fred
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Post by fred on Apr 9, 2019 13:00:52 GMT -5
So I've got my chocolate making skillz about where I want them - that is I seem to be able to manage making a good milk chocolate (using John's 1:1:1:1 recipe), I've made some silk that seems to work and my no-frills approach has been to temper in the melanger and pour the batch out onto a sheet pan lined with wax paper so a get a huge chocolate bar. This has been great for my own personal consumption. I've probably made 20-30lbs of chocolate so far.
The key is I can do this without a huge mess, but so far filling molds has been a bit frustrating. It feels like I waste a lot of chocolate and I definitely make a big mess. I believe with a few more attempts I can improve this process.
However, I wanted to see what you guys think of this idea. My initial frustration was with the very short amount of time I have to work with the chocolate after tempering. It seemed like I had about 10 minutes before it was too cool. So this last time around I filled a cooler with some water and put the Sous Vide in there getting the temperature to about 92.5F. After melting the silk into the melanger and stirring it for a while, I immersed the melanger bowl in the cooler and the temperature held (I also kept the melanger bowl elevated with a few ramekins). I had plenty of time to scoop chocolate out with a ladle and fill most of my little molds until I got fed up with the mess.
The only odd catch is that my Sous Vide thermostat was off by about 7F, so I had to set it to like 99F (based on two other thermometers). Last time I made silk the temperature was fine so I'm not sure what happened. The pretty worrying thing is that small but significant amount of chocolate went into the water which can't possibly be good for the Sous Vide (I was having the temperature calibration problems before this so they are unrelated).
So what do you guys think of this general approach for maintaining tempered chocolate?
Also, I am guessing I will get better at pouring chocolate into molds and not have to do the final "swipe" with a knife. I really want to try using a silicone ladle for this so I can scoop a little more efficiently.
At the end I did pour the remaining chocolate out on a wax paper lined sheet pan (about 400 grams!). This of course requires taking great care to dry the outside of the melanger bowl!!!
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Post by Ben on Apr 9, 2019 13:21:04 GMT -5
That process will work, but it sounds really difficult. When I started, I used to temper in the grinder bowl, too. I would remove one of the wheels and would turn the machine on to keep the chocolate stirred. I had a small fan/space heater next to the bowl and would either blow hot or room temp air as needed to maintain temperature. In retrospect, this could probably have been done just by hitting it with a heat gun every so often. This has the benefit of not using water at all.
That all being said, I think using just a normal stainless steel bowl vs. the grinder bowl is a lot easier and less messy. Also, depending on how much chocolate you're working with, you could just pour it directly into the molds from the bowl, or pour it into something easier to pour from to do so. Some suggestions that have been made here on the forums are pastry bags, beer pitchers, and plastic condiment bottles.
Another option that a lot of us have used instead of a ladle is a large syringe. I still use them when I mold smaller batches. They're very clean to work with and are really precise. Do a search on the forums and you can find the link to order them.
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Molding!!
Apr 9, 2019 14:40:07 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Chip on Apr 9, 2019 14:40:07 GMT -5
What Ben said X 2!!!!!!!!
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fred
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Posts: 144
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Post by fred on Apr 9, 2019 18:28:18 GMT -5
That process will work, but it sounds really difficult. When I started, I used to temper in the grinder bowl, too. I would remove one of the wheels and would turn the machine on to keep the chocolate stirred. I had a small fan/space heater next to the bowl and would either blow hot or room temp air as needed to maintain temperature. In retrospect, this could probably have been done just by hitting it with a heat gun every so often. This has the benefit of not using water at all. That all being said, I think using just a normal stainless steel bowl vs. the grinder bowl is a lot easier and less messy. Also, depending on how much chocolate you're working with, you could just pour it directly into the molds from the bowl, or pour it into something easier to pour from to do so. Some suggestions that have been made here on the forums are pastry bags, beer pitchers, and plastic condiment bottles. Another option that a lot of us have used instead of a ladle is a large syringe. I still use them when I mold smaller batches. They're very clean to work with and are really precise. Do a search on the forums and you can find the link to order them.
I really like the large syringe idea!!! I'll try that since the ladle is definitely messy. All my molds are small which makes pouring from any container really difficult without making a huge mess. In terms of batch size I generally make about 1Kg though I'm thinking of increasing to 2Kg or so (last batch was 1.6Kg).
I think I will stick with this Sous Vide approach. I like having plenty of time to work with especially with a lot of small molds... It honestly was not that difficult to deal with - the fact that the melanger base is heavy stone makes it work pretty well. On the other hand the huge mess I made was a pain to deal with LOL =P
Thanks!!!
-Fred
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fred
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Post by fred on Apr 22, 2019 10:52:59 GMT -5
Well, my first attempt had mixed results. I bought some nice large syringes, but they were hard to fill so I think I need to widen the hole a bit. I also think it may be quite a bit easier to transfer the chocolate out of the melanger for filling the syringes. I also found that I ended up getting a lot of bubbles into my chocolate while filling the syringes which I think I can solve by making the holes in the syringes larger and warming the chocolate a bit more.
The real problem I had I believe is completely unrelated - for the first time I had terrible bloom on my molded chocolates. I nearly certain this is because I left the windows open and a cool breeze was coming in. I say that because I poured out the remaining chocolate on some wax paper in a different part of the room and that solidified without any bloom.
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Molding!!
Apr 22, 2019 11:39:07 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Chip on Apr 22, 2019 11:39:07 GMT -5
The syringes work well if you cut off the smaller end but still leave a nub. Then, spray the rubber part LIGHTLY with some Pam or other oil cooking spray. I have found it really helps ease the plunger action.
The way I use the syringes is: 1. Pour the chocolate into a glass bowl 2. Temper this with silk 3. Almost at optimum pouring temp (maybe +2 degrees F) I insert the nub end of the syringe into the bowl and suck the chocolate up into the syringe 4. Syringe the chocolate into the waiting molds 5. Wait about 3 minutes the tap the molds and put into the fridge to cool
I really wonder if the cool breeze would cause the blooming since I put my molds directly into my fridge set at 40F after pouring and tapping.
HTH
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Post by Ben on Apr 23, 2019 9:16:53 GMT -5
I've actually started cutting the tips of the syringes all the way off. I did this the first time to allow me to mold chocolate with larger inclusions in it and found that it just made things so much easier, so I did it with all of my syringes.
Chip's suggestion of lubricating the syringe is a good one, but I usually just do it by rubbing a little of the tempered chocolate along the inside of the syringe cylinder.
Also, I'm not sure if I'm reading his #5 correctly or not, but I'd recommend tapping the molds on the counter to level immediately after molding. I wouldn't wait.
Regarding the bloom, I'd guess that it wasn't all quite tempered when you started molding, but was by the time you dumped the remainder on the wax paper. A cool breeze should help the chocolate cool better, not worse.
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Post by mark on Apr 23, 2019 19:42:52 GMT -5
Like Ben, I also cut the entire tips off my syringes, makes it much easier. Bread knife works well for this I've found. I once had the impression sharp edges from that cut might be affecting my temper so I now always ensure there are no sharp edges from the cut.
Like Ben, I also lubricate the syringe by just adding a small amount of tempered chocolate to the inside of the syringe and then inserting the rubber part. As long as you ensure you have chocolate all the way around the syringe the rubber will move freely.
I always chill the bars in a chiller for a while and then put them under a ceiling fan when they are coming up to room temperature.
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fred
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Posts: 144
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Post by fred on Apr 25, 2019 15:51:08 GMT -5
Chip, Ben, mark - wow, thank you guys for this excellent feedback! Based on what you guys said about tempering - I'm guessing forcing the chocolate through that tiny extrusion hole was probably messing with the temper. Just a guess on my part but might make sense - this is the first time I've ever seen bloom! I think you all got me on the right track - I'm going to adjust those syringes to a larger aperture. I actually like the idea of cutting off the nub altogether - I have 3 syringes to work with so I'll try a few things. Thanks! -Fred
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Post by Ben on Apr 26, 2019 7:24:36 GMT -5
You're welcome!
I've used syringes with much smaller openings than I use now and have piped chocolate through tiny holes in piping bags. Neither affected the temper. My guess is that your temper was just a bit off.
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fred
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Posts: 144
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Post by fred on May 16, 2019 19:57:01 GMT -5
Cutting the end of the syringes helped a lot - my second attempt went pretty well.
However, I was working with milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, so I'll try again with the dark chocolate to see if it makes a difference.
I had one problem that is almost predictable - I was using my trick of keeping the melanger bowl in a bath of water held constant by a sous vide. My major mistake was in not taking the melanger bowl out of the water while filling the syringe. I was tipping the bowl and near the end got a dose of water into the melanger. Gah!!! So I still think this general idea is not a bad one, but taking the melanger bowl out to fill the syringe is an important step...
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Post by Ben on May 16, 2019 22:42:02 GMT -5
I guess it works for you, but moving the bowl in and out of a water bath for each mold and keeping water from getting in the bowl is just so much work. Using a metal bowl and a double boiler for heat would be way easier.
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fred
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Post by fred on May 17, 2019 11:36:33 GMT -5
Ben, wouldn't the double boiler get too hot? In general what I've found is that after tempering with cocoa butter silk at 95F, the temperature is dropping a little too quickly. Something like a heating pad would be perfect, but I suspect those are too warm...
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Post by Ben on May 17, 2019 12:54:23 GMT -5
With the double boiler or a heating pad, you'd just need to monitor the temperature. Once it started to drop, pop it back on the double boiler or heating pad for a short time until it's at the temp you want. You could also just use a heat gun to maintain temperature.
How much chocolate are you molding at a time?
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fred
Novice
Posts: 144
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Post by fred on May 29, 2019 15:53:37 GMT -5
I typically make 1Kg (2.2lb), but I have made more (up to 2Kg). I'm sure I'll keep playing around with this - I'm deathly afraid of loosing temper by over heating, but maybe that is easier to avoid than I think...
I remelted the dark chocolate that had bloom and used the syringe technique. It worked pretty well. Here's where I'm at now:
+ Good points Very little mess Molding worked very well Nice temper!
+ Bad points It got more and more difficult to load the syringe - a lot of chocolate was still in the bowl at the end It is easy to suck air into the syringe which adds bubbles to the chocolate
I think for those last two points a narrow bowl would be very good. The syringes I bought are huge, it's possible that smaller ones would work a little better. I could also try opening the aperture up a bit more at the end of the syringe which is easy.
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