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Post by rtisan on Apr 11, 2015 7:12:48 GMT -5
hi everyone, i find if i temper some chocolate its good for 25 mins and then starts to thicken. and i can hand dip about 70 chocolates.
i then have to remelt back to 45c and then re start the whole temper process again and this feels very time consuming. looking for ideas to ramp up the amount of chocolate i can temper or a better way to do it.
my kit is just a keychoc ch08 melter, but i tend to use 1 big 1/2 size gastronorm vat, maybe i should use 2 1/4 trays in same machine and then one can stay melted while i use the other. just looking to be able to dip a lot more.
what would be the next level up in production, maybe a second melter or something else, cleary i dont want to spend 1000s on auto tempering machines yet as i dont have that kind of volume
R
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Post by bluedog on Apr 11, 2015 15:05:01 GMT -5
Are you dipping your chocolate in the melter or taking some out and dipping in that? In my experience, if you are working in your main supply of tempered chocolate then it is very hard to maintain temper. Each time you dip something which is a different temperature from the tempered chocolate you are taking heat away. Cooling the chocolate will make it thicken. I have been taught that it is better to have a working bowl which is resupplied from the main tank.
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Post by smoothchocolator on Apr 11, 2015 18:00:30 GMT -5
Hi rtisan As bluedog mentioned, chocolate become thicker as it cools down but also multiplying crystals make chocolate thick as well. You don't have to remelt everything to 45C. If chocolate is thick just apply gentle heat for a short period of time. I use heat gun but you can also use hair dryer. Keep stirring while you applying heat and keep your chocolate in melting tank. Stir really well after applying heat. Just mindful that melting all stable crystals can be very easy, so apply heat just a few seconds first and see how you go. If your chocolate is very thick so if you apply a lot of heat, do another test to see the chocolate is still tempered, hope this helps!
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Post by rtisan on Apr 13, 2015 3:19:23 GMT -5
Hi i do use a dipping bowl and i fine it far too difficult to dip in a deep tank. how long can you keep the temper as i already use a hot air gun when i see it thickening. but this really tells me i running out of time. i apply some heat-gun once it starts to thicken, stir it a lot. i don't get more than 5 - 10 mins extra as it all wants to crystallize eventually. The reason i go back to the 45c melt is to guarantee proper temper and a thin coat and i get the 25 min work window again so i can dip a tray, i find that if i just keep trying to keep it in temper it just keeps getting thick quickly or it will come out and i wont notice and i will start getting streaks once dry. its quite risky. then have to double dip or throw away stock if it goes wrong, so neither is an option for me.
so i am interested how long/much can you have tempered chocolate before its too thick to work, i am after thin coat on the truffle. and i understand every truffle cools your pot, so there is a limit to hand tempering and maybe this is it 65-90 truffles? per temper and how can i get more going
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dd
Neophyte
Posts: 4
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Post by dd on Apr 13, 2015 10:27:24 GMT -5
Hi, what about having a second bowl with untempered warmer chocolate around ~ 36°C which you add a bit when the tempered chocolate starts to thicken. Mix well make a test and be aware to stay under 32°C. I don't use heat gun/hair dryer for this, i think it takes too long to warm the whole chocolate. I put the bowl with chocolate in a warm waterbath to heat it a little bit up.
How do you temper your chocolate? I find it very fast to temper when using the tabling method.
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Post by rtisan on Apr 14, 2015 6:11:01 GMT -5
yeah, i use the tabling method and it is fast to temper just a few mins. i get all ready for dipping, 1 tray about 55-90 truffles ready before i temper the chocolate, so the moment its tempered i start dipping.
so what i do is melt chocolate over night to do about 3 trays of truffle fill (1/2 size tank) a good 3rd full of chop chips. in morning, i pour on slab, temper, return to tank quick stir and check temps perfect 31.5c then into my pot and dip for 20-30 mins, maybe a bit of heat if it gets to 29 and thick around sides a good stir back to 31c get a few more mins but not long. then return everthing in dipping pot back to the melting temper tank and remelt to 45 do it all again about 30 mins plus later
i get a really good temper, no streaks and a nice thin coat, but its slow. i dont coat many trays, about 5 in day is most i done. as it takes ages to get ready to dip again. so maybe a few tanks is the way forward it would be good if i had a large amount of melted chocolate at 45 i could just temper what i need all day long perhaps just a few changes in the method may be better
i suppose the big problem is having more melted chocolate ready to temper, which i dont have. once i finish my dipping, i add the left over bank to the melting tank and it needs to remelt back to 45c to be safe, to start again. This i could look at changing, as can be a 30 min wait or more if i need to add more choc to the pot.
i think a single tank method is very limiting. Maybe 2 smaller tanks and 1 of those is kept with ready melted chocolate at 45c all day. possibly a much better idea.
or maybe i should use the melter with far bigger amounts and keep it at 45 all day and not add remainder choc from dipping bowl back to the pot, instead just put to one side or melt in something else maybe a warm oven.
if you try to keep your pot going by adding some 36c how much more can you do i can see this being a bit risky, but be nice to get a thin coat on 90 truffles rather than the last 15 starting to get a thicker coat
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