Forum Activity for @Dave W

I began making fondant for a cream center that has sold MUCH better than I thought it would. Now I need to make it on a bit bigger scale. It is a basic sugar, corn syrup, water recipe with invertase and flavor added after cooling and agitation. Here is my dilemma. I currently reheat the fondant in the microwave enough to put it in a batter dispenser to get it into the molds. But as soon as it cools even a little, it sets up in the batter dispenser. The process of reheating over and over does not lend itself to the amount of production I need to do.

Does anyone have ideas for either thinning it temporarily (will still need to set up in the molds enough to remove and enrobe) or dispensing it some other way? Could I pour it into a frame and cut on a guitar cutter? I have to figure something out fast because making these is killing me!

Page 60 - http://books.google.ca/books?id=P-hFBMEBLBAC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=baume/brix/celsius+table&source=bl&ots=d3aoLI4MC2&sig=hQ8Qj6LoLCljk4Kmp_hShpTu-2k&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4qpTUYLUDuLbyQHMr4GYCw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=baume%2Fbrix%2Fcelsius%20table&f=false

One of my favorite products is a Black & Tan Citrus Confit (candied orange peel dipped half and half in milk and dark), and I've never heard of the term "brix solution"... Maybe it's because I'm completely self-taught, but nothing like this term ever came up in the book I use (Greweling's Chocolates and Confections At Home).

I am trying to candy orange peels. Does anyone know how to achieve the brix solution w/o a refractometer. I one i have, it's range is 58-90. I need to start at 40. w/ pate de fruit there is a temp range that correlates 68 brix w/ approximately 222.3 degrees but i can't find one for candying.

The problem may be that your pretzels are not the same temperature as your liquid chocolate. Try warming them a bit with a hair dryer before depositing them. Just make sure they don't get too hot and cause your chocolate to lose its temper.

I use a thicker bar mold (3.2 ozs), so that the nuts & pretzels can settle a bit. I warm my molds, deposit, vibrate, put in cooler at 50 till released. room temp is 70 humidity 50.

I found an organic non hydrogenated palm kernel oil I'm going to try ...

Thanks for the response... i had a chocolate spread "balling" issue where on cooling the butter oil and chocolate mixture formed cell-shaped balls instead of a uniform smooth paste. I hadn't tempered the chocolate so thought that maybe that was a factor.

either way I was looking at oils and Grape seed was my choice .... neutral , stable . Although popular Palm Kernel oil isn't for me .

I realise that it's no comparison to cream ganache , but I wanted the melting mouthfeel and not a fondant or butter centre .

I think the answers depend greatly on the details. I've had folks absolutely swear by tempering of the chocolate before mixing it with an oil. Personally, in every objective test i've ever done, i can't find evidence that's of long term textural benefit. Once you add a low saturated oil the mix, it blows up any benefits of tempering. I know this will be hotly contested, and folks - do whatever you think gives you the best results. Personally i'd save the time.

As to the ratio - again, depends on the specifics of your chocolate, it's formulation, and what oil you're planning on using. You might consider using something like a fractionated palm kernel oil for stability's sake (no one wants a rancid truffle), or you might opt for something like a canola oil with some vitamin e (antioxidant) - although truth be told i've not tested that variable, and while it makes sense that it'd work, i can not say with certainty.

If she's happy with the texture of the lindor truffle, it's not very difficult to determine how lindt's getting that by simply looking at their label 8-) while i've not had your ganache truffles (feel free to fix that by sending some to....), i think you'll be quite hard pressed to get an oil based truffle to match that of your cream based one, so be sure to manage expectations that the lindor's the target

I have a client that wants me to replace the commercially produced chocolates she uses for her gift baskets with my handmade products.

thing is, she also wants the same shelf life as the ( gasp! ) lindor truffles she currently gives out.

all my centers are ganache, whipped and piped, dipped... so that's out for a start.

How about a "meltaway" ? chocolate and oil 5:1 ratio.

My query is ... should I temper the mixture to prevent graining?

would it firm up if i whipped and piped it ?

I know I could just do it and see , but wanted to hear of any experience you guys may have .

People and dumb assed long shelf life ! Gah!

It's likely that they either use a dried yogurt powder blended with their liquid white chocolate center, or that they use yogurt as part of the ganache base instead of some other liquid. The strawberry flavor probably comes from a strawberry essential oil.

One of my favorite chocolates of all time is Yogurette by Ferrero. I just love the filling. I always had a hard time finding this chocolate except online. I recently discovered that another company makes a product quite similar by Ritter Sport. I am just wondering if anyone might have a recipe or some advice based on experience.

Hey!

I am now on the same point as you was. Looking for a bean cracker and a winnower. What is the best on the market now, if I don't wanna spend more than 5000$ ?

Thanks for any help

you can do quite a bit with a vacuum cleaner and some pvc piping - i'm sure there are drawings of something using those materials on the boards here somewhere. i'd look at those for something that's reasonably effective for what you'd be asking it to do, and is extraordinarily cost effective.

Hi there Ernesto,

I've looked around a little and I've come to the conclusion to go for the crankenstein and I will construct the winnower myself with a friend that is an engineer. Now when you are so kind to share your experience about these machines I don't see the value of that amount. I would rather spend the money on the tempering and melangeur.

I'm starting to get a good list of companys that sells used chokolate machines. I'm not in a rush to get the machines so I can wait for good opportunities but I need to know where to screen the used market.

Thank you very much for your reply!

Best regards,

Conny

Hi Conny,

I have bought the cocoa bean breaker and winnower from cpslimited. The cocoa bean breaker is ok but the winnower has a very small capacity ( only good for laboratory purposes) 1kg of roasted beans will take 30 min at least (not recommended)

Ernesto

Hello!

My name is Conny and I'm new to this community. I live in Sweden. I have been interested in making chocolate from bean to bar for a couple of years now and I have studied the process for doing this a little harder the last year. The goal is to set up a small scale production for chocolatebars.

I've searched this forum as well as every little corner of the internet to find machines that will fit in my production. It is here I think I will need some help.I dont think I have asked myself the right questions about the quantity that I'm looking to produce. I would like to have the capacity of making roughly about 5000-10000 bars (60g)/month.

Now I'm wondering if you can help me with som tips and links to where I can buy machinery and accessories for my little venture. Used or new doesn't matter. I'm trying to find machines in Europe since I've read that the is a good aftermarket but I can almost only find big industrial machines.My budget is $20k (will this even be enough?)

Roaster?

Please come with ideas. I saw the Mastbrother was using a hot air-owen for this. I was thinking of using the same with a custommade barrel inside.

Cocoa breaker and winnower (is this recommended?):

http://www.cpslimited.net/html/breaker.htm

$ 4873

Or I will go with the crankenstein ( http://shop.chocolatealchemy.com/products/crankandstein-cocoa-mill ) and build my own winnower since I read a really bad review about the above. I calculate that to be about $1500 if I go that way.

Grinder/Conching/refining?

ECGC-65-A Grindeur about $5500-6000 including shipping and taxes.

Tempering?

What is the best choice?

Packaging

Will do the packaging by hand the first time and the packages will be planned for this.

All help is appreciated.

Hello Brad. Sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong thread: I can't find your original post regarding your Hot Chocolate formula. Also, I apologize for being "thick" not understanding your process. Your post went something like this:

"Premake your drinking chocolate base using a scaled up recipe of 1 part liquor, 2 parts granulated sugar, and one part powdered sugar. We make 16 litres at a time, heat it to 165 degrees F and put it in a fridge to cool. It's important to NOT bring it to a boil, but heat it high enough to kill pathogens.

Then when a customer orders, we portion out 200ml and use a cappuccino steamer to heat it. It only takes a few seconds, and at that time the cornstarch in the powdered sugar thickens the drink, making it very rich and creamy."

Can I ask what is being heated to 165? Is it just the chocolate, then adding the sugars? Is this being added to heated milk at the end of the process?

Second question: the link you gave for the BABBYNITA machine above has been sold and no info is available about it. Any other suggestions for inexpensive steamers? Thanks again for the help, John Duxbury

Hi Brad, hi Clay,

Yes indeed I wanted something different that would add a little "chemistry touch" or so to the process of making hot chocolate. However finding that with sufficient volume capacity turns out to be way more complicated than I'd have guessed.

I thank you both for your replies and I wish you a great day.

Olivier

Brad:

I read the OP to say they wanted to try something new and different (i.e., not a ladle - which I also interpreted to mean not a measuring cup) to transfer the chocolate from an existing bain marie (not in buying a new machine). I also read Olivier's profile and he's from Switzerland and I learn now in Chile, so the suggestion of a comparatively low-tech concept that could be implemented many ways turned out to be especially appropriate.

Replacing the siphon hose is trivial; I was pointing out anapproachto solving the problem of finding a new and different way to dispense hot chocolate, not suggesting a specific piece of equipment.

NN2R (no need to respond) to me on this. If you have something in line with what Olivier was asking for, please feel free to respond to the spiritof his OP.

Clay, the problem with a syphon like you suggested is that the hose is corrugated, and will trap the hot chocolate and make it hard to clean.

There are MANY inexpensive hot chocolate dispensers on the market, just this one on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BABBYNITA-Hot-Chocolate-Machine-/350262367584?pt=BI_Hot_Beverage_Brewers&hash=item518d439560

Failing that, a simple stainless steel measuring cup works just fine. My shops use about 32 litres of our drinking chocolate every week, and that's all we use to pour into our steamer cups. There really is no need to make things complicated.

Cheers.

Brad

Hi Clay,

Thanks for the great idea. As I am in Chile I'll try to get one shipped down here. I have already looked into veterinarian tools, "car oil" pumps and other interesting tools but none have been satisfying up until now so I'll try yours and see how it goes.

If anyone thinks of something else, I am all ears.

Olivier

Olivier -

You are right - there's nothing I can find in the way of pipettes and basters that are larger than about 40-60mls.

I wonder if a siphon like this one might work.

It will do about 1 pint (about 475ml) in three strokes, once primed. You could move the supply hose from the chocolate to a container of water to clean (by pumping) after each serving. With the right mounting hardware something like this could be pretty cool for serving hot chocolate.

Hi everyone,

I am making hot/cold chocolate out of a large pot (bain marie) and I am looking for a creative way to transfer the milk/hot chocolate from the pot to the cup. Using a ladle is not so convenient and I have been investigating the following leads:

- Bulbs with a pipette as used for chemistry experiment. Picture here: http://www.ibotz.com/pipette-bulbs-pvc-pearp-shape.html

- A syringe

My main issue in both cases has been to find equipment that could handle 350+ ml. I thought of these equipements as they are easy to clean and fun to use. It add a little fun factor to the hot chocolate making in front of your customers.

How do you guys handle it? Using a standard dispenser? isn't it a bit risky with milk as it might be hard to clean well and then with milk germs proliferate fast.

If you have any ingenious idea please share it here.

Thank you.

Olivier

Does anyone know how, why, when the magnetic molds made their appearance in the chocolate world? Who invented them? who was the first to commercialize them?

Search the forum for shelf life and extending shelf life.

When they're already set, you could freeze them in a air tight container, if you need/want to make them im advance, then when you need them put them in the fridge, than at room temperature, always inside the container. You could definitely try letting them come back up to room temp before packaging, That's how I make my truffle in advance and I never had problems with sugar bloom

Good luck!

Daniela, thank you for the response. I will try that and see if it helps. I am wondering also if I just packaged too soon, and having the bark come up to room temperature in the cello added also to the sugar bloom problem? Thank you again for the response.

have you tried just using your fridge (with adjusted temp) instead of the freezer? you just need a temperature around 10-12C for your chocolates to set, plus you avoid getting all the condensation when you take them our (since they're not that cold)

I own a new start up chocolate and confection company. One of our products is chocolate bark, which we do in layers of various chocolates and with various ingredients. I am attaching a picture of one of the chocolate barks we recently made - every so often we encounter this problem, which I believe is sugar bloom as opposed to fat bloom.

We temper the chocolate by hand using a microwave and seeding. We temper the first layer of chocolate (here, semi sweet Callebaut), add an ingredient (here, chocolate chip cookies, at room temperature), then temper the next layer (here, milk chocolate Callebaut) and add that to the bark, and then temper the next layer of chocolate (here, white chocolate Callebaut) and add that to the bark. We temper the layers one right after the other. We then flash freeze in a freezer to set the chocolate and remove and let come to room temperature before we cut and package.

I am trying to determine where we are going wrong in getting the sugar bloom shown here. As you can see, the bottom has evidence of bloom, and the inside is chalky and crumbly. The bark did have the right appearance when it was first packaged, but the next day started to show bloom, which has progressed since then (this piece was made 4 days ago). We are working in a room that has a basic temperature of 69 degrees, with a relative stable humidity (not too humid and not too dry). I have a few ideas of what the problem may be:

1) We packaged this (in clear plastic cello) too soon before it came to room temperature, so it formed moisture in the package as it went from cold to room temperature.

2) It was in the freezer too long and condensation when it came out of the freezer created the sugar bloom.

3) The layering of the chocolates was at different temperatures, causing the bloom.

I would appreciate any comments on the best way to avoid this problem. Because of the nature of our ingredients, we cannot easily melt the chocolate down to re-temper. (although I have chopped it up and used it in other ways). But, I would rather just have it be right from the beginning.

Is there a trick we need to know when layering the chocolates? Is there a better way to get the chocolate to set up? Or, should we just be sure the chocolate is at room temperature before packaging?

Thank you for any insight you can share.

Hi Brad - Where i your site? Can you send me a link please! Thank you! - Megan

I love your style. This looks fun.

Def has a ton of potential. The food network would be crazy not to give this one a shot for at least a season.

Nice one on the new project, looking forward to seeing it. Good to put a face to the name, and not a bad singing voice either.

Hi Everybody.

A few weeks ago, I released my new website and asked for feedback on the content from the members here at TheChocolateLife. I had taken a chance and "put myself out there" and to put things quite bluntly, I got roasted by the members on here.

Thank you by the way, for your candid opinions. I will definitely be making some technical changes to the layout to make it more device friendly.

The philosophy behind my approach to the contentwas that I felt peopleare tired of being lied to and manipulated by clever marketing. I know I am.

I have had some time to weigh the results of my brazen honesty and they are staggering.

• Sales have DOUBLED.
• Website traffic has DOUBLED.
• People are continually approaching my staff and raving about the refreshing honesty of the content.
• People are making a point of visiting my stores BECAUSE of my brazen honesty.
• People are sharing links to my site around their office and reading ALL of the content, laughing with their colleagues at some of the things I write, THEN in groups, coming to visit one of my stores.

One person who provided feedback called myjourney in the chocolate industry "Petulant". For greater clarity, petulance is defined as being overly annoyed or angered at seemingly minor and insignificant things.

I guess given the resounding positive feedback I've had from both new and existing customers, honesty in a business's advertising isn't considered insignificant or minor. It's actually applauded.

Again, I thank you all for your feedback. It has again confirmed to me that doing the opposite of what everybody else in the industry finds acceptable, works and works very well, provided of courseone producesthe quality to stand behind it - and that's something I know I do.

For those of you thinking of getting into the business. Don't be afraid to take risks. While they don't all pay off asthis recent one has for me, just because everybody else does things a certain way, doesn't mean it's the right way, or the only way.

By the way, here's a teaser to my next journey. I was approached by a director and producer back in November. Whether or not it pans out, I'm not sure, but it's kind of funny nonetheless:

The Chocolate Hunter: Taster 2013

Cheers

Brad.

You can add more acid, eg. citric acid ortartaric acid

Pomona's Pure Pectin claims that it will gel low sugar mixtures. This is because the activating agent is not sugar, but calcium. A packet of calcium comes in the product box. It should work fine.

If you want to intensify the flavor, I would add orange essential oil. Just a drop or two should do ya.

i am developing a honeybell pate de fruit (type of tangerine). i used a boiron recipe for orange pate de fruit, but it was too sweet. Could I use less sugar but the same amount of pectin? Also can i add zest & a lil juice at the end to punch it up?

Honestly I use agave instead of corn syrup in a lot of my recipes, and they turn out similar or exactly the same as the corn syrup versions.