19 research outputs found
Conching chocolate:A prototypical transition from frictionally jammed solid to flowable suspension with maximal solid content
The mixing of a powder of 10-50{\mu}m primary particles into a liquid to form
a dispersion with the highest possible solid content is a common industrial
operation. Building on recent advances in the rheology of such 'granular
dispersions', we study a paradigmatic example of such powder incorporation: the
conching of chocolate, in which a homogeneous, flowing suspension is prepared
from an inhomogeneous mixture of particulates, triglyceride oil and
dispersants. Studying the rheology of a simplified formulation, we find that
the input of mechanical energy and staged addition of surfactants combine to
effect a considerable shift in the jamming volume fraction of the system, thus
increasing the maximum flowable solid content. We discuss the possible
microscopic origins of this shift, and suggest that chocolate conching
exemplifies a ubiquitous class of powder-liquid mixing
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