|
Post by darrend on Dec 25, 2020 4:28:08 GMT -5
Hi
Do you believe a small egg incubator would work for making cocoa butter silk? The sous vide is quite expensive here and an incubator quite cheap. Thanks
|
|
Jim B.
Novice
Newbie
Posts: 118
|
Post by Jim B. on Dec 25, 2020 9:17:00 GMT -5
The trick is holding the correct temperature within a tight tolerance for the required amount of time - about 24 hours. I tried using a temperature controller and crock pot, but the lag between the controller turning on/off caused temperature over-(or under)-runs which left me with "silk" that was not suitable to use for the tempering process. The sous vide worked great. I suspect that you can use any well-tempered chocolate as you would silk, since it is "seeding" your batch with the correct crystal formation. However, you lose the purity of the beans/flavor you are trying to achieve. Hand tempering is another choice, and while a little tricky it isn't overly complex. (And if you mess it up you can just reheat it and try again with the same batch!) There is a great video by Brad Churchill from "Chokolat" in Canada that demonstrates the process really well.
Good luck! Jim B.
|
|
|
Post by Chip on Dec 25, 2020 10:13:42 GMT -5
darrend, I doubt an incubator will work. I think jim B. hit it: get a bar of good grade chocolate and use a hand-held shredder to shred it. You don't need a lot of seed chocolate to temper a batch. The two bowl method is also quite effective.
|
|
|
Post by darrend on Dec 26, 2020 2:58:56 GMT -5
Thanks Jim & Chip I think you're right. Looking at some of the chick hatching forums it seems they have a lot of trouble with temperature fluctuation. Will bite the bullet and get a sous vide I think. I didnt know any regular chocolate from the store could be used as seed, but it makes sense. Would like to keep it as much my own creation however so I will probably go the cocoa butter route. Cheers
|
|
|
Post by Chip on Dec 26, 2020 10:13:07 GMT -5
darrend, Where are you located? Would it be cheaper for one of us to buy one here and ship it to you?
|
|
|
Post by darrend on Dec 26, 2020 22:46:09 GMT -5
Appreciate that Chip. Im all the way in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Actually the price difference isnt much compared to US or Canada, I just like to be thrifty where I can.
|
|
|
Post by Chip on Dec 28, 2020 12:16:39 GMT -5
@darrened, I have one of the cheapest sous vide's I could find on Amazon. It works great. You just need at least 2 backup thermometers to place in the water to test/keep accuracy. The whole process can't be more than +- 1 degree.
|
|
|
Post by Sebastian on Jan 6, 2021 7:06:20 GMT -5
Where in sulawesi might you be? I spent years there - built a factory in makassar, and a few fermentaries up in paloppo, noling, lara, and the poso regions. what a great place!
|
|
|
Post by darrend on May 31, 2021 11:59:05 GMT -5
Sorry Sebastian, I didnt see your question until just now. I am in Gowa on the outskirts of Makassar. I just got back from an epic motorbike ride from Makassar to Mandar-Mamuju-Palu-Poso-Masamba and back, all in search of decent fermented beans. Am currently getting beans from Polman and Poso. Would love to know if you still have contacts here for decent beans as I spent much of my time riding around in circles lost in the jungles without much luck.
|
|