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Post by Foodgeek on Mar 9, 2017 8:35:38 GMT -5
Hello chocolate lovers, I am considering buying a tempering machine. The problem is there are table top version that take about 700g (1.5 lbs) or the much more expensive (and larger) machines. My batches are around 3 kg (6.6 lbs) and it would be nice to be able to temper it all at once. Also a dispenser system would be awesome. Does anybody know of a machine that would suit my needs? Also, I'd like to be able to buy it from inside the EU, if at all possible. Thanks Sune
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Post by mark on Mar 9, 2017 18:11:03 GMT -5
I was also considering this but then John documented how to temper with silk that you can make yourself and I have found that to be a) much quicker and b) less capital intensive. You can buy the required Sousvide machine from inside the EU.
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Post by Foodgeek on Mar 10, 2017 1:34:10 GMT -5
I was also considering this but then John documented how to temper with silk that you can make yourself and I have found that to be a) much quicker and b) less capital intensive. You can buy the required Sousvide machine from inside the EU. I already have two sous vide machines (one with a tub and one with circulation). I'll have a look at his method, but I am already pretty good at hand tempering. It almost never fails, but it's just a lot of work
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Post by mark on Mar 13, 2017 1:15:06 GMT -5
I was also considering this but then John documented how to temper with silk that you can make yourself and I have found that to be a) much quicker and b) less capital intensive. You can buy the required Sousvide machine from inside the EU. I already have two sous vide machines (one with a tub and one with circulation). I'll have a look at his method, but I am already pretty good at hand tempering. It almost never fails, but it's just a lot of work Yeah, I was the same, also good at hand-tempering and consistently getting it right. However, I went from spending an hour hand-tempering to spending 5 minutes silk tempering with the same results.
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Post by Foodgeek on May 12, 2017 12:15:09 GMT -5
Yeah, I was the same, also good at hand-tempering and consistently getting it right. However, I went from spending an hour hand-tempering to spending 5 minutes silk tempering with the same results. Well, I am having issues with my silk tempering. I melt the chocolate and cool it down to 34 degrees C (93.2 F), i add the grated silk and stir well, then I leave it for a couple of minutes and then I stir thoroughly again. Then it is usually at working temperature, so I mold it. Here's a picture of the result, the actual temper is awesome, totally perfect and with an great snap, but there's "dust" in it. I guess it's unmelted silk, so what can I do to make sure that's completely melted? Picture for reference: foodgeekchocolate.dk/image/silk.jpgAny ideas?
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Post by joetlnf on May 12, 2017 12:28:11 GMT -5
I think 93.2F might be a little cool. I add silk around 95F and use about 0.5% silk by weight. How much silk do you use?
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Post by Foodgeek on May 12, 2017 12:38:09 GMT -5
I think 93.2F might be a little cool. I add silk around 95F and use about 0.5% silk by weight. How much silk do you use? I use 1%, so I guess I'll try to lower that then
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Post by Foodgeek on May 12, 2017 13:05:36 GMT -5
I think 93.2F might be a little cool. I add silk around 95F and use about 0.5% silk by weight. How much silk do you use? Well, I retempered the chocolate from before. I added the silk at 35 (95), but when it hit 32 (89.6) I could still see crystals so I grabbed my trusty hairdryer, warmed it up to 34.5 (94), let it cool down again, I still saw a few flecks, so I heat it up again. It's molded now, so I'll see how to turns out later. I think the problem might be that it is a very small portion (just a scrap I had laying around) just around 300g (about 10oz). That means that it will cool naturally very quickly. I'll try with a larger portion tomorrow of something I actually need tempered
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Post by Brad on May 13, 2017 0:40:46 GMT -5
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Post by joetlnf on May 13, 2017 1:45:34 GMT -5
I disagree with Brad, and rather think that silk is uniquely good for tempering small quantities of chocolate. This is because, with silk, you don't have to worry at all about the thermal mass of your container and the thermal "carry-over" from heating and cooling using the water bath method, which will have a greater impact the less chocolate you're working with.
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Post by Foodgeek on May 13, 2017 2:36:47 GMT -5
I know how to temper chocolate, but that does not mean I don't try to optimize the way I work. I had a look at your video at that is pretty much exactly how I do it, except I use a hairdryer to heat the chocolate back up.
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Post by Foodgeek on May 13, 2017 2:46:07 GMT -5
I disagree with Brad, and rather think that silk is uniquely good for tempering small quantities of chocolate. This is because, with silk, you don't have to worry at all about the thermal mass of your container and the thermal "carry-over" from heating and cooling using the water bath method, which will have a greater impact the less chocolate you're working with. That is very true. My problem is getting the silk to completely melt though. Maybe I need a different grater so I can make it pieces smaller?
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Post by joetlnf on May 13, 2017 8:56:04 GMT -5
Smaller pieces, perhaps. You might also try removing your waiting period after your initial stir. When I temper small quantities (and I do < 300g regularly), I add the silk at 95F, stir continuously until the silk has melted, stir a bit more, then go straight to pouring.
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Post by Foodgeek on May 13, 2017 9:00:34 GMT -5
Smaller pieces, perhaps. You might also try removing your waiting period after your initial stir. When I temper small quantities (and I do < 300g regularly), I add the silk at 95F, stir continuously until the silk has melted, stir a bit more, then go straight to pouring. Alright. Thanks. I'll give that a go
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Post by Brad on May 14, 2017 1:38:54 GMT -5
Joetl your comment about thermal carrying capacity was funny. You forgot to mention that silk takes 8 hours to form! And you think THAT is an optimal way of doing things? What are you going to do at 2:00 in the afternoon when a customer walks in and wants 300 truffles by 5:00pm and you're out of precious "silk" "We'll have them ready for you tomorrow." doesn't work. Here's the answer: Learn to temper chocolate properly by controlling the crystal structure at all temperatures. This is what the best chocolatiers do. I'll go head to head with anyone who disagrees with me for $1,000 cash. Let's put 5lbs of untempered chocolate on the table and see who has perfectly tempered chocolate first. By the time you've heated your silk, and waited the 8 hours or so for it to hopefully appropriately crystalize (and I say "Hopefully" because even when trying to create silk there is no guarantee it's going to work perfectly), before starting your tempering process I will have tempered mine, made bars, cooled them, washed the bowl, demolded them, wrapped them, sold them, taken the money and bought dinner for my friends with the money, driven home, watched a movie, and had a good night's sleep. In the REAL WORLD of chocolate making nobody has time to sit around for 8 hours and twiddle our thumbs. We're busy running our butts off making thousands of truffles, hundreds of cookies, and tempering 100's of lbs of chocolate every day. Any takers?
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