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Post by fredrik on May 17, 2018 1:54:18 GMT -5
Hi, I need some help to figure out how to get great looking bars, because what I have now is not good at all... OK let me try to explain what I'm doing: I use the revolation delta without seed, as that is what I'm trying to create. So I pour directly from the melanger into the delta and start my tempering cycle. Since I only do test batches (I have a number of 500g (1lbs) bean samples) I only do batches of 500g in total every time: 350g nibs + 150g cane sugar. So maybe its 400g in the delta every time I temper, as some is left in the melanger. I know this is less then the 3 lbs minimum, but the probe is covered with chocolate, and I have measured the temperature also with a IR thermometer. After tempering I mould using a syringe and 50g moulds (76x76x9mm) I try to do fill them as quickly as possible, in one big glob, and fill 2 cavities before re-filling the syringe. After filling all six cavities I give it maybe 10-20 hard drops from approx 10cm height and shake it around a bit to even out the chocolate in the mould, and get rid of all air bubbles. Please see pictures from my last attempts (2 different beans): 3 Back - ibb.co/mswGdy3 Front - ibb.co/nQJ7kd4 Back - ibb.co/kGWGdy4 Front - ibb.co/bJwSkdThe "3" had the following tempering cycle: 45C/113F - 27,1C/80,8F - 33,9C/93F and looked OK when doing a tempering test 10 min after I reached my working temperature. The "4" had the following tempering cycle: 45C/113F - 27,2C/81F - 32,7C/90,9F and looked OK when doing a tempering test 10 min after I reached my working temperature. The room is at 20C/68F and humidity is 57%. The moulds are stored in the same room, so they are not hotter or cooler then the room when moulding. I let my moulds sit in the room during cooling. Any tips on how I should proceed?
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Post by dubmaji on May 17, 2018 8:16:12 GMT -5
Hello fredrik. Have you tried reheating to a lower temperature? There is a noticeable difference between both of your tests. I usually reheat my chocolate to some point between 31 and 32°C, being the last a red zone if crossed. No problem at all so far.
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Post by Ben on May 17, 2018 8:47:57 GMT -5
I agree with dubmaji. 33.9C/93F is pretty hot. I typically try to mold as close to 92F as possible. Batch 3 looks like it was taken out of temper due to the high temperature.
I think the issue with batch 4 is cooling. Just leaving it to cool at 20C/68F could very well be a problem, especially for thicker bars such as these. It would explain why with batch 4, the edges appear better tempered, but the center is more bloomed. There are a lot of ideas here on the forums about cooling, but they all basically boil down to cooler temps and higher airflow. So, you could pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes or so after molding, or put them on a cooling rack and blow a fan on them, etc.
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Post by fredrik on May 17, 2018 13:37:23 GMT -5
Thanks Dubmaij & Ben. The issue with the high moulding temperature is that the Delta did not stay at my set end temperature 32,2/90F, but for some reason (maybe due to the low batch size) continued heating the chocolate yet showing "in temper 32,2C" at the display. The batch stopping at 32,7C looks much better then the one going all the way to 33,9C. So that might be the root cause.
I will try next batch tomorrow and stay at 31,5 as working temperature.
If that does not work, I will also actively cool after moulding for the batch after the next one.
I'll keep you updated!
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Post by mark on May 20, 2018 19:54:47 GMT -5
Agree with Ben's comment regarding the cooling, after I moved from cooling at room temp to popping the bars in a chiller for 30 min plus creating some air circulation with a ceiling fan a lot of my initial issues with bloom went away. Second thing worth pointing out: the type of syringe you use could also be causing issues. If there is too much shear being created when you're squeezing the chocolate out, that can also lead to issues. If you search on the forums or ask the alchemist you'll find a post on it including pictures of good syringe vs bad syringe. I also use a syringe for molding and I've actually cut the entire front tip off so I just have the main cylinder with a 5mm hole at the front.
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Post by fredrik on May 21, 2018 6:49:04 GMT -5
Hi, I have now done my next batch. It turned out much better then the previous, thanks for the great advise. You can see on the pictures how they look: 5 - tempering test: imgur.com/a/REJSaXd (did the tests (from top to bottom) directly after "in temper", after 3 min, and after 6 min when I began moulding). 5 - back: imgur.com/a/REJSaXd5 - front: imgur.com/a/REJSaXd5 - front_close: imgur.com/a/REJSaXdThere are still some issue left as you can see on the "5-front_close", but I assume that is due to the fact I could not stop the temperature from going too high this time either, or that I need to actively cool. The tempering cycle went: 45C/113F - 27,4C/81,3F - 32,2C/90F (then it dropped to 31,5C/88,7F and I started to mould). /Fredrik
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Post by Ben on May 21, 2018 9:47:35 GMT -5
It's looking much better!
Note that 90F is not too hot at all for dark chocolate. As I mentioned above, I generally try to mold as close to 92F as possible and do not run into these issues.
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Post by Brad on May 22, 2018 2:20:47 GMT -5
One thing to keep in mind before trying a person's temperature recommendations over the Internet: Every thermometer is calibrated differently - even thermometers of the same brand and lot. What is 92 to one person may be 94, or 90 to another. Be sure to test YOUR thermometer to figure out it's individual accuracy before taking advice.
A couple of degrees makes a huge difference and your thermometer could be out as much as that.
Brad
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Post by Chip on May 24, 2018 9:53:07 GMT -5
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Post by Ben on May 24, 2018 12:17:09 GMT -5
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Post by fredrik on Jun 9, 2018 8:00:32 GMT -5
After some adjustments I have almost no issues with the back of the bar, only on the front. basically 3-4cm diameter in the center that show some surface issues. As seen in the Picture: imgur.com/a/VVrr1Q9 some chocolate even got stuck last night… Can it be that the moulds are too cold? They are stored in a room where it is 21 C, and I mould when the chocolate is 32C. Then I cool the bars with a fan (in the 21C room directly after moulding.
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Post by fredrik on Jun 13, 2018 4:50:06 GMT -5
I Think I figured it out. I tried to heat up the moulds from room temperature (21C) to 32C (i.e. equal to the chocolate temperature). See photos: imgur.com/a/5TZXbZoThe two first images are moulded with "Cold" moulds. The third with a pre-heated mould. I have tried different cool-down variants, i.e with a fan, and in the refrigerator. And it is only the pre-heating that makes the difference. Thanks for all help and tips along the way.
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Post by mark on Jun 13, 2018 22:54:15 GMT -5
That's interesting Fredrik. My molds are always room temperature (around 21 C as well) and my chocolate is obviously similar to yours and I've not experienced those issues. It seems to be a pain to have to heat your molds, especially if you're going to be making larger batches.
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Post by fredrik on Jun 14, 2018 15:17:01 GMT -5
Mark, Please let me know if you see any differences between our processes that could explain my issues. You have previously mentioned the cooling and syringe as differences. Anything else?
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Post by mark on Jun 17, 2018 20:47:11 GMT -5
Fredrik, the only other key difference is the fact I temper using silk whereas you are using the Delta.
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