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Post by mrbill on Feb 5, 2020 10:27:01 GMT -5
My problem is keeping tempered chocolate in temper while I am molding. The beginning molds are good, as I continue to mold the bowl of tempered chocolate cools below 88° and the resulting chocolates are not shiney and tend to bloom later.
I keep the bowl over a pot of warm water and stir, occasionally, with not much luck.
My last batch was about 8#, so it took a while to get it into molds. I attempted to warm the water up by turning on the burner for a minute.
Any ideas for maintaining the temper will be greatly appreciated.
Looking forward to hearing from some chocolatier mavens. Thank you
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Post by Chip on Feb 5, 2020 10:41:33 GMT -5
mrbill , A couple of suggestions: 1. Don't remove the entire batch all at once. Do it in stages. Temper and mold only that which you can pour in a reasonable amount of time. Then do the next batch, and so on. 2. Purchase a chocolate warmer or buy a small tempering machine: look on here in the classifieds for a tempering machine something along the lines of a Chocovision www.chocovision.com/index.php/machine.html. Or ACMC Tabletop Chocolate Tempering Machine (used is a good buy, new is a little pricey).
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Post by Ben on Feb 5, 2020 14:33:43 GMT -5
My guess is that you just need to be a bit more aggressive with your heating to keep the chocolate warm enough. Keep the water in the pot pretty hot and then just move the bowl on or off as needed to maintain the temperature.
Also, I'm not sure what temperatures you're using, but if you're working at the lower end of temper (88-90F for dark chocolate) it will save you some headache to work warmer. I usually mold chocolate at 92F. If you did that, it'd buy you a little extra time before you needed to reheat again.
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Post by mark on Feb 6, 2020 1:27:03 GMT -5
Of course you can get a melter to hold the temperature. Not sure of your batch size, but the Martellato mini Meltinchoc holds temp well and has a 1 kg batch size. I use a larger Martellato melter and there are also other brands that provide similar appliances.
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Post by Chip on Feb 6, 2020 11:16:52 GMT -5
mrbill, As mark says, a melter sounds like what you need. Just a precautionary note: stay away from the really inexpensive ones you can get from Alibaba. Trust me on this, they don't work, don't hold temp, and have a tendency to ruin your temper, burn your chocolate or let it harden. DAMHIKT.
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fred
Novice
Posts: 144
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Post by fred on Feb 28, 2020 17:48:46 GMT -5
mrbill - thank you for asking this question! This is my current stumbling block: molding is great for the first 1/2 batch or so and gets really tough for the second 1/2 batch. I tried using a sous vite (I think it was well over 94F) in a cooler big enough to hold my bowl of chocolate but without mixing it would still cool down too much and solidify. Chip - thank you once again for great suggestions! I think I may look into getting a tempering machine though they seem to cost more than the melanger LOL!
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Post by Chip on Feb 28, 2020 18:04:46 GMT -5
fred, Look for a used one. There are usually some pretty nice used ones on Ebay and Amazon Marketplace. I ended up with an ACMC machine (which uses a computer fan to cool and a light bulb to heat) for $300 with two bowls. The customer service from the fellow who makes them is absolutely FANTASTIC! He is very, very helpful and gets back to you immediately. I've no experience with the chocovisions and I have read some good things and some bad things. Maybe Ben or Brad would have a better take on a good novice tempering machine. But I need to be totally honest with you: even though I have the ACMC I rarely ever use it. I use the silk method of tempering and it works great. If my chocolate gets too cool I just pop it in the microwave for a VERY QUICK zap. I use the infrared thermometer on it to make sure I haven't taken it out of temper, and if I have, just wait for it to cool a bit and add some silk and bada-bing-bada-boom it's back in temper and ready to go. I also have used Brad's double bowl method with great results.
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fred
Novice
Posts: 144
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Post by fred on Feb 29, 2020 15:28:47 GMT -5
Hi Chip , Part of the issue is that I have a limited number of molds and fridge space. So I tend to fill a few molds, put them in the fridge and wait a while for the next batch. Actually, more fridge space and molds would fix the problem entirely and (um of course I guess LOL) be cheaper than a tempering machine (at least the molds would be). Another problem I may have is that I've been using metal bowls - these conduct heat pretty fast compared to glass. I'm guessing you don't use metal bowls because they don't get along well with microwaves LOL. The "sous vite" water bath is kind of a fancy "temp controlled" version of the two bowl method. I think it works so long as you don't leave the chocolate alone for too long. My guess is that this is where a tempering machine can't be beat - you really need the constant stirring action to keep the mix from solidifying in spots. So thank you for this perspective! I think my choices are clear - if I want to have all day to mold my chocolate then a tempering machine is the way to go. Or I can decide to do all the molding in one go and just get more molds and clear more fridge space. Either way I think I will switch to glass bowls. Chip - thank you once again of course. Any further advice anyone has on this is very welcome!!!
EDIT: Oh wait... just re-read the thread and I think I misunderstood something. I definitely use the silk method with great success. It's just keeping the chocolate melted that is giving me heartache. So maybe a chocolate melter would do the trick? Those are definitely cheaper than tempering machines...
EDIT2: Um, okay, I think I might be a little disappointed with the melter. It sounds like you really need to stir constantly which I guess confirms my experience with putting a bowl in a water bath - sure it holds a temperature but crystals will still form unless the chocolate is being stirred...
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Jim B.
Novice
Newbie
Posts: 118
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Post by Jim B. on Mar 2, 2020 8:54:07 GMT -5
This might be a dumb response but, considering the fridge space and time restrictions, could you temper smaller amounts at a time? Early on, I bought some large-cube, silicone bottom ice cube trays to hold part of my batch because I didn't have enough molds. Store the untempered chocolate to temper and mold as space becomes available. (Yeah, I know it's more work...!)
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Post by Chip on Mar 2, 2020 10:16:25 GMT -5
fred, I wrote a pretty long response to this but I don't see it here now that I'm at church! When I get home I will see what happened to it.
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Post by Chip on Mar 2, 2020 10:17:49 GMT -5
fred, I put it in your other thread! I have copied it here. For a melter you would have to stir it yourself. The only other way I could think of is to make your own stirrer out of an electric paddle mixer, like a Kitchen Aid and put it on an intermittent electronic timer. For a 1kg batch to temper, pour and mold is doable. Once you get over that it is a little difficult because of space needs, needing to tap out bubbles, etc. You can get more molds but again time constraints dictate smaller batches. If you are doing a larger batch, you can always just pour off what you can temper and mold efficiently and leave the rest in the melange. If you are worried that you are over-grinding you can always just take the tension all the way off the stones, that way the melange basically becomes a stirring pot with not a whole lot of grinding actions since there is no tension on the stones, just gravity. The last thing is getting glass bowls and a microwave. I use large glass bowls and if my chocolate goes below a usable temp, especially if I'm dipping caramel or graham crackers, then I just put it in the microwave on 40% power for about 10 seconds and it goes up to a usable, still in temper, temperature. I use the Pyrex glass bowls and bought them in a set from Amazon (big to small) and just the bigger ones at Walmart. I bought my microwave from Amazon, it is this one, smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DEWZWGC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It is a high power one and that's why it is so easy to properly control power/temp on it. It is reasonable priced as well. Not the "fanciest" but it does pack a punch. Well, I hope this helps you out a little, sorry it's so long!
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Post by crabloaf on Nov 11, 2020 14:15:11 GMT -5
I'm struggling my way through this same thing - keeping chocolate in temper while I'm molding, rapping, chilling in the refrigerator. Something I'm considering is a Precise Heat Mixing Bowl by Kitchen Aid. If you already have their stand mixer, it might be an option. You can use it as an independent "warming bowl" without the stand mixer too. My thought is that I'll use it like a tempering machine but it will cost much less ($280 currently on Amazon). That way, it can hold tempered chocolate while I'm working on molding, rapping, chilling.
I definitely like Brad's double bowl method, but I just can't manage to get the skill of it. I also really like how he molds using a soda/beer pitcher to pour and tare out the scale.
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Post by Thomas on Nov 11, 2020 16:08:25 GMT -5
I'm struggling my way through this same thing - keeping chocolate in temper while I'm molding, rapping, chilling in the refrigerator. Something I'm considering is a Precise Heat Mixing Bowl by Kitchen Aid. If you already have their stand mixer, it might be an option. You can use it as an independent "warming bowl" without the stand mixer too. My thought is that I'll use it like a tempering machine but it will cost much less ($280 currently on Amazon). That way, it can hold tempered chocolate while I'm working on molding, rapping, chilling. I definitely like Brad's double bowl method, but I just can't manage to get the skill of it. I also really like how he molds using a soda/beer pitcher to pour and tare out the scale. My 2 cents. I'm assuming the Brad's double bowl method is actually the single bowl method. That is, put chocolate in one bowl then heat on double boiler, cool on ice batch, then heat again on double boiler. This is probably the easiest method to temper chocolate without much equipment. (Assuming no seeding as using cocoa butter silk is much simpler). If you can't get the skill of it, keep trying. One needs to understand how to temper chocolate and why failures occur. I don't think the Kitchen Aid Heat bowl is going to solve your problem. Also, I would recommend buying a product made for chocolate. You may pay more, but it will be better in the long run. I use a Mol d'Art melter to keep my chocolate at a working temp. It works great but is more than Kithen Aid bowl. I tried the beer pitcher pour method a long time ago and did not like it at all. The chocolate will setup in the pitcher. I use and ice cream type scoop and a scale. I think it really depends on how much chocolate you are making and want to work with. Along with budget. I've read some negative reviews about the Kitchen Aid Heat bowl. Good Luck.
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Post by jonathon on Nov 14, 2020 8:29:55 GMT -5
HiI am new here but have been tempering chocolate for many years. If you need to do small batches of tempered chocolate they can be done in a microwave. I have spent many years using the ACMC and Prefamac / JKV tempering machines but we all need to do small batches at some stage, even if it's just to add a detail of coloured chocolate in a mold. If you microwave a small batch gently until most of the lumps have gone then stir the chocolate until it is lump free you will find the chocolate is perfectly tempered. Hope this helps. Jonathon
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Post by crabloaf on Nov 14, 2020 13:44:18 GMT -5
Thank you Thomas So I’ve also been considering the Chocovision Rev2b. Do any of you have this? I’m trying to think thru the steps if I get it. Am I on track? 1. Chocolate melted in the 100-120F range 2. Pour in a pound into the tempering machine 3. Lower temp with machine temp control to approx 82F 4. Raise temp to approx 88F on the machine. 5. Use this tempered chocolate as seed with a few more pounds, around 95F. The combining of the two, if I’m careful, can land the temp around 90-92F and is now in temper. 6. Keep the approx 5 pounds in temper with a stock pot with minimal heat while molding. I’d love feedback on this. Thank you!
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