The ball refiner and the stone refiner are two types of machines used in the chocolate industry to refine and conching chocolate, but they differ in the grinding materials they use and in some aspects of their operation. Here are the key differences between the two:
Grinding materials:
Sphere Refiner: Uses stainless steel, ceramic or glass spheres as the grinding media. The spheres rotate inside a chamber together with the chocolate mass, grinding and refining the cocoa and sugar particles in the chocolate.
Stone refiner: Uses granite or marble stones as the grinding medium. The stones rotate and grind the chocolate mass, which helps to refine the particles and smooth the texture of the chocolate.
Resulting texture:
Sphere Refiner: Tends to produce a smoother, silkier chocolate due to the action of the spheres achieving a finer, more uniform grind.
Stone Refiner: Can produce chocolate with a slightly more grainy texture compared to the sphere refiner, but still produces a well-refined chocolate.
Refining speed:
Sphere Refiner: Tends to refine chocolate faster compared to the stone refiner due to the more aggressive grinding action of the spheres in the grind.
Stone Refiner: May require more time to achieve the same level of refinement due to the slower grinding action of the stones.
Maintenance and cleaning:
Sphere refiner: Requires less maintenance in terms of replacing grinding media (spheres) and is easier to clean.
Stone refiner: Stones can wear out over time and may require periodic replacement. Cleaning can be more laborious due to the need to remove and clean the stones.