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Post by Sebastian on May 14, 2010 15:35:27 GMT -5
It's been done and is well understood 8) However, results are private for most companies...
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Post by doclogic77 on May 14, 2010 15:40:27 GMT -5
It's been done and is well understood 8) However, results are private for most companies... Ahh...well it's good to know I was on the right track. Do you know any resources for discussing chocolate aging theory? I have a fascination with the science of aging anything that improves over time.
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Post by Sebastian on May 14, 2010 15:47:34 GMT -5
you should be able to find a lot of info on cocoa butter crystallization over time (solids content and hardness of course impact flavor release) quite easily. Flavor retention and change over time in pack will be harder as that will be specific to products and packaging...
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Post by mephisto on May 15, 2010 23:24:12 GMT -5
Can't argue with that Brad! Happiness IS the goal,
I am trying to market my chocolate, and have been thinking about what kind of shelf life to put on it. Tempering and storage seem to be key, since bloom is really the one thing that disfigures the chocolate and makes it unappealing to consumers.
What was interesting about this study is that they charted the oxidation process and in effect showed that high grade plastics and vacuum packaging, as well as oxygen absorbers, only marginally mitigated the effects of oxidization. Temperature, on the other hand,had an immense effect on the rate of oxidation. I will try and link to the paper which I found on the World Cocoa Foundation site, though my web skills are dismal. Till then,
Happy Chocolate Making!
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Post by Brad on May 16, 2010 0:45:41 GMT -5
Are plastics a good medium to test with? My understanding is that most plastic is pourous. If it lets odor out/in, it only stands to reason that it is also letting oxygen out/in, and if that's actually the case, then of course oxidation is going to occur.
I'm far from a plastic expert. I'm just hypothesizing on heresay.
Brad.
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Post by doclogic77 on May 16, 2010 9:20:54 GMT -5
I can give some insight into packing with plastic vacuum seal. The cigar community I belong to has done quite a bit of experimentation with vacuum sealing. We know that if you place a hygrometer with a box of cigars in a vacuum seal the humidity doesn't drop over long periods of time. We haven't measured the oxygen but we do know that there are much less oxidative effects on the taste of cigars stored in this fashion.
With that said, if you worry about the permeability of the plastic you could also wrap in wax paper before you vacuum seal. That should significantly decrease permeability of the storage structure.
But, we are not dealing with a perfect vacuum. That doesn't exist. There will always be a certain amount of oxygen oxidizing the chocolate in the vaccum seal. That's why I believe temp plays the greatest role in controlling oxidation of the chocolate.
Personally, when I start to age and store chocolate for months I will start will a vaccum seal and temp around 40F.
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Post by Sebastian on May 16, 2010 13:11:58 GMT -5
Coupla things to consider: 1) packaging material has different oxygen diffusion rates - some are much better than others. your packaging materials supplier should be able to provide you with diffusion rates. not all plastic packaging material provides a good oxygen barrier. 2) the integrity of your packaging seal is important. 90% of people who do heat/cold sealing have it set up improperly, so that one seal failure guarantees package integrity failure. orienting the sealing jaws 90 degrees offset from how most have it configured fixes that, and provides multiple levels of seal protection 3) testing the integrity of the seal is easily done with a water bath and a vacuum pump. drop your sealed package into the water, apply vacuum, and if you see bubbles from your package, you've not got a good seal
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Post by cocoa on May 17, 2010 21:02:51 GMT -5
I strongly disagree with the statement that better tasting is not always the most healthy, as it applies to chocolate. In my back-handed redneck studies I found that the better tasting the chocolate, the bigger the smile was on the customer's face (release of endorphins), and the more my cash register rang, which in turn allowed me to buy more go-juice for my dirt bikes, and indirectly put a REAL BIG smile on my face (release of more endorphins). LOL Just having fun here! After all, isn't that what chocolate is about? Brad I am with you Brad!....How can you say that a chocolate is delicious when you are not good in tasting? I'd rather go on the taste of the chocolates than on the brand...
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