I get fat bloom on chocolate

[akonsu]

I use inexpensive semi-sweet Ghirardelli baking chocolate from Walmart to cover my pastry concoctions. I temper it by just heating it in a bowl in a microwave or over a water bath, then I take 2/3 of it and stir for about 15 minutes until it cools, then I pour it into the remaining 1/3, that heats it up to the working temperature. The surface quality, after it sets, looks ok to me. I can touch it, it does not melt when touched, it breaks with some snap, tempering is not as good as that from a factory but it looks acceptable to me at this point (I am still learning). The only problem is that after a few hours it gets streaks of fat in it, a cocoa butter bloom, it looks like. And I do not know why this is happening and how to prevent it. Please help. Thanks!

[pastrygirl]

I think your temper is off. Merely cooling and stirring in a bowl over 15 min might not be enough to create the stable cocoa butter crystals. My understanding is that tabling on marble cools it so rapidly that it creates crystals, a bowl isn’t going to be that fast. 

 

Sounds like you’re dipping centers. How long do they take to set? How warm is your room?  It might help to refrigerate the pieces for 5-10 min to help them solidify and cool quickly. Or lower your chocolate working temp by a degree or two, streaky pieces can mean the chocolate was too warm. 

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by pastrygirl (log)

[Kerry Beal]

As @pastrygirl says - sounds like your temper is a bit off. 

 

It's usually form 4 crystals that gives you the late streaks like that. They also break with some snap and appear acceptable, firm up in a reasonable period of time - but as form 5 crystals form during the cooling process they come out on the surface giving you the bloom.

 

 

[akonsu]

2 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

My understanding is that tabling on marble cools it so rapidly that it creates crystals, a bowl isn’t going to be that fast. 

I tried doing this on a granite floor tile (a 18x18 inches square, about 5mm thick, you know, the standard tile from Home Depot) with the same problem. I suppose that such a small tile is not sufficient... But I get the idea, thanks.

 

2 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

Sounds like you’re dipping centers.

I did not get this...

2 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

How warm is your room?

It is about 22-23 C (about 73 F). Is this too warm?

 

@Kerry Beal, @pastrygirl, thanks for your responses!

[pastrygirl]

@akonsu I meant are you dipping individual pieces into the chocolate or are you using molds?    Molds get tricky, if the temper is not close to perfect the chocolate will stick in the molds. 

 

Yes, 73f is warm for chocolate work. Especially if humidity is high, that makes it even worse. Most of us prefer mid 60’s with humidity below 50%. 

[sbain]

 

Help! Tempering problems! For the second time in a row, a large batch of my molded bars have badly bloomed, and I need help (and/or moral support) figuring out what I have done wrong. I have been pretty good at tempering in the past, but something has changed and I'm having problems now (super frustrating, right?). The chocolate started out fine, and seemed fully in temper when I tested it, but (as you can see from the image), a nasty fat bloom set in as soon as it started to cool in the molds.

 

Here's what I did:

- Using good chocolate (Guittard couverture 72%)

- weather good: room temperature was a reasonable 68F, no humidity

- melted 1200g (slowly in microwave, stirring) to 120F

- Seed in 300g, use immersion blender to mix until smooth.

- table 2/3 of it on granite until 82F, then mix back into bowl and use immersion blender to raise temperature back to working temp (90F)

- Test temper by swiping a bit on parchment, it hardened well with no streaks in under 3 minutes (and the test swipe did NOT bloom later)

- poured into molds (which were room temp), using heat gun occasionally to keep chocolate mass at working temp

- decorated the backs of the bars with pecans and dried cherries (both at room temp)

- let set

- within 30-45 minutes, dusty pale bloom started to cover all bars

-  cry softly 

- briefly consider throwing everything in a trash and giving up chocolate forever

- decide to take picture and ask my friends on eGullet for advice...

 

Any idea on what went wrong? this is the second time this has happened to me! I've double checked my thermometer to make sure it isn't off (using both a IR and digital) so I dont think that's it. The only new thing I am doing is using the immersion blender during seeding to speed up the melting. Could that be it?!?

 

Thank you for any advice you have to offer,

- Losing My Temper

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Since the temper of the test strip was OK, could it have been subsequent overzealous application of the heat gun?

 

[teonzo]

35 minutes ago, sbain said:

 

- melted 1200g (slowly in microwave, stirring) to 120F

- Seed in 300g, use immersion blender to mix until smooth.

- table 2/3 of it on granite until 82F, then mix back into bowl and use immersion blender to raise temperature back to working temp (90F)

 

There's not much sense in working this way. If you seed your melted chocolate then you do that with the aim to temper it, not just to lower the temperature. So it's better choosing between seeding and tabling, not going for both.

Tabling method was developed starting from melted chocolate at high temperature (110-120 F), so the 1/3 that is not tabled is hot enough to raise the temperature of the tabled chocolate. If you lowered the temperature with the "seeding" passage then you are just complicating your life.

Using an immersion blender to mix a small quantity like that is far from optimal, you only risk to add lots of air bubbles.

So it's better if you choose between the seeding method (no blender) or the tabling method (no blender). Working like you are doing means adding lots of passages for nothing.

 

 

 

42 minutes ago, sbain said:

Any idea on what went wrong?

 

The fact that the test was good does not imply the chocolate was still in temper when you poured it in the molds. If the bloom started pretty quickly then the first thing to consider is that the chocolate was out of temper. But if it was out of temper then you should have faced some troubles unmoulding the bars. So you should give some more details about how they unmoulded, if they made a passage in the fridge, how you stored them while waiting for the crystalization, so on.

I must say I witnessed a weird case years ago: a batch of hand-dipped bonbons had a surface similar to yours but the chocolate had the snap. After a couple days the bloom disappeared on its own and the bonbons were totally fine. I found the explanation on a book time ago, but can't remember the technical details now sorry. So try leaving the bars where they are, maybe you are lucky like that case.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Kerry Beal]

I’m also wondering if improper cooling might be playing a part in this problem. If your temper seemed OK but you’re still getting this much bloom I wonder if you put your mold into refrigeration on a wire rack to allow air circulation for 15 minutes or so if you might get better results

[sbain]

Thanks for the responses.

 

For cooling, I let them cool at room temperature for about 3 hours (at which point they were fully "in bloom"), then I put them in the fridge for about 20 minutes then unmolded them without much trouble (note the decent shine and snap).

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, sbain said:

Thanks for the responses.

 

For cooling, I let them cool at room temperature for about 3 hours (at which point they were fully "in bloom"), then I put them in the fridge for about 20 minutes then unmolded them without much trouble (note the decent shine and snap).

The refrigeration needs to occur at the time of most rapid crystallization to carry off the latent heat of crystallization which can throw you out of temper. So as soon as you see the chocolate going glossy around the edges - bung it in the fridge. 

[sbain]

32 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

The refrigeration needs to occur at the time of most rapid crystallization to carry off the latent heat of crystallization which can throw you out of temper. So as soon as you see the chocolate going glossy around the edges - bung it in the fridge. 

Wow -- I had no idea! Somehow I'd got it into my head that one should never put freshly molded chocolate into the fridge, but I will try this. Thank you!

[pastrygirl]

2 hours ago, sbain said:

poured into molds (which were room temp), using heat gun occasionally to keep chocolate mass at working temp

- decorated the backs of the bars with pecans and dried cherries (both at room temp)

 

Careful with that heat gun!  You're using it on the chocolate that's already in the molds?  How many molds are you working with at once - are you filling a bunch of molds then going back and adding the inclusions?  I say skip the re-heating and add inclusions as you go.  Also, that looks like a bigger bar, maybe 4 oz?  The bigger or thicker the piece, the more likely it is to bloom during cooling.

 

What I'd do is:  - temper chocolate and keep warm in a melter or via heating pad/hairdryer/oven/etc

-fill molds then add inclusions one mold at a time

-when you get 4 molds on a sheet pan put it in the fridge

-when starting to release, flip mold over and continue to chill

-once bar is released, return to room temp to await wrapping

 

Just now, sbain said:

Somehow I'd got it into my head that one should never put freshly molded chocolate into the fridge, but I will try this. Thank you! 

 

That is the only way I could make anything all summer!

[sbain]

Thanks @pastrygirl. I was using the heat gun sparingly only on the chocolate still in my bowl to keep it at working temp (NOT using it on the just poured molds/bars). I was doing two molds at a time -- pour chocolate, then add inclusions. I will drop back to one at a time like you suggest. The bars are a good size, around 3.5 ounces, so maybe that's enough mass to push them out of temper when they crystalize? I will try going straight into the fridge!

 

Another question: do you guys clean your molds completely between uses, or (assuming a nice clean release of the molded bar) could one then pour another bar without washing everything? That's save me a bunch of time...

[Kerry Beal]

I only wash my molds if they get dirty with ganache etc - otherwise just give them a polish.

[pastrygirl]

3 minutes ago, sbain said:

I was using the heat gun sparingly only on the chocolate still in my bowl to keep it at working temp (NOT using it on the just poured molds/bars).

 

That should be fine, you have to maintain it somehow.

 

3 minutes ago, sbain said:

(assuming a nice clean release of the molded bar) could one then pour another bar without washing everything?

 

Yes.  Just give it a quick polish and re-fill.

[Jim D.]

39 minutes ago, sbain said:

 The bars are a good size, around 3.5 ounces, so maybe that's enough mass to push them out of temper when they crystalize? I will try going straight into the fridge!

 

 

What Kerry said was to let the molds start crystallizing at room temp (I wait until most of the cavities are showing that matte rather than shiny look), then they go into the fridge. I'm not sure exactly what you meant in the quote above, but they shouldn't go in immediately. All these ideas you have been receiving are what we all go through:  We never know for sure what makes certain problems occur as there are many explanations for almost all issues; all you can do is to be as meticulous as you can with tempering and keep practicing. What reference are you using for the procedures you describe?  I ask because all of them (that I know of) mention putting molds in a cooler to help with the problem of the latent heat of crystallization. I think Peter Greweling's book is generally considered the standard reference, though there are many others.

[sbain]

Thanks @Jim D. I have "the Grewling" and I should probably go back and reread the relevant chapter on tempering (it's been a while :). To be honest I have sort of cobbled together a few different processes (seeding and THEN tabling to accelerate the cooling process, which, as has been pointed out, may be overkill and/or a bad idea). Moreover, I have also finally decided to buy a Chocovision Revolation V to hopefully simplify my tempering, so I will be getting used to a few new things now. Wish me luck!

 

Speaking of the Revolation V, anyone have any good advice for a first time user? Maybe there is a thread already about the machine? Thanks again

-seth

[Jim D.]

9 minutes ago, sbain said:

Moreover, I have also finally decided to buy a Chocovision Revolation V to hopefully simplify my tempering, so I will be getting used to a few new things now. Wish me luck!

 

Speaking of the Revolation V, anyone have any good advice for a first time user? Maybe there is a thread already about the machine? Thanks again

-seth

I have the Revolation Delta, which, according to Chocovision, has the same technology as the V, so can probably help with questions. 

[keychris]

5 hours ago, sbain said:

Moreover, I have also finally decided to buy a Chocovision Revolation V to hopefully simplify my tempering, so I will be getting used to a few new things now.

 

Just remember that the issue you've showed us isn't due to poor tempering, it's due to not storing the chocolate appropriately whilst it sets. If you don't cool your blocks like @Kerry Beal described whilst they're setting up, you're still going to have the same issue.

[sbain]

An update on my problem: you fixed it!

 

getting the bars right into the fridge (once they start to firm up) totally worked. Don’t know I wasn’t doing this from the start (maybe I fell asleep during that class?

 

Latest batch of bats (below) are nice and shiny. thank you all for your advice and support!