Chocolate Alchemy ForumThe Art and Science of Homemade Chocolate

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The Art and Science of Homemade Chocolate
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May 22, 2013, 12:26pm

Chocolate Alchemy ForumThe Art and Science of Homemade Chocolate :: Chocolate Making :: General Chocolate Making at Home :: Cleaning

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Topic: Cleaning (Read 704 times)

8umpy
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Cleaning
« Thread Started on May 20, 2009, 6:17am »

Hello all, I'm a new member, new to chocolate making and this is the first posting. Does anyone know of an efficient way to remove badly tempered (not tempered at all really) chocolate from a polycarbonate mould that will not damage it. The chocolate is now a solidified mass and I was wondering how resistant the mould is to heat and microwaves? Bear in mind that I am trying to rescue the chocolate so do not wish to introduce it to water.......yet!

Thanks,

8umpy

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Alan
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Re: Cleaning
« Reply #1 on May 20, 2009, 10:56am »

Throw the mold in the freezer. Once the chocolate is frozen, turn the mold upside down over a container and whack it. The chocolate should mostly come out.

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gap
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Re: Cleaning
« Reply #2 on May 20, 2009, 11:07pm »

And you can whack it pretty hard

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Brad
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Re: Cleaning
« Reply #3 on May 21, 2009, 1:49am »

We hand mold a few hundred bars per day. Our molds have quite intricate designs, and even though the chocolate is tempered, sometimes a small amount gets caught in the edges, and we have to wash the molds.

Our molds are commercial polycarbonate. Here is what we do:

In a mild solution of hot water and Ammonium Hydroxide degreaser, we use a VERY soft natural bristle brush and lightly brush out, then rinse the molds. Ammonium Hydroxide directly on the skin is nasty, but food safe when rinsed, and does an AMAZING job of cleaning the molds. In fact it appears to also have anti-spotting properties when it comes to water droplets drying.

We then pat the molds dry with a soft cloth, and then let them air dry over night. In the morning it's as if they were never used before.

More information can be found regarding the use of Ammonium Hydroxide at the following web location:

http://cfr.vlex.com/vid/184-ammonium-hydroxide-19707202

One more note: There is a company locally here in Calgary that makes polycarbonate molds, and it was they who recommended the soft bristle brush. They use something similar when making the molds, to obtain the mirror finish that chocolate molds require.

Best Regards,
Brad Churchill
Choklat
www.SoChoklat.com

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Brad Churchill
Choklat

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