Forum Activity for @Aura

I'm curious for this answer to as we are in the same boat.  We currently have about 11 origins.  We are leaning towards the prime.  Any thoughts on this size?

Hi all,

We are looking for a suitable fridge in order that we can speed up production of our bars and I stumbled across these fron Vantage House in the UK:

https://www.vantagehouse.com/chocolate-equipment-results/CHOCOLATE%5FRANGE/Chocolate-Range

Does anyone have any experance with this fridge Brand and is this suitable for cooling down bars in the moulds faster?

Thanks

Calum

Hey guys, still browsing for one of these. If anyone is looking to sell this, or maybe even a selmi, let me know. I am looking to buy asap.

Kyle

What "language" do they speak?

I've been having a really frustrating time with distributors, and wondering:

1) how widespread is this incompetence/apathy?

2) how do you put up with it until you can order direct from manufactuers?

3) is there a good alternative for the little guys who don't want to order a year's worth of supply at once (from 7 different places)?

Thanks!

As the owner of the above linked chain belt upgrade, I can't recommend it enough (it may cost you more than the machine though, but I felt it was worth it personally) I did have to make a few final alterations to it after that photo was taken, and the noise is down to a slightly more acceptable level.

I'm keen to try one of these power twist belts though, there is a fenner supplier local to me who I hope would be able to get one in, in the UK. I've been using a belt coating spray too which has helped (but not a lot)

Hi, I'm looking to add some colors to my bars / barks / brittles with edible flowers like roses and Nasturtiums.
But the concern is that they would wilt too soon.

Does anyone here have any experience with edible flowers with chocolate?
I'm considering a light sugar glaze for preservation, but hoping I might get some feedback here before I try that.

Thanks!

Having been at this game now for almost 10 years, I've tried a lot of things.

The belt you want to switch to is a linking V belt.  They almost never stretch, are almost impossible to wear out, and are a collection of links which can easily be added or removed, or even replaced if you sieze the bowl and burn a spot on the belt.  

Check it out:  http://www.fennerdrives.com/powertwist-plus/

I'm not sure where everyone is, but most transmission supply places carry them, or in North America, Acklands Grainger.

Brad

This website sells replacement parts for the Premiers. Might be best to contact them first and have a chat:

http://indichocolate.com/products/chocolate-machine-replacement-parts?variant=1168767445

I've also seen this photo (at the top of the thread)

http://chocolatetalk.proboards.com/thread/1572/premier-grinder-loosing-refining-ability?page=2

ok grazie

Penso sia il temperaggio, la temperatura finale non é corretta.

Prova queste temperature per temperare a mano, io preferisco a bagnomaria piuttosto che tavolo di marmo, anche perché qui fa caldo.

raffreddre a 27˚,8 e poi portare a 32˚,2, io preferisco tenermi 1/3 o 1/4 della cioccolata a 34˚, e la aggiungo a a  quella che ho portato a 27˚,8, cercando di arrivare il prima possibile (se serve con l'aiuto del bagnomaria) a 32˚,2

la puoi lavorare poi a 33˚,5

E' importante mescolare molto.

E poi una volta temperato, non riempire subito tutti gli stampi, fai un test con un po' di cioccolato che metti in frigo e vedi come va. Almeno se devi ricominciare hai meno lavoro.

Fammi sapere......

Ciao Allora cerco di spiegarmi meglio ho tostato Ridotto una granella e pulite le md poi le ho raffinato e miscelate (60% di granella   10% burro di cacao e il 30% di zucchero di canna) per 72 ore con il bagnato e macina Fino qui tutto bene il Problema arriva DOPO temperato (ho provato in vari modi Sia sul marmo Che un bagno maria per arrivare alla temperatura di 28 ° e poi a 31 ° lo metto NEGLI stampi lo lascio rafreddare poi li tolgo. DOPO Qualche giorno diventa granuloso con Punti beige, non così secondo me o faccio cosi male il temperaggio o mi sfugge Qualcosa grazie per il Tuo Aiuto

Hi everyone,

my 2ltr tabletop premier wonder grinder has finally got to the stage where the belt is 'shedding' and creating black dust within the machine. I am looking to change the belt and saw in a few discussions about getting a powertwist belt, but i am not sure which one i would need, the only info on the belt i currently have is 'Ecodrive FHP 2190', so am unsure what that refers to as size etc. can anyone help? also i have been recommended a 'polyurethane belt' does anyone know if this is better or worse than a fibreglass one?

cheers,

James

Spiegati meglio, che tipo di cioccolato e in che condizioni si sbriciola?

Hi AnneMarie;

To be very candid with you, I think what they are doing is fabulous!  

The reason is very simple:  Their outrageous pricing and marketing causes consumers to ask questions, and as misguided as it may seem, that helps EVERYONE in the bean to bar industry who has once, if not 10,000 times, taken time to educate their customers about mass produced chocolate vs. the chocolate they MAKE right there in their shop.

A few months ago, Choklat passed the 100,000 customer mark, and in spite of being open for 7 years, being the only chocolate maker in my city of just a million people, having benefitted from tens of thousands of dollars in free media attention over the years, and having our chocolate and wine events sold out 4 nights a week for 5 months in advance on word of mouth alone, every day we STILL get people through our doors that don't know the difference, and get the spiel from me or a team member.

If To'ak garners some media attention, and helps educate consumers in the interim so I don't have to, well... GREAT!  They've told the general public that there's more to life than a KitKat bar (or 260 bars for that matter!  haha!)

Are they going to be around long enough to make a dent in the industry?  I doubt it.  Already the word is getting out that their product is medicre at best, and online reviews are certainly doing them no favours.  The orders will stop coming in soon enough.

Remember Noka a few years back?

One thing I will say for certain though:  The bean to bar chocolate industry is gaining exposure, and many customers who have been to my shop have sought out other artisans.  I know this because they come back even more loyal than before.  Recently I increased the price of my chocolate bars to $10 and up, and bumped our truffles to $2.25 each.  Not a single customer batted an eye.  In fact, when I posted the apology for the price increase on my facebook page, the overall response was, and I quote "Couldn't care less if prices go up. It's 100% worth it. "

Now, we need a $1,000 chocolate bar that actually tastes good!  Anyone out there want to give it a go?  LOL

Brad

Hey, that looks fun!  Thanks for sharing that exercise.

My current recipe is pretty straight forward, but I've been using coconut milk.  The results are delightful, but I haven't figured out how to not lose money on it or compromise it's quality.  Some messing around is definitely in order before I can bring a caramel product to market.

Here - this will be a good resource for you mate.  Let me know when you've got something you're happy with and i'll buy some 8-)

http://nca.files.cms-plus.com/ResidentCourse/Week2/Labs/ResCourseWk2LbCH10&11Caramel,Fudge&Toffee.pdf

it does.  you'll need to compensate by adding milk fat (or a soft fat of your choosing).

Sounds like a "do it and find out!"  I was under the impression that fat content made a difference in a caramel, but honestly I've never tried using a defatted liquid/powder.  I bet it works wonders for balancing that profitability equation, too.  Thanks for sharing!

Hi Bart,

Great to e-meet you. My company is Rescue Chocolate (rescuechocolate.com). It's a line of all-dark chocolates and we donate all profits to animal rescue groups. Please be in touch if you'd like to get some samples!

Best,

Sarah

Every day for years.  Some of the best caramels in the world are made that way.

Thanks Larry!  I'm still on the fence about it, but it'd be really nice to free up some time whenever... things really get cookin'.

@sebastian, have you done this?  What were your results like?

Hi John!  I went into a chocolate boutique the other day that was part wine lounge, and thought it was fantastic - I'd definitely have some tea I were to wonder past such a spot, too.  

Something that may be useful to you is a tool such as foodpairing.com or this one on http://www.callebaut.com/ocen/chocolizer#foodpairing.  Other manufacturers may have a version as well, but it could be a start.  Good luck, sir!

Thanks, @bartbasi, it does help some.  I'm thinking I might try to find/make a styrofoam cooler that fits the kraft boxes I use that I can leave with the retailer, and take one back each time I deliver.  She's a pretty cool lady, so I think she'd appreciate the extra care and it'd work fine as long as it doesn't take up much space.

Wish there was a 'Like' button Sebastian! 

I can just picture how they discovered that technique led to better ganaches.  Someone screwed up - the ganache was clumpy and almost impossible to work with - someone added a bit more cream - beat the hell out of it and voila - the BEST ganache that was ever made!

I wouldn't think so Ruth, but it never hurts to do the test - that's how we learn new things sometimes!  

Kerry - the only reason Aw would be lower because of mixing would be that there were 'pockets' of high Aw areas, and testing done happened to hit one of those pockets.  It's not a function of mixing lowering Aw, it's more a function of ensuring homogeniety.  I see chefs all the time make technical errors as they're trying to explain why this or that technique is better than the other guys' technique.  The fusion of culinary and technology's a pretty cool place to be, but a lot of people don't really understand it, and as such it ends up being theater to some degree.

Interesting though - Valrhona claims that is you mix your ganache the way that Frederick Bau shows in the video - that the aW will be lower. I have plans to test the theory!

Sebastian, I was just wondering if it allows you to get a really good emulsion, and sets quickly, if it would affect it in anyway. Probably not:)

I wouldn't expect the form of the cocoa butter to have any impact on Aw of the finished product.

I wonder if on sitting it will change over time? Have to experiment and report.

So - I'm trying to make some video footage (can you say frustrated beyond belief!) - so this morning I had some ganache to which I had added silk and some that I had not.  The aW differerence was no more than 0.01 between them - but I'd love it if you would do some tests as well.

Kerry, Have you checked aW to see if it has changed?

On the plus side, at least consumers are getting used to the idea that the price of 'fine chocolate' should be more than what is currently the price at your local supermarket. While I haven't seen or tasted the chocolate, if I made a bar worthy of charging that much I would be quite chuffed with myself. That said, I agree with Sebastian. Marketing, love it or hate it; it can really influence customers.

I hope to learn something from what they've done (even though I dont think i'll be selling bars for even half of that much). I also think that fine chocolate has a long way to go in terms of the way we look at pricing. I think that so much lack of customer knowledge means that what david-menkes mentioned is going to happen for a while. Which is a real shame. 

A little fooling around - I set one of my EZtemper units at 35 - put coloured cocoa butter in overnight and splattered and sprayed with my Fuji. Tempered some dark chocolate with the silk - added some silk to the ganache which allowed me to back them off in less than 30 minutes.

Wow!! I need to put my chocolate in a wooden box and include a book so I can charge more. I have much to learn about marketing.

I've never tasted their bar, nor do i know them personally.  But some chocolate can benefit greatly from age.  I've aged bars as long as 8 years that have been fantastic.  It depends a great deal on your raw materials, how they were processed, the specifics of the packaging, and the storage temperatures.  I've also stored bars that were terrible after 2 months.

Do their bars benefit from age?  Possibly - I have no idea.  My suspiscion is neither do they.  Long live marketing.

Was doing some much-delayed reading on To'ak and finally took a look at the website. Not having faced the bar or tasted it I do have to give credits to the marketing -- de-husked, roasted bean plackaged with the bar, chopsticks provided, wooden box packaging etc. I do agree with Annmarie that the navigation is a bit laggy.

Anyone else noticed that the sequence of flowering to fruiting depicted on their website is mistakenly reversed in the early stages?

While others were BBQing yesterday, I was making my version of Dulcey. I sealed 1000g of white chocolate in a Food Saver bag and pressure cooked for 90 minutes on high. Stirred thick mass and it thinned as it cooled. Added the EZtemper silk when temp was 89f. Moulded bars just so I have a tempered breakup bar. The eztemper silk made this a quick process.

Everyone was doing this yesterday 8-)

I couldn't fit the ribs and brisket into the photo, but they were there!

Hi everyone!

My name is Mateusz. I am chocolate enthusiast and collector of chocolate wrappers since I was a child. So far I've collected over 6,5 thousand different wrappers from 58 countries. Most are from Poland. Here you can see all producers and distributors whose wrappers I've got - www.chooco.blog.pl/wrappers.

If you eat a lot of chocolate and get rid of all beautiful wrappers which don't deserve such a fate please contact me! I will know what to do with it My main aim is to collect at least one wrapper from every country.

I hope you enjoy my collection

 Collection.JPG.jpg - 1.2MB

Forgot it was a holiday in that big country south of us today when I tried to call Tricor!

Never hurts to ask - that's one of the few plants i've not been in i'm afraid. i'd suspect they have one  however

If you're using a stone grinder, because they're so terribly porous, it's almost impossible to clean them fully.  That could be y our issue.  I still suspect it's beans however.