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Post by renegademax on Dec 5, 2021 12:10:11 GMT -5
Thanks for taking a gander at my desperate post. I use organic chocolate liquor and a small amount of organic coconut butter. At the end of tempering, I add a small amount of organic coconut sugar. I then dip my oatmeal based bars that do contain water, nut butter and maple syrup, plus I freeze them prior to dipping. Now, the temper works great. Hard snap at room temp and the coating is thick. Very tasty. I keep my bars in a wine fridge set to 65º. After a few days, a long crack appears on the chocolate, usually running the length of the bar. This morning, I had to throw away 15 bars because mold had grown on the inside of the bar. I'm aware that mold will not grow if the chocolate remains uncracked, keeping the interior preserved because no air can get to it. So how the bloody 'ell do I stop me chocolate from cracking? Any help is very, very appreciated and your reward will be massive karma points...or something. Max.
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Post by Ben on Dec 5, 2021 15:00:39 GMT -5
I believe that if you're adding coconut oil to the chocolate, you've now made a compound chocolate which doesn't really need tempering.
Since you're freezing the bars, it could be that as the bars warm up, they expand causing the cracking. I would try it without freezing them first.
I'd still be careful about mold. If there's a way to make the bars without the water, I'd try that.
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Post by renegademax on Dec 5, 2021 16:17:21 GMT -5
I believe that if you're adding coconut oil to the chocolate, you've now made a compound chocolate which doesn't really need tempering. Since you're freezing the bars, it could be that as the bars warm up, they expand causing the cracking. I would try it without freezing them first. I'd still be careful about mold. If there's a way to make the bars without the water, I'd try that. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Coconut butter was in error, apologies; cocoa butter. I'll give it a shot without freezing but water is part of the recipe. If I increase the nut butter, the cost increases plus I would have to completely reformulate. The wine fridge I was using produced a lot of water which dripped down from the cooling tubes on the ceiling of said fridge, and the temp fluctuated between 62-67º. Is it possible the excess moisture contributed? I do have dehydrator crystals and the unit still shows it doesn't need draining yet. In any event, appreciate your time and expertise. Max.
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Post by Ben on Dec 6, 2021 10:50:13 GMT -5
Ok. I guess I'd say that if they develop mold, you'll probably need to reformulate. I wouldn't rely on the idea that a solid chocolate layer will protect from mold. I would suggest trying to figure out your aw level (water activity) to determine if your formulation is shelf stable or not. In ganaches, the aw is often controlled through use of glucose syrup, etc. Why are you storing them in a wine fridge? Are they not stable at room temp? If you have condensation forming on the walls, that's a very humid environment. Humidity is not good for chocolate, but is really good for mold.
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