Mol d'art melters

[Aria]

Hello all,

I know there's a thread ( or 5! ) on this but does anyone have any recent experience with a Mol d'art? I've heard they're very reliable. I'd actually like to buy a tempering machine but heard it's better to buy a melter instead. Also, with a Mol d'art, you still have to agitate on the marble slab to create the tempered seed right? Do share...

[John DePaula]

I love my Mol d'art melters; couldn't do without them.

Though I've sometime seen them advertised as temperers, they are, in fact, just melters.

I never table my chocolate; partly for hygiene reasons, and partly because it makes a mess.

With the melters, you melt a mass of chocolate.

Then you just need to add some seed chocolate and stir. The seed chocolate, itself, needs to be in temper but that's how the chocolate is sold.

Hope this helps.

[prairiegirl]

I bought the Hilliards Little Dipper and it works well as a "dipper" but not so good for doing a lot of moulding. The capacity is too small and the constant taking out of chocolate and then adding it back (when moulding) causes the chocolate to crystalize to quickly and also I get moments of warm chocolate because I am trying to remedy the first problem! I regret not buying a melter. I plan on purchasing one sometime between now and Christmas! I am going to advertise the dipper, but if it doesn't sell I can still get plenty of good use out it. I much prefer a melter and it will be a Mol d'Art.

[schneich]

we just bought a selmi "plus" with heated vibrating table and enrobing unit, as soon as i am done setting up the chocolate lab i will post a comprehesive review about it (with pictures)

cheers

t.

[Lior]

I just bought two melters from them while in belgium. They are convenient because when you mould, you can let the chocoalte drip easily back into the melter without any mess. I still have to get used to temperingin them. I find a problem with overcrystalization-the choc gets too thick. Any suggestions? I know about using a heatgun/hair dryer, but when I did this I must have used too much heat as the chocolate bloomed badly afterwards. I tried raising the temp a bit but it is slow and I was impatient and I suppose I raised it too much. Again I got bloom.

So I think I just have to learn my melters and get experience using them. I know that Martelatto (sp?) also makes a good melter, with stainless steel- not plastic lids.

[Kerry Beal]

I just bought two melters from them while in belgium. They are convenient because when you mould, you can let the chocoalte drip easily back into the melter without any mess. I still have to get used to temperingin them. I find a problem with overcrystalization-the choc gets too thick. Any suggestions? I know about using a heatgun/hair dryer, but when I did this I must have used too much heat as the chocolate bloomed badly afterwards. I tried raising the temp a bit but it is slow and I was impatient and I suppose I raised it too much. Again I got bloom.

So I think I just have to learn my melters and get experience using them. I know that Martelatto (sp?) also makes a good melter, with stainless steel- not plastic lids.

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Once overcrystallzed you can reheat with the heat gun - maximum 34.5 for dark, 32.5 for milk. But you can also keep a supply of melted, untempered chocolate around and when your chocolate gets too thick you add some. It doesn't have to be too warm - if it is you can use it to raise the temperature if your chocolate is cooling, but even if your untempered chocolate is quite cool it will dilute your beta crystals.

[Lior]

I will try cool umtempered but melted choc-good idea.

I am a bit confused with the thernostat light. In my course JPW said not to take the temp, but to use the light. I was also told that the thermostat reads 0.5C but these marks are not on the thermostat... Do you know how to work by using the little light? I realize it turns on when the temp of the choc reaches the thermostat setting-right? Any other helpful tips?

Do you take the temp of the choc to see if it does not go above its limit? Sometimes it seems like it can go above and still stay tempered!

Sorry for soooo many questions!

And thanks!

Edited November 6, 2007 by Lior (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I hang a digital thermometer over the side to monitor the temperature.

I vaguely recall JPW talking about using the light. I think he had you get the chocolate tempered and at the right temp, then turn the thermostat back so the light clicks off. The light should go on and off to maintain that temperature.

As the chocolate sits a while and thickens (lots of beta crystals) you can push the temperature up to the maximums Wybauw suggests and still stay in temper. If you took the chocolate to that maximum temperature initally it wouldn't be in temper.

[Aria]

Thank you so much!! Thanks Paul for the demystifying response and Lior, do you have a Mol d'art or an actual tempering machine. I feel more strongly about buying a Mol d'art now. Also, I do very little molded chocolate, mostly hand dipped truffles, does a Mol d'art work for those too? Will let everyone know how it goes...

[Lior]

I have two mol d'Art 6 kg and a z3210 temperer.

[David J.]

I hang a digital thermometer over the side to monitor the temperature.

I vaguely recall JPW talking about using the light.  I think he had you get the chocolate tempered and at the right temp, then turn the thermostat back so the light clicks off.  The light should go on and off to maintain that temperature. 

As the chocolate sits a while and thickens (lots of beta crystals) you can push the temperature up to the maximums Wybauw suggests and still stay in temper.  If you took the chocolate to that maximum temperature initally it wouldn't be in temper.

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JPW meant not to take the markings on the dial literaly as they will not be accurate. He said that each melter is different and you will get to know how high or low yours reads.

As you say, he finds the temperature he wants, then turns the dial up so the thermostat triggers on, then backs it off until it just goes out. That ensures the chocolate won't go over the currrent temperature. Of course you need to stir it a little once in a while to ensure it's uniform througout. The temperature will dip a little below, then the thermostat will trigger and it will stay on until it reaches the current level once more. I'm not sure how narrow that temperature swing is, but I believe it is rather small with these melters.

The reason you can push the temperature to the maximum (or even over) with thick chocolate is that crystalization is a matter of time/temperature/motion. You can raise the temperature, but it will take time for the crystals to melt out. Think of a water bath with lots of ice cubes at 2C. It would take some time to melt out the ice. As each bit melts it absorbs a good deal of heat that has to be resupplied by the melter. That's the same reason it thickens slowly over time but doesn't harden up all at once. It takes time. Of course if you add motion and stir it up you get your ice melted faster. The reason JPW prefers the term "Precrystalization" over tempering is that the latter puts all the emphasis on temperature and ignores the other two factors which encourges a lot of missunderstandings. The reason I like the term is that it reminds me that I have to watch the crystalization phase too. If the newly dipped/cast piece cools too fast you mess up the crystalization by allowing unwanted types to form, and if you let it take too long the crystals grow too large.

I personally use a heat gun on low most of the time it thickens, but I also adjust the thermostat a little if I find it is thickening a bit fast.

[Kerry Beal]

Thank you so much!! Thanks Paul for the demystifying response and Lior, do you have a Mol d'art or an actual tempering machine. I feel more strongly about buying a Mol d'art now. Also, I do very little molded chocolate, mostly hand dipped truffles, does a Mol d'art work for those too? Will let everyone know how it goes...

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The smallest sized round mol d'art would be perfect for hand dipping.

[John DePaula]

Thank you so much!! Thanks Paul for the demystifying response and Lior, do you have a Mol d'art or an actual tempering machine. I feel more strongly about buying a Mol d'art now. Also, I do very little molded chocolate, mostly hand dipped truffles, does a Mol d'art work for those too? Will let everyone know how it goes...

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The smallest sized round mol d'art would be perfect for hand dipping.

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I don't do a lot of hand-dipping, but I think that my chocolate seems to thicken quite a bit faster with the small melter. Perhaps because the chocolate on the center surface is farther away from the heat source; maybe I'm just not stirring often enough...

On another note, if you're thinking about getting the Mol d'Art I would just add that a second pan for the melter is well worth the extra money. Useful for swapping out another type of chocolate. Also, when I'm done with a batch of chocolate, I line the second pan with parchment and pour in the remaining chocolate. Forms a nice bar that exactly fits the pan which speeds up melting for next time.

[lebowits]

Hello all,

I know there's a thread ( or 5! ) on this but does anyone have any recent experience with a Mol d'art? I've heard they're very reliable. I'd actually like to buy a tempering machine but heard it's better to buy a melter instead. Also, with a Mol d'art, you still have to agitate on the marble slab to create the tempered seed right? Do share...

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For what it's worth, I've had extremely good results with my Chocovision Rev 2. While the capacity is small for all day production, I can temper about 1 Kg which is more than enough to do a run of about 125 pieces or so depending on size. Most of the formulas I'm using are about that size.

I use the machine to melt/temper the chocolate (and it does this very well), then remove the bowl from the machine and dip my pieces in the now "still" chocolate. When the chocolate gets too cool, I hold it over a stove burner for about 8 - 15 seconds while stirring to prevent hot spots.

If I were going to require larger batches, they have a larger "professional" unit which can temper about 5 Kg. Alternatively, if I needed to temper more than one chocolate at a time, I would certainly consider multiple Rev 2s.

[Aria]

Thanks so much! I just got off the phone w/ Qzina and my mol d'art melter should be here in a week, yeah!! I did ask for 2 more pans, how much is each pan worth? I just said that I was considering buying more pans. Also, is there anywhere else in Toronto ( Kerry:) where the mol d'arts are cheaper?

Finally, once the seed choc. is added, can the mol d'art maintain proper working temperature?

Also, can one reduce the temperature below room temp. w/ the mol d'art?

Thank you so much again!

[lapin d'or]

I have had a small round Mol d'Art melter for a year now and am really pleased with it. I I do make a mess when working with moulds which are too big to upturn above the melter but since seeing the wrap it all in plastic wrap trick in another post clean ups are much easier.

The melter just heats, it does not cool. If your room is above working temperature for the chocolate I think you could have problems with the dipped pieces not staying in temper unless you can get them into a cooler room pretty quickly?

[Kerry Beal]

Thanks so much! I just got off the phone w/ Qzina and my mol d'art melter should be here in a week, yeah!! I did ask for 2 more pans, how much is each pan worth? I just said that I was considering buying more pans. Also, is there anywhere else in Toronto ( Kerry:) where the mol d'arts are cheaper?

Finally, once the seed choc. is added, can the mol d'art maintain proper working temperature?

Also, can one reduce the temperature below room temp. w/ the mol d'art?

Thank you so much again!

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I can't think of any other sources in Toronto but Qzina - e-bay has a vendor where the prices seem better, but I suspect the duty might be an issue.

Have you tried asking Lenton at Qzina for a better price?

[ejw50]

I have a 6kg , and second what Kerry, John, and David said about their techniques (except for the heat lamps, I just use the melter). The 6kg is nice because it's the right size to dump excess chocolates from molds back in. I have 2 trays one for dark one for milk.

I also have a ACMC table top temperer. The temperature control is easier. It is very nice, but the capacity is much smaller (maybe 3-4 lbs) and you can't dump excess chocolate directly from the molds into the temperer. Cleanup is much harder, it is noisier, and it uses more electricity. And you aren't immune to overcrystallization so all that fancy temperature control still requires some manual intervention.

The one thing the ACMC does better than the MolD'art is "filter' small pieces of semi-melted chocolate using the rotating bowl mechanism and plastic scraper. But other than that I like the Mol d'art.

"If your room is above working temperature for the chocolate I think you could have problems with the dipped pieces not staying in temper unless you can get them into a cooler room pretty quickly?"

I either put it right by the AC vent (summer) or right by an open window (winter).

[Aria]

Thank you all once again! Yes, I will ask for a better price, thanks Kerry. I was wondering though, with a 6kg Mol d'art, what if I only put 1.5 or 2 kg in there for melting. I really like doing small batches unless it's a really large order. Would that work? Will it be too little quantity for proper melting, seeding in that particular tray capacity? Thanks:)

[John DePaula]

Thank you all once again! Yes, I will ask for a better price, thanks Kerry. I was wondering though, with a 6kg Mol d'art, what if I only put 1.5 or 2 kg in there for melting. I really like doing small batches unless it's a really large order. Would that work? Will it be too little quantity for proper melting, seeding in that particular tray capacity? Thanks:)

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Nope, that's not a problem at all.

[Aria]

So I finally got my mol d'art and opened it up about 1 hour ago. I need to dip a bunch of centres and so I put about 1.5 lb of dark choc. into the melter. Well, it's still not all melted!!!!!!! What am I doing wrong? By now I would have been done w/o the melter. Am I supposed to half melt it and then agitate without adding tempered chocolate...reasoning being the unmelted choc. will seed the melted? PLEASE HELP:(

[Lior]

It takes a while to melt. You turn it higher even to 55-60. Check every now and then the temp. I turb it on right away early morning and do other things in the meanwhile. When it reaches 40-48 I add the seed. It took me a good few days to get used to using!! I take the bath partout onto the marble to seed and turn the thermosat to working temp. Then when itistempered I put back into the melteing base. That is how I do it. There are other ways- you know I am sure!

[John DePaula]

So I finally got my mol d'art and opened it up about 1 hour ago. I need to dip a bunch of centres and so I put about 1.5 lb of dark choc. into the melter. Well, it's still not all melted!!!!!!! What am I doing wrong? By now I would have been done w/o the melter. Am I supposed to half melt it and then agitate without adding tempered chocolate...reasoning being the unmelted choc. will seed the melted? PLEASE HELP:(

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I always try to setup the melter the night before. I set it to about 50C or so and let it melt overnight. Then after being thoroughly stirred, over about 20 minutes or so, I add the seed chocolate and stir more until the correct temperature is reached (~31C for dark).

If you're just doing a small amount, then the microwave will probably be faster...

But for larger quantities, the melter is definitely the way to go.

[David J.]

So I finally got my mol d'art and opened it up about 1 hour ago. I need to dip a bunch of centres and so I put about 1.5 lb of dark choc. into the melter. Well, it's still not all melted!!!!!!! What am I doing wrong? By now I would have been done w/o the melter. Am I supposed to half melt it and then agitate without adding tempered chocolate...reasoning being the unmelted choc. will seed the melted? PLEASE HELP:(

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If you are in a hurry you can melt some in the microwave, then seed as you suggested. I did that once, though it takes a few trips to the microwave to melt enough. 1.5lbs is on the low side for dipping if you have the 6kg model as it wouldn't be deep enough to allow you to work effectively. If I have a small amount to work with I'll use my Rev2 instead.

The melter is designed to hold a narrow temperature range rather than to pump a huge amount of heat so it takes a few hours to melt chocolate from scratch.

[tammylc]

Just a heads up to anyone in the market for a melter - there's a used 6kg Mol d'Art on eBay right now.