Hand dipping candy problems
Posted in: Tasting Notes
So basically the candy sits on the dot of hardened chocolate and the weight of the candy no longer has an effect on the bottom. Nice idea never occurred to me
Forum Activity for @Bryan
Hand dipping candy problems
Posted in: Tasting Notes
The problem is the weight of the candy is pushing the the chocolate out from the bottom.Try making some dots on your parchment then dipping the candy onto the the hardened dot.
Hand dipping candy problems
Posted in: Tasting Notes
I am have trouble with my candy when I dip it. I dip the candy with a fork or whatever then I put the candy on parchment paper or a silpal May but then the bottom of the candy will have spaces or not be fully covered. How do I get the bottom completely covered?
updated by @Bryan: 04/10/15 14:59:40
Liquering
Posted in: Opinion
I'm not sure what you mean by liquoring. Do you just mean that the chocolate maker who makes the chocolate you use does not pre-grind his nibs before further refining? If so, I don't think that should cause the problems you're having, as that's what myself and many other makers do, and the resulting chocolate tempers fine.
Liquering
Posted in: Opinion
Sarah,
This is a novice answer, so please take it with a grain of salt, or better yet, a truffle. 
Skipping the step of grinding the nibs into chocolate liquor prior to further processing could affect the particle size or shape of the finished chocolate.
I've read that you can add nibs directly to some machines and the chocolate will come out just fine. However, the processing time will generally be shorter if you work with chocolate liquor. - The particles are already much smaller.
I've read that there is a point at which each cocoa solid particle is coated in a layer of fat. This coating allows the chocolate to glide smoothly and gives it a nice mouthfeel. If the particles are too small, then the surface area for a given amount of cocoa butter is too great and there isn't enough cocoa butter to coat the particles.
See Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use Chapter 7
http://books.google.com/books?id=xYe5oTopUTAC&pg=PT174&lpg=PT174&dq=cocoa+particle+shape&source=bl&ots=WOF_pOOz4k&sig=LK0tWpX2yZ5L7veU58faW-fiyGo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bQkLVOa4ENHboAS77YKYDw&ved=0CHkQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=cocoa%20particle%20shape&f=false
If the cocoa butter is not sufficiently coating the cocoa, sugar, and ?milk? particles, then it would make sense that it cannot form a uniform tempered structure and thus crumble easily.
Again, I'm still a novice and chocolate is complexso I'm sure there is more going on.
Liquering
Posted in: Opinion
I've noticed my chocolate maker doesn't liquer his nibs anymore. We don't add extra cocoa butter or chemicals to our process. I've noticed my chocolate is crumbly and difficult to temper. I used to not have any issues until summer hit. We try to control the temperature of the shop but it seems to consistently stay at 81F. Could this physical change be caused by not liquering?
updated by @Sarah8: 04/23/15 18:38:07
Savage Bros. Melter vs. Tempering Machine
Posted in: Tasting Notes
We are looking at buying some new equipment, but would like to see if we can gather some feedback on a couple of pieces. Does anyone here use the fully automated tempering machine from Savage? (maybe there is more than one?) It's got lots of bells and whistles, such as being able to set it 7 days in advance to have chocolate ready at such-and-such a time. The more bells and whistles, however, may mean more repairs, etc.
Thanks!
updated by @Nicole5: 04/09/15 14:42:23
Looking for inexpensive ways to stir caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hi!
My store has a Savage stove with the largest copper kettle. You may want to know that it takes 3 hours of hand stirring to produce the caramel though....
BTW I was reading your post about fudge. I am new to the forum. Did anyone respond. I too am having the devil's time finding commercial recipes for fudge, specifically copper kettle fudge (the Savage kettle again).
Would much appreciate it if you could share what comes your way???
Tx,
Marie
Looking for inexpensive ways to stir caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I cook all the sugars, corn syrups, butters etc together first and bring it up to 240 then add the creams then bring it back up again. Reduces the time by about 20 minutes for me. similar taste to a traditional caramel BUT not exactly the same.
Looking for inexpensive ways to stir caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks Larry. I do use sweetened condensed milk and I'll try your other suggestions.
Looking for inexpensive ways to stir caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Using evaporated milk instead of regular milk would speed the process up because there is less liquid to evaporate. Same with sweetened condensed milk (although the brands of sweetened condensed milk I've checked don't have any protein; which would increase the cold flow).Letting your butter come to room temp helps a lot as well.I've tried using a fan to blow the caramel while cooking, but I'm not sure that helped much.Also the pot shape could help. ( a wider pot will have a greater surface area for evaporation than a tall narrow one).
Looking for inexpensive ways to stir caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks Dirke. I'm finding the same thing. I just came back from the Philadelphia Candy Show and was talking to Savage Brothers about the same issue. They don't see any other solution than buying a fairly expensive machine. if you don't mind me asking, what changes were you able to make that allowed the manual process to go faster? John
Looking for inexpensive ways to stir caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I've tried to do the same but gave up, ended up wasting more then we were making. Having the right balance of heat and correct agitation was difficult to achieve. If you find a way I'd love to hear about it. We ended up altering our recipe to make it a little quicker and with less agitation.
Looking for inexpensive ways to stir caramel
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hello All. We're starting to do a fair amount of caramel business and it's very time consuming stirring a batch of caramel for an hour or so. I'd love to have the $$$ to buy a Savage melter but that's not in the cards for right now. Has anyone tried to make / adapt their own stirring equipment, similar in concept to the professional models? I'm using a 5qt pot to make it now and would like to go up to a 20qt pot. Thanks for the help, John
updated by @John Duxbury: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Using coconut oil in truffles help
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Good to know, Thanks Sebastian. It turns out I had simply not mixed it enough, the result being grainy. I reheated and mixed it a lot and it turned out well. I've only just started using coconut products for shelf stability as customers want it. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Cheers
Using coconut oil in truffles help
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Remember not all coconut oil's created the same. A natural coconut oil will harden at room temperature; while a fractionated will remain liquid. You may be getting 'lumps' as a result of using a natural, unfractionated coconut oil that solidifies at room temperature. Note: the fractionation process simply separates the higher melting point 'fractions' of oils from their lower melting point fractions. It does not suggest that because the starting material is referred to as 'natural' that fractionated oils are 'artificial'.
Using coconut oil in truffles help
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
good point, I will try that. Thanks
Using coconut oil in truffles help
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
If you use coconut oil instead of cream, you will end up with a melt away, not a truffle. Still tastes good, but not a truffle.
Using coconut oil in truffles help
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
I am attempting to create a shelf stable truffle by using coconut oil instead of heavy cream but am finding the resulting ganache is grainy. Does anyone else use a similar recipe for extending shelf life. I want a smooth ganache that I would getting using a heavy cream. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
updated by @Dirke Botsford: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Dehumidifier for Retail Space
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hello helpful peeps!
I'm looking at dehumidification of a retail space of about 60sqm. We have loose chocolates and currently, humidity is at about 100% so we need to control that. What dehumidifiers would you suggest to bring it down to a constant 50%? We currently have a dehumidifier, not a commercial one, and that only brings the humidity down to 80%. We need something better. I would appreciate if you pointed me to specific dehumidifiers. Also, if there are some tricks to save on electricity bills whilst keeping temperature at 18 deg and humidity at 50%. We do not manufacture chocolate, we just have a retail space, with many chocolate bars and a praline bar.
Your help is much appreciated!
M.
updated by @jisimni_mark: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Someone known machines used to make plastic molds personal?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
I want to make my molds to create custom products
updated by @mariano garcia: 04/11/15 04:50:26
Dallas Chocolate Conference/Festival
Posted in: Uncategorized
The structure doesn't seem different this year from those in years past (i.e., educational sessions, tastings, and a mix of mostly local chocolatiers and out-of-town chocolate makers). I've always found it to be a pretty solid value for adult admission and a steal for children. I look forward to attending again this year.
Scott
Dallas Chocolate Conference/Festival
Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Jacob,
I've taken part in it for the past two years and will be again this year. Looking back through my emails, it looks like it's been called the 'DallasChocolate.org Chocolate Conference & Festival' since 2012.
The chocolate side of things this year looks to be as great as ever, with a lot of great chocolatiers and chocolate makers in attendance.
Santiago Peralta of Pacari will be doing a class on cacao growing and processing, and Art Pollard of Amano and I will be doing a class on the bean to bar process.
All in all, I think it will be a great event.
Ben
Dallas Chocolate Conference/Festival
Posted in: Uncategorized
Has anyone heard anything about what's happening with the Dallas event. Previously they had called it a "Conference" and this year they seem to have gone to "Festival".
It seems a little more on the fad side of things this year. They seem to have upped the prices a bit again and are having food trucks show up outside. I'm not a big fan of the food truck feel mixing with the chocolate feel of years past and don't think it will be as appealing. Put it all together and so far I am not inclined to go this year. If anyone has heard anything about what's happening I might reconsider.
Thanks all!
updated by @Jacob Royer: 04/12/15 02:45:25
tempering which is better Hilliard's Little Dippe or chocovision revolation delta?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
No problem! Happy to help.
tempering which is better Hilliard's Little Dippe or chocovision revolation delta?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
many thanks Ben!
tempering which is better Hilliard's Little Dippe or chocovision revolation delta?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Here are a few of the discussions:
http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/hilliard-vs-chocovision-newby-here
http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/tempering-machine-2
http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/1978963:Topic:14103
tempering which is better Hilliard's Little Dippe or chocovision revolation delta?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
thanks for your opinion
ups did not know, I'm new to the site, I'm looking but can not find. You Might you help me choose?
tempering which is better Hilliard's Little Dippe or chocovision revolation delta?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Hi Mariano. There's a lot of discussion on these two tempering machines (among others) on this forum. If you search for little dipper or chocovision, you can see what's already been said. I think there are a few threads that specifically compare the two.
-Ben
tempering which is better Hilliard's Little Dippe or chocovision revolation delta?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
need to buy a tempering machine and want to know what the best of these two brands.
updated by @mariano garcia: 04/09/15 13:07:19
Effect of Cocoa Butter on tempering
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Thanks for the pointers everyone!
I have had increased success, although it is definitely baby steps at this point. So many little details to remember! So far using the deodorized cocoa butter seems to bring about better results. I am on the market for an automatic tempering machine as well, which might help out.
Thanks again
Francis
Effect of Cocoa Butter on tempering
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
In addition to what Sebastian correctly written above.
1. It looks like ingredients you use should not cause blooming problems due their nature. They may stillcause tempering problems if you mix them into chocolate when they are too cold or too hot.
2. The problem may be in the actual temperatures of chocolate during the tempering.
quote from your post:
"Re-cool to 83 I have tabled the chocolate on a marble slab and mixed it back in for this stage, and also cooled it in a cold room.
Warm to 89 for dark and 86 for milk chocolates."
Unfortunately these "rule of thumb" temperatures will not ensure correct temper in all situations.
Any changes in the recipe may require change of these temperatures.
I would suggestexperimenting with small batches of the chocolate (without mixing in the ingredients) that you have and cooling to different temperatures, making records and finding the best settingsfor the chocolate you have. I know that this is time time consuming (bloom doesn't show straight away) but if the chocolate comes out of moulds very well and looks good you are half way there.
3. Another possible issue is the temperature of moulds. If too cold or too hot they will couse chocolate to bloom even if correctly tempered.
Effect of Cocoa Butter on tempering
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
No need to start with it at 80 degrees. also no need to be so precise warming up to 123/105. just heat them both up to 120 or so regardless of if they're milk or dark. your milk may need to be cooled lower depending on how much milk fat is in it. the more milk fat, the cooler you need to work.
Effect of Cocoa Butter on tempering
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Okay, so I guess we can't discuss this without getting into all the details, here goes.
I temper with a thermometer. Recently I've been using an infrared one, but I had successfully used candy thermometers as well. After having all this trouble I ordered a thermometer that can be calibrated.
http://www.amazon.com/MeasuPro-TF5000-Waterproof-Thermocouple-Thermometer/dp/B00KB8K85S/ref=sr_1_6?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1409501987&sr=1-6&keywords=thermometer+thermocouple
Here is my process.
Start with chocolate cooled to 80 degrees
For dark warm to 123, for milk 105
Re-cool to 83 I have tabled the chocolate on a marble slab and mixed it back in for this stage, and also cooled it in a cold room.
Warm to 89 for dark and 86 for milk chocolates.
place in molds.
This is kind of simplified, but that's the regular gist.
The recipes that went wrong contained the following extra ingredients: Sichuan pepper topped with dried candied kumquat, dried bhut jolokia hot pepper, cardamom topped with espresso beans.
All batches were tempered twice to no avail. I will proceed with a different cocoa butter today and see how it turns out.
Thanks again,
Francis
Effect of Cocoa Butter on tempering
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
The technical answer to your question is yes, however in practice with hand tempering, it always boils down to time, temperature, or contamination. A heat gun is a combination of both time and temperature - i'd not be so quick to rule out it's role.
Are you using a thermometer? if not, why not? if yes, is it calibrated?
do you have any other formulation changes, or are nuts / soft centers involved?
Effect of Cocoa Butter on tempering
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Any recipe change may require change in the temperatures during tempering.
Could you describe your tempering process?
Effect of Cocoa Butter on tempering
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Hello chocolatiers!
I recently came into a streak of what seems to be serious bad luck with tempering. Six failed attempts on three batches of chocolate. And this after years of relatively successful hand tempering.
Here are the variables:
Southern california summer weather. Right now this means heat wave, often we have temperatures in the mid 90's
I have tried to mitigate this by tempering in the morning and tempering in an airconditioned lab. Both corrections have been unsuccessful.
Change in heat gun. I doubt this could be having an effect.
Change in cocoa butter. I recently purchased 50lbs of non-deodorized organic cocoa butter from J Edwards. Picture attached.
A white chocolate made with their deodorized organic butter came out fine. I am doing an experimental batch of dark with some of this added to check it out.
My question to all of you is as follows. Can a difference in cocoa butter grade effect my temperature curve, or be contaminated somehow and not temper at all, causing problems in the temper process?
Please help if you can.
Thanks
updated by @Francis Murchison: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Buying panning machine
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Hi Peter,You are like walking talking library.I will keep you in touch when I starte making them.Thank you very much for your help.Ismae
Buying panning machine
Posted in: Tasting Notes
If the temperature is 68F and humidity at 60%RH dew point will be 53F,
same temperature and 70%RH dew point at 57.5F and at 75%RH dew point at 59F.
If product surface temperature will be below dew point you will get condesation on the product and resulting problems with bloom and bacteria.
That means that if you blow a very cold air (like from portable air conditioner) into the pan which will slowly cool down the product surface to 50-52F and take that product out into hot and humid room you will get in trouble.
Buying panning machine
Posted in: Tasting Notes
What polish and varnish agents are you going to use?
Do you have a specification frm supplier for the application conditions?
I would guess that it would be extremely hard to use polish and varnish at these conditions effectively. This is based on products that I know of and my enginering knowledge.
I would suggest roasting your almondsto almost scorched level before giving them a chocolate cover. Makes fantastic product.
Buying panning machine
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Hi Peter,I live in DC is very humid.Humidity in kitchen average between 60 to 75%.I will be panning Carmel, Almond & dry blueberry.Thanks,Ismael