formula. What are the approved food-grade raw materials? Are they readily available? What will it ultimately cost to produce? Can we market organic variations?”

Soufiane explains that knowledge of key raw materials and their interaction is as important as expertise in confectionery procedures and processes.

Dr. Matthias Seemann, managing director of Capol, points out that the combination of ingredients in a coating or glaze is particularly important.

“A finishing treatment protects the candies from mechanical damage,” he says. “It also prevents the chocolate coating from becoming sticky or melting in your hand.”

Natural ingredients like the sap of the African Acacia (gum Arabic) bring a shine to the surface of the candy, which is then coated with a sealant to protect the gloss finish against humidity; to prevent the candy from drying out, and to extend its shelf life.

“Panned chocolates are treated with coatings tailor-made especially for each one,” Seemann adds.

Capol products meet or exceed a wide range of tough food-industry demands. Ingredients, for example, need to be odorless and tasteless so that they do not affect a candy’s flavor. All production steps must be documented, and Capol’s computer-controlled programs allow for full traceability, from finished product to raw material.

Dr. Seemann explains that the company is continuously developing new and innovative chocolate coating agents as well. Each new coating not only is designed to offer a better and more stable shine at high humidity levels, but also is designed to shorten production and processing times.

Seemann adds that improved flow properties due to low viscosity also help ensure a more attractive appearance even on irregularly shaped chocolate pieces.

Capol LLC, the company’s U.S. subsidiary, is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois, and is responsible for the distribution of Capol products throughout the U.S. and Canada.

About the Freudenberg Group

Freudenberg is a global technology group that strengthens its customers and society long-term through forward-looking innovations. Together with its partners, customers and research institutions, the Freudenberg Group develops leading-edge technologies and excellent products and services for more than 30 markets and for thousands of applications. Strength of innovation, strong customer orientation, diversity, and team spirit are the cornerstones of the Group. The 166-year-old company holds strong to its core values: a commitment to excellence, reliability and pro-active, responsible action. The Freudenberg Group employs more than 40,000 people in 60 countries and generates annual sales of more than 7-billion Euros.

For more information, please visit www.freudenberg.com.