|
Post by Ben on Nov 29, 2013 9:36:43 GMT -5
Happy to help, lilypa! A couple notes on heat guns: I used one for 2+ years on my Cocoatown ultras with no epoxy problems. Also, I believe John Nanci tried to take a Santha bowl apart at some point using a heat gun to break the epoxy and was either unsuccessful or maybe it eventually worked, but took a lot longer than he expected. The VCMs/food processors I've been looking at are the 3 or 4.5 quart Robot Coupes listed on this page: www.webstaurantstore.com/search/robot-coupe.htmlIt'd be nice to get one that could do a whole 30lbs of nib at once, but then you're getting into the $8500+ range. Also, they're a lot bigger, and require floorspace which I don't really have.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 27, 2013 0:32:23 GMT -5
As gap says, a heat gun gets a lot hotter so can heat things up much quicker.
I wouldn't say that it takes me any longer to refine/conche with adding the nib directly than it used to when I used the peanut butter grinder. It's hard to say for sure, though, as I've never tried pregrinding before loading the spectra 40. My guess is that it takes roughly the same amount of time to grind the nib using the melanger as it did using the peanut butter grinder.
The small VCMs (commercial food processors, really) that I'm looking at are between $800 and $2000.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 26, 2013 10:26:08 GMT -5
Yeah, I use a heat gun for about 10 minutes after adding the first bit of nibs. After that, it usually runs fine without any added heat, although I'll sometimes add too many nibs and need to use the heat gun for a few more minutes. I'd estimate that I'm able to add a full 30 lbs of nib in about 90 minutes or so.
Clay at the Chocolate Life estimated that a large vertical cutter mixer could turn 20 lbs of nib into liquor in about 5 minutes. I'm looking at a smaller one that could probably only do 10 lbs, but if it can process 10 lbs of nib into liquor in 5 minutes, that's only 15 minutes for the full 30 lbs, which would be a huge time saver.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 25, 2013 19:50:50 GMT -5
I just add them slowly over time. Once some of it has become a little liquid it goes a little quicker. But I generally do a little and then come back 10 minutes later or so and add some more. I'd imagine that using the champion to pregrind 30 lbs of nib would take a good while.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 25, 2013 14:41:08 GMT -5
Randy: I've looked at a bunch of different ways to pre-grind, but so far the peanut butter grinder is the least expensive option I've found. There are a few pre-grinders specifically intended for cacao, but they're a lot more expensive. Another option is a vertical cutter mixer, but again, they're a lot more expensive.
I used to use one of the peanut butter grinders, but found that it didn't save me much (if any) time. Now, I just add the nibs directly to the melanger. I've done this using small melangers (spectra-11, cocoatown ecgc-12, premiere wonder grinder) as well as using a spectra-40.
I'm planning to try out a small vertical cutter mixer to see if it can speed the process of loading the melanger. I've heard from another maker that they're using one. I'll probably go with a smaller one that would be able to pregrind about a third of a full batch.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 21, 2013 14:49:29 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 18, 2013 10:04:42 GMT -5
Gap's right--cooling can definitely be a problem. Another thing to try is to put the molds on cooling racks and use a fan to blow air over and under them.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 7, 2013 8:58:53 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 6, 2013 12:14:57 GMT -5
Hard lumps of chocolate? If so, I go back to my earlier question of how have you been trying to remelt it?
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 5, 2013 9:31:19 GMT -5
Sorry, I didn't realize you were talking about sugar crystals. Sugar crystals won't melt when remelting the chocolate. I'm not sure how the sugar would re-crystalize during aging, though. My guess is that they were not fully refined originally.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Nov 3, 2013 10:31:13 GMT -5
In my tests, I've had better results with aging in one big block vs. as tempered bars. I haven't had any problems remelting it, though. How have you tried remelting it?
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Oct 21, 2013 11:28:56 GMT -5
My first guess without having seen the video was that 6oz wasn't enough to generate enough heat. Once it starts bunching up on the rollers, I'd imagine it cools down pretty quickly. Do you have an infrared thermometer to check the temp? When I do test batches of new beans, I try to do at least a pound or two (usually two).
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Oct 19, 2013 16:30:36 GMT -5
Hi Max. Your video is private, so we can't view it.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Oct 16, 2013 18:06:06 GMT -5
It is definitely possible to temper without tabling or using seed. There are a few methods discussed on this forum about it. One of them is called Turbo Tempering, but there are a couple others if I remember correctly. Just look back through this forum and you'll find them.
I used temper in a santha melanger, but I always used seed. I removed one of the wheels and then controlled the temperature using a fan/heater.
|
|
|
Post by Ben on Oct 14, 2013 18:59:59 GMT -5
Additional cocoa butter is not necessary. You can make chocolate using just nibs & sugar. Pre-warming the bowl, stones and nibs will help the process go smoother, and you'll want to feed the nibs in slowly over time to avoid overwhelming the machine.
|
|