Forum Activity for @Richard Foley

Mol d'Art

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Honestly we have several mold art machines and they are a good quality, JKV copy. Mostly they run forever but if you need service you are on your own. Having said that, the only way to get ip and running is to call an electrician and get it fixed, as there is nothing too complex that a good electrician can't figure ourpt, bit try and get a machine electrical guy, not a home light switch guy.Another option is to call Bakon USA as they are now making these type of machines and can help with parts and service I am sure or local repair experts in your State.Then send the invoice to MoldArt, and if they don't pay advise them you will post you issues on line

Mol d'Art

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I know this is an old discussion, but as I am new to the subject I would like to know if anyone has recent incidents with Mol d'Art. I live in South Africa and the only way I will get ANY equipment will be by having it shipped here from wherever! I was seriously thinking of the Mol d'Art and would like to know what the situation is now. Thanks.

Mol d'Art

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

These are very simple machines with nothing more than a heating element and a thermostat. Mold'art has set themselves apart from other European mnfctrs by not having an on/off switch or any inspection tags. While I like european machines, I stronly believe that if you want to sell a product in N. America, it should adhere to N. American regulationsWhile I have not used Mold'art, I have had a similar machine "martelatto" and after 6 mths of daily use, came in to work one morning smelling burnt chocolate and plastic.... I now have a s/s behemoth using a waterbath system.

Mol d'Art

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

GM -
Which of these the machine you're talking about?

In any event, you've hit on one of the golden rules of buying machinery: don't if there is no local (i.e., US) distributor. I know that there are many people who swear by the melters but I don't know anyone (in the US) who uses any of their larger and more complicated machines. Maybe there aren't built for shipping?

Mol d'Art

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Sorry to hear about similar frustration.Forgot to mention that we also got a vibrating table from Mol d'Art. The table vibrated violently and they said it was because it was built for 240 V DC but they only put on a transformer for 120 AC without re-regulating the motor. Their answer to the problem was for us to buy a dimmer switch and hook it up at our expense. Their comment at that time was also "it costs nothing... it is simple". So much for getting what you pay for. It is a $1,500 piece of junk that is completely unusable.

Mol d'Art

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I ordered 3kg melting pots from Mol d'Art about a year ago and they arrive damaged (they shipped from Belgium packed loosely in a cardboard box with no additional padding or protection. I called as soon as I received them and sent pictures at their request and then heard nothing. I called again after 2 weeks and received a recording saying that they were closed for vacation for a month. Finally, after almost three months and several nasty emails, I finally received functioning machines. That said, they have worked fine since I received them, though I am not inclined to do business with them in the future.I do have a Prefemac 15kg compact moulding machine which I have used for 3-4 batches a week for the past year and a half with no glitches at all.

Mol d'Art

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Anyone have any experience with Mol d'Art? I have one of their 15 Kg moulding machines that broke down one day after we started using it. They have insisted the problem "is simple", but they have not corrected the problem. Plus, we have wasted an inordinate amount of time chasing down blind alleys to address their guesses about what might be wrong. They have literally no warranty service in the U.S. Just a guy on the phone in Belgium who asks someone else what could be wrong and then tells you to get your own supplies ("they cost nothing" according to him) and hire an electrician.We are very proficient with electronics and machinery in general and temperers in particular, and we have been extremely disappointed in the poor performance of Mol d'Art.Based on our limited but surprisingly frustrating experience with them, we would certainly not recommend that anyone do business with Mol d'Art.Any feedback would be welcome.
updated by @GM: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Chocolate - renewable energy to fuel the car of the future?

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

It looks like this story has been updated; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090505/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_chocolate_racer_3

Chocolate - renewable energy to fuel the car of the future?

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

Gwen, thanks for responding. When we were in Belize - we discovered that disease was affecting a great deal of the cacao crop and that the farmers were being taught (by the cooperative) grafting techniques to make the trees disease resistant. Since nothing should be wasted - I'm wondering if the diseased cacao would be useful for fuel development(versus chocolate).

Chocolate - renewable energy to fuel the car of the future?

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

I'm all for cutting down on fuel costs with gasoline approaching $150/barrel this summer. One possibility is to use chocolate waste for fuel. Here's the link for more information: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1221/p01s09-wogn.html
updated by @Holly & Paul Stabin: 12/13/24 12:16:07

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

"This is more of a beautiful girl next door than a Cheryl Cole with her hoard of image consultants dictating her appearance."

by Lee McCoy of Chocolate Reviews on Mast Brothers Chuao

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I went to 2011 San Francisco International Chocolate Salon, something I would like to share:

Fine chocolate is expensive, but less expensive than therapy - a visitor's T-shirt

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

To which question there is but one reply, "Yes."

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

and that begs to question....do we eat it or sleep with it???

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

By Lee McCoy review of The Chocolate Cafe 70% Dark Chocolate

"Other times I like a warm blanket of chocolate that comes with a head massage and being told the tax man is giving you a rebate. This is that sort of chocolate."

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

From Lee at Chocolate Reviews on the Prestat Choxi 70% Dark with Oriental Mint bar

"The first thought I got when I tried it was of the suburbs of Prague which I visited some fourteen years ago. Back then they hadnt been out of communist rule long and certainly hadnt any concept of environmental protection. This bar reminded me of the acrid aroma of those industrial districts that I got lost in. I found it difficult to breathe then and I find it similarly hard to swallow this chocolate."

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

A day without chocolate is like a day without sunshine.

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Here's one of my own, from my book The Language of Chocolates: "The best way to eat a ganache is to let it slowly deliquesce on the tongue like a communion wafer".

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

"friend's notes: wood from a coffin that's had a corpse in it for a year, final note of cockroach"About the flavor of Chocolove Sao Tome 2005by Casey at The Chocolate Note

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I recently came across this image that was designed to make references to wine descriptors and I find it interesting for describing chocolate, too. It's definitely more visually (rather than metaphorically) vivid, but I thought I'd share.

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

"The chocolate will literally make you cringe in pain as the bitterness rails through your spine, rendering nerves and shattering bone along the way."by Hans-Peter Rot, on Slitti Gran Cacao 100% in his article " The Worlds Worst Chocolate Bars, Part 2 "How yummy! I can't wait to try this experience!

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

"Ever wondered what a chocolate-covered steel girder would taste like? Heres your answer."by Hans-Peter Rot describing Venchi Cuor di Cacao 85% in his article at "Cocoa Content", The Worlds Worst Chocolate Bars, Part 1 That question cracked me up! I have to admit that I've never wondered that.

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Here's one of my own, from my database, on the taste of Amedei Porcelana-"Elegant and sophisticated, yet delicate and gentle, like a Duchess of 1800s British royalty."

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I think that Rachel Rifat is being modest. She should've posted her review of Hershey's Bliss on her blog Chocolate Snob . It's longer, but one of the most creative and entertaining that I've read:"dear hershey,last night, when you came back into my life, i was unsure about letting you in... but you tempted me. you just had to wear that flashy pink outfit with sparkles and tell me that you have changed...having grown up together, our history has been long, fun, and complex. i still remember the good times when we made s'mores at camp; the funny times when you bumped into that guy's peanut butter; and the scary times when i snuck you into china.last night's moment we shared on the sofa was full of suspense. when i started opening your package, i knew i should have stopped - - - but i had to keep going...as we started kissing, i noticed that you did not have any distinctive flavor. you were just too sweet and you left a weird sugary taste in my throat. by the way, what was with that nut residue? it felt like you slipped me a peanut m&m.sorry hershey, but i am still not ready for us to get back together... you pretended to be something you are not or maybe it is the other's in my life who take me on adventures and find ways to indulge me.i hope we can still be friends,hugs and kisses,rachel "

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I read this today about Amedei's I-Cru Madagascar ...Madagascar is truly a beautiful young virgin bride in her wedding dress. - by Alex Rast at seventypercent.com

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Here's a classic from Cybele at Candy Blog . She writes about the Bonnat 100% Cacao bar-"this is like Phillip Glass & Stephen Sondheim collaborating on some sort of atonal opera about database programmers performed by deaf alley cats in a poorly ventilated auditorium with squeaky chairs that pinch. Its probably a wonderful intellectual experiment, but its not an enjoyable physical one."

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

While tasting Amedei's I-Cru Trinidad I just read this:"That's not what you'll remember. Instead it will be that sensation of diving into a field of raspberries, like a sunny July day with all the berries at their peak of freshness and screaming to be eaten right off the bush."by Alex Rast at seventypercent.com

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I love vivid and moving descriptions of chocolate! They can conjure up images that really capture what you're experiencing. Vivid metaphors enhance pleasure by intensifying the experience through the imagination. Have you read (or written) any good ones lately? I've got several to share.
updated by @ChocoFiles: 04/09/15 11:54:03

Changing Chocolate from unsweet to bittersweet

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Staci:I can think of two ways.1) If you have some sort of refiner/conche setup you could melt the unsweetened chocolate, add sugar, and grind away until it was smooth. How much sugar to add would be something you'd have to experiment with. (You can also pre-refine the sugar to reduce the particle size before you begin - a food processor works for this.) Whatever you do, do NOT add regular confectioner's sugar which has cornstarch added to it to prevent it from caking. You will ruin the chocolate that way.2) Melt the unsweetened chocolate and add melted semi-sweet chocolate to it. Again, the amount of semi-sweet you'd add depends on the level of sweetness of the semi-sweet chocolate and how much you want to sweeten the unsweetened chocolate.Also, depending on what chocolates you're using, you might need to add some cocoa butter (or alternatively lecithin) to thin the chocolate out to the correct working consistency.Then, temper if you're going to mold or enrobe.

Changing Chocolate from unsweet to bittersweet

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am new to the site and would like to ask a question. Does anyone know how to change unsweet chocolate to bittersweet chocolate? Thanks
updated by @Staci: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The solid to solid transformation of Form V to Form VI crystals is responsible for the untempered appearance of chocolate that has been in the package too long.What I wonder - if you use the beta 6 crystals, I assume you grow Form VI crystals rather than Form V - so will your chocolate change over time or will it remain tempered forever in the package?

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

1% Mycryo per 1000g couverture = 10g Mycryo.You're right: Mycryo is not a substitute for cocoa butter. If I only need to thin couverture, I use bulk cocoa butter; however, for tempering I sometimes use the Mycryo esp. if I don't have a lot of seed chocolate on hand.I wasn't always a big fan of Mycryo. In pastry school, we used it once and I thought the results were not as good as using one of the more traditional methods of tempering. Since I've started using it more in a professional environment, I think it's an excellent product and definitely has its place.

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Is there a taste difference? Can you tell a difference in the product with the beta crystals? Sounds interesting. Nothing more has been developed in this vein, has there? It's been years since some of the articles I have read online. Any more input?

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

One of the best uses of Mycryo is dredging chicken breasts that need to be held for some time before they are baked or fried off for service. The crystals are real stable and because it is solid, it doesn't run all over the place like an oil would. Plus it's real stable at high temperatures (doesn't burn all that easily) and imparts a slightly nutty taste.

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Meh, I have Mycro and use it, but it is very expensive compared to bulk cocoa butter. There's no magic to Mycro, all it is, is cocoa buter heated to around 48 C and then sprayed on to a frozen roller, then scraped off. The extremes between the two temperatures "shocks" mycro into pure beta 6 crystals.I think the prescribed amount is 1%, (1 gram auf every kilogram) melted couveture, but the couveture must be around 35 C.I still get in the (cheaper) Kessko cocoa butter in the 5 kg pails, but of course it is like cement in a bucket. What I do is throw the whole bucket into a warm oven overnight (around 30-35 C) and then pour the melted butter into cling-film lined trays about 1/2" (2-3 cm) thick. When cold I coarsely chop this in the food processor and use it to thin out couveture or to mix with fat-soluble colours for molding chocolates. This is NOT a substirute for Mycryo as it has no beta 6 crystals, but it is in an easily dispensable form.

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I've used Mycryo a few times for tempering chocolate, and it does work, but I think that it is harder to use than seeding using either chunks or callets because the seed has the thermal mass to help cool the chocolate down. That said, I find it incredibly useful as a substitute for solid cocoa butter since it is a powder and is therefore easier to mix with other ingredients. I use it to mix with powdered colors to make "Paint". I can use it as a binder and mix it with other dry ingredients and then melt everything together. And when I first started using it, Mycryo was actually cheaper then bulk cocoa butter (that may not be true anymore).

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

According to Stephen Beckett in The Science of Chocolate , there are six crystal structures that cocoa butter can take. There are various labels used to describe these forms and Beta 6 is actually a combination of two of them - Beta 1 and Form VI.Forms V and VI are the most stable, however, Form V is the one that is achievable by the normal tempering process: Form VI is in fact more stable, but under normal conditions is only formed by a solid to solid transformation and not directly from liquod cocoa butter. This means that chocolate with fat in Form V will, after a period of months or sometimes even years, start to bloom. This is because some of the cocoa butter is still liquid, even at room temperature, and energy is given out as the fat is transforming to the lower energy state. This combination of effects pushes some of the fat between the solid particles on on to the surface. The Science of Chocolate is a great book. I can't recommend it more highly as a solid reference to the technical aspects of chocolate making and working with chocolate. Click on the image below to order the book from Amazon.

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am very intrested in this topic as well... No members have tried the beta 6 crystals?Here is a couple links to get the discussiong going: http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/professional-pastry-chefs-forum/19949-beta-6-crystals.html http://www.auiswiss.com/culin_whatsnew.cfm?catid=1237

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Has anybody used Beta 6 crystals for tempering? I just wanted to know how the results compare to other tempering methods (machine, seeding, etc.). What are the advantages/disadvantages?
updated by @Irma Wiese: 04/11/25 09:27:36

The BEST candy thermometer? Help!

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Sarah,I work for Tel-Tru Manufacturing Company and we manufacture quality thermometers that are used in all sorts of applications including candy making. We offer a wide variety of configurations. Our model LT225R is a good place to start, it has a 2" dial, a 5" or 8" stem with a pan clip. We offer this model in various ranges such as 50/500F. You can visit our website teltru.com or contact me if you would like more information.Take care,Yvonne

The BEST candy thermometer? Help!

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

We are thermometer impaired at Alma chocolate. And I need recomendations for the very best candy thermometer money can buy. I don't care what it costs-- well I do care-- but figure I've already invested a small fortune in crappy ones. I need it primarily for caramel making which we do a lot of-- so it needs to go higher than 305 degrees. Hilliards has a couple but I don't want to spend the money unless I've had a good report. THANKS!!!
updated by @Sarah Hart: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Hi Everyone

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Hi all,Thanks for all your kind words..I must pay particular homage to Cybele who really helped me when I first started my site..she really pointed me in the right direction with my site and has been instrumental in is ever continuing development.As regards to the whole chocolate bar/candy bar issue its really just a clashof cultural classification...I can see 100% what you guys are all saying however what we classify here in the UK as a 'chocolate bar' is not entirely aligned with what you guys classify as a 'chocolate bar' in the states.You see in the UK we are far more lassiez faire....a 'chocolate bar' could be anything...a minimal chocolate containing Snickers or a 100% cocoa solids fancy bar from Venezula could both come under that terminology...I know in the States you would classify something like a Snickers as a 'candy bar' but this terminiology just is very rarely used here for whatever reason...as I said its just a clash of cultural definitions.As regards to changing my website name...this wont be happening as I a) dont have enough money to buy the domans or b) feel like rebranding my website at present with it just starting to take off readerwise.Cybele - As I say in my profile nothing is off limits at ChocolateMission... its a light hearted website which takes bars /products at face value....I will review anything I want regardless of price/size/colour/content .... I dont like rigid rules you see.Thanks again for the input everyone! Nice to see some intresting debate risen already :DJim www.chocolatemission.net