Forum Activity for @David Knoef

a very simple or a very complicated question, please help.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

Sorry Ozgur but I am not familiar with the Selmi, the main points to tempering are that the entre mass of chocolate needs to be thoroughly melted ( 45-50 degC) then cooled to 27 to encourage crystallisation of type V crystals then either seeded or agitated then warmed carefully to 32 degC to melt the unwanted type IV and III crystals which will also have started to form. The warmed chocolate is ready for use and should set rapidly on cooling to a shiny finish with no blemishes and a crisp snap when broken. You can use a tri-core meter to measure the quality of temper, these are a bit expensive though and if you have a good temperer and do it by the book you should be fine.Mould quality wont influence shelf life, a poor quality mould may make an unattractive bar to start with but it will stay that way for the duration of its normal shelf life if well tempered and stored. I guess the main thing to watch with mould is that they are really clean and polished, warming the moulds to allow the chocolate to flow into them without setting on contact is important to finish as well.Good LuckDK

a very simple or a very complicated question, please help.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

Hi Ozgur,As Kerry says, the main risk in storing chocolate for long periods is fat bloom where the fat crystals change the appearance of the chocolate from a shiny uniform brown to a dull mix of brown and gray, the best way to limit this is through good tempering practice and correct storage conditions. Chocolate should, ideally, be stored in a controlled environment where the temperature is kept constant (ideally between 15 and 18 degC) and the relative humidity is kept around 50%. The big dangers for fat bloom are sudden shifts in temperature and humidity, when the chocolate is shipped a secondary package with some insulating qualities can help (think thick cardboard and bubble wrap) this will also protect the chocolate from physical damage.Chocolate has a very low water activity, the limit for yeast and mould growth is 0.7 and my chocolate comes in at 0.4, this means that it is pretty much impervious to the spoilage through rot or fermentation, it also means that you need to pay attention to the humidity it is exposed to as it will naturally try to balance its water activity with its surroundings, when you keep it in humid conditions the slow uptake of moisture from the air can cause increased bloom and spoilage.

Source of single origin beans

Posted in: Classifieds F/S or Wanted

I am a chocolate maker in New Zealand and want to find small coops with good qualty single origin beans I can import. At the moment I am most interested in central and south America.Are there any good ones that anybody can put me in touch with?
updated by @David Knoef: 06/29/23 16:49:02

rich creamy fillings without the cream

Posted in: Opinion

I use fondant with a 'frappe' which is a low boil sugar syrup with rehydrated egg albumin whisked in. this is then thinned down to the desired consistency with 'bob' syrup, a corn syrup and water mix. you can flavour this with pretty much anything and it has a long shelf life owing to the absence of fats and the low water activity.