Forum Activity for @Jim Dutton

Suppliers and pricing

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

I am not in business but am a hobbyist, so my quantities are not huge. I also use Chocosphere. No one else (that I have found) has their broad selection. I am always looking for a chocolate I like better than the current one, but at the moment, I use:

For dark: Felchlin Maracaibo (previous choice was Valrhona Caraibe, before that, various Callebaut varieties)

For milk: E. Guittard Orinoco (previous choice was Valrhona Jivara). I am always looking for a milk that is darker than most are.

For white: I have been alternating between Valrhona's Opalys and their Ivoire. I did a little blind taste test recently with the two, and in two tests, Opalys won the first, and Ivoire the second. I have had problems with ganache made with Opalys separating more than with other chocolates, so I am now going back to Ivoire (it has slightly less fat than Opalys). I tried El Rey Icoa, but really disliked it. I also tried Cacao Barry's Zephyr, but it was very thin and did not coat molds well.

Suppliers and pricing

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Hi! I really like the brand CasaLuker. I went to the Chicago chocolate show and tried a LOT of chocolate, I thought they were the best, and I like their business practices. I really like their Noche milk chocolate, it's a little darker than typical milk ch and had a really good flavor. They have a variety of dark single origin as well, I like the Acura it's 70% and has an herbal/fruity taste.They sell 22lb cases for around $100 depending on the type of couverture.Not sure where you are located you might use a different supplier. I'm in Michigan US, my supplier is IFI Gourmet. They are really great to work with, and ship via FedEx. They also carry a line of colored cocoa butters that are all natural. And they will send you samples of corse

Suppliers and pricing

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Hi everyone! Are any of you willing to post which couverture a you use and approximate pricing you get? I'm currently going through chocosphere and am very happy with their service but am wondering if better pricing on some of the brands can be obtained (perhaps once I can purchase large quantities) and where. I'm wondering if it's competitive to what you are all paying. Also just curious which couvertures you picked to work with. Thanks
updated by @Krista2: 04/07/25 13:00:14

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I am adding a post to this thread on the over-crystallizing problem and ways to solve it. Today I was using Valrhona Opalys to line 8 molds. I have had problems with its thickening too much in the past, so was prepared--or so I thought. The first four molds went OK; in fact, the chocolate was a bit too thin for the first two. Then problems developed. I used Brad Churchill's suggestion (described in this thread) of melting additional chocolate, bringing it down to the working temp (84-86 F. in this case), then adding it to the over-crystallized chocolate. I was using a Chocovision Delta machine. I added half of the extra chocolate first, and that seemed to thin out the batch sufficiently for a couple more molds, but soon it thickened again. So I added the rest of the extra (still at the same temp), but this time it did very little good. I raised the temp several degrees and got the last two molds lined only by turning them upside down immediately after filling them and beating on them as hard as I could with the bottom of the scraper to make the chocolate fall out.

I am very discouraged as I thought I had conquered this problem. Does anyone have additional suggestions? I'm now thinking of thinning out the extra chocolate with cocoa butter, although I hate to tamper with the original manufacturer's recipe for the product. Another thought: would it make any difference if I tempered the original batch with Mycryo instead of chocolate from the bag? And still another idea: would stopping the rotation of the Delta bowl help with the problem? Any thoughts would be welcome.

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

That's why I like this site so much. The answers you get are always top-notch. Many of these participants have a wealth of knowledge that they're more than willing to share.

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

This is good information. I recently purchased a 50 lb. Savage Brothers melter with the tempering device and will be delivered today. So if I can melt additional chocolate, lower the temperature, add to the machine and keep it in temper without melting a full tank and doing an additional temper cycle, will be a big help. I hope to be able to mold 100 lbs in maybe 6 hours and will see.

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Savage and Hilliards machines are far superior to the others I have. Each has it's own use though.

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Thank Brad

Which machine do you find the best?

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Thanks All. I tried this today and the temper held just fine. Keeping dark chocolate melted at 90 degrees in the Bakon, I was able to add an equal amount of melted chocolate to my tempered chocolate with no problem. Thanks again for the help, John

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

We have several - Savage Bros, Pavoni, Hilliards, and ACMC

The process works for all of them, as the machine's primary function is to agitate the chocolate.

Cheers

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Brad

What machine do you use?

Louise.

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

My staff do this exact thing regularly. It's actually pretty simple.

Let's say you're down to 5lbs of well tempered chocolate, and you need to refill, but you don't want to retemper everything.

Chocolate A = working chocolate

Chocolate B = new chocolate.

Heat B to at least 120 degrees F and stir well to ensure any crystals are fully melted.

Now Cool B to 90 degrees f, and add it to A.

Stir lots for a couple of minutes for the crystals to propogate.

That's it! Super easy. You can add the same quantity of B to A as long as you don't change the temperature of the final product, and as long as A is properly tempered. In fact it even helps if A is over crystalized a bit.

Cheers

Brad

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Assuming that you are not working at the warmest of the range, for ex you can comfortably work with good dark at 29 C or at 31.5 C, deduct a degree for milks and whites. If you are working with dark at lets say 30-30.5 in a 67 degree room you should at the very least be able to add 2 lb of 40 C melted chocolate for every 10 that you have in. Give it an extra good stir for 7-8 seconds and check to make sure that it did not leave the acceptable working temperature range. Ultimately, it is going to take a little trial and error and then you should have no problem.

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Assuming your block chocolate is already in temper, the easiest thing to do is melt the already tempered chocolate carefully so as not to 'break' its temper - that is, melt it and maintain it at about 90F, then add it to your other batch of tempered chocolate. an accurate thermometer is a very useful tool for chocolate work.

Alternatively, if you melt it and break it's temper, you'll still be able to add it to your other batch of tempered chocolate, but in much smaller quantities as adding untempered chocolate essentially 'dilutes' the temper, and will require time for it to regain it's temper.

Adding melted chocolate to tempered chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hello All. I have a Bakon mini enrober that I'm having issues with and I also use a chocovision delta. At this point I'd at least like to be able to use the Bakon as a Melter and add that melted chocolate to my tempered chocovision machine, as needed. At what temperature should I keep the Bakon chocolate as I'm adding it to the Delta machine, and should I only add a certain amount at a time. Thanks for the help, John

updated by @John Duxbury: 04/09/15 04:22:51

Shelf stable semi sweet chocolate agave sauce?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you for your comments. I was with the same thinking that the shelf life should be along the same line as the agave I was using.

I am melting the chocolate and then putting it in airtight jars. I saw something about heating the jars in an oven for a certain amount of time to really clean them. Is that suggested? Also if I am putting hot chocolate/agave mixture into a jar and sealing immediately, won't condensation occur?

Thank you for your advice and suggestions.

Shelf stable semi sweet chocolate agave sauce?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I would strongly guess that it will have a long shelf life. As Ruth said, one way to know for sure is to test the water activity and if that's low enough, no microbes will be able to grow in your sauce. Some more thoughts:

The only ingredient you add that really contains water is the agave syrup, so I expect the final product to be at least similarly long lasting than the agave syrup you use, at least in terms of 'spoilage' (the water activity tells you nothing about product deterioration through oxidation or sugar crystallization). The salt you add also helps to increase shelf life. I doubt that you need to add more things to make it stable. More crucial might be the way you process it (Do you heat or cook it during processing? Is it kept in airtight jars?).

Shelf stable semi sweet chocolate agave sauce?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

You can get the product tested at most State Agriculture Colleges, or buy your own meter. It isn't a matter of water in the recipe, but available moisture for the bacteria and mold to live on.

Shelf stable semi sweet chocolate agave sauce?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you Ruth. Do you know the most economical way to get that done? Where would water be found in those ingredients?

Shelf stable semi sweet chocolate agave sauce?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Get the water activity checked, then you will know.

Shelf stable semi sweet chocolate agave sauce?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am jarring a dark chocolate semi sweet sauce and the ingredients are semi sweet chocolate, agave syrup, and sea salt. Will this be shelf stable? Is there something I can add or do to make it more shelf stable?

Any suggestions or ideas are most appreciated.

Thank you,

Kelly

updated by @Kelly Marley: 04/11/25 09:27:36

In need of a starting roast profile for these 3 test origins for my company.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you so much Tom for this!

In need of a starting roast profile for these 3 test origins for my company.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Tom provided some good advice.

I personally go by smell.

I start by roasting a small amount at 170c until they begin to smell burnt. That point in time is my max threshold.

Then I start again with another batch at the same temperature. The beans start smelling chocolatey, then the smell gets acidic (vinegary), and then the acidity slowly tapers off and a nice mellow chocolate smell begins to become prominent. I tend to track the time and stop the roast somewhere between the decline of the acidity, and the point in time where I have recorded them as burnt.

The longer they are in the oven, I find the fewer delicate fruity/floral notes remain. Personally i try and retain some of the fruitiness.

Cheers

Brad

In need of a starting roast profile for these 3 test origins for my company.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

This is how i do it and it works very well. Pre heat oven to 170 degC with a high edge baking tin inside. Pour beans into tin so the beans sit in a layer about two beans thick (i have a tray that takes 800g to 1kg so this is the roast scale i work on and hence the times i mention will be based on this batch size). After 5 min at 170 degC, turn oven down to 150 degC and stir the beans every 5 min. After 15 min at 150 degC i taste the beans every five minutes from that point when i stir them until i think they are done. The way i do this is to select two beans one big, one small and shell them, then pop them in my mouth with about half a teaspoonfull of sugar. Chew this to a paste in your mouth and it will give you a rough approximation of what your choc will taste like at that roasting time. As for specific times for those origins well that depends on your taste, a lot of people like a light roasted Madagascar, but i like a darker roast and this can translate to an extra ten min roasting. As a guide though the lightest roast i have done was with some Samoan beans and this was only 20 min at the 150 degC stage and longest was 45 min at the 150 degC stage for a batch of Aussie beans. Generally you will find that bitterness will increase as you roast and astringency will decrease, some can get bitter very quickly like the Samoan which is why the roast was so short. So it is about balancing these two parameters with that of the choc flavour formation, everyone has a different opinion. Good luck, you should be fine.

In need of a starting roast profile for these 3 test origins for my company.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

So I run a small business making chocolate bars, and I have some samples of some beans that I was just hoping someone could give me a starting roast profile for so I can get it as close to the correct taste as possible as I only have enough sample beans for 1 batch each .

The origins are as follows:

Arriba Nacional from Camino, Verde Ecuador

Trinitario from Gran Couva, Trinindad

and lastly a variety from Sambirano, Madigascar

All are very high quality beans and I am very excited to taste the end product. I have not dealt with these types of beans yet and am looking forward to the responses I get on this subject!

Also, I will be roasting in my home oven for now until I get a proper roaster, just so you know all of the details.

Thank you so much!

updated by @Steven Shipler: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Problematic Baffle with Chocovision?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Maggie

i have been having same issues with rev delta , resulting in batches of chocolate returning to me because of bloom, i contacted chocovision by email, got prompt reply to change baffle , like you i checked chocolate with a thermometer and got different reading then on the display.

mick

kilbeggan chocolate

Problematic Baffle with Chocovision?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Ian!So far so good with the newest baffle ( going about a month strong). We love your machines, just can't figure out why at times our baffle breaks :/ my email is baskets@nibblesbits.comThank you!!

Problematic Baffle with Chocovision?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello Maggie:

I work at ChocoVision; can I contact you? Please email me your information to ian@chocovision.com.

Thank you

Ian

Problematic Baffle with Chocovision?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Clay!

I never thought about the water we are using. I will check that out first thing tomorrow. It didn't appear to be corroded, as I am a bit OCD with cleaning, but again I will check.

I did learn hand tempering through Peter's Chocolate courses and before our machines arrived, did practice that way. You think we go back to that? I am just worried about the time.

Maggie

Problematic Baffle with Chocovision?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Maggie -

A couple of things suggest themselves to me:

1) Try blow drying (low temp setting) both the sensor probe and the connector pins on the baffle immediately after washing.

2) Check the connector pins on the baffle. Do they look at all corroded? I would get your water tested to see what's in it, and then use a very gentle cleaner as well as maybe a pH neutral bottled water (just on the connector) to see if that solves the problems. I would also be very careful about getting water into the holes where the baffle connector pins make contact. They may be corroding, too.

An external thermometer is not the answer here as the machine is not displaying the right temperatures. You'd need to run the machine completely manually, which means -- for the quantity of chocolate you mention -- that it'd be faster and easier to hand-temper. You should probably know how to hand-temper anyway if you don't already because that will help you diagnose what is going wrong.

Problematic Baffle with Chocovision?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi All!

I purchased my first Chocovision Rev X3120 back in August of 2013. Since then, we have gone through 4 baffles...first our problem was washing it in too warm of water. We now wash it in very luke warm water. Because I am a gourmet gift basket store primarily, we are only using about 30-50lbs of chocolate per week during off season. Chocovision has been very good about replacing the baffle, but in the mean time, right before the 'death' of our baffle, our chocolate is coming out atrocious (terrible blooming), due to the baffle not reading the temperature correctly. I am now going to start using a thermometer as well, to double check. :/

Is this a common problem with Chocovision? Or is there something we may be overseeing? Chocovision can't figure it out. Please help, so I don't waste anymore product!

Thanks all!

Maggie

updated by @Maggie Calpin: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Introduction with a few questions

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

I've never heard of thermoforming. I will look into this. Thank you.

Introduction with a few questions

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Awesome. I will look into this online Ecole School. I'm very interested on both sides of consumer and business. Thank you for the response.

Introduction with a few questions

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Thank you for your response. Very much appreciated.

Introduction with a few questions

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Thank you for your response. Very much appreciated.

Introduction with a few questions

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

well, I'm from argentina, so I can't help you that much, but about the molds, polycarbonate molds needs an inyection die, that costs a lot of money to do, so if you are not going to make a lot of molds, really a lot, I don't think it would be cost efficient.
anyways you should do a 3d model of the chocolate, and then it will help for whatever case.
I recommend thermoforming.. which is a cheaper method and it's good too.

I'm sure you could find a confectioner or a chocolate factory that would do the job.. even the mold stuff..

Good luck!

Introduction with a few questions

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Hi Hong,

I am on the other side of chocolate the consumer side and have tasted many dark chocolate bars a long the way

You may wish to check out the online Ecole School for a start. They also have the business side.

I t depends what you wish to go into bars or confections but it doesn't happen over night and you may also want to work for a chocolate maker or retail shop to see if this is what you really want to get into.

I work in a chocolate area of a super market here in NYC.

Introduction with a few questions

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Take a look at the micelli molds. They are a sponsor of the chocolate life. http://www.thechocolatelife.com/group/classifiedsforsaleorwanted/page/micelli-artisan-mold-program As far as copacking goes just use the search link on this site. Larry

Introduction with a few questions

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Hi Mr. Le,

I cannot say that I am a chocolatier like others on this forum, but my family has been in the chocolate/confectionery business for over 65 years. To have a custom mold made, you could probably contact Tomric at www.tomric.com . If you hope to have someone else make your chocolate bars, I have no idea who you could call. If you want to make your own, I can't think of anything you would need other than a tempering machine, the molds and the wrappers. Don't know what a copacker is, and costs and minimums will depend on who you are buying from, best to contact those companies. For boxes or wraps for your bars, you can contact ModPac. Their stuff is very basic, and probably good to start with.

Introduction with a few questions

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

No one?

Introduction with a few questions

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Hi, my name is Hong Le from Los Angeles. I've been working as a web programmer in the internet sector for half of my life. I figure it's about time I try something new and why not get into something that I'm passionate about. I love chocolate and I love business. I hope to meet a lot of interesting people and mentors.

Jumping straight into my questions, here goes...

1. I'd like to build a chocolate business but I have no idea where to even begin. I have a mold in mind but have no idea how to produce this mold. According to my research so far, I think I'm looking to produce a polycarbonate mold. Can anyone assist with this?
2. Are there any chocolate companies (not sure what they're called) that can help churn out chocolates in my custom mold on a mass scale?
3. I recently learned the term copacker. Are there any chocolate copackers that anyone recommends?
4. I have no idea about costs and minimums are when it comes to any of the processes so if anyone is knowledgeable in this, can you shine any light on this?

If I'm leaving anything out, please let me know also. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I hope to hear back from anyone and thanks for allowing me to be apart of this community.

updated by @Hong L: 04/15/15 23:39:32

Seeking answers….

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

So is Haiti (in terms of being an unusual case!), since Haiti was part of Hispaniola (DR+Haiti). Most of the beans from Haiti is "criollo". Ask the French, they have come here big time!