Back to Basics — Panning Soft Panning Engrossing, dry charging, finishing and polishing Pamela Gesford Colorcon Soft panning has been around at least since and possibly sealing the outside of the soft- 1861 when William Schrafft advertised jelly panned product. fbeans in a newspaper in Boston. Since then, Products made by this process include the number of products made with a soft- jelly beans, some Boston Baked Beans, panning process has dramatically increased. caramel beans, sugar-coated marshmallow Even though many people think of only the eggs and even some gumballs. One of the jelly bean as being soft panned, there are first branded, year-round, solely soft-panned many other new and old products made products was Mike and Ike, which was intro- with this process. Before discussing the type duced in 1940, followed by Hot Tamales in of products made this way, the ingredients 1950. These both have a gel center as do used, the process itself and the relationship jelly beans and other products such as fruit between center and shell, we will discuss sours. Prior to that, some brands like Good Gesford is manager of the terms used. & Plenty (which was first made in 1896), technical service in the food and confectionery Soft panning is the process by which a soft had, by classic definition, a soft-panned division of Colorcon. coating is applied to a center. It also could be undercoat, with a hard-panned shell. In Prior to this assign- described as the process of forming a coat- addition to the traditional jelly bean there ment she worked as ing which includes the addition of a syrup are gourmet jelly beans as well as jelly bean the r&d manager at to a center followed by the addition of dry versions of fruity flavored brands. Just Herman Goelitz Candy Co. and began her material. recently, soft-panned candy fruit rocks have career at Hershey Engrossing is the process of building up the appeared on the market.There still seems to Foods. shell. be a large interest in the introduction of soft and chewy items including those that Dry charging is the introduction of dry pow- are soft panned. der by evenly sprinkling it directly onto the surface of tumbling pieces. THE INGREDIENTS Finishing is the process of preparing The soft panning process has remained an engrossed product for polishing including art more than a science. Most candy removing any of the powdered sugar on the processes start out as an art, and then, with surface. research, the science is discovered by con- Polishing is the process of adding the shine trolling all but one parameter at a time. One Pamela Gesford ➤ The Manufacturing Confectioner • August 2004 31.