Forum Activity for @Jim Dutton

Brad,

Very helpful document. You mention that one should not let the tempered (dark) chocolate go above 95F. How low can it go while one is working with it?

In connection with another post about over-tempered chocolate you wrote about melting additional chocolate then bringing it down to the working temperature to add to the bowl of chocolate that is thickening too much, and I asked a question: I was using Valrhona white chocolate and (as usual) it began to thicken as I filled molds. So I added some of the chocolate I had melted (untempered) and then cooled to 84-86 F., and it successfully thinned out the chocolate in the bowl. But it lasted only a short time, and when I added more untempered chocolate, it did no good. In my work this problem occurs mostly with white chocolate, and I am not sure what more I can do. Any ideas?

All chocolate works under the same principles, whether milk, dark, or white. You just need to keep in mind that in the case of white chocolate, there are more "tiny bits" separating the cocoa butter crystals, so it takes longer to crystalize. That's all.

Thank you all for your input. Really appreciate it.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Hello Brad:

Thank you for the info sheet. Really helpful. Does your dog give tempering lessons on white chocolate by any chance?

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Callebaut's reasons are self serving to say the least.

At no time do I advocate adding cocoa butter during the tempering process, whether it's properly crystalized or not. For the most part, the viscosity of a good couverture can be controlled by temperature and crystalization.

My philosophy is simple: You wanna work with chocolate? Learn to temper chocolate.

Having said that, I have attached to this post an EXCELLENT document I have written on tempering chocolate. Why is it excellent? Because it makes tempering chocolate simple, and tells you all the things that online posts don't tell you.

This document makes tempering chocolate so simple that I taught my dog, and he how holds courses on chocolate tempering! LOL

DON'T CHEAT. LEARN TO TEMPER CHOCOLATE!

There is a difference between adding cocoa butter and adding Mycryo. With Mycryo you are adding beta crystals, not just cocoa butter. Of course the cocoa butter is the beta 5 crystals, but just plain cocoa butter isn't the same thing.

Brad - Callebaut has been pushing this idea. Not surprisingly, they suggest using their "Mycryo" brand of cocoa butter. It probably works, and for a home hobbyist it might very well be an easier method. I don't know; I haven't tried it myself.
I wouldn't imagine too many professionals would go this direction however. And chocolate makers would probably be dead set against it, since they have already made their chocolate with whatever cocoa butter content they think it should have.

Tempering with Mycryo

Personally, I don't think it's a good idea at all, and it certainly won't improve taste. In fact, adding cocoa butter in most cases will MUTE the taste of the chocolate.

Hello:

I am new to chocolate and just read that it's possible to add cocoa butter when tempering to make the chocolate more shiny and improve taste. Can anyone comment on whether this is a good idea? I would like to know before starting to do this in case it's wont' turn out.

Thanks and have a wonderful holiday season!

Julie

Hi, I'm mostly a lurker here, now it's my time to post. I'm a hobby chocolate dipper for few years, I've fairly experienced at what I do, but have probably pick up all sorts of bad habits since I know almost no one with experience handling chocolate.

I occasionally make meltaways and have been using oil based flavors, but I just read a recipe at serious eats that calls for alcohol based flavor OR oil based. The recipe supposedly is based on Greweling's, but his book only lists oil. So the question is, does alcohol seize or affect chocolate or not? Does the added fat content make the alcohol less harmful to the texture? Anyone here with experience with using both oil and alcohol based flavors for meltaways?

Thanks for any help.

Thanks for the reply,

We currently do not warm the molds, and havent had issues (yet) as described in the link you added.

If the mold is filled in from below it would then contain a larger mass - wouldnt it then cool faster? I can only imagine a greater dispersion of heat from the chocolate into the mold itself. Its worth noting I am not knowledgeable in this by any means, and am just creating my own theories.

Something like this was discussed in this thread: http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/mold-release-ring-formation-issue-in-mold

In that one, though, the idea was to glue a rigid bar to the bottom of a mold.

For yours, I think you may have problems with the mold retaining temperature and the bars not cooling correctly. Do you warm your molds?

Hey guys,

I purchased custom molds from Tomric, and they look awesome. I am definitely happy with them apart from the bit of flexibility they have. I immediately began wondering if you could flip the mold over, exposing the underside, and fill it with some sort of resin to fill in the cavity, creating a solid block. Has anyone ever done this? It could be a cheaper alternative to purchasing the injection molds.

Any thoughts? suggestions?

Great Clay. Cheers!

Andre:

Whatever works, works. If the refrigerator works for you then you don't need to invest in other equipment.

The real solution is to find a way to work in a room that's 20C. While it will take longer for the molds to cool than at 15C, you will find that tempering will be easier and much more consistent when the room is around this temperature. You should a temperature and humidity gauge in the working area and take notes as you work. If you have problems you may find that changes in temp/humidity may be the cause.

Many thanks Clay.

It's been a hot summer over here in Sao Paulo and room temperatures frequently stay above 28C (82F), so I bought an air con to help temper my chocolate. After that, I put the the chocolate in a refrigerator to cool it down, but I'm not sure if this is the appropriate. I read in other posts that it ok as long as the chocolate does not stay long. Is that so? Or I should buy an equipment that does that and sets the temperature in the range you mentioned?

Thanks!!

Andre -

The temperature will affect the time it takes to cool. As important is airflow above and below the mold to remove the heat. The combination of temperature and airflow will determine the amount of time it takes to cool completely.

55F-60F is a good place to start.

You do need to think about humidity. If the difference in temperature between ambient and the cooling environment is great enough condensation can form on the bars - and this is a bad thing.

I studied a little about the Kuna Indians and the effect of their cacao drink on cardiovascular health at university. I have decided to visit San Blasthis Christmas as part of a 4 week trip. Although there seems to be a lot of info on the studies of Kuna Indians and their cacao consumption, there seems to be little or no mention of cacao on any San Blas tourist websites.

I've booked into a tour and really hope to find something when I'm there, but wondering if anyone has any recommendations or contacts that they can share which mayhelp mefind cacao on San Blas?

Thanks!

Hi, I just created an album for myself... Joey's Chocolates....

Hope you can take the time to have a look.

Hugs, Joey

Hello, I have added these chocolates to my list. Hope the photo is OK to post. Hugs, joey

If I'm organised, I turn the tanks on the night before at 45C, let the chocolate melt and the next morning I take it out the tanks, hand temper on tabletop, turn the temp to 31C and put the tempered chocolate back in the tank. From there you can keep it in the tank all day, stirring it and occasionally adding heat to stop it "over tempering".

If I'm not organised, I just melt my chocolate in the microwave to 45C, table temper it and then add into the melting tank at 31C.

I usually have two tanks going at a time - one for dark and one for milk.

You can also melt your chocolate to 45C (either overnight or in microwave), then turn the tank temp to 31C and add seed chocolate to temper. I find this takes a LOT longer though. Much quicker just to table the chocolate.

Hi Gap,

thanks again for the reply. These look like a great option, but how do you work it? as in do you melt all your chocolate in one tank between 45-50c then temper on marble and put into other tank set at 31C to hold temper during the day? or do you melt in both tanks to 45C,take out approx 2/3 of melted chocolate, cool on marble, then add back into same tank but turning down the temp to 31C to hold the now tempered chocolate? or do you melt, remove it all, temper then put back into tank at lower temp?

cheers

Hi James - that sounds like the one. I use an earlier model of this:

http://www.moldart.be/en/shop/chocolate-machinery/dry-heat-chocolat...

I use two tanks and often set them up in the morning with 5kg in each and mould during the day (moulded chocolates rather than bars). I've used them for my bean-to-bar as well just to hold chocolate tempered until I mould as well.

Hi Gap,

thanks for your very helpful reply. Are the holding tanks called 'chocolate melters' by mol d'art? as looked on their website but couldn't find anything referred to as a holding tank. something called a chocolate kettle but that was insanely expensive. How much chocolate do you work with throughout the day in your tank?

thanks again

Yes there are heated holding tanks. Mol d'Art are the most common (and what I use) but there are others. You temper all your chocolate by hand (they have a smaller units, a 6kg and a 12kg unit) and then put it in the tank which is set to working temp (sat 31C). You can then leave it and it will hold temper. The biggest issue is that you need to "keep" it in temper with a little work during the day. This mainly involves stirring every now and then and, as the chocolate can over-crystallise, hitting it with a heat gun when it starts to thicken too much (but not letting the temperature get so high that it goes out of temper). Its pretty easy when you get the hang of it and I often work with chocolate all day kept in a couple of these tanks and managing the temper of the chocolate just becomes second nature while you're doing other things.

Hi everyone,

I am currently tempering all my bean to bar chocolate by hand on a marble slab and I love doing it this way, however asdemandgrows, so does the pressure of tempering in small batches.

I am wondering if there is aheated holding tank out there, that I cantemper a large batch of chocolate by hand and then transfer into the holding tank. BUT willthe holding tank keep the chocolate in temper throughout the day or at least for a few hours while I remove the amount of chocolate I wantfrom it (already tempered)for different applications without having to constantly re-temper it. OR am I over complicating things and should invest in a tempering machine? if that's the case then which one? As I am in the UKit seemsany chocolate related machine is difficult to come by so am in much need of advice.

thanks

Hola Chocolate Lifers!

My name is Jenny Samaniego, founder and owner of Cocoa Provisions. I grew up in Ecuador and I moved few years ago to NY. My love from the chocolate industry took shape in the Unites States while working for chocolate companies, Pacari Chocolates and Vintage Plantations Chocolates, and traveling back to Ecuador to meet the farmers.

The special connection I had with the industry, grew to become my life goal, after witnessing the need and struggle of the small farmers to find a market for their produce. My company is the bridge that connect the world of the small Ecuadorian farmer and your world, bringing in a taste of the passion and hard work that is needed to bring such quality products.

Cocoa Provisions source directly from the small group of farmers in Ecuador, thus contributing to the conservation of "Arriba National" cocoa, Fair Trade & Sustainable Agriculture Practices. This makes us a purveyor of fine organic fair trade "Arriba Nacional" cocoa beans. We dedicate our work to "Bean to Bar" Chocolate Makers, Chocolate Manufactures, Chocolatiers, etc.

Visit Cocoa Provisions at www.cocoaprov.com or contact us directly us jenny@cocoaprov.com .

Have finally had time to start a open-to-the-public Pinterest board about Samoan cocoa. Did you know that Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island while he was in Samoa. Thats why we call Samoa the Chocolate Treasure Island of the Pacific . Cocoa has been cultivated throughout Samoa for more than 120 years. Cocoa plantations are concentrated in the two 'rain shadows' along the northwest coasts of both islands. A great share of Samoan cocoa is Criollo and Trinitario varieties.

Koko Samoa is Samoas national beverage and forms an important part of the diet. By developing country standards, Samoa already has a large domestic market. Spurred by tradition and knowledge, on average, 60% of households serve 5 cups per week per person (about 200g of koko malu) (Agriculture Census, 2009). Another report shows that about approximately 12,300 households in Samoa consume three cups of cocoa per week, on average. Hence, around 43,000 cups of cocoa are consumed in Samoa per week . This is equivalent to approximately 900kg of dry cocoa beans per week (Ministry of Agriculture 2004). A largely female cohort roasts unfermented beans, pounds them into a paste, and sells them in 200g cups in open-air markets for SAT5-6 / AUD2.20 (that is, SAT5,000/t -- about four times the current world price for cocoa beans ).

According to 2009 trade figures, Samoa imports more chocolate and cocoa products than it exports. Total cocoa and cocoa preparations (HS6) exports totalled USD23,000 while imports came to USD328,000, thus showing a net trade deficit. When drilling down to chocolate alone, Samoa exported only USD1,000 while it imported USD227,000! (Trade Competitiveness Map of the International Trade Centre, www.intracen.org ).

Hi there choco fans

I need help finding packaging manufacturers in Florida, a printing house for the chocolate wrappingand a good display printing company or all in one, that would be the best solution actually.

Google doesn't seem to be enough, therefore I'm asking you.
I want to find as many companies possible, in Florida or near Florida so I could compare the prices and the quality of their work.

Thanks in advance

Hi, I think that there is no such thing as chocolate that is weather (heat) resistant. Couverture chocolate is a quality chocolate which is high in cacao butter. Cacao butter melts just under body temperature. That is one of it's characteristics. This characteristic ensures a superior mouth feel to the chocolate...

So this is why couverture is superior to compound chocolate (often with palm oil, with a slightly higher melting point)

If well tempered the high cacao butter contents, gives the chocolate a nice sheen and snap.

If you know this than a weather proof couverture chocolate sounds like a contradiction.

Cheers

Karel

Hi,

Please help me in understanding wheather couverture chocolate is suitable for Indian climate ?When it will be sent across at various places through courier will it be able to withstand the Indian heat ?What should be done to avoid any sort of mishap with Couverture chocolates so nthat they can be sent at various places without any loss of their original form ???

Hi,

I use a latte machine at my place to heat the milk. I make a cocoa paste of, sugar, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and water. I heat the sugar and water together till boiling then pour over the cocoa powder and chocolate. Then put in fridge till needed. I spoon the paste into the cup, heat the milk up and pour over the chocolate paste. It's rich and customers love it. Plus they like the idea of fresh made hot chocolate. Hope this helps.

Hi all,

I 've seen a similar post in this forum but it didn't quite answer my question so I would appreciate any advice from you. We are planning to have a stand at a market selling thick hot chocolate using our new machine (Camurri). The issue is that we will need to be heating new content to pour into the Camurri for refill cause its capacity is 5L, so we are looking for suggestions of a simple mixture that we could prepare on site and "cook" it before pouring it in the Camurri, or otherwise we would require to wait approx 20-30 mins for it to be prepared in the machine.

We are thinking of trying out the following method though we didn't get to test it yet:

Using a milk frother, add cold milk, sugar, cornstarch and cocoa, stir & warm them up. Then add solid chocolate and allow about a min to melt. Rewarm using the frother that would also mix the chocolate and pour it in the machine ready to be tasted.

Would anyone suggest any other method or recipe that could be more efficient in this case?

Any feedback on Camurri machines? (Ours is pretty new so we 're still testing it)

A million thanks for everything!

Your problem is that you aren't using seed chocolate. The Chocovision X3210 doesn't have the cooling ability you need when tempering without seed chocolate.

My solution which worked for me is tempering about a pound of chocolate by hand, and using that as seed chocolate. I bet that will solve you problem.

I have done the exact same thing, and i also checked with my thermometer and the temperature was different. I am wondering if like Mark Gerrits mentioned, I have cleaned it with water that was too hot. I have also had it stop on me in the middle of tempering and go back to the beginning with the C sign for celcius.. not sure why that happened. I have yet to try tempered seed chocolate though, that will be my next experiment. I'll let you know how that goes.

i don't have any experience with a rev 2. i have a Delta. Sounds as though it might be an issue with temperature probe on your baffle. do you have another baffle to try? apparently washing the baffle with too warm of water can damage the temp probe, FYI.

I'm having the same problem with my chocovision rev 2. I can temper fine by hand, but with this machine I've only done it right once or twice. I bring it up to around 115, down to around 81, then back up to 90. Can't get it to work. Also noticed that when I test the temperature of the chocolate with my thermometer, it differs from what the screen on the machine says...

thanks! ill give that a try, although it seems to get quite thick once i go to a low temp like 29 even. what confuses me is that I don't used tempered seed chocolate when i temper by hand and its fine, but for some reason the machine is different. Not sure if its something i am doing or possibly the machine itself.

Try going even lower, 27.5 or 27, possibly your chocolate is under-crystallized.

Another option is using some properly tempered seed chocolate.