mwj
Neophyte
Posts: 5
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Post by mwj on Feb 24, 2022 4:33:48 GMT -5
Hi, i am trying to teach myself how to make moulded chocolates and am having trouble with the chocolate blooming. I am tempering the chocolate using the seeding method and testing if it is tempered before moulding the shells. If i leave them on my kitchen counter they are perfect. If i put the shells in my wine cooler they bloom. I thought the wine cooler was the best place for setting and storing chocolate? It is set to 18c. Not sure what the humidity is but it cant be high because its only 35% in my house anyways during this time of the year. The bloom doesnt feel gritty so i think its fat bloom. But im at a loss and feel like just giving up on this whole project. Thinking of sacking off the wine cooler. Leave all my chocolate in a separate kitchen cupboard and freeze anything that needs storing for more than a week or two. Obviously this means i can only make chocolate while the temperature in the house is less than 20ish degrees and humidity under 50%. Any advice much appreciated!!!
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Post by Ben on Feb 24, 2022 12:37:46 GMT -5
Hello! A couple questions:
Can you post a picture showing the bloomed and non-bloomed chocolates?
Can you give us more info about your tempering, molding, and cooling processes? The more detail, the better.
Have you split a batch and put every other mold in the wine cooler to do a full test? Same results?
Have you confirmed with a thermometer that the cooler is actually at 18c?
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Post by merlinox on Nov 1, 2022 15:24:12 GMT -5
Hello,
Wine coolers don't work to temper chocolate. I have spent ~3months to find that out. It just does not work.
My steps were:
- Temper - Pour - Put in the wine cooler at 11°C - Come back 3hrs later and curse at the whole world because everything wasn't tempered correctly.
After months of observation, I figured out that the wine cooler doesn't go cold enough, fast enough. Effectively, when you put 3kg chocolate in the cooler, the temperature will rise to ~26°C and then slowly go down again.
You can solve the problem by using a freezer. I put my tablets (24, so 2.4kg) in a freezer that is at -19°C and 30 minutes later they're perfect. Beware, don't let them in there too long or they will form condensation when back to room temp.
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Post by Ben on Nov 2, 2022 9:08:45 GMT -5
I've heard of people using wine coolers to cool tempered chocolate, so it may just be that the model you're using isn't up to the task.
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Post by kohsamuichocolatier on Nov 15, 2022 22:47:10 GMT -5
I'm also interested in this topic. I live in the hot and humid tropics. I can cool and dehumidify a small room to allow just tempered chocolate to set, but I would rather not run my A/C if I could use a wine cooler instead (that way, I would save on electricity costs and be more comfortable, too). Similarly, running my A/C 24/7 just to keep my chocolate in the proper state is not an option.
Does anyone on this forum use a wine cooler to let tempered chocolate set, or to keep chocolate? Thanks!
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Post by macpowell on Jan 26, 2023 22:11:20 GMT -5
when it is set you are done, store it wrapped anywhere . when you pull it out of freezer or fridge it will sweat ,,the challenge then is to keep it dry by sealing quick then it will sweat on the outside of packing like aluminum foil or plastic.If you dont know the humidity you are in trouble. I am currently building a melanger here in Thailand from scratch , I will start a forum page if people are interested. I am real expert did this in Panama for 10 years. We make wine with it here .
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