Hi All in desperate need of help.
I have been making chocolate for the last 9 months so i am relatively new to the process. Everything was going great until about a month ago when i started getting what i think is sugar bloom. I am based in east africa and there has been a large change in weather in the last couple of months with a significant increase in humidity.
Basically what I am getting is chocolate that looks great and has a perfect snap for a day or two - or maybe even longer but eventually the texture alters drastically and becomes crumbly and not particularly nice to eat. What is weird about this is that sometimes the chocolate looks beautifully tempered from the outside and it's not until i break the bar that it is clear something has gone wrong. Sometimes I can tell from looking at the bar - which gets a spotted look to it, but not always.
The first question is this sugar bloom? I have been researching for weeks and virtually everything talks about what the chocolate looks like on the outside, not the inside. When the outside changes it looks more like sugar bloom than fat bloom, but the changes are more radicle on the inside and I am having trouble finding info on this chemical change.
The second question is how to combat it? I have dehumidifiers and AC controlled rooms. The chocolate goes into a fridge to cool (I can't afford an enrobing set up) for about 30-40 mins and then is taken out and packed.
I have tried everything i can think of - rice in the sugar (while it is stored) to pull out ambient moisture, ac, dehumidifiers, limiting exposure to any contact with air. I am out of ideas and extremely frustrated. Any advice would be greatly appreciate. Also happy to answer additional questions about process and set up.
Thanks for your help
Jess
updated by @jessica: 04/19/15 23:14:25
