Jim D.

@Kerry Beal, turns out I was looking at the mold (not cavity) dimensions. I'm sure Belgians have strong teeth, but probably not enough for 24mm of solid chocolate. Sorry to have wasted your time, but thanks for the help.

Here's an example (from Jessica Washburn) of something that looks easy to eat. Maybe (as was suggested earlier in this thread) these are custom-made molds.

I would think about 10mm would be easy to eat and still provide sufficient base for the inclusions. But so many people are making tablets these days that I'm wondering if I'm missing something. If CW is making lots of 24mm tablets, somebody must be using them.

I am making my first foray into making tablets with inclusions. So far most of the molds I have found are about 24mm tall (that seems to be a standard at Chocolate World). To me that seems too thick for easy eating. Am I wrong about that assumption? Where have people found thinner tablets? They are so popular that there must be more sources.

That's a good idea. I do have a cool garage at the moment, but a week ago it was 75F here. In trying to guess why this is happening in the melter but not in the dehydrator, I'm wondering if it's something about the source of the heat. The melter has warming elements around the edges of the pan, whereas the dehydrator has heat totally surrounding the big bowl holding the chocolate with a fan to spread the heat around.

I'm leaving the chocolate in the Mol d'Art pan, so can't fit it in my fridge. The chocolate is in temper when I turn off the melter, but obviously it isn't when it turns solid. So I might have a solid block of chocolate 3-4 inches thick. Before I got the melter, I would pour the chocolate into a baking sheet lined with parchment and let it harden. In that case it also wouldn't be in temper and became crumbly, marbled, the usual untempered look. But I don't recall ever having the problem when remelting that chocolate. I've always operated on the assumption that no matter the condition of previously used chocolate, melting it would make it like new--I'm not talking about the Type VI possibility, which might result from leaving it too long. My only guess at this point is that the block of chocolate in the melter is too thick to melt properly, but how does that make sense? I'll have to watch to see if a thinner block melts successfully, and otherwise have my immersion blender at the ready (the bubbles that form do dissipate in time).

I'm having an issue with my Mol d'Art that I can't solve. I use the melter for dumping molds as I make shells. When I have finished the session, I let the chocolate cool and eventually harden (obviously out of temper). Then I set the Mol d'Art pan aside until I am ready to seal the molds. I set the melter at a high temp overnight, and by morning the chocolate is mostly melted. The problem is that it often (though not always) has little particles in it that don't melt readily. I assume they are cocoa butter that has separated from the couverture. Nothing simple gets rid of those bits; only many passes with an immersion blender does the trick. Not only is this a nuisance that shouldn't be necessary, but the blender creates little air bubbles. When I put the chocolate in a dehydrator overnight (even when the chocolate was allowed to harden in a very thick layer), there are no such unmelted bits. Any ideas?

An idea I didn't mention, but it is really helpful: Read through the threads on chocolate on this forum. Time-consuming, but when people ask me where I learned to make chocolates, I refer them to the many threads there are. It's an amazing resource.

Just my opinion, but I would recommend the first Greweling book I mentioned, and if you can afford it, the Notter book as well. Then, as Kerry said, later the Wybauw Gold book. If it's in your budget, I have found the Savour School videos very helpful; Kirsten Tibballs is exacting but not fanatical and has tons of good ideas. There is nothing quite like watching a process that you have only read about previously. You can subscribe for a year (note that not all videos are about chocolate). You can also find some free Youtube videos with Kirsten; they would be a good place to start. It's very important to use recipes that are "balanced" (that is, amount of liquids, sugars, cocoa butter, other fats); otherwise you may be discouraged when your ganache separates or your finished filling refuses to crystallize and you don't know the reasons for these issues.

I didn't mention that one, but obviously it is another bible. It has far more recipes than the two books I mentioned previously. It shows that it is a compilation of Wybauw's previous books in being somewhat disorganized, but it has all the science--and is really helpful in issues like shelf life, use of various sugars. Best of all perhaps, it has an Aw reading for recipes. True, the reading will vary with each person's version of a recipe, but that is helpful information for those who do not have a water activity meter.

The often-labeled "bible" for chocolate-making is Peter Greweling's Chocolates and Confections. If you prefer a simpler approach, he has a Chocolates and Confections at Home. The first book listed explains all the science. Ewald Notter's The Art of the Chocolatier has, in my opinion, a better selection of recipes. Both experts provide mostly the same science in their books.

I tried two chestnut purées: The most commonly available one, Clément Faugier, had (to my palate) virtually no taste. The second one, which I found at L'Epicerie, was Corsiglia and was sweetened a little and much more "chestnutty." So I started with the butter ganache recipe from Wybauw, and, as might have been anticipated, the milk chocolate he recommended completely covered up any chestnut taste. Same was true with dark. So I switched to white chocolate (Opalys) and got a little chestnut taste. I kept replacing the chocolate with cocoa butter until I had an acceptable flavor, but too much cocoa butter and the texture suffered. So I was at the point of completely abandoning this idea but found one more possibility: L'Epicerie carries a chestnut "aroma" from France, and I plan to order that. I have tried other aromas from the same company, and many of them are really good (apple, apricot, mango, pear).

My principal difficulty with using a guitar is the "when"--knowing when to cut the slab. I find it very difficult to select that brief period of time when the slab is not too squishy that it will be mashed rather than cut cleanly and when it is so firm that it will break a wire. I have broken only one, and that was with a gianduja that I allowed to sit for just a bit too long (the gianduja is paired with a coffee layer, which never gets really firm). I use a tiny knife and stick it into the item in various places. My wire replacement experience has led me to cut too early, as the evidence on the wires shows, but by then it's too late. Of course larger slabs are more prone to breaking wires, and sometimes I cut those in half before using the guitar. I have also learned that refrigerating the slab takes very careful monitoring as it is so easy to overdo the chilling. Any hints on how to judge the right moment?

I tried a big box with a hole cut in the back and a large fan outside the box, but it didn't do much good. There are videos online about building your own, but most deal with paint, not cocoa butter. I was unhappy with every option I tried until I found CakeSafe's master spray booth. It really comes close to eliminating cocoa butter in the air. You do have to accept the necessity of replacing the first filter (there are several others inside the fan box) rather often, but if you buy a roll of filters and cut them yourself, the price is reduced. I still wear a respirator and think it is necessary if you don't want to inhale cocoa butter.

I've never seen that happening--there isn't enough time for it. In addition, I give an occasional stir to make the cooling even.

Which machine did you get?

Coming across this thread led me to think about making a chestnut bonbon for my Christmas selection. I consulted my chocolate book collection and found a promising recipe in Wybauw's Fine Chocolates Gold. But I am confused by missing items from the ingredient list. At first "Chestnut Truffles" (p. 220) sounds like a butter ganache recipe (butter, honey, chestnut purée, rum, milk chocolate), but the instructions also include: "Mix the cocoa butter together with the chocolate and stir through the cream." Nowhere are cocoa butter or cream listed. Editing problems have been discussed in regard to this book in another thread, but this omission seems particularly puzzling. Has anyone tried this recipe or have suggestions on quantities of cocoa butter and cream? I gave away my copies of the individual Wybauw books that were combined into the Gold volume, so can't check those. Wybauw gives the total batch size of the recipe as 740g, but the listed ingredients total 470g. That's a big difference (270g), meaning a lot of cream and cocoa butter. Correction: I rechecked my math, and Wybauw's recipe does total 740g. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the cream and cocoa butter. Perhaps when he says to stir the chocolate and cocoa butter through the cream, he is referring to the chestnut purée mixture as a cream? I'm going to give this a try, omitting any extra cocoa butter and treating it as a butter ganache.

Kerry has already answered you, but I will add that you should let the molds sit out at room temp until the appearance of the chocolate turns from shiny to matte before they go into the fridge to dissipate the latent heat, so it's not the same thing as putting a temper test strip immediately into the fridge. As for milk chocolate, I agree with you totally. By the time the test is complete, the chocolate has gotten too cool (that is, without a tempering machine to keep it in temperature). You just have to find a way to heat it up a little (Kerry's microwave idea is one--though a little scary sometimes and it won't work if you are using a metal bowl--a hair dryer is another). Last week a bowl of milk chocolate (in a Chocovision machine) stubbornly refused to test as tempered. I first used some seed, then some EZtemper silk. The tests finally looked as if the chocolate was in temper, but I paid the price for that assumption as some of the chocolates--even ones in magnetic molds--refused to come out of the molds. I have yet to figure out why that happened. Can previously used chocolate sometimes be impossible to temper? We are always learning.

My impression (no hard evidence) suggests AUI prices are in the same range as other suppliers. For a direct comparison, the price for Felchlin chocolate is about the same from AUI as from Chef Rubber (which Felchlin now allows to sell its products--formerly it was AUI only). You can do a comparison between AUI and Chocosphere prices. Chocosphere also has wholesale accounts but you have to get approval first; as with most small buyers, there is a minimum order (in their case, $250); the big disadvantage for me is that Chocosphere is located on the opposite side of the U.S. and shipping is a factor--but they have a great selection.

I too am an AUI customer. I have never tasted the Des Alpes chocolates they carry but do use Felchlin dark and milk, specifically Maracaibo Clasificado (dark) and Maracaibo Créole (milk). I notice those are more expensive than the Des Alpes equivalents, but that, of course, does not mean a lot. I think the Maracaibo dark (65%) is the best chocolate I have ever tasted. I cannot walk by an open bag of it without have a little taste. The Créole was recommended to me by eG member @pastrygirl, and I like it a lot--it is one of the darkest milk chocolates I have tasted (if you like something "milkier" and sweeter, Maracaibo Criolait is also delicious). For an "extra dark" (good for balancing an especially sweet filling) I use Felchlin's 72% Arriba, also delicious. Although my AUI rep has sent me samples of every white Felchlin makes, I have never been bowled over by any of them and use Valrhona's Opalys for my go-to white chocolate (mostly in ganaches). My second choice for white is Cacao Barry's Zéphyr. For certain fillings I make, such as an "apple crisp," I use Cacao Barry's Zéphyr caramel. Although it is a pain to work with (like most white chocolates, in my experience), it is delicious, and even confirmed white-chocolate haters appear to love it. Your rep will probably send you samples of the Felchlin chocolates, but, be warned, you may be hooked.

Coconut oil might be successful in getting a soft texture. A so-called meltaway has a texture like what you are describing: Mix 500g dark chocolate and 150g (refined) coconut oil. Flavoring, such as peppermint oil, can be added. Stir mixture to temper it. I think a meltaway sometimes has an oily mouth feel to it, and so generally prefer a butter ganache (see next paragraph). Cocoa butter will not help achieve a softer texture as it makes a chocolate mixture firmer as it hardens. An alternative approach, brought to mind from something Kerry wrote about the Geerts recipe, is a butter ganache: Soften butter, beat it with glucose or fondant, add tempered chocolate, plus flavoring if you wish. Depending on the flavoring you add, this will have a shelf life of many weeks.

I think it's possible to get close to that smooth quality and increase shelf life (a little) by adding more chocolate and especially experimenting with sugars (sorbitol comes to mind) that provide bulk. But it would seem some of the best things in life require refrigeration.

Without getting into your questions about the cocoa butter, I think it's important to know that you should not put chocolate in the refrigerator to test for temper. Any chocolate will harden in the fridge; that does not mean it is correctly precrystallized. You can spread a bit on parchment, then wait for a few minutes at room temp (milk and white take longer) to see what it looks like. If it turns from glossy to matte in appearance in a few minutes, you will know you are on the right track.

I also use your method. It's much easier, I think. If I recall correctly, chocolatier Kriss Harvey was the person I saw who suggested this.

Just so the eGullet historical record will be accurate: The Valrhona pecan praline paste just arrived (see earlier post on the almond paste). I had to purchase a full case (10kg), and after my almond experience, I had much trepidation. With the almond I have thought of a couple of ways of "saving" the bitter paste, but I know of no pecan flavoring or other way of saving the pecan. So I said to myself, why bother opening both pails if this is going to be unusable? To my great relief, the pecan is completely delicious--sweet with the caramel (not at all bitter) and delicious from the pecans, much more flavorful than any pecan paste I have made.