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Post by chrisg on Dec 8, 2017 15:26:50 GMT -5
Another Premier fan here.
I've used mine every two to three weeks or so for nearly two years making 1 or 2 KG batches. It is a tough little machine but it runs better when the butter and beans are warmed first, don't go too far, you are not trying to fry the beans or melt your plastic bits, just gently warmed through. I have tried more than 2Kg but it really does get full and seems to struggle at 2.5Kg.
Stick to 2Kg starting with a gently warmed bean and butter mix and you'll be fine.
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Post by chrisg on Dec 8, 2017 15:05:16 GMT -5
I do find that odd chocolate accumulates on the scraper. By "odd" I mean thick for dark and milk and grey for white. I haven't noticed any wear of the scraper in nearly two years so I think its actually something from the chocolate making process. I've never adjusted my scraper since I bought the grinder.
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Post by chrisg on Dec 8, 2017 15:01:14 GMT -5
I usually move mine into the next room. If the drum is making a thud-thud-thud sound try lifting the drum and re-seating it a quarter turn round. If yours is very loud it may need some maintenance!
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Post by chrisg on Aug 28, 2017 18:11:57 GMT -5
I'm in the UK but I assume that you can get the same stuff that I use over there.
I usually use Callebaut Callets. They are little cocoa butter buttons and come in 3Kg tubs. These are very easy to measure out and use.
Casa Luker also sell cocoa butter buttons though the type I get is non-deodorised which means that the flavour of their beans will get into your chocolate (only a problem if single origin/flavour is an issue for you, there is nothing wrong with the taste, I use it for all my white chocolate)
You can get big tubs of cocoa butter but callets/buttons are just easier to use and the savings are not big from my supplier.
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Post by chrisg on Aug 28, 2017 18:02:28 GMT -5
I warm my cocoa butter and nibs in a pan in my kitchen. When it feels right I pour it into the machine.
This stage is not essential but it is much easier on the machine. Skip this step and you'll have to keep stopping the machine to scrape solid gunk off the rollers and scraper to get it going properly again for the first 10 minutes or so. Plus your machine will sound a bit overloaded and unhappy.
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Post by chrisg on Aug 28, 2017 17:55:34 GMT -5
For tempering I have always used a chocolate thermometer. Stirring gently and thoroughly so that it cools and warms uniformly follow the following steps:
The chocolate will be at (or close to) the right starting temperature, 115F, straight from the machine.
Cool to 80F. On a cool evening you can do this sitting on a chair outside, on a hot day I use a shallow bowl of cold water (be careful, water ruins chocolate if it gets in). If the cooling is too slow the chocolate will start to set before it gets to 80F and may even warm up a little on its own. If this happens melt and start again.
Warm to 88F (84F for white). I use a pan of warm water. be careful not to overheat, stop a couple F low, it will try to overshoot a little, take to as close to 88 as you can.
Make into bars.
Getting the heating and cooling right takes a bit of practice but the above usually works for me. If it sets soft just melt it all to 115F and do it again.
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Post by chrisg on Mar 10, 2017 13:10:23 GMT -5
As the title. Has anyone in the UK, or in Europe, ordered beans from CA? If so:
how long did they take to arrive? were there any extra charges? is there anything else I might need to consider?
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Post by chrisg on Mar 6, 2017 15:47:18 GMT -5
Fifteen views and no response?
Surely someone in the UK is having the same problem and might know where to go to get beans?
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Post by chrisg on Mar 5, 2017 15:18:17 GMT -5
I'm down to my last bag of beans from HB Ingredients (One of the UK suppliers) so I looked on their website and beans are all "out of stock". They used to have a much bigger choice as well. I took a look at the MSK Ingredients site and they also list beans as "out of stock". Just a couple of months ago there were three different beans from Casa Luker on their site. Same with Vantage House.
A quick Google search reveals a few suppliers of small bags of Raw/Organic beans but that's it.
Where have all the beans gone?
Where can I get more?
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Post by chrisg on Dec 19, 2016 17:41:12 GMT -5
I have tried Isomalt with saccharin and sucralose to bring the sweetness up. Check my thread on the subject.
I used 200g nibs, 250g cocoa butter, 200g dried milk and 350g of isomalt, 14 Sweetex (Saccharin) tablets and 21 Splenda (Sucralose) tablets.
I did notice a slight lingering synthetic sweetness after eating a bar so next time I might add some ordinary sugar and cut back on the high intensity sweeteners.
My Dad, who is diabetic, thinks the results were fantastic!
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Post by chrisg on Dec 8, 2016 14:34:38 GMT -5
I have now made chocolate using my sugar substitute:
Saccharin (Sweetex) tablets 40 (equivalent to 200g of sugar) Sucrose (Splenda) tablets 60 (equivalent to 300g of sugar) Isomalt grams 1000 (equivalent to 500g of sugar) total equivalent to 1000g of sugar
I watched the thermometer very closely while tempering, keeping in mind that 110F limit from the previous thread.
The results are promising but the taste is slightly different to using normal sugar. First bite, it tasted like chocolate. It didn't quite have the "same" sweetness as my sugar based chocolate. It was more of a dry sweetness.
My son said there was a synthetic after taste. I noticed a slight lingering synthetic sweet taste for a few hours after eating two bars. Not unpleasant, just different.
I am now wondering if a slight tweak to the recipe is required, perhaps cutting back on the HITs, adding a bit more Isomalt and/or adding back just a bit of table sugar.
Has anyone else tried a sugar substitute? What were the results?
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Post by chrisg on Nov 7, 2016 18:12:18 GMT -5
By "Better" I mean:
Low Glycemic index (my father is diabetic and the chocolate is for him) Does not taste noticeably "cool" (He doesn't like the taste of some diabetic chocolate he has tried, this might be why?) Is less likely to give tummy upsets (I can't see anyone wanting this...) Is easy to work with (enough to make a chocolate bar without laboratory support)
Going by the original thread that would make: 1) Isomalt better for GI 2) Isomalt better for taste 3) Isomalt better for side effects 4) Isomalt trickier due to temperature control (needs to be <110F)
I'm prepared to take on chance on 4 to gain on 1, 2 and 3. I have checked my last chocolate batch and it ran at 105F. That's close but if I run the machine in a colder part of the house, at this time of year one room is pretty chilly, I might get away with it comfortably. Tempering is going to be the trickiest step as I normally use a thermometer and cool to 80F then raise to 88F. That won't leave much headroom for error when warming over a bowl of hot water... I might need two thermometers, one in the water...
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Post by chrisg on Nov 5, 2016 18:00:45 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply Sebastian.
The previous thread that I referenced suggested Isomalt due to its taste, less tendency to cause upsets and its low glycemic index. I lack the knowledge to argue with that or to suggest anything better. My idea to enhance its sweetness with a 60/40 mixture of sucrose and saccharin has more to do with availability than any health scares over acesulfame potassium. I can actually buy the branded sweeteners Sweetex and Splenda in the local shops. Isomalt is also available as a cake decorating ingredient though I'll need to get that online.
I'm simply trying to replace sugar as effectively as possible given what I can get hold of (from UK suppliers).
Do you think there is a better starting point than Isomalt-sucrose-saccharin given that I'm stuck with combining ingredients that I can actually source?
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Post by chrisg on Oct 30, 2016 8:49:19 GMT -5
With reference to the information on this thread and a lot of trawling of the internet:
chocolatetalk.proboards.com/thread/391?page=1 A typical diabetic chocolate is sweetened with one or more of the sugar alcohols. Xylitol and Maltitol being common. Both of these have a “cooling” effect (like peppermint) and also cause tummy upsets in higher concentrations. There are also some concerns over how low the glycemic index (effect on blood sugar) actually is. However they are cost effective, stable and easy to work with. Isomalt is another sugar alcohol. It has less cooling effect on taste, a lower tummy upset effect for a given amount and a low glycemic index. It becomes unstable over 110F which makes it tricky for commercial processing but is just within for my Premier Two Litre Grinder which runs at 105F. It is significantly less sweet than sucrose though. The conclusion of the thread for small batch production is to use two isomalt based sweeteners, one with added acesulfame potassium, the other with added sucralose. The aim is that the two additives bring the sweetness of isomalt up to that of sucrose and cancel out each others negative flavours, i.e. the sweetness arriving too slowly or too quickly or odd metallic aftertastes. It seems that acesulfame potassium has become very controversial for health reasons. Also sucralose (splenda) isn’t suitable on its own as it sweetens more slowly and then lingers. This makes the initial taste too bitter followed by a lingering sweetness after the chocolate taste has gone. So what I need is isomalt with sucralose and something like acesulfame potassium in taste profile.
The solution to replacing acesulfame potassium might be saccharin which also has a quick sweet taste followed by a quick tailing off.
So I've ended up with Isomalt with the sweetness boosted by saccharin and sucralose.
These are available in the UK as Sweetex tablets and Splenda tablets, commonly used as sugar substitutes in tea and coffee. Each little tablet is equivalent to 5g of sugar. Isomalt turns out to be used in cake decorating and is available in big tubs.
So now for a stab/guesstimate/first experiment at a chocolate making sugar substitute!
This my chocolate making sugar substitute formula per Kg: Saccharin (Sweetex) tablets 40 (equivalent to 200g of sugar) – quick onset of sweetness, has a bitter or metallic aftertaste (hence 40%), especially at high concentrations Sucrose (Splenda) tablets 60 (equivalent to 300g of sugar) - slow onset of sweetness, is sometimes a little metallic (a little, hence 60%), and tends to absorb into the mouth and linger Isomalt grams 1000 (equivalent to 500g of sugar) total bulk 1000g
As stated in the thread title, comments are welcome. It would be really handy if one of our resident sugar chemists would comment or if anyone has tried something similar.
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Post by chrisg on Oct 28, 2016 12:12:55 GMT -5
The recommendation is going to be tricky.
I can source "LorAnn sugar free hard candy mix" but I can't find any sources for Diabetisweet in the UK and one website in the us described it as "discontinued".
The thread recommending it is nearly ten years old so it may well have been replaced by another product.
Does anyone have a recommendation?
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