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bottling Dry spice blending and filling equipment

Sam & Oliver

Sam & Oliver

2 upcoming lines for me will be dry spice blends.  I have a commercial kitchen in which to work with, but what's a good brand of mixer that will evenly let me combine and bottle between 5 and 100 pounds of dry spices at once?  Hopefully it can provide a way to fill the bottles or a spigot I can use to measure and fill with.
 
quick glance found me all high capacity factory equipment.  I was hoping for something a lot smaller / portable.
 
Anyone have any good name brands to consider?
 
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"Additionally, we have fillers designed for dry products, higher volume products, our VPF124HK, multiple products, and assemblage for hopper systems and food products."
 
HandyFiller had a dry ingredient hopper system, I don't see a picture on their webpage but they do reference it in the above quote.  For mixing, I use a 5 gallon food container with tight fitting lid and just roll/shake it.  For larger amounts, I don't see why a large stand mixer wouldn't work.  Depending on what equipment the kitchen has, large stand mixers can mix up to 60 quarts. 
 
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You want something that can mix 100 lbs of dry spices that's portable?

Try this: lay out the sacks of unmixed dry ingredients and get yourself a visual of what 100 lbs looks like.

If you want it that big you need a commercial mixer.

I like Ann's idea of the 5 gallon food-grade bucket with tight lid, rolling it around. Guessing that'll hold ~10 lbs? 20?

Seems like enough to get it going. Maybe try that at 1st and if people respond well to the product you can address scaling then?

Just a thought.
 
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the batch of dry spice I make is about 7 pounds and it's about 1/4 of the 5 gallon tub.  Realistically it could be tripled with room for it to mix.  That'd be 21 pounds of dry ingredients.  At 4 oz for a larger spice jar that's 80 jars per batch. 
 
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/22-qt-clear-round-food-storage-container/407R022PC.html

keep in mind a lot of spices have way more volume than weight.  5 pounds of garlic powder is about a gallon, 5 pounds of oregano is about 4 gallons.
 
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I like the clear food container so you can see when it's all mixed up.  The smaller 2-3 gallon Tupperware are small enough to just lift and shake the crap out of it.  The 5 gallon one is a bit more awkward to shake, I can roll it in addition to rocking back and forth to get a good mix.  For that matter, if you don't mind wearing a dust mask and getting powder all over the place, just use a large bowl like this, and mix it by hand.  (I have one of those also...;) )
 
Also, remember if it's for sale, you may need a legal for trade weigh scale, or at least a fairly accurate scale and overfill the jar by a gram or 2 in case it's ever weight checked. 
 
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Yeah - that's a good call SL.

Very different reg than hot sauce.

We had state inspectors come by our farmers markets 3x in the last year checking vendors scales & doling out those little holographic stickers.

Fish, produce, and dry bulk items (spices/grains) all got inspected.
 
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One of the toughest dry ingredients in the mix is Hungarian Paprika.  It has a higher moisture content than say, granulated garlic, and what I found, after using a 5 gallon food grade pail like SL suggested, I poured it into 7.5# clear handle jugs, and could still see after gentle shaking... pills of spice floating up.  I scooped some out and squished it, sure enough, deep red paprika.  And that's after being extremely... vigorous... with the blending.
 
Since the kitchen I am using doesn't have anything of this nature, I was looking for small.  I guess I could use that big kitchen aid looking thing they mix dough with?  I dunno... I'd hate to gunk that thing up, it looks 100 years old.

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:
Yeah - that's a good call SL.

Very different reg than hot sauce.

We had state inspectors come by our farmers markets 3x in the last year checking vendors scales & doling out those little holographic stickers.

Fish, produce, and dry bulk items (spices/grains) all got inspected.
Click to expand...
 
What is this holographic sticker?
 
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Sam & Oliver said:
What is this holographic sticker?
Click to expand...
 
The dept of [whoever is responsible for weights & measures (I have no idea - might be the health dept, but I think it's more about fair trade/commerce, so it might be someone from the state) ] sends out an inspector to validate accuracy on the scales for dry goods, for the fish monger, the spice mill at one market, etc & if the scale checks out they put a little hologram sticker on it - like a watermark. Only the state inspector has them and if you tamper with it (like try to take it off one scale & put it onto another presumably janky / rigged scale it destroys the little holographic image on the sticker. 
 
I don't know if you'd be subject to such a thing for what you're proposing to do, but it occurred to me that it might be relevant. And especially so if you're producing this yourself. Dry goods have regulations just like shelf-stable acidified goods - I'm sure that if inspection is needed, you'll pay for them to come out and do it. 

One more thing for you to check on before packaging up all that spice rub. Maybe it's relevant, maybe not - good to find out before-hand though. 
 
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Yes, Weights & Measures---
 
one of the State's departments. 
If you are selling a product by weight, the scale must be checked, calibrated, etc by the AHJ and gotten that Legal For Trade sticker.  There are companies in Washington who are licensed for calibration.  Where we live is pretty remote, so they try to get several jobs to do on a trip.  They check grocery store deli counter scales, FM scales, scales used in medical and recreational marijuana, and a plethora of other products.   
 
It's up to your inspector how they will want the product measured.  1 cup of dry spices or 114 grams on a LfT scale. 
 
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This was a good read for me, I'll be starting up FMs next month and plan to sell powders. A few guys there said inspection doesn't come around a lot, mostly because they're not completely familiar with the New Texas cottage law. But it only takes one time.

I have a side question somewhat related. What's a good number to go by when calculating fresh pods to dry powder? Is it a lb fresh for every dry oz?
 
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twilliams386 said:
This was a good read for me, I'll be starting up FMs next month and plan to sell powders. A few guys there said inspection doesn't come around a lot, mostly because they're not completely familiar with the New Texas cottage law. But it only takes one time.

I have a side question somewhat related. What's a good number to go by when calculating fresh pods to dry powder? Is it a lb fresh for every dry oz?
Click to expand...
Here's some general info-
chile pepper weights, measures....
 
1 pound of fresh pods = about 1 ounce of dried (dehydrated) flakes or powder
1 ounce of powder = 1/4 cup
 
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