Using the Chocovision Mini Rev Tempering Machine

[Justing30]

Hello I'm hoping someone can help me out. I recently purchased the small Chocovision tempering machine for an amazing price. I did a couple test batches and they turned out fine. I do have some newbie questions though about this if someone can help me please.

1. When I place my initial amount in there to melt, say it says it's ready to add seed chocolate, can I wait until the rest of it is melted before I add the seed chocolate?

2. After I add the seed chocolate and it says it's in temper, do I leave the machine running to maintain temper or turn it off and just use the chocolate quickly?

3. If I needed more chocolate, do I have to start the whole process over or is there a way to add more chocolate to the already melted and tempered chocolate?

Thanks!

[keychris]

I am not familiar with this machine, but I will say:

1) Yes - it's probably just holding the chocolate at 45-50C

2) Leave it running, else the working temperature won't be maintained. If it's constantly moving the chocolate, be aware of over crystallisation

3) You can add small amounts of warm chocolate to tempered chocolate, but you do need to be careful to not raise the temperature too high which would melt all of your beta crystals and lose temper.

 

HTH (at least until someone with this machine replies!) Where's Jim D, he has a Chocovision, not this model though

Edited February 16, 2015 by keychris (log)

[Jim D.]

Hello I'm hoping someone can help me out. I recently purchased the small Chocovision tempering machine for an amazing price. I did a couple test batches and they turned out fine. I do have some newbie questions though about this if someone can help me please.

1. When I place my initial amount in there to melt, say it says it's ready to add seed chocolate, can I wait until the rest of it is melted before I add the seed chocolate?

2. After I add the seed chocolate and it says it's in temper, do I leave the machine running to maintain temper or turn it off and just use the chocolate quickly?

3. If I needed more chocolate, do I have to start the whole process over or is there a way to add more chocolate to the already melted and tempered chocolate?

Thanks!

I am the Jim D. referred to by Keychris, and I have the Rev2 (for small batches) and the Delta machines.  Here are my thoughts on your questions:

 

1. If the chocolate has not melted when it has reached the set temperature, I keep going until it has melted, and then add the seed.  If you are using new, tempered chocolate, it probably doesn't matter too much, except that your final quantity will be lower.  If you are using "old" chocolate not in temper, however, you should definitely let it all melt, then start the tempering process.

 

2. Yes, you let the machine run while you are using the chocolate.  As Chris said, however, over-crystallization (and therefore thickening) is likely to occur--how soon depends on the nature of the chocolate you are using and the humidity of the room.  If it does get too viscous to use, use a heat gun or hair dryer to heat it up a little (the other Chocovision machines have buttons to raise and lower the temperature).

 

3. You can add more chocolate to already-tempered chocolate, but with some care.  Here is what the Mini-Rev manual says:

----------

You can replenish the pool of chocolate by adding pre-melted batches behind the baffle while in the TEMPER mode.  We recommend that the pre-melted chocolate temperature does not exceed 34 C. (94 F.).

----------

Note that the added chocolate does not need to be tempered (the Type V crystals already in the bowl will seed the newly added chocolate), and particularly if your chocolate has thickened too much, you do not want the new chocolate to be in temper.  Be careful that the new chocolate is not too warm or it will melt the Type V crystals, and your chocolate will not be in temper.  I check the temperature with a thermometer after adding more chocolate to be sure.

 

I'll try to answer any other questions you may have.

[Darienne]

I have a small Chocovision tempering machine and have used it for years with no problems at all.  I do agree with everything that Jim D has said and add one more possible proviso.

 

Never have I had unmelted chocolate in the bowl when the machine tells me it's time to add additional chocolate for the seeding process.  But then I have never put more than the amount of chocolate in the bowl which the machine puts as its upper limit.  (I can't recall the upper limit...the machine is at a friend's house...I think it's 1 1/2  pounds perhaps?) I always weigh the chocolate before I put it into the bowl.

 

So nice that you got your machine for a wonderful price...I did too.

[Jim D.]

Never have I had unmelted chocolate in the bowl when the machine tells me it's time to add additional chocolate for the seeding process.  But then I have never put more than the amount of chocolate in the bowl which the machine puts as its upper limit.  (I can't recall the upper limit...the machine is at a friend's house...I think it's 1 1/2  pounds perhaps?) I always weigh the chocolate before I put it into the bowl.

 

I have occasionally had unmelted chocolate when the machine says to add seed (this happens rarely since I started using chocolates that call for a higher melting point, 118F. for the dark I now use).  If the OP doesn't have much unmelted, I don't think it is worth being concerned about, but if there is a large quantity, it could mean the temperature of the machine is inaccurate.  I believe the Rev2 defaults to a melt temp of 108F. for dark, and that is probably what the Mini-Rev does as well.  I would check it with a thermometer, and if the reading is considerably off, I would contact Chocovision.

[Justing30]

Thanks so much for the replies! I have only been doing some very small batches in it and it's leaving approx 10-12 disc in the back when it says to seed so I will have to check the temperature. Now with adding the melted chocolate that's what I was wondering. Say I have a batch tempered and the machine is still running. Would I essentially just put some in the microwave to melt it and the put it in the back of the bowl and it will start to slowly mix with the tempered choclate and become tempered itself?

Also I was at Trader Joes today and they had some of the pound plus bars. I purchased the milk, dark and 72% dark. The milk and dark both have cocoa butter listed but the 72% dark list cocoa mass and solids. Is that still considered a couverture that would need tempered?

Thanks so much again. This learning process is fun and addictive lol

[Jim D.]

On adding extra chocolate:  I think somewhere Chocovision recommends not adding more than 1/3 of the amount you already have tempered in the bowl.  Getting this right takes some planning; in other words, you can't wait until the bowl is almost empty and then add the already-melted chocolate.  As I said previously, if your chocolate is thickening up, make sure the new chocolate is not tempered, so use the microwave or double boiler to get it around 115-120 F., then let it cool to the 90 F. range and add it.  Let it mix with the already-tempered chocolate, and you should in a few minutes have more tempered chocolate ready for use.  If you can manage to keep the new chocolate around 90 F. (for dark), you can keep adding small amounts as you work.  I always test the temper after adding additional chocolate.

 

I believe others on this forum have said that the Trader Joe's pound-plus bars are actually Callebaut.  According to Amazon, the pound-plus 72% has the following ingredients: Cocoa Mass, sugar, cocoa powder, soy lecithin. Cocoa solids 72% min.  Anything that is not just "unsweetened chocolate" (cocoa solids and cocoa butter) is going to have some sugar in it.

 

If you want to use the chocolate for molding or dipping, all couvertures have to be tempered.  Of course they are already tempered (one assumes) when you buy them, and, in theory, if you were able to melt them slowly to their proper working temperatures, then you would not need to do any tempering, but it takes so much skill and patience to accomplish this feat that most people just melt them, then temper them.

 

Yes, working with chocolate is addictive--and expensive.  Wait until you try to stop yourself from buying more and more molds.

[keychris]

 the 72% dark list cocoa mass and solids. Is that still considered a couverture that would need tempered?

 

Dark couverture is simply cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar (with a little vanilla and emulsifier). Milk couverture: add more sugar and milk solids. White couverture: don't add the cocoa solids, add more sugar and milk solids.

 

so the answer to your question is yes, temper it. You can't temper compound chocolate, which has basically had all the expensive cocoa butter removed and replaced with a cheaper vegetable oil.

[lebowits]

 

Yes, working with chocolate is addictive--and expensive.  Wait until you try to stop yourself from buying more and more molds.

 

What?  I'm supposed to stop?

[Justing30]

Thanks everyone's! Tomorrow is an all chocolate day now!

[chanjying]

I've been thinking about getting one--do you mind sharing your sources for the good price? 400 just seems so high for me, since I've read uneven reviews...

thanks!

[Darienne]

Found mine on eBay...but it was a long time ago.

[Jim D.]

The best prices I have found are at Sarah's Sweet Fountains:  currently the Mini-Rev is $358, the Rev 2 is $815--and shipping is included.  If you think you may be doing more than just dabbling in chocolate and if you can afford it, I strongly recommend the Rev 2 over the Mini-Rev.  The two machines have the same capacity (1.5 lbs.), but with the Rev 2 you can control the temperature more closely (you can read further comments from me in this thread).  An alternative, of course, is to temper by hand; for me, the hard part of this procedure is keeping the chocolate in temper while you are using it.

[chanjying]

Thanks! I'll check e-bay but my guess is I'll probably be tempering by hand for a while...

[Justing30]

So I. Using a Chocovision mini rev to temper my chocolate and it's driving me crazy because it doesn't seem to be in temper. For instance I did a batch the other day that was 80% of a 72% dark couverture and 20% of a 56% dark couverture. When the machine said it was tempered my thermometer showed about 88 degrees ( I have one of those point with a laser thermometers) so with it made about 8 bars and they all had swirl marks on the back but 4 had that Carmel color swirl to them.

How can some from the same batch look like it's in temper and others not?

Thanks!

[Justing30]

I honestly picked mine up at a local liquidation auction. It was just kind of a lucky thing I was there and it went up for auction. Got it brand new for $80. But I seem to be having issues with it saying my chocolate is in temper but when I mold it and it sits I can see the separation.

[gfron1]

Not sure if its the same thing, but...just last week after months/years of on and off success, I decided to double check my infrared's accuracy. It was reading 2-3ºC high. I adjusted and since then every batch has been perfect. So my advice - check the temp with a probe device.

[keychris]

Gfron offers the best advice - calibrate your thermometer. If you have access to a probe style thermometer to get the temp of the chocolate below the surface, try that too.

 

Did you do a test of the chocolate on a spatula to confirm the temper was correct before you ran with it? Remember that tempering is a misleading name - whilst temperature is important, it's not about that - it's about the crystals that are being formed. So if you didn't have enough seed crystals in the machine, it wouldn't be in temper even if it was at the correct temperature.

[Lisa Shock]

Make sure to regulate the room temperature, check that any spot lighting isn't overly warm, and don't hold the molds in your hands for very long -the heat from your fingers can make the molds too warm.

[cmflick]

So I. Using a Chocovision mini rev to temper my chocolate and it's driving me crazy because it doesn't seem to be in temper. For instance I did a batch the other day that was 80% of a 72% dark couverture and 20% of a 56% dark couverture. When the machine said it was tempered my thermometer showed about 88 degrees ( I have one of those point with a laser thermometers) so with it made about 8 bars and they all had swirl marks on the back but 4 had that Carmel color swirl to them.

How can some from the same batch look like it's in temper and others not?

Thanks!

I always had problems like this with my Rev2 until I started using the longer tempering process.  I think that it's called temper 2 where the chocolate is taken down to about 85F and then brought back up to 88.7.  When I used temper 1, I always got swirls and had trouble releasing from molds.

[Justing30]

Thanks for the tips!  My mini rev only has a setting for white, milk and dark.  Im going to pick up another thermometer tomorrow and try and see what temps that tells me.  I wasnt checking the temper i was just taking the machines word for it essentially.  We keep the house at about 65 degree F, but have a light in the kitchen that does put off a lot of heat.  

[keychris]

I wasnt checking the temper i was just taking the machines word for it essentially.

 

Lesson learned: Always take a test before starting to use the chocolate It's important that you understand what the test is showing you though and how to fix it - make sure you read up on exactly what the tempering process is doing to the chocolate.