Forum Activity for @Corey Meyer

I buy callets for dark chocolate and just use a chipper for the milk chocolate.

I use a chisel from the hardware store and a large rubber mallet. I found it works much better than the chocolate chipper -- it's sharper.

This is a chocolate cutter that's made by chocovision. I don't really use it anymore as I bulk melt from 1800# cases now so if you are interested make me an offer.

how about a paper guillotine? Sharpen it to a finer point. Maybe weld some spikes onto the blade.

thanks too it could not been simpler!

Thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks for the response. I also bang the block on the cement after I put it into two large plastic bags. Thanks for the idea of sharpening the chipper. I'll try that.

I have a chipper that I bought 30 years ago and it works a lot better than the current ones.

It's extremely sharp !

My business partner got ahold of some new versions and sharpened them up. Worked better, but it's never much fun.Now we only use blocks when we can't get Pistoles.

I know a Pastry Chef that would just smash the blocks onto the floor and then bang the large chunks onto the side of the workbench.

Forget the chipper and use a large hammer!

No

Is there a simpler way to chop up a 10lb. block of chocolate other than using a chocolate chipper and a small hammer?

I have some some organic butter and powder. If you are interested let me know. i can send you some samples or documents if you need.

I can provide very high quality all-natural chocolate from Ecuador, made from 100% Arriba (Nacional) cacao beans. The chocolate comes from a medium-sized company that mostly focuses on the internal Ecuador market.

I just got back after 3 1/2 weeks in Ecuador. We toured factories and farms with my family and friends. I've loved dark chocolate for most of my life, especially with a glass of red (or Port!) wine. We enjoyed one of the tours so much that we went back to the "fabrica" again and ultimately secured samples so that we could help spread the word.It probably helps that my wife is from Spain and I'm fluent in Spanish

Since I got back I've tried to find a better chocolate. Valhrona is very good, but it is expensive and it already has vanilla, which can always be added later (if you're cooking). I've already compared to Callebaut / Trader Joe's; I think this chocolate is much smoother and tastier. I won't even mention Hershey's, Cadbury, etc.

I can get White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and 55%, 75% or 100% dark chocolate in 1 kilogram bars or "kibbles" in bags for easy melting.

I have the technical specifications (in Spanish; I can translate if needed).

If you are still looking for chocolate let me know.

asterix2k10:

If you are looking to source from South America (Ecuador particularly) you should be at least as interested in the level of cadmium as lead. Cadmium is often found in volcanic soils.

thanks!!

I had that feeling too. Any ideas for a better source?

Anyone know anything about where the chocolate comes from that is used in these products? These two are the only chocolates I eat right now.

http://www.righteouslyrawchocolate.com

http://shop.organicnectars.com/14-oz-85-Raw-Cacao-Chocolate-Bar-851706001316.htm

I have tried to contact them to inquire about their sources but have not heard back.

It's just marketing mumbo-jumbo; nothing of any substance there.

Whether dark chocolate bars or chocolate butter and powder, I'm looking for a good source for high quality organic chocolate from South America that is lead-free.

Maybe "raw" chocolate as well.

I have been looking at this site. Anyone know anything about it?

http://www.bulletproofexec.com/chocolate/

Any tips? Thanks!

Thank you Jeff!

I've followed the chocolate apprentice and have looked into Ecole Chocolat, but it has been awhile.

I hadn't heard about that class, but it is right up my alley. Especially how they reference "Science" several times in their course description.

I'll be in that one.

This brings up the thought of taking a food manufacturing course at a local college/university. I hadn't ever considered that. Thank you!

Larry

Larry,

Do you know about this class offered by Ecole Chocolat?

http://www.ecolechocolat.com/chocolate-quality.php

I'm planning to take it!

Hope this helps,

Jeff

I've been researching how to extend shelf life and have found lots of information on water activity and spoilage inhibition. However I have not been able to find anything on how muchShrink Wrapping a box of chocolates will increase shelf life. I bought Wybauw's third book,Fine Chocolates 3, Great Experience: Extending Shelf Life,and have learned about ingredients, water activity, and so forth butlittle mention is made of shrink wrapping.We make cream fondantcenters and drying out is my primary problem.

We don't have a storefront yet and are preparing for a big Christmas gift show to be held on Nov. 15-17. The ideal scenario would be for customers to buy them within a few days of consumption, but I'm working with what I have and reality is that many people who buy chocolates at the November show will do so with the intent of using the chocolates as Christmas gifts.

That said, we've been able to get a general 30 days out of boxed chocolates at cool/normal room temperatures before the centers have dried and become less desirable.

I know storage conditions will have a lot to do on the shelf life & evaporation and I am trying to find a waytoconfidentlyget a few more weeks of shelf life while maintaining the creaminess of the chocolate.

Does anyone have some information on how much shelf life can be increased by shrink wrapping or flow wrapping chocolates?

Thanks!

Larry

Photos would be a big help. I would also like to see the "separated" chocolate too if you can.

Cheers

Brad

Hi Sebastion,

the milk powder is whole milk powder from medallion - here is the link:

http://www.medallionmilk.com/foodWholeMilk.php

I've started another batch today and I'm going to use the same ratios and if the same thing happens I will take a photo and post it so you can see what we mean.

thanks for your help:)

Milk fat is a fat, so it requires no emulsification with cocoa butter. Emulsification means getting water and oil to mix, essentially. if you melt cocoa butter and add in melted milk at, and stir, you'll not be able to see any separation. Is your milk fat that you're adding ANHYDROUS milk fat, or butter from the store? Butter from the store has up to 20% water emulsified into it. You need to be certain, if you're adding milk fat as a stand alone ingredient, that it's anhydrous milk fat (ghee is another name for it in some ethnic circles). Butter from the store will not work.

Thanks Brad - our dark has turned out beautifully every time and the only thing we did differently in the process was to add the whole milk powder (dry) once the nibs were at the paste stage. So we thought it must be the fat in the milk not emulsifying with the cacao butter and we started researching how to emulsify milk fat and cacao butter and only found lecithin as a likely candidate.

But - correct me if I'm wrong - what you are saying is that the milk fat will never liquify - so possibly we did not process it long enough - in your experience how long does it take once you add the milk powder?

NOTE: you'll need to ensure you're paste is warm enough to be fluid - ot

Agree with brad. There should be no separation. Your milk powder - if it is whole milk powder - will have a fat content between 26-28.5%. DO NOT RECONSTITUTE IT to make chocolate. Use it dry.

Assuming 54% fat nibs and 28.5% fat milk powder, your recipe = ~35% total fat -which should be fluid enough to pour. If it's not fluid enough for your liking, fluid lecithin at 0.3-0.5% can be added at the end of your grinding - use more and it will get more viscous. If it's still too thick, it's almost always because you've added water somewhere (either intentionally or via ingredients), you've gotten it way, way, way too hot somewhere along the line, or your grinder is a super grinder and you've managed to grind your particles to sub-micron sizes (i guarantee you this is not the problem).

Exactly what nibs, sugar, milk, and lecithin are you using (ie brand names, which country they originated from, or where/who did you purchase them from)?

Hello Shelley! i read your query and want to discus on it. In my opinion you must usecocoa and butter in processor and mix until they form a paste if you don't want to use soya lecithin. this mixture will make your milk chocolate delicious. Best of luck

churros y chocolate

Something sounds very wrong here. I make about 100lbs of milk chocolate every week and it doesn't "separate" like you say.

At the risk of asking a really stupid sounding question, do you rehydrate the milk (add water to it), or do you use it dry?

There is one thing to remember, and I have said this over and over: Chocolate is NOT an emulsion. It is a SUSPENSION of solid particles in fat. In this particular case, the fat in your powdered milk doesn't count as soluable fat, because it's suspended within the crystals of the milk powder as a solid as well. It will never dissolve. All you can do is grind it smaller and smaller just as you are doing with the nibs and sugar.

If you can feel particles on your tongue, then your chocolate is not refined enough, and that could cause you problems.

Hope that helps.

Brad

I tried 2 different ways - both unsuccessful:

1: 45% nibs, 30% sugar, 20% milk powder, 5% cacao butter (Total fat 32.5%)

2: 39%nibs, 30% sugar, 20%milk powder, 11%cacao butter (Total fat 35.5%)

Our milk powder is whole milk powder - 3.25% butterfat - ( when reconstituted it is 8g of fat per 30g serving =25% fat) we think

We thought it would eventually emulsify if we let it run in the grinder and after 72 hours it seemed almost there but after taking it off it continued to separate. We did a test using an immersion blender to see if we could get it to come together and we tried running it through the tempering machine, but no luck.

That will be one of the most effective emulsifiers you'll be able to use.

How do you know it's not emulsifying?

What is your total % fat of your recipe, and your ingredient list (with their %'s of formulation to be most helpful).

we have tried a few different methods to introduce whole milk powder at different stages of grinding but it doesn't ever completely emulsify - we are trying not to use soya lecithin and know that other bean to bar operations have had success without it - any suggestions??

Everything else inside works. It seems like a shame to get a whole new machine. I guess I could keep this one for parts.

Hi. I'm looking for some advice. I noticed that the frame inside my ACMC is broken at three of the four spots where it screws into the frame. The metal where the screw sits has snapped off from the rest of the frame in all three spots.

It seems to me I will need another machine very soon. Maybe I'm wrong. Has someone else dealt with this?

Greg

I recently tried to make date truffle, consisting of Date, cashew, almonds. The center became too soft and does not harden, probably because the dates were soaked in water for too long and there was still water content after draining the dates. I refrigerated the center but its not hardening. Is this because of the high water content, If so is it possible to remove the water?

TIA

Hi Ben,

Thanks very much, I appreciate all your help.

Best Rob.

Yes, you'll want to make sure that it is well-winnowed. I just winnow and then put the winnowed nib into the melanger.

Hi Ben,

That sounds like a good idea, but would you haveto be very careful in making sure all the 'husks' were removed from the roasted cocoa beans? I have seen the filter on the juicer produces the cocoa mass, but does also filter catchparticles of 'husks' out. Is, this what you have done just transfer the nibs directly into the grinder?

Best Rob.

If the juicer is to pre-grind the nibs before putting them in the melanger, I'd suggest skipping it altogether. You can put nibs directly into the melanger.

Hi Brad,

Thanks very much for the link, much appreciated!

Cheers Rob.

There is a website solely dedicated to making chocolate at home.

It's www.ChocolateAlchemy.com

Cheers.

Brad