Forum Activity for @antonino allegra

Carob Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

Carob powder is also one of the most ancient and best stabilizer for ice cream....

Carob Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

Before the predjudice starts, do people actually know what carob is? I didnt until recently, and no i am not going to go on some hippy rant about chocolate replacement, i make chocolate from bean to bar myself and nothing could substitue. Carob, as i found out is actually a sweetener, with no real chocolate flavour, the carob pods are roasted, deseeded and ground to a flour which is high in sugar and fibre and tastes like dates or malt powder....certainly not chocolate. Coincidentally, it is my daughters favorite climbing tree down at the creek near our house, we had no idea the 10s of kilos of pods on this massive tree were, sweet and edible. I now think of them as natures muslie bars, about 50 percent sugar, high in fibre, low in fat, with 6 percent protein (which is pretty high really) and no fat and raw taste like malted dates. Excellent for little tree climbing bodies. One of the main products from carob production is a delicious syrup, which is great in milk and on ice cream.Anyway, my question is, who invented carob chocolate and why, i havent been able to find anything about it yet.
updated by @Tom: 04/20/15 12:20:04

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Dear Robyn can you please let us know your white cocoa butter brand? The one that you used for the Pacifique logo. And do you use any airbrush? Best regards!

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I've only bought the one pack of sheets and those were from Tomric. I'm not doing a lot of chocolates right now, so I haven't had the need to buy anymore. I've had good luck with them, and the Pacifique logo is just printed then airbrushed.

This link has sheets, but it doesn't give any details on ingredients. Bookmarked this site long ago as something to look in to, but they are more expensive.

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Robyn,

Your comments and suggestions have been a huge help to me. I have ordered the blank sheets from Tomric and they advised the sheets are coated with "starch, modified starch, sugar". Do you know any suppliers in the U.S. or Canada that carry the cocoa butter coated sheets? I am nervous that the ink will not transfer/adhere to the chocolate. The chocolates you made with the PACIFIQUE logo look great, did you make them using the Tomric sheets?

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Robyn, dont know what i would do without you. Starting off is never easy the uk does not seem to cater for chocolates made from home.

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I mostly use inserts that come in boxes that I ordered from Chocolat Chocolat in Montreal. I also use some from Nashville Wraps. They seem to fit in most I have.

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks for your help robyn, i use the same chocolate mold that you use for your 2 pics showing, i wonder if you have managed to find a chocolate box they actualy fit in, the standard inserts for say 6 chocs in a box are to small.

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The top photo has white cocoa butter airbrushed over the printed image. The second photo has a thin layer of white chocolate that I simply piped in the mold over the image. Let that set and molded with dark chocolate.

Airbrushing with something white is really the only way to get the true colors to show up on dark chocolate. I did the white chocolate on the picture of my cat when I was first experimenting with the whole set up and it worked better for her blonde coloring.

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi robyn can you tell me how you get such a thin layer of white chocolate in your mold, do you slacken the chocolate down with something and how do you make it to look so white.

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The pre-made sheets that are clear are made with cocoa butter, not any kind of ink. Edible ink printers only print with food coloring. They are not going to be the same as the commercially available ones.

If they are "white looking" it is because they are made so that they will absorb the ink, therefore allowing it to adhere to the chocolate. If you try to print on acetate, which is clear, the ink will just smear.

Depending on where the sheets came from , they are probably covered with a mixture of cocoa butter, gelatin or something else.

Also, if you are trying to use the ones you print on dark chocolate, they are not going to show up. You need to either spray the back of the transfer sheet after printing with white cocoa butter, or put a thin layer of white chocolate in the mold before the dark so it has a light background.

There is nothing available for a printer that will make sheets like the ones you buy from Chef Rubber. As long as the chocolate is in temper (should be at the higher end) there will be shine.

These are some of the ones I've done using the white background.

And this one is with a thin layer of white chocolate

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

So it's been a while since I posted a question here (which is usually a good thing!), but I'm in a bad spot right now. I will explain.

So I have been using standard chocolate transfer sheets I buy from chefrubber.com (great site). The sheets are completely translucent like an overhead projector sheet. They are printed on with the cocoa butter print ink and other than that there is nothing on the sheet.

I decided to buy my own edible ink printer and print my own for when I do weddings because it costs too much to order them and they make me buy 100 times more than I need.

Here is the problem; the 'Blank transfer sheets' have this matte looking layer (not clear at all, its white) that is made out of like corn starch or something. THIS ISNT WHAT I WANTED! I talked on the phone with the lady for like 10 minutes trying to explain to her that I wanted them to be like the ones I get on cheffrubber that are COMPLETELY clear and have the design printed onto it like that.

The ones that I got leave weird texture marks on the chocolate and they dont transfer very well, and the color.... the color is horrendous! They look so dull! I am used to the ones ive been using that are so bright and vibrant.

Take a look at the pics on my site (klassychocolates.com) and see if you know what Im talking about.

I have to make a "J&J" logo in lavender by the end of the month and I was really hoping this printer thing would work.

Thank you so much in advance for any assistance you can provide. Anything you can offer will not only help me, but will help hundreds of others when they search the same topic because this site is the best one out there and always comes up first.

Thanks!

Ryan

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

Legally protecting your chocolate brand?

Posted in: Opinion

in US you need to start selling or have your product on the market before you apply for protection, but it's not the case in EU.

Legally protecting your chocolate brand?

Posted in: Opinion

Clay, thanks for the insight on the difference between TM and (R) as well as the requirement for interstate commerce or being about to go into distribution.

Legally protecting your chocolate brand?

Posted in: Opinion

In the US (and internationally), you would apply for Trademark protection. That's the meaning of the or following a name or image. The means that the application is in but is still in the process of being approved. The means that the trademark has been registered. I believe that this nomenclature is the same around the world, what differs is the process of application in each country. Also, you can trademark a word or phrase (as long as it's non-descriptive; i.e., you couldn't trademark "corn flakes" but "frosted flakes" is okay) and/or an image (Coca-Cola has trademarked the name "coca-cola" the image of the words, and the shape of their wasp-waisted bottle).

There might be one trademark registration for the entire EU, but otherwise it's a country-by-country process, IIRC. And yes, it is expensive. In the US, you can only trademark something that is either in actual interstate commerce or is about to go into distribution.

Legally protecting your chocolate brand?

Posted in: Opinion

Thank you for the reply Rene. Not sure if it is common practice, though.

How many are actually protecting their brands?In which countries aside from their current operation?

And even then, how feasible is it for a small chocolatier to prosecute offenders?

Legally protecting your chocolate brand?

Posted in: Opinion

but those are the steps that you must take if you need to protect your brand

Legally protecting your chocolate brand?

Posted in: Opinion

Hi all,

Could anyone share the steps they had to take to legally protect their chocolate brand? I understand each country has different laws and getting worldwide protection may be a costly proposition for an artisan chocolate maker.

Thanks!

Felipe

updated by @Felipe Jaramillo F.: 04/21/15 02:26:15

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Interesting stuff guys - thanks. The notion of H202 as a preservative in a highly oxidative susceptibility product such as milk powder is strange to me at first blush, given that H202 is SUCH a strong oxidizer. Certainly it's an effective microbiological suppressant, but it'll absolutely destroy the flavor of the fat in the milk. There are much, much better ways to protect quality than the use of this. My guess - it's the cheap option!

Ramya - many modern chocolate factories are still using stone grinders, which are quite effective - so just because something's old doesn't mean it's not useful 8-) For something like H2O2 in milk it surprises me as there are much more effective ways to do the same thing, w/o making it taste bad.

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I think it is what we are still practising in india. Because when i use some batches of milk powder despite the brand some times it taste aweful , when i asked my supplier he told that it is because of the preservative . so before i am purchasing milk powder i always taste it to make sure that, the batch is good. ( I am not a techinical person to do the lab test). sebastian you are wondering if it was some historical practice , if you know that some of our most modern technologys are that, west practiced it some 200 years before,then how much you wonder about..??

sebatian, i like to read your postings and replys, with thorough knowledge and sceince

omar, the information you given is very useful , thank you.

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Sebastian,

With my experience, H2O2 is still used in processing milk powder at least for warm climate countries like here in the middle east(Im assuming india as well)Every batch we receive from our supplier gets tested for percentage of peroxidemaking sure it does not excees 0.04%. When it does exceed, the taste gets affected leaving a slight old cheese after taste..I wish I know how to better describe it. So, to answer your question, peroxide is still in business.

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Interesting document - i've never seen this actually practiced in western milk plants, nor in New Zealand. Is this common practice in India? Looks like it's an early 60's publication.. i didn't read nearly the whole thing (only 1 page) so i'm certain i've missed context - i'm wondering if it might have been historical practice?

I would say that I'm *completely* unconcerned with H202 levels in modern chocolate processing....

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank You Omar will have a look..

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Chirag,

Milk powder contains a chemical called hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). H2O2 is an oxidizing,bleaching and germicidal agent used to preserve milk. The percentage of peroxide in milk powder can vary from one brand to another and because its presence in milk affects the taste, it might be the challenge you are facing with your chocolate today.

Attached is a study made on hydrogen peroxide and milk powder. On page 427 You can find a detailed description onthe effects of H2O2 on the taste of milk powder.

http://whqlibdoc.who.int/monograph/WHO_MONO_48_(p423).pdf" target="_blank"> http://whqlibdoc.who.int/monograph/WHO_MONO_48_(p423).pdf

hope this helps..

Omar

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

hi chirag,

instead of 'everyday' you can try 'nova whole milk powder' that works better. before you are mixing milk powder you must taste it to ensure that it is not salty. because some baches of milk powder tends to be salty. every day is a dairy whitener not milk powder.it contains added sugar also. for any other clarification you can write to me at mannachoco@gmal.com.

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Felipe will try using ghee.. sounds like an interesting idea.

Thanks Sebastian that makes sense.

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Store brand milk powders in India are often fortified with additional calories by adding vegetable fats to them. Often times those fats are susceptible to oxidative randicity. Might want to check your supply to see if that's causing the off flavor.

And a note, cooking milk powder in cocoa butter will likely only increase the off flavor. In order get generate the caramel flavors, you need 3 things: protein, reducing sugar, and water. Cooking in cocoa butter means you wont have the latter, and lots of heat, generally speaking, does bad things to the flavor of fats.

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Chirag, nice to hear from milk chocolate makers worldwide.

You can try to get some caramelized flavor by substituting the milk fat in whole milk powder with Ghee. Take whole milk powder by weight (100%) and substitute with 72% skim milk powder and 28% ghee. Make sure that it has no traces of moisture by heating it above the water's boiling point.

I am one of those who believe smaller bean-to-bar chocolate makers are in debt to Indian cousine forever based on the quality of wet grinder engineering.

Felipe

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks for the knowledge Antonino

I live in India so my chocolate wasnt being compared to swiss chocolate..

i use nestle "everyday" brand of milk powder which is 18% fat content..

the reason i thought about cooking the powder was because i read about milk crumb which adds a cooked/caramel flavour to chocolate

i am a newbie using a stone wet grinder(santha) to refine and conch. i dont know what temperature the chocolate reaches in it.. but will now try to find a good ir thermometer to measure it..

i like thinking out of the box so do you think its possible to cook/caramalise the milk powder in cocoa butter or will thatreleasemoisture which will cause the chocolate to seize.

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi There,

milk powder is already "cooked".. is made either by "rolling" milk into a big heated cylinder and then scraped off, or by spraying milk into a hot chamber to vaporize the water.

The differences between milk powders are generally : Fat content (use a 20%), what kind of cows, season, area of growth (fed with green grass, hay or whatever) ,production system.

What system of making chocolate you do use, what temperature, how do you grind/insert the milk powder to the chocolate and mailny what quality of milk you are using will affect the final taste of your product.

Do not compare to swiss milk chocolate (unless you live there), their cows make a very mild milk, and they add malt to the milk powder....

If you cook the milk powder in cocoa butter you will end up with caramel...... then we are in a different game...

Cooking milk powder

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

So i recently made a batch of 45% milk chocolate. The problem is that most people who tasted it said it had a raw(ish) milk taste to it, which theydidn'tlike.

That got me thinking if could i possibly roast the milk powder or maybe cook it in a little cocoa butter.

any suggestions??

updated by @Chirag Bhatia: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Help with blank transfer sheets for printing on chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi margaret can i ask how long you leave the sheets in the fridge til you demold them, i had problems exactly the same , i found leaving them overnight helped quite a bit,also another problem i have found with the starch sheets depends what batch you get some work better than others, i only use cocoa butter ones now from chocolate world they seem to work, ive costed the price of a new printer against the cost of wasted sheets, and a new printer every 6 months or so at a cost of around 40.00 is a savings.

Help with blank transfer sheets for printing on chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

It's been a while since I bought them, and I may be wrong, but what I can remember is that they are coated with a mixture of cocoa butter, gelatin, maybe some type of egg white? I can't find the info I had, but it's supposed to be a mixture of ingredients.

My thought is that since the sheets you are using don't contain cocoa butter or other fat, it doesn't melt into the chocolate when it's applied. So, it's not adhering.

Help with blank transfer sheets for printing on chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

thanks Heather, I'm sorry you're having as much trouble as I am - I feel your pain.

I've gone through 4 sets of sheets.

I did find a tutorial on another companys website - i cant remember whose - that said

Print on "glossy photo" setting

Decrease the contrast/intensity by 10 -15% (i'm guessing this is so it sits on the surface more)

Wait 1 hour after printing

have the chocolate over 90 degrees.

Wait till completely set to peel off.

I've done all this and still it's very sketchy results. Would you please post what KopyKake tells you.

They must have heard from many more than us with complaints and hopefully they're addressing it.

Help with blank transfer sheets for printing on chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I bought the starch sheets from KopyKake a month ago - the ink prints on to them perfectly, but I've had a ZERO percent success rate at seven attempts transfer on to perfectly tempered chocolate. I've tried the upper temperature range, and no luck. I've put in a call to KopyKake also, and am waiting to hear back, but I'm not hopeful about what advice they'll give. It just doesn't seem to work. Sorry I can't add any helpful advice, but I'll be reading this thread as well to gain some!

Help with blank transfer sheets for printing on chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Robin - can you tell me if the sheets you're using are the cocoa butter coated or the starch/sugar coated ones.

Help with blank transfer sheets for printing on chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I purchased my sheets from Tomric. I have never had any problems with the sheets, but have seen comments from others stating that they had gotten a bad batch, but others were fine.

The last inks I bought were from www.photofrost.com . I've had good luck with them. There is also www.tastyfotoart.com .

The main thing I've noticed is that the chocolate has to be at the high end of the temper range so that it is warm enough to have the image adhere.

I just print normally, using the best print option. I allow the sheets to dry about 1/2 hour, and mold as usual. I'm thinking unless you just got a bad batch of sheets, it's the chocolate that's causing you problems.

Help with blank transfer sheets for printing on chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am sooo frustrated!! with the failure rate of the blank transfer sheets

I would love to hear your experiences.

From what I understand we have two options with blank transfer sheets, 1. cocoa butter and 2. starch,sugar,emulsifier sheets.

I really want the want the sugar starch sheets to work - mostly because you can purchase in warmer months, storage and shelf life issues and I feel they're less likely to gunk up the printer.

But for the life of me I am having about a 50% failure rate and these sheets cost WAY too much ($2.00 a sheet) for that type of loss.

I have tried reducing the contrast 10% and still about 1/2 the "ink" remains on the sheet giving me a partial transfer.

I contacted KopyKake and while they got back to me right away their only suggestion was to make sure the chocolate was "warm enough"

I am using kopykake "inks" and allowing the sheets to dry at least an hour after printing before attempting the transfers. I have tried room temperature drying and cold drying (had more luck with room temperature- but not perfect)

Please share your experiences with the sheets - type - where purchased - tricks etc.

Thank you, thank you, thank you

updated by @margaret2: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Speed Control Option for Santha Spectra 11

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Catherine -

At this level, IMO, you'd be better off buying two machines rather than one with a speed control. On a larger machine the speed control is a handy option.

One of the main differences between the Santha and CocoaTown designs at this size are in the way tension is applied. In the CocoaTown there is a hinged top that is spring loaded to provide the tension. On the Santha you tighten a nut that puts tension on the spring, which makes it adjustable tension. (This is both good and not-as-good). You can adjust the tension (good), but it's difficult to get exactly the same tension each time (which is not-as-good because it makes it difficult to put exactly the same pressure on the stones each time, leading to less-consistent results).

Speed Control Option for Santha Spectra 11

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am getting ready to try my handat makingbean to bar chocolate. I am considering purchasing a Santha Spectra 11 Melanger. There is alsoan option for a model of the Santhawith anaddedspeed contol. Can anyone advise me if I should purchase themodel with the speed control? Will this make a better product, what are the benifits to this? The cost of the speed controloption practially doubles the cost of the Melanger. I was also wondering about the CocoaTown Melanger in the sameprice range $500ish. Does anyonehave an opnion onwhich of these Melangers might work better or achieve a higher level of results?

Thank you for any input you may have on this topic, it is much appreciated!

Best regards,

CatherinePolicella

updated by @Catherine Policella: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Looking for a Chocolatier with experience in making truffles

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Hey everyone, I created a new group over the weekend - JOBS - just for job postings. Situations Wanted and Situations Available. You do have to join the group (it's free and takes just a second) to post and to set up notifications.

Looking for a Chocolatier with experience in making truffles

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Looking for someone in the MD area that would beinterestedin part-time work creating and making wonderful truffles.

updated by @Monica2: 03/11/26 06:20:34