Forum Activity for @Teresa Culbertson

Hi,

I'm looking for a start up enrober.  I don't have funds for a new one, so I'm looking for a used one.

Thanks so much for your help!

Teresa

I wouldn't  be so concerned about that actually.  There will be some uptake of it by your plants to be sure, but most of it will simply wash away in the rain.  I'd think the actual plant uptake would be small (but i've nothing but my opinion to support that).

While we're on the subject of heavy metals, it was mentioned higher up about using the shells in your garden. Would you avoid using it around edible plants?

Talamanca - sorry for the late response.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that you've never actually conducted an analytical study of heavy metals in cocoa shells, have you?  It's incredibly well understood in the chocolate world that heavy metals are concentrated in the shell of cocoa beans from two sources:

1) In C. (and in some places in S.) America, where the soils are volcanic - its very well established that volcanic soils are higher in heavy metals vs their non-volcanic counterparts.  Specifically cadmium.  Plants will incorporate the nutrients of the soils in which they grow into their biology - and for cocoa, cadmium becomes concentrated in the cocoa bean shell.

2) Many origins incorporate drying of the beans along the roadside.  In areas of the world where leaded gasoline is still used, that lead is deposited onto the road surface and subsequently transferred to whatever foodstuffs are dried on said road.

I'd suggest that the arguement of 'i've made cocoa tea personally and i loved it!' and 'i've fed it to tourists and they said it was quite nice' and 'many people do it' is not a solid scientific proof that heavy metals are absent from the shells.  By those arguements cigarette smoking would be classifed as a healthy practice.  If you have the ability to control the growing conditions as well as the drying conditions (ala mycotoxins - i'll not repost info relative to that as it's already on the boards somewhere), then by all means consume the shells.  However, after spending a couple of decades leading cocoa research around the world at arguably the highest level possible, i've yet to see any cocoa grower/fermenter that has the capability to sufficiently control this to guarantee a food safe practice.  You can reference all the above studies that you wish (i've written many of them) - I guarantee you will not find anyone who is actually in the industry that has published a scientific, peer reviewed journal that suggests the practice is food safe.

If you choose to ingest poisions, that is your personal choice.  For you to suggest that it is safe for others to do so and offer it for sale to them while simultanesouly assuring them it's safe and yet not having conducted any studies (worse yet, actively ignoring all the studies that indicate otherwise) to validate that it is indeed so is highly, highly irresponsible and immoral.  

After putting the chocolate in my molds I put it in the refrigerator to set for about 10 minutes, if it doesn't come out of the molds easily then return to refrigerator. I only heat it up to about 110. I find if I don't put it in the refrigerator right away I do get bloom. Since I started that I've never had a problem.

Hi there,

my production of chocolate bon bons is increasing. I have been using my robot coupe R2 to emulsify ganache. These days my 3 liter machine is too small to emulsify my batches. I would love to have a bigger robot coupe or a stephane mixer; however, that is not currently in my budget. Would an immersion blender work? If so, does any one have any good reccomendations? Here is what a recipe size looks like...

5,450 grams dark chocolate

1,000 grams milk chocolate

3750 grams heavy cream

600 grams invert sugar

1,000 grams butter (i prefer to mix ganache with melted butter)

I greatly appreciate any insight you may have. Thanks!

Daniel

One of the first processing steps involves   roasting of cocoa that consists in a heat treatment of the beans at 110–140 °C for about 30 min for beans and 12 min for nibs, depending on the equipment. The primary goal of roasting is to complete the development of the chemical reactions responsible for the formation of sensory characteristics of flavour and colour of ‘chocolate’ (Kamphuis, 2009 and Ziegleder, 2009). In addition, there is an important decrease in the water content, volatile acidity (Minifie, 1999) and microbial contamination of cocoa beans (ICMSF, 2005). After roasting the separation of the shell is facilitated, being removed by winnowing. The cotyledon is now breakable, which produces the nibs. The nibs are ground to form a fluid mass of a dark brown colour called liquor (also called cocoa mass when solidified by cooling). The temperature used in this process is 50–70 °C, during a variable time of 2–72 h, depending on the equipment and cocoa quality and the required chocolate quality (Beckett, 2008). The homogeneous combination of cocoa materials (liquor and butter) with milk products, sugars and/or sweeteners, and other additives, produces the chocolate (Codex Alimentarius., 2003). The process occurs at temperatures between 45 and 100 °C (Minifie, 1999) and at this stage a reduction in acidity and moisture content is observed, and the Maillard reaction is enhanced. Some steps of cocoa processing involve heat treatment or segregation of fractions, which can play an important role in the reduction of contamination of cocoa by ochratoxin A. The purpose of this study is to determine the natural contamination present in cocoa by-products and to evaluate the effect of the chocolate manufacturing process on the reduction of ochratoxin, a contamination in chocolate.

I have 4 Thermoworks thermometers and have been very happy with them. I wondered if they were calibrated the same, so I drove them down to their headquarters. (It is nice that they are about 45 minutes away:). They check them all and they were right on. I know I could do it myself, but I had another issue I needed looked at.

Just throwing it out there - could it be to do with the induction cooktop as well as the thermometer? I use a cheap probe thermometer and have never had any problems with it. My induction cooktop is professional quality - not one of the cheaper portable units.

Nothing to back this up, just a thought that maybe all induction cooktops are not the same.

I also purchased 2 of the Thermoworks thermometers and was not impressed. Readings off the wall. We decided to purchase a couple of digital thermometers from Amazon based upon a chef consultant we hired. We calibrated both (2 degrees off both) and use them with lots of success. Nice magnetic feature and long cord.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00046YFHE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I was curious about this, so I called Thermoworks. They told me that induction cooktops do not affect their thermometers in any way. Interesting.

that class is exactly what I'm looking for but I'm in New England. And, it's my busy season for main job, so 5 weeks is out of the realm of possibility for now. Hope it goes well!

We wish! At the moment, all FCI courses are only offered in person since a large amount of the education is in visiting the practitioner facilities of established companies. Each weekend is like a mini case study of how one entrepreneur was able to successfully start and scale their company. 

this looks amazing. Any chance this class might be offered online in the future?

FBM Compatta Tempering Machine for Sale, used a little over a year. 26 lb tank, compatible with enrobing line. Comes with heated vibrating table. Still works like new.

It is a 220V model single phase.

The machine is located on Long Island, NY.

Buyer is responsible for shipping costs.

Asking $9,500.

If interested, email contactus@eatingevolved.com

 FBM 1.jpg - 967KB

Hi CL community!

Many of you have expressed interest in ongoing education through courses such as Ecole Chocolat, which is an amazing resource for those looking to grow their expertise in hands-on chocolate making. For entrepreneurs who are seeking to build necessary skills to run their own small food business, the Food Craft Institute offers business courses taught by food craft business owners and makers.

Topics include everything from sourcing ingredients to finance and marketing skills and are taught by leading confectioners and the Bay Area's top artisan chocolate makers, such as TCHO Chocolates, Poco Dolce, Dandelion Chocolates, Barlovento, and Guittard. The five week course is a great way to get an in-depth view of the industry. 

For more information, please visit the FCI website or feel free to ask any questions in the forum! http://www.foodcraftinstitute.org/courses/chocolate-craft-confectionery

Hello Peter, I found this information from the Codex Alimentarium, which supports Sebastian´s warning:  CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE PREVENTION AND REDUCTION OF OCHRATOXIN A CONTAMINATION IN COCOA (CAC/RCP 72-2013)   www.codexalimentarius.org/input/download/standards/.../CXP_072e.pdf  

 Please note item 7:  "(...)  only the stage of shell removal can significantly reduce OTA levels."

 Therefore, no cocoa tea made from shells for my kid.  

 Regarding heavy metals, i.e. Cd & Pb, are relatively common in volcanic soils.  At the Fine Cacao Chamber of Costa Rica, we are developing a project to identify the correlation of Cd content in soil, beans and 70% couverture.  More information with Dr. Carlos Hernandez from Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica (cherna @ una.ac.cr) 

Hola, I a TREE-to-BAR chocolate maker, meaning that I literally farm all of my own beans (roughtly a half a ton a year), and really ONLY myself, with very little outside help with exception to "harvestings and openings," where I have 1 guy help me, and only in that part of the work, picking the fruit, and cracking the pods; I am the only one who removes the beans from the pods. Then I personally ferment and dry all of my own beans. AND, I single-handedly do all the chocolate making, including tempering, molding and packaging. The word around this neck of the woods is that Talamanca Organica is the best chocolate EVER. I attribute it to the fermenting and my very fastideous practices of bean storage. I actually pride my chocolate on two points (beyond the fact that it is organic and grown in harmony with mother nature): 1. Talamanca Organica Fine Chocolate only includes two ingredients: Talamanca Organica Cacao and a small amount or organic cane sugar; 2. Talamanca Organica Cacao and Fine Chocolate is only handled by one or maybe two sets of hands through it's entire life cycle of TREE to BAR. 
After reading your story, I realize that I am completely under valuing my AMAZING chocolate bar, 60 grams, that retails at $6 a bar. Private message me if you want some affordable, amazing chocolate, and or beans.

We have been using a normal two door (top and bottom) refrig and as of recent (the last 2 times I made chocolate) the compressor on the refrig quit on me about 80 bars into the 100 (60gramers) I produce at a time. This was a real bummer, as I lost the temper on those last 20 bars, and had to retemper. Here in the tropics, working in an 84F environment in the shade of the cacao forest at mid day demands that refrig is obtained as soon as the chocolate hits the mold. I too am looking for a refrig to help me solve this problem. Thanks for the link.

Actually, many people make tea from the shells. I am not sure where Sebastian gets his information about heavy metals in the shells (???) Where did that come from? I personally farm about a half a ton a year of cacao on my farm, organically, and I have no idea where the "heavy metals" could come from. Actually, I have many tourists who visit my farm from Europe who ask me to buy my shells, as they say that they are extremely expensive in Europe. They choose to make tea from them they say that the nutritional qualities are higher in the shell. 
We here at Talamanca Organica Cacao and Fine Chocolate use the shells as mulch in our vegatable garden, that is if we are not giving them away to tea drinkers.  Recently I had a guy ask me for the shells to use as smoke. (I thought wow, now there is a novel idea!) He twisted up some fresh shells right out of my winnower and smoked away. I had a puff or two and I must say, it was nice and smooth and nothing like tabacco or other smoke that gets you dizzy and high. This shell had a marvelous taste of chocolate, that was quite appealing! with no after affect. It burned very well, but then again, it was fresh roasted.
Additionally, I have made Kumbutcha from the shells for personal consumption, and it was quite nice, too. I am sure we can think of a million other things to do with the shells. And I would really like to hear more about these so called heavy metals in the shells? 

Hi there,

I hear that no one ever sells their guitar cutter, but I thought I would at least ask . I'm looking for a Dedy 7.5mm base with 1 frame (22.5) and a cart if you have one too.

Feel free to email or call me: 

nicole@essencebychocolate.com or 415.519.7155 

Thanks!

Nicole

Hi! I use both Guittard couverture and coating chocolates for my line. The coating chocolate is new and I've been working with it for a few days now. Here's the problem. The document provided to me says to melt the A'Peels  (dark, milk and white) to 120-130 then cool to lower degree (no tempering required) to achieve desired finish. I cooled to 110 and got bloom. So then I checked with a chef consultant who said I should never take milk chocolate above 115. So I tried that and cooled between 105 - 110 and still got bloom.

Anyone else work with the A'Peels that can share your experiences and suggestions?

Dear 'Chocolate Lifers,'

I was hoping to get some advice on using a digital thermometer with induction cooktops. I have tried both a probe type (Maverick CT-03 Oil and Candy Thermometer) and a cable type (Thermoworks Chefalarm) thermometer and, neither appears to give consistent readings. I tested both of them in a pot of boiling water and noticed that the readings of each thermometer fluctuated by several degrees depending on the power setting. I am assuming that the magnetic field from the cooktop is affecting the digital thermomers? So, are there any digital thermometers that can work with induction cooktops? Or, should I just go back to a hot cooktop? I've considered the old style glass thermometers but, find it hard to read and not as precise as digital ones.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Alan B

Hi Nicole,

I have a Hilliard Little Dipper that I am no longer using and would like to sell. I am asking $700 plus shipping--I am located in North Carolina.  Let me know if you are interested in purchasing.  Email  moend@triad.RR.com

DeRhonda Moen

Plugging away editing video for the website - finally got this one up.

Ganache with EZtemper

Susie, just saw this post, but thought I'd say that most of the table top tempering machines come with pre-set tempering curves for milk chocolate that are way off for many couvatures. We always manually override the end temp to match the tempering curve for the specific chocolate that we're using. And, we work with room temperature molds that are at 68-70 degrees F. Hope that helps!

We've had great luck with Polar-Tech.com - they'll actually talk you through which products in terms of thicknesses and ice pack volumes will work for your need. Also, for our local deliveries we use large styrofoam boxes with ice packs that we immediately take back with us. Good luck!

Hi Clay, 

I sent the email to the hyperlink provided on the information page (Academiadecacao@ingemann.com.ni) but it bounced back. 

Please feel free to email my personal email (mattworks@mac.com) becasue when I tried sending you a private message I was unable to find you as a recpient. 

Thanks for your timely response. 

Best, 

Matt

We are closing our retail shop.  Alternative Air 72 inch refrigerated case with 48 inch side desk with display shelf.  Purchased new in 2012.  Excellent condition.  Retail price was over $5000;  Asking $3200.  Portland Oregon (McMinnville, Or) area for pick up.  Curved front, LED lighting, Pecan Wood finish.  Very nice display case.  

Please contact me at chocolate@use.startmail.com

Thanks

Bill

www.tamamichocolates.com

chocolate@use.startmail.com

tamamichocolates@gmail.com

Matt:

What email did you use? (Send me it via private note so I can investigate.) I am surprised you got a bounce.

In any event, the class is NOT full and I will be happy to take a reservation for you.

:: Clay

Does anyone know if this class is full? I tried emailing the email that Clay provided but it bounced back, please let me know if anyone has any further information. This trip looks amazing! 

Sorry Nicole...  I've been so busy...

I want to get $1100 for the chocovisions.  I'll give you a call later today and answer any questions you have about it.

-Jeremy

Quantity 70, in original shipping box.

Rigid set up box with fuchsia lid and lime green base, 15.5"L x 4"W x 1-3/8"H. Fabric wrapped box exterior, matched color-wrapped interior. Each box includes black glassine paper and a gold tray with 18 cavities, already assembled. Price new was 

Asking $240 plus $15 shipping within the U.S.

Contact admin@verucachocolates.com for more information

 IMG_3236.jpg - 81KB

Like new condition.

Mini Confectionary Guitar - platform base is 11.25 x 10". Heavy duty plastic bottom, easy to clean (fits in the sink or dishwasher!). One frame with spacing at 22mm (7/8"). Comes with stanless tray for putting product on and off guitar, and a 10" smoother.

Asking $500 with free shipping to the U.S.

Contact admin@verucachocolates.com

 IMG_3246.jpg - 75KB

Freddo, I have been using Fbm Unica for about one year now. I would strongly recommend this continuos tempering machine. As Clay mentioned you will want to add the artisanal package such as the heavier motor for craft chocolate.  The working bowl holds 25kg of chocolate. Simply add chunks of chocolate when the bowl is about half empty and continue working your chocolate. No need to seed. The only downside in my opinion is working manual is limited. However, having said that, Fbm will Skype with you and give you very good technical assistance. 

I only ever temper one 50lb batch in a day, but if you had pre-melted chocolate on hand, I'm sure you could double or triple that.

Clean up is not too bad. The whole scraper assembly pulls out as one piece and then further disassembles for easy cleaning, and the tank is just like any other tank.

@ben thanks.  How much chocolate can you temper in a day and how easy is clean up?

Greetings,

We want to buy the Twirlo Coating Kettle you advertised.
We don't know how to contact you, and wanted to place the order ASAP.

Is the unit still available?

You can contact me via henkens@mac.com, or by phone at (252) 646-1278. 
This is a number in NC in the USA.

We can pay for the unit by paypal or any card you preferr.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Robert Henkens and Celia Bonaventura

I have some of the tilting ones and they work fine, fully ventilated just like the 1.5litre version, and no issues with overheating. Coming up on 12 months use. Belts don't seem to last long though.

Check Uline.com they should have what you're looking for (If the standard size does not fit, they may have custom size as well).

http://www.uline.com/Grp_93/Insulated-Shippers-and-Supplies?pricode=WF712&AdKeyword=styrofoam%20cooler&AdMatchtype=p&gclid=CPPXp_qM_8UCFREoaQodLSkA8g&gclsrc=aw.ds

Jeremy, feel free to email your response to nicole@essencebychocolate.com or call me at 415.519.7155. Thanks!

Hi James,

About direct contact with company supplying the machines for buying multiple machines  - you mean the company that produces them ? If so, you have their contact person to turn fot it?

Thanks