Mixing room equipment

Abstract

IT is not possible to standardise or lay down precisely the type of equipment one would expect to find in the mixing room of a biscuit-making factory. There are the usual problems of layout, space, production capacity, and also the firm’s policy on what is considered to be the function of the mixing room or department. The mixing room is frequently only directly concerned with the production of biscuit doughs. Other mixing procedures for specialist requirements, such as filling creams, marshmallow, and wafer batter, for example, are dealt with in the separate departments as appropriate. None the less, it is convenient to deal with all items of mixing machinery at this stage. All machines designed for mixing have been developed with the main object of blending together a variety of ingredients to form an homogeneous mass. Even so, there exists a remarkable diversity among the various types of mixers which are available, and this diversity is largely a result of the different aims involved during the blending process. Certain machines are designed for the ‘creaming process’ of mixing, some for the `all-in-process’; others are designed for stretching the dough to develop the gluten, and there are models to minimise gluten development. Many mixers are intended for stiff, malleable doughs, others for fluid batters; some to incorporate air into the batter. Still further variations are for volume, speed of mixing, and according to whether batch or continuous in mode of operation.