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Post by fredrik on Jun 27, 2018 13:38:44 GMT -5
Hi, I did some test batches last weeks that, after some help from this forum, turned out OK. Then I did 500g for 8 hours in the premier to about 25 um and tempered in the rev delta 45-27,7-31,5C.
I’m now trying to scale up to a full batch of 3.750g for 48 hours reaching 20-25um. But when in the Rev Delta I have issues. I cannot go lower then 29C before it gets real thick. So I got as low as 29,5 in my last batch, and then up to 31,1C. But it still got so thick I could not mould.
I’m using Belize Maya Mountain beans which is stated to have about 52% fat content. I add 30% cane sugar, so the fat content in the chocolate should be around 36-37%.
Temperature was 23C and humidity 60% when I tried to mould. I mould using a syringe.
1. Anyone that know why there was a difference between the test batch and full size batch tempering? 2. Anyone who know what I should do to overcome this issue so I can mould?
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Post by Ben on Jun 27, 2018 17:25:59 GMT -5
A few things: If it's starting to get thick, you've already seeded crystallization process well enough. See my first comment in this thread. 31.1C is about the lowest you want to warm up to. I'd recommend 33. If it's still too thick, give it a short blast with a heat gun to melt out some of the crystals and let it stir for a bit. Going from 500g to 3750g is a big jump. It may be that 48 hours isn't enough time. It could be that the extra mass is holding on to more moisture which would make it thicker. 60% humidity isn't ideal. I think it's more of a problem during the refining, when you're trying to remove moisture from the chocolate, than during the tempering process, however. Likewise, 23C isn't ideal. At that temp, it may be taking too long to cool down to your cool temp, which could be causing the over crystallization you're seeing. I hope this helps! -Ben
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Post by fredrik on Jun 28, 2018 6:39:09 GMT -5
Thanks Ben. I will try a few things for my next batch to lower the moisture. 1) I will roast a bit longer. Now I roasted 30 min at 125C. I will instead roast 10 min at 140C + 30 min at 125C. 2) Last time I had the lid off for 10 hours and on for the remaining 38. I will keep the lid off the full 48 hours now.
On your note related to the temperature during tempering I understand that crystalization can happen at higher temperature (as I do not use seed it takes some time to lower the temperature). But what I learned from my test batches was that I got blooming issues if I went to high when raising the temperature again (above 30-31,5C depending on the cacao used). Would that not be the case with the up-scaled batch as well?
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Post by Ben on Jun 28, 2018 11:02:08 GMT -5
That roasting change will certainly result in less moisture in the roasted beans, but if the humidity is high during refining, it could cause the chocolate to be thicker than otherwise. I've found that running a dehumidifier during the humid summer months here has helped the viscosity of my summer chocolate.
My final tempering temperature is always above 90F (32.2C) and usually closer to 92F (33.3C). I don't have blooming issues, so I don't think that is the cause of the blooming issues you see.
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Post by fredrik on Jun 28, 2018 11:38:47 GMT -5
Aha, What would you say is the ambient temperature and humidity to stay below? I’ve noted down 21C and 60% from different threads on this forum.
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Post by Ben on Jun 28, 2018 12:10:44 GMT -5
21C (even a little higher) is a good. I typically try to stay well below 50% humidity. I'm usually around 35-40%.
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Post by fredrik on Jun 28, 2018 13:17:35 GMT -5
Ok, thanks. I’ll try this tomorrow when I temper again. Below 50% is probably not possible, but hopefully I’ll manage below 55% and below 55%.
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