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Post by Alan on Feb 5, 2006 9:25:04 GMT -5
Dear all, I recently read a thread at eGullet where they were discussing how to get their filled chocolates as shiny as possible, and I think that some of the discussion may be applicable to our endeavors. There thread is here: forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=56184&hl=chocolate%20making&st=0What I took from the conversation that I believe would be relevant to what we are doing is the following: 1) Use high quality chocolate molds 2) Don't wash them with water (it can leave mineral stains) but buff them clean with cotton balls or cotton batting. Don't use paper towels, etc. 3) Before using the molds give them one thorough buffing with the cotton 4) Use cotton to wipe a super thin layer of melted cocoa butter in the molds. I think that one should barely be able to see it afterward. Let rest for 15 minutes 5) Fill the molds with the finished/well-tempered chocolate* 6) Let chocolate rest 24 hours before de-molding *Making sure that the chocolate is perfectly tempered is important here too, as untempered or poorly tempered chocolate will not be glossy but matte. I am going to try this whole process this coming week and will let everyone know what I think. I am going to leave some molds untouched so that I can compare the difference in shine between the chocolates from the cocoa-buttered molds and the untouched molds. Sincerely, Alan
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Post by Brad on Feb 9, 2006 8:06:09 GMT -5
As an addition to Alan's post, I'd like to know where one can buy some good quality chocolate bar molds, and other fancy molds.
I know John has some for sale, and I've purchased some at a local craft store. However I've seen others in pictures that seem to be made of a more durable material than the plastic ones I currently have.
Can anyone be of assistance here?
Thanks.
Brad.
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Post by Alan on Feb 9, 2006 8:50:59 GMT -5
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Post by Alchemist on Feb 9, 2006 8:52:41 GMT -5
Brad,
Those are "commercial" molds. Chocolate Alchemy can get them if you like, but they are expensive. True, they will last virtually forever, but the initial cost drives most people away I found. They start around $20/mold and go up from there often to $45/mold.
Contact me by email if you want to get some.
Do other chocolate makers out there want commercial molds?
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Post by Alan on Feb 9, 2006 9:06:15 GMT -5
Brad, Those are "commercial" molds. Chocolate Alchemy can get them if you like, but they are expensive. True, they will last virtually forever, but the initial cost drives most people away I found. They start around $20/mold and go up from there often to $45/mold. Contact me by email if you want to get some. Do other chocolate makers out there want commercial molds? Dear John, I don't know yet. I'm going to be molding tomorrow and de-molding on Saturday, so I'll have to see the final product. I'm not convinced yet that I want to spend $20 or more. I'll keep you updated though. Sincerely, Alan
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Post by Sebastian on Feb 9, 2006 9:26:50 GMT -5
I tend to use the polycarbonate moulds that start at $40 and on up, although we do have lots of the fleximoulds as well. I'm not convinced that not washing them is the best way to get great gloss - i wash mine all the time. However, i wouldn't dry them with a towel - i always let mine air dry, never use soaps, and then buff them out with a nonscratch material such as a cotton ball. I do find that rubbing in a very thin layer of non-tempered cocoa butter and then letting that set up produces a very nice shine. Over lunch I'd planned to make some moulded pieces with a magnetic mould, structure sheet, and some colors - i'll post pics if i acctually get the time to do it best laid plans and all...
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Post by Alan on Feb 9, 2006 11:00:29 GMT -5
I'm not convinced that not washing them is the best way to get great gloss - i wash mine all the time. However, i wouldn't dry them with a towel - i always let mine air dry, never use soaps, and then buff them out with a nonscratch material such as a cotton ball. Dear Sebastian, That is basically the key from what I understood, that using any sort of towel, especially a paper one, was a bad idea. The comment about not washing them was related to water spots ending up in the air-dried molds. Apparently they can be buffed out with the cotton ball/batting, but it is a pain. Maybe the water where you live is such that you don't have a water spot problem, or maybe it is not as much of a problem as some were making it out to be. That's it though, I'm definitely trying the melted cocoa butter technique now. Better yet, I'm going to do half the molds with the CB and the other half without it. Then I will be able to say for sure how much difference it makes. I assume the cocoa butter glossed one's will look great. Good luck with your chocolates, I'll probably invest in a magnetic mold one of these days. First I have to decide whether I want to spell it "mold" or "mould." I keep going back and forth. Sincerely, Alan
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Post by Alan on Feb 10, 2006 9:15:05 GMT -5
Dear Sebastian,
Here is a question that I never found addressed at eGullet.
When glossing the molds with melted cocoa butter, should one temper it first, or is this of no consequence really.
It would be a shame to have well-tempered chocolate with bloom, but I wonder if it would matter with such a thin coat. Any thoughts?
Sincerely,
Alan
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Post by Sebastian on Feb 10, 2006 12:02:08 GMT -5
Believe it or not, I don't temper it. I put on a glove, rub just a very small amount into the surface of the mould (if there's *any* visable pooling you've got too much - they key here is just to film coat it), and then i put it in my cooling tunnel (fridge) for 3-4 minutes, just to let the film set up. Take out the mould, throw in your tempered chocolate, and away you go. If your chocolate isn't tempered tho, doesn't matter what you do to the mould, it wouldn't demould well nor look good.
There are some lines of thought to indicate that the act of physically rubbing the butter into the mould begins the seeding process. Not sure if I buy that, but nontheless it works.
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Post by Alchemist on Feb 10, 2006 14:34:50 GMT -5
Nice advice. Thanks. I will have to try that myself.
I can make chocolate ;D, but finishing and presentation is my weak spot.
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Post by Sebastian on Feb 10, 2006 16:37:58 GMT -5
I made some truffles over lunch yesterday, tried to take photos of them, but the digicam on my phone stinks, and i didn't have my regular digicam, so sorry, no pix. I use a magnetic mould with a structure sheet, then use craft paint brushes to brush pigments onto the structure sheet, which results in a very pretty presentation. The pigments i used this time where essentially luster dusts (not quite, they're from the german division of merck, and a gypsum based pigment that's not available commercially yet, but most pastry artist will know what 'luster dust' means). Next time i'll try to get a good pic before I eat them all - they're really very visually striking.
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Post by krzysiastevens on Feb 28, 2006 3:34:33 GMT -5
I am going to try the cocoa butter-in-the-mould technique too. I do buff my moulds with cotton wool but how on earth do you clean them if you don't use water?
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Post by Sebastian on Feb 28, 2006 8:23:46 GMT -5
The cotton ball will remove most of the excess. And if you've got a film of tempered product that remains behind, that's not a bad thing
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Post by Brad on Mar 2, 2006 6:47:15 GMT -5
You can also try a one inch wide natural bristle paint brush, or barbeque basting brush. I use the latter of the two because I'm a closet redneck and have several close at hand. I've really gummed up some molds with untempered chocolate, and while running them through some hot water, I lightly brush the melted chocolate out of the little grooves and corners. The soft bristles don't scratch the plastic (I've got some pretty cheap molds), and because I don't use soap, there is always a thin film of cocoa butter left in the molds. Super easy!
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Post by Brad on Mar 2, 2006 6:53:35 GMT -5
Another tip:
Here in Canada we have a large craft store chain called Michael's. In it they have a cake decorating/candy making section. In this section I found a 500 ml funnel with a thumb controlled plunger/stopper at the bottom, specifically designed for home chocolate/candy molding. It works Great! They also have different cheap molds, chocolate boxes, wrappers, candy bar boxes, and all kinds of great things for wrapping and enhancing the end look of your product. In fact, last time I was there, I even saw some dyes for doing different color chocolate.
I'm sure most larger cities have cake decorating stores, or craft stores like this. I'll bet they will have many of the same items. The funnel was the best though - much easier (and fewer refills) than a soup ladel or a syringe.
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