sugar granulation. Two major ingre- dient improvements changed all that: compressible dextrose and compressible sorbitol ushered in the era of high sour dextrose candies Tableted Confections: targeted at children and the sugar- free breath mint market. Today the market is composed primarily of Formulation and Considerations sugar and sugar free breath mints, and dextrose sour fruit novelties. The technology of tableting is unique in candy technology because virtually all other candy products focus on the control of crystalliza- tion: control of grain in hard candy, fondant in creams, bloom in choco- late. In tableting, control of crystal- lization doesn’t enter the process. Instead, we start with crystalline material and grind it as fine as possi- he business of tableted confec- card salesman. Ed sold advertising ble and then put it back together. Ttions is growing; there are more space in trolley cars and he walked Since we do not dissolve the prod- and more companies seeking to get into Dr. Crane’s Candy Shop in uct and grow fine crystals, the into this area, so a general review is Cleveland to sell Clarence Crane smoothness of the finished product in order. some advertising for his breath depends on how fine a particle we Compressed candies were first mints. It was 1912, and it was one of th started with. Everything else we do made towards the end of the 19 cen- those “If you’re so smart, why don’t to make the product is aimed at one tury. The early tablet presses were you do it yourself,” stories. Ed Noble thing; getting it through the press. single punch machines adapted from tried in vain to sell Clarence Crane With that as an introduction, let’s metal presses used for stamping and the advertising, but Crane, instead, take a look at this relationship forging steel and other materials. sold Noble the breath mint business between formulation and machine Some enterprising soul discovered and the equipment to make it. The and what we must take in to consid- that sugar will bond when com- rest is history and Ed Noble made a eration when producing compressed pressed and the business of making mint. This was the beginning of the candies. candy in this fashion was started. LifeSaver Company. Perhaps the greatest success story The candy with the hole was made FORMULA CONSIDERATIONS that grew out of this business is the on Colton Rotary Tablet Presses at a story of Ed Noble, who was a car All tableted candies have the fol- rate of about 200 tablets a minute lowing categories of ingredients: per machine. These machines were • tablet base/vehicle, developed at the beginning of the • binder, century for the manufacture of phar- • lubricant, maceutical products. Dr. Crane had • flavor (including acidulant). adapted them for making candy. As The optional ingredients include: LifeSavers were spread around the • color, world during WWI, interest in com- • active ingredient to produce an pressed candies grew and Rowntree effect. of England copied the product in the early 1920s and built a substantial Tablet Bases/Vehicles business as “Polo Mints.” The com- The tablet base is the material which pressed candy business was confined forms the bulk of the tablet. It is the to the mint category until the intro- tableting characteristics of this mate- duction of Pez, which found its niche rial which largely determines the as a toy dispensing compressed nature of the finished product. In sweets. pharmaceuticals this material is gen- One of the reasons the manufac- erally referred to as the vehicle or Walter Vink turing was limited was the expense excipient. The purpose of the base is Vink Associates, Inc. required to produce a compressible to carry the flavors and/or active Presented at the National American Association of Candy Technologists Technical Session

The Manufacturing Confectioner/November 1996 39