boca
Neophyte
Posts: 15
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Post by boca on May 27, 2015 11:32:54 GMT -5
I live and make chocolate in Southern Costa Rica at sea level. Hot and humid is an understatement. Tempering is nearly impossible unless I'm up at 4:00 am when the temp in my kitchen is 77 - 80 degrees F. Many times it is 80 - 84 degrees F at 5:00 am. I want to build an insulated, air conditioned kitchen (room) to temper and store finished chocolate. One local told me that the process of making bars becomes nearly impossible in an air conditioned room. I thought dryer and cooler would be great...where am I going wrong?
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gap
Apprentice
Posts: 390
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Post by gap on May 27, 2015 16:35:17 GMT -5
I can't speak to your temp/RH conditions but I live in Australia and regularly make chocolates in an air conditioned room (both bars and individual filled chocolates) without issue. Obviously there is a limit to how much an air conditioner can cool a room and if the outside temperature gets too hot (when it starts going north of 30C) I can't work in my workshop any longer. I've worked in other kitchens nearby that are larger/better insulated and they can continue to do chocolate work when it is 32-33C outside (much larger AC units). Proper cooling of the product is also important - if I'm doing small filled chocolate pieces, I need the shells to cool in direct air flow from the air con and for larger chocolate (ie., bars) I use the fridge to cool.
It's not ideal but with some experimenting, I've found what can work. Basically I need my room temperature to be 22C . . . 23C I can sometimes get away with.
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boca
Neophyte
Posts: 15
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Post by boca on May 28, 2015 8:51:31 GMT -5
Thank you gap, I am going to build my kitchen so I can make it very well insulated so I can adjust the temp fairly accurate. I was thinking of keeping it at about 75 degrees F (24 degrees C). That way it is cool but not real cool. I am hoping to store my finished bars in it as well. They should keep well at 24C and not go into shock when they step outside to be delivered. I always deliver in a cooler and most keep the bars in a cooler. I think I can make it work. I appreciate anyone's input and help before I build my kitchen.
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gap
Apprentice
Posts: 390
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Post by gap on May 28, 2015 16:32:48 GMT -5
FWIW, I give up trying to work in my kitchen if my internal temperature is 24C - that is literally my cut-off temp. But it does depend on your equipment and work process, so just make sure you can get everything to work in conditions of 24C before you start building your kitchen. I would have thought you'd have trouble cooling chocolate at 24C, but maybe you have other solutions for that - using a fridge or something.
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boca
Neophyte
Posts: 15
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Post by boca on May 29, 2015 14:49:58 GMT -5
I truly appreciate all of your help. I won't know until I start working in my kitchen. My concern comes from another chocolatier who says he tried AC and found it nearly impossible to make the bars. I have had little trouble tempering and molding at 77F Degrees (25C). I'm hoping to bring the temp down to at least 24 C and maybe 23 C. It will be some trial and error until I hit the sweet spot. I may get fancy and even 86 the AC when I start tempering for a little warmer temp for molding?? It will be a learning curve with the main objective being to be able to temper and mold chocolate any day at any time.
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Post by Brad on Jun 6, 2015 0:30:50 GMT -5
My shop is air conditioned to 67 degrees. It's AWESOME!
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Post by lyndon on Jun 6, 2015 5:30:13 GMT -5
I'm moving into the summer period here and will probably need to buy a small aircon unit. I'll probably sit it next to my tempering machine and direct the airflow at it
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boca
Neophyte
Posts: 15
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Post by boca on Jun 6, 2015 14:34:21 GMT -5
Hello Brad....Are you making bars in molds after tempering in your 67 degree shop? Or are you doing it ALL in 67Degrees? I really appreciate all the help. I still temper on a marble slab, then mold into bars. I have to be quick!! Thank you
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Post by Brad on Jun 7, 2015 0:40:02 GMT -5
bar molds are at 67, sitting on a baker's rack.
I use a couple of Savage Brothers 50lb tempering machines. Once it's in temper, I pour about 2 litres of chocolate into a beer pitcher, set a mold on a scale, and pour the bars and move the mold to a tray while I pour 3 others. Once the tray is full, and BEFORE the chocolate has set, I move the entire sheet pan of bars into a fridge that is operating at 4 degrees. I make sure the fan in the fridge is not blowing on the chocolate, as it tends to cause bloom if I do that.
By doing things this way, I can temper, pour, cool, and demold two full machines worth of chocolate in about 5 hours, while still having time to help customers. This works out to about 480 90g chocolate bars.
Personally, I'm not a marble slab guy. That method is slow and messy, and the marble slab is heavy and annoying in a tight space where other things need to get done. Almost all of the commercial equipment I use or have used is water jacketed, so when I need to hand temper 10-20lbs at a time, I just use a stock pot as a double boiler, and then my commercial sink as a cold water bath. I find it MUCH quicker than slab tempering, and a HECK of a lot less messy. One bowl. One spatula, and that's it. No messy counter, or scrapers or anything like that.
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boca
Neophyte
Posts: 15
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Post by boca on Jun 7, 2015 11:30:43 GMT -5
Hello Brad, You are very, very helpful in your information. Don't know if you have time but could you possibility give me the specifics on using the double boiler and cold water bath method. I am a newby but am trying to ramp up for the demand, here in Costa Rica for Real Costa Rican chocolate. I only use the slab because that is what I know.....so far. I'm hungry to learn better and easier methods. Not ready for the 50 pound Savage brothers yet but maybe next year!! Thank you so very much
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Post by Thomas on Jun 7, 2015 17:39:06 GMT -5
Here's a link to a previous description Brad made about tempering chocolate. chocolatetalk.proboards.com/post/8305. I switched from tabling to this method and works great for me. I did not have any trouble tabling, but it is more messy. My initial problem with tempering was keeping my chocolate in temper while molding. I purchased a Mol d'Art chocolate melter that will keep my tempered chocolate at its working temperature. That way I don't have to rush. Hope this helps, Thomas
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boca
Neophyte
Posts: 15
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Post by boca on Jun 13, 2015 10:36:30 GMT -5
Hello Thomas, Thank you for the tip and sending me to Brad's link. That sounds GREAT. do you use and beta crystals or anything when tempering with this method? Do you just drop the temp to a low temp (about 81 F (26-27F), then heat it back up to about 88 degrees F (31 C) with no beta crystals added? What temp do you hold the tempered chocolate at in the Mol d'Art? Mol d'Art has a questionable record, does it work well for you? Thank you so much for your help.
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Post by Thomas on Jun 14, 2015 10:20:08 GMT -5
I'm not sure what you mean by 'beta crystals added'. I assume you are referring to seed chocolate (i.e. tempered chocolate). I make bean to bar chocolate so a batch of my chocolate is untempered until I temper it. I do not add anything. Also, temperatures vary based on the type of chocolate. See thecookinggeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/comparitive-tempering-chart.png as an example. I have not had any issues with my Mol d'Art melter. Although I have only had it for a couple of months. I make chocolate at home as a hobby, so I am not using the melter on a daily basis. I needed something to hold my chocolate at a working temp and it doing a great job.
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boca
Neophyte
Posts: 15
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Post by boca on Jun 15, 2015 7:46:00 GMT -5
Again, thank you for all your help. Yes, I mean adding seed chocolate. It seems like an extra step and many do it while others, such as yourself, do not and are happy with the results. If I can skip a step, I'll be better off so I'm asking those who do not add back in seeded chocolate for their results. My kitchen is under construction but will be ready to roll in about 2 weeks. I'll be like the mad professor in there once it is done, trying out all the things I have learned. I will have a copy of the tempering chart on the wall of my Kitchen!! Thanks!
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