The first close collaboration with a chocolate factory began in 1905. This is just one reason why HOCHDORF is the market leader in Switzerland for milk-based chocolate ingredients.

HOCHDORF plays a key role in the history of Swiss chocolate

It’s not just the Swiss who regard our own milk chocolate as the non plus ultra when it comes to chocolate. The quality of Swiss milk chocolate bears comparison with any rival product. One reason for this is the depth of knowledge and the sure hand of the Swiss chocolatier – along with our roller-dried whole milk powder of course.

Heat provides the caramel flavour

As the name suggests, roller-dried whole milk powder is produced on roller driers. The milk concentrate is deposited thinly on hot (120 – 160 °C), rotating rollers. The concentrate is completely dried after one short revolution. The dried milk is removed from the roller with a knife and then crushed to the particle size required by the customer. The relatively strong thermal treatment caramelises the milk sugar and the powder develops a pleasant, subtle caramel flavour.

Important for the delicate melting consistency

In addition to the typical caramel flavour, roller drying also produces disk-shaped particles with a larger and more porous surface compared to spray-dried milk powder. The disks play an important role in the delicate melting properties of Swiss milk chocolate.

The largest and best known Swiss chocolate manufacturers have been placing their trust in the quality of our HOCHDORF LEDOR roller-dried whole milk powder for over a hundred years.

However, the milk powder chosen also influences the taste, the texture, consistency and even the snapping sound you get from breaking off a piece of the chocolate. So it's clear that the choice of milk powder is a key factor in chocolate making. Typical Swiss milk chocolate, with its gently melting consistency, frequently contains HOCHDORF roller-dried whole milk powder – and has done so for many years.

The customer is king

The choice of milk powder affects the production processes as well as the final product. So some of our roller-dried whole milk powders are even tailored to our customer’s specific production processes. We have always set great store by a BEST PARTNER collaboration with our customers. This close partnership dates back to a collaboration with the Lucerna chocolate factory, which produced chocolate in Hochdorf from 1905.

Market leader in Switzerland

Those early beginnings with Lucerna chocolate means that HOCHDORF now has over 115 years of experience in manufacturing milk-based chocolate ingredients. There is no doubt that milk drying is our core business. HOCHDORF has two production sites with a total of five plants producing roller-dried powder, which enables us to offer high supply reliability – a key reason why Swiss chocolate manufacturers place their trust in HOCHDORF. HOCHDORF’s employees and plants make it the main skill centre for chocolate milk powder in Switzerland.

Caption:
HOCHDORF employees monitoring the roller drying process. (Photography: Brigit Willimann)
(Image source in text: C ImagePoint.biz)