ChristianD

@Kerry Beal @Jim D. There is a formula for calculating the maximum water content in a boiling sugar solution. This is 5.06+EXP(16.54-(0.13* boiling temperature ) This is already integrated in my calculator (although at the moment it has no influence on the amount of water displayed). So with an initial quantity of 1000g sugar and 500g water at a boiling point of solution of 150 degrees Celsius, the maximum water content is 5.11%. This means that only a little more than 25g of the original amount of water would be left. Of course, the calculation becomes more difficult if additional liquid (e.g. in the form of cream) is added while the mass is still above the boiling point of water. It should also be noted with sugar solutions that the quantity in ml differs significantly from the quantity in grams, as sugar has a relatively high density.

@Rajala Thank you very much for your feedback. I have no problem at all with constructive criticism, as long as it is formulated objectively. Appropriate feedback is essential in order to point out possible weaknesses. According to current plans, there will be 3 variants (Basic, Standard and Premium). The Basic version will remain free of charge. Small monthly fees should be charged for the Standard and Premium versions. Personalised support and some other features will be reserved for the Standard and Premium versions. The judge the consistency is based on the fat and other dry ingredients (protein and cocoa solids, etc.) and compares these to the liquid ingredients (water, alcohol, oils). The solid fat content (SFC) at 20°C is also included in the calculation. This is based on an analysis of the triglyceride (TAG for short) and also takes into account (as far as possible) the eutetic behavior of fat mixtures. The sugars are not yet included in the calculation, although I am of course aware that long-chain sugar molecules in particular (e.g. in glucose syrup) do have an influence on the consistency. Water activity can be estimated by different theoretical and empirical models. I started with the Grover Equation and the Norrish Eqaution. However, I was not really satisfied with the results. After studying various scientific papers, I started to develop my own mathematical model. This is based on the realization that mainly the water content and the content of humectants (i.e. substances that are able to chemically bind water molecules) play a significant role in the aw value. These are mainly salts, sugars and sugar alcohols. For all of these substances, I have determined the binding capacity of water molecules from scientific studies and determined a mathematical model for calculating the influence on the aw value in each case. It should be noted that the influence is generally not linear but curvilinear. The other solids content (proteins etc.) is also included in the calculation. Fats are not taken into account here because, as far as I know, they have virtually no influence on the aw value. Theoretically, the sorption isotherm should also be included in the calculation. However, this can hardly be calculated mathematically for a complex system such as a ganache. I have repeatedly compared the results obtained with real results. Of course, there were certain deviations. However, at least with classic ganache recipes, these were well below 10%. Therefore, some examples with significant deviations from the values you measured would be very helpful.

@Kerry Beal Thank you very much for your kind words. Briefly about myself. My name is Christian Dante and I come from Germany. I am not a trained chocolatier or patissier, but rather came to the subject of chocolate and pralines by chance about 15 years ago. I was fascinated by the subject from the very beginning. Back then, social media was still in its infancy, so I learned a lot of things on my own. On my journey into the world of chocolate, I have already met many well-known chocolatiers and chocolate experts and my expertise is now often in demand, at least in German-speaking countries. Interestingly, I did my first and only chocolate course (as a pupil) at "Törtchen,Törtchen" in Cologne, whose founder Torsten Schöneich (schneich) created the first version of the Excel spreadsheet "Balancing your Ganache Recipes 2.0" (https://forums.egullet.org/topic/114561-balancing-your-ganache-recipes-20/) here in the forum, which was also the very first approach for my calculator. Initially, my calculator was also based on Excel, but over time I realized the limitations of Excel and decided a few years ago to port the whole thing to a modern web interface. Initially, the reactions were somewhat sceptical, as there were already two programs on the market, Ganache Solution and Pro-Choc. I got to know Ganache Solution in real operation for the first time in 2019 at a meeting with Ramon Morato. In principle a good program, but I was missing some important features, the program was not available in German and the price was still quite high at the time. In the last 2 years I have been working more intensively on the calculator and the software and database behind it. During this time, I have also dealt intensively with the subject and studied virtually every scientific paper from the last few decades that touches on the subject. Since as I have a normal full-time job and am doing all the programming myself (one-man project), the project is not progressing as quickly as I would like. In the meantime, however, I have reached a point where the basic concept is in place and the calculator is sufficiently stable. However, I don't want to rule out the possibility that there may still be a bug or two 😉. My aim is to create a calculator that performs fairly complex calculations in the background, but is still relatively easy and intuitive to use, even for beginners. I would be happy to open a separate thread for this so the topic gets a little more attention. However, this may take another 2-3 weeks due to vacations. To make it a little easier to get started, I have attached a screenshot with explanations. In this context, I have initially hidden all buttons that have no influence on the actual calculation.

I would like to take this opportunity to refer you to the test version of my ganache calculator, which you can find at http://ganache.guru/Test_EN2.php. It offers a range of calculation options, provides recommendations and is able to perform a variety of parameters (including consistency and shelf life) based on the ingredients. This may help balancing recipes for truffles. One of the biggest advantages is that most of the common ingredients (currently about 1500) are already stored here and do not have to be entered manually. If certain ingredients are still missing, you are welcome to send them to me. For any questions and/or requests, please do not hesitate to get in touch. If you have any suggestions regarding additional functionality or if you are missing functions, please feel free to let me know. I will gladly try to implement them.

The same question was asked a few weeks ago. I once carried out a test with stamps. As soon as I find the time, I will publish a tutorial in the Facebook group "https://www.facebook.com/groups/1413728595685917".