Forum Activity for @Sadruddin Abdullah

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am in North Carolina. The laws in the US are strict. I think confections are limited to 5 by volume. At the same time it would be good to make to give to friends, etc. I took a class with Chef Wybauw where he make them. The information was on my lap top which got stolen. Does Chef Waybauw cover it in any of his books? It would be great if you could share the formula and method of production.

On the subject of ingredients, I have not yet started looking into the sourcing of ingredients. I am hopeful that I will be able to secure a reasonable amount to start testing. Perhaps I can purchase from someone that has some.

I appreciate the concept of preserving. As you've said, Ghee sounds interesting. I'll start researching that as well.

I think I'll start with a butter ganache, use an invert sugar and possibly the Ghee in replace of the butter and play with the flavorings trying to keep the water activity down. From there play with the Sorbital and other "Wierd" sugars.

Thanks again. I appreciate you help.

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

About 6 mths, maybe longer . Basically you make a syrup, add in the booze and pour into starch molds (typically bottle shaped or cigarette shaped). After about 24 hrs, you can take them out, brush off the starch and enrobe.

I'm curious as to where you are located and if you can get away with selling alcohol based confections in your area. And in some places, getting all those "wierd" items is almost impossible. Sorbitol (aka sorbex) is quite impossible to get in B.C., Canada unless I get it in enormous quantities, and the dosage of this is quite precise. Also, remember that many of the "Wierd" sugars are laxative if consumed in moderate quantity. And expensive....

In Wybauw's #2 he tells you how to make invert sugar; simple really, with just sugar and baking soda, but almost as simple is just using pure honey, which is a partially inverted sugar--but it will crystalize eventually.

Basically, shelf life is directly related to the water content (or more accurately water activity) of the item. Dark chocolate by itself has a shelf life of 2 years or even longer simply because it has almost no water in it. Sugar, if kept dry, can last for centuries.

More and more people are starting to realize that with medicine, "new" is not neccesarily better than "time tested".

Keeping that in mind, every nationality/race has age old methods of preserving food. Salting, smoking, sugaring, and drying are all popular--and have been for centuries. They all have in common the fact that water is removed. Raisins, for instance, have a shelf life of years, and have a m/c of about 10%. This is the "zone" where you will get your shelf life.

For me, I always look back, to what is time tested. For instance, the people of India have been using "ghee" for centuries, and one of the main reasons is that it keeps so well. What is "Ghee"? Butter, pure dairy (cow's) butter. But it is butter that has been transformed, it has the remaining 12-15% water removed, it is 100% pure fat, and because of this has a shelf life of well over a year. Time tested, for centuries.

l

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I think the key word is here is "real ganache." Certainly there will be loss of quality as in flavor and mouthfeel the more sugars and stabilizers you add to the ganache over such extended periods of time.

The question is can you get a reasonable product with an extended shelf life. Maybe the line of what is called reasonable doesn't extend to six months. Maybe it is three, four months, let's see.

I have never used glycerine, sorbitol or some of the other life extending ingredients. With your help and the help of others in this thread I intend to see what can happen.

Can you tell me the shelf life of the crusted alcohol centers?

Thank you Edward

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

When formulating ganache recipies, you have to remember that even 60% alcohol contains 40% water, butter still contains 12-15% water.

I think the expression "having your cake and eating it too" applies here. You can't have a "good" ganache containing only cream, chocolate, and flavourings last for 6 mths. You must remember that a chocolate shell is still somewhat porous. Think of a wine bottle, a cork is a must as it allows the wine to "breathe", but unlike wine, ganache flavours do not improve with age. I feel this idea of a 6 mth shelf life for a cream ganache is looking for the Holy grail, it doesn't exist.

As per Wybauw youi can use the "weird" sugars, including glycerine and others for a long shelf life.

You can also use shelf stable fats like coconut fat as Lindt does with it's "Lindor balls" to replace cream/butter

You can vacuum pack and freeze "real" ganache bon-bons with the added bonus that frozen articles don't require an ISO 9002 certificate that many retailer demand. The trade off is an un-interrupted frozen transportation cycle.

You can use nuts, nut produts, (marzipan, nut pastes, gianduja, etc) caramel, nougat, pate de fruits, honey, sugar crusted alcohol centers etc. for a long shelf life.

But 6 mths shelf life for a "real" ganache?" I dunnooo.........

updated by @Edward J: 09/11/15 11:04:39

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Great.... I posted a picture of it on my Facebook page chocolate-asm by Paul John Kearins . Glossy dark ganache that has a more bold favor without any dairy in there.... Try it out! Note higher percentages of cacao can be used but the risk of separation is there. If that does happen I just put a hand held blender in the ganache and zoom it back together

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

you are welcome Abdullah. glad if i could help.

cheers.

rene

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

No worries Rene

The community has been very helpful sharing information on this subject. I certainly have enough information to start testing some formulas. The information you've offered really does summarize the available knowledge on the subject.

Thank you

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

So Paul, how did the ganache come out?

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

dear Abdullah,

sorry i don't have formulas for you, but maybe you can find them in the internet like the other information. i only know what i learned thru practical work in chocolate and pastry school.

good luck.

rene

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I just had to get up during my Sunday coffee to make olive oil water ganache so I can show you ! Ha ha ha

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello Paul

This is very helpful. While 30% alcohol ganache would be a big hit, it may attract the wrong king of attention.

I understand the point about shrinkage. You often see the bottoms of bon bons curving in which is an example of your point.

The water ganache formula is interesting. Intuitively I would think there is too much water in the water ganache formula. Most of the established thinking indicates a reduction in water. So I am excited to try it. I will definitely the water ganache formula.

Thanks

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The levels of alcohol needed are in the realm of 30% and up . My experience with rapid spoiling and fermentation within the ganache were always the result of shrinkage of the ganache filling resulting in a space between the filling and the coating and the effects of non sterile ingredients such as candied ginger and dried ground spices.The open topped ganache filled cups I have in my assortment are prone to drying so I add 25% butter ( although a stable vegetable fat would suffice) and that significantly reduces shrinkage. The water ganache I made 40% boiling water 60% callebaut 8-11 and 2% olive oil... It was wrapped in lubecker almond paste and enrobed and I have cut one open after two months and there was no degradation ...

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello Rene

All good points. Certainly your summary included most of the information I've been able to find. My challenge is I've never worked with sorbitol. What is the relationship of the added sugars to the other ingredients and their affect on the ganache? Do you have formulas, or basic percentages I could use as a starting point to begin to develop some formulas for testing?

Thanks

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello Paul

You are correct. The laws regarding alcohol are different in the US and other places. In the US the limit is 5%. This is certainly a way to extend shelf life although not enough to extend 6 months.

The water ganache sounds interesting. The challenge is to extend shelf life the water activity level of the ganache must be low. If you would be willing to share the formula it would be worth a test.

As you've indicated, it sounds like the formula would have to be adjusted to lower the aw with extra fat..,interesting proposition.

Thankyou

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

it's possible...

-good sanitation

-minimize the use of products with high in water

-stabilize recipe withglucose, invert sugar, sorbitol

-use more cocoa solids

-if ingredients allow then heat up to boil

-low storage temperatures

good luck

rene

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I think the laws are different in The USA but I have made chem free ganaches even with fresh fruit included in the recipe and they keep a really long time ... but they did have high levels of alcohol ( my Cointreau ganache is one third alcohol with fresh pureed oranges) and I don't think that that is permitted stateside.

There is such a thing as a water ganache which I have made, maybe that with butter added would deceive the taste buds whilst lengthening the shelf life? I believe shrinkage and air pockets are the main issue re mould growth and extra fat will lessen the effects of drying out.

Or as you suggested , let them open up a can of campbell's oops, sorry a box of Godiva

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Edward

I just got F.C. #3. It answers my questions and much, much, more. Now off to learn more about chocolate, "The Food of the Gods"

Thank you very much

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Bill.

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

If they want 6 months, have them buy Godiva. Those things are the Twinkie's of chocolate.

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Edward

I've located F.C. #3. I think it will provide me with the information I need. Thank you very much for sharing. You have been very helpful.

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

When wine ages, the flavour improves. When chocolate and cream/liquids ages, the flavour does not improve. There are various sugars that you can incorporate in your recipie to greatly extend shelf life (See Wybauw's F.C.#3) that probably will give you great shelf life, but you are adding a lot of weird sugars.

Then there are natural sugar rich confections like Italian nougat, pate de fruits or caramel that might give you 6 mths shelf life. Nut based ones too, but nuts tend to go rancid within 6 mths

You can, however succesfully freeze bon-bons and pralines, with a freezer shelf life maximum of 6 mths. It's actually very simple: Vacuum pack the items, refrigerate for 24 hours, then freeze. To thaw, refrigerate for 24 hours, then at room temp for 24 hours, then open the package.

Hope this helps

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

ANDREA,
You are absolutely right, I do not have to accept every customer. I wanted to make an effort to understand the possibilities. This customer wants the look of crafted chocolates but is obviously willing to compromise on the freshness based on the nature of the request.
My goal is to understand my options in this regard. What preservatives do the members have experience with, how long will these ingredients extend the shelf life, etc.

Thanks Andrea

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am not sure you can extend the shelf life of a ganache-filled chocolate to 6 months. If you could it would require serious chemicals/preservatives. Why does this customer require a 6 month shelf life? I think most people who make chocolates on a small scale want them as fresh and as natural as possible. This may not be the customer for you (I know it is a novel idea, but you don't have to accept every customer that comes along). Good luck.

Shelf Life of Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I have a small chocolate business where I produce hand crafted, ganache filled chocolates with a three week shelf life. I have a customer that is requiring a 6 month shelf life. What is the best ingredient to use, in what amounts should I use it and where can I purchase it.

updated by @Sadruddin Abdullah: 04/11/25 09:27:36

wrapping chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Greetings, We have been in the biz for 10 years and never used plastic we heat seal 100% plant cellulose bags. The only problem we ever had was they can become unstable if they are shipped in VERY cold weather. Ice packs never bothered them but freezing temps can. Any guestions?. You can get bags in almost any size as well as sheets. Rick ,Green Goddess Organic Chocolates.

wrapping chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

as long as it is air tight and food safe you can use anything to the imagination.

wrapping chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

wrapping chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Well, it will not look different because I am already using the same mold and a very similar bag with a sticker.

wrapping chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

we just wrapped ours in plastic and will put a sticky label on

wrapping chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello everyone...do you guys think i can wrap my chocolate bars using some kind of celofane paper, wrap tightly and then put a sticker on? the thing is I want something different and creative! let me know what your thoughts are.

updated by @Christine de Massis: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Refining/conching temperatures.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Paul, You need to experiment! Can I suggest that you aim to start off at around 60C and gradually raise it to perhaps 65 to 68C over the first day or however long you are conching at. As usual there probably isn't a "right" and "wrong" - it is what works in your conditions with your beans. Too high and you may negatively affect the flavour and too low and you may not drive off the bitterness.

Duffy

Refining/conching temperatures.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am making chocolate in Costa Rica from tree to bar. We recently received the Melager from CocoaTown which has speed control to better manage the refining and conching temperatures. Does anyone have any tips on what temperature ranges the chocolate should be within to have the best overall flavor?

updated by @Paul Johnson: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Inclusion ratio in chocolate bar manufacturing

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

No hard and fast rules of thumb. often inclusions will be in the 7-15% range (ie if you've got a 100g bar, you'll have 85-93g of chocolate). One thing you can try to do is pre-warm the inclusions to the temperature of your tempered chocolate to help prevent the cooling effect you're seeing on your chocolate as a result of the cold inclusions taking the heat out of the chocolate, resulting in it's solidifying prematurely. take care not to over warm them as doing so will detemper your chocolate.

Inclusion ratio in chocolate bar manufacturing

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello everyone.

Interesting thing I came across- what is the ratio of inclusions(size of inclusions also) to put in a chocolate bar?

Thing is- we were making bars last year and this order will repeat this year and we are trying to find some answers as we had plenty of problems last year making bars with inclusions in a ratio of 2:1. It was 80g of Belgian milk chocolate and 40 grams of inclusions. the thickness of a bar was 5mm and it was almost impossible to vibrate the bar evenly over the surface are (bardimensions120x180mm) inclusion size was up to 15mm.

The problem we came across was that the 'mix' of chocolate and inclusions was getting hard in 3 minutes, which had a major impact on our speed of the line. therefore the batch size could only be limited, since the vibration was a problem as well.

Basically this is a short story, but the question really is: What is the science behind the ratio of inclusions and chocolate for a chocolate bar and/or for spinning?

Best Regards, Arthur

updated by @Arthur Zukayev: 04/11/25 09:27:36

a chocolatier's inventory tracking system

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Kalibri,

I'm new to the forum, and new to the chocolate business. I'm in the process of starting my own. I also am looking to an inventory tracking system to keep track of my molds. I'm investingating barcode management systems like WASP. Their packages include: barcode scanners, printers and database management tools. Some of the features are unnecessary for my business, but I think for the most part they could work. Here's their website:

http://www.waspbarcode.com/

Hope that helps.

Best,

Brian

a chocolatier's inventory tracking system

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello! I am looking for recommendations of a software or even a system of tracking inventory for a small but very exploratory artisan chocolate business (wholesells and direct sells product)? What are other chocolate business' using? Thanks

updated by @Kalibri Anne: 04/11/25 09:27:36

What is a "Traditional Chocolate Truffle"?

Posted in: Opinion

That's the best one yet!

updated by @Bill Tice: 06/19/15 07:03:51

What is a "Traditional Chocolate Truffle"?

Posted in: Opinion

FYI for those playing trivia pursuit: 'truffle' derives from the Latin wordtuber, meaning "swelling" or "lump."

There is nothing sweeter thantheinnocence andquick-smarts of a child: I was making some truffles from left over ganache, and my five year old son said: " Wow Daddy, those are some nice looking "lumps" of chocolate...."

What is a "Traditional Chocolate Truffle"?

Posted in: Opinion

That is what I use too. I scoop and weigh each ganache. I shoot for 5/8 oz for each and hit about 98% of the time. When they are enrobed each is 1 oz. Thanks for your input.

What is a "Traditional Chocolate Truffle"?

Posted in: Opinion

I found a small ice cream scoop helpful when scooping 30lbs of ganache ! It became occupational therapy at one point.... You had to get in the zone tho or you'd go insane!

What is a "Traditional Chocolate Truffle"?

Posted in: Opinion

When I first started making truffles, I was doing the roll by hand method. Now when I have to make 1000 truffles per batch, I find the molds are a better commercial approach. They do look awfully close to bonbons. I even thought about changing the name to bonbons, but I still give them a little roll in some powder before packaging so Im sticking with it for now. I have actually seen some molds out there that give the textured, hand-rolled apperance.

What is a "Traditional Chocolate Truffle"?

Posted in: Opinion

Awesome Clay.... You nailed it .