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7:14 pm
January 2, 2010
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stow10
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posts 29
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Help, I’m frequently experiencing the lack of shine on my finished products. Even though they fall out of the moulds, the finish is always dull, with the occasional swirl (caused by the cocoa butter apparently) The temperature I dry the chocolate off at doesn’t seem to have any influence. Whether its 9c or 15c its the same.
Could it be something to do with the temperature of the chocolate going into the mould affecting the cocoa butter crystals?
I would appreciate any advice.
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8:40 pm
January 2, 2010
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cocoa-girls
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United Kingdom
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posts 33
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Have you tried giving the moulds a good polish ( I use cotton wool) before use and warming your moulds before you pour your tempered chocolate in (I sometimes give them a blast with a hair drier, if its cold in my kitchen)
I am presuming that you know your chocolate is tempered before putting in the moulds
It is so annoying when your moulds come out not quite perfect!!
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1:25 pm
January 3, 2010
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Martin Christy
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London, United Kingdom
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posts 614
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It does sound like your tempering is not quite right or not even – the cocoa butter swirls suggest this. It could be too fast a change of temperature.
For a really shiny look, I believe you can spray the inside of your moulds with cocoa butter. I’ve never seen this done myself, but I’ve seen some very shiny chocolates made this way.
Perhaps a professional can step in and give some advice?
Martin Christy
Editor
http://www.seventypercent.com
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Martin Christy
Editor
www.seventypercent.com
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4:17 pm
January 4, 2010
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stow10
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posts 29
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quote:
Originally posted by martinc
It does sound like your tempering is not quite right or not even – the cocoa butter swirls suggest this. It could be too fast a change of temperature.
For a really shiny look, I believe you can spray the inside of your moulds with cocoa butter. I’ve never seen this done myself, but I’ve seen some very shiny chocolates made this way.
Perhaps a professional can step in and give some advice?
Martin Christy
Editor
http://www.seventypercent.com
Thanks for that. What do you mean by “too fast a change of temperature?”
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4:20 pm
January 4, 2010
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stow10
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posts 29
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quote:
Originally posted by cocoa-girls
Have you tried giving the moulds a good polish ( I use cotton wool) before use and warming your moulds before you pour your tempered chocolate in (I sometimes give them a blast with a hair drier, if its cold in my kitchen)
I am presuming that you know your chocolate is tempered before putting in the moulds
It is so annoying when your moulds come out not quite perfect!!
Thanks for your suggestions but I already do polish and warm the moulds and yes it is so annoying but there you go I feel its something to do with the temperature of the chocolate.
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11:10 pm
January 4, 2010
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RedStar
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Grimsby, United Kingdom
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posts 39
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Can you let us know the tempering process you use and the temperatures and times? Maybe you need to “hold” for longer before pouring as not all the mix is at the same temperature, or you perhaps aren’t stirring enough and so on. Let us know what you do and we can maybe offer more advice.
Duffy
RedStar
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4:29 pm
January 5, 2010
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stow10
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posts 29
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I temper using a hot air bain marie. For milk chocolate I heat to 45C then reduce down to 34c by standing or stirring, then I add small amounts of chocolate to seed it, stirring thoroughly. I keep a thermometer in the chocolate at all times. Once Ive checked whether its tempered or not, at 32c max, I would then reheat slightly with a hot air gun before using. Sometimes the temperature has dropped to 30c before Ive used it which has suprised me.
Maybe I need to be more accurate and check the temperature before pouring it into the moulds as they have before now, clouded up after the chocolate has been poured in. These are 3d moulds I’m using rather than chocolate moulds.
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3:54 pm
January 6, 2010
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Gracie
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Chippenham, United Kingdom
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posts 88
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Your working temperature is a little high for milk chocolate, but at 30 degrees it should be fine.It could be that your chocolate is under crystalised as you start seeding so close to the working temperature. Do you allow enough time with stirring once the temperature is down?
Bear in mind that, especially with larger, enclosed shapes, there is a lot of latent heat generated by the process of crystalisation which could affect your result. Try refrigerating for a short time once filled and firm.
Also, don’t rush the demoulding. Allow the piece to naturally shrink away, as you can cause a dull finish by twisting and forcing a release too soon.
Do you wash your moulds? If so, in what, and how often?
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10:00 pm
January 10, 2010
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Alex Rast
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Manchester, United Kingdom
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posts 283
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quote:
Originally posted by stow10
I temper using a hot air bain marie. For milk chocolate I heat to 45C then reduce down to 34c by standing or stirring, then I add small amounts of chocolate to seed it, stirring thoroughly. I keep a thermometer in the chocolate at all times. Once Ive checked whether its tempered or not, at 32c max, I would then reheat slightly with a hot air gun before using.
32c is as commented somewhat high, and then you’re reheating slightly with a hot air gun. I suspect that a combination of the above is causing your problems – namely, you’re heating it out of temper. How big is your batch? It would be very easy to have this problem with small batch sizes, where there isn’t enough mass to have “thermal inertia”.
Try a lower temperature – aim for the range of 28-30 in the initial temper. Then see if the problems keep happening.
It’s worth taking some time to profile your tempering; try different temperature points and find the optimum. Then that can be your starting point.
Alex Rast
Alex_Rast_Alternate@hushmail.com
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Alex Rast
Alex_Rast_Alternate@hushmail.com
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10:17 am
January 12, 2010
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stow10
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posts 29
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quote:
Originally posted by Alex_Rast
Originally posted by stow10
I temper using a hot air bain marie. For milk chocolate I heat to 45C then reduce down to 34c by standing or stirring, then I add small amounts of chocolate to seed it, stirring thoroughly. I keep a thermometer in the chocolate at all times. Once Ive checked whether its tempered or not, at 32c max, I would then reheat slightly with a hot air gun before using.
32c is as commented somewhat high, and then you’re reheating slightly with a hot air gun. I suspect that a combination of the above is causing your problems – namely, you’re heating it out of temper. How big is your batch? It would be very easy to have this problem with small batch sizes, where there isn’t enough mass to have “thermal inertia”.
Try a lower temperature – aim for the range of 28-30 in the initial temper. Then see if the problems keep happening.
It’s worth taking some time to profile your tempering; try different temperature points and find the optimum. Then that can be your starting point.
Alex Rast
Alex_Rast_Alternate@hushmail.com
Thanks for that. Obviously somthing needs refining
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9:57 am
February 10, 2010
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Forest
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Peak District, United Kingdom
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posts 20
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‘I temper using a hot air bain marie. For milk chocolate I heat to 45C then reduce down to 34c by standing or stirring, then I add small amounts of chocolate to seed it,’
Take the container away from the heat source at 45c…THEN add the seed.
Don’t worry about the temperature…you will know when the chocolate is ready. If it gets too thick, then use heat gun.
Keep stirring.
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