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Post by chocomania on Apr 3, 2006 10:34:15 GMT -5
here is a confusing process that i'd like to address. note my statement may sound nonsense but bear with me. some chocolatiers use refiners (3 roll or 5 roll refiners) and then move to conching machines or a conching machine that does refining as well. some though use melangeurs to grind and move to refining/ conching machine. so you see there are 3 possible situations: 1. refining ->refining/conching 2. refining -> conching 3. grinding (melangeur) -> refining/ conching what are the advantages and disadvantages? which one is likely the best?
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Post by Samantha Madell on Apr 4, 2006 8:34:40 GMT -5
There are three processes that have to be performed, regardless of the method/s you employ. They are:
grind / refine / conche
The modern combined refiner/conches usually grind as well. Hence, I would suggest that the different scenarios are actually:
1. combined grind/refine/conche using one machine (for example, a UNIVERSAL, or a Macintyre). Or 2. separate grinding, refining, and conching.
The big advantage of using a single machine is that you basically pour the raw ingredients in, and press a button. It's simple to use, it takes up a relatively small amount of space, and it saves you from having to perform a number of processes (such as getting the material from one machine to another). Depending on the type of machine, and the quality of its maintenance, metal contamination can be a problem.
The advantages of using separate machines are that they can be much cheaper (and you can buy lovely second-hand melangeurs, refiners, and conches). A roll refiner will give you a more consistent particle size. You have more control over each of the processes. And the machines have heaps of character, and a lot more sensory appeal for customers, if you're planning to offer tours of your factory.
Sam
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Post by mightysparrow on Jun 3, 2006 22:12:42 GMT -5
Yo Sam You sound pretty knwoledgable: a Universal or a macintyre??!! Okay I'm looking for something to replace my beloved Champion, especially for initial grinding. We will soon be doing 20Lbs/week of nibs. Maybe more soon. But far from the Big Time. I've been looking around for small food-grade hammermills but would love to have any suggestions for something more suitable.
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Post by Alan on Jun 3, 2006 22:36:08 GMT -5
Yo Sam You sound pretty knwoledgable: a Universal or a macintyre??!! Okay I'm looking for something to replace my beloved Champion, especially for initial grinding. We will soon be doing 20Lbs/week of nibs. Maybe more soon. But far from the Big Time. I've been looking around for small food-grade hammermills but would love to have any suggestions for something more suitable. When you are ready to upgrade to something larger than the Champion you might want to look into something like this: www.pleasanthillgrain.com/cs_bell_gristmill_grinder.aspThey have mills that can grind wet and/or oily seeds unlike many grinders. I'm sure there are more out there too.
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Post by sharkman on Aug 15, 2009 3:03:05 GMT -5
Aloha folks. Decided to add a little info on the chocolate I made this week. Had some nibs that had been sitting around[ for a couple of months[ possible too long. Had trouble cracking the bigger pieces so ended up doing by hand with gloves on. They seemed to be too dry to put through my peanut butter machine. {machine got hot and nibs wouldn't pas from the heads thru the cover.. I ran my old Santha 10{ with new Japanese sealed bearings;removed Korean ones] and slowly added nibs 1\4 cup at a time until I incorporated 4.5 lbs. Took about 45 minutes. Would add slowly so as not to stall rollers. I usually let Santha run for @96 hours anyway;so I was not in a hurry. After 10 hrs I added 1 chopped up vanilla bean{from the farm] and added 1.6lbs sugar about 4hours later. Have no clue if that is too much vanilla or not. Anyone have any recommendations? Anyway it was nice too see the machine incorporate the nibs. I teach a chocolate class and the folks pay me to teach them how to harvest them and crack them. Show them the steps fro fermentation to tempering. Love to see the folks enjoy learning something new. Want to thank all of you for sharing with me what you have learned. All in all, a good time;except for the cracking and winnowing. Ever get to Hilo look me up. Aloha Sharkman
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