Forum Activity for @Lee2

Ah ha, well caught! The cinnamon was air dried at ~70C for 24 hours while in a rough powder form. so I'm thinking it will be very low H2O by now.

Thanks for raising that point!

I agree that microbes from the cinnamon will not grow within the chocolate due to its low water activity. But since the cinnamon comes in form of inclusions, it's maybe more relevant what water activity the cinnamon has. If it is in dried form (like cinnamon mostly is when we use it as spices), everything should be fine.
I would only worry about C. Botulinum when using inclusions of high water activity.

Thanks to both of you! I greatly value your scientific perspective.

It's surprising indeed! I'm not surprised about the water activity, however. So it looks like between lack of water and presence of oxygen, I'm ok in terms of botulism. On to steaming...

Thanks Sebastian!

C. Botulinum - the organism responsible for the botulinum toxin - requires a VERY high water activity - well over 0.7 (many say as high as 0.95). Chocolate has a water activity somewhere in the 0.1-0.25 range. There's not nearly sufficient water activity for any organism to vegetate, i'm afraid. C Botulinum is an anaerobic spore former, and spores of course will remain viable for very long periods of time, but the toxin is only produced when the organism is in it's vegetative (i.e. growing and reproducing state). It doesn't matter how much oxygen can penetrate the chocolate if there's insufficient water for the organism to grow. It's a bit like saying humans require oxygen to live - which is true - but if there's no water in your environment, it similarly doesn't matter how much oxygen is present...

I know this as i've led global chocolate research for decades. The high oxygen permittivity of chocolate surprises most people.

In terms of botulism, whether chocolate contains / is a barrier for oxygen is critical in my view. Botulism only becomes a health hazard when the related bacteria find themselves in an anaerobic, low-acid environment. So if the interior of a piece of dark chocolate is low oxygen and no new oxygen can get it, the bacteria can quickly use up the available oxygen and begin producing botulinum toxin.

However you are saying chocolate is not a barrier for oxygen. How do you know this? I'm not doubting you here, just curious to know where I might find more detailed information.

As to other bacteria, of course there are always concerns, although it's my understanding as well that chocolate is by and large an inhospitable environment for most things, hence the 2-year shelf life. Again, could be mistaken! Your mention of steam sterilization is very useful though, thanks. I'll look into that further.

Hi Lee - i've only seen cinnamon come from tree bark - not roots - so that's interesting. Anytime you're working with a raw agricultural product, but it from above the ground or below, there's a risk of unsavory microbiological elements. Bacteria will not grow in chocolate, but may remain viable, and yes, chocolate is a terrible oxygen barrier, but that's not really important for this. Usually cinnamon is steam sterilized prior to use to ensure a low(er) micro count, but even then spices are notoriously high in micro load. If i was making it for personal use and consumption i'd be less concerned about it, if i was making for my business and others to consume, i'd pay far more attention to it.

Sorry for the nasty title. I'm currently making a chocolate with a cinnamon inclusion. The cinnamon is from a local source, and I've cleaned and processed it myself. This species of cinnamon actually grows as a root, however, so there's probably no way of getting 100% of whatever was on it underground off. And it is basically raw.

I know things like garlic cannot be stored in oil due to concerns about botulism. Chocolate is largely oil (40%+ cocoa butter?), so I'm wondering if there's any concern here. How much oxygen is in chocolate? Is the pH low enough to prevent production of the toxin?

Haven't seen any info online, and only see one other post on TCL which admittedly says chocolate allows oxygen to "pass through" whatever that means lol

Anyway, jokes aside, botulism isn't funny, so if anyone knows something I'd love to hear it!

Thanks

Lee

Are you certain it's bloom? I've seen moulds - when clean - have soap or mineral residue left behind on them that's invisible to the naked eye - but the chocolate pulls it off the mould and leaves surface discoloration. Could be a potential.

Hey Milford,

I too use Tomric molds and have issues with pull off marks.

Do you mind sharing your "setting" process?

We use a True refrigerator with a chocolate/wine thermostat (55-60F) to set the chocolate.

Thank you for those resources. I have looked into getting Beckett's book Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use, but have shied away because of the price. I think Ill start with Youtube and The Science of Chocolate and see how far I can get with those.

That is all extremely helpful. Thank you. With my next batch I will definitely experiment with warming the molds and using a fan.

It depends on how deep you want to get into it. There are several articles, youtube videosand such on crystal formation that keep it simple, covering the temperatures you use and a little bit on why. For more depth there are several books, Beckett and Minifie are two good ones. If you're just interested in the fats involved with confections then Talbot is good.

Keep searching on this site, there are several discussions that talk about this. I faced these problems too up until the last week or two!

What I've learned about molding is:

• Crystals give off heat as they grow. Chocolate becomes solid due to crystallization. In a mold, often heat has trouble escaping. That's why people tell you to refrigerate once you see clear signs crystallization has gotten off to a good start. Note that simply putting the full mold in a cold place / the fridge might not be enough for very thick pieces, since it'll just warm up the immediate area it's in. Some recommend putting a fan in your refrigerator :D
• Cocoa butter left on the mold from the first batch of chocolate will stick to the next batch if you don't melt it by heating the mold up before pouring in the second batch. Obviously don't heat it too far above 30C or the chocolate you pour in might go out of temper. I have a dish drier that runs at a constant ~50 degrees or so, so I put the one mold in there while I'm pouring another. I guess putting it under a lamp would also work. You just need enough heat for the cocoa butter to warm up so it can integrate into the next chocolate rather than stick on the surface and look nasty.

Ok - so that's probably not interfering. See how it goes with Mark's heating suggestion and let us know.

Good crystal information in Beckett - The Science of Chocolate - but that might be a little more complex than you want. I think that Greweling covers it pretty well in Chocolates and Confections.

Mark,

Thank you so much for that information. I will definitely try warming the molds first before I fill them.

I would really like to expand my understanding of chocolate crystal formations. Are there any resources your could recommend?

Thanks,

Jessica

I have four sizes between 5mm and 14mm.

You mention that the room conditions are 64-68F. If your moulds are this temperature it can be the problem. When you are in temper, only a small percentage of the cocoa butter is crystallized in the type V crystals (~3%). If you deposit the chocolate in a cool mould you can crystallize some of the fat on the surface in less stable crystal forms. Ideally you want the moulds to be at or just below the temperature of your tempered chocolate. The thin plastic moulds are notorious for this as they do not hold the heat. Polycarbonate or thicker moulds are more insulated from losing their heat but they should still be warm when depositing.

Jessica,

How thick is this bar you are making?

Larry,

Thank you for your insights.I am having problems with the bloom on the top of the chocolate bar that does not touch the mold. The outside edge seems to remain in temper, while everything else seems to come out. When I break the bar apart the inside is whitish and chalky as well, while the outside edge retains its snap.

Kerry,

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually did that with two of the batches and still had the same result as the others.

I don't think you have bloom. I think you have release marks from the thin molds.

There are two kinds of bloom. Sugar Bloom -Humidity on chocolate dissolves some sugar & then the syrup evaporates leaving sugar crystals on top. and Fat Bloom - The chocolate melts, some of the cocoa butter separates and comes to the surface, and leaves you with spots on your chocolate.

What you seem to be describing are white marks (possibly circular) on your chocolate right after you de-mold it. I believe this is from the chocolate pulling on the mold as it contracts and the mold not holding firm. - the result is something like scraping the surface of the chocolate. It just makes a smudge. I can't say this with certainty though as I'm still learning.

We don't do a lot of molding, but I experimented with reinforcing some thin business card style molds with epoxy. - (sand the back of the mold to get a rough surface for the epoxy to adhere to, then pour epoxy on the mold.) The reinforced molds did perform better than the non-reinforced molds, in that the release marks were reduced. However they were not eliminated.

Kerry's idea about putting them in the fridge may do the trick. - It is certainly worth several attempts.

Try popping them in the fridge for about 15 minutes as soon as they start to show signs of crystallizing around the edges.

Every time I use my molds for chocolate bars, they bloom. However, If I dont use the molds and pour the chocolate on parchment paper, the chocolate is perfectly tempered, shiny and has a beautiful snap. As soon as I put the same chocolate into a molds, it blooms in the center on the top of the chocolate while the outside edge looks tempered.

This has now happened three times. the air temp is approx 64-68F, and the humidity has been about 40% with moderate air flow in the kitchen. I am using thin theroformed molds from tomric that are unheated before I pour the chocolate into them.

How can an unheated mold pull chocolate out of temper?

Has anyone experienced this before? I appreciate any advise or tips.

And the INTERNATIONAL CHOCOLATE SALON 2014 Awards for The Best Chocolatiers and Confectioners in America go to:

about 70 companies in three levels ranging from 6-Stars to 3-Stars. Click on the link above to see all the winners in all four categories.

And congratulations to all of the ChocolateLife members who received recognition.

:: Clay

I've uploaded the Tasting Panel's notes for each chocolate as an attachment to this comment.

Last week, at a program held at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City, the Fine Chocolate Industry Association's Heirloom Cacao Preservation (HCP) announced their first four designees .

And the Heirloom Cacao Designees Are ...

** Alto Beni, Bolivia provided by Volker Lehmann of Frontier Ventures Bolivia

** Tranquilidad Estate, Beni, Bolivia provided by Volker Lehmann of Frontier Ventures Bolivia

** Hacienda Limon, Los Rios/Cotopaxi, Ecuador provided by Samuel Von Rutte, ORECAO SA

** Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Maunawili Experiment Station provided by Daniel ODoherty, Cacao Services Agricultural & Scientific Consulting

What is Heirloom Cacao?

[From the FCIA web site:] Heirloom does not mean the beans are present or preserved in collections, old, or wild. Antiquity is welcome but not conditional -- just because a bean is from a tree that has been grown for generations does not mean that it tastes good.

Heirloom cacao are the diamonds of cacao -- cacao trees and beans endowed with a combination of historic, cultural, botanical, geographical, and most importantly, flavor value.

Heirloom beans have terrific overall balance -- complex and intense, long and pleasant -- and unique flavor worthy of preservation, protection, and propagation. While no specific flavor characteristics are required, Heirloom beans must be distinctive in their characteristics and present special/unusual but well-balanced flavors produced through the beans genetics, terroir, and post-harvest processing.

The Process

While the HCP is committed to understanding the genetics of Heirloom cacao, genetics do not drive the process.

Instead, bean samples are submitted for evaluation . At this point they may be rejected for obvious post-harvest processing and other defects (and many, if not most, are, from what I could infer).

Once the beans have passed this initial screening, they are roasted, ground into liquor, and turned into chocolate. There are agreed-upon standards for roasting profiles and chocolate recipe (percentage, ingredients).

The liquor and chocolate are assessed by a professional tasting panel over the course of several tastings spanning days or weeks.

Before the Heirloom designation is awarded, the site where the beans were grown must be visited and inspected .

. kudvic@ya.ru

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10 80 . , . . 21 . http://www.youtube.com/user/Kudvic/videos

Unfortunately, we have not such a wet grinders here, in Georgia. Can anybody advice where is possible to buy one in internet by reasonable price and in good quality?.. Except cocoatown.com and amazon.com

Thanks.

Thanks a lot for information, Clay! That is right i needed, very useful for me!

Have you asked over at the chocolate alchemy forum (aka chocolate talk proboards)? They have a whole thread for Premier Wonder owners.

Hello. We love our Premier Grinders. We do four single origin chocolates in very small batches, so these small machines work very well for us. We also like being able to back off the stones so the chocolate stops grinding but keeps conching. After several hundred hours, the belt got a bit loose so the chocolate was conching but not grinding/refining the particle size down enough. We opened the top, loosened the nuts that hold the motor in place, adjusted the motor so the belt was tight, and tightened the bolts. Problem solved.

We also want to add our thanks to those on this forum who have contributed so much information and advice. We would not be making bean-to-bar chocolate without you.

After your advice and recommendation I am going to go for a premier grinder. From what you and Gap have said the 1.5ltr machine seems to have no problems running for long period of times and has good durability. I was wondering whether or not you have tried/tested the slightly larger premier 2ltr grinder (tilting and no-tilting version)to see whether it is as good as the 1.5ltr one.

I have the same machine and have left it running for 50 hours straight without any fans/modifications. No problems what-so-ever. My machine would have done over 800 hours now without needing new belts or any new parts.

I have the Premier Wonder Grinder which is the non-tilting 1.5 L version.

I've run many test batches in a couple of unmodified Premiers for multiple days with no heat issues. I also haven't heard of anyone having any problems with them overheating.

I'm in the same position as you I'm afraid. No idea! Based on what I've read here on TCL and the user's thread on the chocolate forum at proboards it seems like a winner. Price is right too! Seems to me overheating is not a big deal. Just rig a fan to blow on the motor.