Post by jaacobrs on May 4, 2020 8:51:49 GMT -5
Good afternoon all from the UK!
I have gotten into making chocolates over the last year, and plan to start a small local business making decorative chocolate bars by means of melting down chocolate, adding flavourings and toppings etc and moulding. I have learnt how complex making chocolate can be, and one of the main things I'm trying to get right is tempering.
I have done lots of research into tempering, and have been made aware of various different ways to temper, including the granite worktop, seeding, and others. My aim is to find the easiest way to temper a large amount of chocolate at once (5KG), I have assumed the seeding method would be the easiest way, but i'd love to hear a better method if possible. My method is as follows:
I melt about 70% of the chocolate to 45*c for a full crystal melt, and add the remainder (which has been grated to be very fine) to seed and temper it. Im using a stand mixer on medium speed to mix the chocolate whilst adding the seed to make my job easier. The chocolate ends up at about 31*c with this method, and i have sometimes had to use a heat gun to give the chocolate a bit of help melting and to bring its temp up to 31. What i have found is something that contradicts my own understanding of chocolate tempering, the result is very thick and difficult to work with, it makes moulding very difficult and the chocolate doesnt set flat in the mould so ends up being wonky, however when i temper using a granite worktop, and bring the temperature down to 31*c, the viscosity is much easier to work with, despite being the same temperature??
I had assumed the viscosity of the chocolate depends on 2 factors, the amount of fat in the chocolate, and the temperature of the chocolate, i,e, when the chocolate is 45*c its very fluid but when its tempered its slightly thicker, but what i'm finding is that using the same chocolate, but tempering different methods, the fluidity is very different.
I'm hoping somebody can educate me, there's clearly a gap in my understanding, about tempering. Plus if anybody has any recommendations on easy ways to work with large quantities of chocolate, (melting, tempering, and moulding) that would be very much appreciated.
Peace and love!
I have gotten into making chocolates over the last year, and plan to start a small local business making decorative chocolate bars by means of melting down chocolate, adding flavourings and toppings etc and moulding. I have learnt how complex making chocolate can be, and one of the main things I'm trying to get right is tempering.
I have done lots of research into tempering, and have been made aware of various different ways to temper, including the granite worktop, seeding, and others. My aim is to find the easiest way to temper a large amount of chocolate at once (5KG), I have assumed the seeding method would be the easiest way, but i'd love to hear a better method if possible. My method is as follows:
I melt about 70% of the chocolate to 45*c for a full crystal melt, and add the remainder (which has been grated to be very fine) to seed and temper it. Im using a stand mixer on medium speed to mix the chocolate whilst adding the seed to make my job easier. The chocolate ends up at about 31*c with this method, and i have sometimes had to use a heat gun to give the chocolate a bit of help melting and to bring its temp up to 31. What i have found is something that contradicts my own understanding of chocolate tempering, the result is very thick and difficult to work with, it makes moulding very difficult and the chocolate doesnt set flat in the mould so ends up being wonky, however when i temper using a granite worktop, and bring the temperature down to 31*c, the viscosity is much easier to work with, despite being the same temperature??
I had assumed the viscosity of the chocolate depends on 2 factors, the amount of fat in the chocolate, and the temperature of the chocolate, i,e, when the chocolate is 45*c its very fluid but when its tempered its slightly thicker, but what i'm finding is that using the same chocolate, but tempering different methods, the fluidity is very different.
I'm hoping somebody can educate me, there's clearly a gap in my understanding, about tempering. Plus if anybody has any recommendations on easy ways to work with large quantities of chocolate, (melting, tempering, and moulding) that would be very much appreciated.
Peace and love!