Forum Activity for @Mark Hare

Problems with chocolate molds

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Tien, you might also want to have a fan blow room temp air across the molds to help them cool off. I have found this to be a great help in getting the molds to set and release properly.

Problems with chocolate molds

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Ruth and Nat! I got the humidity in my working area down to 52% and tried again. Between Ruth's hint to increase the working temperature and Nat's to lower the humidity, the molds came out perfect and the chocolate stayed fluid while dipping.Muchas gracias!!

Problems with chocolate molds

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

You may be getting over-crystallization of the chocolate. After about 10 minutes of you working, raised the temperature on the machine 2 degrees. This will keep the chocolate from thickening too much. Good luck.

Problems with chocolate molds

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks! I'll look into getting a hygrometer and maybe pick up a cheap dehumidifier today. I make my annual batch of chocolates (about 60 lb) over Thanksgiving weekend, so waiting for a better time doesn't really work for me. I live in the San Francisco area (actually on the SF Peninsula about 40 miles south of SF), so our climate/humidity is pretty dry most of the time - except for a few rainstorms in the winter. This weekend's weather has been most unusual - heavy rain and thunderstorms, which are practically unheard of here - so it sounds like I've just been hit with bad timing!Thanks so much for your help!

Problems with chocolate molds

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Tien,Yes, raining outside with no AC is definitely a problem with both molding and thickening in the temperer. I'd suggest getting a cheap $20 hygrometer online and don't temper if it's ever above 50% humidity if you don't want to chance it. Where are you?Space heater won't really help, but a dehumidifier or AC set on a higher temp (at which it still dehumidifies) are good for lowering the humidity. A temp of 70-79 is OK, but since most temperers use passive cooling, it goes a little faster if the room temp is closer to 70.

Problems with chocolate molds

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Nat,Thanks for the references! They were really helpful.I'm using Tomric polycarbonate molds (which I gather might be part of my problem) to cast shells for some bonbons. The molds are at room temperature and being cooled at room temperature. (I'm not a professional chocolatier, so I don't have climate control, though I could perhaps try to contrive something with a space heater and fan). What is the optimal temperature for casting bonbon shells?But I think part of the culprit might be the humidity! It is pouring rain outside and is expected to pour all weekend, so we have very high humidity. I will try again later this week when it's a bit sunnier and drier out.Could the humidity be causing my other problem, which is the chocolate thickening too fast? I am tempering by heating the chocolate to 120F or so, then dumping it into the tempering machine, putting tempered chocolate on the other side of the tempering machine, and allowing the machine to cool to the proper temperature. Then I leave the machine on and the bowl rotating while I dip the chocolates.In the past this has worked OK, but this year I'm lucky if I get 20-30 minutes of working time before the stuff thickens and I have to temper again. Any suggestions?

Problems with chocolate molds

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Tien, what kind of molds and cooling are you using and what is your humidity? With larger masses of chocolate in molds vs. thin layers in dipped chocolate, large flat areas on the bar can easily have release marks or problems cooling evenly. This post and this post describe release mark problems with some of the thinner, cheaper, or badly made molds. If you're tempering at a time of year where it's more humid, the tempering that worked fine before may become much more sensitive to any minor problems. I can temper fine all winter with no dehumidification or AC, but come summer and higher humidity, everything goes to pot without climate control.

Problems with chocolate molds

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi all,

In years past I have been able to use chocolate molds successfully. This year I am having problems, possibly because I switched tempering methods? (I was tabling the chocolate on a granite slab, now I'm using a tempering machine.) The chocolate does not set up correctly. I have tried it using freshly tempered chocolate, and while the knife-dip test sets correctly, and the chocolates I dipped immediately before AND after casting the molds set up correctly, the mold cavities are full of streaky chocolate that doesn't look tempered at all.

My room temperature is 70F, and the chocolate is at ~89F (as far as I can tell; my thermometer appears to be "off" despite calibration and despite being approved for industry, so I have been using the lip test more than the thermometer to determine tempering). I'm working with Valrhona, a mix of Alpaco and Extra Bitter. And, as I said, dipped chocolates seem to be coming out fine with the same bowl of chocolate, it's only the molds that are going wrong.

Any thoughts on what I could be doing wrong?

Tien

updated by @tienchiu: 04/11/25 09:27:36

To freight or not to freight...

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Thanks Brian, I suppose the purpose of my post was for people like myself who are still going through the learning curve of importing cacao. Thank you for you reply. I cannot answer it cause for the most part, what you ask would be location specific. But your questions do serve as a guide as to the TYPE of questions, people like myself should be asking when considering the import option. Thanks again. T

To freight or not to freight...

Posted in: Chocolate Education

My reply is humbled by your response. Wow, Jim. Your post deserves a couple of 'exalts'. Thanks. T

To freight or not to freight...

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Anthony,The single largest problem I have is "Transportation". In addition to the items you listed, you need to exploreCost of staging to the point of FOBIf you are considering bean shipment, the point of FOB is normally remotely located from the origin of beans and can be substantial. Shipment in excess of 20kg are not normally handled by postal services and requires alternate types of commercial movement. This entails additional steps which include added paperwork and possibly government regulations. Free movement of goods are normally controlled by lots of forms, inspections and controls $$$$$Fees and TaxesThe simple act of commercial transfer between parties brings out another host of 3rd party blood suckers that add to the misery of buyers/shippers. In Brazil, you must have an official "Export Specialist" (Despechante) in order to process a shipment through the Government Export Process. On reality, you must prepare all documentation and possess an export license prior to submitting goods for export. This "rubber stamp" process cost 1 minimum salary (Today is +- US$ 300. You are also legally bound to contribute 1/2 minimum salary to the union to which the 3rd party "Export Specialist" belongs.Sanitation ControlAll goods shipped normally require "Inspection and Certification" that the goods are free of diseases and are worthy of shipment. This requires plastic pallets or fumigated wooden pallets. another +- US$150. Inspection and subsequent documentation adds another +- US$ 50.00. Specific types of packaging normally apply which in the case of beans, include requirements for unused sacks with very specific information printed ( Origin, product enclosed, Tax ID number, weight and Shipper name). Depending on the importing destination, possible fumigation and other tasks)Costs of commercial transport....Expensive!!!!Depending on Origin and Destination and method of transport. Typically out of Brazil this amounts to +_ US$ 1.00 per kg and Full container 20' (15000kg} +_US# 4500.Since most bean sources originate in 3rd world countries the options for undeclared costs to remove "bumps in the road" from corrupt officials depend on the location and whether the inspector needs additional cash for vacation expenses.Without any doubt, this subject is well worth extensive research before seller or buyer enters into an agreement. Most of the hassles encountered by individuals are avoided by multinational giants as they maintain large staffs and bank accounts to subvert the problem.In all cases...BUYER AND SELLER BEWARE....Jim Lucas

To freight or not to freight...

Posted in: Chocolate Education

That my dear friends is the question.
I'm sure a lot of people on this group have come across this problem and I suppose It would have helped me I had read something like this (and I'm speaking under correction here)

Courier service - Fast and very expensive and limited to +_ 25kg, depending
Freight Air - Slightly cheaper - but takes over from courier 25kg to 1000kg, depending
Shipping
LCL - Less than Container load - Group Stuffing (beware of other goods)
FCL - Full Container Load - Its all your stuff

FOB - Free OnBoard
EXW - Ex Works
CNF - Cost Insurance and Freight

See attached chart.

Which do you use? If anyone has anything to add to this it would be appreciated
Tony

updated by @Anthony Lange: 04/10/15 13:41:58

Amma chocolate

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

Hi Christopher,

Have you been able to find an importer of Amma yet? I would like to carry it and am looking for a wholesaler...

Best,

Tessa

Amma chocolate

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

any news on how to obtain Amma chocolate in the states ?

christopher carlson

updated by @christopher carlson: 12/13/24 12:16:07

Is anyone attending ZDS in Cologne this year?

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

Koln's great this time of year - if so, first round of Dom Kolsch's on me...

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

Chocolate, Dessert & Wine Lover's 'Tasting' Evening

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

We are still looking for delicious chocolate Exhibitors for the Chocolate, Dessert & Wine Lover's 'Tasting' Evening scheduled for Thursday, February 10th at the Hilton in Stamford, CT. There is no cost to participate, only the cost of staffing and samples. You can also sell your delectable chocolates, all we suggest is that 20% of whatever you sell be donated to the Shelter for the Homeless. Please know that 100% of every attendee tickets sold will go directly to the Shelter for the Homeless.

I have attached the 2010 Event Flyer for informational purposes.

Thank you for any/all suggestions and recommendations!


Scot

sweicker@sbweventsgroup.com

updated by @Scot B. Weicker: 12/13/24 12:16:07

Bringing cacao beans into the U.S.

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

I just returned from a vacation in costa rica and found that you can buy beans from the indigenous people on the caribbean coast. Their trade organization is appta ( http://www.appta.org/j15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=68&lang=en ), and you can buy some of their beans from the cacao house on the road to bri bri from puerto viejo for about $4/kilo.Also, John at Carribeans coffee shop in Puerto Viejo makes his own chocolate (actually conched as opposed to a lot of the other rustic chocolate you find on the coast) and is very nice to talk with if you end up over that way.

Bringing cacao beans into the U.S.

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Thanks! Now, all I have to do is locate some...

Bringing cacao beans into the U.S.

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

very much appreciated, Nat.

Bringing cacao beans into the U.S.

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Shouldn't be a problem. I brought 4 kg of cacao beans from Mexico into SFO, showed it to the USDA inspectors, told them what it was & where it came from, and they didn't seem to care much about it. Explain that it's been fermented and is no longer viable seed to germinate plants, which is what they're mainly concerned about.

Bringing cacao beans into the U.S.

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

I live in California and will be flying directly back here.

Bringing cacao beans into the U.S.

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Where are you going to in the states, Deborah? That can make a big difference. Most places in the states are OK, except for Hawaii where they grow cacao so you don't want to introduce fungal spores that may be on the unroasted beans.

Bringing cacao beans into the U.S.

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

I am planning a trip to Costa Rica in a few months and if I'm able to locate some good, fermented and dried (but not roasted) cacao beans, I'd like to bring them back. I've tried the USDA site and the CBP site and I'm having a heck of a time trying to figure out what limitations there are on bringing them into the U.S., other than the fact that one should declare them. Does anyone here have some insight? Are they treated any differently than coffee beans (which, I imagine, would generally be roasted already)? Is there a limit to what I can bringback? Are they subject to quarantine?
updated by @deborah2: 04/29/15 04:05:51

wholesale and retail pricing

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

I am interested to learn how to price chocolates for both wholesale and retail sale. I have priced other types of products in the past but have no idea to account for the variables between different chocolates (i.e. different sizes, different fillings, decorated, packaging, type of couverture, etc.). Any insights are appreciated. Andrea

updated by @Andrea B: 12/13/24 12:16:07

toffee (i know this is not chocolate, i figure somone has some experience)

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

A few things are going to be important to you. It's awfully hard to troubleshoot w/o details, although i appreciate the need for confidentiality. Rate of heating is important (ie you could be heating too quickly). Rate of mechanical energy input is important (ie, you may need more/less stirring). A little bit of acid may help you (citric or acetic - some lemon juice or vinegar). Altitude is important for your final cooking temperature... depending on where you're at, 305 sounds high, but you indicate you're seeing the problem well before that, so i'm inclined to think that's not it. Something many people never think about - or really have much control over - is what else comes with their raw materials. Sugar, for example, can very widely in it's incidental contaminants - depending on where you get it from, some of your incidentals may not be so incidental. how it's harvested can hugely impact this - cane sugar that's mechanically harvested w/o burning the field will be quite different than beet sugar from minnesota. these incidentals can wreak havoc in your system.

toffee (i know this is not chocolate, i figure somone has some experience)

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Welcome to toffee Hell Toffee starts to separate at around 250 degrees. I have tried different butters, room temp or frozen, different sugar (beet or cane). The only conclusion I have come to is no conclusion at all! We have better luck in the big round-bottomed copper kettle doing 12# butter batches, than smaller batches on the regular burner. I think the copper inverts some of the sugar, or the size of the batch evens out any inconsistencies in the temps or ingredients. I like to start the batch slow, bring to a boil and gradually turn up the heat. If it starts to separate, pour in some hot water and stir like crazy. i haven't lost a batch in years, but you have to keep a close eye on it. A friend of mine who is in the toffee business always uses non-stick pots. He said that really helps on the separating. I always take it up to 290 (5000 feet). My husband stirs the big batches and he likes to get the butter and water almost to a boil before adding the sugar. I don't like to reduce the amount of water before adding the sugar. It just really doesn't seem to matter. Sorry I don't have more answers.

toffee (i know this is not chocolate, i figure somone has some experience)

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

so.. i think because ive been melting butter before i add all the ingredients this is causing this reaction.?? does it make sense to add cold butter and the water and the dry ingredients all togather at the begining?

toffee (i know this is not chocolate, i figure somone has some experience)

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

thank you for your reply. its easy to tell its separated because the butter is on top of everything else and im not able to get it combined again. i am on contract not to give out recipes but i will do my best. first i melt butter, then add sugar and salt and water. cook at med, med-low stirring frequently until 305 degrees. take off heat and stir in vanilla. pour onto parchment paper, let cool. now,.. i have been trying to make big batches and i dont think that would make a difference but i dunno. thx.

toffee (i know this is not chocolate, i figure somone has some experience)

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

How in the world can you tell if it's separating while cooking? Halfway through cooking, it should be a molten, bubbly mess that's impossible to determine if it's an emulsion or not 8-) describe your recipe, and your production in as much detail as possible, and describe when and how you determine it's separated pls...

toffee (i know this is not chocolate, i figure somone has some experience)

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

hello, its joe from blissful brownies again with another question. this time im making english toffee, andhaving problems with my butter separating from the toffeeabout halfwaythrough the cooking process. i have no idea why this is happening.toffee is somthing i have never done. i know this is not a chocolate question, but i figure someone has had toffee experience.

P.S. thankyou all for your tips on my chocolate enrobing issues last week.

updated by @Joseph Patrick Williams: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Oh, 10lbs that I can digest (excuse the pun). Not 10kgs.... Yes, that sounds right. 4.5kg in an hour sounds right. Thanks

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

8.2kj/kgC = seems to read?

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I'm not sure about your calcs. However the white ACMC tempering machines hold about 10 lbs of chocolate, and use two clear 110 watt light bulbs for heat, and no fan to circulate the air while heating. They melt the chocolate and heat it to 123 degrees F from our ambient room temperature of 64 degrees F, in almost exactly one hour. It then takes almost exactly one hour to run the machine through the rest of it's tempering cycle.Like I said, my staff do this every morning, and do it with several of these machines at a time.Interestingly enough, it takes almost the same time to cycle through the dark chocolate as it does the milk chocolate with those machines. The milk does however take a few minutes longer for each cycle.

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

0.52 cal/g is that calories/g? Is that the unit of measue I want I would of thought it would be expressed in J/g? T

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks for that.... 10kg or 22lbs in 1hr with 440W. Wow. My calcs must be out. 22lbs of chocolate in an hour is a lot. I get the drift re losses but for now I must assume negligible losses. Thanks Brad.

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Call me a luddite here, but wouldn't other variables come into play? I'm thinking variables such as:1. Heat loss created by the space and air flow between the heating element and the medium containing the chocolate, OR in the case of water being the medium carrying the heat (which is the case in almost all commercial chocolate equipment), how much energy is required to bring the water up to the correct temperature, and keep it there, and what is the rate of loss/transfer from the water, through the holding vessel, and to the Chocolate?2. What is the medium the chocolate is being held in?3. Does the medium reflect heat, or absorb heat. (In this case, think of simple table top tempering units that utilize a steel bowl and lightbulbs as a heat source. There's a reason the back of the bowls are all painted flat black.4. What form is the chocolate in? Is it in a big block, or is it in small chips?5. How much of that surface is actually in direct contact with the heat. The larger the surface contact with the heat source, the quicker the melt.I've melted enough chocolate in the last two years to say definitively that I can melt 10kg of chocolate in one hour with four 110 watt lightbulbs. My staff do that almost every morning.In my experience, sometimes "let's try a number of variations and see what happens" works a lot better than a calculator....just my two bits, and maybe some food for thought.Brad.

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I ran a quick test today on some milk chocolate i had handy. I won't give any specifics on it's formulation, but at 19C - 1589 J/KgC (or 0.378 Btu/lbF). If I were you, I'd increase that a bit for your chocolate.

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Well lets see
I want to heat a 10kg slab of chocolate from 20C to 40C, using a 500W element
Specific Heat Capacity of Chocolate = 0.5cal/g
10kg = 10,000g


Formula to find J (ouls) or Energy require as j
j = m x Cg x (T final - T initial)

Mass 10000g
Cg 0.5
Temp Final 45
Temp Initial 20
Temp Diff 25

= 125000j or 125kj
Factor: 1 Wh = 3.6 kJ

125/3.6 = 34.7222wh

34.722/500 = 4.16664h

4.16hr to melt 10kg of Chocolate with a 500W element.... does this sound right? Anyone

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Sabastian, Thank you very much. (especially for the average) I was half expecting an answer like you began without an answer ar the end) I see youre a practical man. Thanks Tony

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

it gets complicated rather quickly - it's formulation dependent (ie how much cocoa butter you have will directly impact it). drilling down to cocoa butter, since cocoa butter's triglyceride profile is different all around the world, each butter's specific heat will be different. and then you overlay the impact of tempering and crystal form (each of the 6 different forms have their own specific heat...). So there's no quick and easy answer if you're looking for an accurate number 8-)The easiest thing to do, in my opinion, is average cocoa butter - a good ballpark figure for liquid cocoa butter at 40C would be, oh, about 0.5 cal/g. If you need to estimate SH in solid form, i'd start with 0.52 cal/g (20C, assuming predominance of form V).

Specific heat capacity of chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Do you know what the specific heat capacity of chocolate is?

This figure is so important for anyone wanting to make chocolate machinery and yet I havent been able to find it anywhere. So, If you can help, Much Appreciated T

updated by @Anthony Lange: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Shelf Life

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

It will absolutely oxidize. General principles for storage are the same as for chocolate - minimize exposure to heat, oxygen, and light. When it goes bad, you'll be able to taste it. It won't be dangerous, just won't have flavors you'll like. I recently had a container of Chef Rubber white butter turn on me.