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Chocolate making: Things I learned in my early months

anonymouse

By anonymouse
in Pastry & Baking

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

I would say Hans Brunner gets my vote for 3D if you can get them. 

 

I’m sure there is a HB bonbon mold or two in my vast collection but not bought new. 

 

Chocolate World makes excellent bar and bonbon molds, Cabrallon as well, the Cacao Barry molds are good but not sure of the new material yet and they aren’t see through. 

 

Agree with @curls  about some of the other Italian molds - fussy and thin.

 

Chocolat-Chocolat has CW1612 and CW1936

 

Oh yeah - I love the JVK molds I have but it was a challenge to get them.

 

 

Kerry, how do you think the JVK egg molds compare to those from Hans Brunner?  Particularly with regard to where the seam halves come together?  For better or for worse I have a feeling at least with regard to chocolate molds one gets pretty much what one pays for and the JVK are a lot less expensive.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

Another batch of bars:

 

Bars12182018.png

 

 

These looked better in real life than in the picture.  If they were all like this I wouldn't complain.  Too much.

 

 

Party12182018.png

 

 

Four dozen bars wrapped and ready for this morning's holiday party at work.  Copper are dark, blue are milk.

 

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, sbain said:

Nice wrapping! Any inclusions or flavors in your bars? I am thinking about doing some bars for the first time and looking for ideas.

 

Thank you.  No inclusions or flavors.  The wrapping materials are from Foilman.  I chose a stock size but they can cut foil to order.  The sheets are paper backed silver foil in a range of colors.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Jim D.

Jim D.

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Thank you.  No inclusions or flavors.  The wrapping materials are from Foilman.  I chose a stock size but they can cut foil to order.  The sheets are paper backed silver foil in a range of colors.

 

That foil is a very interesting idea. I looked at the Foilman site and did not see the thickness of the paper-backed foil. Could you describe approximately how thick it feels? How does it compare to regular foil (such as Reynold's)? I'm looking for something to cover chocolates in a box, and because I'm dealing with a custom size, regular candy pads won't fit. I would need something fairly rigid, or at least something that would not bend easily.

www.santiagochocolates.com

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Jim D. said:

That foil is a very interesting idea. I looked at the Foilman site and did not see the thickness of the paper-backed foil. Could you describe approximately how thick it feels? How does it compare to regular foil (such as Reynold's)? I'm looking for something to cover chocolates in a box, and because I'm dealing with a custom size, regular candy pads won't fit. I would need something fairly rigid, or at least something that would not bend easily.

 

I measure the thickness of the Foilman foil to be 3 mils.  There is no way I could describe how thick that feels.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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akonsu

akonsu

Posted
Posted
On 1/13/2018 at 1:40 PM, anonymouse said:

Life got better when I stopped trying to scrape moulds with a regular palette knife.  I found we had two Japanese okomoniyaki spatulas from Japanese cooking which were perfect!

@anonymouse thanks, this is a very useful post for me, as I am also trying to learn this. When you say "palette knife", what do you mean? Are you referring to a palette knife that painters/artists use? These come in a lot of different shapes and sizes, which one did you use before you switched to a okonomiyaki spatula? Also, I suppose that you use okonomiyaki just because you already had it, so you did not need to get anything else, right? There is no need to search for okonomiyaki specifically, I can get a "regular" scraping spatula for chocolate, right?

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

1325 apparently 

 

That's what google told me too but the source sounded less than authoritative.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

That's what google told me too but the source sounded less than authoritative.

 

I'm not motivated to test it - you?

the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

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teonzo

teonzo

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

What is the density of melted, tempered chocolate?

 

You did not specify which kind of chocolate and at what temperature.

 

 

 

Teo

 

Teo

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Kerry Beal said:

I'm not motivated to test it - you?

 

If I had a cubic meter and a swimming pool.  What I do have is a reference librarian.

 

@teonzo intentionally I did not specify what kind of chocolate, however I assumed "melted, tempered chocolate" denoted a fairly narrow range of temperature.  If makes it easier, just tell me the density of 72 percent dark at 32C.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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teonzo

teonzo

Posted
Posted
27 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 intentionally I did not specify what kind of chocolate, however I assumed "melted, tempered chocolate" denoted a fairly narrow range of temperature.

 

<broomstick_up_there geek mode on>

If we want to be precise then we should specify everything! Even altitude and atmospheric pressure!

I just looked in my Minifie book, no data on chocolate density whatsoever.

I gave a look at Wolfram Alpha too, expecting to find a detailed multidimensional graph that would give the answer for all possible combinations. Nothing! I'm supremely disappointed!

<broomstick_up_there geek mode off>

 

 

 

27 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

If makes it easier, just tell me the density of 72 percent dark at 32C. 

 

This is really funny, since the only chocolate I have at home is a 72% dark, today I baked some meringues which I was planning to dip in chocolate in the next days. So I am in the position to answer to this question without much hassle when I'll finish those meringues. But before I need to bake other batches (I can't stop eating chocolate dipped meringues), one of them will be an experimental dried porcini meringue (I'm serious about this).

 

 

 

Teo

 

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Teo

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

Unfortunately I did not come up with a good answer for the density at work.  The reason for the question is to calculate how much chocolate I need to melt to fill a mold.  The mold is a hollow mold, not solid.  I measure the volume of the mold to be 4,276 ml.

 

Thoughts?

 

Related to this there is a complication that the mold does sit flat.  Not even close.  I need to prop up the corners somehow to make it level.  I have a ring stand and clamps but given the size of the mold I think I need something more industrial, like tomato cans.  Or lower tech like bath towels.

 

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Chocolot

Chocolot

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Unfortunately I did not come up with a good answer for the density at work.  The reason for the question is to calculate how much chocolate I need to melt to fill a mold.  The mold is a hollow mold, not solid.  I measure the volume of the mold to be 4,276 ml.

 

Thoughts?

 

Related to this there is a complication that the mold does sit flat.  Not even close.  I need to prop up the corners somehow to make it level.  I have a ring stand and clamps but given the size of the mold I think I need something more industrial, like tomato cans.  Or lower tech like bath towels.

 

 

 

How about a pan of rice?

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Ruth Kendrick

Chocolot
Artisan Chocolates and Toffees
www.chocolot.com

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Chocolot said:

 

How about a pan of rice?

 

I have bags of Bomba, Basmati, and Bineshii.  Not to mention Tamaki, Carnaroli, and Arborio.  But not a big enough pan.

 

No, I take that back!  I measured.  One pan would just fit the mold by a fraction of an inch!  But we're talking about an awful lot of rice.  I may try setting the mold in the pan and see how level it works out.  But not tonight.

 

Thanks for the idea!

 

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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teonzo

teonzo

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Unfortunately I did not come up with a good answer for the density at work.  The reason for the question is to calculate how much chocolate I need to melt to fill a mold.  The mold is a hollow mold, not solid.  I measure the volume of the mold to be 4,276 ml.

 

Some questions.

Why do you need to fill it completely with chocolate? If you need a hollow piece, then there is no need to fill a big mold completely with chocolate. If you need a full solid chocolate figure that big (4 liters) then you'll face hell with latent heat of crystallization.

Why do you need to know the exact chocolate weight you need to fill the mold? It's always better to melt more chocolate and being sure (some chocolate always goes wasted during any passage), the exceeding chocolate will be re-used in another way. Unless you are planning to make some expensive one-of-a-kind chocolate with the melangeur. If you are planning in making blueberry chocolate or similars then it's totally understandable you don't want to make more considering the costs, but in this case knowing the density of melted tempered chocolate would not help you, since the density would be different and depend on what ingredients you use.

It's easier to help you if you explain your project. Unless it's a secret and you risk to find a Sith Lord at your door, of course.

 

 

 

Teo

 

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Teo

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Jim D.

Jim D.

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Unfortunately I did not come up with a good answer for the density at work.  The reason for the question is to calculate how much chocolate I need to melt to fill a mold.  The mold is a hollow mold, not solid.  I measure the volume of the mold to be 4,276 ml.

 

Thoughts?

 

Most manufacturers of molds provide a weight in grams for what a cavity will hold. I read somewhere (can't recall where) that this figure is calculated by molding milk chocolate in the cavity. I think that even if it's dark chocolate, the figure will be approximately the same. Obviously, if you multiply that figure by the number of cavities (in your case, there is just one), you will arrive at roughly how much chocolate the mold will hold. If you were using a mold with more cavities, you would also need to add extra to allow for the chocolate that lands between the cavities (I allow 40g for each mold for that figure). If you don't have the weight, could you just weigh a ml of chocolate and multiply by 4,276?

www.santiagochocolates.com

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

Sorry, no secrets intended, at least not from anybody reading here.  The mold is a Brunner SE-0110-G-L:

https://www.brunnershop.com/en/Spinning-Moulds/Eggs/Smooth-style/Egg-smooth-style-oxid-33.html

 

I had purchased Cacao Barry Tanzanie 75% (that I misremembered as 72%) for the application:

https://www.cacao-barry.com/en-US/chocolate-couverture-cocoa/chd-q75taz/tanzanie

 

But I think at least for my first attempt I'll use Felchlin Maracaibo Creole 49%, of which I have a lot:

https://www.felchlin.com/en/product/cacao-maracaibo

 

Good news that the mold half exactly fits in my large steel pan, almost if it were made for it.  Keeping the mold steady problem solved.  No rice harmed in this experiment.

 

But I'm still not sure how full to fill the mold.  Brunner does not say.  Although for their part number SE-0166-G-B they specify the chocolate article weight as 2400 g.

https://www.brunnershop.com/en/Spinning-Moulds/Eggs/Smooth-style/Egg-smooth-style-oxid-10.html

 

The SE-0166-G-B is the same shape as my SE-0110-G-L, and had I not failed geometry I could probably figure this out.  But if we assume an ellipsoid (which I know this isn't quite) the ratio of surface areas would be approximately 0.54 (I think).  Therefore to achieve the same thickness of chocolate I calculate 2400 g x 0.54, or let's say 1200 g.  Does this sound about right?

 

A small complication is I'm not sure I can properly temper 1200 g at one time.  I could try a kg and see what happens.  What think you?

 

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
Posted

If you can temper a kg then you can add some more melted chocolate to it once it's tempered. The tempered will temper the untempered as long as it's not too hot or too much.

 

 

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the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
41 minutes ago, keychris said:

How are you going to spin it?

 

I'd like to say on my spinning machine but since I don't have one, standing out in the snow with my two hands.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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keychris

keychris

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I'd like to say on my spinning machine but since I don't have one, standing out in the snow with my two hands.

 

 

heh, my technique. Except I don't have the snow 😂

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