Forum Activity for @Dirke Botsford

Mold decorating with colored cocoa butter

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

ah there's my problem.... I probably over heated it and the ones that turned out perfect where the last ones I worked on! Perfect! Thank you so much...I will try again and thanks for the tips.

Mold decorating with colored cocoa butter

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Could be lots of things, from improper temper to dirty moulds to improper cooling.Some use a precoat of clear cocoa butter to boost the shine - it can work very very well. I'll often do it myself before layering color. Others simply start with the color, which can work well too. Some believe that if you start with solid cocoa butter and very gently melt it such that it's a finished temp of about 90F, the act of rubbing it into the mould with your finger may precipitate some xtallization - i'm not sure - perhaps it does. They key is to start with a room temp mould (oh, 70F or so) and not overheat your cocoa butter, and then properly cool it. Keep your RH at no more than 60% as well, as that can cause some sticking. Buffing your moulds with a cotton ball before you mould often helps as well.

Mold decorating with colored cocoa butter

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

method: fingerSo how do you temper such a small amount of cocoa butter? do you seed it with cocoa butter? From what I've read the ideal temperature to work with it is 90 degrees? Everything looks except no shine.Appreciate the help

Mold decorating with colored cocoa butter

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Some people temper, some don't. I'm part of the "yes" crowd. I find that when I don't temper the CCB it gives inconsistent results. When I do, never a problem. Also depends on what technique was used: airbrush, finger, brush?I have a Hilliard's cooling cabinet, and usually leave the mold in the cooler for 1/2 hour after capping. After that we unmold basically just by flipping over and if necessary giving it a gentle tap.

Mold decorating with colored cocoa butter

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

This is probably an easy one for many of you but I'm at a loss. I colored some cocoa butter and painted it into my molds, no problem. Did all the chocolate and filling, everything went well until I un-molded. Some came out with a really great shine while others didn't?

Do I need to temper the cocoa butter? did I not chill the filled mold enough prior to unmolding? This was my first attempt at this. I love the look and want to experiment more but would love know where I might have gone wrong....any help would be appreciated.

Cheers.

updated by @Dirke Botsford: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Just tried it for the first time. Holy crap it's amazing. So dark but still can tell it's Chuao. Wow!

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Back from Europe and I brought some great things from Europe for you to try.

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

When I am in a Pralus mood (read: appreciating VERY dark roast), Chuao is the ultimate. It is interesting to me how some of the flavors I associate most with Amedei's bar are nowhere to be found in Pralus's.I get the dried red fruit more than anything. I especially get grapes and raisins and that fruit-skin bitterness. It is fun getting something without the floral vanilla that is so characteristic in Amedei's bars. Mark me down as a believer for this one.And are you posting from Europe? Bring me back something nice!

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Matt,I see, I should update my profile . Lindt is something what I can get easily, let say - in emergence case, not for savouring or delight, that's it. It was my first step discovering chocolate and I am not about to compare it with fine chocolates.I was really looking forward to experience Chuao by Pralus after the excitement about Amedei.... well, it might be not at all rational but a disappointment just impact ones perception. And it didn't encourage to spend your money on another try.The company/export agent admitted - "Yes definetely, something went wrong with the chocolate." Since the surface was just perfectly shiny, I assume the damage wasn't caused by wrong storage temperatures. C'est la vie - I just wasn't lucky enough to get a proper bar. And, I've already mentioned, chocolate is very much about emotions .

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Kristina,You don't like Pralus Chuao, but Lindt is listed as your favorite on your profile! If Lindt is your favorite, you must value texture over flavor. While the Lindt Excellence line is well made to be sure, their raw material leaves much to be desired. Lindt has no discernable notes of cacao and is dominated by "dark" roast and loads of vanilla.From your description versus my experience, I can only assume you bought and consumed a badly damaged bar. While Pralus is certainly not the smoothest producer, your description indicates improper storage or shipping.Although it still may not be worth another try, because if you are used to Lindt you are predisposed not to like Pralus as they don't use vanilla and Lindt is all but defined by it.Matt

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I am sorry to say I was pretty disappointed - most likely something went wrong in the production for the break of my bar was not at all clean, the melt was pretty strange kind of spotted, and even with bare eye one could see tiny cocoa butter drops. Since chocolate is very much about emotions, the taste afterwards was just destroyed... Big expectations can turn out in a long lasting trauma - I just couldn't dare to purchase another Chuao bar by Pralus even having the possibility.

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I've just reviewed it and its quite possibly the best I've ever had. I love those "burned" crispy edges. A wonderful bar!

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I tried it at the Fancy Food Show last summer. Francois Pralus was there and so we enjoyed meeting each other and we had a little chocolate tasting. Definitely an interesting take on Chuao and a very different take than say Coppeneur or Amedei but still quite recognizable as Chuao. It is always fascinating to me how each chocolate maker brings their own talent to their craft producing very different results.-Art

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Matt,Have you recently tasted the Amedei Chuao? What are your impressions?I tasted it in April 08 and April 09. Here are my Taste factor notes:2008- Sublime! Complex and multifacted with 3 or 4 movements. Fruit and Roast. The initial subtle brown sugar/ molasses fades to roast. Middle- a few tangy notes, like mild citrus. Notes of figs, molasses, caramel, and mild nuts.2009- Although still my favorite, this bar doesn't seem to have the same intensity or as wide a range of flavor.(From Amedei- fully matured redcurrant and cherry, expanding in all directions. It evolves into a flavour of fresh fruits and closes with a sensation of honey and preserves.)(from others- almonds, blackstrap molasses, blueberries, cashew, cherries, coffee, olives, plum, prunes, red fruits, raspberry, spicy raisins)

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I tasted and reviewed Pralus' Chuao on 4/11/10. Here's my note on the taste:"I love it! Bold and powerful, yet oh so tasty. Initial- grain, malt; Middle- A small flash of honey. A good background note of wood smoke. Sometimes the smokiness seemed a little strong, maybe a sign of over roasting? Finale- still strong of malt. Long lasting range, very complex. You can get many different notes with different tastings."You can read my full review notes for this and many other bars at my review website: " Choco Files ". I attached it here too.It's currently my #2 all time favorite, behind only the Amedei Chuao.

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Very reasonably priced too! Glad to know you are enjoying it.

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Matt- I agree with you about this bar. I think it is lovely, lovely, lovely!

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Has anyone tried the Chuao bar from Pralus? Like to know what people are thinking about it.

Personally, I think it is a perfect representation of why Francois Pralus is truly a great chocolate maker. Almost always Francois walks the line between dark roast and burned. Often times ending up on the wrong side. And while I tend to prefer a lighter roast, when he hits that dark roast sweet spot without wiping out all the origin, it can be truly spectacular. This Chuao bar is such a result. All the bright fruit notes one would hope to find in Chuao, but an hauntingly deep roastiness. Almost like a well fermented cacao fresh of the barbecue. Quite possibly the best Chuao on the market.

updated by @Matt Caputo: 04/11/15 00:54:09

Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I made an experimental Winnower in a hurry last week to put on my second batch of chocolate.

It cost me about $40 dollars. Made out of some large clear flexi tubing and a three way pluming divider.

So you have straight vertical tube and you drop the nibs into the tube via a side tube. The nibs attempt to drop down the tube while the husks are vacuumed upwards. you have a catch bucket to stop the husks entering the Vacuum cleaner.

Now working on a more permanentwinnower (not held together with duck tape)

Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

We added the valve for a couple of reasons, the main one being that we'd get a lot of blowback with small pieces of husk blowing around everywhere. Also, it seems to winnow better with the input blocked off. Now we just fill up the hopper, put on the cap, and open the valve.The biggest husk does tend to get stuck going down, so we have to shake the hopper a bit. The medium and smaller sized pieces go down without any help. So it's not perfect, but it works pretty well for our needs. If you end up adding an auger or other improvements we'd love to see photos of them.

Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I think a good cheap way to roast the beans is using convection ovens that bakers use. I know Brad uses these in his set up and can roast about 15kg at a time in an oven. These ovens are cheap, especially second hand, compared to coffee roasters which will cost tens of thousands of dollars to roast the equivalent. Also using bakers ovens means that if you want to increase capacity of the operation it is cheap and easy to expand - just buy another oven.

Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I see you have a valve to regulate the feed on the winnower, do you find that you can set the flow rate and leave it or does it block easily? Nice additions to the original design! I thought that an auger of some type would be a good way to feed into a winnower from a hopper but haven't made one. I still just add it in by hand as my throughput is only a few kg at a time.

Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks! That's a great link.

Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

There is a lot of information (and photos) on this page: http://www.thechocolatelife.com/group/homechocolatemakers/forum/topics/1978963:Topic:12336 Here is a photo of the winnower we made, based on the designs on that page.

We modified it so there is a shopvac on the exhaust. This is good for both clean up and it vastly improves the quality of the winnowing. We still have to presort the input, but have made a machine to do that for us.

Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

there are plans online if you search for home made winnower. there are pictures of some homemade ones on this site as well.good luck!

Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

As someone who is looking to get into chocolate making soon, I'd love to see any pictures or plans for your various homemade winnowers, if you were willing to share.

Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Well, as a total beginner, it seems that one of the hardest steps to streamline in a cost efficient way is winnowing. I know that John at Chocolate Alchemy is designing a small scale winnower, and Brooklyn Cacao has one now as well, but outside of that there seems to be nothing unless it is homemade.I have made a few different versions of winnowers, each a little better than the last, but none are perfect, but then again, altogether they cost less than $100 to build. Brooklyn Cacao's looks awesome, especially with the built in cracker, but the price tag is a bit prohibitive to people just starting (correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard it was $30k).If someone made a winnower that was in the $5000 or less category, i'd be in the market for one, but otherwise, my cheapo version although a bit tedious, will do just fine.

Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Many of the new generation of craft chocolate makers start out using a 5-liter stone grinder sourced from India. They're great when you're in a startup mode, but issues start arising when you want to scale production - without having to get investors or mortgage your house.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Brazil Moving Out Of The Shadows

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Brazil must be doing something correctly. Yesterday I received news that PURATOS out of Europe has arrived and purchased a chocolate operation recently started by a friend. The operation had it's inauguration 28 April with "Cacau of Origin" classification. Before the plant had been fully tested, PURATOS showed up with USD 12 million and bought them out. The plant is located in Linhares, Espirito Santos and was designed with capacity of 2500 tons. PURATOS announced at the purchase of intentions of raising the capacity to 7500 tons before 2012. Their market is Europe. The operation was founded by a group of cacau producers that had a dream of breaking the glass ceiling on how we sell cacau.

Barry Callebaut announced on the same day it had finalized plans to construct and operate a new facility in the state of Minas Gerias, with an investment of USD 15 million. The plan will initially produce 20,000 tons of chocolate by 2012. Their market is Brazil and USA.

Kopenhagen Chocolates has also relocated it's operations to Minas Gerias and will market in Brazil,
USA and Europe.

Valrhona announced its grand opening of it's high end chocolate shop in a luxury shopping center in Sao Paulo. I do not know where the product is created but have doubts that they will be importing. This is their 2nd outlet in Sao Paulo, a city of 19 million.

I have recently joined a group to build a chocolate production operation in Ilheus Bahia that will have an initial capacity of 2000 tons. The market is China and contracts have been negotiated for first production in 2011. The principals are cacau farmers that were drafted from a newly formed Association of Cacau Producers (APC) seated in Ilheus. 50,000 sq ft of land has been acquired and we are in the final design stages. Another dream of cacau producers at work.

All of this activity is located within 100 miles of the principal cacau production region in Bahia, Brazil. The economic strength of Brazil seemed to hold strong during the recent downturn and chocolate consumption in Brazil is rising dramatically. All of this activity has resulted from the steady improvement of cacau quality in our region. Quality control management and changes in the way farms are managed are finally bringing positive results to the producer. Looks like the multinational monopoly may be showing signs of cracks


updated by @Jim2: 12/13/24 12:16:07

Temper Troubles

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Ruth, I am so excited to get advice from you! I have your book "Candy Making", my very first book on chocolates and confections. I was looking to get a hold of you a few weeks ago and didn't even think to look on here. I just recently wrote on my blog about making cherry cordials and used a recipe from your book. I had wanted to ask permission but wasn't sure how. I did give you credit in numerous places and added links to purchase you're book on Amazon. You can see the post here: Confessions of a Chocolatier I hope you approve. I did visit your chocolat website and was pleased with your beautiful molded chocolates! Thanks again.

Temper Troubles

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

From my experience, I would first invest in the infrared laser gun. It takes the guess work out of it. I have had a Hilliard 80# for 30 years. The night before I need it, I fill up the bowl with chocolate, set the temp for 115, cover and let it melt. When I go in the morning, remove lid, set temp to desired temp--86-90 depending on your chocolate. Turn the spinning on. Load up the back of the bowl with fresh (well tempered) solid chocolate (either callets or broken pieces). In about 15 minutes, you are ready to go. The solid chocolate seeds the melted chocolate and it all cools down. I ALWAYS test the temper on a piece of parchment or a knife. Much easier to catch bad tempering at this stage than after you have filled your molds. I don't heat my molds and my room is between 65-70. Each brand of chocolate will have it's best temperatures and you just have to play until you figure them out. I don't use a vibrating table, but I rap the molds hard on the table to force the bubbles up.I'm wondering if you are having problems with molding and not dipping, because you are dumping the excess from the molds back into the melter. This would cause a lot of crystallization in the chocolate. Good luck.

Temper Troubles

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi All-

I am hoping for some help in regards to chocolate tempering. I am having some serious issues and trying not to go mad. I have read so much conflicting information in various books that I havebecome very lost. I am having the most difficulty with molded chocolates, I find I havealmost no problems with dipping, ever! It's just the molding that'shard. I would be grateful for any expert advice!

I have two Hilliards Little dippers, one old and one new. The instructions say melt at 100, temper dark at 88 andmilk at 86. Is it really that simple and I am just making it hard onmyself?

I have switched chocolate brands three times and an currently using Felchlin 42% milk and 65% dark. I received these parameters from the Felchlin website:

65%- Melting temp:118.4-122 Precrystallizationtemp:82.4-84.2 Processing temp: 89.6-91.4
42%- Melting temp:118.4-122 Precrystallizationtemp:78.8-82.4 Processing temp: 86-89.6

With such a temp range how am I to know what is the best for molding?Often in my tests the chocolate is either too think, or too thin. Which I am guessingmeans I have over seeded it.

What would the ratio be for melted choc- to seed chocolate? The too think/too think issue seems to be my biggest problem. My only conclusion is that this is due to improper portions of seeded chocolate.

I have read that when seeding and especially when using the little dipper and tempered chocolate that you do not have to do three stages. That you can melt the dark to 122 and then seed it down to around 90 for temper and 105 to 86 for milk. Is this true? This is similar to the hilliard instructions but with different temps.

I have tried to temper all these different ways; the hilliard instructions, the felchlin parameters(using the three step process) and the above temps. Either way does not seem to work out too well for me.I need to know which way is the correct way so I can narrow down my problems. What's the best way? The correct temps?

Other questions I have in regards to this:
-What's ideal room temp for molding?

-In addition to this I am always having a tough time with air bubbles. Do lots of pros use vibrating tables? Should I invest in one of these?

Should I be heating up the molds or not? I worry using the blow dryer that it creates an uneven placement of heat. Is it necessary that I purchase a laser thermometer to monitor temp of the molds?

Thanks in advance for your time and any suggestions you have!
Sarah

updated by @Sarah Scott: 04/11/25 09:27:36

where to buy polycarbonate Chocolate molds in Miami ? any adress ?

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Clay.Thanks for the quick response and yes if the item is in stock it will ship the same day as the order is placed.brian

where to buy polycarbonate Chocolate molds in Miami ? any adress ?

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Hello Clay !thanks for your answer.I will tranfer your message to my friend and she will do her best to buy in Tomric...See U in a next post or why not in Chile if U plan a trip in south America ?Here we do not have cocoa but fantastic wines ; ) so U never nowbest regardsBenouseBenouse

where to buy polycarbonate Chocolate molds in Miami ? any adress ?

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

You are not likely to find a source of professional-grade molds in Miami where you can just go and walk into a store and expect to find a wide variety and a large number in stock.Molds can be shipped (assuming they are in stock) and order processing at Tomric is prompt and arrive in Miami in 3-5 days via ground shipping, less if you want to pay for shipping by air. Molds are not all that heavy, so a "2-Day SuperSaver" rate might be affordable.Again, the keys are: are the molds you want in stock, how many of each mold is in stock, and how long it takes from the time the supplier gets your order until it ships.(BTW - I just went searching Google for "polycarbonate chocolate molds miami" and this thread is the number one search result - about 12 hours after it was initially posted. Thanks to all you ChocolateLife members - you rock. It's your support that makes this happen. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a source of polycarbonate chocolate molds in Miami.)

where to buy polycarbonate Chocolate molds in Miami ? any adress ?

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Hello Brian,how long time for sure does it takes for you to send the molds from N.Y to miami ?best regardsOlivier

where to buy polycarbonate Chocolate molds in Miami ? any adress ?

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Tomric would be happy ship to an address in Miami and an order can be placed at the website ( www.tomric.com ).Let us know.brian

where to buy polycarbonate Chocolate molds in Miami ? any adress ?

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Hi everybody,
I write U from Chile.
I have a friend who goes next week in Miami to visit family and at the same time buy some polycarbonate molds for chocolate ; )
Here in Chile its really too expensive, so could you recomand me some good adresses in Miami ????

Thanks a lot in advance
Best regards

Benouse from Santiago de Chile

updated by @benouse: 12/13/24 12:16:07

Cocoa Helpers

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Ssssh.. .....it's research ! :)

Cocoa Helpers

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

They're probably doing the same thing you are - enjoying the tree 8-)

Cocoa Helpers

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you Sebastian,.... it wasn't the fertilization so much as i was wondering if , what and how these frequent visitors were up to......I had probably spent too long in the hot sun, .....but will still observe and see what I think they are doing.....the perfect excuse to lie on my back in the shade and take a five . The cocoa trees seem to attract more lizards than the nutmeg or other trees and the lesser Antillean bullfinches spend a lot of time pecking the branches .

Cocoa Helpers

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Well, they're an integral part of the ecosystem at large, so in that sense, certainly. Most of what you mention, however, doesn't directly fertilize the pads, if that's what you're asking...