Forum Activity for @Daniel Herskovic

Looking for a partner in New York City

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Brad,

I have read many of your posts on this forum and this one might very well be the best and most inspiring.

Paper for Enrober

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I have a perfect enrober and buy paper rolls from them when I need to. Perfect does a lot of custom work so most likely they would be able to create what you need based on your specifications. Good luck.

Questions about using a wheel based tempering machine with enrober

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

There are a few articles about the sale to the new owner in French on the Perfect Equipment website. I had to order a part this past week and they were quite responsive. Good luck with everything.

Questions about using a wheel based tempering machine with enrober

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

I think my machine holds around 20kg maximum. You need a tank that is at least half or 2/3rds full to have a good enrobing session. If the chocolate gets too low, the wheel does not pick up the chocolate very well and this will affect your chocolate curtain.

The Perfect company now has a new owner and they have made slight improvements to their machines. The bottom line is if you don't have the money for an excellent selmi or other automatic machine, get started with a wheel machine. It's a major step up from hand dipping.

Questions about using a wheel based tempering machine with enrober

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

I have the Perfect Compact Coater. It's the smallest enrober the company offers and probably the least expensive enrober on the market. It is even more rudamentary than the Prefamac that Jeff Stern speaks of. I find that it is an excellent starter machine. It is a giant step up from hand dipping without spending $30-40k on an automatic machine. As my business grows, I will certainly look into getting a higher end machine such as a Selmi or LCM (my favorite!). With the lack of financing available for small business these days the Perfect enrober is an excellent compromise.

It is a rather simple machine that includes a blower, a detailer, and a polycarbonate shield (at least mine does). Just like Jeff Stern says, it is the talent of the operator that really influences the results. I am able to keep the temper going for 12-15 hours. Keep your heat gun handy, but so long as you keep the room around 70 degrees you should only need to use it maybe once an hour for about a minute or two. Learning the mechanics of how the belt, the blower, and the detailer work will give you the best results. The Perfect Enrober is a simple machine and you will definitely see all the mechanics in action which is actually kind of cool. Tempering in the machine is easy with the seeding method. Also, cleanup is very easy and you can easily enrobe in dark one day, clean the pan, and enrobe in milk chocolate the next day.

Using a wheel based enrobing machine can actually make you a better chocolatier. You learn to keep an eye on things and have an understanding of what is going on all the time.

So the bottom line is if you feel you need an enrober, but cannot yet afford a Selmi, Savy, or LCM (Lexus, Mercedes, BMW) definitely get a wheel based machine such as Perfect (Honda Civic). It will get you where you want to go.

Summer shipping tips & tricks?

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

We sell our chocolate bars wholesale to stores across the country. Shipping costs are a sensitive issue for a lot of stores. I've ordered excellent shipping containers from a company specializing in warm weather shipping materials. The containers (which can hold 130 of our bars) cost $15. Then the cost to ship them to me is almost $10 per box because they take up so much empty air space. Passing along $25 in a container fees is rarely an option. A few days ago I noticed disposable Styrofoam coolers with a lid for sale at the local grocery store. They cost $3.50 each. They stack up really well. Also, I don't have to pay expensive shipping costs to get it to me. I plan on putting our bars in one of these coolers than taping the lid shut. I will then put this cooler in a corrugated box and ship out.The quality of these coolers is not perfect, but with some added ice packs I think they just might do the job.

updated by @Daniel Herskovic: 06/18/15 09:25:22