gap
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Post by gap on Aug 11, 2016 17:24:07 GMT -5
Small chocolate bars will set at room temperature if your temperature is less than 18C. If not, I use the fridge to set them. Do not cover your chocolate while it is cooling (it will trap heat) - if your room is very dusty, then just set the bars in a fridge and unmould them when you take them out and then package for storage.
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gap
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Post by gap on Jul 28, 2016 16:56:56 GMT -5
There seems to be a lot of chocolate left in that bowl that could be scraped out with a spatula. I also find putting the wheels on a cake rack above the grinder or a bowl you're empyting into makes it easier to scrape them down rather than trying to hold them in one hand and scrape with the other.
That said, you will lose some chocolate to the grinder. The good news is it tends to be a fairly fixed amount so the larger your batch size, the smaller your loss in % terms :-)
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gap
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Post by gap on Jul 26, 2016 17:47:37 GMT -5
I can help you do the maths, but I don't know if your milk chocolate recipe will be a good one or not. Your milk recipe: 2 parts powdered milk (assume whole milk powder [WMP] with 26% fat content) + 3 parts sugar + 5 parts nibs = 20% WMP + 30% sugar + 50% nibs Fat content approx = 26% x 20% + 50% x 52% = 31.2% Chocolate grinders prefer to work with 36%+ fat content. Too low and it puts a lot of strain on the motor and may not be able to keep the wheels spinning (especially without any additional cocoa butter or lecithin). Your current recipe = 70% nibs + 30% sugar = 654g So, currently nibs = 458g (= 654 x 70%) If nibs in your milk recipe = 50%, then total batch size for milk recipe = 458g / 50% = 916g So your milk recipe is WMP = 20% = 0.2 x 916g = 183g Sugar = 30% = 0.3 x 916g = 275g Nibs = 50% = 0.5 x 916g = 458g Total batch size = 183g + 275g + 458g = 916g In your current 70% dark chocolate you have Sugar = 196g Nibs = 458g So, to create your milk chocolate recipe, you need to add Sugar = 275g - 196g = add 79g of sugar WMP = add 183g of WMP And nibs are at the correct amount already This will give you a new batch size of 654g + 79g + 183g = 916g BUT, as I mentioned above, this isn't a recipe I would run through my grinder - I would be worried that the fat level is too low and might damage my machine. If you look around this forum, there are plenty of milk recipes with a fat content closer to 36+%. Eg., chocolatealchemy.com/milk-chocolate-45-cocoa/You can then use the same maths as above to adapt to that alternative milk chocolate recipe.
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gap
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Posts: 390
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Post by gap on Jul 19, 2016 1:39:56 GMT -5
I hand temper and machine temper. Both require constant agitation/movement of the chocolate (either manual stirring or machine stirring). I appreciate you are kneading the bag in your sous vide setup, but are you thoroughly mixing the chocolate constantly? Without knowing more about your method, I'd guess that might be the issue.
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gap
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Posts: 390
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Post by gap on Jul 17, 2016 17:24:13 GMT -5
I second the chocolate maker upgrade from Indi Chocolate - I've just done it for my machines.
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gap
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Post by gap on Jul 14, 2016 19:13:23 GMT -5
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gap
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Post by gap on Jul 12, 2016 16:43:41 GMT -5
Commercial liquor I've kept for over a year. Similarly with dark chocolate. When they're stored correctly.
Plenty of people "age" their liquors/chocolate as well - usually for a few weeks minimum.
Liquor and dark chocolate have quite a long shelf life with proper storage.
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gap
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Post by gap on Jul 11, 2016 16:17:16 GMT -5
It doesn't need to be refrigerated. I assume its in a box or something? Wrap the box in gladwrap/clingwrap/plastic wrap and put it in a cool, dark place where the temperature doesn't change often and humidity is low.
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gap
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Post by gap on Jun 28, 2016 17:48:34 GMT -5
How did you go tempering it? Was it very thick? Maybe a bit of moisture in the chocolate??
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gap
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Post by gap on Jun 27, 2016 6:58:24 GMT -5
I've used a few of these machines now and a few of the Santhas.
Is it affecting the chocolate making? That's the key question.
I have a few bowls with dints and a few wheel sets that don't move as efficiently as they could. But all of them still work - they grind the chocolate to a suitable particle size. Looking at your pics, maybe a little bit of chocolate gets caught in the kink, but that can be scraped out while the bowl is moving if need be. We all like our equipment to be perfect, but the truth of manufacturing is that wear and tear happens on machines.
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gap
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Posts: 390
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Post by gap on Jun 17, 2016 0:46:24 GMT -5
I've only done it a few times, but didn't have any trouble. Maybe using a piping bag holder would help keep things a little cleaner? Also, if you have a piping nozzle on the end (rather than just cut open the piping bag) you can twist the bag at the nozzle to keep it shut while you refill.
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gap
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Post by gap on Jun 17, 2016 0:44:09 GMT -5
Deodorised cocoa butter will help your praline "set" if you want it to and be neutral in taste.
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gap
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Post by gap on Jun 16, 2016 23:19:55 GMT -5
I haven't tried it, so I don't know.
That said, if I was in your situation, I'd give it a go and test it. If both have been deodorised, then it should be neutral in terms of odour and taste. Also, large companies tend to have blended sources of beans when they make cocoa butter, so while the melting point etc might be different between the two, I can't imagine it would be enough to make a noticeable difference in your chocolate.
Report back and let us know if you do some testing.
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gap
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Post by gap on Jun 15, 2016 23:45:46 GMT -5
I can't help you with the recipe you're using, but I can offer up what I've done in the past. I make my praline paste with 50% sugar and 50% roasted nuts. I grind that until it's a smooth paste. I then mix the paste with melted milk chocolate to make a gianduja (I alter the ratio depending what I'm aiming for but start with ~40-50% praline paste & remainder is milk chocolate). The gianduja can be piped into moulded chocolates or set as a slab, cut and enrobed.
I don't think that's quite what you're after, but it is how I do it.
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gap
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Post by gap on Jun 15, 2016 16:31:34 GMT -5
Disposable piping bag?
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