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tschaefges

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Posts posted by tschaefges

  1. On 10/26/2023 at 7:41 PM, SweetSymphonybyM said:

    Perhaps look into the Aieve panning attachment? At a little over $100 with prime shipping it definitely can't be beat in the price aspect. Just received mine, but haven't unboxed/used yet. 

    Mine showed up last week and I tried it for the first time yesterday. The drum is small, but for my hobby use it should be fine. I've been wanting to try panning for a long time and the low price finally made it possible to experiment. I panned caramelized almonds in dark chocolate. They came out pretty well, but they are not polished. I found some polish and glaze at Chef Rubber that should be here in a week or so. It's clear there is quite a learning curve and very little "how to" information is available. I found this thread as I was searching for information. Experimenting will be fun and even the ugly stuff will be edible.

    20231119_152947 LR.jpg

    • Like 6
  2. On 7/19/2019 at 7:34 AM, Vojta said:

    @Kerry Beal said: cocoa = cocoa butter + cocoa mass. I understand cocoa mass as cocoa solids.

    Thus we have an equation: cocoa cocoa butter + cocoa solids

    In the Fig 1 they state '33,1 % min. cocoa' under that there is '34.6 % cocoa butter'. 

    cocoa cocoa butter + cocoa solids

    33,1 % 34,6 % + cocoa solids

    In order this equation holds true:

    33,1 % 34,6 % - 1,5 %

    Which is absolutely nonsense to have negative amount of an ingredient. And I have no idea whats wrong.

     

    The European labeling law says that cocoa solids refers to the chocolates combined weight of cocoa butter and dry cocoa particles (i.e. cocoa powder) and the label must show the percentage of dry cocoa solids. So for that purpose cocoa solids is not synonymous with cocoa powder. For labeling in Europe the equation above should be

     

    cocoa solids = cocoa butter + cocoa powder

     

    I wonder if the 1.5% difference in the cocoa solids percentage and the cocoa butter percentage on the label is because the label must show dry cocoa solids and there's a tiny amount of water in cocoa butter..

  3. I never bother with the blender step in that recipe. I pour the hot liquid over the chocolate and stir it together, like you would do for a ganache. I've used different chocolates and cocoa powders and never had a gritty result. Have you tasted the boiled cocoa powder/water mixture before you add it to the chocolate? That might help determine if the grit is from the cocoa powder or the chocolate.

    • Like 1
  4. We use a dehydrator hooked to a temperature controller (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V4TJR00/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Turn the dehydrator to a high temp, plug it into the controller and put the temperature probe in the middle tray of the dehydrator near the cocoa butter containers. We put our airbrush in there, too. The temperature controller will turn the dehydrator on and off to maintain the set temperature. Much more flexible and accurate than the thermostat on the dehydrator.

     

    As a bonus, you can plug a small refrigerator into the controller set to cooling mode to use the fridge for chocolate work.

    • Like 2
  5. 11 hours ago, Shelby said:

    @gfweb and anyone else with a Blue Star.  I keep reading that the back (on the outside) of the stove gets super hot.  Someone took a reading at it was like 360F.  Is this how yours is?  

     

    I have to have a slide-in type--and it slides in to a built in bar in my kitchen.  I honestly never thought about how hot the back of my stove now gets.....too late to measure to see.

     

     

    2

     

    We have a 6-burner Bluestar. The oven door gets a bit warm, but the handle does not. It's a great range. We've only had a couple of minor problems in the 12 years we've had it and all have been easily fixed by a local repair guy. It's a big advantage that there are no electronic parts to fail, so almost any appliance repair person can work on it.

    • Like 3
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