Forum Activity for @Ben Rasmussen

Thanks! I look forward to seeing the video.

One idea would be to hook it straight up to a vortex dust collector on a 5-gallon bucket, replacing the built-in shell collection chamber. I use one for my current winnower and can winnow 30 Kg or more before having to empty it.

I'd love to see it in action, too! What kind of yield are you getting? Any problems with husks in the nibs or vice versa?

No problem--glad to help!

I'm not sure what you mean by it being cut 3/4 of the way and bent. When you cut the hole in the pvc, you're left with a disk. That is then bolted to the inside of the pvc pipe blocking the bottom of the feeder pipe.

It's not bent (other than the existing curve of the disk). The drawing makes it look like the curve goes top-to-bottom, but really the curve fits into the curve of the pipe, as shown in the photo on that page.

Does that answer your question, or am I still misunderstanding?

Hi Donny,

John talks about the deflector disk in this blog entry:

http://chocolatealchemy.com/2011/07/13/chocolate-alchemys-diy-winnower-part-2/

There's a lot of great info in all of the blog entries and comments about the winnower:

http://chocolatealchemy.com/2011/07/11/chocolate-alchemys-diy-winnower/

http://chocolatealchemy.com/2011/07/13/chocolate-alchemys-diy-winnower-part-2/

http://chocolatealchemy.com/2011/07/17/chocolate-alchemys-diy-winnower-part-3/

http://chocolatealchemy.com/2011/09/02/announcing-the-aether-winnow/

http://chocolatealchemy.com/2011/09/12/the-aether-sylph-winnower/ (this one has tuning instructions)

Ben

Hi Donny,

Ben

I second the chisel. It's way better than the chipper.

Yes, you'll want to make sure that it is well-winnowed. I just winnow and then put the winnowed nib into the melanger.

If the juicer is to pre-grind the nibs before putting them in the melanger, I'd suggest skipping it altogether. You can put nibs directly into the melanger.

I know that the Premiers work for making chocolate and I'd imagine the Butterfly would, as well. The Butterfly's 3-wheel configuration is pretty interesting as it basically doubles the grinding surface area.

Yes, this is normal. After running through the melanger, you'll need to temper your chocolate to get stable, bloom-free chocolate. There's a lot of information on tempering on this forum and on the CA site and forum, so I won't repeat it here.

Hi Matt. I've used an X3210 for a couple years now with no problems. There are several threads here on The Chocolate Life discussing the Chocovision machines in depth as well as other tempering machines. If you search for X3210 or Delta you should be able to find them.

I don't know the particle size, but I'd imagine it's similar to what you'd get running peanuts through it. It's kind of a thick, chunky paste. To get an idea of the consistency, see this video from Dandelion Chocolate:

http://www.dandelionchocolate.com/2011/08/15/new-first-stage-grinder/

Hello. Most small chocolate makers that I know of use one of the various PVC winnower designs. You can find several of them by searching on this forum and on chocolate alchemy.

I haven't looked into presses too much, so I don't have any suggestions. I think there has been some discussion about them here on TCL, though.

Hi Roy. To separate the cocoa butter from the liquor, you'll need to buy or build a press. You'll still need to create the liquor from nib first.

Which tempering machine did you get?

Thanks,
Ben

There's a good discussion of this here .

Hi Luvin,

See Colin's post earlier in this thread. I think the only modifications would be related to drum speed and the ability to roast at lower temperatures. If you can control those two things adequately, a coffee roaster should work fine.

-Ben

If I remember correctly, I think the belts on the small melangers are about 3 feet long.

The older model ECGC12 that I had used a 3/8" width belt. I'm not sure what the newer model ECGC12SL uses, but I'd assume it is the same. I don't know how long it was/is, but it doesn't really matter since the link belt's length is easily adjusted.

I'd really recommend switching to the PowerTwist fiberglass link belt that Felipe linked above. They don't stretch and you'll probably never need to replace it. I ran a few Cocoatown ECGC-12s for 3 years or so using them without ever having to change or tighten the belt.

I'm pretty sure it's a batch tempering machine.

Hello,

I use a Chocovision X3210 (purchased through TCL). I temper small test batches without seed by selecting tempering mode 2 and then just waiting a little while. It works pretty well. The problems I've had are mostly because I jumped the gun on molding.

For normal production, I use seed chocolate as it's much quicker and more consistent.

I'm not sure if your last comment is calling the Chocovisions continous tempering machines or not. They're batch tempering machines, not continuous. The continuous ones, as Clay describes, continuously cycle the chocolate through the tempering process and then back into a melting tank.

I like my X3210 just fine, but I really want to get a continuous temperer for the time savings that Clay mentions.

Ben

I'm using some pretty simple vacuum formed molds, which are kind of notorious for release marks. I've been able to minimize them with better cooling, but only rarely completely eliminate them. If left, the marks can add to the next batch's marks. I generally wait several batches before cleaning, but I think a quick dunk in an ammonium hydroxide solution and rinse after each batch would get the marks off without much effort.

That's my thinking on the matter.

I always have a release mark on my bars that leaves a little remnant on the molds. So, I always intend to do a quick wash after every use, but in practice it's when the molds really need it. It would be a lot easier and quicker if I did it every time, though.

I generally dump about 1/2 cup - 1 cup ammonium hydroxide in a full sink.

Don't know about the rotating brush, but in one of those threads Brad mentions using a brush to clean stubborn chocolate. I use a very soft cloth with very little pressure.

Currently, I only do dark chocolate, so I mostly clean them to make the bars look nice.

Interesting about Callebaut saying bloom could be caused by dirty molds. Did he explain why that could happen?

Had to go look for it. The original post is here:

http://chocolatetalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=techniques&thread=582&post=3225

And he mentions it again here:

http://chocolatetalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=finishing&thread=614&post=3393

I don't think the cleanliness of the molds should cause bloom. Maybe if there was some chocolate still in the molds that the new chocolate mixed with, but I think that would be a relatively localized issue.

For cleaning, I follow Brad's comments either on this forum or on Chocolate Alchemy. He suggested cleaning with ammonium hydroxide, rinsing thoroughly and air drying. It really cuts through any chocolate remants and leaves the molds squeaky clean (literally).

I've tried using a hair dryer and cotton balls but got a lot of cotton ball lint in the molds. I've also tried washing in the dishwasher using ammonium hydroxide and vinegar in subsequent cycles, but it left a lot of residue and I ended up having to clean them by hand anyway.

Cleaning molds is the worst part of chocolate making, in my opinion.

My understanding is that Chloe does indeed spit out most of the chocolate that she tastes. I can't remember where I heard that, though.

I've got a couple potted cacao trees on my kitchen table. I guess I could move them into my bedroom, but I don't think that's what you're going for.

I'm not sure what causes it, but I get it on one of my cocoatown ultras, too.

The Patric interview is from 2008, so I'm not sure how accurate it still is:

http://www.foodinterviews.com/2008/10/patric-chocolate-virtual-chocolate.html

And here's the photo that Rogue posted:

https://twitter.com/# !/RogueChocolate/status/148800706311229441/photo/1

Thanks Solis! Glad you enjoy it.

Clay: I don't really count anymore, since I added the drum to the oven. From what I've read online, it seems as if Colin and Alan may take steps to counter the limitations of convection ovens. Based on an interview with Alan I read, I believe that he monitors the roast for each pan of beans in the oven. Colin recently posted some photos to his twitter feed recently of a new oven/roaster he bought. It appears to only hold 3 pans at a time. My guess is that this is to reduce the variation throughout the oven.

I agree with the limitation of convection ovens for roasting and the need for regular cleaning. Not sure I agree with Clay's last statement, though, as I believe that both Patric and the Rogue Chocolatier roast in a convection oven and are widely held in high regard.

I also roast in a convection oven (a home model, no less), but I've hacked a drum into it that has made my roasts far more consistent. That being said, my chocolate was pretty well reviewed even before I switched to the drum.

Sorry to hear it didn't work for you. I've been using it for a couple months now and haven't had any problems with it. I haven't left chocolate in it overnight, though. Generally, I'll put a pan of chocolate in it in the morning for tempering a few hours later.

I wonder if there's a way to have the power cut when the chocolate reaches a certain temp and then turned back on if it drops.

While I haven't attempted to temper in it, I have been using it for the past couple months as a chocolate melter, and can say that it works great. I stick to the lowest 2 1/2 settings and have had no issues with scorching. At level 2 1/2, the bottom of the warmer (where the heating element is) got over 180, but the bottom of the pan of chocolate never went above 140.

Good point, Brad. I haven't yet, but I'll test it and post my results. I could use water with this as well, but wanted to avoid that if possible.

One other data point: on its lowest setting, it warmed the pan of water to 100F and held it there. It took a few hours to reach that temp.

So, I tested the food warmer using a hotel pan of cool water. I started by setting the warmer to 4. This brought the water up to 140 and held it pretty consistently for an hour or so. The next day, I set it to 3 and it held it right at 130 for several hours.

So, it looks like it can hold temp pretty well and can go low enough to be used to melt chocolate. I haven't had a chance to actually melt chocolate with it, but it looks like a viable alternative to more expensive melters.