EsaK

I've been playing around with Chocolate World colors, some success and some less. One peculiar thing I've gotten a few times is this sort of shaded ring around the color. Anyone have any ideas as to what may be causing that? I'm not entirely sure but I think I may have had that happen only with the tablets, so I'm wondering if it could be related to the latent heat of crystallisation matter? I'm mixing the color into cocoa butter, which I temper with CB silk before applying to molds. On a separate note, are you all using colors or colored cocoa butters without any other fats present? These CW colors are rapeseed oil based, and I'm wondering if it'd be much better to be using ones in some other form (without some other fat intervening) if mixing your own? I think next time I think I'll try Power Flowers. Does anyone have experience with them? What's the "filler" ingredient in them, or am I delusional in thinking the filler matters at all really? Also a big thank you once again for all the help and discussions that have been going on here over the years, immensely helpful.

Duh, I don't know but for some reason I don't think I had registered that there were 135mm versions of the 2295 for example! Chocolat Form replied that the GL line is slightly thinner material and therefore less resistant than the CW line. They're also 131mm (instead of 135mm) and limited in terms of models. So I guess there isn't an absolute reason why they'd be just for domestic use, if you can just find the designs you want (they do make GL molds from any design if you order at least 500 pieces).

@teonzo or others in Europe, do you happen to have ideas of where to find precision induction cooktops similar to the Paragon? I can find it from Amazon.com but it doesn't offer shipping to Finland at least. There's the Polyscience / Breville cooktop, but that was something like 3000 euros so obviously not great for acting as a melter. I can get for example a Martellato or Mol D'Art 6 litre melter for around 400€ shipped, but wondering if there are smarter solutions as Teo thought with the Paragon.

On the Greenline molds, in my amateur opinion, they feel quite like the regular Chocolate World molds as DeDe said too. They are 4cm narrower, so for example the GL109 holds 3 x 8 chocolates, instead of the regular 4 x 8 pieces. I've asked them why they are labeled for domestic use only as Kerry noted. With my very limited experience and small batches I'm perhaps even leaning towards the GLs being easier to use and handle. I think it's advised not to touch the underside of the molds to not heat them with your fingers, so the CWs are quite big to handle. The GLs you can hold from the sides with one hand since they are narrower.

Thanks DeDe! Good to hear you feel they're equally sturdy etc. Surely if there's a need to be real precise with colorings, then yep, that green isn't going to help it. I'll actually get my mold shipment on Wednesday, went with GL109 in addition to CW2295 and CW2184 for bonbons, to see what the Greenline is like. I shall report back here in case there's anyone interested if my (also non-professional to be sure!) findings are the same as yours.

Jimb0, that is all extremely helpful, thank you. Hadn't noticed the badge before, good to know. I'll leave that site out now then, not worth trying one's luck. I should've checked all the Amazons too more carefully but had missed that one! Should always go through at least .co.uk, .de, .com to see what has what you're looking for.. Anyway, Amazon.co.uk and .de do ship to Finland. It looks like there's no shipping costs from Amazon.de, which is rather peculiar since it does say they're shipped from the US.

Their website seems to have been down when jimb0 you were looking, it's up again now. So they have for example Premier 11lbs tilting model and Premier 8lbs model available, others as well in the chocolate category actually. It rings some alarm bells when for example the reviews on those machines are half a dozen and according to the site, all posted on the same date. Unless there are some who have bought from them then probably better to try and find it from another source. Happy to hear if anyone know any with reasonable shipping to Europe!

Has anyone ordered melangers from Chocolate Melangeur? They offer free shipping whereas from Melangers.com it would be almost 50% extra to the price. However I'm struggling to find out whether they're a reliable place to buy from? On Facebook there's just 3 reviews, and one of them from 2018 isn't that positive. Or alternatively, if someone knows European shops that have for example the Premier melangers (or others of similar quality), then please do let me know! 😊

Does anyone have experience with Chocolate World's Greenline molds? They're green, which is probably less ideal in terms of seeing how clean they are, but I'd be nice to hear from someone who has used them if that or something else is an issue with them (are they less sturdy than normal CW molds?). I'm hoping to get sturdy molds, taking into consideration the advice given here many times: more of fewer models rather than vice versa. I'll get at least the CW2295, but then I'm wondering what would be "feasible" (bar/tablet) molds that are not impossible to get right without cooling tunnels etc as @teonzo advised? Below are my thoughts, it is much appreciated if anyone can help. -Bonbons: CW2295 and one of the three GL114, CF1521 or CW1923. Question here is, are the Greenlines as good as CWs? Are the Chocolat Forms as good as CWs? Same CW factory I believe, but wonder if there's big differences still. -Bars/Tablets: one not to be filled CW2436 (I assume this is among easier bar forms?), then for filling PC10 or PC9 (unless Pop Chocolate molds are really not good or these are impossible to get right without a tunnel or other elaborate cooling systems?) or CW2299 / GL113. -Additional ones if needed to get free shipping (I'll get more of the same molds if things get really going as per advice here!): CF0240 (feasible without tunnel?), CW1769 (same question + are those kind of grooves cleanable or a major major pain?), CF0247 (again, feasible?). I'll also attach the latest bonbon with a quick banana-miso filling. I don't know how it looks to the pros, but I'm sort of feeling I can at least try to do something with chocolates (though yes, chocolate is the master, always). Many thanks for any comments on any of the molds!

I hope it's fine to revive an older thread.. Anyway, I've been reading the chocolate threads and the hundreds of pages. Huge thanks to everyone who has contributed, the help is massive! I went and bought a Decora (decora.it) polycarbonate mould to test things. These are from cheap dark chocolate with "at least 50% cocoa", and 2% tempered cocoa butter added (today's test will be 1% CB). As can maybe be seen in the picture of the pair, the release marks, is there a "best practices" way of avoiding them? I got those in practically all of them. I was also wondering if my tempering seems fine? They're glossier than it seems in the pictures, but when I touch them with warm hands, there's an instant mark. Snap seems fine, I don't know if the cut one illustrates anything to anyone. The fact that I leave instant dulling marks with warm hands, is that telling me the tempering isn't that great? Process and ingredients: 22-23C room temp, chocolate heated to bit under 40C until melted, cooled to 33C at room, one batch added grated tempered cocoa butter at 2%, the other same tempered cocoa butter but melted at 33.4C until mayo like (under an hour, small SV bags). Into the molds, tapped vigorously to remove bubbles, first batch was put into fridge for 10mins after setting at room for 5mins or so. Second batch I made exact same way except the cocoa butter difference and that batch was molded into the same mold, tapped and then left at room so no fridge. Both at room overnight, released nicely from the mold. Now I'm also wondering, with the tempered and solidified cocoa butter, does my logic fall apart if I think it makes sense that I can melt it at 33.4C or something like that for easier adding to chocolate? Do the form 5 crystals work that way? From this n=1 experiment, it seems like it doesn't at least harm anything? Much appreciate the help and thoughts, thank you! 🙏

I've been struggling to find information on the kind of oil you can put in Henkelman Jumbo machines. They only say "Foodmax Air PAO 32" is the preferred oil, but I can't find that from Finland. Problem is, I have no idea what an equivalent oil would be.. Anybody able to help out? Thanks in advance!

Sadly no, it's not on wheels, which is why I can't move that thing more than a few cm more forward if necessary to give a few more cm ventilation at the back. Now I'm also thinking if I should go for example with the VacMaster VP215 which is 4cm "shorter", so there'd be close to 10cm ventilation at the back too, which I would think should at least be enough?

I asked a Henkelman Service department rep, and he said after seeing the same pictures, "Please note that the back needs to ventilate a bit. You will have to keep it from the wall at least a few cm. If the sides and front are open, it should be OK." I moved stuff around, and here's another very bad illustration (I very clearly lack the ability to draw a multidimensional box with my laptop). So from the bottom where the machine would be, it's 80cm to the top of the cabinet (and at 67cm or so there's the metal bar which could be taken away if needed). The cabinet is also about 80cm wide, I could obviously take even the last thing away from the left if it made a difference. I tried to draw the machine with its' dimensions, 55x45x36 when lid closed. With the power cord, there'd be at least the "few cm" that the rep mentions, and potentially I could move the thing that the machine would lie on, a few cm forward when using it, making the space from the back of the machine to the back wall 3-4cm or so. And just to be clear, it's an open room otherwise, so when the cabinet door is open it's a "room full of air" basically. I unfortunately don't really have any other space in my apartment for this. @teonzo do you still see that place very potentially ruining the machine if I operate it in the cabinet? Is 3-4cm in your view enough space from machine back to the back wall? Cause it obviously makes very little sense if I buy it and put it there, just to find out that it ruins the machine some way. Very much appreciate the help on this.

Thanks again everyone! @teonzo do you think the attached pictures show a problematic space? There'd be basically no space behind the machine (well aside from 2cm that the power cord comes out from the back of the machine), and some space on the sides (I could obviously remove the shirts if it was needed), some above it when the lid is closed and plenty in front when the door is open. The Jumbo 30 is L55.4cm x W45cm x H36.5cm (lid opened it's 68cm). Unfortunately I cannot cut either that back cabinet wall nor the door, a rental apartment and I don't want to start making that kind of holes Though I did manage to make it 58cm from the previous 57cm by adjusting the doors forward. Also very curious if you have any other thoughts on potential troubles! Would be sad to buy a machine like this, just to ruin it by using it in a space that doesn't suit the purpose..

Yup I did that, and actually got a response too. It is located at the back of the machine, and with a regular power cord it won't work, it's too long. Now I'm emailing power cord manufacturers and re-sellers to see how long these angled cords are at minimum! With the machine taking 554mm and by cupboard being pretty much exactly 570mm, I'd need a cord that doesn't come out more than 15mm for the black area I've coloured in the picture.. Otherwise my cupboard door wouldn't close, and I don't know if I like that idea.

Could anyone link or guide me to a European (shipping to Finland) store that sells cheap yet reliable/good-quality 3-4 mil bags in rolls? I've struggled to find those rolls to be frank, so I thought I'd just go with the thicker, textured roll that's still 12 meters of 30cm bag at 16 euros. And paging again all Jumbo users (or I suppose Henkelman users, maybe they all have similar power cords) regarding the power cord matter (whether it's in the back and if yes, how much space does it take measured from the back of the machine). Cheers!

After being back from holidays, I think I'm going for the Henkelman Jumbo 30, if it just fits in my dedicated space.. If anyone has a Jumbo, I'd gladly hear whether the power cord comes from the back of the machine? If yes, how much extra space does it take from the back of the machine to however "tight" you could turn the power cord sideways? My space is about 57cm, so there's not much room for a power cord when the machine is 55.5cm.. I asked Henkelman support but happy to hear if there's someone with the machine! I've also been wondering about the bags.. Bags that have some kind of texture on them, they work just fine in a chamber vac too, right? For example the attached one. I think I'll go for quite thick ones as they don't seem to be that expensive either, so I'll take 100-160 my bags (I think 120-130 microns?). Not yet sure if I'll take pre-cuts or rolls, as the rolls actually seem to be more expensive per one unit. For example 30cm wide roll, 2 x 6m rolls = 12m of bag, is about 20 euros or about 1.7 euros per meter. Then for example 30cm x 50cm bags, 100 pieces = 50m of bag, is 32 euros or 0.64 euros per meter. Trickier to cut and re-seal pre-cut bags into smaller ones, but the price difference is quite large even if accounting for some "loss" when re-cutting the pre-cuts.

@horseflesh Besides avoiding punctures right away with sharper things, what value do you see the soft air release providing? I'm not sure if it'd be much use for me on things like seafood as I normally get that frozen or have been fine with normal zip bags for short cooks, so it'd be great to hear why you think it's valuable! @teonzo Thanks again, cold blanching and reducing a liquid sound both interesting. Serious Eats actually showed the pineapple cutting method it looks like in 2014, just saw it actually few weeks back. Noted about vacuum level being adjustable instead of time. Anyone have experience with Hendi or any of their machines?

Brilliant, many thanks for these Teo! Very helpful. I'm beginning to wonder if the power level of the pump in Mini Jumbo, VP215 etc (I think all of them do about 4m3/h) is good enough? Or if it's really quite likely to come bite back at me if I save 200€, instead of going for 8m3/h pump for example. I guess there isn't a clear answer to it, though Teo you seem to think it does actually affect longevity (as the Henkelman sales rep said too). Actually just now realized that the Jumbo series doesn't have the soft air release. Boxer series does, but for example Boxer 30 is +300€ to Jumbo 30. Wonder if it's worth that much really.. Good points about not using the sealing function with jars etc. Notes taken. Love the whole pineapple idea.. Seen slices of pineapple done but can imagine a whole one being a different kind of showstopper! Bubble chocolate and others are definitely on the list too. Very happy to hear if you want to share other ideas like these

@teonzo May I ask what machine do you have? Now I also found Hendi, not sure if anyone has heard anything about their chamber vacs? Here's an example. Hendi's website says the pump is "air cooled", the manual mentions oil levels in the pump though. I wonder if anyone knows whether that "air cooled" means dry or oil pump? I assume oil since oil in the pump is mentioned in the manual, but not really certain.. Or this one with stronger pump. I've emailed different suppliers to ask about shipping costs, decision-time soon I hope.

@rotutsI don't know all the reasons I'd use jars, but I can imagine I'd use them quite regularly even for things that don't really need to be in a pouch. For example pickles? Or some custard that you want to get the air out of and cook in the jar. There's probably quite a few things. @Kerry Beal Alright, I can't find that model from Henkelman's website now. Thanks about the jars, I imagined they should work but yes, may be tough to open. A bit of knife helps I guess though.

Horseflesh, that's all understood One could go as far as saying that I have no reason to get a sealer at all, there's really no urgent need for it, I've been quite alright SVing without one to date. But if I get a sealer, it's going to be a chamber one. I want to be able to play with it, try different sorts of things that you can do with a chamber vac but can't do with a normal vacuum sealer. It's a lot of money though, which is why I'm asking all of the questions to see if I could make a choice that really suits me..

Here's Henkelman explaining it quite simply, there's an animated video as well. MC 2-216 & 217 mention it as well, it's I guess basically to protect some delicate products if that's useful, and help in packing sharper things as Henkelman shows. I wonder if it helps with jars and other vessels too to avoid them cracking from rapid release of pressure? No idea about that, just speculating, and happy to hear if someone actually knows!

Awesome, thanks everyone for the replies! Kerry Beal, can I ask what model Henkelman do you have? I mostly have the Bormioli Rocco jars, which come with a one-piece lid, like this. Am I correct to assume that if you put these in, lids loosely screwed, they'd work the same as two-piece lids? The question on sealing without a vacuum was because I think it'd be useful at times to be able to for example cut a bag in half to make two smaller ones, simply sealing the cut sides, putting stuff in and pulling a vacuum as usual. So I suppose that works with both machines. Still curious if anyone has views on the pumps being potentially problematic due to "smallness"? And does VP215 have the soft air release? Amongst any other observations you all might have!

I've been pondering the purchase of a chamber vac too.. Never owned a regular sealer, but chamber vac just seems like so interesting device in all its' modernist uses along with more basic sealing of various things. Now, I've narrowed my options thus far into two. On one hand there's the VacMaster VP215EU version, which I assume is exactly the same as VP215, except it's with EU plugs. I can get that shipped for 900€. The other option currently is Henkelman Mini Jumbo with the high lid. That combo is about 1300€, though they promised bags worth of 100-200€ to come with it. I talked with the Henkelman distributor, and one thing he mentioned was that the 0.3 kW / 4m3/h pump is sort of small-ish. He compared it to driving in the motor way with a car that has a small engine, it can work but a) it affects durability and b) it's slower. Does anyone have views on whether that's just sales talk or is that something to worry about in home use? I don't think speed of vacuuming is going to be an issue at home? I'm not sure, but as I've understood it, VP215 has the same sized pump (1/4 HP I suppose converts into something close to 0.3 kW or little less, someone correct me if I'm wrong!). Also, I'd be really keen on sealing canning jars. I've got a collection of jars, ranging from under 9cm in height all the way to about 11.5cm. With the high lid in Henkelman, I think the chamber height gets to 13cm or so. VP215 seems to be 12.7cm. I read that during vacuum, that compresses somewhat as the lids push down? Are you able to put a 11.5cm jar in the VP215 upright? Additionally, I know there are at least a lot of people with VP215, so does it (or the Henkelman if you happen to know) allow you to seal bags without pulling a vacuum? In other words, to use the sealing bar alone? And other random questions to which I haven't been able to find an answer to.. Does VP215 have soft air release? Do they require some special oils or can you buy "bulk" oil for both? Does either have "cyclone operator" to protect pump from water and debris (yeah, I read this from MC..)? Any other considerations anyone has? I guess Henkelman's Busch pumps are the A-class, but I'm unsure whether it's that much better than the VP215? Much appreciate all help.