Forum Activity for @Jack Meyer

May I ask why dextrose is used in your recipe? I've not used it before and just curious.

Thanks

Hi Paul & Emma, thanks for selling Original Beans Chocolove, Vera

Hello, we are paul & emma and we are Chocoladeverkopers - dutch for chocolatesellers. We started last november selling chocolates in our own part of a store in a lovely street in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

We sell dark bars by amongst others Marou, Chocolatemakers, Tibor Szántó & Original Beans. We started our little business because we love dark chocolates and because we want to make the world a tiny bit better. That's why we only want to sell bars we like ourselves, we prefer bars that are made by companies who think carefully about what they do and their impact on the world. Also, we get all our bars by bicycle (currently from Amsterdam, Wageningen & Heteren).

We really have a lot to learn, and i think this site is one of the good places for that - that is the main reason to make an account here. 

Thanks for your attention & wishing you all the best in your chocolate adventures,

Paul & Emma

www.chocoladeverkopers.nl

facebook.com/chocoladeverkopers

You mention that they develop a powdery texture, and that you have high humidity.  Look for sugar bloom.  When you hold the bar, does the bloom remelt or remain, and when tasting the surface is it the dry powder you describe.  To prevent, after you cool the chocolate, let rewarm gradually, keeping product above the dew point for room conditions.  It doesn't take much moisture to condense on the surface to cause the problem.

thank you all are very friendly and I wish them well and many positive vibes!

gracias muchas!

shopmodpac.com

Thanks Sebastian. I will look for a set screw refrig.

The issue i suspect you're having is one of sugar bloom, and that results from condensation.  You get condensation when something cold runs into warm air (warm air contains more water than cold air) - and when the warm, wet air hits the cold chocolate, that decrease in air temperature means the air can't hold the excess moisture, and it promptly deposits itself on your bar.  When it does so, it dissolves some sugar in your chocolate, and then it eventually evaporates and leaves behind the dissolved sugar that looks now like white film.

Your typical consumer fridges have thermostats that aren' meant to go as high as 55 - some models have a cowling that, if you remove the cover, there's a set screw that you can turn to further adjust the range of the condensing unit to enable it to achieve warmer temperatures - its a trial and error thing as there's no gradations on the set screw (and not all modesl have it) - you just have to turn it, put a thermometer in there and read it 4 hours later to see what's happened.  If yours has the set screw, it's the least expensive way to modify your fridge.  If not,  you can replace the thermostat - it's not hard to do, but not everyone's comfortable cutting wires.

A very helpful tool for managing condensation is a psychrometric chart - big scary word, the chart itself is also scary looking, but once you understand how to read it, will help you understand what the temperatures of your fridge (or the room  your fridge is in) need to be to minimize the odds of condensation.

A Cool Bot will control an air conditioner to make your own cold room.

box and wraps.

Papermart.

Thanks fo the info.

I put in 10-15 minutes and refrig. temp is 48F.

I tried to cool in at RT and found out it won't release off the mould....

I will definately check the DIY cooling tunnel.

I wonder if anyone came across refrig unit that can be adjusted to 55F. ( My mom in law's wine cooler is definately 55F capable, but too small and too expensive...)

Some where on the site here Clay posted plans for a DIY Cooling tunnel. I Tryed bulding something like it and it did a pretty good job for us. Came in around $800

Try a hair dryer and microfiber cloth...

Hi there, Nashville wraps and the rever group both sell wrapping stuff if that is what you are looking for!

That would be great, We always like to try new things around here. You could send a sample to our shop here. 

Starchild Chocolate

101 N Main St Willits, Ca 95490 USA

Hi Ash,

I can provide you with certified organic Inian Cocoa

Kindly let me know if you would like a sample

Regards

any recommendation for cleaning the molds?

thanks

Hello Everyone, I can recommend a website that sells wrappers or boxes for chocolates. thank you all

 We would be willing to try your beans provided they are certified organic. I have yet to try an Indian bean.

How long are you leaving it in the fridge?  I generally put it in for 10 to 15 minutes when it is actively crystallizing to carry off the latent heat of crystallization - then take it back out to room temperature.  Too long, it gets too cold and moisture will condense on the surface causing sugar bloom.  

Room temperature may result in the latent heat causing some pieces to get thrown out of temper.

Anything between a couple of hundred grams and 5 kgs.

I've previously read advice to put moulds in a refridgerator immediately after pouring the chocolate to "set it." Is this wise or a best practice technique? If this is an ok practice, what conditions (specifically temperature and humidity) within the fridge are recommended?

Dear Nabil,

I'm a bean to bar chocolatier.

Please feel to reach out at +91 810 843 8800.

Thanks,

Devansh

I cool the entire mass to 25 to get 'wild' crystallization, then reheat to 30 (which eventually will get raised to closer to 32 as it becomes overtempered) to melt out the undesirable crystals and leave only the form 5 crystals. 

And how much chocolate do u do at any one time???

Do u temper it down to 25 and then ring it back up to 30???

Hi Francis.  I realize that this post of yours was from a while ago.  However, I am running into similar issue now with a cocoatown that i have here in Chile.  I am wondering if you figured out a way to fix the issue, without having to buy new stones of course.   cheers, mg

I take milk chocolate down to 25 C when tempering by that method.

I am about to start my chocoalte business but I do not have a cooling tunnel..... I put chocolate into refrig. to cool and finds too many white surfaces (moisture i guess).

Is it possible just let the chocolate self dry at RT (66F-70F), RH<50. Any concerns? I know it takes a littble bit longer time though.

I must admit I am not stirring it really well when it is melting.  I melt it half way then transfer it then stir it like crazy until i get it to te temp required.

Are you stirring it really well when you are heating it up?

This is critically important as it keeps temperature of the whole batch uniform.

Equally important when cooling down.

thanks heaps for that.  I transfer the chocolate out of the glass bowl that I melted the chocolate into another one to stir it.  Does that make sense.  But I am going to try the steel bowl.

Now I understand your process.

Please remember that if a given set of temperatures (low and high) was working well before there is no guarantee that it will work today.

Chocolate varies from batch to batch (some less, some more) and changes sometimes need to be made. 

I would suggest replacing glass bowl with a thin walles stainless steel one. One of the problems possinle with your method is that if you heat the glass bowl up (while mixing the chocolate) until the chocolate reaches set temperature than take it out of the hot water the glass bowl is still hot and keeps transfering heat to the chocolate. Using steel bowl should reduce this problem (and if it falls it doesn't break).

Try this, try lower heating temperature until you find the best settings and be ready to do it again in the future. 

I stir it in a glass bowl to cool it down.  once a reach the temp I want I reheat on top of a small pot of water.  it has always worked for me in the past.  I'm not confident enough with chocolate to pour it onto a bench top.

Not sure what do you mean by "cool down by stirring". Do you do it on a steel/marble plate or just stir it in the container that is cooled by room air?

Once you have reached low temperature how do you warm it up?

If you leave the moulds in the room for 20-30 minutes they will be the same temperature as the air in that room, this you can check with a normal room thermometer.

I cool down my chocolate by stirring it.  How do I know the heat of my moulds???  I have always just poured in my chocolate once Ihave tempered it.  You are so right about dark chocolate being forgiving it is so much easier to work with.  I hve so many easter orders for milk chocolate eggs and bunnies but just can't get it right.

Thanks for the reply

Clay, I'm trolling this subject.  I am in San Antonio, TX, which is cold right now (and unusually so), but we can get plenty warm starting in mid April and lasting through late October.  Temps reach 96+ fairly easily, and too often over 100; humidity is all over the place, but usually a wide range between 30% and 85% (if not raining).  So, controlling heat/humidity is an issue here, too.  What about the plastic industrial curtains like in the link below; are they effective in helping control temp/humidity for chocolate purposes?... or do they just invite the possibility of shocking chocolate?

http://www.barefrigeration.com/Products/Walk-In-Cooler-Strip-Curtain-40--x-84-.html?gclid=CjwKEAiAmuCnBRCLj4D7nMWqp1USJABcT4dfbUuwhsxQzebA3JsX1CWZR9iV_4TdPTCbB80Ou5d04RoCeGfw_wcB

 Hi Michelle,

Two possible problems:

1. Your chocolate is undertempered.

You may try to warm it up to 30C or 31C and see what happens, very vigorous mixing throughout the tempering will help as well.

How do you cool it down?

2. Your moulds are too hot when you pour your chocolate in. This melts too many crystals and detempers chocolate. 

Try making sure that the moulds are about 27-28C before pouring the chocolate in.

Dark chocolate is little more forgiving so problems may not show up as much as with milk. 

Mould temperature should be just below the temperature of tempered chocolate.

In very simplified terms.

Correctly tempered chocolate has only one type of cocoa butter crystals with melting point above 31C. Only some of the cocoa butter is crystalized (seed crystals) and the rest is still liquid. These seed crystals are small and spread throughout the whole mass. When we pour the chocolate into moulds and start cooling we hope that our seed crystals will grow and whole mass will crystalize in the same crystaline form.

If the moulds are much colder than our tempered chocolate some of the remaining liquid cocoa butter will be cooled too fast by the mould surface and in this area we will create crystals with a lower melting point which will result in bloom.

If the moulds are much warmer then tempered chocolate our seed crystals will melt at the mould surface and this part of chocolate will later (during cooling) crystalize in "uncontrolled" manner. It will be difficult to take it out of moulds and it will bloom later.

I hope this helps a little.

I can try to explain in much more detail if needed.

Hi 7ltr

hi Peter, thanks for your post.

I  temper sbout 1 kilo of chocolate at a time.  I use a chocolate thermometer.  I bring my dairy choco down to 27 then back up to 32.  I use a double boiler when melting choco and stir it until it is at the correct temp.  I don't do anything to my molds.  I never have.  What am I doing wrong???