Chocovision vs. Melter
Posted in: Opinion
Thank you very much! Amber B.
Forum Activity for @Amber B.
Chocovision vs. Melter
Posted in: Opinion
i'm just barely getting a grip on tempering by hand, and can attest to the quality of results that are possible (not that i get them every time yet
i just bought a chocovision x and while i'm glad to have it stirring for me and controlling everything, i'm confident that if and when it breaks, i can get the job done by hand. the way i see it is that you have a lot to gain by doing both--getting the machine AND learning by hand (plus, you can learn by hand while the machine is working for you good luck!
Chocovision vs. Melter
Posted in: Opinion
You can temper the chocolate as you described. But why go through the hassle when the Chocovision will do it for you. We have 2 of them and they are marvellous, turn it on, melt, wait for a beep, press a button, wait for another beep and its done. There are so many other things you can do while the machine is tempering, whereas doing it yourself you have to be on it constantly.
Chocovision vs. Melter
Posted in: Opinion
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I'm looking at taking my hobby into (God willing :) a retail point of sale...just for the kitchen :) My question is this. I have a Chocovision Rev 2..which clearly will not make enough chocolate at 1 lb. each time. I'm contemplating going to the larger model ($1,600) but have heard through the grapevine, that you can temper chocolate using a microwave and melting it to about 118, pouring that mass into the warmer, and then adding seed chocolate as it cools, and when the entire mass gets to 90 degrees (stirring your little arms off along the way) that it should all be in temper and good to go. Is this true? Can you achieve professional results using a microwave & melther in this manner with say 6 lbs (4 melted, 2 seed)?....or should I just buck up and get the $1,600 Chocovision (and I'm going to need the melter regardless). Advice much appreciated.
updated by @Amber B.: 04/13/15 04:58:39
Shells & fillings
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
the chocolate shells, there wasn't anything on them prior to me putting in the filling.
Shells & fillings
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Where are the bubbles or bloom? In the filling or in the chocolate?brian
Shells & fillings
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
So I poured some tempered chocolates into the molds, let them set everything was going great. Added the filling that was room temp and now I have what look like air bubbles or bloom. Why? Any help would be appreciated.
updated by @Dirke Botsford: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Crystalization of sugar
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
To get smaller sugar crystallization, the cooler the better, the recommended 100F will help. Also the more shear you can give it, the smaller the crystals will be, so when you beat it, put as much into it as you can, tabling like you would for tempering chocolate works nice or in a planetary mixer but watch the strain on the motor. The temperature you pour it for slabs will make it firmer or softer due to the level of sucrose still in solution and the bridging affect with further crystallization after setting.If you add additional glucose syrup you will increase the syrup phase, making the fudge softer and stickier. The polysaccharides in the syrup will make the fudge less tender. The advantage is with increased shelf life.
Crystalization of sugar
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thank you Ruth. I will try both ways. I was not letting the fudge cool to 100 F. So I wll experiment and let you know the results.
Crystalization of sugar
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I would suggest adding some glucose or corn syrup to inhibit crystallization. Also, the warmer the mixture is when you stir it, the coarser the crystals will be. If you want it really smooth, let it cool down to 100F before stirring.
Crystalization of sugar
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hello people,I have a question to a problem. I hope someone can suggest me how to proceed.I am trying to make butter fudge (mix of sugar, butter, whole milk cream). I take the mix of ingredints up to 116 C and then let it rest for 5 minutes to cool down. Then I thoroughly stirr until a homogeneous syrup is formed. Then I pour it into a metal bowl. It tastes great but I have always the same gritty texture. I have tried doing it several times. It seems that there is something in the process that makes the sugar crystals to aggregate and to make it gritty. Does anybody know how I could avoid having a gritty fudge? Maybe by adding invert sugar or glucse-fructuose syrup? or b modifying the process? Thank you for your help! Kind regards, Cezar
updated by @Cesar Lovon: 04/11/25 09:27:36
First time tempering with the Revolation X3210
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Alright, second time around, I set the low end temp to 80.9F and it didn't recognize the set point at all and just kept dropping. Again it wouldn't let me adjust any settings at all. I put it in sleep mode, then re-started and set the high melt temp to 91F to salvage my temper.Am I experiencing a software glitch with not being able to adjust the low temp set point? My instructions don't really elaborate on the steps.
First time tempering with the Revolation X3210
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
So, just picked up a Revolation x3210 and am in theprocess of testing it on my first batch. Knowing that the low end waspossibly not low enough for the batch i'm using, I set the machine to go down to 80F (thelowest possible). Everything was fine until it got to 80.7F and thechocolate mass started thickening and raising higher and higher out ofthe bowl. It didn't want to go lower than 80.7F (according to the display), so I attempted to justraise the low end temp up to 80.8F to get the machine to kick on to thenext phase of tempering. For some reason it wouldn't let me adjust thetemp (higher or lower). I hit the pause button, then tried to restart about 10 secs later, but the chocolatehad thickened enough to stop the bowl from rotating and it gave me anerror. At this point, the only button that worked was "Reset" and I ended up starting over (and as of writing this, am still in the process of restarting
)
my questions: why couldn't i adjust the lower end temp when it seemed to stall (temp wise)?
once i get the error message, is the only choice left to start the whole process over?
thanks,
mike
updated by @Mike3: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Lead for anyone in the group
Posted in: News & New Products Press
Does "facilitate" mean be on hand with the children for the party or just supply the chocolate for the party? Do you know how many children?
Lead for anyone in the group
Posted in: News & New Products Press
I have a client in the Newark, CA area 50 miles south of SF who is interested in having someone help them facilitate a chocolate birthday party for children. Budget is $200.00.You would be independently providing this service.Contact me gwen@homechocolateparty.com and I will forward client's name and email address to you.
updated by @Gwen Borders2: 03/11/26 06:20:34
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
I have only ever had dry cases for 21 years. The word confection means preserved. If you are displaying at room temp you formulate for that.
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
| Beautiful! I found similar products on this website: http://www.archiexpo.com/architecture-design-manufacturer/refrigerated-display-case-1859.html ;It really help me chose the ideal solution for my place. |
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
Winter months for us need no cooling, just transportation. Summer months we use multiple coolers to limit humidity exposure. For the table we either do rotation of product or sacrifice a display box or make clay core dummies dipped in chocolate and sealed. Experimentation is always the best. If you search the forums here you'll find some good market threads. Since I'm on my phone it's hard to elaborate as much as I have in the past.
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
I think your advice about "middle steps" is very good. I began as a hobby, and have been fortunate enough to have the middle step of renting space on an hourly basis at a local bakery/gift shop where i make and sell my chocolates. it has been working well, but i am always looking for ways to grow the business and have thought about our local farmers markets. But my big question is how to do you keep the chocolate from melting? is it as simple as coolers? what about display chocolate?
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
I'm in a similar situation where I have just opened a small storefront but want my candies to really stand out and look awesome in a fabulous display case. I'm willing to invest a little money to get the right case, but what I'm finding out is that the "right case" is hard to figure out.
I understand that for the candy it's ideal to have a cooling and humidity controlled case designed for candy. However, a leading chocolate maker and retailer in my local area says he got rid of all his cooled cases in his shop because they produced way too much heat that it ruined the products out of the case. I share the space with a bakery, and I can't afford to get a case that runs so hot that I have to add a hundred dollars onto my electric bill to crank up the A/C in the store to keep from impacting their products.
His advice was that if the A/C is sufficient in the store that should be enough to keep the display case good but my experience so far has been that it's not. I want to keep my chocolates around 65 degrees or so; I can't keep my store that cold. At about 72 I get people complaining that it's chilly in there and the A/C runs constantly. I'm also in Ohio which I'm sure is about the most humid place on the planet lol.
I'm using a dry case now and I stick many candies in the fridge at night which of course is creating horrible condensation and giving me sticky chocolate on those. The ganache truffles are sealed up tight before they go in so they are okay, but I'm not sure what to do about my dipped candies. I want to improve their shelf life by keeping them cool but the fridge is just too cold and wet, and it sounds as though a cooled case might be a mess too.
I'd love to hear what anyone with a really small shop is doing - cooled or dry case - and how it's affecting your utility usages, and if anyone had a similar problem with a cooled case running too hot. I'd love any advice!
Thanks! (And thanks for the thread, Amber... so far very helpful!)
Shannon
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
re 2. Indeed you can melt the chocolate in the microwave and then put it in a melter, but it's even easier to just put the chocolate in the melter, turn the heat up to around 40C, leave it overnight with the lid on, then add the seed in the morning, after turning down the heat to around 30 C. The melter will hold the temper for a long time, but the chocolate will start to thicken over time as more stable beta crystals multiply. When this happens you can push the temperature up a bit, to a maximum of 32.5C for milk, and 34.5C for dark.
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
Andy,Having read your replies to Amber, you have good insight into this chocolate working business. I teach chocolate and candy making to professionals. I would like to give my thoughts on tempering in the microwave. I have done it for up to about 7-8 pounds at a time. It worked really well. I do it in small bursts, 30-45 seconds at a time on high power, stirring frequently and taking it's temp. When it starts to get close to the correct temp. I then use 1/2 power on the microwave. I can bring about 5 lbs of chopped 58% to 119d/f in about 7-8 minutes. I prefer tabling it to seeding it.A proofing oven sounds great except that most of them require water or the element will eventually burn out.Take care,Gordon
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
As I read your other requests.. another thing that has worked well for us. You began as a hobby, and now are going directly to retail operation. If you need middle steps to prove your area and market has legs find your local farmers market communities and sell there. We've got two years of positive numbers and a loyal following. It has also given us time to find other retail positions to test out different sectors in our area. I've had enough failures in my life so far to know that I wanted to grow something that had roots and with this I think we've got it. Just a thought on growth patterns and some mitigation for feeling you may get in over your head.Microwave tempering we've never tried. The microwave causes such a fast heating that getting it into that tempering zone.. One thing we do if the need requires it is microwave the chocolate to melted then transfer to a cooktop for getting it in the zone. Clay has some good ideas on using proofing ovens to fire and forget your temper too.
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
I think humidity control is your biggest concern. If too much humidity enters the case then you're going to see some condensation over time.We store our truffle ganache in freezers, made truffles in fridgerators, and then they get moved into retail positions which have varying cases. We've been in a deli case to very old candy cases. The older the case the more you have to worry about something failing and when it fails, be prepared to have your product go mutant on you ahah.The fridge and freezer / texture argument I think is one based on the composition of your truffles. We use cream only and have never had a textural issue and texture is very important to us.We're looking into our own cases now as well and my god they are so expensive for what you seemingly get. If you find any further information out there let us know. I had started a thread over in StartupCntrl: http://www.thechocolatelife.com/group/startupcentral/forum/topics/display-case-recommendations
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
A case made for chocolate keeps the chocolate at 65-68 degrees and 45% humidity. A refrigerator is usually high humidity and 40 degrees. I think a wine cooler keeps it at 55-57 degrees Fahrenheit and with an average of 60% relative humidity. If your confections are in a case that is not temperature controlled and the temperature in the room fluctuates, your confections could bloom long before the 4 weeks.
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
thank you....if you're not supposed to refrigerate, then how do you explain the refrigerated display cases?
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
Hey Amber,It depends on your recipe. Does it have fresh cream and butter? if so and you don't add anything like Citric acid or potassium sorbate than according to Peter Greweling in his fabulous book, chocolate and confections, about 3 weeks. Some authors recommend freezing or refrigerating the truffles but Greweling says it effects the texture. I do not refrigerate mine for more than 5 minutes after I dip them. There is a thread on this site about freezing that I glanced at and should reread. I just know you have to be very careful to refrigerate after freezing to acclimate the truffle so it doesn't condense water and cause bloom. I don't have any issues with Citric acid but I won't use potassium sorbate. I haven't sent them out to be tested yet for shelf life. Instead I make small batches that I can sell through in about a 3 week period.
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
Bud,Can I use a "deli" case or "bakery" case? What should I avoid in refrigerated cases, or look for? Thank you.A.B.
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
Bud,How long can I expect my truffles to last and remain "sell-able" in a refrigerated case?
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
I purchased my case from "Cold Core" www.cold-core.com It has humidity control as well as being able to keep the case at the correct temperature for candy. This is a higher temp that a normal cooler which is usually 20 degrees cooler.That being said, you do want to be careful that you can afford the expenses of opening and not making any money for a prolonged period of time. Make sure you spend some time thinking about what your up-front costs are as well as your ongoing expenses. It's a big step opening a business and not always a profitable one. I've been in business for 30 years with my natural foods store and the retail chocolate shop for 3 years. I also make the chocolate for the retail store. It not the easiest biz, but it sure is fun. I'll be happy to answer what questions I can about start up.
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
Thank you very much Bud.I can see that a refrigerated one is a must! Someone told me I can skimp by using a wine cooler or refrigerator. I don't know what the difference between a "cooler" and "refrigerator" are, but I'm trying to find out which one doesn't have humidity. If you know, please do tell.Sincerely, Amber B.PS. Thank you for your kindness.
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
Hey Amber,When I first opened my retail shop I used a non-refrigerated case. As you can imagine, it is fine if the room is a fairly constant temperature and it doesn't get above 70 degrees. We had a lot of unacceptable blooming. You won't get as much shelf life out of your product. For every one degree drop in temperature you extend your shelf life 7 days. ( I think that was the number I read.) If you're making truffles with fresh cream and butter it will be best to get a case made for chocolate as soon as possible.Good luck with things.
Display cases
Posted in: Opinion
Refrigeration vs. non-refrigerated?Hello everyone. My name is Amber and I've been surfing The Chocolate Life and gleaning all sorts of wisdom and for that I thank you. You are all very kind-hearted and helpful...not to mention extremely knowledgeable. I have three questions (actually hundreds, but 3 to start with):I am trying to set up a retail shop on a shoestring budget as I've outgrown my "friends and family" circle.1) I am wondering about bare-bones display cases. Do they have to be refrigerated if the commercial space has a window a/c? (I'll assume yes..and if so) can you use what they call a "deli case" vs. a bakery case (as they are MUCH less expensive.?2) Can you really temper chocolate only by using a microwave then pouring mass into a chocolate warmer/melter and adding more seed chocolate to it (on a 2/1 ratio meaning 2 melted 1 seed)? I've heard that you can, but haven't found on the internet for sure if the melter will hold the temper for long periods of time? (I currently use a very small chocovision rev 2 machine for my hobby).3) How can extend shelf life of my cream/butter truffles? Are you supposed to refrigerate or freeze them due to the moisture/condensation problem? Also them cracking when "re-entering" normal room temperatures?Thank you for your patience and help with yet another newbie.
updated by @Amber B.: 04/13/15 02:09:32
How would you like to packaging your chocolate?
Posted in: Opinion
Custom packaging would be great, but most are out of touch for new starts, as the minimums are too large for most of us.
How would you like to packaging your chocolate?
Posted in: Opinion
Hey all, how would you like to packaging your chocolate? To buy a custom packaging? Or just to buy standard packaging from packaging supplier's stock?
updated by @Jenny Zhan: 05/06/15 08:51:57
Chocolate truffle making
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Hi! What is your experience in the confectionery industry? How do you get the knowledge and work in your country?
Chocolate truffle making
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
The date is Feb. 4. The event is in their offices from 5-7PM. There are around 300 people. What they would like is to give everyone 3 truffles in little boxes. So the majority would have to be premade but if some could be made there for people to watch would be great. I would need pricing on this. I don't know if one person would do the whole thing or if more would be needed.Does that help?Sasha
Chocolate truffle making
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Sasha:Can you be more specific about the date? The Valentine's Day season is very busy for many. Also - about how many people are expected and how long will the event last? This will help people know if the are available to help you.:: Clay
Chocolate truffle making
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
HI,I am looking for someone who can make chocolate truffles at an event. The gig is in February in NYC. Do you know of anyone? Thanks!
updated by @sasha Nanus: 04/07/25 13:00:14
Where Do I Buy High-Quality Sugar-Free Truffles?
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
A friend recently visited Williamsburg, VA and found sugar free heart healthy chocolates from Angelic Chocolates. The company claims they only use 4 cocoa beans from 4 different countries and Himalayan Salt blended together. Nothing else. I am just wondering if this is at all possible, as my friend said the chocolates were very good but she could not help but wonder if the ingredients were truly correct.