photo location

A Guide for
Teachers
Moulding
and
Packaging
Chocolates
Written, illustrated and produced by Tony Mander, June 2001
This support resource was jointly funded from the Minister for the Environments Sustainable Management Fund,
administered by the Ministry for the Environment, and from the Packaging Council of New Zealand.
This material may be freely used for any non-profit purpose.
NESTL

is a registered trade mark of Socit des Produits Nestl S.A. Vevey Switzerland and is used with their
kind permission.
Contents
Page
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Read this first! 1
Using the PAC-IT Teacher Guide 1
Pathways to moulding and packaging chocolates 2
1 Moulding and packaging chocolate as a curriculum topic ................................. 36
Technology 3, 4
Science 4
Mathematics 5
English 5
Social Studies 6
The Arts 6
Physical Education and Health 6
2 About chocolate ................................................................................................................................................. 79
History and production 7
Kinds of chocolate 7, 8 (summary diagram 8)
Melting and tempering chocolate 8
Common problems when moulding chocolate 9
3 Melting chocolate for moulding in a classroom................................................................ 10
4 Moulding chocolate ................................................................................................................................ 1115
Moulding hints 11
Using ready-made moulds 11
Making your own moulds 11
A: Setting up 12
B: Forming moulds from plastic (polymer) sheet 12
Safety notes 13
Moulding problems 13
Care of moulds 14
Formers for making your own moulds 14
Making chocolate shells for filling 15
Fillings 15
Making hollow chocolates 15
5 Hygiene and food safety.................................................................................................................... 16, 17
Hygiene 16
Assessing risks: HACCP 16
6 Packaging individual gift chocolates ....................................................................................... 18
Packaging ready-made chocolates 18
Wrapping 18
Decoration and labelling 18
7 Nets for individual paper and paperboard packages ........................................ 1925
Package nets 1925
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 1
Moulding and packaging chocolates
A guide for teachers
Introduction
Read this first!
Moulding and packaging chocolate is a popular technology activity in years
410 classes. This resource aims to support teachers at these levels.
Moulding and packaging chocolate is authentic in that hand-made choco-
lates are still produced today by skilled chocolatiers, and demonstrates the
skills and knowledge required to produce a high-quality product. Unless the
teacher is a trained chocolatier (in which case these notes are irrelevant!)
the chocolates produced in a classroom are acceptable but can not be called
high-quality hand-made chocolates as the facilities will be inadequate and
there is insufficient time to acquire the required levels of skill, experience
and knowledge. This is an important teaching point, as pupils need to
appreciate the depth of knowledge, skills and experience required to pro-
duce a high-quality technological product. This applies to most technology
education activities, as the goal is to generally educate and give pupils
technological literacy, not to produce specifically skilled technologists. This
topic and its activities allow important concepts to be introduced or reinforced.
Although these notes are primarily intended to support further use of the
PAC-IT Teacher Guide, they introduce the whole process of moulding
chocolate. Basic information about chocolate and moulding it has been
included because a product is needed for packaging and because it illus-
trates elements of technological practice. No learning outcomes have been
suggested as it is the professional task of teachers to define those best suited
to their class over a range of learning areas. Learning outcomes for technol-
ogy education are generally defined in these domains: conceptual,
procedural, societal and technical.
While not introduced until Sections 6 and 7 of these notes, packaging is one
of the core topics for this activity as, unless immediately consumed, the
moulded chocolates must be packaged for food safety and to maintain the
flavour and appearance. Packaging also offers opportunities for considerable
extension work. As one key function of packaging is to maintain the best
qualities of a product, these notes may assist in obtaining the best product
achievable in a typical classroom situation.
Using the PAC-IT Teacher Guide
It would be helpful to first read these sections of the PAC-IT Teacher Guide
(which can be ordered from this website):
Introduction to packaging, pages. 24
Packaging and society, pages 1113
Packaging functions, pages 1424
Nets of paperboard containers, pages 5661
Labelling, pages 115118 (also see the Australia New Zealand Food
Authority website: www.anzfa.govt.nz)
If you want your pupils to develop their own packaging, this section would
also be useful:
Developing packaging for a product, pages 2840
This column allows space
for your own notes.
2 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
Core concepts
Packaging must meet requirements for labelling.
Packaging must be attractive to the consumer.
Pathways and concepts in moulding and packaging chocolates
1 Making own
moulds
2 Ready-made
chocolate moulds
Process
starting points
Melting
chocolate
Products Process stages
3 Ready-made
chocolates
Finding and preparing
a suitable former,
or making own former
vacuum-forming
a mould
plastic mould/s
setting up a simple
chocolate melter,
maintaining chocolate
in desired condition
best quality
chocolate for
moulding
moulding
chocolates
moulded
chocolates
packaged
chocolates
selecting packaging materials,
designing and making packaging
packages
Core concepts
Packaging contains and protects the product
from mechanical and chemical damage.
Packaging preserves the product, retaining such
qualities as flavours, appearance and texture.
Core concepts
Foods require careful handling to ensure safety.
Standard food safety protocol (such as HACCP)
are important tools in maintaining food safety.
Core concepts
A material has specific properties;
some properties may be modified
by various treatments.
Achieving required properties
requires appropriate techniques.
Core concepts
A technologist must be able to identify
problems and match solutions.
Knowledge and experience are both
required to produce the best product.
Core concept
Conditions must be carefully
controlled to achieve consistency.
Core concepts
Making a vacuum-formed mould
requires a former.
Formers for vacuum-forming must
meet certain specifications.
Topic
starting points
1 Technology:
Strand C
Place of confections in our food traditions, leading to
a need/opportunity to produce chocolate confections
3 Technology:
Strand B
An opportunity to make moulds for
hand-made chocolates
2 Technology:
Strand C
Use of packaged chocolates as personal gifts;
chocolate as an energy food
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 3
1 Moulding and packaging chocolate as a curriculum topic
This topic is suitable as a context for meeting objectives in technology in
particular, but also in science, mathematics, languages, social studies and the
arts. It is a good integrating topic, providing an authentic context for pupils
to apply and extend skills and knowledge acquired in other learning areas.
Only a very brief summary of elements relevant to selected strands of the
essential learning areas in the New Zealand Curriculum have been listed,
generally in ascending level order (but only to level 5, as this resource is
intended for teachers of years 410). Specific outcomes and levels are not
identified. This resource is intended to save teacher time in looking up the
relevant information.
Using ready-made chocolates and packaging them has not been described,
although it is an option where only packaging is the focus.
Technology
Core concepts, skills and knowledge
Biotechnology:
Additives and processes: the use of enzymes to produce soft fillings for
chocolates (the enzyme is added to the solid filling and slowly digests it
to make it soft); source of enzymes (many are extracted from cultures
of bacteria).
Cloning technology: a process has been developed to clone cacao trees
from cacao flower tissue, although it is not used commercially. Cacao
plants grown from seed vary in their yields and disease resistance, so
plants with the best characteristics would be selected for cloning. Note
that all vegetative forms of reproduction, both natural and human
methods (e.g. runners, cuttings, grafting, tissue culture, etc.) are forms
of cloning, and used to propagate plants of any origin.
Food technology:
Identifying and retaining desirable food qualities: tempering chocolate to
retain the best texture; ingredient ratios in different kinds of choco-
lates (see p. 7, 8); packaging to retain flavour and prevent tainting
Food safety: appropriate classroom procedures; HACCP protocols;
packaging and labelling
Diagnosing problems: diagnosing causes of undesirable features (streaks,
cracks, etc.), taking appropriate action to fix and/or prevent the problem
Attractiveness: making or selecting attractive shapes for formers; using
different chocolate colours to add interest to the shapes
Food chemistry: physical properties of chocolate (e.g. melting points);
chemistry of fats, enzymes, etc. in chocolate.
Materials technology:
Moulding: how a former is used to make a mould in which a liquid can
be poured to solidify in the shape of the former
Properties of materials: how a thermoplastic plastic material becomes
plastic (i.e. can be shaped when softened), mouldable properties of
chocolate; identifying the required properties of the former (e.g. heat
resistant, leaves no residue on the plastic)
Properties of packaging materials: impermeability of aluminium foil; ability
of paperboard to hold a fold; qualities of inks and printing on to
paperboard; etc.
Adhesives: choice and use of most appropriate adhesives (e.g. starch
paste: no odour, easy to use, economical, wont interfere with paper
recycling).
4 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
Production and Process technology:
Work flow efficiency: arranging the equipment, etc., for the most efficient
and safe work flow; use of flow charts in designing work flow
Quality control consistency: controlling conditions to ensure consistency
of moulding of both the plastic sheet and of the chocolate so that
unacceptable under- or oversize chocolates are not produced
Economy: reducing wastage of materials used (plastics, chocolate,
packaging), including investigating whether two or more formers can
be used with one sheet of plastic (yes, provided there is about 10 mm
between formers)
Food safety: identifying the steps which are likely to affect food safety
and to identify and apply suitable procedures.
Structures and mechanisms:
Vacuum former design: how it is made for strength (to resist the crushing
force of the atmosphere); for even air flow (holes, gauze); necessity for
a clamping frame (plastic needs to be held firmly by its edges so the
atmospheric pressure can push it around the former); use of butterfly
nuts to enable it to be finger tightened only; etc.
Simple chocolate melter design: insulation beneath the containers to
reduce heat loss to the bench by conduction (could consider adding a
foam wrap to reduce heat loss by conduction to the air); lid to reduce
heat loss through evaporation of water (phase change from liquid to
vapour requires heat energy); lid reduces risk of chocolate being spoilt
by water drops or by water vapour; modifying a long-handled teaspoon
into a ladle; etc.
How things work: an extension could be to consider how the heat-gun
and vacuum cleaner work.
Economy of containers for chocolate: nets; gaining largest number of nets
from a sheet of paperboard or heavy paper.
Graphics and drawing:
Concept drawings: sketches, rendered drawings of packaging designs (by
hand, or with CAD or computer graphics programs)
Construction drawings: accurate drawings of packaging nets
Final graphics production: preparing the graphics and labelling for the
packaging and printing it on the packages.
Science
Living world: why some plants grow only in certain places; how plants
grow and manufacture materials; the nature of biological materials
(carbohydrates, fats, proteins) the biology of the cacao plant and the
relationship between flowers and fruits; the process of fermentation;
the nature of decomposition by bacteria and fungi; finding out/
measuring the energy content of the chocolate.
Material world: investigating the permeability of selected packaging
materials (aluminium foil, various papers, polyethylene food wrap,
etc.); physical effects of heating and cooling of substances (e.g. soften-
ing to become plastic and hardening, melting and solidification,
dissolving and crystallisation, evaporation and condensation); investi-
gating the effects of adding water to chocolate; determining the effects
on chocolate of various storage conditions; investigating ways of
separating some constituents of chocolate (e.g. centrifuging, chroma-
tography).
Physical world: the nature of heat; how heat is transferred; difference
between mass and weight; weighing devices to measure mass of choco-
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 5
late; measuring the thickness of the plastic at different places of the
mould; measuring the hardness of different types of chocolate; detect-
ing metal particles in commercial chocolate production (metal
particles from processing machinery is a constant but low-level risk in
food-processing).
Mathematics
Processes: recognising the role of mathematics in this topic (e.g. need
to relate the number of chocolates to be produced to the amount of
chocolate to be purchased and keeping it within budget, monitoring
consistency of production (e.g. mass) if many of one shape were to be
produced, matching chocolate sizes to its packaging, design of primary
packaging, calculating shape of secondary packaging, etc.); recording
information; presenting mathematical ideas (e.g. graphs of preference
surveys).
Number: counting total production of chocolates; chocolate shapes;
fraction of total of each shape; preference of people for each shape;
calculating average weight of each chocolate and the average cost of
the chocolate used in each moulded chocolate; weighing chocolates of
the same shape to find the range of masses, average mass, % variation
from average; using density to calculate mass of a secondary package of
(e.g. 100) packaged chocolates; calculating % magnification of the nets
included if they were to be re-sized on a copier to match the sizes of
the chocolates being made; estimating/calculating amounts of choco-
late required if production extended to whole school; identifying and
quantifying all costs: chocolate, capital costs of equipment, energy,
time taken (with various hourly rates) link to rate and efficiency of
production; calculation of various returns on investment if were to sell
chocolates; survey of preferences of chocolates and expressing as
percentages.
Measurement: measuring chocolates to find net size; logging the time
taken for each stage (making former, making mould, moulding,
cooling, etc.); weighing each chocolate shape (e.g. for pricing); meas-
ure packages to calculate volumes; make and weigh a cube of
chocolates to find the density and use density calculation to find the
volumes of the moulded chocolate shapes; devise systems of recording
the chocolate used for each moulded shape; measure (and calculate)
the area of a net in relation to the area of the sheet it is cut from (and
% wastage).
Geometry: designing and making 2D nets for 3D packages; arrange nets
on paperboard sheet for maximum economy (maximum number from
the sheet with least wastage) extension: investigate arrangements of
nets for efficient printing; methods of enlarging/reducing the net sizes
for different chocolate shapes; designing space-efficient secondary
packages for a number (e.g. 50) of the individual chocolate packages
extension: design the secondary package to also become a display
package.
Algebra: drawing a graph showing the time for each stage of the mould-
ing process; devise a graph which shows the relative costs of each shape
of chocolate and their packaging.
Statistics: weigh chocolates of the same shape, arrange into mass
groups, make stem and leaf table of the number in each mass group,
decide with the highest and lowest group are outside an acceptable
range, calculate probability of a chocolate being unacceptable (relate
to quality control of moulding process); analyse results of a preference
survey and express in various forms.
6 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
English
Oral language: oral presentations sharing information gained about
chocolate; sharing experiences with packaging designs; presenting
ideas on promoting chocolates in their packages, perhaps as a radio
advertisement; debating the merits or otherwise of chocolate as a food.
Written language: preparing the text for the package, including layout
and formatting; write a poem on chocolate; writing a summary of the
production of chocolate; examining how various ethnic groups may
interpret the written description; product labelling requirements;
writing an instruction manual on making formers and/or operating
the simple vacuum former and/or setting up the chocolate melter
and/or using the moulds, etc.; writing the test for print advertisements
for various groups of consumers of their chocolates; writing a jingle for
a chocolate advertisement.
Visual language: collecting advertisements for chocolates and identify-
ing what each visual element, use of colour, etc., contributes to the
effectiveness of each advertisement; designing a visual advertisement
for chocolate for print or for television media; act out and video a brief
advertisement and examine the messages given by the body language,
gestures, etc.
Note: Languages have not been included here, but there is opportunity to
translate the text on the packaging to other languages and to evaluate the
relevance of the graphic elements to those cultures.
Social Studies
Social organisation: investigate the situation of people who grow and
harvest cacao, what they gain from it and whether they have adequate
compensation for their efforts
Culture and heritage: investigate whether chocolate has a place as a
significant food in various cultures and whether there are shapes which
must be avoided when moulding chocolates for particular cultures
The Arts
Visual arts: designing and producing the art work for packages of
chocolate; use of computer graphic programs.
Physical education and Health
Food and nutrition: the place of chocolate as a treat or variety food in
the diet could be investigated; the nutrients in chocolate; using choco-
late in other recipes.
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 7
2 About chocolate
History and production
History: By the seventh century AD the Mayas had established cacao
plantations in the Amazon and were making chocolate. The seeds
(cocoa beans) made a revered beverage, xocoatl (pronounced
chocolatl, and meaning bitter water). The unsweetened drink the
Aztecs made of pounded cocoa beans and spices was probably ex-
tremely bitter.
Growing chocolate: Chocolate comes from the tropical cacao bean,
Theobroma cacao (Theobroma means food of the gods). It is a delicate
evergreen plant, requiring constant warmth, steady rain and screening
from direct light and wind. It is restricted to about 20 north and south
of the equator. There are three main types of varieties of cacao plants.
Cacao growing countries include Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecua-
dor, the nations of Central America, Ghana, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast,
Cameroon, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Java and Samoa. After 34 years the
cacao begins to bear fruit. Tiny flowers grow directly out of the trunk and
large branches. Some develop seed pods, which grow up to 25 cm long. A
cacao tree fruits for about 40 years, but may yield no more than 100 kg.
Harvesting: The cacao beans are removed from their pods, fermented
in the open air to develop the flavour, dried so they can be transported
without spoilage, blended from a selection of types to give the desired
types of chocolate, roasted slowly at about 120 C to develop the aroma
and flavour, and cracked to remove the kernels, called nibs (which
contain 5058% cocoa butter), from the shells.
Terminology: Cacao refers to the tree, pods and unfermented beans.
Cocoa refers to the manufactured products from the fermented bean.
Extraction and initial processing: The nibs are ground into a thick, dark
brown paste called chocolate liquor, which is just particles of nibs
suspended in fluid cocoa butter, which receives an initial refining.
Some of the cocoa butter may be removed. If additional cocoa butter is
extracted from the chocolate liquor, the solid result is ground to
produce unsweetened cocoa powder. If other ingredients are added
(such as milk powder, sugar, etc.), the chocolate is refined again.
Final processing: The final step for most chocolate is conching: huge
machines with rotating blades slowly blend the heated chocolate
liquor, removing residual moisture and volatile acids and breaking up
the particles. The conching continues for 1272 hours (depending on
the type and quality of chocolate), reducing particles of chocolate to
2550 m in size and coating them in cocoa butter, giving a melt in
the mouth feel.
Kinds of chocolate
There are many kinds of chocolate available. Food regulations determine
whether a product can be called chocolate, generally requiring a minimum
of 20% cocoa solids and no more than 5% other fats. The ingredients
panel on the packaging will allow you to judge what type it is. Chocolate
should be kept in a cool, dry place, avoiding abrupt changes of temperature.
In suitable storage conditions and wrapped in foil it will keep for several
months. For maximum freshness purchase only when required.
There are four main types of chocolate for eating and cooking:
Dark chocolate contains sugar, cocoa liquor or mass, cocoa butter and
flavourings. Couverture chocolate is a form of dark chocolate, gener-
ally with more cocoa butter to give a good gloss and a snap when
broken into pieces.
Milk chocolate contains the same ingredients as dark chocolate, with at
least 20% chocolate liquor, and has milk solids added.
Caution: Some children may have
allergies to milk solids present in
some kinds of chocolate.
8 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
White chocolate is a mixture of sugar,
full-cream milk, cocoa butter and flavour-
ings.
Compound chocolate has all the ingredi-
ents of chocolate with added vegetable
fats, which help it to set at room tempera-
ture. It is the most economical
readily-available form of chocolate
suitable for moulding at school and does
not need tempering. An example is
NESTL

Melts, packaged in 375g

waterproof packets in dark, milk, and
white chocolate varieties; available from
supermarkets.
There are also chocolate-like materials
for coating baked products. These
contain a softer vegetable fat so a product
can be cut without shattering the coating,
but if it contains more than 5% added fat
it can not be called chocolate.
Melting and tempering chocolate
Chocolate requires considerable care to
have the best final product. No water in
any form (condensation, steam) must get
into the chocolate or it will cause the
chocolate to bind or sieze: become
dry and grainy rather than fluid. Choco-
late is best melted in a water bath, but it
must not be overheated or scorched, as it
may become hard and grainy.
cacao pods harvested, beans removed
beans fermented, dried
beans cleaned, roasted, cracked to release nibs
cocoa nibs ground, liquors blended
chocolate liquor / cocoa mass
(cocoa butter + cocoa solid)
cocoa butter
cocoa
cake
pressed
milling
conching
production
packaging
cocoa block
or bitter
chocolate
dark
chocolate
milk
chocolate
white
chocolate
unsweetened
cocoa
powder
milling
conching
production
packaging
milling
conching
production
packaging
production
packaging
grinding
packaging
+ sugar
+ (optional)
milk fat
+ sugar
+ milk
powder
+ sugar
+ milk
powder
compound chocolate (dark, milk, white)
+ vegetable fats
eating chocolate may also contain flavourings (e.g. vanilla)
Chocolate containing cocoa butter should be tempered. Tempering
ensures that the cocoa butter has the best crystalline form for taste and
feel, and for stability and bloom prevention. Cocoa butter has several
crystalline forms. To grow the best form requires cooling to make those
crystal grow, and then warming to dissolve other crystal forms. The
amount of tempering and specific temperatures are dependent on the
type of chocolate used. Note that compound chocolate does not need
tempering, but care must still be taken to not overheat it and to main-
tain it at a suitable temperature (around 30 C).
The cooling/warming method of tempering has three steps:
1 Melting the chocolate by heating to (but not above) 50 C; stir
while melting, but avoid trapping air bubbles in the chocolate.
2 Crystallising the cocoa butter by cooling the chocolate to 2626.5 C.
3 Dissolving crystals other than the desired form by warming to 3031
C (dark chocolate) or 2930 C (milk, white chocolate). Place the
container in water at about 34 C and stir the chocolate until it
reaches 3031 C. It needs to be kept at these temperatures for
moulding. If it exceeds these temperatures it will need re-tempering.
Another method is to mix melted and unmelted flakes on a marble
slab to achieve the required temperature and consistency. While used
by professional chocolatiers, it is not readily suitable for classrooms.
Tempering is difficult in the simple equipment shown below as is has
no way of automatically monitoring and controlling the temperature,
but if the temperature is kept around 30 C it produces a satisfactory
product.
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 9
Common problems when moulding chocolate
The melted chocolate in the container becomes heavy, thick, dry, grainy.
It has been affected by water and is no longer suitable for moulding.
Thickening can also be caused by being left tempered too long before
using, when it needs to be warmed and then tempered again. Over-
heating may scorch it and cause it to harden.
The moulded chocolate has streaks on the surface after moulding.
This is probably fat bloom, caused by the working temperature being
too high, check the temperature and cool and re-temper it.
The moulded chocolate has white marks on the surface.
The mould was damp, probably in the corners.
The moulded chocolate has stripes.
Chocolate too cool and not properly mixed, check the temperature
and stir the chocolate.
The chocolate develops a dull grey bloom during storage.
This is either fat bloom or sugar bloom. Sugar bloom is caused by
moisture on the chocolate surface dissolving sugar in the chocolate,
which then crystallises on the surface when the chocolate dries, leaving
a grey bloom. The moisture may be from being stored in a damp place
or being subjected to changes in temperature causing condensation.
Dont put it the warm moulded chocolate in the freezer compartment
to cool. Erratic changes of temperature during storage may also cause
bloom, especially fat bloom when there is a temperature range from
near melting to cold.
Dull when removed from the mould.
Probably left too long in the refrigerator. Do not leave moulded
chocolate in the refrigerator longer than necessary to cool it (it must
not be chilled). The condensation on the cool surface when it is
removed can cause sugar bloom chocolate should be warmed in steps
to avoid condensation and the resultant dull finish and/or bloom.
Cold moulds can also cause a dull finish (moulds are best warmed to
2124 C before pouring the chocolate into them).
Hard to remove from the mould.
Not cooled sufficiently; chocolate may not have been tempered before
moulding; chocolate may have been overheated before moulding;
water may have been in the mould.
10 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
3 Melting chocolate for moulding in a classroom
The simple chocolate melting equipment shown below will, if used care-
fully, produce satisfactory chocolate for moulding chocolate shapes. It
illustrates the variables needing to be controlled in order to produce a
consistently high-quality product, and indicates the major cost factors in
making chocolates (e.g. quality of processing from the raw materials, careful
tempering and moulding, good packaging and presentation, appropriate
storage, marketing, care during transport, etc.).
The best method of melting chocolate is to use a water-bath. A simple
chocolate-melter made from a 2l plastic ice-cream container is shown
below.
long-handled teaspoon
bent upwards by about 60
hole cut in the ice-cream container lid
just large enough for the body of a 500g
plastic pot (with lid), Payless Plastics item
126/16 make sure the rim of the pot
does not fit through the hole
2l plastic ice-cream container
insulation (e.g. Corflute, closed-cell foam)
Although chocolate can be melted in a microwave oven, the kinds of
chocolate vary in the their melting rates, and much care is required to
avoid overheating or scorching it. Milk chocolate seems especially prone
to scorching. The water-bath method takes longer but needs less monitor-
ing and can maintain the melted chocolate in moulding condition during
a moulding session.
Note that chocolate pieces may retain their shape even when melted, so
always stir the chocolate and check the temperature before further
heating. The appearance of the chocolate is not a sufficient guide to its
melted state.
The steps in melting using the modified ice-cream container shown are:
1 Half-fill an ice-cream container with hot but not boiling water and put
on the lid (which has a hole cut to take the pot of chocolate).
2 Place about two-thirds of a packet of (e.g.) NESTL

Melts into the

pot, partially screw on the lid, and place it into the hot water through
the hole in the ice-cream container lid. (The pot shown is available
from PayLess Plastics/Plastic Box, where it is described as: Pot, 500
gram + lid, stock item 126/16.)
3 Leave for about 58 minutes, then slowly stir sufficiently only to mix
the melted and unmelted chocolate. Leave for a few more minutes and
repeat the slow stirring until all the chocolate pieces have melted.
4 Check the temperature of the chocolate immediately after first stirring.
It must not exceed 50 C. Ensure that by the time all of the pieces have
melted that the temperature of the chocolate is about 30 C. Add more
chocolate pieces if necessary to cool the melted chocolate. Add warm
or cool water to the water bath to maintain it at the required tempera-
ture. Note that NESTL

Melts are compound chocolates and do not

need tempering.
Having pupils read thermometers for this process provides an opportunity
for them to develop this skill and to emphasise that some processes need
precise control.
Use three chocolate melting units, one for white chocolate, one for milk
chocolate and one for dark chocolate. It helps if you use different col-
oured ice-cream containers for each kind of chocolate.
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 11
4 Moulding chocolate
If the moulding of chocolate is concurrent with the plastic mould forming
(assuming there are sufficient adult supervisors), the chocolate moulding
area needs to be well separated from the plastics area. Apart from safety and
supervision issues, there is the need to ensure that the pupils have minimum
exposure to the fumes, and to reduce the chance of the chocolate being
tainted.
Moulding hints
The moulds and all utensils in contact with chocolate must always be
completely dry.
A small spoon is needed to ladle chocolate into the mould. The draw-
ing of the chocolate-melter above shows a long-handled teaspoon with
the spoon-end bent so it becomes more of a ladle. While miniature
ladles and parfait spoons suitable for bending are available they tend to
be expensive.
Tap the chocolate-filled mould gently on the table a few times to make
the chocolate flow fully into the mould and to bring any air bubbles to
the surface. Melted chocolate can maintain its shape, and vibrating or
tapping it makes it flow; professional chocolatiers use vibrating tables.
When moulding, it is best if a refrigerator is available in which to place
the moulds with their soft, warm chocolate. Cooling makes it easier for
the chocolate to be removed from the mould, but it is important to not
leave the chocolate too long in the refrigerator. If too cold, condensa-
tion on the surface when it is removed from the mould can cause
blooming. As chocolate contracts as it cools it usually separates easily
from a clean mould (lack of separation indicates it may have been
overheated in the melting stage).
Decoration can also be added after the chocolates have been removed
from the moulds.
Some of the moulds provide opportunity to use different kinds of
chocolate for different parts, such as white chocolate for eyes and
buttons, milk/dark chocolate for parts of clothing, etc. Small blobs of
chocolate can be placed in the mould with toothpicks. When wanting
discrete colours for different parts, the mould and chocolate must be
cooled before the next lot of chocolate is added. Marbled effects can
be obtained by pouring white and dark/milk chocolate in separately
and streaking them together just before they set.
Using ready-made moulds
A variety of chocolate moulds can be bought from craft shops. One
disadvantage is the number of moulds on one sheet (usually 12) and
you may wish to consider cutting them into sections with two moulds
per section.
U-shaped cardboard supports could be made for the cut sections to
avoid them falling over when filling and cooling. One advantage of
ready-made moulds is that they are generally small.
Making your own moulds
The simple vacuum former shown on pages 90, 91 of the PAC-IT
Teachers Guide is ideal for cheaply making plastic moulds for choco-
late.
Why make your own moulds, and why use a simple manual home-
made vacuum former? The primary goal of this topic is education, not
the high-volume production of moulds and moulded chocolates.
Making plastic moulds manually is the best way of learning about the
12 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
process of vacuum forming and the requirements of formers (e.g. no
undercut parts). Using a manual vacuum former demonstrates the
requirements for heating and forming (as there are sure to be failures
and please use these as learning points and not treat them as fail-
ures) which are required to be determined before an automatic
forming machine could be built.
This simple vacuum former is cheap and the plans are sufficient for an
experienced woodworker to make one or more. The cost of a commer-
cially made machine could not be justified for this topic. A key business
concept is the return on investment, in this instance the educational
return on the capital cost of setting up for this topic should be taken
into account. This vacuum former could be used for other technology
projects, such as cases for a range of small electronic projects, slot car
bodies, etc.
The photograph in the Formers for making your own moulds section
on page 13 shows some of the formers which could be used.
The steps in making a plastic mould are:
A: Setting up
1 The moulding area should be against a wall and where there is
cross-ventilation.
2 Have a bench at least two metres long pushed against a wall. The
work flow should be from one end to the other, right to left is
preferred as the majority of pupils are likely to be right-handed.
3 At the right end have a pile of plastic sheet cut to size to fit the
vacuum former clamping frame (see cutting grid, left). A pair of pupils
would clamp a plastic sheet (e.g. Vivak) into a frame at this point
(the vacuum former should have at least two clamping frames; while
they are doing this the other frame is in use on the vacuum box).
4 To the left have the heating station: the heat gun on a piece of
particle board as a desk protector, leather gloves.
5 At the far left is the vacuum-forming station: the vacuum box
plugged into a vacuum cleaner (with its switch easily accessible) and
a selection of formers (if pupils are using ready-made formers).
Note: when making the vacuum former do not varnish or otherwise
finish the clamping frame, it must be left in its raw state.
B: Forming moulds from plastic (polymer) sheet
1 It is best if pupils work in pairs, one heating the plastic sheet and,
when it is ready, the other turning on the vacuum cleaner and quickly
placing the clamp with the warm plastic over the mould former.
2 Load the clamping frame: remove any protective layers from the
plastic. Clamp a sheet of 0.5 mm PVC or PETG (preferred, e.g.
Vivak) in the clamping frame and place it on a desk protected at
the minimum by a sheet of thin particle board.
3 Place a mould former on the gauze of the vacuum box.
4 One pupil has a leather glove on their left hand cradling a heat gun
and holds the handle with their right hand. (Note: a hair drier has
insufficient power for heating, a paint-stripping heat gun of 16002000 W
must be used. Select one with the smallest amount of exposed metal on the
nozzle to reduce the risk of burns.) Ensure that the heat gun is held no
closer than 100 mm to the plastic and is continuously moved in a
pattern which gives even heating of the sheet until it begins to sag,
nearly touching the table protector surface. Turn on the vacuum
cleaner during heating. The plastic is heated more than for com-
mercial moulding as there is considerable cooling as the warm
plastic is transferred to the vacuum box.
Cutting pieces of Vivak to fit the
simple vacuum former shown on
p. 91 of the PAC-IT Teacher Guide
0.5mm Vivak for chocolate moulding.
(Vivak is PETG, glycol modified
polyethylene terephthalate)
Sheet size: 2455 x 1240 mm
Piece size: 155 x 153.4 mm
Number of pieces per sheet: 128
1
5
5
3
1
0
4
6
5
6
2
0
7
7
5
9
3
0
1
0
8
5
1
2
4
0
153
306
460
613
767
920
1073
1227
1380
1534
1687
1840
1994
2147
2301
2455
Cutting grid for a sheet of Vivak, as
measured from the top left corner (),
in mm.
The supplier may cut it to size for you, for
a fee. Otherwise, mark out the cutting
lines and use a large pair of shears.
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 13
5 The second pupil quickly transfers the warm plastic and clamp over
the former and presses the clamping frame down to ensure a good
air seal. If done correctly the warm plastic will instantly shape over
the former. This pupil would have a leather glove on their right
hand to prevent injury from accidentally touching the heat gun.
6 Leave the vacuum cleaner on for about another 30 seconds while
the plastic hardens. Do not leave the vacuum cleaner on too long
or it may overheat.
7 Do not heat the plastic while it on the vacuum former! If moulding
was not successful, re-heating the sheet while on the vacuum former
is likely to melt holes in the sheet and damage the former. More
seriously, the plastic is likely to melt and be sucked through the
gauze on the vacuum former. Having to stop the moulding session
to carefully soften the plastic on the gauze and pull it off may be a
teaching point, but it is unnecessary!
8 Remove the moulded plastic and use it for moulding chocolate. If
the former was clean the mould should be sufficiently sterile from
being heated.
Safety notes
It is suggested that the area where heating is being done is against a wall
so that no one can walk around the other side and risk being burned by
the heat gun (the metal nozzle of which is very hot). The work flow should
be in one direction (e.g. right to left), the order being: plastic sheet and
formers, the clamping frame loading area, heating area, vacuum former. (If
two clamps are in operation one is being refilled while another is heated.)
The person using the heat gun should wear a leather glove on their left
hand cradling the body of the gun, with their right hand on the gun
handle and switch.
The person picking up the clamp with the warm plastic should wear a glove
on their right hand (as they on the left of the person with the heat gun).
The heat gun should be placed facing towards the wall when finished; its
cord should go under the desk so there is no risk of the hot nozzle touch-
ing the cord and melting through to a live wire beneath.
Moulding problems
The plastic does not conform fully to the shapes of the mould.
The plastic sheet was either insufficiently heated or cooled too much
during transfer. Heat the sheet more next time (it should sag to the base
of the clamp, i.e. about 12 mm in the centre); practise transferring the
clamp; ensure that the room is warm; ensure that the ventilation is not
directing a cold stream of air across the heating and moulding area. Do
not re-heat the plastic while it is on the vacuum former. Warming (but not
heating!) the former also reduces the cooling of the plastic.
The plastic moulds well at some places but not at others.
The sheet was unevenly heated. Check that is sags evenly and that heating
is extended to near the edges.
The plastic moulds well but has wrinkles in it.
The plastic was overheated. Generally the wrinkles are outside the mould
area and so are only of cosmetic significance.
Hollows in the former do not mould well.
Drill holes into the hollows so the plastic can be sucked into them.
Sharp-edged and small hollows or grooves may be too small for the plastic
to bend into them and may need the edges rounded or widened. Heating
the plastic closer to its melting point will enable sharper moulding but at
the risk of wasting the sheet if it melts rather than softens.
14 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
Care of moulds
Moulds need not be washed after each use but should be washed for
storage. Washing should be in warm water with detergent, with care to
not scratch the plastic surface. Do not use very hot water! The moulds,
whether bought or made in your classroom, are thermoformed and if
heated too much will begin to revert to their original flat sheets. They
must be completely dry before storage.
Formers for making your own moulds
Natural objects such as shells are ideal as formers, as are the some of
the shapes attached to magnets as fridge magnets (prise off the
magnet, strip off the paint, wash well).
To state the obvious: large formers make large moulds which use more
chocolate and cost more! The largest former in the photograph (left),
shown placed on the vacuum former gauze, is 75 mm across, and is
really the upper limit for chocolate shapes for reasons of economy. It is
included here as an example (with the teddy bear) of a shape provid-
ing an opportunity to use different kinds of chocolate in them, making
them suitable for presentation packaging.
When considering ready-made shapes for formers:
- avoid shapes which are undercut, where the moulded plastic
could be pulled under part of the mould, making it impossible to
remove the former (see the PAC-IT Teacher Guide p. 91);
- avoid plastic shapes which have been thermoformed as the warmth
from the heated plastic is likely to soften them and the pressure
would then flatten them;
- avoid soft shapes (e.g. from foamed plastics), as the considerable
pressure from moulding will squash them;
- drill small holes (1.5 mm diam.) through the shapes where there
are hollows, otherwise the soft plastic will not be sucked down into
the hollows (see the PAC-IT Teacher Guide p. 91) some materi-
als, such as ceramics, may not be suitable for shapes with hollows as
they would be difficult to drill.
Formers can be made in several ways:
- The simplest method is to glue together layers of paperboard
shapes. To avoid the plastic sticking to any coating on the paper it is
best cover the former with aluminium foil. Do not use foamed
(expanded) plastics, as the heat and pressure will flatten them.
- Shapes can be made from clay or various forms of plaster, being
allowed to fully harden before using. Avoid thin shapes (less than 5
mm) or thin protrusions on the shapes, for two reasons: moulding
exerts considerable force on the former and clay and plaster shapes
may not be sufficiently strong, and chocolate is brittle and thin
parts would break on removal from the mould. Any hollows in the
shapes should have holes through to the bottom formed before the
material sets hard (a sharpened wire pushed through is sufficient,
but should not be left in place as it may be difficult to remove
later).
- Shapes must not be undercut, and should have all parts with at
least a slight taper to make the former easy to remove from the
mould. If you cant get the former out, the moulded chocolate
certainly wont be able to be removed in one piece.
This photograph shows the
simple vacuum former box with
several ready-made formers
(shells, refrigerator magnets, etc.).
The clamping frame is not shown
(see the PAC-IT Teacher Guide
pages 90, 91)
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 15
Making chocolate shells for filling
Nuts are the easiest filling as they need only be pressed into the
melted chocolate in a mould and then tapping the mould (we are not
considering solid centres dipped in chocolate as it does not involve
moulding). Caution: some children may have allergies to particular
nuts.
If you wish to add soft fillings to the chocolate you need a chocolate
shell. This can be made in two ways.
One method is to pour out the chocolate from the mould immedi-
ately after filling to leave a thin coating inside the mould, scraping
chocolate off the rim of the mould. The mould is put briefly into
the refrigerator and then the process is repeated until a sufficiently
thick shell has built up.
The second method is to use a brush to paint chocolate over the
inside of the mould, repeated as it sets to build it up to the re-
quired thickness. Holding the mould with the shell up to the light
will show any places with a thin coating.
Fillings
A simple filling can be an ordinary gelatine-based jelly, but only using
about one-third the water (note that vegetarians may not find the
gelatine acceptable, but an agar-based jelly could be used instead). A
chocolate with a filling such as this must be consumed within a few days
of being made (this could be used to introduce the Use by date food
safety concept, and perhaps contrast with the Best by date where the
period of best food quality, rather than food safety, is being indicated).
The filling is made and poured in but note that the temperature
must be below about 20 C so that the chocolate shell does not soften.
Do not overfill the shell, and tap the mould to spread the filling. Cool
briefly in the refrigerator to set the filling, then pour a thin layer of
chocolate over the filling to seal it.
Ideally, fillings should have a low water content to avoid the possibility
of decomposition occurring, as sterility cant be guaranteed. A filling
having a low water content with a high sugar content does not readily
support the growth of fungi or bacteria. Commercially, some soft
fillings are usually made by using enzymes. Liquid fillings generally
contain alcohol which acts as a preservative.
Making hollow chocolates
Hollow one-piece chocolates can be made by having a mould in two
halves (which could be two identical moulds symmetrical about the
joining plane). Fill one mould with chocolate, clamp the other mould
over it (bulldog stationery clips around the edges work well), and
then rotate the mould in all planes to evenly spread the chocolate
around the inner mould surface. Keep turning slowly until you think
the chocolate has set and then place in the refrigerator. If the mould
does not come off easily, carefully flex the plastic.
Hollow two-piece chocolates can by made by joining two chocolate
shells. You need a flat surface warm enough to melt chocolate (e.g. 50
C); place both pieces briefly on the warm surface until the edges have
melted and then quickly push them together. The advantage of this
method over painting the edges with melted chocolate is that the flat
surfaces also straightens the edges, giving a neat join. There is time to
quickly place small items (e.g. jelly beans, smarties, etc.) inside one of
the pieces before joining them.
16 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
5 Hygiene and food safety
Hygiene
The area where chocolate is being moulded must be clean, the bench
wiped with a chlorine solution and dried. A length of lunch paper can
be used to cover the work area and replaced as required during mould-
ing. If toothpicks are used for adding small amounts of chocolate (e.g.
for eyes, pockets, etc.) they must be discarded after use.
Pupils must wash their hands before moulding. Lids should be re-
placed on the chocolate pots between uses. Chocolate is a relatively
safe food, having natural antibiotic properties, and too low a water
content for bacteria or fungi to survive in it. However, organisms could
be transferred on the surface of moulded chocolates. Individual pupils
should take their own chocolates home.
If you consider making chocolates for consumption by others then a
much higher standard of food hygiene is required, with latex gloves,
hair nets, food-approved work surfaces, etc.
Assessing risks: HACCP
Chocolate, although possessing natural antibiotic properties, is a food
and there is consequently a risk of it being a medium to transmit
infectious organisms, such as those in saliva. The food industry uses the
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP, pronounced
hassip) approach to food safety. The intention is to identify the
critical elements which most control or adversely affect food safety.
Although primarily of interest to industry, as an element of technologi-
cal practice in food technology (technology curriculum) it is worth
considering applying some of the HACCP principles where relevant in
your chocolate unit. You do have the responsibility of ensuring your
food technology activity is safe for pupils in all aspects, so it also applies
to your planning.
HACCP involves seven principles:
1 Analyse hazards. Potential hazards associated with a food and
measures to control those hazards are identified. The hazard could
be biological (e.g. bacteria, or any foreign organism), chemical
(e.g. an organism, a toxin from the plastic mould or from packag-
ing materials), or physical (e.g. foreign matter fragments).
2 Identify critical control points. These are points in a foods produc-
tion from its raw state through processing and shipping to
consumption by the consumer at which the potential hazard can
be controlled or eliminated. Examples are storage, handling,
packaging.
3 Establish preventive measures with critical limits for each control
point. For a cooked or warmed food, for example, this might
include setting the minimum cooking temperature and time
required to ensure the elimination of any harmful microorganisms.
4 Establish procedures to monitor the critical control points. For
example, such procedures might include determining the most
likely contamination points, such as the open melted chocolate
containers and dipping spoons into them.
5 Establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring shows that
a critical limit has not been met. For example, throwing away chocolate
if someone has sneezed near the open containers.
6 Establish procedures to verify that the system is working properly.
For example, testing time-and-temperature recording devices to
verify that a cooking unit is working properly.
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 17
7 Establish effective record-keeping to document the HACCP system.
This would include records of hazards and their control methods,
the monitoring of safety requirements and action taken to correct
potential problems.
Each of these principles must be backed by sound scientific knowledge;
for example, published microbiological studies on time and tempera-
ture factors for controlling food-borne pathogens.
An A4 booklet, An introduction to HACCP: Food safety information
for New Zealand businesses is available free from your nearest re-
gional Crown Public Health office. It is also available as a PDF file from
the Ministry of Health website: www.moh.govt.nz (look under publica-
tions for June 2000), or click on the link on the PAC-IT website.
There is also an accompanying document, available as a PDF: What
Does A Food Safety Programme Look Like?
18 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
6 Packaging individual gift chocolates
Packaging is a core topic within this activity. Wrapping the chocolates is only
the first step in packaging. Several nets of individual presentation packages
have been included in the next section. The range of secondary packaging
of chocolates for transport and for display has not been included, but would
be a good extension activity.
Packaging ready-made chocolates
This option has not been described, but where only packaging is the
focus (e.g. re-packaging ready-made chocolates as a fund-raising
activity for a school fair) the following notes are relevant.
Wrapping
The chocolates should be wrapped tightly in new aluminium foil so
they do not absorb dyes, flavours or odours from the paperboard or
from the environment. Although new paperboard is very unlikely to be
hazardous to health should the chocolates not be wrapped in alu-
minium foil, their taste may suffer. Chocolate is able to readily absorb
odours, so an impermeable layer such as foil is important. The foil also
retains the volatile flavours in the chocolate.
Note that recycled paper in any form is not allowed in direct contact
with food as it can not be guaranteed that the paper is free of all
contamination from previous use. Foil-wrapped chocolates could be
packaged in recycled paper or paperboard.
A simple experiment using chocolate melts to compare the perme-
ability of various packaging materials is described in the PAC-IT Activity
Ideas booklet, page 11.
Decoration and labelling
The nets are best decorated before being cut out and folded. Those
with suitable computer skills may wish to scan a net, resize it as re-
quired, and to add decoration and labelling. After printing on to a
page of heavy paper or light paperboard (depending on the capabili-
ties of the printer) the net is cut out and assembled. Note that while
inks from computer printers are generally harmless they are not
necessarily approved for food packaging, so wrapping the chocolates in
foil is essential. See PAC-IT pages 115118.
Language skills can be applied to descriptions of the package contents.
A brief description of the chocolate inside (shape, size, type of choco-
late, etc.) is a useful language exercise. It also raises the issue of the
necessity for accuracy of the product description. There is opportunity
here for foreign language labels.
Labels could include ingredient lists, copied from the relevant choco-
late melt packages. Pupils may also like to include suggestions on
storage (e.g. To maintain the quality of this product store at room
temperature, but not above 20C, etc.)
Labels and decoration can be prepared on separate paper to be cut out
and glued to the packaging after assembly. Use an odourless adhesive
such as starch paste. Attaching labels later provides opportunities for
imaginative labelling.
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 19
7 Nets for individual paper and paperboard packages
Package nets
The six nets for individual chocolate presentation packages on the
following pages may need enlarging or reducing to fit the chocolates
made. Some designs have a glue tab, requiring an odourless adhesive
(e.g. starch paste). Only two of these nets are in the PAC-IT Teachers
Guide.
Make smaller containers from heavy paper (100120 gm
2
) and larger
containers from light paperboard (about 160250 gm
2
).
Common elements of the construction of this and the other chocolate
containers shown:
copy and enlarge the net on to paperboard (if too heavy to put
through a photocopier, copy on to paper, place the paper photo-
copy face-down on the paperboard, and use a hot iron to melt the
toner on to it)
note that fold lines are shown dotted, cut lines (including slots) are
shown as solid lines
decorate as required, cut out
score fold lines on the outside of the fold (i.e. fold away from the
scored line, not towards it)
bend on all fold lines, using a ruler if required to ensure the folds
are straight
First: fold up &
clip to the
opposite tab
Second: decorate this and
opposite side, fold upwards and
clip to opposite tab
Note: this net has
been rotated 45 to
fit it on the page
20 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
t
u
c
k

f
l
a
p
g
lu
e
t
a
b
Construction of this and the other
clip-top chocolate containers shown:
- copy and enlarge net on to thin
paperboard (if too heavy to put
through a photocopier, copy on to
paper, place paper copy face-down
on the card, and use a hot iron to melt
the toner on to the thin paperboard)
- decorate as required, cut out
- score fold lines on the outside (fold
lines are shown dotted, cut lines are
solid lines)
- bend on all fold lines, using a ruler
if required to ensure the folds are
straight
- locate and glue the glue tab on the
inside (use an odourless adhesive
such as starch, as it is to package a
food)
- fold in the bottom flaps
- place the chocolate inside (wrapped
in aluminium foil)
- clip the ears together to close the
top
It can now be presented to the
recipient!
cut
fold
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 21
22 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
these tabs fit into
slits on opposite
bottom flap
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 23
top and handle detail
handle
fold slotted flaps last
and pull handles
through the slot
these form lock tabs
(see PAC-IT p. 60)
24 A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers
cut
fold
g
lu
e
t
a
b
g
lu
e
t
a
b
g
lu
e
ta
b
g
lu
e
ta
b
See PAC-IT pages 56, 57
where nets, including
this net, are described
A PAC-IT support resource: Moulding and packaging chocolate A guide for teachers 25
f
o
l
d

t
h
i
s

i
n
w
a
r
d
s

l
a
s
t
1
2
3
4
5
f
o
l
d

t
h
i
s

i
n
w
a
r
d
s

f
i
r
s
t
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t
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See PAC-IT pages 56, 57
where nets, including
this net, are described