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Post by nerdflanders on Jun 7, 2022 4:49:37 GMT -5
I make home made chocolate bars, Well, actually I get melting chocolate and store bought bars and melt them down, pour them into a mold and put it in the freezer.
when I pul them out of the freezer it has a shine to it and it breaks away regularly, but it starts to melt in my hands. When I melt the chocolate I add coconut oil to it to make it more runny. Am I adding too much coconut oil?
What gives? why does it melt in my hands?
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Post by Ben on Jun 7, 2022 7:44:55 GMT -5
Hello. Adding coconut oil to chocolate makes it a compound chocolate. It will always be more melty than pure chocolate. My recommendation would be to not add any coconut oil at all. If it needs to be runnier, you can add cocoa butter. A couple notes:
This will require the chocolate to be tempered. There are instructions for various tempering processes on the Chocolate Alchemy website and in the Finishing Techniques forum. I think the two bowl method is a good one for home chocolate makers (search for Brad's video in that forum on this technique).
If you're buying 'melting chocolate' it may already be a compound chocolate. You can know for sure by checking the ingredients. If there's an oil other than cocoa butter, it's a compound chocolate.
I'd also recommend against putting them in the freezer. If properly tempered, you can pop them in the fridge for 15-20 minutes or so and they should set properly.
Hope this helps!
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Post by nerdflanders on Jun 7, 2022 9:00:02 GMT -5
Thanks for your reply. The melting chocolate I have is Cadbury's chocolate buttons, it has only cocoa butter in it. So If I melted that down and poured it into my mold, set it in the fridge, it should be fine?
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Post by nerdflanders on Jun 7, 2022 9:06:26 GMT -5
What I would like to know, is there a sure-fire way to make sure there are no problems with melting and making your own block that doesn't melt in your hand?
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Post by Ben on Jun 7, 2022 11:04:27 GMT -5
For pure chocolate (as opposed to compound chocolate), you'll need to temper it before molding to ensure it crystallizes correctly. You won't be able to just melt and pour.
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Post by nerdflanders on Jun 7, 2022 16:35:00 GMT -5
umm I m confused, first you said compound chocolate needs to be tempered, then in your last post you said pure chocolate needs to be tempered.??
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Post by Brad on Jun 8, 2022 1:19:43 GMT -5
nerdflanders, think of chocolate as a suspension of tiny particles of "stuff" in fat. The fat melts around 90 degrees F. Below 90 degrees, microscopic crystals begin to form which cause it to solidify. Different temperatures cause different crystals to form, which can give chocolate a nice shiny look, and also a grey, dusty, moldy look. There is only one type of crystal that causes chocolate to have that nice shiny "snap" at room temperature, and while you can fool people by putting it in the fridge, once you bring it back to room temperature, if the right crystal hasn't formed during cooling, it's going to be melty, bendy, stick to molds, and eventually look pretty ugly. If you add other types of fat to your chocolate (butter/ghee, coconut oil, etc) those fats interfere with the formation of those nice stable crystals. A little bit is no big deal. However the more you add (more than 5% by weight), it will eventually be impossible to create the stable snappy crystals. So..... Depending on what you're planning on doing with your chocolate, it doesn't necessarily need to be tempered (ganaches, icings, glazes, brownies etc). If you are simply melting down chocolate and reshaping it in different molds, then you will definitely need to temper your chocolate, and that's a topic which is well covered here, and far exceeds what this little box can hold. Adding more fat of ANY type is no substitution to learning tempering. Welcome to the pleasure of the most fickle confection in the world! The only advice I can give you is this: Working with chocolate is a non-negotiable relationship. IT makes the rules, and cannot be hurried. Hope that helps. Brad www.Choklat.comwww.Phat420.ca
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Post by Ben on Jun 8, 2022 14:10:55 GMT -5
In my first comment, I was suggesting to make pure chocolate (without coconut oil) instead of compound chocolate. The pure chocolate would then require tempering.
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Post by nerdflanders on Jun 16, 2022 5:18:12 GMT -5
Spank you for your replies. I have a question. when I cool the chocolate after pouring it into a mold, should I put it in the fridge or let it cool at room temperature? Does cooling it in the fridge interfere with the delicate process? I know you said not to use the freezer. if I let it cool at room temperature, how long do I leave it for?
Also, can I use a IR thermometer or do I have to use a glass one? I see there is a spatula with a thermometer built in.!
Is there any way to make the chocolate release from the mold easier? I am using an ABS plastic mold. does the tempered chocolate shrink?
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