Is all my chocolate ruined?

[LucyInAust]

We've had a major heat wave here ... we haven't got below 30degC (86degF) for over a week ... four days over 40degC (104degF) ... and topped out at just over 46degC (115degF). The house has heated up ... and my chocolate looks awful *sob*.

Kilos of Callebaut ... hundreds of dollars of Michel Cluizel ... all my special collection from various countries ... I've tasted some and it is pretty icky. Is it all gone?

Can I resurrect it by tempering? Or is it now only fit to be put into crappy baking? Does anyone have any suggestions?

I tried to keep it in a cooler part of the house ... but the reality is there was no where under 30degs unless I put it in the fridge (which I thought would cause just as many problems ... we've also had power outages so not even a guarantee there).

(note: quite funny to think that one of the most valuable items in the house is the chocolate ... bet someone breaking in would never think to take it!!)

[cmflick]

We've had a major heat wave here ... we haven't got below 30degC (86degF) for over a week ... four days over 40degC (104degF) ... and topped out at just over 46degC (115degF).  The house has heated up ... and my chocolate looks awful *sob*. 

Kilos of Callebaut ... hundreds of dollars of Michel Cluizel ... all my special collection from various countries ... I've tasted some and it is pretty icky.  Is it all gone?

Can I resurrect it by tempering?  Or is it now only fit to be put into crappy baking?  Does anyone have any suggestions?

I tried to keep it in a cooler part of the house ... but the reality is there was no where under 30degs unless I put it in the fridge (which I thought would cause just as many problems ... we've also had power outages so not even a guarantee there).

(note: quite funny to think that one of the most valuable items in the house is the chocolate ... bet someone breaking in would never think to take it!!)

←

Ouch!

I'd try retempering some and see what it's like. I think that you would have to go higher temperatures than what you cited to ruin the chocolate, at least for dark chocolate. But if it's been at that high of a temperature for a long time it may be a bigger problem.

I found this description of rescuing over heated chocolate on the web. It might give you some ideas.

Good luck!

[gap]

It should be fine to use. May need to re-temper the chocolate but it can comfotably be taken up to 45-50 degrees when you're melting it.

For what its worth, I keep my chocolate in an esky on days like we've been having recently.

[mostlylana]

Absolutely you could retemper it and it should be just fine. Remember, most chocolatiers keep their chocolate melted or in temper in their tempering machines/melters. The chocolate is basically never solid again until it is processed. Also, the fridge isn't an issue if you wrap properly and bring it to temperature properly - just like you can do with bonbons in the fridge/freezer.

[pastrygirl]

The tricky part is that if you are used to using the seed method to temper, you can't do it because your seed chocolate needs to be in temper, so you need to temper it by another method. I had many kg of Callebaut that spent a few weeks too long in transit through India that I tried to re-temper - it turned out OK but not perfect, but I think that says more about my tempering skills than anything else. Good luck!

[Lior]

You just need to temper without seeding. However, as happenedwith me, my chocolate absorbed moisture in the melter, from humdity in the air and that was the end of that batch. Part of learning the hard way!

[LucyInAust]

Thanks for the replies!

I was thinking if tempering was the answer, I'd have to do the "proper" method and take the temperature high; and not my usual seeding (actually ... I seem to change tempering methods quite often, not quite achieved perfect temper with any method).

I might buy some more chocolate to use as a seed base as well (what a good excuse for more chocolate!)

Will it make a difference how long before I use the chocolate now? Given the temperatures I'm not game to try and do chocolate work at the moment ... so it could be months before it is all used.

VERY relieved there is some hope ... not quite sure what I'll do with the "eating" chocolate, as it would be a pain to try to temper small amounts just to get the nice texture/mouth feel back.

[pastrychefjustin]

Lucy,

I'm so sorry to hear about your meltdown misfortune. I have some experience in working with chocolate and from what I have learned, as well as what I have read here, you are on the right path. For the highest quality temper, I would recommend the tabling tempering method as discussed above. Good and fast tabling is a skill that takes practice, but is fun and easy once learned.

I'm not sure if you have read outside literature on the subject, but if you hadn't I have found that dark, semi-sweet, and most milk chocolate can be melted to a temperature of 110F in preparation for tabling tempering. This is the temperature at which the fat crystals of the cocoa butter have all broken apart, liquefied, and are ready to be re-set. 80F is the standard temperature that tempered chocolate should be held at to work with, such as for pouring into molds and forms. Just make sure that whatever you do, cool the chocolate at about 60F or less once it is ready to set. This will help the fat crystals continue to form in the proper pattern that will result in a firm and smooth temper.

Your small chocolates can still be tabled. After heating the chocolate to the proper temperature, spread the small amount very thin and scrape it together again quickly. When it is tempered (I would think after one or two spreads) you can pile it up and leave it to set right on the marble, or use a simple and small mold to form it in. For your larger chocolate, perhaps you could make use of some plastic or silicon ice cube trays or new non-stick baking pans.

One final tip would be to use cocoa butter as a seeding agent. This would be helpful to you because you have so many different chocolates. I have come upon a new product called 'Buerr de Mycro.' It is cocoa butter that has been turned into a fine granular powder. It comes in a large tall yellow can and is suggested for use in many odd culinary applications, but most helpful to us would be as a seeding agent. If attainable, you could simply use some cocoa butter bars or coins that you chop very fine or shred with a cheese grater. Only a very small amount (about 1 or 2% of the total volume) needs to be added to your chocolate to have the desired effect. Sprinkle what you need into the mixture just before you table your chocolate and it will work like a charm!

Good luck with your dilemma! I think that your chocolate should still have the same shelf life, but if it is a high fat chocolate- just make sure about the flavor because any milk-fat has the potential to lose it's flavor or go rancid after a short time-frame (as short as 6 months!).

Justin.

[pastrygirl]

I'm not sure if you have read outside literature on the subject, but if you hadn't I have found that dark, semi-sweet, and most milk chocolate can be melted to a temperature of 110F in preparation for tabling tempering. This is the temperature at which the fat crystals of the cocoa butter have all broken apart, liquefied, and are ready to be re-set. 80F is the standard temperature that tempered chocolate should be held at to work with, such as for pouring into molds and forms. Just make sure that whatever you do, cool the chocolate at about 60F or less once it is ready to set.

←

Justin, you recommend some unusual temperatures. Most sources recommend melting to 120F, and a working temperature from 85 to 90F depending on the chocolate. Any chocolate I've worked with becomes noticeably thicker as it approaches 80F. Please explain.

Edited February 6, 2009 by pastrygirl (log)

[John DePaula]

I'm not sure if you have read outside literature on the subject, but if you hadn't I have found that dark, semi-sweet, and most milk chocolate can be melted to a temperature of 110F in preparation for tabling tempering. This is the temperature at which the fat crystals of the cocoa butter have all broken apart, liquefied, and are ready to be re-set. 80F is the standard temperature that tempered chocolate should be held at to work with, such as for pouring into molds and forms. Just make sure that whatever you do, cool the chocolate at about 60F or less once it is ready to set.

←

Justin, you recommend some unusual temperatures. Most sources recommend melting to 120F, and a working temperature from 85 to 90F depending on the chocolate. Any chocolate I've worked with becomes noticeably thicker as it approaches 80F. Please explain.

←

A quick guide to tempering chocolate correctly, albeit in Celsius, can be found here:

Vantage House Guide to Tempering Chocolate.

I thought about mentioning Mycryo for solving the original poster's problem but if she's having difficulty keeping bar chocolate in temper, then Mycryo would be an expensive mistake.

[pastrychefjustin]

Correction on the 80F working temperature, I had resourced the wrong section.

Dark Chocolate:

87-90F

Milk or White Chocolate:

85-87F

My current resources are a CIA Baking and Pastry book, Bo Friberg's Advanced Professional Pastry Chef, and another book called the Chocolate Bible by Christian Teubner. I have never had a problem melting dark chocolate to minimum 110F and achieving a successful temper.

The three sources gave different 'maximum melting temperatures' across the board, but a good standard that I'll source here is Bo's:

Dark Chocolate:

1. Melt and heat to 115-120F

2. Cool to 80-82F

3. Warm slowly to 87-90F

Milk or White Chocolate:

1. Melt and heat to 110-115F

2. Cool to 78-80F

3. Warm Slowly to 85-87F

I believe that another key element is that chocolate behaves differently and is affected by what is in it, where it came from, and where it is when being tempered.

[pastrychefjustin]

I'm not sure if you have read outside literature on the subject, but if you hadn't I have found that dark, semi-sweet, and most milk chocolate can be melted to a temperature of 110F in preparation for tabling tempering. This is the temperature at which the fat crystals of the cocoa butter have all broken apart, liquefied, and are ready to be re-set. 80F is the standard temperature that tempered chocolate should be held at to work with, such as for pouring into molds and forms. Just make sure that whatever you do, cool the chocolate at about 60F or less once it is ready to set.

←

Justin, you recommend some unusual temperatures. Most sources recommend melting to 120F, and a working temperature from 85 to 90F depending on the chocolate. Any chocolate I've worked with becomes noticeably thicker as it approaches 80F. Please explain.

←

A quick guide to tempering chocolate correctly, albeit in Celsius, can be found here:

Vantage House Guide to Tempering Chocolate.

I thought about mentioning Mycryo for solving the original poster's problem but if she's having difficulty keeping bar chocolate in temper, then Mycryo would be an expensive mistake.

←

True, but I thought she was going to hold off on toying around until the temperature of her house was more sustainable for holding chocolate of any kind.

Edited February 7, 2009 by pastrychefjustin (log)

[pastrychefjustin]

P.S. In my experience, when live deals you melted chocolate, make chocolate milk.. .

[LucyInAust]

Thanks ... we had another hot day on the weekend (and major bushfires nearby) ... so I can't see much point trying to rescue it until I actually need to use it (and I'm just eating the bars ... though they lose a bit of their appeal when they don't melt quite the right way in the mouth).

I do have a tin of cocoa butter (I assume it is the same brand mentioned above) ... but that will have been heated to the same temperatures??

If I've got time on Friday night I plan to have a go with some of it. Luckily I'll only be feeding it to friends/family and they wont care if the temper is far off!

I know people have wine fridges ... I'm about to renovate ... maybe I need to investigate a chocolate fridge!

We've still got at least another month or two where the temperatures will get high ... looks like I'd better take advantage of the cool days and start using up that chocolate (my friends are going to love me!).

Thanks for all the information!