Thanks for the reply, even though the news was not quite what I hoped for. When you speak of "adding a little (0.05-0.1%) more lecithin" I assume you mean a little more than is already in the chocolate. That's what I was concerned about--especially white chocolate always seems to have lecithin in it.
Once your chocolate has adsorbed ambient moisture, it's very difficult to get it to give it up. You may be able to compensate by adding a little (0.05-0.1%) more lecithin to get it to bind up the moisture, but that only works to a certain extent. Prevention by keeping the RH low is the best medicine to cure this problem. If you can't prevent it, you may be able to make it better by adding lecithin. If that doesn't work, a high shear high temperature mixer can be effective to a smaller degree, but i'd keep that the last resort option, and you risk other damage via this method if your temperatures are too high.
I am adding a question to this older topic as it is more or less the subject of my latest chocolate issue.
I have been using Felchlin Maracaibo for dark and Valrhona Opalys for white. During the winter both behaved fine. For my Easter 2014 batch of chocolates, I was able to prepare several molds with the Opalys when it thickened up to the extent that there was barely any space for the ganache in some of the cavities. I raised the heat several degrees, and that did not appreciably help. This job was done at the beginning of April, not particularly warm or humid. A few days ago, the same thing happened with Maracaibo, and raising the temp even above 90F did not help. It wasn't quite as thick as the Valrhona had been, but for a dark chocolate, it was really viscous. This time we were experiencing some warm, humid weather--though I was running the AC to try to prevent the thickening.
On another forum a chocolatier from Richmond, Va. (about 100 miles from me) wrote that she had experienced a similar thickening of chocolate on the same day and attributed it to the humidity. She mentioned adding some cocoa butter.
So today, aware of the possibility of humidity, I turned up the AC full blast. I added cocoa butter to the Opalys, and it was perfect. My recently ordered hygrometer arrived, and revealed the humidity to be around 20-25%. So I'm thinking I may have found the issue. The problem is that it is not consistent (the first thickening of Opalys was not on a humid day). Tomorrow I'll be using Maracaibo and will try the same routine to see if it helps. I won't add cocoa butter, however, unless it turns out to be necessary.
My question relates to the humidity issue: Assuming that is the problem, is the chocolate I used on the humid days permanently "humidified" or will it return to its previous state once it is out of the humidity? I don't want to have to add cocoa butter to the chocolate from now on, nor do I wish to discard the chocolate.
Incidentally I was tempering the chocolate in a Chocovision machine. Someone at that company recommended raising the working temp for the Valrhona to the 90F range, but that seemed a bit high to me (Valrhona recommends 84F).
Thanks for any guidance.
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I have always cooked the bacon crisp and prepared within 24 hrs of taking to an event.
Now someone wants in their boxes of Easter Truffles. It would be eaten within a week.
Safe?
The Food Channel show Unwrapped had a 2008 show titled "Candy Bar Bonanza" that talks in more detail about the Vosage bacon in chocolate process. I know that it showed again on 10/25/10 at 7:30PM. Not certain if you could Hulu it or find it some other way. Hope it helps.
Hi All,
I was wondering if anyone has any information about or has taken the Chocolate and Confections continuing ed program offered by the CIA. I've seen a lot of reviews about Ecole Chocolat's online program, programs at FPS, ICE, etc. but I can't seem to find any reviews about the chocolate class at the CIA. I have been making chocolates for a few years now (both molded and dipped) but have been teaching myself out of books, and I thought it might be time for some formal instruction. I have really enjoyed Peter Greweling's Chocolate and Confections book because of the level of detail it offers, which is the reason I'm thinking of taking the CIA 5-day course.
Thanks,
Rachel
Nancy,
I am also in New York City.
As for internship people usually like to work with people who do not live in the same geographical region - after all, you will become competition.
I did exactly the same thing you did: I took the 2 chocolate technique from ICE, followed by the Ecole Chocolat online training.
Once you are done with the Ecole Chocolat training you can apply for internship with chocolatiers from the US and one from Canada. I have not done the internship yet, but I am considering it more and more.
You should keep looking for opportunities in NYC, but just consider that you could go someplace else you've never been before, work at a place that is used to interns, and do not have to worry about the ethics of learning from someone who will be your competition in the near future.
Best of luck!
Andre Costa
DaCosta Chocolates
Michael,
Thank you for your offer to call you! I have known about JoMart for quite a while (my family were Sheepshead Bay natives for many years).
Thank You,
Nancy
Hi Nancy,
Welcome to the (truly) wonderful world of chocolate. My family has been manufacturing chocolates in Brooklyn since 1946. I have been teaching chocolate workshops for the past 10 years. Feel free to call me and chat about your future. You can check us out first.
JoMartChocolates.com
718-375-1277
Good Luck,
Michael
Ruben,
The class was pretty amazing and I think well worth it. Faith Drobbin was an excellent instructor...she knows her stuff! There were people of all levels in the class from the novice to some who were a bit more experienced. I fell into the latter group. We partnered up (beware of some wacky people...I was lucky enough to have a wonderful parnter) for the week. Day 1 focused on tempering chocolate (seeding method) and then we made clusters, bark, and dipped fruit. Day 2 we did truffles in different flavor combinations and enrobed them. Chef Faith's chai spiced truffles were very good! Day 3 focused on candymaking and we made chocolate caramels, a buttercrunch, chocolate covered candied almonds, and torrone. Day 4 we made solid molded chocolates and filled molded chocolates with a variety of fillings. Day 5 we did hand dipped truffles that we framed first and then dipped (my favorite type) and then enrobed.
The class was really good and top notch ingredients were used. I'd love to find a chocolatier that I could apprentice with in Long Island (not having any luck) or NYC. You will love the course if you take it!
Nancy
