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Post by jeannet on Apr 28, 2015 21:08:36 GMT -5
Help! I am a (apparently sucky) chocolate maker. I have tried and failed every time to either get the tempering correct using the Alchemist's method and/or the final product feels chalky or gritty in my mouth. Is this a symptom of a bad tempered chocolate (or my own bad temper) or something else? I have not experimented with using non-soy lecithin yet but wonder if that would help. I also live in Hawaii and conditions are warm and humid but there are others here making it just fine it seems without my issues so I am doing something wrong. Any suggestions? or will I be selling my melanger soon, grrr.
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Post by Ben on Apr 29, 2015 12:26:24 GMT -5
Hi Jeannet. This could definitely be caused by your chocolate not being tempered correctly. Can you give more details about your tempering and molded bar cooling process(es)?
Also, you mention that conditions are warm and humid--do you mean that they're warm and humid in the room where you're tempering? If so, this can make tempering difficult.
-Ben
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Post by Thomas on Apr 29, 2015 21:08:19 GMT -5
Don't give up. Tempering and molding can take some practice. Since your in Hawaii, you may want to only temper early morning or late evening when the outside temp is cooler. I live in Northern California and don't use the A/C much so that's when I do my tempering.
- Thomas
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Post by dublinguy on Apr 30, 2015 7:41:52 GMT -5
Is it milk chocolate or dark chocolate? The ideal crystallization temperature varies for each type of chocolate so make sure you get it right.
Typically during tempering, there would be a max temperature (90F for dark chocolate) to stay under to avoid good crystals melting, and a min temperature (around 82 for dark chocolate) to stay above to avoid bad crystals forming.
After you have melted all forms of crystals by melting the chocolate to 120F, it's important to ensure you spend enough time between these two temperatures (closer to the minimum one) to promote propagation of the good crystals., and then to heat up the chocolate to its working temperature (89-90F for dark chocolate) to melt/eliminate any residual bad crystal.
When it's properly tempered it should feel more viscous, and the chocolate will set much quickly (you can test it by dropping a small droplet of chocolate on a cold surface, and ensure it keeps shiny and hardens quickly)
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Post by jeannet on May 1, 2015 19:02:31 GMT -5
Aloha and thank you all for replying! I make my own seed chocolate by using the chocolate alchemist directions and so spread about 1/3 of the chocolate from the melanger (after it feels good in my mouth and has reached at least 110F) in a dish or glass pyrex and leave it alone. I let it slowly cool, but I left it overnight once and it bloomed with white spots like it had chicken pox so I remelted it and the next time I just let it sit for a couple of hours and then put it in the fridge like John says is ok too if the room is too warm and it's taking too long to set up. No spots that time. So I don't know if the problem is my seed or my thermometers or the humidity or the temperature. A.c. is not an option and my humidity reader usually shows above 70% humidity and temperature of under 80F, which i Know may be a problem but others in hawaii are doing this in much higher humidity and heat. I make dark chocolate with coconut sugar and some other stuff (I dried it in a pan before grinding). I also used some raw nibs but also roasted them some in a pan before grinding. I did stay under 90F (or right at 90) when I put the seed back into the rest of the chocolate but getting an accurate thermometer has also been a challenge. Have gone thru 4 of them at least and am usually convinced they are all off. I didn't get the same reading between the two thermometers I was using. One was 5 degrees higher than the other. The chocolate did have snap and some glossiness-not as much as I would like but the mouth feel wasn't great AFTER it set up. It seemed fine after the seed was put into the chocolate and mixed around. I usually put the molds into a wine fridge to help them set which is at 54F. That seems to work well. I store them there too but when I took them out to bag them they seemed to get a bit sticky but still had the snap. Maybe just the humidity. Any suggestions? I am still not convinced that my seed method is working or if it's the thermometer or the room conditions. We got a machine that will automatically adjust the temperature in a crock pot so I can keep it between 88-90 once I have seeded it but haven't gotten to try it yet. thanks again!
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Post by Thomas on May 2, 2015 10:58:17 GMT -5
Hi Jeannet, Your tempering method is not creating a proper seed. Leaving the chocolate in a bowl to cool without any agitation will not work. While the chocolate is cooling, you must stir and stir. Also, you did not mention that you tested the temper of your chocolate prior to molding. To test your temper, place a little chocolate on the back of a spoon or a piece of wax/parchment paper and then place it in your wine cooler. After 2 to 3 minutes, it should set. Check for a snap and also the mouth feel. Always, always test before molding. Check out YouTube videos on tempering using the tabling method. I've been using this method with great success: chocolatetalk.proboards.com/post/8305. If you use this method, be very careful not to get water in the chocolate.
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Post by jeannet on May 7, 2015 22:49:11 GMT -5
Hello, Thanks again. I used the method the chocolate alchemist guy has on his site and lots of folks said it worked--the one where I just put 1/3 of the chocolate on a plate and let it lay. He specifically says not to touch it. I guess it's not working here. I get semi-tempered chocolate. I do test it before molding and it has some snap and some gloss but it's the texture that is not great. I will try agitating it. I don't have a marble slab to do the tabling method. My other question is that I understand that I have to cool the main bunch of chocolate down to about 90 before adding the cooled/seed chocolate but I can't keep stirring the seed part because it takes so long for the other part to cool down, I'd cool down the seed part too quickly so I just leave it for a while as it cools and the agitate it as the other chocolate gets to the right temperature to add the seed back in? Another chocolate maker here cools that whole batch down to about 90, takes out 1/3 puts it in the fridge for a few minutes and keeps stirring until it gets to 77F and then adds it back into the main batch and cools the whole thing down then between 88-90. The Chocolate Alchemist says cooling the 'seed' too quickly could form more than the type V crystals that I want and perhaps uneven crystallization once I add it back in. So not sure what to do. The tabling method is not really an option as I don't have the right equipment. Seeding with already made chocolate is not an option b/c the ones I have aren't truly tempered properly and I can't add regular chocolate bar chocolate b/c I am making mine without regular sugar so would have to add a baker's bar and then coconut sugar, which also makes it gritty at that point b/c it won't melt all the way. So the slow cooling method is the only way I can do it. Just still not clear on the process. Any help would be appreciated!
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Post by dublinguy on May 11, 2015 8:24:33 GMT -5
The trick is to not cool the chocolate too much and to keep stirring constantly, until it reaches 77, to create a lot of good crystals, and a few "bad crystals" (a minority). The stirring is essential as you don't want some parts of the mixture to go below say 75 (this would create even more bad crystals) and some other parts to remain above 82.
The "bad crystals" you will have using this recipe (with some experience it can be the quickest way to temper a large quantity of chocolate) will melt around 84F. After you add your seed chocolate to the melted chocolate and let it cool down to 82 (hold it there for a few minutes while stirring), make sure you reheat to 89-90. This will melt any residual bad seed created during the fridge-cooling phase.
As for tabling, any cold surface will do - can be metal, granite, other types of stone etc ...
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