EZtemper - The Help You Need to Achieve Perfectly Tempered Chocolate FAST!

[gfron1]

We'll see how it went in the morning. My really stupid question is - how do you all measure your butter? I had 2k couveture at temp and when I went to get the butter I was concerned that I would change the temp in the time it took to weight it and get it in. Is it not that sensitive? I ploughed ahead but need to get home so I'll see how they turn out in the morning.

[Chocolot]

If container of chocolate can be weighed, I put the whole thing on the scales and add accordingly. If not, I have weighed in a small cup or even just put the knife on the scales. Mostly, I just guess:). If you are adding a lot, it is easier to put the CB in a small bowl, then add some chocolate to it and then all into the whole pot, like tempering eggs. It is very forgiving. Want a report back!

[gfron1]

well I had two issues that complicate things. My weather isn't cooperating. I couldn't get my room below 22º, and I warmed the EZTemper for only 13 hours, not 24 and my cocoa butter was lumpy. I should have just waiting til this morning when the room was cooler and butter was fully softened. I do have bloom and stick. I've got to get these out for tonight, which is why I rushed.

[Kerry Beal]

Rob - do you cool in the fridge after you have poured?

[gfron1]

If you're talking about the shelling - no, well, at least not last night because my room was getting closer to 20º. Right now I've got them filled and in my wine cellar 50ºF (sorry I think celcius only with chocolates), so I can get the skin so I can cap this afternoon. I'll pop in the freezer tonight to encourage them to come out.

[Kerry Beal]

Shells (and bars) do best if put in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes at the point where they are rapidly crystallizing. It's that latent heat of crystallization that causes streaks by overheating the chocolate next to the bits that are crystallizing quickly. I suspect the better the temper - the more rapid the crystallization - the more heat produced.

[Kerry Beal]

Couple of projects so far today - the first was making some hazelnut gianduja. 

 

 

1400 g milk chocolate, 600 grams pure hazelnut paste 

 

 

stirred together and cooled to about 28C.

 

 

 

 

 

1% seed added and stirred in

 

 

note the change in the appearance as the mixture crystallizes

 

 

poured into a couple of 500 gram bar molds 

 

 

Some used to engross roasted hazelnuts, finished with some milk chocolate - was going to put a powder on but I love the appearance I got without. 

[Kerry Beal]

Anna and I are always spoiled rotten at the Reuse Centre (read - get a reasonable discount) - but nothing comes without a cost!  So I'm putting together a basket for the mom of one of the girls who works there - we provide chocolate and occasional medical advice.

 

So added to a few odds and ends I had around - I decided to make some peaches and cream bark with freeze dried peaches and ice cream.

 

 

Freeze dried parts

 

 

1% seed added to 34º C dark chocolate

 

 

 

 

10 minutes later!

[gfron1]

My bonbons were disasterous. Just popped them out and clearly my coloring cocoa butter was off temper, my room was off temperature...everything was just off. I guess I'll crank out some paté de fruit very quickly for tonight's fundraiser. Damn. I'll be patient and try out the EZtemper when my environment is more cooperative.

[Kerry Beal]

That is such a shame Rob. With a little fiddling you might find that it actually helps you when the weather is less cooperative - but the first time is clearly not the time to experiment!

[Kerry Beal]

I'm quite pleased with myself!

 

One of the stumbling blocks for some the bean to bar manufacturers is that they wish to be two ingredient only - cacao and sugar. They don't want to add 'foreign' cocoa butter in order to temper. Trials into using the bean to bar chocolate itself as the seed has been less than encouraging.

 

So when one of the bean to bar guys who had seen the EZtemper said he was considering one if he could extract his own cocoa butter - that got me thinking. I actually have ordered a little oil press called a Piteba from Holland and will play with that when it arrives - but a YouTube video of

 extracting cocoa butter reminded me of cracking coconut milk or frying the spices in a curry paste - and I started experiments into 'stovetop extraction' of cocoa butter.

 

I have a new Indian spice grinder since my Sumeet started giving me trouble. I put a couple of handfuls of cacao nibs in the grinder and let her rip for 5 minutes or so until I got liquor.

 

 

 

 

Added some water and cooked down until the fat started to separate out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collected the cocoa butter a bit at a time as it was released.

 

 

 

 

Gave it a chance to reach room temperature - then placed in the EZtemper for a few hours until it was silky.

 

 

 

Used it to temper a batch of 'nib to bar' that I made - again using the spice grinder. Will put up pictures of the finished bars later - had to leave for work before they were ready to knock out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Anna N]

Kerry Beal you never cease to amaze me and Inspire me. You have a huge vocabulary but it's missing one word --"can't".

[Tri2Cook]

You have a huge vocabulary but it's missing one word --"can't".

No kidding. I'm not sure she can surprise me anymore (because I have no doubt she can do anything she sets her mind to), but she continuously amazes me with the way she sets her sights on a problem and relentlessly goes after it until she solves it or shows conclusively that it can't be done.

 

[Kerry Beal]

The end result - a couple of bars of cocoa mass - unsweetened. Will use these to play with stevia when we get up north.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[teonzo]

IMG_1150 (1).jpg

 

IMG_1153 (1).jpg

 

 

 

Wow, they look totally smooth! No added cocoa butter, ground with blades and no mills? Impressive.

 

Can you break one of the bars and post a photo of the section? Thanks.

 

 

 

Teo

[Kerry Beal]

Wow, they look totally smooth! No added cocoa butter, ground with blades and no mills? Impressive.

 

Can you break one of the bars and post a photo of the section? Thanks.

 

 

 

Teo

Sure - but I'm working a 24 hour shift - will do it tomorrow. It did occur to me last night I should do it!

[Kerry Beal]

 

Here you go - not perfectly smooth as you can see - but I only let the Preethi run til it liquified. Would be smoother if I ran longer.

[gfron1]

Alright, my last attempt was a mess because my room was way too warm. Today I finally had a decent temp in the room. I left my EZTemper on for 24 hours and everything was just how I wanted it. I did a few trays of transfer sheets and every one of them came out perfectly.  My question is now how will the EZ Temper interact with my tempering machine? Do I just use the EZ and melter or do I use the EZ with my Bakon. And if I use it with the Bakon, I assume I would just melt to working temp, add the butter and turn the wheel on. Is this right?

[Kerry Beal]

Yup - depending on the condition of the chocolate when you start in the Bakon you might want to heat then cool down to 33.5 - take out a quantity of chocolate - add the seed, add that back into the mass. I'd probably start with 0.5% initially and test the temper and see if you want to add another 0.5. Because the Bakon is a wheel machine you'll get over tempered more quickly than with the melter. 

Edited October 8, 2015 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Chocolot]

Rob, I use the EZ mostly for smaller batches and ganaches. That being said, I have used it with my wheel machine. Like Kerry says, pull out some chocolate and mix in the silk, then back into the rest, like tempering egg yolks. It just makes it mix in easier. You are going to love it!!

[Jim D.]

Rob, I use the EZ mostly for smaller batches and ganaches. That being said, I have used it with my wheel machine. Like Kerry says, pull out some chocolate and mix in the silk, then back into the rest, like tempering egg yolks. It just makes it mix in easier. You are going to love it!!

As I am about to join the ranks of EZTemper folks, I need to ask what percentage of silk you add (above, Kerry suggested 0.5%, but I had thought 1% was the norm, as it is with Mycryo).  I have a Chocovision Delta (and a Rev2 for small batches).  From the EZ instructions, I will need to reprogram the Delta to account for adding the silk at a somewhat higher temp than when using already-tempered choc. as seed.  Chocovision says to add the seed when the choc. has just melted, then let the seed melt as the choc. cools down to the temper point.  This will require some adjustment (I have become convinced that leaving the seed in all that time helps create over-tempered choc. and have started waiting for the temp to drop to around 95F/35C before I drop in the seed).

[Kerry Beal]

Jim - I'd start with 1% - then just watch to see how long it takes before you are getting over tempered chocolate - if too soon - drop to 0.5%.

[gfron1]

I finally had favorable weather and EZTemper worked like a charm.

[Jim D.]

gfron1,

So what's under those beautiful domes?

[Kerry Beal]

Glad to hear - what are your flavours?

 

Perhaps I should get you to write a recipe for my website!

Edited October 10, 2015 by Kerry Beal (log)