Forum Activity for @Gap

Hi - the heat gun I use goes well over 120 F (it is a professional paint stripper - although a very cheap one). The sous vide unit switches the heat gun on and off in very short intervals (sometimes only on for a second) to make sure it maintains the correct heat and doesn't over heat.

Alchemist above indicates 150F which, if my maths is right, is 65C

Hi all,

I have set up and am running with a similar setup to Gap. It seems to be working well.

Does anyone know what temperature the epoxies on the Premier wet grinder will withstand? I am about to start conching and would like to know how high.

Regards,

Tim

I've been experimenting more with this recently. It's not something you need to use all the time, but it is a tool that has proved very effective on some beans and chocolates. I tend to have the heat gun on almost minimal power so (1) the airflow is not over the top and (2) the heat gun does not overheat - it is a cheap brand I own . It means it can take an hour to get to the temperature I have set, but over the course of a long conche that is incidental.

And yes, I love my Premier

As with any tool, there are times when it's quite appropriate to use, and others when it's not. Since not all beans are created equal - nor are taste palates - removal of certain (off) flavors may be desireable - and it may even allow flavors that are MORE subtle, but being masked, to shine.

Additionally, it can help a great deal with moisture removal - which can help with viscosity control.

Hi All,

just thought I would share a recent idea I had for conching in my wet grinder. Conching is often done at temperatures higher than that reached by a wet grinder. So I borrowed my father-in-law's sous vide temperature control unit and came up with the setup in this video (I'm sure it could be setup neater, but this was just to see if it worked).
http://www.thechocolatelife.com/video/tempcontrolconch

Basically the sous vide machine measures the chocolate temperature. I enter the temperature I want the chocolate to be at and the machine switches a heat gun (pointed into the grinder bowl) on and off to achieve that temperature.

I refined the nibs for 6 hours, added the sugar and refined for another 9 hours. I then switched on the temperature control unit and "conched" for 15 hours at 60.5C. I added the additional cocoa butter 8 hours into that conching period.

The machine I used was a Sous Vide Magic, but there may be others that do something similar.

The final chocolate seemed to have a better mouthfeel and flavour, so I think it worked as a conch. The next step is to try a longer conching period and maybe increase the temperature (especially for milk chocolate). The only thing I am weary of is I don't know the maximum temperature the expoxies/glues used in the wet grinder can withstand.

Anyway, I've only tried this once for now. Let me know if you have any questions about my setup or any improvements/alternatives I could try.

I had a fantastic time at the FCIA event in NYC today. Of course I got to say hello to Clay and chit chat a little. Gary Guittard's workshop was very good and and an amazing chance to hear from someone who has known chocolate since birth. He had four origin samples which had either none or over fermentation. The no fermentation was Haitian and was interesting to taste being my connections to Dominican cacao both fermented and unfermented. Being around and listening to Maricel Presilla is always fun. Finally met the Raaka, Equal Exchange, and Fruitian chocolate people I have always wanted to contact. Also Alex Whitmore from Taza was a very pleasant person to talk with. My friend Roni Sue with Moho was there. Daniel from Atlantic Cacao was also a pleasant surprise to meet, and to see and taste the different origin beans he had at his table. Pam, Mary Jo, Lisa and Tracy did a nice job once again and hopefully someday I can attend a San Francisco event.

Aside from the fact that "raw chocolate" is a 99.99% misleading load of crap, there's a very good chance that both the agave and coconut oil will prevent it from tempering.

I think if you REALLY dig into the source of your cocoa mass and cocoa butter you will find that they are processed at very high temperatures - WAY beyond the threshold acceptable for calling it raw.

i am new to raw chocolate but have worked a lot with couverture. The raw chocolate I have been asked to make includes cocoa mass, cocoa butter, agave and coconut oil. Has anyone had any experience of tempering such a blend bearing in mind that 'raw' usually limits your temperature range. i am also unsure how the coconut oil may interfere with the cocoa butter crystallisation. i won't know the exact recipe until I decide whether to accept the job.

True enough! I only threw out a year as a distant thought. If I can get 6 months out of a product without tampering or additional science I'm an ecstatic camper. A lot of my other barks and toffees seem to easily coast into that frame as long as heat/humidity don't beat them up.

That's good news on a nitrogen flush sealer too. I'll have to keep that in mind. We're pondering what our next growths steps would be and if we go for an industrial space for production that + a walk-in would be a good combo. Industrial space or chocolate bourbon bar.. oh the decisions.

We're already pondering some finished/packed freezer tests but our freezer space is rather limited at this time with other items.

Just trying to get more longevity out of products so I can do a larger up front run and then work on the myriad of other projects and production needs.

Thanks for your input too!

Andy - I looked into this myself (for different reasons) last fall. The good news is that you can get vacuum sealing systems with a nitrogen flush for less than you might think. I saw some for as little as $3,000. The bad news is that these systems tend to be more geared toward things that can be easily poured into the bags. Many confections would have to be hand work, which would eliminate most of the automatic functions that are potentially available.

That having been said, it all depends on your volume. If your volume is not that large then filling the bags by hand may be no problem anyway. And if your volume is large you can get an automated solution designed for nearly anything. As usual, it's when you're somewhere in the middle that there is no easy solution.

As for your specific issue with pecans I'm no expert on nuts but my research has always indicated that the only (and probably best) way to extend the life of pecans is through temperature. In particular freezing them. Pecans apparently hold up to freezing (and even thawing and re-freezing) much better than most nuts. Of course how your confections might hold up to this is another story. But if you place your product in an vacuum-sealed bag with a nitrogen flush and then keep them in the freezer you might actually get that one year. Of course you'll have to set aside a year to test it out! And even if it works I would be surprised if there wasn't some degradation in the quality of the nuts. But maybe

Sorry to rain on the parade. Unfortunately highly unsaturated fats at high levels + air and high temps (think ruptured cells) don't end well over long periods of time. There are lots of handling procedures that can be done during roasting that can minimize the impact, but not eliminate it.

Thanks Sebastian that puts a perfect perspective on it and a slight buzz kill to boot. I guess if we ever got into vacuum sealing or something close it might help but even then w/o an inert gas insertion I think it'd be limited usefulness.

Oh well. I guess I'll just keep that product at a low inventory item and also start storing my pecan inventory in the freezer or ordering less.

Many thoughts and many thanks for the lesson.

There's nothing you can do to stop oxidative rancidity in nutmeats, other than defatting them. Period.

There are lots of things you can do to slow it down. Generally speaking, if you put a barrier around the nuts that can block oxygen, that helps (ie candying provides a sugar barrier). The lower temperatures you can expose the nuts to, the better (ie roast lower for longer vs very hot for shorter).

A couple of things to note:

Chocolate is a terrible oxygen barrier.

Sugar barriers, if intact, are great. However it's quite challenging to keep sugar from getting cracks in it, which lets the oxygen through.

You will never. Ever. get 1 year stability in pecans, unless you keep them frozen. Or perhaps stored in space where there is no oxygen.

The only nut I have a problem with are pecans. After roasting them they seem to have a shelf life of about 3 months +/-. I use them in a bark and you can see the fat bloom slowly take over after its time period has elapsed and holding temps don't seem to matter much.

I started doing some digging and came across conflicting advice. One camp said to candy them and that would stop it, the other camp said candying them would not stop it but would increase the rancidity.

Is anyone here doing 6mo-1year stability of pecans or other nuts in their chocolate and know how to reduce if not eliminate the fat rancidity of the nut?

I would recommend against fixed cabinetry for two reasons:

1. Chances are you aren't going to be at that location forever, so you don't have to worry about losing a TON of money invested in millwork that you can't remove. and MORE IMPORTANTLY:

2. The health inspectors LOVE when you can move cabinets, and clean underneath them so as to eliminate hiding places for pests. All of our counters are moveable, and we never ever have issues with the health department.

Thanks for sharing your list, Heather! You mention cabinetry in your list: is most of your equipment and ingredient storage built-in? This is a point of contention for us right nowrolling racks are more versatile, but built-ins would protect equipment so much better. Thanks again!

Great question. I have an ongoing list:

- better located HVAC vents for even flow and avoiding drafts near crucial work areas

- counter height or ceiling/pull down electrical outlets

- great lighting for decorating (I did this right the first time and have loved it)

- cabinetry with drawers for organized and protected molds storage

- future possibility of an entire "cool room" instead of a wine cooler or walk-in

- space for a packaging station, if you're planning on shipping or doing retail

Hope this helps!

Heather

Questions for those of you that have gone through design and construction/renovation of a confectionery production facility: What do you wish you had known before you started? Are there things you would have designed differently?

Yes, this is normal. After running through the melanger, you'll need to temper your chocolate to get stable, bloom-free chocolate. There's a lot of information on tempering on this forum and on the CA site and forum, so I won't repeat it here.

Hello, Chocolate Lifers,

Im new to chocolate making, but not the consumption

I recently got myself a small melanger, and I have run a few batches of nibs through it, and I see my temp hitting 170F. I have been following the guide on Chocolate Alchemy, its within the range that is mentioned.

When Im done with the refining I pour it onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and double it over till it is cool.

My question is this;

The finished chocolate has ALOT of bloom. Is that normal?

I find it ironic that the one quality we dont want is inherent in the manufacturing process.

Cheers

Al

I've just messaged on a similar thread, so thought i'd share the info here too.

I follow Ruth Hinks from Cocoa Black (UK World Chocolate Master 2012) on Twitter and she was tweeting about using your chocolate gun Krebsto spray, what looks like coloured cocoa butter, to make gorgeous little orange pumpkins, and there were some velvet effect pictures done using the gun,posted afterone of her chocolate school courses if you want to have a nosey...

https://twitter.com/Ruth_Hinks/status/518003583284162560/photo/1

Thanks Urs- you were very well informed. Have you bought one? If so, we`d love to get some feedback.

Actually, we did launch the KREBS heated chocolate spray gun under the name hotCHOC. Sales are going strong.

KREBS are actually launching a new HEATED spray gun called HOTSPRAY.

Here is the video they posted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAnJDw-UL3U

Really makes life a lot easier. Plug & Play, totally flexible, no compressed air needed AND keeping it at a constant temperature ... I like!

What is the best spray gun for chocolate? I heard that Krebs guns are good, looking for info from anyone who has used them or any other brand. Need to find the best gun for misting chocolate.

In my homecountry the cocoa bean are dried prepared at "barcaas". Its the name of a big roof where the farmerworker can walk around the cocoa and dry for real time. Also during a rain, the leads covers above helps barcaa to over umidity less.

Pé e rodo, o cheiro mais gostoso que já vi

Regard my language, because I do talk portuguese.

The cocoa also are productivity with in two products made from the liquid (cocoahoney) drained down in fermentation wood boxes:

They call jelly of cocoa, blanc of cocoa, the both are pure without necessity to add suggar or alcohol. And the blanc are alse called by cocoawine.

Apreciate for your discussion. I can make more videos and add for thechocolatelife.com

David

If you are interested in Lawrence's offer, please private message him.

Lawrence - commercial offers belong in the Classifieds section.

Hey all,

Thanks for approving my membership. I've had an idea for years of opening a small chocolate shop here in Los Angeles, and this board has truly made me think that I'll eventually do it...as my second act after I finish my writing career. But the reason I'm posting today? I'm selling my domain: BRAINCOCOA.COM.

Initially, I set it up as a title to a literary magazine (with cocoa being like info, good for the brain), but in the five or so years I've owned, I never really used it. It's a great domain for anyone who wants to tie cocoa/chocolate to being a superfood. And with the recent articles about chocolate being a "brain food:"

CNN Food:

Natural News:

Shape Magazine:

If you're interested in purchasing the domain, feel free to send an offer to [redacted]. I'll listen to all offers. Take care!

Lawrence

I a want to make a different ganache using strawberries and black pepper. Does anyone have a recipe? Any other flavors & combinations that go well besides the classic ones? I have read the thread about flavors and odd inclusions but I need a recipe to follow, please.

Thanks for your help!

At what pressure are you running?

Wow...

They tried selling me some too. I'm glad I didn't bite.

Hi Tom,

I Actually met with the group and bought some beans at the time you are talking about. there was a lot of excitement indeed!

I didn't have any problem getting the beans then.... only with Steve Brown who is a real nut! (not bean:)

The locals apparently pay a high price for those "cremated" beans!

As you say, "an opportunity to resurrect a countries cacao industry goes by." ....such a shame...

Best regards

thibault

I met David about a year ago when he came out to Australia(actually I think he is Sydney based, but originally from Samoa) with Steve Brown (exAdelaide boy but 20 years in Samoa)to promote and sell Samoan cacao. they seemed pretty legitiment, had stacks of cacao and RichardhadhisKoko Samoa product with him(essentially a Crio Bru type of thing).They looked the part.I believe you met with this group, Howard Frederick was with them in Melbourne I think. Imade somebars up from their beans and went with them to meet with Haigh's when they were here, as a consultant. Steve promised a lot but once the road trip was over, pretty much all communication was lost, they screwed over a local analytical chem place and they did promise to pay me for the bars I had made, but nothing. Steve did claim that the analytical chemistry thing was a 'miscommunication' and that paying me was dependant on obtaining some funding from the Samoan government. My take on it is that they didn't pick up enough contracts on the road trip, certainly not Haigh's,(which they took to the USA also, at least Howard did), the money ran out andno grants were forth coming. So that was the end of that. Samoan farmers go back to selling to who they can, doing poor post harvest practices, like washing beans after ferment, and cremating the cacao for the local market.......an opportunity to resurrect a countries cacao industry goes by.

That is my piece of the story anyway.

Hello Everyone!!

Thought I would share some issues I have had with a cocoa dealer called Richard david (actually a member of CL) from Samoa Or New zealand representing:

My PARADISE FOODS or PREMIUM COCOA ENTERPRISE.

Once the money was sent... no more news andcertainly no cocoa....and I am not the only one to have been ripped off by this fellow (Cravve from Queensland also) .

Must be more out there who have had bad experiences and would like to share names of dodgy dealers?

Cheers!

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help? We are a small start-up chocolate maker based in the UK. We're looking to source organic and fairtrade cocoa beans - but in small quantities to start with. Can anyone recommend a supplier that ships to the UK please?

Thanks Larry! I think to start, I will be purchasing a Rev X3210 and then in a year or two adding in the Hilliard Jumbo Hand Dipper with 6inch Enrobber. Right now, my store front (gourmet & specialty gift basket store) has over 500 different chocolates & candies that I purchase through about 20 different confectionery's nation wide. But to save on cost and overhead, I started dabbling in it and really found a love for it! Basically, I am thinking of hand dipping pretzels, strawberries, cherries, apples, s'mores, oreos, etc... creating nonpareils, truffles etc... Basically everything! But starting slow and working to that level. I will still be keeping a few of my confectionery vendors, but adding in us as well! Again, thank you for taking the time to write such a thorough and thoughtful response! It was much appreciated!!