Seeking answers….
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
Hey Mack,
i recently did some research on the Chocolate Industry due to my studies. I've found this, lets call it dossier...maybe this will help you finding the right way:D
Forum Activity for @Simon Norton
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
Seeking answers….
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
Thank you Sebastian. I am a bit confused now. I bought raw Criollo Arriba Cacao paste from Bright Earth Foods, says so on the package sitting on my shelf. I just went a double checked it. Am I not understanding something here? I will read more forums.
Cheers!
Seeking answers….
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
I'd urge you to search the forums for raw chocolate discussions, and read up on them. You're not finding raw liquor for sale as it doesn't exist.
Seeking answers….
Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)
Hi all,
This is a great forum, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences! I am starting a raw, organic chocolate bar business here is Ashland, Oregon, and am slowly learning whats what.There are such gems of knowledge in this forum, like yesterday I learned that I can start in a domestic kitchen situation. I then called the State, and it looks like my situation qualifies. I was flooded with relief, thank you.
I am really stuck in locating a wholesale source for raw organic Criollo Arriba paste. If you can guide me towards a source I would be so grateful. I have my EIN, city license, etc.
Another question is I don't really have any idea of the going price for wholesale chocolate. I see lots of various forms of cacao for sale on line, but those are all re-sellers in bulk as far as I can see, I really have not seen pricing for wholesale. Can anyone share what kind of price I might anticipate? Am I being naive, and I should expect to buy from the farmer if I want wholesale? What is the norm, if such a think exists?
My last question is can anyone point me towards what is the next next level up from hand wrapping the bar and labels. I visualize that it involves a machine, and that sounds huge and expensive, but what is the most simple and cheap kind of machine?
In thanking you,
Mack
updated by @Mack Ransom: 12/13/24 12:16:49
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I guess i lucked out on buying it as part of a package! I do remember when I had the electrician installing it, he opened it up and said "That looks expensive." I guess he was right.
Seems like you're not going this route, but for the record, the one i have is nearly silent except for a high pitched noise (like the sound old TV's used to make, but a little bit louder). The selmi vibrating table is much louder by comparison.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
The rotary phase converter is about $600-750 as I recall.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
FYI phase perfects smallest conveyer for 36 amps was $3290 before shipping- ouch!
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks Mike will look into all these this week. One question... How noisy is it. I work about 6 hrs a day so noise could get to me.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Melanie -
If you do decide to go this way - the 10HP machine will work. I don't know the relative pricing.
Mike - thanks for the heads up on these guys. I have not come across them before.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hey Melanie, I've been running my Selmi Plus off a Phase Perfect digital phase converter for two years with no issues. Here's their website: http://www.phaseperfect.com/ Don't know how their prices compare to other brands because I bought mine used. You should have your electrician help you pick out the model that suits your needs.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Which is why I always recommend that my potential FBM customers get an electrician involved to know exactly what the customer has to work with.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
The reason for my question about the exact supply voltage in the new location is that 208V 'single phase' is really two phases of a three phase supply, whereas 240V single phase is a true single phase.
If you have 208V from two legs of a three phase supply, then you can use a transformer to generate the third leg.
-Jon
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
The voltages on the Selmi and FBM machines and others are going to be 208~240VAC 60Hz -- that's 220V +/- 10% --either single or three phase.
FBM handles single-phase power by putting inverters on the motors that need to run in reverse plus changing out components that handle the input voltage from the wall. Some internal components are 60Hz specific. Given what Louise said about Selmi charging 700 to support single phase they are probably doing the same thing.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Jonathan -
We looked into static phase converters as they tend to be less expensive. However, they are not good in situations where the load varies considerably - in the case of a tempering machine, where the cooling compressor kicks in. Now if it were just a melter where the load was more or less constant - then you could use the static converter.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
And to add to my last question: is the voltage in the location that you are moving to 120/240V or 120/208V.
Is the selmi set up for 208V 240V or 480V three phase?
208 and 240 often get confused or are (mistakenly) considered the same thing.
480V is what you would find in a modern industrial facility
240V is what you might find in an old industrial facility
208/120V is what you would find in an office/light industrial facility, because it is a three phase system that gives 120V directly for receptacles and the like.
-Jon
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I forgot, there is one additional option: a 'static phase converter'. This is electrically similar to a VSD set to fixed frequency with all of the necessary filtering to run a generic three phase load.
Anywhere a rotary converter can be used, a static phase converter can be used.
If in Clay's experience the rotary converter mentioned works with the machine, then that will very likely be the cheapest approach.
However you just added a significant detail. You said that there is 3 phase at the main building where you are located.
What voltage is your Selmi rated for, and what voltage is actually being supplied to your location (both at the main panel and in the space where the machine will be located).
Thanks
Jon
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks Clay that's what I needed the actual phase converter. Weighing the cost of that vs pulling the 3 phase in from the panel on the main bldg.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Melanie -
Your headline is misleading: you don't need to convert from 3-phase to single phase at all. Any 3-phase supply automatically includes single-phase power - it's all in how you take the power off the panel (the number of breakers and wires; single-phase 220V will use three wires and three breakers and 3-phases uses four wires and four breakers).
If the Selmi Plus a 3-phase machine and you're moving to location where there is only single-phase power, then you need a ROTARY phase converter because of the variable nature of the load (e.g., the compressor cycling on and off). I suggest you contact American Rotary ( www.americanrotary.com ). You are going to want to purchase their 10HP (AD10-S) converter. I don't remember the price and I have never quoted shipping to Hawaii. We have several people running these on changing loads with FBM machines for well over a year without any problem. What is a problem is if you order one that's too small. Then some of the issues that John mention may crop up.
From my experience, it is NOT possible to convert a machine that has been shipped from the factory at one electrical configuration to another electrical configuration in the field -- cost effectively, or at all. Even if you could it would require many hours in the hands of an experienced (on Selmi equipment specifically) electrician. In my experience, it is much cheaper to change the external power supplying the machine than to change the power inside the machine.
VSDs will not work for this application because of the control electronics of your machine. If you were directly driving just the motors, maybe. But you're not - the electronics of the Selmi are. You'd need to attach the VSD to the CPU in the Selmi and that's not an option.
Another option for the rotary phase converter is to power a panel instead of directly power a machine. This way you can wire and power more than one 3-phase machine off the same converter. If the combined load is to great (you trip the circuit breaker) then it's easy to switch between the two at the panel. Plus the electrical inspectors prefer this method over running long cords.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I am in the process of buying a new tempering machine.
I got a quote from Selmi of 700 euros extra to order the Selmi plus in Single phase rather than 3 phase in January.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Before you go down the path of 'synthesizing' 3 phase power from a single phase source, the first thing you should do is contact Selmi and find out how much it would cost to convert the machine for single phase operation. I found a Selmi Plus user manual online, and it shows a couple of three phase motors...but most of the machine is using single phase power. Any heating element can be reconnected for single phase operation, and the control circuits use 24V derived from a single phase converter/transformer (it is not clear to me from the manual if the control is 24V DC or AC).
It may be that Selmi has already designed for an internal single to 3 phase converter to run the motors.
Failing this, there are several approaches to producing 3 phase from single phase; however these all have their issues.
The cleanest (and most expensive) way to produce 3 phase is a 'motor generator set. This is as simple as it sounds. You have a single phase motor that runs off your single phase supply, and drives a generator which produces 3 phase power. This is not really a likely option, but I mention it for background.
A very common mechanical approach is something called a 'rotary phase converter'. This is simply a 3 phase motor with two of its terminals connected to your single phase line. A special starter triggers this motor to turn, and the third terminal of the motor _generates_ the 3rd terminal of the three phase supply. The benefit of the rotary phase converter is that you get clean sinusoidal output, and only part of the power is actually passing through the converter; for a load that only has a portion of 3 phase loading, the bulk of the power can come directly from the single phase supply.
The downside of this is that the output may not be well balanced, which can cause heating issues in motors. Also you have a spinning machine which means mechanical noise, and the need for bearing maintenance.
The final approach is something called a VSD or inverter. These are actually used to control motor speed, but can also be used to convert single phase to 3 phase power. They work by taking their supply power, converting it to DC, and then using electronics to convert the DC to 3 phase AC. The output AC can have arbitrary frequency and voltage, which gives you the ability to control the speed of a three phase motor.
These devices are relatively inexpensive, and have no moving parts. The downside is that the output AC is rich in electrical noise and harmonics. These units are really meant to drive _motors_, not general purpose 3 phase loads. You would almost certainly need additional filtering between the VSD and the Selmi. Because these units are really meant to drive motors, the 'cleanest' approach is an internal VSD that only drives the motors, leaving the rest of the Selmi using single phase power directly.
(A quick aside: if you have a two terminal AC supply, then it is 'single phase'. If you have 3 terminals, then it is 'three phase'. To see why, draw two points on a piece of paper, and connect them with lines...you get a single connecting line. Now draw three points and connect them with lines....you get 3 connecting lines. Since a circuit requires a closed path between the supply terminals, a pair of supply terminals gives you one phase but 3 terminals give you 3 different paths.)
-Jon
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
There are two different type of converters. One is cheaper and VERY loud and puts out a lot of heat. Can't remember much more, but do your research before buying.
Converting from 3 phase to single phase
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I have a Selmi plus and need to move to a facility where running a 3 phase line is a costly endeavor.i,ve been told I can get a phase converter or possibly switch the motor. Anyone have thoughts or more importantly experience with this?
updated by @Melanie Boudar: 04/11/25 09:27:36
AS / SAN plastic Molds vs PC Molds
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks for your input! I went ahead and ordered three AS plastic molds. We'll see how they perform.Call me crazybut I would never use the same mold for 25 years. Plastic, as I understand, all leaches chemicals to one degree or another, a process I'm led to believe increases with age.It may be urban myth, but I've also heard that in the aftermath of the BPA scandal, if you can call it that, manufacturers rushed to remove BPA from their processes and swapped in other chemicals in this BP series.Anyway, for fun I've gone ahead and ordered one mold made of wood to see if that's a possibility. Yes, wood!
AS / SAN plastic Molds vs PC Molds
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Using ABS is not something I have seenused for chocolate molds. FDA Styrene like HIPS does have a place in the chocolate industry for plaques and packaging but in my opinion does not have the strength to have a useful life in chocolate molding.It's hard to put a Lifeon it but I know manufacturersusing Polycarbonate molds for over 25 years and they still are functioning. I know others who use cheaperPET or rarely Styrene and they crack/replace molds every year.
Regarding the BPA topic. Recent news regarding BPA content in polycarbonate has resulted in somepeople asking for clarification on the topic. We have been watching and researching the topic for some time.At this time, research shows polycarbonate to be safe for use in chocolate molds, and most news regarding BPA is related to baby bottles. Of course everyone has to make their own decision but attached are a few articles that may help clarify the topic for you.
AS / SAN plastic Molds vs PC Molds
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Been shopping for molds.
I've noticed molds in "AS" in addition to the standardpolycarbonate (PC). Anyone have molds made ofAS plastic? If I'm making the connection right, according to Wikipedia , AS is a B short of ABS, which last I checked wasn't food grade or even non-toxic. (That said I did chew no a fair amount of lego as a kid and I'm just fine today lol)
It's interesting because the place I'm seeing the molds sells two versions of just about every shape, cheaper in AS, pricier in PC (22 vs 35, not dollars but you get the idea).
Thanks!
Lee
Edit : I now see this , so maybe even the polycarb molds have BPA, a famous good-times toxin. EWG also says avoid polycarbonate .
Edit 2: I see now that ABS is only "made" of toxic stuff, and is very stable as a finished product. A crylonitrile styrene (AS) or styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) is seemingly an equally safe relative. Maybe its time to start looking at these puppies :P
updated by @Lee2: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Chocolatier Bar Maker turns into success, such an inspiring story
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
I liked the article and his bars look good
Chocolatier Bar Maker turns into success, such an inspiring story
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
I was looking for ideas to distribute bars and this article pop up.
http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130506/PC05/130509567
This is a excellent story and reflects many of us who want to initiate or are already in the business.
Read in between the lines and you can get many answers and details.Look at the type of shops he distributes to, mostly gourmet shops. That's really great.
I which in my country their would be more fancy stores like this so I can expand more easily.
I will try to distribute to candy shops, gourmet artesanal candies and fancy bakeries with 1oz. bars.
Is someone has any thoughts or want to share any story your are welcome.
updated by @Wannabe Chocolatier: 12/13/24 12:16:07
What is the difference : INNO CONCEPT grinder ICGC C 65 / ECGC 65
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hola, preag and Marinko,wanted to ask if these machines are good and if the company is reliable? thank you
What is the difference : INNO CONCEPT grinder ICGC C 65 / ECGC 65
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Dragi Predrag, javite se kad budete na godinjem, bit e mi drago.
Ja sam u poslu sa zainima 25 godina a sa okoladama 8 godina. Proizvodim od Callebaut couverture a evo planiram poeti i svoj bean to bar. Kudvik-ove maine su kao Mercedes , odline ali skupe, a ove Indijske su kao Yugo45, jeftine ali funkcioniraju, samo sa njima treba malo vie truda. Pogledajte moj web nadalina.hr
lijepi pozdrav
What is the difference : INNO CONCEPT grinder ICGC C 65 / ECGC 65
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Marinko!pozdrav ja slicno razmisljam o takvim masinama.Najbolje sto sam video to je masina od mislim da je Kudvik Rus je to napravio.Nisam procitao tvoju stranicu pa cu to ovih dana to napraviti.Godisnje jednom sam u Rijeci Pa bih zelio da se cujemo I vidimo irazmenimo iskustvo u cokoladi.pozdrav
What is the difference : INNO CONCEPT grinder ICGC C 65 / ECGC 65
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Does anyone have information , what is the difference between the INNO CONCEPT grinder ICGC C-65 (price $ 2,999) and ECGC 65 (price $ 7,400).
I'm talking about models without additional equipment.
Both have the same engine and the same capacity.
updated by @Marinko Biskic: 04/11/25 09:27:36
adding liquor to caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
What about Caramels using Beer? These days it is popular to flavor caramel with beer. Tocreate a caramel candy,When should one add the beer to the recipe? Should one reduce it separately and cook the alcohol off first? I create a soft caramel, but one that we cut and then enrobe.
adding liquor to caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks very much for this thoughtful response. Now that our weather is very cold and conditions are very dry, I noticed that my caramel is setting up at lower temperatures. I now know why. Thank you for the insight!
adding liquor to caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
To answer this, I need to clarify where and how I have worked with sugar. There have been two types of locations: sea-level at reasonable humidity rates (50-100%), and high altitude (5500 ft +) at low humidity rates (less than 15%) and at reasonable humidity rates (50%+). I would love to try working sugar in a low humidity/low altitude location, I just haven't been in the right place at the right time to try it. Based upon these different locations, here is what I have experienced:
From a crystallization point of view, I have not seen much difference in avoiding crystallization at different humidity levels. The techniques to avoid crystallization (use of glucose in the recipe, careful when agitating, etc) are the same. I have seen a difference in timing and temperature due to humidity and altitude changes to reach a desired caramel/sugar consistency, however.
For instance, when working at my current altitude versus sea level, and at low humidity levels, I reduce the temperature to which I cook the sugar solution by 8-10 degrees versus what I would do at sea level at higher humidity. If it is humid here (which is sometimes is during monsoon season), I only reduce the temperature by about 4-6 degrees. This indicates that both factors are a component. As a specific example, right now at 10-15% humidity and 5500 feet in altitude, if I want a soft ball stage caramel I will cook it to 228-230 degrees F. In July or August here the humidity will jump to 80-100%, and I will cook the same recipe to 232-234 degrees to hit the same viscosity. At sea-level, I would have taken the recipe to 238 degrees to hit the same. This convention (come across by great trial and error), holds true for any of our sugar based confections: fondant, caramel, toffees, nougats, pulling sugar, etc. We hit the standard sugar stages at lower temps at low humidity levels. My assumption for the reason for this is that at lower humidity rates and higher altitudes the rate at which the water evaporates from the supersaturated solution is higher at each degree of temperature than at higher humidity levels, meaning that we are losing water from the caramel at a faster rate and reaching the appropriate water/sugar ratio for a given stage earlier. Note that this is merely conjecture, but it is what I am seeing in practice.
Back to the question of alcohol, upon reflection, every once in a while I will add alcohol (particularly a wine that may have residual sugars and adversely impact the desired flavor of the caramel) during the cooking stage, but only after the solution has come to a boil. I have not had any crystallization issues with this, although it does seem to also speed up the stage levels but I have not experimented enough to come up with a quantified effect.
adding liquor to caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
what effects does no humidity have on caramel and crystallization?
adding liquor to caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
We routinely use combinations of caramel and alcohol - and the easiest way we have found to use it is to add the alcohol AFTER the caramel is made and after cooling if using a soft caramel (we add it to the piping bag itself with the caramel and massage to combine). Crystallization has already occurred in the caramel itself, so the alcohol does not affect the caramel batch. Adding after the fact does affect the viscosity of the caramel, so if we are going for a specific consistency we will cook the caramel slightly longer (take it to a few degrees more) to thicken the output prior to adding in the alcohol. If adding the alcohol to a toffee/sugar candy, we add it just after taking it off the heat. This limits the effects on crystallization. Note that we only use the wet method of caramel making, as it is easier to control the output at our altitude and humidity levels (we had to adjust sugar temps for soft stage etc due to being a mile above sea level and almost no humidity).
adding liquor to caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I'm no chemist, but my husband told me that alcohol is all some sort of fermented sugar, and presumably that is why the adjustments need to be made as Mark has said. My caramel tasted sooooo good, but I don't know how to adjust formulas, so I guess I'll have to skip it.
adding liquor to caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Mark,
Your insight is very helpful. I never knew that about Alcohol. Understanding and controlling how caramel crystallizes is so important. During the summer, I find that is when I have the most problems with crystallization. Do you know if Sorbitol will help? What about Lecithin? I add a bit of lemon juice to my recipe. I also add a good amount of glucose. Thanks again for your contributions.
Daniel
adding liquor to caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Alcohol reduces the solubility of sugar. If your control'scombined recipe and texture had your caramel on the edge of graining (crystallization) the alcohol can take you over that edge. To compensate you can reduce the sucrose, and increase the doctors (glucose syrups, etc.). Another option would be to control the crystallization, getting it to grain in much smaller crystals, done through technique. However this will start to shorten the texture.
adding liquor to caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Has anyone tried adding liquor to a batch of caramel? I'm thinking of Christmas (can't believe I'm thinking about it already) and adding rum as well as spices for a "hot buttered rum" type caramel. In my experimenting, I'm getting some crystallization (I'm a novice, so I think that's what it's called) around the edges of the batch: sides and bottom. I've thought that liquor would work in caramels and toffees, etc., as long as they didn't have sugar of their own in them, like I think Kahlua would, for example.
Does anyone have experience or thoughts on this?
Thanks!
updated by @Nicole5: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Chocolate Distributor Business Concept
Posted in: Opinion
Hi everyone! I owe a chocolate store 3 years now and have to close for personal reasons 1 year ago. As mentioned before in this forum people dont know what they are getting into, is a tough business. During my operating time the business was ok, but not as lucrative as I thought. My chocolatier where mostly truffles oriented, people love our chocolates, started to distributing truffles on other stores and find that other sellers didnt take care of our product and customers think it was pricey.
We dont have a culture for fancy chocolate, although people recognize it when they taste product. Now I try to reopen just from a different perspective.
Just bars and distribute, cut all the retail myself as the local demand is not huge I will cut down some costs and place the business as a side income.
Try to come with a competitive product keeping its quality to compete with chemical global manufactures as a local, with the niche flavors.
I will like to hear any advice from you or if any one has initiated distribution, what was your experience?
updated by @Wannabe Chocolatier: 04/10/15 20:47:10
Getting a delicious Cherry filling for Cherry Chocolate Bar
Posted in: Recipes
Hi Im making a cherry coconut confection as a filling to dip it in milk chocolate to make a CHOCOLATE CHERRY BAR. I used cherry and coconut, I tried to keep my recipes as natural as possible.
I used maraschino cherries, desiccated coconut and icing sugar. I thought I will be needing some vegetable oil but no need since further grinding of the coconut release all its oil. I end up with a cherry coconut marzipan. I was expecting some difficulty on this recipe because cherry is a very tricky ingredient. I guess nothing beats the whole cherry.
Then I gave some to my best critics (family) and their comments where are following. They are really tough but that helps to only the best product goes to market.
- I dont know what it is
- What is it
- It is coconut or cherry
- It has some chemical to it
- It takes like medicine
- This one was interesting. If I bite a small piece it doesnt even tastes, if I bite a small ball it has flavor.
- It leaves a dry taste in your throat
- From one to ten , a 5
- I leave some aside at is got dry and the cherry flavor got more tasty.
As you see, the comments where as expected from a cherry filling. My question is how do I improved this recipe and keep it stable for chocolate filling. I add some rum and improved flavor , the I cook it and improved texture. I was thinking on natural flavoring . Any suggestions?
updated by @Wannabe Chocolatier: 04/15/15 07:13:06