Forum Activity for @Clay

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques


updated by @Clay Gordon: 09/09/15 05:57:44

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am going to be taking the Quality Assurance class at Ecole Chocolat, Pam Williams school. When I'm done with that I should, hopefully, be more informed about this whole process. Perhaps the info got lost somewhere in my brain but, I don't put my finished truffles in the fridge to shock them as I didn't think this was a required step in the process. Is it and I just missed that? Mine come out fine but, I have also heard this will give the truffle coating more snap. Since I get a good snap now, will this be even better for it? Is this what you mean by crystallization?

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The major difference is that Irinox has invested a great deal of money in sophisticated electronics that go into every unit they sell - you can't buy any units without the electronics.

Desmon has chosen to go a much simpler route in the controls it builds in to its cabinets. This accounts for most of the difference in price.

In some respects, the Desmon cabinets are actually better built ... in their 20-pan lowboy cabinet, the door hinges are much sturdier for example.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Clay,

I strongly agree with you in regards to what it matters is the consistent throughput and quality. In the mid and long term, the Irinox cabinets will allow to increase productivity by maximizing throughput and minimizing waste, at the end becoming affordable and even cheaper than other short term budget solutions.

Desmon seems to be a good alternative to Irinox. How Desmon's quality compares to Irinox? 60% less is a big difference. Is Desmon's quality not as good as Irinox?

Once again, thanks a lot.

Omar

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

If you're looking for a simple STORAGE option (i.e., you're not going to be using this for crystallization), the absolute least expensive option is to buy an inexpensive chest freezer and use an external thermostat like this one to control the temp between 0C (32F) and 27C (~80F). You can easily get 7 cu ft of storage and the thermostat for under $300 (not including tax/shipping).

This is a no-frills solution (i.e., there are no shelves), but it works and it has the advantage that the entire inside of the chest is usable for storage.

If humidity is an issue, you can use the PolarFresh or Avive panels.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Omar:

I understand completely the question about reasonable risk. What I do know is that many people make decisions based on the price of an item and not the TCO (total cost of operation) of an item.

For example, the smallest Irinox cabinet has a list price of over US$11,000 the last time I looked and is worth every penny. (I've sold two TP-20s to customers who swear by them - one of them works in an open market and could not be in business without hers.) The cabinets are purpose-designed to crystallize chocolate.

The units hold 20 full-size pans and will keep the internal temp and humidity to within .5C even with the door open for a minute or longer.

What this translates to is consistent throughput and quality. If you put items on trays in a speed rack in the ambient environment of the kitchen (or in a wine cooler), crystallization times will be uneven, can be fairly long, and there is the risk of humidity in the room damaging work. In the Irinox, crystallization is consistent - quality and timing. While expensive, if you could triple production (or more) just by using a proper cabinet - making no other changes - then the price tag could actually be very affordable ... if you focus on total cost of operation, not price.

There two other company making units like the Irinox, both Italian. One is Koma and they are more expensive than Irinox. The other is thecompany I referred to above, Desmon. At the moment they do not have a North American sales agent. The Desmon equivalent of the Irinox TP-20 costs 60% less.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks a lot for your feedback Melanie.

What price range for wine coolers would you consider cheap? I am looking at this two units (please follow link below). The first one is $755.00, and the second one, which has twice the capacity, $895.

http://www.rosehillwinecellars.com/vintage-keeper-wine-cabinet-110
http://www.rosehillwinecellars.com/vintage-keeper-wine-cabinet-220

How do these two wine coolers look compared to the ones that you have?

Thanks,
Omar

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks a lot for your feedback Clay.

You have a very good point about buying something that may not do what we need it to, but unfortunately chocolate equipment is so expensive that makes me willing to take the risk within reasonable limits and whenever it is possible.

Do you know about other companies that offer chocolate coolers like Irinox?

Thanks,
Omar

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Fantastic! Don't know if I can do it yet but, you never know. And besides, I would really like to see what they have + pricing.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Last year I was introduced to refrigeration produces from an Italian company, Desmon. I have been trying to work a deal with their US distributor and just got off the phone to discover that they are no longer the US distributor.

That said, they have about 70 pieces of equipment in inventory they are looking to sell at deep discounts. All of the humidity-controlled units went first and there are none left. However, the Avive panels I mentioned would address this issue without any problems in any of the units. Some are under-counter lowboys with marble tops, others are one and two door display cases.

I am expecting pricing information and brochures in the next few days and I will post in Classifieds. The company also makes humidity-controlled walk-ins just for chocolate and I will be getting more information on those as well.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Great help, Clay. I appreciate the clarification. Thanks so much.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

There are many, many different brands of wine coolers, I don't know them all, and many have angled shelves. They tend to be expensive for what they are, and they're not made to handle chocolate, so they are expensive - and may not do what you need them to.

The real issue in cooling is moving heat away from the chocolate. With wine, we generally don't care how long it takes to get to temp from whatever temperature it's at when it goes in the fridge to storage/serving temp - usually overnight or longer is okay. Bottles already in the fridge have a pretty good thermal mass and are not likely to warm up by more than a fraction of a degree when opening the door of the fridge and adding a bottle or two.

With chocolate we do care about the speed of removing the "latent heat of crystallization" (the heat given up by the chocolate as it cools and crystallizes) - too fast or too slow can result in sub-optimal results.

Therefore, we do care about temp and volume of airflow and "recovery time" (how quickly it takes the fridge to return to the set temp after the door is opened) and other variables. There is a reason why cabinets made specifically for chocolate crystallization and holding (e.g., Irinox) as expensive as they are.

In general, the larger the volume of the cabinet, the better the recovery time is. Airflow needs to be controlled and directed to remove the heat added to the cabinet, which can vary widely. If you're molding 500gr blocks of chocolate and put 50 of them into the cabinet you have to move a lot more heat than if you put 20 bonbon molds in to crystallize.

General rule is make it larger than you need it so that you can use the volume of the room to help you. One confectioner I know in NYC set up a cooling/storage room in their facility that measures 10x20 feet. Everything comes in on trays on speed racks. The room is set to about 62F and airflow is relatively modest. Not everyone has this luxury, of course. But you can do use the same concept in a much smaller space.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Many thanks, Clay! Am I correct in my statement about Wine Coolers? Or is there a type I don't know about?

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Susan:

I don't see why not ... keeping in mind that they are really for converting a room into a "walk-in." You wouldn't use one in a cabinet. Keep in mind that you can also use the CoolBot on a split AC unit (not just thru-wall), where the compressor is physically outside and the blower unit is mounted inside the room. While AC units are also dehumidifiers, you may need additional humidity control (as in a real dehumidifier) not the PolarFresh or Avive products depending on where you are located.

The CoolBot site does have a page that gives the BTU rating for an AC unit for a given sie of room - assuming that the room is adequately insulated.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi, Clay ~ do you think that I could use something like the CoolBot here in California? The Wine Coolers sound great but, the ones I have seen are really expensive and the shelves are angled. Plus, they don't seem very big.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks, Clay, for always adding even more depth to the solution!

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks, Melanie, for the great advice.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

There are a couple of ways to control the humidity in wine (and other) cabinets if you have a cabinet that does not contain built-in humidity control. MOST inexpensive wine cabinets do not have humidity control.

One is to use a product called PolarFresh . It works a lot like a box of baking soda is supposed to. While chocolate fridges don't have the issue of ethylene gas production that is part of fruits and vegetables ripening, PolarFresh also absorbs humidity, keeping it in a more acceptable range.

A more "professional" product - and one that works over larger volumes more cost effectively, is from Avive Technologies .

Finally, you can use a CoolBot to use a conventional residential through-window air conditioner into a cooler for a walk-in style fridge. Most AC units won't go below 60F; the CoolBot will let you go down to just above freezing.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi I use several wine coolers to store finished chocolates as well as my transfer sheets.It serves as backup storage in the retail store and works great. Sometimes you get some condensation in the back of the wine cabinet (do not buy a cheap one) so inspect and wipe regularly. This may be due to it being an undercabinet model with not great air circulation. I also built a closet in my manufacturing area. Its not that big but accommodates 2 bakers racks plus extra space..it is cooled by a small room air conditioner set at 62 degrees.

It keeps all our bulk chocolate and work in progress in good condition and is not that expensive to run.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I'm also looking at wine coolers to store chocolate confections and would love to know if they work. It seems like a perfect solution to me although humidity level may be an issue as you point out. Thanks for posing the question, Omar.

Wine Cooler/Cabinet for Chocolate Truffles/Pralines Storage

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello everybody,

First of all, I would like to thank Clay for this wonderful website. It is a great source of invaluable information for chocolate lovers.

I am located in Toronto, Canada, and have been looking at different options to store finished chocolate truffles and pralines, for a small scale operation. It is not easy to find climatized chocolate cabinets, and if I find them, they are very expensive.

I think one of the options would be a wine cooler. According to Callebaut, the ideal temperature for storing finished products is between 12C and 20C, and the maximum relative humidity should be no more 70%. Here is the excerpt from Callebaut:

'Humidity
Chocolate must be protected against humidity. As a general principle, the maximum relative humidity in the warehouse should be 70%. Storage of chocolate products on floors or against walls should be strictly prohibited because this greatly increases the risk of absortion of humidity.'

Based on this, wine coolers manage the ideal chocolate storage temperature range, and their humidity is around 70%, making them an acceptable storage option.

Has anybody used or tried a wine cooler to store finished chocolate truffles and pralines?

If humidity is too high, how could be reduced? Maybe loading a try with rice or salt into the wine cooler?

Thanks for your feedback.

Omar

updated by @chocochoco: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Sugar in Ganache

Posted in: Tasting Notes

If you want more sugar, use a 50 to 60 % chocolate instead, simple. You can't add granulated sugar to ganache. Also careful of other ingredients that contain moisture or water, as water is also an enemy to chocolate.

Sugar in Ganache

Posted in: Tasting Notes

That depends on how much sugar you added.

Sugar won't dissolve in chocolate, and if you added as much sugar as cream, you're pretty much out of luck. My suggestion would be to melt it all down and use a hand mixer to dissolve the sugar. It will incorporate air into the mix as it cools and solidifies, but you can remelt it again and stir the air out and let it set.

In the future, dissolve the sugar in the cream first.

Cheers.

Brad

Sugar in Ganache

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi,

I am new to chocolate but I love it!! I made a 2:1 ganache (70% chocolate and 35% cream) and I added some granulated sugar to it and now my ganache has undissolved sugar granules. How can I correct this? any help is appreciated.

updated by @Angel2: 06/05/15 06:02:43

Skull mold

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Wilton has a 3d skull cake pan.

Skull mold

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

http://www.chocolateskulls.com/

http://www.zanzibartrading.com/chocolateskullmolds.htm

http://www.cakescookiesandcraftsshop.co.uk/acatalog/Halloween-Chocolate-Moulds.html

hope these can help

Laura

Skull mold

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Hi,

I am looking for an anatomically correct 3d skull mold. I have looked around a bit and found a place that sells chocolate skulls, but so far no luck with a mold. Any ideas where I should start looking? Thanks in advance!

Jenny

updated by @Jenny Bunker: 04/07/25 13:00:14

Eye Candy !

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Our rebuild is finished and our Butter press is coming on line as we speak!

We will be producing butter and powder from the finest Dominican organic fermented cacao if anyone is interested.

Best,

Daniel Preston

Cacao Prieto

updated by @Daniel Preston: 04/15/15 21:35:41

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Cargill, Callebaut, ADM, Belcolade. Only Cargill and Callebaut produce from the bean in Belgium. Belcolade buys liquor, and ADM uses its own liquor from other plants. OCG, now Cargill was started by a former Callebaut engineers. The three letters represent initials from their last names I am told.

With enough volume anyone can purchase a proprietary recipe from any one of these big companies, and voila, your own Belgian Chocolate is born.

I think however Belgian Chocolate, as a association or tag or description for your finished products is stale and now so diluted, it has lost it's identity. I believe strongly in the trend of artisans starting their own bean to bar production and standing proud of ones own chocolate creations. There is a real trend out there now and more and more small equipment suppliers are facilitating this bean to bar dream.

The Qzina Institute in Irvine Ca will begin working with bean to bar training and process development starting January 2012, where craftsmen will be able to come and discover the various processes and equipment used for artisanal bean to bar chocolate production.

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I just had to take a moment to second Clay's note with a big thank you. It has been totally incredible for a newbie like me to have my question addressed so graciously by industry pros/rockstars : ) Thanks, everyone, and thanks, Clay for making a discussion like this possible.

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

i can pretty confidently say that the scenario you suggest isn't what happened, at least prior to the acquisition 8-) Post acquisition, absolutely Cargill personnel spent time there to ensure things were smooth. In fact, the US based president of the company temporarily moved there during that time.

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Sebastian, I got a laugh over your reference to OCG (old callebaut guys...). Interestingly enough the jury is still out on what the acronym stands for - officially their name is only OCG OCG was started by several people who broke off from Callebaut, but I am fairly certain thatCargill funded theendeavorand sent a guy(s) over to see OCG have a successful launch. I know this information is pretty accurate, but I wouldn't go quoting me on it. The best way to find out would be to call them. I am sure they would take the time to tell anyone who was curious. After all, who doesn't love to talk about themselves to anyone who will listen and why would a company be any different? :D

BTW - Clay, what a great company name, The Chocolate Life ~ La Vida Cocoa... Brilliant!

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Thanks to everyone for contributing here ... and to Braun for being so open and for making the special offer for his chocolate.

It's discussions like this one that form the reason for my starting TheChocolateLife in the first place: collectively, we know far more than any one of us can.

:: Clay

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I'd developed fountain chocolates before 2003 - i'd say sephra was the first to really embrace it on a larger scale however.

Also, OCG (old callebaut guys...) has been owned by Cargill for a number of years 8-)

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Amber, I have appreciated your post regarding "Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?" Also, Brad is right about our manufacturer, it is Callebaut. However, our recipe isproprietaryso you will only find it being distributed through Sehpra or an authorized dealer. We don't tout this nearly enough, but Sephra was the first company to ever develop a fountain ready chocolate. Prior to 2003, when people wanted to use chocolate in a fountain they either added vegetable or canoil oil or added cocoa butter to yield the right consistency.

Ruth, thank you for taking a stab at what we would consider the big four Belgian Chocolate manufacturers. Since you took a shot at it I would love to send you 6lbs of Sephra's chocolate . Tell me what types of chocolate you would like to try, 3 bags makes up 6lbs and they can be different types, whatever you would like. I will also offer 4 lbs of Sephra's chocolate to everyone who commented on this post If you commented prior to this post and would like 2 bags of Sephra's chocolate please send your contact information to marketing@sephra.com along with what two types of chocolate you would like and I will ship them out immediately free of charge. This offer is limited to US based addresses, no PO Boxes, sorry if you are out of the country And if any of you would care to share your thoughts on our chocolate we would love to hear about it through The Chocolate Life.com ~ good or bad, we listen and always do our best to take care of everyone we do business with! Thanks Amber, keep up the great work :D

P.S. - Big Four Belgian Manufacturers: Schokinag/ADM, Belcolade, Callebaut, OCG... there are others, many of whom seem to be a close second, but those four are what we would consider some of the biggest in Belgium.

Enjoy your chocolate!

Braun Ehman

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Sephra's Premium Dark Chocolate is made by Callebaut.

Cheers.

Brad

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Braun,

Thank you for taking a moment to drop a note and for your gracious (and very fun) reply. I'm on pins and needles to see who gets to take home the Sephra!

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I'll take a shot---Callebaut, Belcolade, Dolfin, Cote D'or.

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Sephra's imported Belgian chocolate is made up by one of the four big chocolate manufacturers in Belgium! To make this fun, if someone can name the big four I will happily send them 6lbs of either Sephra's Belgium Semi-sweet Dark or Milk chocolate free of charge, you choose whatever type you would like. Sephra is one of the only US based companies to import couverture chocolate from Belgium. Couverture chocolate is chocolate that contains at least 32% cocoa butter making the chocolate viscous enough that when melted it will flow through the fountain perfectly and produce a smooth cascading curtain over each tier. Also, Sephra doesn't seek to hide who manufacturers our chocolate, it's out there if you search a little. However, we have developed our own recipes for each of our chocolates so even if you were to try the manufacturers brand, it would not taste like our signature brand. Thanks for the interest and we appreciate your post! I do work at Sephra and . along with everyone else here, we absolutely love what we do and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about anything so please don't hesitate to contact us any time. We look forward see who can name the big four first! Thanks again!

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Sebastian,

That's totally fair, and a good point! (though you are killing me, you know : ) I just might try actually calling Sephra, which I somehow had not thought about. It won't hurt. And I just might start sampling a little more callebaut than I have in the past.

Thank you!! I so appreciate the note.

Amber

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Yes, but I'm not going to tell you 8-) That's for the company to decide if they want to release or not.

Keep in mind that with an outfit the size of callebaut (any of the large industrial chocolate suppliers actually), a technical person may have no idea whom all the commercial contracts are. It's quite unusual for a single person to have complete knowledge of the entire company's customer list...

Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I had a bag of Sephra's milk chocolate (Sephra the chocolate fountain company ) and decided I'd try it out on a couple recipes. I found it was extremely easy to work with and tempered really nicely.

I would LOVE to find out who Sephra has making their chocolate and then find out what else they offer. The Sephra bag I have claims they have a Belgian chocolate maker who makes their signature formula for them.

I thought it might be Callebaut, but after speaking with a technical advisor there who had never heard of Sephra, and then sampling Callebaut's own fountain chocolate, I'm pretty certain it is someone else. Any ideas would be so appreciated!

updated by @Amber Fawson: 04/17/15 06:09:19