Tempering (Tabling vs Seeding)

[Marion]

I don't understand this, my attempt to do some blue colouring went bad...

I added gel drops to my white melt after stirring it a few times I had this mess😣

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, Marion said:

I don't understand this, my attempt to do some blue colouring went bad...

I added gel drops to my white melt after stirring it a few times I had this mess😣

 

Do the gel drops have water?

 

[Anna N]

But is it chocolate?

 

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Sugar, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel And Palm Oils, Nonfat Milk Powder, Whole Milk Powder, Glyceryl Lacto Esters, Soy Lecithin - An Emulsifier, Salt, Artificial Flavor.

[Kerry Beal]

I’m guessing, as Jo has suggested, that it’s the ‘water’ competent of the gel causing the problem. Candy melts will seize just as well as chocolate will in the presence of liquids.

 

 

[Marion]

Thank you guy's,  I realize now it's Food Coloring...not for Chocolate but for Baking😅

 

I wish everybody here a Happy😊 Healthy 😍Prosperus 👍

Chocolate covered 2019🎉🎊😃🌰🥞

 

2019 is also in China the Year of the Pig..🐖..hope that brings luck for us💚

 

[SchiehallionHandmade]

On 12/31/2018 at 3:17 AM, Marion said:

Oh boy did I had go around trying to temper my chocolate....I watched countless YouTube videos have 2 kinds of Thermometer. 

I bought even pure cocoa butter, claims to make tempering easy.

NO MATTER WICH WAY IT ALWAYS LOOKS SO EASY.

 

My question are 2...1.if you had not use up all your tempered chocolate and you want to use it another time, do you have to go through the whole process again?

Also, if you melt coverturre chocolate, does it not come tempered?

Thanks a bunch.

 

 

 

 

I see you are using silicon moulds. If you wish your final product to have a shiny finish you really need to use polycarbonate moulds. These need to be perfectly clean before use, the smoother the inside of your mould, the smoother the surface of your finished chocolates.

[Avachocolate]

On 1/1/2019 at 1:44 AM, pastrygirl said:

 

I have a confession.  This batch of bars actually turned out relatively poorly, despite my apparently successful temper test.  A lot of dull spots and molding marks on the fronts, though the backs look fine.   I wrapped most of them to sell but pulled several for samples because they just didn't look perfect enough. 

 

Two thoughts:  I have an EZ Temper, why don't I use it every single time?  I don't know!  And maybe I'll finally join the other chocolatiers here who blame humidity.  It was 62F in the kitchen with 65% humidity.  🤔

Your humidity is definitely too high...I find that if I go over 50 % then things get wonky real quick....I live in the tropics and need to have a dehumidifier running in my chocolate room at all time...I keep it at between 35-40 %.

Also your temperature is a bit low....generally you want your room right at 21-22 degrees celsius...about 70-72 F.

With 62 F your chocolate will also set really quick and be quite a pain to work with.

 

[keychris]

34 minutes ago, Avachocolate said:

generally you want your room right at 21-22 degrees celsius...about 70-72 F.

With 62 F your chocolate will also set really quick and be quite a pain to work with.

 

 

I believe the people who did Andrey Dubovic's Pralinarium course were told to keep room temperature around 18C. Still a bit higher than 62F though.

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, keychris said:

 

I believe the people who did Andrey Dubovic's Pralinarium course were told to keep room temperature around 18C. Still a bit higher than 62F though.

I think only one of us listened though - and it wasn't me - and I didn't get the same fabulous shine that @gfron1 did!

[Avachocolate]

1 hour ago, keychris said:

 

I believe the people who did Andrey Dubovic's Pralinarium course were told to keep room temperature around 18C. Still a bit higher than 62F though.

Well, I have never met anybody else that mentioned that number as a good temperature...and I have talked to many people whose chocolate expertise I consider much greater than mine and they all said 20-22...and that range also works great for me.

When I go below 20 degrees things tend to go a bit funny sometimes...

Of course if my workflow consisted of making pretty shells to post on instagram and then sell "masterclasses" then maybe I would try 18 C also ....just saying 😉

 

[pastrygirl]

13 hours ago, Avachocolate said:

Your humidity is definitely too high...I find that if I go over 50 % then things get wonky real quick....I live in the tropics and need to have a dehumidifier running in my chocolate room at all time...I keep it at between 35-40 %.

Also your temperature is a bit low....generally you want your room right at 21-22 degrees celsius...about 70-72 F.

With 62 F your chocolate will also set really quick and be quite a pain to work with.

 

 

It's rarely much below 50% humidity here, so I make it work - maybe that's why the cooler room temp does work for me - warmer plus humidity is really a nightmare.  Besides the frequent rain, my kitchen is on River St. - literally a block from an industrial waterway!  I find 60-64F to be a comfortable working temp, both for me and the chocolate.  I use more fluid chocolates and try to work fast.  I have a part time job where they keep things at 68F and I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt and still too hot. (Meanwhile the other chocolatier is wearing a sweater and freezing). A lot of crappy temper happens in that kitchen too - they do have AC for the summer but no de-humidifier (though we talked about getting one the other day).  But  they use thicker chocolate that I'm already having to thin with cocoa butter so yes, that would be even harder to deal with if it was cooler.

 

But I have been looking at de-humidifiers.  Does yours put out noticeable heat?  I don't want to simply trade one problem for another.  I don't have AC or even any heat beyond what the appliances put out, it's an industrial kitchen space.

[Jim D.]

35 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

But I have been looking at de-humidifiers.  Does yours put out noticeable heat?  I don't want to simply trade one problem for another.  I don't have AC or even any heat beyond what the appliances put out, it's an industrial kitchen space.

 

Exactly my concern. I have a dehumidifer in the basement, where the chocolate packaging in stored (it's a DeLonghi). It puts out a considerable amount of heat. I don't think I would want one in my kitchen. I don't recall if your kitchen space has AC or not, but if it does, AC lowers humidity--but not all that dramatically. On a hot, humid Virginia day (when I try not to make chocolates but sometimes must), I can eventually get the house temp down to around 65F, but the humidity is more difficult to get below 50%. I never make caramel on days like that.

[Marion]

I think I am getting better in tempering...I watch that I get no water or steam touching the bowl..using the boiler method.

Microwave is a little to drastic, and with the boiler method you can take your time a bit better.

But here is my new found problem...the Chocolate gets thick too fast.

What to do about this...after you tempered your Chocolate to the best of your abilities...

 

But my Chocolate thickens with a very short time...what is the best container to keep it workable...could I transfer it after Tempered to the Wilton Candy Melt pot to keep its fluidity?

[Kerry Beal]

15 minutes ago, Marion said:

I think I am getting better in tempering...I watch that I get no water or steam touching the bowl..using the boiler method.

Microwave is a little to drastic, and with the boiler method you can take your time a bit better.

But here is my new found problem...the Chocolate gets thick too fast.

What to do about this...after you tempered your Chocolate to the best of your abilities...

 

But my Chocolate thickens with a very short time...what is the best container to keep it workable...could I transfer it after Tempered to the Wilton Candy Melt pot to keep its fluidity?

Candy melt pot is too hot - you could attach it to an Ikea dimmer switch and dial the temperature down.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I can't help but mention the Precise Heat Mixing Bowl.

 

[Avachocolate]

6 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

 

It's rarely much below 50% humidity here, so I make it work - maybe that's why the cooler room temp does work for me - warmer plus humidity is really a nightmare.  Besides the frequent rain, my kitchen is on River St. - literally a block from an industrial waterway!  I find 60-64F to be a comfortable working temp, both for me and the chocolate.  I use more fluid chocolates and try to work fast.  I have a part time job where they keep things at 68F and I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt and still too hot. (Meanwhile the other chocolatier is wearing a sweater and freezing). A lot of crappy temper happens in that kitchen too - they do have AC for the summer but no de-humidifier (though we talked about getting one the other day).  But  they use thicker chocolate that I'm already having to thin with cocoa butter so yes, that would be even harder to deal with if it was cooler.

 

But I have been looking at de-humidifiers.  Does yours put out noticeable heat?  I don't want to simply trade one problem for another.  I don't have AC or even any heat beyond what the appliances put out, it's an industrial kitchen space.

I have a small room especially for chocolate work (about 12x15 feet) with a decent airconditioning unit...the dehumidifier is about the size of a small college dorm size fridge (not sure about the electricity / watt rating) and it really does not put out too much heat.

I do have to take out about a gallon of water from it each day.

Without the dehumidifier the AC unit will lower the humidity slightly on its own but not nearly enough to be useful...a dehumidifier is a must for me, cannot work with my chocolates above 50 % ( your workflow may vary of course)

[Marion]

On 1/14/2019 at 12:01 AM, Kerry Beal said:

Candy melt pot is too hot - you could attach it to an Ikea dimmer switch and dial the temperature down.

Thank you very much ...will have to Google Ikea dimmer..never heard about it.

Some say you can place the Chocolate back on the water pot to get the temp up to 90F...how warm dangerous  where you have to do the Tempering process all over?

[Kerry Beal]

6 hours ago, Marion said:

Thank you very much ...will have to Google Ikea dimmer..never heard about it.

Some say you can place the Chocolate back on the water pot to get the temp up to 90F...how warm dangerous  where you have to do the Tempering process all over?

I tend to use the microwave to melt - so I'll put the bowl back in for 7 seconds at a time, stirring after each nuke, until I get the temperature back up. I will do the same thing with a hairdryer/heat gun when I have to at a trade show.

[pastrygirl]

On 1/13/2019 at 8:45 PM, Marion said:

But my Chocolate thickens with a very short time...what is the best container to keep it workable...could I transfer it after Tempered to the Wilton Candy Melt pot to keep its fluidity?

 

 

You're on the right track, it does help to have some sort of warmer.  Depending on your budget and ambition, try either an inexpensive warming pad set on low or medium or a larger chocolate melter. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-UltraHeat-Technology-Heat-Settings-Washable/dp/B00075M1T6/ref=sr_1_6_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1547585225&sr=1-6&keywords=heating+pad

 

https://www.dr.ca/moldart-table-top-chocolate-tempering-machine-6kg.html