Forum Activity for @John Doe

Makeshift Tempering Machine

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

Hi Nat,

Thanks for your reply. I have a few follow-up ideas I'd like to see if you have any thoughts on.

1) The company that makes this hotplate also sells magnetic stirrers up to 5 cm long. That still won't scrape the sides but at least it's bigger than the standard magnetic stirrer that comes with it.

2) I could conceivably rig up some sort of scraping device which would fit the pan and have the stirrer embedded in it. I'm not sure if the magnetic stirrer would be powerful enough to move such a large attachment though.

3) Maybe something like this http://www.ardentegourmetstirrer.com/ would do the trick?

4) This one is a bit more technical but you seem like the kind of person who would know the answer. Here's my understanding of the tempering process:

Type V cocoa butter crystals will form in the 29-34 C range.If you just let chocolate sit at this temperature all of the crystals will eventually be type V but the time required for this to happen is prohibitive for any commercial confectioner.Agitation will reduce this time, as will various temperature fluctuation or seeding techniques.

So if I'm willing to let the chocolate sit on the hotplate overnight will it still be tempered? Or does agitation play some other role in the tempering process? If I just used a small stirrer and it agitated the chocolate for a long time would the gradual movement and convection near the sides of the container be sufficient to temper the entire mass if I let it sit for long enough?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Makeshift Tempering Machine

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

I was thinking of getting one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/85-2-Magnetic-Stirrer-Hot-Plate-Digital-Thermostat-300w-Heating-2000-rpm-/350527518368#ht_1652wt_1165

as a makeshift tempering machine.

I plan to put a water bath on the hotplate and put a pot in the water bath.

I would be using it at home to make small batches of chocolate for holidays and such.

Can anyone think of a reason that this wouldn't work? It's a good deal cheaper than a tempering machine and more versatile too. I could just dial in a new temperature and use it for sous-vide or custard or some recipe that would make use of the magnetic stirrer.

updated by @John Doe: 04/12/15 05:58:12