Forum Activity for @Gap

Mol d'Art 6 kg Chocolate Tempering Machine

Posted in: Opinion

I use the Mol d'Art but it is not a tempering machine. It holds the chocolate at a specific temperature which will keep the chocolate in temper, but you need to initially temper the chocolate yourself.

Is Chocovic really going out of production?

Posted in: News & New Product Press

I have seen recent advertising from Callebaut still keeping the distinct Chocovic brand which would support what Clay is saying

Marañon Chocolate - Cacao Thought to Be Extinct Found in Peru

Posted in: Chocolate Education

There are also a lot of videos on YouTube showing the Maranon setup:

https://www.youtube.com/user/MaranonChocolate

and a radio interview here:

http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/archive_110121k.cfm

Marañon Chocolate - Cacao Thought to Be Extinct Found in Peru

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Yes, I enjoyed it a lot and found it very interesting as well.

Marañon Chocolate - Cacao Thought to Be Extinct Found in Peru

Posted in: Chocolate Education

A long but interesting article on Pearson and Maranon here:

http://www.c-spot.com/category/editorials/

Start at the Prologue and just keep reading . . .

Why does chocolate overcrystalize

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

I'm not a scientist so someone might jump in here and correct me, but my uderstanding is this: chocolate can form many types of crystals as it sets. Only one sort is correct for "tempered" chocolate. For chocolate to be tempered, I think you only need about 2-3% of the chocolate mass to have the correct crystal structure. The issue is, these crystals grow/multiply and cause "untempered" crystals to transform into tempered crystals so that the 2-3% of tempered crystals will grow to a larger number. This is what occurs when the chocolate becomes over-crystalised.When you hit it with your heat gun, you melt some of the tempered crystals out, but they can still re-temper again over time if conditions are right.

Flavor blendings

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I like all types of chocolate, but the centres do need to be matched to the shell/coating. Red fruits go well with dark chocolate, nut pralines go well with milk, citrus fruits with dark and so on. In your suggested example, a Valrhona dark chocolate, like Manjari, would go well with a raspberry ganache in my opinion - but then again, taste is pretty personal so you should always make what you like (or the customers if you're selling)

Freezing Chocolates

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

I don't do commercial lots, but I freeze my chocolates all the time. Just froze the 700 pieces for Christmas this year because we've started getting 30+C days in Melbourne.

cracked shells?

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

You can always just coat them a second time and they should be fine

Chocolate Moulds in Australia

Posted in: News & New Product Press

Hi,try Savour Chooclate & Patisserie School based in Melbourne. I haven't managed to find a better source online or around town for polycarbonate moulds http://www.savourschool.com.au/savour_school_shop.php#moulds

Zokoko Australia weighs in!

Posted in: News & New Product Press

Yeah, we're having some warm weather in Melbourne at the moment but good to know it's next day delivery which helps the planning a bit. Thanks for the reply

Zokoko Australia weighs in!

Posted in: News & New Product Press

There seem to be some reps from Zokoko present or at least some people close to them - does anyone know if Zokoko plan to distribute via retailers around Australia or will the chocolate only be sold online? The reason I ask is shipping chocolate via mail/courier during summer months can be a bit dicey but I would like to try some of their chocolate.

White chocolate instead of cocoa butter on molds

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

The colouring should not be affecting the taste. You need fat soluble coluring, not water soluble colourings. I have only ever seen fat soluble colours in powder form. If adding colour to white chocolate, you can temper before or after you add the colour, just make sure the chocolate is in temper before painting your moulds.

PS: I often use coloured white chocolate to give some colours a better pop than cocoa butter on the finished product.

Weird Flavors and Inclusions in Chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Paul Young's marmite truffle