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Post by Chip on Feb 6, 2018 9:28:09 GMT -5
I have had a lot of success using the silk method of tempering. However, after tempering I am having a lot of trouble (I do small batches) of keeping up temperature to properly mold the chocolate. By the time I am filling the molds the chocolate is already getting to the point of hard to pour and is getting clumpy. Is there a good way of keeping the chocolate warm without losing temper? A heating pad? Bowl of warm water? Any ideas or examples of what you do would be greatly appreciated!
Chip
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Post by Thomas on Feb 6, 2018 9:50:28 GMT -5
I make small batches of 3kg and solved this problem by purchasing a small chocolate melter to maintain a working temperature. This is what I have but there are several others. www.moldart.be/en/product/chocolate-machinery/dry-heat-chocolate-melter-6-kg/. It made molding a more enjoyable and stress free. No more need to rush or worry about loosing temper when trying to reheat the chocolate.
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Post by Chip on Feb 6, 2018 10:20:44 GMT -5
I make small batches of 3kg and solved this problem by purchasing a small chocolate melter to maintain a working temperature. This is what I have but there are several others. www.moldart.be/en/product/chocolate-machinery/dry-heat-chocolate-melter-6-kg/. It made molding a more enjoyable and stress free. No more need to rush or worry about loosing temper when trying to reheat the chocolate. Thanks for the idea! I'm not that large of an operation, I am making .75kg to 2 kg at the most in one batch. Strictly a hobbyist. I will search for a melter for the hobbyist, thank you! I also have this: Kitchenaid Heated Bowl but I've heard that the surface of the chocolate tends to not keep temp. I will search the forum for anyone using that bowl. Thanks again!
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Post by cacaosublime on Feb 6, 2018 12:48:35 GMT -5
I do batches of around 1 kg, also using silk. I have no problem getting everything in the moulds (100gr) on time (I use something similar to a thin plastic beer jug to pour. This is also where I add my silk and do the stirring). Might be just a question of getting more experience and thus working faster. But it might also be that your room temperature is lower than mine. Could also be that I start pouring earlier after I have added the silk and stirred. Or stir shorter. You could try playing around with those parameters. I find that the silk is very reliable, so I feel you have some wiggle room there. Another simple and low-cost solution could be to use a container that can hold some heat for a while, so a thick stainless steel bowl will be able to keep the heat in the chocolate longer than a thin plastic little bowl. You just have to heat the bowl a little to help keep the temperature of the chocolate high enough for long enough. Hope that helps!
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Post by Ben on Feb 6, 2018 14:01:33 GMT -5
Chip: all of the ideas in your original post (heating pad, warm bowl of water, etc.) can help with this. In addition, I've used a heat gun to maintain temp when tempering by hand. You just need to be very careful and only hit the chocolate with short blasts from the heat gun, then stir and check the temperature before adding any more heat. You can also use a double boiler to do the same thing.
With any of them, you need to monitor your temperature closely to make sure you don't take it out of temper.
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Post by Chip on Feb 6, 2018 19:13:52 GMT -5
I do batches of around 1 kg, also using silk. I have no problem getting everything in the moulds (100gr) on time (I use something similar to a thin plastic beer jug to pour. This is also where I add my silk and do the stirring). Might be just a question of getting more experience and thus working faster. But it might also be that your room temperature is lower than mine. Could also be that I start pouring earlier after I have added the silk and stirred. Or stir shorter. You could try playing around with those parameters. I find that the silk is very reliable, so I feel you have some wiggle room there. Another simple and low-cost solution could be to use a container that can hold some heat for a while, so a thick stainless steel bowl will be able to keep the heat in the chocolate longer than a thin plastic little bowl. You just have to heat the bowl a little to help keep the temperature of the chocolate high enough for long enough. Hope that helps! I add the silk after the batch reaches 95 degrees and stir until the batch reaches 91 degrees. That was in the instructions that came with the silk. Are those the temps you are seeing/using as well? I will try the ideas of the heating pad and the Kitchenaid bowl. But being new I am slllloooowwww. lol. I try not to make a big mess, which I usually make anyway, so that is some of my slowness. Also just being a total neophyte slows me down, as well as overthinking......and on and on. Thank you to everyone who replied!
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Post by cacaosublime on Feb 7, 2018 13:16:31 GMT -5
I don't wait for the temperature to come down to 91F. John states that this is a limit, not a target. I also don't wait 2-3 minutes after stirring initially. What I do is when I put the silk in, I will stir until I no longer see any silk bits in the chocolate (and then some more). I don't follow the temperature of the chocolate, I go by sight. If it looks as the silk has merged in completely, I start pouring. You could try this method, and if you have worked too fast, you can tell afterwards. You will then see little cocoabutter 'balls' inside your tempered bars, once you start breaking them apart. This means the silk did not completely merge in, and you went too fast (or did not stir the chocolate completely). Keep on making batches, you'll get better at it
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Post by mark on Feb 15, 2018 2:03:39 GMT -5
I add in the silk at 94 F and it works fine.
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Post by bankston on Feb 21, 2018 20:34:23 GMT -5
I actually have my sous vide set to 92 and plop my bowl right in that. It fits perfectly into the square containers made for the Sous Vide and the temp never drops or raises. And now that I have one I can make my own silk which is also super easy!
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Post by bankston on Feb 21, 2018 20:35:25 GMT -5
Oops I should add i don't put the sous vide into the chocolate but in the water bath and place the bowl into the water.
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