Forum Activity for @G P Baron

Keeping chocolate in temper

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

Dear everyone,

I agree. A newbie like myself, who is still learning must make many temper checks. Keep written records of weights; room, product & working temperatures; time at each stage; samples; etc. of every batch.

It took some time before we produced good results (chocolates that stayed dark, snapped & produced minimum bloom after a few days) that were reproducible. I am very happy to share our findings (specially) to enthusiasts who want to make artisan Cacao Bean chocolates with simple local equipment at their disposal. People like me who live in a Cacao Producing country but have no access to proper chocolate making machines like the Chocovision, Rev 2, ACMC, etc. mentioned in this forum.

My tempering machine is something I designed & fabricated locally after studying the designs of similar machines on the internet. Its main feature is a water jacket for heating or cooling.

To drop chocolate temperature, we gradually run cold to chilled water (up to 25-26 degC) in the water jacket until the chocolate is about 31 degC. Then, the chocolate is slightly reheated, kept at 32-33 degC & molded.

We can drop chocolate temperature to 30 degC (as specified in many discussions) but the liquor becomes very thick, un-workable & prone to solidification. Reheating & keeping it at 32 degC for the molding process also becomes impossible.

We are happy with our chocolates for now. Thank you to all who have helped us by posting & sharing what they know. We hope newbies like us can benefit from this info also.

Best regards to all.

G e r r y

Keeping chocolate in temper

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

At the start of this thread, Nicole said she was " ... tempted to try using a cold water bath instead."

Thomas, how do you drop temperature from 118F to 86F? Does your Chocovision use cold or chilled water? How long does it take?

Heating chocolate (in a double boiler or a hot-water jacketed machine as in my case) is easy. But cooling from 115F (or higher) to 88F (or lower) is DIFFICULT. It also does not appear to be well discussed in this forum.

Using a marble or granite slab (presumably in an air-conditioned or cold room) makes sense. But, can we just really use fans & blowers for chocolate in containers? Can 86F or a lower temperature really be achieved?

In the Philippines, where I am and as it is December,Ambient Temperature is 84-88F and Cocoa Liquor Temperature(at room temperature liquid & near solid state) is 88F.

Presently, my tempering process cools down from 115F to 88F (with 88F Seed Chocolate added at 95F to aid in the cooling process) by gradually creating a 78F iced-water jacket under the chocolate container bowl of the tempering machine. However, even with constant stirring & scraping for 30 minutes we can only cool down to 88F. Beyond 30 minutes, some more cooling is possible but the chocolate starts to be un-stirrable/un-workable.

Is the use of chilled water (to cool down chocolate during tempering) correct? How long does this process take? Is there an appropriate time period?

Keeping chocolate in temper

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

I am new to this forum. I have done quite a bit of reading and this website has been very helpful.

Using fermented cacao beans from trees that I grew 4+ years ago, a small horizontal rotary roaster, a drill press modified to run a vertical ball mill at 60 rpm; and, a water-jacketed wheel tempering machine (which I designed as these equipment would be difficult to acquire/purchase overseas from the Philippines where I am situated), I am able to produce nice-looking, fine-textured and good-tasting 70% Cacao chocolates.

My chocolates contain ~60% beans, ~10% cocoa butter, ~30% raw washed sugar, ~1% vanilla powder and ~1% lecithin. The nibs are milled for about 36 hrs (50+50% of the sugar is added at 12 & 16 hrs, 50+50% cocoa butter at 20 & 24 hrs, 1% vanilla powder at 24 hrs; and 1% lecithin at 35 hrs.) After solidifying the liqour in bread loaf pans atroom temperature for 3 days ( Does it qualify as couverture at this stage? ), it is chopped into small pieces and melted in the tempering machine. Over a 1hr and 15 minute period, the chocolate is heated to 122degF, cooled-down to 88 degF (by initially replacing heated jacket water with 86degF tap water and with 84degF ICED tap water) and finally warmed again to raise chocolate temperature to ~90degF.

I use the 122degF, 88degF and 90degF temperatures as they were specified in the Tempering (Dark) Chocolate video at Tempering Chocolate . Admittedly, I am unable to cool-down to 80degF as specified in the video (as that would require very cold or chilled water). Are these the correct temperatures for tempering 70% Cacao Bean chocolates? The use of iced or chilled water to cool-down before settling to the tempering temperature is not mentioned in this discussion thread. Is the use of iced or chilled water correct?

Despite the above attempts to temper, my chocolates do NOT have the snap of properly-tempered chocolates. They are dark colored but NOT as-dark-as commercially-sold dark chocolates. They also produce very fine white powder-like bloom on their surfaces after a few days. What am I doing wrong?

I look forward to everyone's feedback, comments and suggestions. Thank you in advance.

Weird Flavors and Inclusions in Chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi Clay, I had hoped you were in Manhattan or Brooklyn (as I'll be there May 22&23) so that I can see you. I'm visiting from the Philippines, where 5+ yrs ago I planted cacao on a whim because I chanced upon left-over & cheap seedlings. Finding that they fruited in ~4 yrs & that I can make Cacao Bean chocolates (not Bean-to-Bar as I make bonbons), I have since been having lots of fun after learning from you & others at 'thechocolatelife' & finding people liking my 'artisan' bitter products. Speaking of inclusions, I use Philippine Dried Mangoes, Roasted Cashews & Candied Guyabano. I very much would like to send you some to try. Please email me an address at . I am excited to get your feedback although I know I still have to learn more; get better equipment (designed & built by me in the Philippines to make them affordable); use better processes; plant better varieties; etc. Mabuhay & best regards, Gerry
updated by @G P Baron: 09/09/15 05:46:35