Forum Activity for @Al Garnsworthy

Tempering & enrobing system advice

Posted in: Opinion

Hi Daniel,

The machine I had didn't have a heated blower, so I don't know how much of a difference it would have made. For me, having gone from the wheel machine to a continuous tempering machine, I have just felt like the continuous tempering means you have one less thing to worry about. When you are enrobing a lot of centers, the last thing you want to be worrying about is the changing thickness of your chocolate. I also know, that when I enrobe I want to get the shiniest finish possible - for this reason adjusting the temperature of the chocolate to thin it out is the last thing I want to do. If I start enrobing at 30, I want to enrobe at 30 all day long, as it should result in complete consistancy.

I have had a Savy Goiseau Crystal 185 continuous tempering machine and enrober, which was pretty good. The quality of temper was pretty good and the quality of enrobe that you could get was pretty good too - far above what I could achieve with the Prefamac wheel machine. No bubbles, paper thin covering with no feet.

I have then moved onto a Sollich enrobing line with cooling tunnel, which obviously is a different beast altogether again. The Sollich is an absolute joy to use - the quality of temper, the quality of covering is just exceptional. When I bought our Sollich enrobing line, the guy selling it said, the best way to describe a Sollich and a wheel tempering enrober would be that the Sollich is the Rolls Royce and the wheel machine is a Fiat Panda.

For me, I would rank the enrobing machines I have had as the equivalent of the cars below:

Prefamac Wheel Macine: Fiat

Savy Goiseau Crystal 185: Citroen

Selmi Plus w/Enrober: BMW

Sollich: Rolls Royce

All of the machines above are all at very different price points, and something like a Sollich is not practical for the small workshop, however as I have said before, if I was starting out, I would buy a second hand continuous tempering/enrobing machine, rather than a new wheel machine.

You can see my work on my companies Instagram page: http://instagram.com/chocsoc

If you have any other questions about machinery, please give me a shout.

Tempering & enrobing system advice

Posted in: Opinion

Hi Daniel,

I had a Prefamac Tempering Machine and Enrober. The reason I would not recommend a machine like this is because of the quality of the tempered chocolate that you use when enrobing.

As the wheel machine in essence batch tempers the chocolate ie. the whole 30kg gets tempered in minute 1, the characteristics of this chocolate changes minute 2, 3, 10, 15, 30, 60, 90 etc. The chocolate is likely going to increase in numbers of crystals and get thicker. Obviously if the thickness of the chocolate on your first center is different to the thickness of the covering of your 1,000 center, then this is a problem. I want my chocolates to all have the same thickness, I want consistency in my production. I have heard of people working successfully to reduce the thickness of the chocolate, by increasing the working temp by 1 degree etc, however it's a pain, and I believe the quality of finish is compromised when this happens.

A machine such as a Selmi has a continuos tempering machine, as in the chocolate is always in temper when it comes out of the spout at the top of the machine, and then it is taken out of temper when it drops down into the tank at the bottom, before being taken through the temper cycle again. With this, you are always enrobing in freshly tempered chocolate. Not only does this mean, the thickness of the chocolate is the same all day long, the tank can be topped up with 45degree chocolate all day long and you can enrobe all day with no interruptions for tweaking the chocolate thickness etc.

I'm sure a lot of people will have great experience with wheel machines, however in my experience when you go to continuous tempering you will never go back.

I would 100% buy a second hand continuous enrobing machine from Selmi etc. rather than buy a brand new wheel machine.

Thanks

Al

Tempering & enrobing system advice

Posted in: Opinion

I would never have a wheel tempering machine and enrober again.. Buying a continuous tempering machine from the beginning will save you having to buy a different machine 12/18 months down the line.I'd get a selmi if you can find one for your budget.

Tempering & enrobing system advice

Posted in: Opinion

Hi Dirke,

I would always consider second hand machines too.. you can make your budget go so much further when you don't buy brand new, but obviously you don't benefit from warranties etc.

If I were you, I would be looking for a second hand Selmi Plus. They come up on here once in a while.

You will find the Continuous Tempering is a massive feature for the enrober too.

Ok, but i'm a bit confused..

Selmi currently sell:

Selmi Plus Ex: http://www.selmi-chocolate.it/en/prodotti.asp?id_categoria=1&id=4#specifiche

Selmi Legend: http://www.selmi-chocolate.it/en/prodotti.asp?id_categoria=1&id=36#specifiche

They used to also sell a Selmi Plus (no removable screw) - This has now disappeared from the site and there is now the Legend.

An old Selmi Plus has just been added for sale onto here, which looks just like the Legend.

http://www.thechocolatelife.com/group/classifiedsforsaleorwanted/forum/topics/selmi-plus

Surely the Ghana, old model Plus and now the Legend are the same machines, which would mean all but the newest Selmi Plus Ex would fit the R200 enrobing belts?

Hope all that makes sense!

Is it the old Selmi Ghana, or the old Selmi Plus, or are they both the same thing?

Morello cherry ganache

Posted in: Recipes

If you can post the recipe you are using that might help. Are you using just the pure or cream and pure in the ganache?

Where can I get a custom drying mat like the one below?

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

This looks like a piece of belt from a cooling tunnel. I know you can get custom belts made for cooling tunnels with logos/patterns on, but you have to buy a massive roll. I would just imagine Godiva are using some of their excess belt/off cuts to dip product onto in store.

Guitar Cutter.. Which one to Purchase ?

Posted in: Opinion

As mentioned previously.. don't get the Prefamac, as it is just the Dedy guitar cutter with a Prefamac branded plate on it. They also force you to buy four cutting frames, whereas with Dedy, I think you can buy individual cutting frames. Go for the Dedy.. lovely bit of kit.

Guitar Cutter.. Which one to Purchase ?

Posted in: Opinion

Don't bother buying a Prefamac guitar cutter - it is just a Dedy guitar cutter which they put their logo on.. they didn't even bother repackaging mine.. all they had done was cut a hole in the bubble wrap to afix their logo plate..

Don't get me wrong I love the guitar cutter, but just buy it direct from Dedy and not Prefamac.

Sugar Free Chocolate

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

You can't call your chocolate chip cookies sugar free then. If you were making plain cookies with no chocolate in, then these would be sugar free and surely can be called sugar free.. if you make your sugar free cookies, and then add chocolate chips into them...they aren't sugar free any longer, and should not be labelled as sugar free..

Simple really.

Sugar Free Chocolate

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

"The sole exception is my sugar-free chocolate chip cookie, for which we use Callebaut 86% chocolate drops, so they will be labeled "No Sugar Added" instead of "Sugar-Free.""

Surely you don't have a sugar-free chocolate chip cookie then??

Sugar Free Chocolate

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

Sorry "AWriter" from the first post, the person was wanting to know of any sugar free chocolates - I was simply saying Valrhona make such a chocolate. Although your quest is interesting, the fact you are trying to make products with no sugar what-so-ever doesn't really help the original poster. Have you successfully manufactured a chocolate with no sugar in it, that is commercially available, that she can buy, and then use to make products for her diabetic customers??????

With regards to the warning of "excessive consumption" may cause laxative effects.. if someone who is diabetic who really wants to eat small amounts of chocolate, this might be a better option than eating normal chocolate. Anyway, it's widely reported that Coffee can have laxative effects if drunk in excessive volmes.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_coffee#Laxative.2Fdiuretic - I don't see the demand for coffee shrinking any time soon as a result..

Cheers

Sugar Free Chocolate

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

Valrhona make a range of sugar free chocolates. They are sold under the name Xocoline.

Fondant & Margarine in a ganache recipe??!!

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi, I have recently seen a range of truffles using fondant and margarine in their ingredients list.

I have seen glucose and invert sugar used in making a ganache before, but fondant - I had never heard of using this.

I would imagine the margarine is used to keep the cost down, rather than using butter.

Anyone have any thoughts on using these types of ingredients in a ganache? I was pretty shocked to be honest.

updated by @Al Garnsworthy: 05/02/15 11:53:05AM

Need to know about parts/manual availability for this machine.

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

By the way, the vibrating table on this machine is back to front.. the grill should be next to the wheel, not hanging over the left hand side as shown in this picture.

What is the best flooring for a Chocolate Factory?

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

We are currently looking to replace the flooring in our factory - now the question I have, is what is the best flooring for a chocolate factory?

Tiles? Vinyl?

Any advice on what is durable, and is easy to keep clean would be much appreciated.

updated by @Al Garnsworthy: 04/11/15 02:22:54PM

What's your dream machine?

Posted in: Opinion

I have seen on some pictures of the Selmi enrobing line set up that you can have a cover.

http://selmi-chocolate.it/images/products/tunnel_300_400.jpg .

What's your dream machine?

Posted in: Opinion

The reason why the Selmi will be prone to chocolate build up is because there is no plastic cover over the belt. If you look at the two pictures below, you will see the Savvy has a plastic cover over the belt, which creates a warm atmosphere which keeps all the chocolate on the belt melted, whereas the Selmi does not have this feature.

http://tomric.com/image/cache/data/equipment/A-1300A-500x500.jpg

http://solegraells.com/tienda/images/101027.jpg

A top chocolatier once told me the Savvy is the machine to have, however it is even more expensive than the Selmi.

Tempering Frustrations

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

Hi jasmine, how did you get on? Did you take the working temperature of the chocolate when the machine said it was "in temper"?

Tempering Frustrations

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

I'm not familiar with either the chocolate, or the machine you are using, however what I would say is if the chocolate this time does not temper, then maybe temper a batch (1kg) by hand using the seeding method and see if you can temper it that way... if it tempers, then you know it is a problem with the machine.

Tempering Frustrations

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

relative humidity and temp seem to be fine..