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Post by Mitch30 on Nov 22, 2022 18:18:16 GMT -5
I'm thinking about doing small test batches on the stovetop with Cacao Butter, Cacao Powder and other dry ingredients like Maqui, Mesquite or Baobab powders before doing a full batch with the Melanger. If you have done the stovetop test, do you think it's a good enough indication on how the full batch will turn out?
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Post by Ben on Nov 23, 2022 8:24:25 GMT -5
I've never made chocolate by just mixing ingredients into melted cocoa butter, but I have done some tests with mixing spices into chocolate vs grinding them smooth in a stone grinder. The flavors of the resulting chocolates were noticeably different.
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Post by Mitch30 on Nov 23, 2022 10:24:46 GMT -5
Ok, Thanks... I have a batch in now that I put 25G of Coffee in as well as 2 scraped pods of Vanilla, and it smells intense. I guess I will have to test some Maqui or whatever on the stove to see if it even turns out to begin with, because it probably won't be better with the Melanger?
Or was your difference better?
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Post by Ben on Nov 23, 2022 10:37:47 GMT -5
With my test, neither was necessarily better. They were just different. I ended up going with the version where the spices were ground smooth in the stone grinder.
Obviously, the texture from the stone grinder will be much smoother than just mixed in.
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Post by Mitch30 on Nov 23, 2022 10:45:42 GMT -5
Ok. Have you done test batches that were half a KG or less? I see the Premiere says the minimum is 1KG, but I will have to ask them why.
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Post by Thomas on Nov 23, 2022 14:06:15 GMT -5
Hi Mitch,
All melangers have a minimum working amount. There needs to be enough volume of ingredients or the melanger will be ineffective in grinding and refining.
There will also be a big difference in your stove top test and melanger test with spices or other inclusions. I've done some coffee chocolate where I refined the chocolate in the melanger and another where I added the coffee (very fine ground) after tempering. I needed much less coffee when adding to the melanger as the flavor became much more intense due to the refining process.
Regards,
Thomas
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Post by Mitch30 on Nov 23, 2022 14:31:56 GMT -5
Thanks, Thomas.
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Post by Mitch30 on Nov 23, 2022 14:58:50 GMT -5
Official reply from Premiere, for those interested... Hi Aaron, Thanks for reaching out to DCM. Running under the minimum batch size causes the unit to act like it's running dry. Without enough product in the drum, there will be stone-on-stone grinding, and we want to avoid this. It'll causes excessive stone fragment in your product in addition to wearing down your roller stones very quickly. If you need to run smaller than 2.2lb, or 1kg, we offer the Micro-Batch set, linked below. This is a smaller drum and stone set that can handle 1.1-2.2lb and is usable on both the 8lb and 10lb units. www.melangers.com/collections/spare-parts/products/micro-batch-granite-roller-stones-and-drum-set-accessoryJimmy Ford Client Relations & Logistics Diamond Custom Machines Corp. Toll Free: +1 (888)-717-9222 Local and International: +1 (908)-301-4704 Offices are open between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST jimmy@melangers.com 9 Ilene Ct, Unit 9 Hillsborough, NJ 08844
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