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Post by run222 on Apr 14, 2010 12:01:48 GMT -5
All,
At what temperature do you allow your tempered chocolate to cool after molding? Do you let it sit at room temperaure or in a refrigerator? I have been reading the discussion boards and it seems people do both. Also, if cooling in a refrigerator, do you recommend pre-cooling the molds in the refrigerator for 10-15 mins prior to molding? And do you let it sit in the refirgerator for 12-24 hours, or can I let it cool for an hour or so, then take it out and let it sit at room temperature for some time before de-molding. I have been letting my freshly molded chocolate cool in an oven (turned off, of course) at room temperature (I guess around 20-25 deg. C) and I have been getting mixed results. Maybe there is not enough ventiliation/air flow in the closed oven? If I let it cool at room temperature, would I be better off just letting it sit on a counter?
Thanks, Adam
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Post by cheebs on Apr 14, 2010 12:44:07 GMT -5
Definitely the closed oven will cause problems. You need air circulation around your molds when cooling. I personally have used cooling systems both when working from home and at my shop. At home I used a converted wine cooler set to 12C (~55F) and now at my shop I use a Hilliard's cooling cabinet, which uses cool air (from an AC unit) and a supplementary blower to ensure proper circulation. The Hilliard's operates at 10C (50F). Most molded pieces are ready to de-mold in half an hour.
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Post by run222 on Apr 16, 2010 13:29:49 GMT -5
thank you, I figured the lack of circulation may be an issue; when I opened the oven door the next morning I was overwhelmed with the smell of chocolate. Not a bad smell of course but an indication that the air circulation was poor. Also, I was molding bigger bars (4 oz. bars) than usual and I wonder if heat transfer/cooling is more of an issue with the larger bars because of the greater mass of chocolate.
This weekend I will try 3 cooling conditions: i) cooling in the fridge ii) cooling besides my wall unit air conditioner and iii) cooling on my kitchen table with a fan running and see which gives the best results.
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Post by Brad on Apr 17, 2010 1:54:17 GMT -5
Run222;
Just remember that when cooling in the fridge to leave the chocolate in there only as long as it takes to crystalize. If you leave it in over night, or for several hours, you'll get condensation on it, and sugar bloom, resulting in a ruined final product.
Try to get your room temperature around 65 degrees F if you are going to be cooling it at room temp.
Cheers.
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Post by run222 on Apr 19, 2010 9:04:26 GMT -5
Wow, what a difference! I molded a new batch yesterday into 2 oz. bars. I hand-tempered using the marble-slab technique. I took the chocolate (80% dark using Don Homero beans from Ecuador) fresh out of my Ultra into a metal pot, the temp was 46.5 deg. C. I cooled and stirred to 35 deg. C, then poured about 50% onto the marble slab and worked it to get my seed chocolate (mush) and transferred most but not all back to the rest of the chocolate. When I stirred in the seed chocolate, the temperature dropped to 31 deg. C. I got kinda of worried, because it was already quite thick and there was still quite a bit of seed chocolate left on the slab. I decided to not worry about the seed chocolate (I scrapped it off later and will use it in the future) and poured the chocolate into the molds. 15 mins cooling at room temperature, then 20 mins in the fridge, then another 15 mins at room temperature and they turned out beautiful! Nice shiny black, absolutely no swirls, just lovely! Its amazing how easily the bars just popped out of the molds. I just wish I had more chocolate to mold; next time I will pour out less chocolate onto the marble slab and maybe do it at 36-37 deg. C so I have more time to transfer all the seed chocolate back into the pot for molding.
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Post by Brad on Apr 19, 2010 12:23:55 GMT -5
36-37 seems pretty high.....
31-32 is the ideal working temperature for your chocolate once it's properly crystalized.
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Post by run222 on Apr 19, 2010 15:30:14 GMT -5
Sorry, I meant I would remove 33-50% of the chocolate at 36-37 deg. C then work it on the marble slab and slowly add it back in. By the time I add it back in, hopefully the chocolate in the pot will be around 32-33. When I did it yesterday, as I was adding the seed chocolate back in, the temperature was already around 31 and it was hard for all the seed chocolate to melt, and I had to leave quite a bit on the marble slab. As well, I had to stir pretty hard to get a homogenous mixture and it was quite thick already. Thats why I was a little surprised it turned out so well, but maybe its supposed to be that thick and a little difficult to mold.
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Post by Brad on Apr 19, 2010 16:05:05 GMT -5
That sounds better. Just keep in mind that if your chocolate is thick, you can raise the temperature up a degree or two to thin it out. Just keep in mind some very crucial points when working with chocolate by hand: 1. You can't hurry it. Ever. Period. End of Story. 2. Stir, Stir, Stir. 3. When you think you've stirred enough, stir some more.
I'm sure that if you kept your working temperature to around 32-33, it will be less viscous and easier to mold. Just keep in mind that you need a LOT of good crystalization (well tempered chocolate) for warmer working temperatures.
Post some photos of your work! We always love to see what people are working so hard to create!
Cheers. Happy Chocolate making! Brad
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Post by cocoa on Apr 30, 2010 2:08:48 GMT -5
Loves chocolates but don't know how to bake it...LOL
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