dannysdesserts

Thanks again for the helpful responses. Watched the above video! The Greweling book has been ordered! A thermometer or two have been ordered . More successful batches have been made and eaten so I'm sure the dentist is not happy. I can report greater success and I owe it to this community. I am not (yet) in the chocolate business. I am hoping to take my knowledge and apply it this Holiday season. I am humbled by everyone's willingness to help me and I appreciate all of the knowledge that is shared on this wonderful site.

Thanks keychris. I will do as you suggest, cool to only 89F so as to not destroy the beta crystals.

OK, final follow up for anyone who is interested. I have had little success with the wild crystallization method. I have had great success with the seed method as follows: melt 150g chocolate until about 120F stir in 50g finely chopped tempered chocolate to ensure it all melts cool to 84F (while stirring) then rewarm to 89F mould and cool in fridge for 15 min unmould and cool with fan blowing across rack

Kerry - these solids are approximately 1/4 inch thick. I assume 15 minutes. Thick would be for something like a bar?

Tri2Cook - Thanks for your advice! I went back an reread this entire thread to make sure I'm not missing anything from the experts. After reading I feel like I am doing just what the experts suggested the second plan. I am using wild crystallization method that Kerry described by heating the chocolate. She never gave me a maximum temperature but I am using the manufacturer's suggested max of 113F. (Are you telling me that this is too low?) I do this low and slow on the double-boiler. I then cool it down to 80.6 and rewarm it to 89. I'm making sure I stir, stir, stir during the cool and rewarm processes. I leave the molds on the counter until the edges set and lose their sheen and then place them in the fridge for 15 minutes (although in the thread Kerry said both 15 and 30 minutes depending on if I'm doing shells or solids. I'm doing solids.). I then place them in airtight container and store in wine fridge set at 62-63F. I greatly appreciate the advice from these experts and I thought I was following it. If I'm not, can you help me understand what I'm misunderstanding? Thanks!

Thanks Kerry! NEW plan. Brand new batch of chocolate, temper as above, mold and cool in "regular" fridge for 10-15 minutes. Unmold, seal airtight and store in wine fridge set at 62-63F.

OK, so here's my plan. Ditch that last batch. Start with brand new batch of chocolate, temper as above, mold, let edges set at room temperature then cool in "regular" fridge for 40 minutes. Unmold, seal airtight and store in wine fridge set at 62-63F. Solid plan? I'll report back in a few days.

I did another batch yesterday WITHOUT implementing the airtight suggestions. Can we confirm that this is sugar bloom? I am about to melt this down, temper it and then do the airtight suggestion. I think it is cool enough now so I can leave a mold on the countertop to set rather than in the fridge (wine or regular).

Sounds reasonable. I'll give that a try!

I've been away for a few days. So Kerry, is there some solution to that issue?

OK, SUCCESS! First off, a huge thank you to everyone who contributed. Pastrygirl, JimD and Kerry - you all were so helpful. I'll recap everything here. Maybe it will help someone else in the future. Issue: trying to temper chocolate when the kitchen temperature is quite warm, 76 or more F. Original Steps: I used the seeding method. I melted 300g of chocolate "chips" over a double-boiler until the melted mass reached a temperature of 125F. I then put in 100g more of "chips" into the melted chocolate and stirred until the chips melted and the mass cooled to about 84F. I then placed the bowl back over the double-boiler and raised the temperature to 89.7 or 90F. I poured the chocolate into molds and cooled it in my wine fridge set at 60F. Errors: 1: the manufacturer of the chocolate suggests to heat the chocolate to a maximum of 115F. So, I was overheating per my manufacturer. 2: Kerry suggested using the wild crystallization method rather than the seed method. 3: I was not utilizing a regular fridge to cool the chocolates. 4: I was not letting the chocolate set at room temperature before placing it into the fridge (wine or regular). Successful Method: I heated 300g of chocolate "chips" to a maximum of 113F. I then took the bowl off the heat, stir, stir, stir until the mass cooled. It wouldn't go below 84F but I needed 80.6F. I placed the bowl on top of a silicone reusable ice pack. This helped to cool down to 80.6F. I then placed the bowl back onto the hot water and stir, stir, stir until the temperature reached 88.5F. Took it off the heat and molded it into 3 molds. They stayed on the counter top in a 76F room until the chocolate wasn't shiny and the edges started to look set. This was not too long (I didn't time this part). Then, one mold stayed on the counter top in 76F room with a fan blowing on it. One went into the "regular" fridge for 40 minutes and one went into the wine fridge for 2 hours (at 60F). The regular fridge chocolates setup in 40 minutes, the wine fridge chocolates setup in 2 hours and the counter top chocolates were placed into the regular fridge because they didn't set. Those chocolates stayed in the fridge for 3 hours. Three hours later, all chocolates seemed perfect (even the counter top 3 hour in the regular fridge ones!). All chocolates are now chilling in the wine fridge. Time to pop open some bubbly!! Thanks again everyone!

Pastrygirl - I'm located in Southern California but with the summer heat continuing plus my "regular" baking, the kitchen stays quite warm. It looks like I've got a plan going forward. Jim - yes, I did see the 4th of July post and you're correct. I'm liking the idea of unmolding and then storing in the wine fridge. Kerry - also the wine fridge doesn't have a compressor so it does not introduce added humidity that a compressor cooled fridge will.

After 40 minutes in the regular fridge the peices look ready. The molds are clear so I looked at the bottoms and most of them had "pulled away" from the mold. A few of them had a dark spot in the middle. I un-molded them. They released from the molds and I placed them in a 76F room with a fan blowing across them. 40 minutes later they still looked great but were completely soft! The wine fridge batch hasn't cooled long enough yet. Any thoughts on why the regular fridge items didn't stay in temper? I'm starting to wonder about this chocolate...

I did a test with boiling water as shown here. I should have registered 210.2 and I was off by 1 degree. I am going to purchase an additional quick read thermometer. I've done the tempering and now the items are cooling. I should know in about 20 minutes if the regular fridge is successful. The wine fridge takes a bit longer. Will report back soon.

OK so my game plan for tomorrow morning is: Temper using the wild crystallization method (heat to 113F, cool to 80.6F, rewarm to 88-89F) Keep molds out on counter until the chocolate loses that wet look and acquires a matte finish at the edges of each cavity Place 1 mold in regular fridge for 30 minutes Place 1 mold in wine fridge Keep 1 mold on counter to cool with fan blowing to circulate air pray to the temper gods and un-mold my perfectly tempered chocolates

Jim - I will try this tomorrow morning. After 10-15 minutes in the regular fridge would you say that my chocolates are now set and I can take them out of the mold?

Early in the morning the temperature in the kitchen could be low enough here. Then I could try this regular fridge technique here. Can you explain to me what "signs of setting" looks like? Once the chocolate achieves this step how long does it sit in the regular fridge?

I'm using one of those digital laser thermometers. I point it at the surface and it reads. When measuring I hold the button down, point the laser at the mass for continuous read. What are you thinking or seeing from the photo?

OK,so I still have issues with the finished product. The piece on the left shows is the "top" or "back" and it is still showing signs of being out of temper. The piece on the right is the "front". It does show signs of bad temper, it shows signs of a dirty mold! In any case, is this another example of my tempering not working? The process was: heat up to 113F, remove from heat and add seed chocolate, cool to 86ishF, warm back to 88-89F and then mold the chocolate. Store in wine fridge at 60F for 2 hours. Any tips are appreciated!

Jim - I appreciate your helpful reply. My first attempt today was to use SB Chocolate's exact method. I used a double-boiler instead of a microwave. It failed. I believe adding 50% seed was too much. The mass fell below 89F and there was still un-melted seed chocolate in the bowl. So my current attempt is melting up to 113F, then using 30% seed by weight and cool down to 86ishF. I have had success in the past with this method and other brand of chocolate. I had failure with the SB chocolate and this method because my max temp was 130F, not 113F. I will find out in 1 hour if I have success or not. Tomorrow, when it is still cool, I will try the wild crystallization method and report those results here.

I have to admit that I've read TONS of posts here about tempering. I'm honored to be getting advice from all of you experts here, particularly you Kerry. My latest attempt is cooling now. I used the seed method again, heating the mass to 113F, cooling to 86F and then back up to 89F. I have had success with some Valrhona using this method. My next attempt will be to take my "mistake" and heat it to 113F, cool it to 80.6F (while stirring) and then warm to working temp of 88-89F (while stirring). I really wish I had the $$ for the eztemper machine!

I assume I can use untempered chocolate (or my messed up attempts) and temper it using this method? I hope this is true so I don't have to end up eating all my mistakes!

Tri2Cook - How long do they stay in the fridge? Are you making filled or solid chocolates?

I think I made a mistake Kerry. If I don't add any seed at all then I'm using wild crystallization method?

Well, I have released the chocolate from the molds. Now I wait and see... I've taken two pieces and will leave them out in "room temperature" which is currently 78+F. Edit: I checked the pieces and they have no snap to them, they are quite soft. I believe the heat to 113F and cool to 89F did not work. I will now temper using the wild crystallization method. I will melt to chocolate up to 113F, seed with tempered chocolate and cool to 80.6 and then reheat to 88-89F and report back.