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Post by Howard on Jun 8, 2006 13:41:53 GMT -5
So my 46% Jamaican Polish Milk chocolate had all the makings of truly stellar chocolate - lovely color, aroma, taste, and finish. I tried to temper using the Santha - heat to 120, pour off about 1/3, leave it alone to cool and firm up then add back to the Santha (now at about 100 deg). Final temp 89 deg. Mold and wait. No temper. Had to refrigerate everything the next day to get it out of the molds, at room temp it's delicious fudge, no milk chocolate *snap* . Can I have over-refined? I let it go 36 hours at about 95 deg and 24 hours at 120 deg. It's very very smooth. Is there something different about milk chocolate tempering compared to dark chocolate? I remelted all of the chocolate and have retried to temper it. I have only one sheet molded. If it works, I'll do the whole batch. If not - FONDUE!! Howard
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Post by Alan on Jun 8, 2006 17:17:37 GMT -5
No, you haven't over-refined. Also, as long as you haven't put in way too much milk fat, then you should be able to temper just fine. If you've failed once then try again and again. Personally, I haven't yet been able to verify the Santha method of tempering though, so I can't advise you on that point. I think that a few others might use it though, so maybe one of them will comment. Also, remember that when tempering milk chocolate your final temperature can't be as high as with dark. I think that you need to be in the 85-86 F range, though don't quote me on that.
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Post by Howard on Jun 8, 2006 23:54:08 GMT -5
No, you haven't over-refined. Also, as long as you haven't put in way too much milk fat, then you should be able to temper just fine. If you've failed once then try again and again. Personally, I haven't yet been able to verify the Santha method of tempering though, so I can't advise you on that point. I think that a few others might use it though, so maybe one of them will comment. Also, remember that when tempering milk chocolate your final temperature can't be as high as with dark. I think that you need to be in the 85-86 F range, though don't quote me on that. I used 20% whole milk powder, is that too much? The first attempt at tempering was with the Santha, the second was with a water bath, neither worked but I used 90deg as the molding temp. Also, I noticed that even at room temperature, the aliquot I used as the "seed" took a long time to thicken before I put it back into main batch. It was probably at room temperature before it thickened, does that matter? Finally, how do I achieve a final temperature of 85-86 (I did calibrate my thermometer by the way)? Just add the seed to the main batch and let it cool to 85-86 before molding? Howard
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Post by Alan on Jun 9, 2006 7:32:56 GMT -5
I used 20% whole milk powder, is that too much? The first attempt at tempering was with the Santha, the second was with a water bath, neither worked but I used 90deg as the molding temp. Also, I noticed that even at room temperature, the aliquot I used as the "seed" took a long time to thicken before I put it back into main batch. It was probably at room temperature before it thickened, does that matter? Finally, how do I achieve a final temperature of 85-86 (I did calibrate my thermometer by the way)? Just add the seed to the main batch and let it cool to 85-86 before molding? Howard Keeping in mind the fact that I've only once made milk chocolate, and am not a milk chocolate expert, I don't think that 20% whole milk powder would give you too much milk fat. Regarding the temperature, you have to take it high (120-140 F) then, using your method, you pull some chocolate (1/3 of it maybe) and let it cool until it is clay-like while the chocolate in the Santha or bowl is cooling down to 100 F or so (many people work this small amount of chocolate on marble slabs until it is clay-like and then add it to the 100 F chocolate), and then add the hardened chocolate to the rest and stir until it is all incorporated. If the temperature of the chocolate is 85-86 (for milk) at this point, then you're done...mold it. However, if the temperature of the chocolate is above this (such as your 90) then it won't be in temper. The question of how to lower the temperature is easily solved. Remove a bit more chocolate from your bowl, cool it (like on marble, or by stirring it in another bowl until it is clay-like, and then add it to the rest of the chocolate (just like the first time). Stir well, and then check the temp. If it is 85 or 86-ish, then good, if it is too high, then repeat. If it is too low, it'll get too thick to mold with, and then you can heat it for just a second or two at a time in the microwave and re-stir well until you hit that good temp. range; then mold. The main idea is to take chocolate with no crystals and to form crystals at a lower temperature with a small amount and then to melt those into your warm chocolate. This cools down the large mass, and warms up the small mass until the largest proportion of crystals are the type you want (i.e., most of the others have been remelted). If the final product is too hot though, you'll melt all those crystals (good and bad), and with milk chocolate the milk-fat impacts this temp., so that is why 90 F is too high for milk whereas for dark it is not. Hope that helps.
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Post by Howard on Jun 9, 2006 9:52:39 GMT -5
post=1149856376] Regarding the temperature, you have to take it high (120-140 F) then, using your method, you pull some chocolate (1/3 of it maybe) and let it cool until it is clay-like while the chocolate in the Santha or bowl is cooling down to 100 F or so (many people work this small amount of chocolate on marble slabs until it is clay-like and then add it to the 100 F chocolate), and then add the hardened chocolate to the rest and stir until it is all incorporated. If the temperature of the chocolate is 85-86 (for milk) at this point, then you're done...mold it. However, if the temperature of the chocolate is above this (such as your 90) then it won't be in temper. The question of how to lower the temperature is easily solved. Remove a bit more chocolate from your bowl, cool it (like on marble, or by stirring it in another bowl until it is clay-like, and then add it to the rest of the chocolate (just like the first time). Stir well, and then check the temp. If it is 85 or 86-ish, then good, if it is too high, then repeat. If it is too low, it'll get too thick to mold with, and then you can heat it for just a second or two at a time in the microwave and re-stir well until you hit that good temp. range; then mold. Hope that helps. That is EXACTLY the kind of information I was looking for. Thank you so much. I'll try it again tomorrow. Howard
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Post by Alan on Jun 9, 2006 13:26:46 GMT -5
That is EXACTLY the kind of information I was looking for. Thank you so much. I'll try it again tomorrow. Howard Good, let us know how it turns out.
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Post by Brad on Jun 9, 2006 22:50:32 GMT -5
ONE ADDITION TO CHOCO-LUVAH:
Please keep in mind that the marble slab at the bottom of the Santha Bowl will retain a significant amount of heat, for a significant amount of time. Make sure the chocolate in the Santha is below 90 degrees before you add the seed, and you should be fine.
Brad.
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