I've been trying out batches using organic cane sugar instead of the honey I am used to using. The first batch was quite gritty so i stone ground the sugar in the second batch overnight, it still seemed a little gritty so I also used a vitamix to process through it and it seemed fine so I used it but still have that gritty texture in the chocolate.
How do you get sugar to a consistency that will be smooth in the final product?
What grinder are you using and did you clean it before adding chocolate and sugar?
The grinder is a spectra 40 stone grinder, i did not grind the sugar and chocolate in it but only the sugar which was completely clean before using. I normally do not use it for chocolate but only use it to process coconut and nut butters. I processed it for a full day and since it still wasn't fine enough I tried to also use the vitamix but it doesn't hold enough so it had to be done in many smaller batches.
So, this was completely dry, and you want to make powdered sugar?
Yes, I wanted to powder the sugar so when I used it in chocolate it would take away the grit but it didn't work so am asking if there is a better way. I would prefer not to grind the chocolate and sugar in my grinder because I know chocolate is fairly hard to clean in it as the drum is not removable. I would rather do chocolate batches in my tempering machine as it is much easier to clean after the batch is complete as every part is removable and doesn't weigh 200 pounds. Plus if I did chocolate in the grinder I would then still need to put it into the tempering machine anyway as well.
If there are any suggestions please let me know or would it be best to just process the chocolate and sugar together in the grinder and then temper it?
Chocolate inside the grinder would make the mass flow, and get sugar under those wheels. This is a "wet-grinder", after all. To get fine sugar without additions you would need another kind of mill.
I usually can get most of the chocolate out with a spatula while it's still warm, taking out only the wheels.
It makes sense, thanks for your input.
Your suggestion worked great, the grit went away from just a short time of grinding. Thanks
