+31 314 373 333Instant soups were introduced on the market more than 60 years ago. Initially, the amount of choice was limited and recipes were simple (starch, salt, fat, colourings and flavourings). Since then, the world of instant soups has grown substantially. One important accelerator has been the improved quality and variety of ingredients that has managed to keep up with ever-changing consumer tastes and expectations.
Today, instant soups have healthy looking ingredients such as freeze-dried vegetables, croutons, vermicelli and mushrooms. These ingredients need to be visible and recognizable by the consumer, whilst producers also put valuable time and money into other requirements such as good flow properties (for effective processing in the factory) rapid, dust-free and lump-free solubility, and of course taste!
These improvements, combined with rising production costs, have led manufactures to scrutinize the production processes over the past decades. At Hosokawa Micron, we have followed these developments closely, and produced a mixing technology that is perfect for the manufacture of instant soup.
Challenges in mixing instant soup ingredients
The challenge in the mixing of instant soups lies with the complexity of the recipes. These vary greatly in terms of composition and properties, resulting in two different mixing phases. Conventionally, these are handled by two mixing processes: a ‘high shear’ and a ‘low shear’ step.
During the high shear mixing step the basic ingredients (powders) are mixed intensively with oil/fat, aromas and flavourings. In order to achieve a homogenous mixture and avoid build-up of agglomerates (lumps), a great deal of mixing energy is required. A conventional mixer used for this process would be a plough shear mixer, possibly fitted with choppers. The base mixture produced with this mixer would be fed to a low shear mixer.
In the second mixing step, the base mixture is further mixed with fragile ingredients such as leafy vegetables, mushrooms and croutons. Here it is important not to apply too much energy, and therefore use a low shear mixer. In many cases, a Nauta® conical mixer is used here. It mixes accurately with minimum damage to the product and is used simultaneously as a live hopper for feeding the packaging line.
The combination of two mixing steps in one installation avoids the need for intermediate storage or cleaning. The Vitomix can therefore increase the production capacity of a mixing line by 40%, while reducing energy consumption by 60%. The installation is suitable for the production of a variety of recipes. Thanks in part to the hygienic design – in accordance with 
