Chocolate is ground in order to obtain a very small average particle size. A determined viscosity is necessary for further processing. In order to keep as small as possible the fraction with particle size lying above the desired value and having an adverse effect on the taste of the final product, according to the invention the process mass is circulated in a cycle incorporating a grinding device and a ball mill. This has the result of accelerating the grinding process and reducing the inconsistency in the distribution of the particle size.
An apparatus for pulverizing solid particles including an impact-type pulverizing device, a mechanical-type pulverizing device and a piping system connected to the pulverizing devices such that the solid particles may be selectively pulverized in the impact-type pulverizing device and in the mechanical-type pulverizing device successively in this or reverse order.
An improved chocolate manufacturing and/or refining process is provided. This process allows chocolate refining at a significantly increased throughput rate while maintaining the particle size distribution at the desired level. Thus, the production rates of existing or newly designed chocolate-making processes can be increased significantly. High shear is applied to the chocolate mass during the later stages of refining and before conching. Generally, this high shear is in the range of about 200,000 to about 1,000,000 sec.sup.-1. By significantly increasing the shear rate in the later stages of the refining process, the throughput of refining process, and thus the overall chocolate manufacturing process, can be significantly increased without significantly increasing the particle size of the chocolate mass entering the conching step.
