Couverture: Sources, Favorites, Storage, Troubleshooting

[rebgold]

I would never use Merckens and decent chocolate in the same sentence, lol. In fact, I really don't like eating something that shares that name,(different spelling) with that other item, lol!

[chocofoodie]

Hey all,

I was wondering what happens to couverture when it gets old? I've put couverture into my tempering machine but it's resisting melting if that makes any sense. Is this because it's old or is this because of improper storage? I also tried melting the chocolate in a bain marie it is also not right.

[gap]

could it be improper storage has allowed moisture into the product?

[chocofoodie]

How does that happen? As far as I know, it is dry. The place it is stored is completely dry. But it might sometimes get warm.

[YetiChocolates]

I've noticed when I've had couverture for a certain amount of time that I've tempered over and over that it gets a little more tempermental (hehe) when you temper it, it's almost like the crystals don't align as well, but I've never had a problem with actually just melting it...weird!

[Edward J]

"resisting" melting sounds wierd. If it's just heavy sludge in the melter but the packaging says a true couverture, then moisture is your culprit. If the couverture was stored in a cold area and then warmed up, it will sieze or turn to slugde--same culprit: Moisture.

Dark couverture usually has a shelf life of 2 years from the factory. However, I have used 3 and 4 yur old couverture with absolutely no issues. Miopk and white are usually guaranteed 9 and 6 mths, but only because the milk powder might go rancid.

Hope this helps

[Kerry Beal]

I assume this is chocolate that has not resisted melting before - I'd think that it has somehow taken on moisture if it won't melt now.

[Lisa Shock]

Years ago I was taught that if it was stored properly, it would last upwards of ten years.

My guess is that since sugar is hygroscopic, the sugar in it has taken up moisture from the air.

[Mjx]

How does that happen? As far as I know, it is dry. The place it is stored is completely dry. But it might sometimes get warm.

Could a lot of the fat have bloomed out? This does tend to happen if it gets too warm.

[chocofoodie]

Exactly, it's a heavy sludge! Oh no! But it didn't get wet at all, I am positive. I know conditions in that cupboard are not ideal, it's near the oven, but it has never gotten wet. The white was the same a couple of months back. I will have to test the dark. This was the milk. It's Cocoa Barry.

[chocofoodie]

The chocolate did bloom. Could this be the fat leaving that someone mentioned?

[Mjx]

The chocolate did bloom. Could this be the fat leaving that someone mentioned?

That's exactly what it is. It must have got too warm at some point or other. How thick was the block or slab, and how severe was the blooming?

[Edward J]

Fat bloom doesn't affect melting or tempering.

I don't know what the realtive humidity is in the O.P.'s area, but if the packaging was unsealed it could have sucked up mositure from the air.

The "sludge" is the key word here, as this will only happen if moisture was introduced into the couverture.

[Mjx]

Fat bloom doesn't affect melting or tempering.

I don't know what the realtive humidity is in the O.P.'s area, but if the packaging was unsealed it could have sucked up mositure from the air.

The "sludge" is the key word here, as this will only happen if moisture was introduced into the couverture.

A heavy bloom on a thin slab can definitely affect the way it melts, and chocolate just doesn't absorb much moisture, although it can certainly accumulate on the surface. Especially if it was stored next to an oven, heat seems a more likely culprit than moisture.

Need more data!

[chocofoodie]

I will try to upload pictures. They are pellets, it's not a slab. It's a 5 kilo box of the Cocoa Barry Lactee Superieure 38.2 % Pistoles. The box is almost finished, I was making these chocolates to finish it off so I can buy a new one. The dates on the box are: Prod. Date: 20-08-2009 and Best Before 20-02-2011. I would characterise the fat bloom as excessive. It's the first time I have tried to work with it in this condition. I don't know if it bloomed because of proximity to the oven, because of age, or some other factor. Just to make a point though, the white chocolate is stored in the same cupboard and also had the "resistance to melting" problem before this problem was in the milk chocolate, and it doesn't have noticeable bloom.

[Edward J]

Fat bloom doesn't affect melting or tempering.

I don't know what the realtive humidity is in the O.P.'s area, but if the packaging was unsealed it could have sucked up mositure from the air.

The "sludge" is the key word here, as this will only happen if moisture was introduced into the couverture.

A heavy bloom on a thin slab can definitely affect the way it melts, and chocolate just doesn't absorb much moisture, although it can certainly accumulate on the surface. Especially if it was stored next to an oven, heat seems a more likely culprit than moisture.

Uhh...No. At work I have a smaller 5 kg melter that I use exclusively for kids' parties. When I'm done, I crank it up to 45C and strain it, and pour it back into the melter. When it cools, it has a heavy grey fat bloom. When I need it again, I melt it at 45 C and temper it with new couverture. No problems, and have doing it this way for years.

Chocolate will absorb moisture from the air, and the O.P. tells us that it is coins/pellets in an almost empty box. Coins/pellets are nice to work with but becasue they are small they have a much larger surface area than a slab (by weight) and can and do absorb more moisture.

Chocofoodie, what you should get is a hygrometer or device that tells you the r/h (relative humidity) of the area you work in. The devices are very cheap and can be siple affairs or electronic devices. Don't work with chocolate when the r/h is above 65%, or you will get sludge in your melter.

Need more data!

[chocofoodie]

Thank you so much for all your help everyone. So now I know: 1. Don't keep the boxes near the oven. 2. Dont buy pellets! 3. Get a hygrometer.

Wow, and I just thought the chocolate was too old. That's why I love this forum!

[Edward J]

Pellets are fine, it's just that you have to use up the bag quickly, or seal it up very tightly.

It's not the heat from the oven that's casuing your chocoalte to "sieze up" or go to sludge, it's moisture that's either on the pellets or in the air.

[Mjx]

Pellets are fine, it's just that you have to use up the bag quickly, or seal it up very tightly.

It's not the heat from the oven that's casuing your chocoalte to "sieze up" or go to sludge, it's moisture that's either on the pellets or in the air.

I agree, pellets are fine. But heat makes as much difference as moisture (storing cool and dry is crucial), particularly when you have pellets, because their surface to volume ratio means that if they get warm, a relatively large percentage of the cacao butter (i.e. the fraction of the chocolate that makes it melt nicely) can bloom out, so when you try to melt, you're likely to get an oily puddle with a clump of sludge. Moisture that is present on the exterior of the chocolate is more manageable (as you know, if you've ever made a water ganache), although moisture that is present in the interior (might happen if a lot of the fat bloomed, leaving the chocolate below the surface lower in fat, and better able to absorb moisture) might cause the chocolate to sieze.

[Lisa Shock]

A vacuum sealer might be be a good thing for you to acquire.

[Edward J]

Mjx,

I work with chocolate 6 days a week, 12 hrs a day,a nd now that Christmas is around the corner, 7 days a week. This is how I earn my living and feed my family

Standard procedure for me is to melt my couverture to 45-50 Celcius so it is out of temper, then turn off the melter. I can temper couverture with fat bloom with no problems, and have been doing so for many years now. Even with some dark couvertures heated to 55 Celcius, I have never had "an oily mess" or sludge. When moisture is introduced however, it's game over, and the whole lot goes into the brownie bowl.

Try it out.

Fat bloom just means that the cocoa butter crystals have morphed to another stage and they can easily be brought back to beta 5 stage.

Sugar bloom, on the other hand, means that the sugar has been dissolved by moisture (there is no water in chocolate)and has re-crystalized on the surface. This is almost impossible to retemper

[Mjx]

Never heard of sugar bloom, does it look very different from fat bloom? And, given that chocolate has no water (since the fluid phase of it is a far), it doesn't seem likely that it could absorb any, unless the fat migrates out, leaving the solids better able to pick up; is this it, or is there some other mechanism? From a physical/chemical standpoint, I can't figure it any other way, and the only chocolate I've ever had play up on me (in a way that sounds similar to this) was thin, and very heavily bloomed, and stored in a nice warm cabinet over the oven (I've only once had a damp kitchen, but quite a few that had not a single cool corner).

[Edward J]

Sugar bloom looks similiar to fat bloom.

Take some chocolate and put it in the fridge for a day or two. Take it out and leave it on the counter. A light waterfilm will form on it--as does on just about everything else going fom one temperature zone to another ("dew point") The chocolate doesn't absorb water, water forms on it, and dissolves the sugar. After a few hours the surface of the chocolate will feel sticky, and a few hours later, the sugar recystalizes and turns white on the surface of the chocoalte.

Humidity from the air will do this to.

Most books about chocolate will describe fat bloom and sugar bloom.

Hope this helps

[chocofoodie]

Do you end up adding more cocoa butter to the chocolate?

Since my last post I have ordered

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Streamline-uxp030630-Kontrol-Moisture-Trap/dp/B00354PZGM/ref=sr_1_25?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1321044621&sr=1-25

and a basic hygrometer.

Hopefully this will help.

[gap]

The chocolate doesn't absorb water, water forms on it, and dissolves the sugar. After a few hours the surface of the chocolate will feel sticky, and a few hours later, the sugar recystalizes and turns white on the surface of the chocoalte.

just to add to Edward J's post - fat bloom typically feels "greasy" if you run your finger over it and sugar bloom feels "rough" (ie., like sugar crystals). And I agree with Edward J, I always dump excess chocolate after production into a large container and let it set before I store it - guaranteed to produce fat bloom. Next time I need, it, however, I just re-melt and re-temper it and everything is fine.

Edited November 12, 2011 by gap (log)