13 replies to this topic

[jturn00]

Hi, I wanted to see what people use as their preferred method for putting the tempered chocolate into the chocolate molds.

I traditionally used a ladle and poured chocolate into the mold then used a scraper to clean off the extra chocolate. I let it sit for a little then empty the chocolate either back into my chocovision machine or onto a silpat.

I saw a picture of a chocolatier ( I think norman love on the back cover of fine cooking but I would have to check) using a squeese bottle and putting the chocolate into each individual cavity. Then empty the molds onto a silpat or back into the machine. It seems a little more tedious but could be a cleaner technique.

I always seem to get chocolate all over the place and make a mess.

Any one have any experiences to share. What do you thinkg of the using the bottle?

thanks,

Jeff

[A Patric]

I use a 2 oz medical grade plastic tipped syringe. It is easy to fill (just pull the plunger) and is mess free, not to mention that it releases all of the chocolate and so there is less waste.

Alan

[choux]

The photo is of Christopher Elbow and it looks like he is filling the moulds with ganache with the squeeze bottle. they are already lined with white chocolate and the next pic shows him covering the bottoms of dark ganache with white chocolate. I think if one used a squeeze bottle, by the time you get to the last cavity, the first ones would have started to set up and you'd end up with some pretty thick shells.
I get chocolate all over the friggin place too. The best way to clean it off your counters is with a scraper, or if you like fire, melt it with a blowtorch and it cleans pretty easy.

Edited by choux, 17 February 2006 - 05:48 PM.

[bripastryguy]

Choux- you are so right, love the blowtorch cleanup.

I thought I was just being a slob when it came to chocolate......

just unmolded some keylime bon bons, not technically perfect, they sure taste good.

I fill my chocolate coated molds with the ganache in a squueeze bottle-very clean way to add two fillings.

eg: Peanut butter & jelly, smore, choc rasp....

Edited by bripastryguy, 18 February 2006 - 02:29 PM.

[choux]

Whenever I watch a Food Network Chocolate competition, I always think the sculptures are pretty and all, but I totally can't believe how clean thier work area is. I know that cleanliness is part of the score, but it would totally drive me crazy to have to wipe up every single drop as soon as it lands. And forget about keeping chocolate from getting all over the front of me. And smears on my face that my husband never tells me about.

[cotovelo]

I use a ladle, this is the quickest way to get production done. You are right about a squeeze bottle taking too long, the chocolate would be set by the time you get finished. Also, the more that you do, the more ways you learn how not to make a mess. Scrapers come are very useful for this.
I do use a squeeze bottle to fill the cavities with the ganache though as it shows on the back of the Fine Cooking magazine.

Christopher Elbow

[choux]

I use disposable pastry bags to fill the cavities, I have a vision that I would have 2 or 3 spots left to fill and trying desperately to get the last drops out of the bottle! At least with a pastry bag I can get every last drop out.
Christopher, will you ever ship to Canada??

[jturn00]

Sorry for getting back so late to all your responses. Thanks for the help. I will continue to use the ladle scraper method and practice, practice, practice. Hopefully, I won't make a mess...

[takomabaker]

Last night, I JUST started reading Chocolate Obsession and read Michael Recchiuti's recommendation of using a squeeze bottle for ganache filling. He also gives a really detailed technique that minimizes mess and waste. It's my new favorite book. I had to buy it after I was in San Francisco for a week on business and made a pilgrimage to his shop in the Ferry Building. (It was a religious experience.)

[stscam]

You might want to try one of these plastic confectionery funnels made by Wilton. They only cost $4 - 5 each. You can deposit tempered chocolate or liquid ganache very accurately with little muss or fuss. Any place that sells Wilton cake decorating stuff should have one or can get it.



The plunger fits down inside, plugging the hole until you lift on the ring to let your chocolate run out. Push the ring down and, voila, the choc stops. Cleanup for ganache is hot water and a damp towel. Cleanup for tempered chocolate? Let it harden, then gently squeeze the top of the funnel. The couverture inside will crack and fall out in pieces, so you can re-use it.

I've been using these things for nearly ten years and they are great. They do wear out, but hey, a new one won't set you back much.

Cheers,

Edited by stscam, 27 February 2006 - 03:14 PM.

[Wendy DeBord]

Hold on.............it seems like theres two questions being discussed here.

1. filling your molds with tempered chocolate to create your shell.

2. filling your hallow shells with ganache.


My answer to 1. is: I use a ladle to pour my chocolate into my mold. I admit it's taken me a long time to finally figure out how to do this cleanly. I used to get the tempered chocolate everywhere!!!!

The "tricks" for me are: not pouring too much tempered chocolate on the top in the first place....so it no longer spills down the sides of the mold. That used to be so messy that I couldn't recover neatly with-out stoping to wipe everything down. So now when I rap the mold on the table to release any air bubbles there isn't chocolate spilling all over.
Then the second place I've learned to be cleaner is when I dump out the excess chocolate back into my bowl. As I've gotten more confident I'm able to turn it upside down with a faster motion, then I give the mold a firm tap while upside down for the excess to dump out and again a quick flip right siding the mold. Use a bowl large enough that you can't miss and drip outside of it. You can't work fast if you have to worry you'll drip over the sides of your bowl.
THEN I stop a second and wipe off my hands which always get something on them in that process. When my hands and all surfaces are clean (done in seconds) I then scrape my molds to clear all excess off.......including the drizzle that happens on the side of the mold (from the dirrection of your scrape). When I'm cleaning the excess off NOW (unlike before) I don't have any chocolate running down the sides of my mold, my hands are clean and so the whole process is cleaner. Also if I think about it, I'm probably taking longer to work cleaner then when I first began (longer to neatly work). A little slower equals a little cleaner.

Question 2. I like to use a pastry bag to fill my molds. But it really would depend upon how thin or thick your filling is......... Thick/cool ganache isn't going to flow thru a squeeze bottle so easily. Really thin filling you'd need to use the funnel or the squeeze bottle because a pastry bag would let your fillings leak to easily (although most of us just pinch off the end with our other hand).

[jturn00]

Thanks for the detailed description Wendy. I don't feel so bad that most chef's have started chocolate making by "making a mess" and I will need to practice to work cleaner!

I will also be alert to not to pour too much chocolate into the mold. (Which I am guilty of.)

I was also trying to pour the chocolate back into the x3210 chocovision machine which made it difficult to work cleanly. I am going try pouring into a big bowl.

For my fillings, I've used a pastry bag in the past to fill the molds but for my more liquid ganaches I am going to try a squeeze bottle.

Thanks!

Jeff

[stscam]

Wendy, I use the funnels for accurate placement of tempered chocolate in molds where the final piece will be solid (usually .25oz bars, small hearts, etc.). When doing the shells for filled pieces, I use a ladle and smother the mold with the chocolate, then let it run out onto a sheet pan. Thus, when the chocolate solidifies all I have to do is lift it "en masse" off the pan, break it up and re-use it.

Jeff, one easy way to keep at least part of the X3210 relatively clean is to cover the feed side and rear top of the machine with a pan liner (parchment). Then, again as above, once the chocolate tempers it's an easy matter to pull it off and re-use it. I sometimes fit the right side of the sheet onto the baffle retaining screw, so at least that side is firmly anchored. This method does not work on the left side because the baffle has electrical contacts in it and you'd be insulating it from the machine.

Cheers,

[Wendy DeBord]

Wendy, I use the funnels for accurate placement of tempered chocolate in molds where the final piece will be solid (usually .25oz bars, small hearts, etc.).

ditto, works well.......