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Post by tedbell on Feb 9, 2022 22:45:42 GMT -5
Hey everyone! I'm running my first batch of nibs tomorrow through my new Chocogrind, and, well, I've already run into math problems. I had no idea this thing had so much capacity, haha! It's big! In my run up to this day, I purchased four 1lb packages of various nibs from Chocolate Alchemy (along with butter and a mold), and my plan is to try and hit that 700g minimum on this machine, which is what they say has been "tested". I'm not comfortable trying anything that hasn't been expressly told to me at this point, so ... 700g it is.
Using the calculator here snapped a few brain cells but I think I got it. Here's my formula:
475g nibs 190g sugar 35g coco butter
That should equate to 700g and about a 73% cacao bar, correct? Is that 5% butter a good place to be at? I know it's subjective, but I'm just looking for a decent product for my first time.
My second question involves the actual melagner. I don't know how I feel about running a machine while I'm sleeping, so I was planning on stopping it after 12 hours, then shoving it in a warm oven to loosen any solid chocolate and then re-starting the machine for another 12. Any issues or concerns with this?
Thank you in advance!
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Post by Ben on Feb 10, 2022 8:37:51 GMT -5
Hello! Your math checks out. It'll end up somewhere between 39 & 43% cocoa butter between the cocoa butter in the nibs and the added cocoa butter which is plenty.
You can warm it back up in a warm oven, but you want to be careful to not go over 160 (I think) as the epoxy holding the bowl together can start to degrade. With that little amount of chocolate, you may be able to refine it all in one day, though.
I'd recommend running a larger batch than the bare minimum. Small batches tend to be messier, you have to tend them more (scraping the walls, stones, etc.), and have more waste as a percentage of the batch.
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Post by tedbell on Feb 10, 2022 11:40:58 GMT -5
Phew, thanks! Yeah you are probably right, but I was trying to run with that romantic idea of single origin chocolate for my initial run. I'm ok with mess. At least, right now.
It's only been 20 min, but so far I think it was too cold in my garage, because the butter and the nibs sort of coalesced into this block of mash at the bottom of the tub. So I had to bring it inside and try to get it warmer.
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Post by Ben on Feb 10, 2022 11:58:41 GMT -5
It helps to pre-warm the bowl, stones, and nibs, and melt the cocoa butter before refining. If it gets too cool, you can warm it up with a hairdryer or heat gun to get things moving again.
Good luck!
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Post by tedbell on Feb 10, 2022 12:02:40 GMT -5
I did melt the butter, but my pre-warming consisted of ten min in the oven at 100f because I got too excited to wait any longer. The friction warmed it up, as well as moving it in the house, and everything is running smoothly. Sugar is in and while it's not liquid yet, it's heading in the right direction. I think.
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Post by tedbell on Feb 12, 2022 12:42:44 GMT -5
First batch came out tasting great! I had a messy bloom, though, and my chocolate set in the molds lin layers. It's very weird, they are flaky. I'm chalking that up to me not making the silk properly, or not letting it sit long enough before molding. My wife took some and made chips with it and those look perfect so ... shrug ...
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Post by joycemarkmark on Feb 12, 2022 20:05:01 GMT -5
As Ben mentioned, I prewarm everything. The bowl and all the ingredients. Absolutely critical for me to get the batch off to a smooth start.
Sounds like you are having a problem with tempering. Luckily you can re-temper to address the bloom. When I started off, I found that the silk method and the silk that John sells works really well and very predictably.
I make my own silk now with a sous vide. Very straightforward. John shares his methods in his ATA series.
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Post by nuage9 on Jul 31, 2023 20:54:58 GMT -5
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but would you recommend the Chocogrind? It’s the only one i can find here in Australia. I would also like to use it to make nut butters, wondering if that’s possible..
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