Last summer I had an opportunity to visit the facilities of a packaging supplier and an ice cream inclusion manufacturer both located in Texas.
The ingredient supplier used plenty of modern equipment to make candy pieces and baked bits. But there was also a set of copper kettle mixers heated by open gas flames used to make pralines. It reminded me of the time a year before when I sampled from a giant batch of fondue prepared in an antique copper pot. I’m a sucker for the low-tech traditional approach. The packaging facility was really a printing operation, and featured a level of automation that would be the envy of any dairy plant manager. I’m also impressed by state-of-the-art technology.