Sebastian and Kristofer, Thank you for your recommendations. I'm still not entirely sure what causes the blemishes. It might be scratches. But it's strange that I don't see any spots or scratches on the molds when they are empty and clean. I will purchase a few new of these molds to see if the problem persists or not.
Sebastian and Kristofer, Thank you for your recommendations. I'm still not entirely sure what causes the blemishes. It might be scratches. But it's strange that I don't see any spots or scratches on the molds when they are empty and clean. I will purchase a few new of these molds to see if the problem persists or not.
Thank you both for your replies. I live in California, and our water here is not hard at all. However, I know that some professionals recommend to not washing the molds, but I thought it would not be a problem with the soft water we got. What to do then if it's the water? Are these molds damaged or is there a way to get all the water marks off? Cacao butter solution? Thanks so much!
I make dark chocolate bars and thin wavers in different sizes. The temper seems to be fine since the bars release nicely from the mold after I take them out of the fridge. But the bars often have slight blemishes (You might call them cooling marks??). It's not cacao butter stains, just spots or lines where there is a little less shine. Often it's only visible when I look at the bar under a bright light, but for me, it's just not perfect. And it's frustrating because I don't know what causes it. I work with Felchlin molds that I wash with warm water, dry with soft towels and clean with cotton before each use. Before I pour chocolate in the mold, I heat the mold with the hot air blower so it reaches the same temperature as the tempered chocolate. The blemishes are worst when I make bars with the Bolivian "wild" 68% -couverture from Felchlin. When working with the 65% Maracaibo Clasificado or the Organic 74% from Felchlin, the bars look much better. I also have less issues with milk chocolate.
I tried different things to solve the issue:
-Left the filled mold in room temperature for about 2 to 5 minutes before putting it in the fridge for about 30 minutes
-Put the mold in the fridge immediately after filling it with chocolate
-Put the mold on a cold sheet pan with a parchment paper
-Put the mold on a warmer sheet pan with and without parchment paper
None of these "remedies" solved the problem. I have attached a photo for illustration.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks, Lana. I tried the method with the added cocoa butter and got a great result. The coat is much thinner and the truffle is better. Thanks so much for your help! I'm experimenting with shelf life as well. Will check how the truffle is in 2 and then 3 weeks from now.
Thank you all for your input. I checked the websites of neococoa and intrique chocolates. The latter doesn't give info on shelf life, neococoa says that its chocolates should be consumed within 2 weeks. I will try coating with butter oil, also thought about spraying the truffles with a chocolate gun in order to get a very thin shell. Does anybody have experience with that technique for chocolate candies or truffles?
Hi,
I have been making truffles for quite some time, but have never been happy with the hard shells. What I'm looking for is a soft truffle that just melts in your mouth. So I have been experimenting with different types of Ganache that I let harden over 1- 2 days at about 68 degrees F. Then I cut them on the guitar and just roll them in high quality cacao powder.
The truffles look and taste great. I'm just a little concerned about the shelf life. The ganache consists of cream, couverture and a tiny amount of liquor. The shelf life of my former truffles that I enrobed with tempered chocolate was 3 weeks. Is it less when the truffles don't have a hard shell?
Thanks, Caroline
