Forum Activity for @Elaine Hsieh

Can you store finished chocolates in a "cooling cabinet"?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

In terms of the vented cooling unit - does this mean that the "regular" refrigerator and freezer are vented as well as I imagine it's a similar problem with the hot air?

Can you store finished chocolates in a "cooling cabinet"?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

It's hard to say w/o knowing more specifics, but generally speaking, the more moisture and fresh ingredients you have in your pieces, the lower the shelf life (ie, creme based truffles will have less staying power than a solid chocolate). The cooler you make your storage environment, the longer both will last. If you're ambient temperature is in the high 60's, that's sufficient for most products, but again, it's hard to be specific w/o specifics.The best RH is less than 50%. A dehumidifier can work, but i'd suggest using air conditioners to get there. Yes, a vent for your hot air is preferred, otherwise it simply puts the hot air back into your ambient conditions, which isn't what you want.Any refridgerator can be converted to a storage unit. Colder temps mean longer lasting shelf life, but also a higher propensity for condensation (ie, require your ambient environment to be lower in RH).

Can you store finished chocolates in a "cooling cabinet"?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Well, actually that's probably the better question. I can control the room temperature adequately, but as we're a small operation, will not have a cooling tunnel. I assumed that I would need a cooling cabinet at 55 to finish off the chocolate pieces - is that absolutely necessary? And then I assumed the chocolate won't keep for too long left packaged at room temperature.1) Can this be done with a dehumidifier? Can you remind what the ideal RH is?2) Does outlet mean a vent? or leaving enough space around the cabinet?Have you ever heard of converting a True refrigerator to a cooling cabinet? I've read about that on egullet, and noticed on True Manufacturing that they carry a separate thermostat that you can switch out of the fridge that will keep higher temperatures for both wine and chocolates. Thanks for the help.

Can you store finished chocolates in a "cooling cabinet"?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Yes. Three possible concerns:1) when you remove your chocolates from the cold environment, you may get some condensation on them, depending on the relative humidity of the warmer room. Keep your RH as low as possible.2) Your cabinet will generate heat as it's running - make sure you've got an appropriate outlet for that heat, lest it warm your room too much.3) Because it's a small, enclosed environment, if you are storing multiple types of pieces that are strongly flavored, the flavors may all blend together. Package them individually and seal them tightly if this is the case.I assume you want to do this for shelf life extension, not for concerns that your shop it too warm to store them outside the cabinet?

Can you store finished chocolates in a "cooling cabinet"?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

If I had a cooling cabinet with enough room, would it be reasonable after enrobing or molding, to allow the chocolates to set in the cooling cabinet, then once they're ready for packaging, store them in the cabinet until they're ready to be sold? The store I'm setting up is small, and will usually be in the upper 60s -low 70'sF. The cooling cabinet will be at about 55 degrees.

updated by @Elaine Hsieh: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Will my drizzle make my chocolates fizzle?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you everyone for all your imput.

Will my drizzle make my chocolates fizzle?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The fats in compound coating and cocoa butter interact in a negative way that causes the blotches. If you used tempered chocolate and drizzled it on a finished chocolate you should have no problem.

Will my drizzle make my chocolates fizzle?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I have used compound coatings to decorate/ drizzle my tempered chocolate truffles. But I have noticed the tempered chocolate got white blotches around and near the drizzled area. Not sure if the temp change caused by the warm compound coating caused the blotchy areas.

Will my drizzle make my chocolates fizzle?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Perhaps I am not drizzling at the right time? Should I drizzle while the covered candy is setting or should I wait until it's solidified to drizzle?Can you tell I am a newbie at this? (chuckle)

Will my drizzle make my chocolates fizzle?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

It will if untempered. Another option would be to use compound coating (non tempering chocolate that contains vegetable fats) which would set normally and not bloom.

Will my drizzle make my chocolates fizzle?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

It sounds like you warmed chocolate is out of temper.b

Will my drizzle make my chocolates fizzle?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Good Afternoon!

Will my finishedchocolates develep bloom if I drizzle with warm chocolate?

Thanks foryour help!

Jacquie

updated by @Jacquie Schofield: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Cacao Pods Picture

Posted in: Uncategorized

Pods a plenty..... no copyright, I took it. Enjoy

Cacao Pods Picture

Posted in: Uncategorized

Amano has some great pictures at: http://www.amanochocolate.com/press/presspictures.html

Cacao Pods Picture

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thanks

Cacao Pods Picture

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In Michael & Sophie Coe's book "The True History of Chocolate" (second edition) there is a fabulous photo of pods of different colors on page 89.

Cacao Pods Picture

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thanks Cheebs, I need it before OCT and I think Koa Kahili of Garden Islae Choc has the perfect picture.Hope you have a great trip!

Cacao Pods Picture

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If you're in no big hurry I need to visit both my cacao suppliers here in Guatemala before October. I'll ask if they can have a pile ready to be photographed with a nice background.

Cacao Pods Picture

Posted in: Uncategorized

thanks, thats a nice shot but I need a pile of colorful pods, not just yellow.

Cacao Pods Picture

Posted in: Uncategorized

This cocoa pod picture is an example of a picture i found (Google picture search, advanced option , commercial use allowed). It's probably not what you are looking for but can be used for free: Wikimedia Cocoa Pod picture!

Cacao Pods Picture

Posted in: Uncategorized

Have you tried doing a google image search for "cacao pods?" I just did one and set the results to "large images" and saw a few "pile" pictures. I don't know if you have to worry about copyright issues though, since google returns all images, copyrighted or not.good luck!-mike

Cacao Pods Picture

Posted in: Uncategorized

I aMlooking for a really colorful hi res iMage of a pile of cacao pods, horizontal orientation, to use for aMural. Would likeMulti-color pods. Ok if one is open, or background is leaves etc. I have looked on stock photo sites but the one pic I found I liked , the pods were probably a week old and blackened-not as bright as I'd like.
updated by @Melanie Boudar: 04/11/15 13:35:24

Seeding with two different chocolates

Posted in: News & New Products Press

I recently bought a Revolation tempering machine, it's great but I tried melting milk and then seeded with Dark to see what effect I would get. It's not bad but not perfect. I'm sure if I tempered them both separately and then mixed them it would be fine but I was just wondering if anyone else had tried this and had success without tempering each individually?

Let me know!

updated by @Dirke Botsford: 03/11/26 06:20:34

Pumpkin Ganache

Posted in: Recipes

Does anyone have a good recipe for a pumpkin ganache they'd be willing to share?

updated by @Ananda Kavanagh: 04/11/15 06:14:50

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks so much, Clay! These links are very helpful. I found the link to the polarfresh filter on another CL post, ordered one and so far it's been great. I'll check out these solutions and will post with the final results soon. Thanks again!

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Take a look at page 22 of this catalog: http://www.alexanderindustries.net/catalog.html It's a "speed rack" on casters enclosed on all six sides. You can place you work on sheet pans and place it inside this enclosure. As it will be in a climate-controlled space, issues with respect to temperature and humidity inside the cabinet are really taken care of by the ambient environment. If you needed to, you could add a little assist in a DIY project grafting on a little thermo-electric cooler unit.Another possible alternative is these: http://www.restaurantequipment.com/CAMCARRIERS.html Again, as the environment these are in is climate-controlled, the temperature and humidity issues are taken care of outside these portable units. These are nice in the sense that you can take them to and from the kitchen and the pieces are protected in transport. You can get a dolly so they are easily movable, and they stack. They even have optional removable gel-packs (camchillers). You can get ones that hold standard-sized sheet pans.Also consider this: http://www.coolerking.com/polarfresh_filter/polar-fresh.php

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

It's a contracted kitchen for preparing food only. The chocolate would then be stored in a climate-controlled space.

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

There is NO room for any sort of storage in the workspace? Where do you plan to put chocolates being stored? In a space that is climate-controlled? Outside?

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Clay, I'm looking to store a minimum of 500/maximum of 1000 chocolates at a time, but I could do multiple units that each hold 500 or so. The workspace is temperature and humidity controlled, but there's no storage room there. A DIY solution would be the best case. Thank you for your help!Bruce, Thanks for the reply and insight -- I'll surely post any offline solutions that I find!

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Jennifer:One of the key pieces of information missing here is how much storage space you need. I am going to assume that you don't need to worry about temperature and humidity control in the work space itself, and that you're not having problems with crystallization of your chocolates.From the sound of it - the answer is not much, but please give me a better idea. The chocolate "storage" cabinet you refer to at aafixtures.com is really display cabinet and is really not meant for storage. Your reaction to the price makes me think you really are looking for a low-cost DIY solution. The approach to take will depend on how much chocolate you need to store at any particular time.

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Jennifer,First, I'll be of no help, so feel free to ignore this, but I am facing the same situation. I am fortunate to be in very low humidity part of the world, and between October and March the way I solve this is that I have a north-facing room with a lot of windows, and by opening and closing the windows I'm able to keep the room at a nearly constant 60 degrees, augmented by a ductless air conditioner (and, though rarely needed) a heater. In this region, our humidity is usually 10% (ranges 8% winter-20%summer), so humidity is controlled by mother nature. I can store chocolates with even fairly high water activity (Aw) (such as truffles) in this room for 4 weeks without appreciable loss of quality, blooming, etc. (Of course, they are in air tight containers and not exposed to light.)But as a non-commercial artisanal chocolatier, I simply shut down operation between March and October, because without a temperature controlled environment, the ambient temperature is too hot for tempering, let alone storage.We have a commercial vineyard nearby, and I talked to them if I could maybe rent some of their lovely dark, cool space -- the problem of course is they have to control their humidity in exactly the wrong direction: they need high humidity and cool temperatures. So they actually ADD humidity. Dead end there.I have discussed with local small construction/remodeling companies building a small room that would have the right temperature and humidity control. With the recession, they are very hungry for work. For maybe 50% more than a commercial cabinet + shipping, they might be able to build a simple room (frame/stucco with heavy insulation) that would work. Temperature control would be fairly easy with a small unit. But again...I'm very lucky I don't need to worry much about humidity.If you find a workable solution, I hope you'll post a follow-up! Best of luck-Bruce

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi can u help me in chocolate making setup

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks so much chocolatelake and katerina -- I'll give both ideas a try! It's good that we're coming into the colder months. I'll have more time to experiment.

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

If you have controlled the temperature and only humidity is the problem so try this
Keep chocolate in an airtight container and put dry common salt (sodium chloride-normal food salt) beside it. Spread the salt as possible but dont it comes in contact with chocolate.
So what happens
You will control the temperature with chest freezer or wine cooler, now a little amount of moisture will introduce into the container due to opening closing of container or due to atmosphere. The salt will absorb that moisture as it is a moisture absorber, thus chocolate will remain dry and cool.
its the most easy and effective way of keeping chocolate

Small-scale Chocolate Storage?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello everyone,

I've been researching how best to store my finished chocolates (fillings + couverture) for up to a week. In my last job we had a beautiful room that was temperature and humidity controlled. Now I'm on the other side of the world looking to start a much smaller operation. I would love everyone'ssuggestions, etc. for storage.We have hot and cold weather, mostly on the dry side.

Here are some options I've researched, but don't know the pros/cons:

--Chest freezer (but how do you control the humity?)

--Wine cooler (this option seems small and is humidity still a problem?)

--Chocolate storage cabinet (I found one on AA -- http://www.aafixtures.com/ -- but it retails for $2400. Has anyone had success making their own? We're pretty handy, so if we need construct something, we're up for the challenge.)

--Cooler (like the ones you take to the ballgame. Again, humidity and temperature control?)

--other ideas?

I've read about freezing, but would rather not go that route for now.

Thanks so much for any advice!

updated by @Jennifer Thamer: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Untempered chocolate....what must I do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you so much for your reply. I am sure I will have many more questions in the future.

Untempered chocolate....what must I do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

No, just temper what you need. There's no reason to temper all the chocolate, and then re-do it. I have all kinds of bloomed chocolate, and I just temper as needed.

Untempered chocolate....what must I do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Good Evening!

I am a beginner in the "chocolate life". I think perhaps I am over my head in joining this site butI am hopingin doing so ,I can learn some new things.

I do have a question perhaps a silly one but none the less, I don't know the answer. I received bulk chocolate the other day and due to the summer temperatures it arrived a bit soft. I assume it is out of temper. Do I have to melt and temperall the chocolate and let it solidify then melt and temper again to cover candy? Any help would be greatly appreciated

Jacquie

updated by @Jacquie Schofield: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Van Leer Chocolate

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Swiss Connection in Orlando carries Callebaut, Barry Callebaut, Cacao Barry, Van Leer, Noel, and also Valrhona. You can check them out at www.leswiss.com or call them at 800.LE SWISS to get pricing. Hope this helps.

Van Leer Chocolate

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Your best bet, given your location and the quantities i'm guessing you'd be looking at, would be to contact the folks at Qzina. There's a Florida office. Qzina.com will give you all the contact info you need.

Van Leer Chocolate

Posted in: News & New Products Press

I have no idea if I am doing this right cuz I have never posted here before.
updated by @Heidi Kelliher: 03/11/26 06:20:34

Canadian Chocolate Company Bernard Callebaut Forced into Bankruptcy

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Yes, well, isn't that a reflection of the times ?!?! The upcoming 4th quarter isn't going to be any easier for many.