On 6 and 7 December, the world-renowned InterPraline congress took place in Solingen, Germany. on trends, new raw materials, recipes, technologies and processes for the production of chocolate pralines and more. Almost 100 participants from ten countries were on site and used the event to exchange ideas, as it had something interesting in store for everyone.
By Dr. Jörg Häseler
The conference, which was held under the motto "InterPraline – Where Lifestyle meets delight", is characterised every two years in particular by its international group of participants. This is where the chocolate and praline industry comes together – whether from science, production, product development, marketing or quality management. During the congress breaks, the get-together, the company exhibition, the product sample exhibition and the evening event, there were numerous opportunities to meet lots of interesting people from the entire industry and to expand your network.
Sandra van Ruiten, Cargill B.V., began by explaining the market and trends from the consumer's perspective, also addressing the aspect of sustainability. Plant-based proteins from pulses or cereals are currently particularly relevant. Her comments on consumer behaviour in different countries were interesting: Belgians, for example, can be classified as traditionalists, as only 1.2% of them use new products. In Western Europe, the figure is 5%; in the United Kingdom, however, it is almost 10%. Demographic factors and migration background seem to play a role here. She also presented various caramel flavours that could be tasted.While automation may not yet have found its way into some companies, digitalisation is the next step waiting to be implemented. Enrico Franz from SweetConnect GmbH spoke about the platform "Confectionery goes 4.0 – creating transparency and added value by using platform services". A number of confectionery machine manufacturers have joined forces on this platform, which digitalises the entire workflow and provides users with the tools they need to make the production process more efficient, predictable and profitable.
The East Asian speciality mochi is making its way onto the German market, although the term praline is probably out of place here as it lacks the characteristic chocolate component. Kyohei Becker and Michael Kretschmann from technology provider Rheon reported on the sweet texture, which some people find difficult to get used to due to its consistency. By local standards, machines used for filled marzipan products are used for production. The products, which are usually extremely sticky due to the gelatinised rice starch, are quite a challenge. Of course, coconut flakes or other chunky ingredients can also be added to the mochis.
In his online presentation, Prof Dr Erich Windhab, ExpertInova AG, focused on the "Arrangement for inline measurements of solidification, contraction and mould wall separation". In his summary, he provided the following points:
• Predictive Quality Control (PQC) and Energy Efficiency Optimisation (EEO) across the entire value chain are a visionary goal of food process development. This requires extensive digitalisation, which begins with the intelligent inline recording of complex material and processing properties.
• For the value chain, the steps (i) tempering (pre-crystallisation), (ii) moulding, (iii) cooling/solidification and (iv) demoulding were selected as important parts for chocolate in which energy consumption/energy efficiency and product quality can be largely optimised.
• The dynamic mechanical ultrasonic analysis has been introduced as the preferred in-line sensor technique, enabling tailored control of crystallisation/solidification behaviour during cooling, product contraction and mould detachment from the mould wall, including the exact time for complete detachment as an indicator for cooling stop and optimal demoulding.
The presentation by Dr Hartmut Rohse, Brabender GmbH & Co. KG/Sweet Know How, dealt with new analytical possibilities to describe the process of crystallisation under shear and to obtain important findings for the production process that are relevant for quality assurance or also for the area of research and development. The VisocQuick measuring device presented is easy to handle and can also be used reliably under production conditions, as the measurement of the crystallisation rate under shear comes very close to the conditions of the tempering process. In addition, the developed method can be widely used for cocoa butter, cocoa mass, chocolate masses, but also for all types of filling fats, fat-based raw materials, semi-finished products and end products. In addition, process-relevant differences in the crystallisation behaviour of samples can be reliably detected. Ideally, the method is easy to perform, is based on a robust sample size and shows results in a relatively short time. The measurements also offer a further advantage at the end: The curves determined with the measuring device even make it possible to check whether the origin of the chocolate is correct. This means that Nicaraguan chocolate can be distinguished from chocolate from West Africa.
"Consumer and flavour trends in chocolate in 2024 and beyond" was presented by Jan Eckhardt, Givaudan Deutschland GmbH. The company, which produces flavourings, wants to find out where developments are heading and which ingredients will be in demand in the future, although there are certainly different developments in different countries: Germany, for example, is characterised by the familiar flavours of fudge, vanilla, caramel, berry fruit and peanut butter, while the British are leading the way with cookie, fudge, toffee, peanut butter and vanilla. When it comes to trend flavours, Germans favour cake, pudding, coffee, hazelnut and tea, whereas the British favour mocha, "speculoos", espresso, tonka bean and pistachio.
And a note on the ZDS highlight at the end of 2024: Chocotech will take place again in Cologne from 10 to 12 December.
