Troubleshooting Tempering

[Kerry Beal]

2 hours ago, TheLastOfUs said:

 

Hi Kerry

 

What about when you put the molds in the fridge for "latent heat of crystallization." Why would testing temper in a fridge be bad, when molded chocolate can go into a fridge for 15 minutes, etc. as I recall from your past posts?

 

The biggest issue I have as someone without a fancy chocolate tempering machine is while I'm waiting for the chocolate (mostly milk) to set up - the batch gets too cool........how does one manage this? It's always such a struggle.

 

Thank you for the clarification in advance

Ok - to modify above - if you put your temper test in the fridge - make sure it sits out long enough that if it isn't in temper then you'll know because it will melt again.

 

I keep chocolate warm in the bowl by putting it 7 seconds at a time in the microwave. 

[pastrygirl]

2 hours ago, TheLastOfUs said:

 

What about when you put the molds in the fridge for "latent heat of crystallization." Why would testing temper in a fridge be bad, when molded chocolate can go into a fridge for 15 minutes, etc. as I recall from your past posts?

It's different because in the first instance you already know your chocolate is pre-crystallized and you're just helping it along. 

It's unreliable as a test because chocolate will solidify when cold whether tempered or not.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, pastrygirl said:

It's different because in the first instance you already know your chocolate is pre-crystallized and you're just helping it along. 

It's unreliable as a test because chocolate will solidify when cold whether tempered or not.

 

 

Well, yes, but in my admittedly very limited chocolate experience, untempered cold chocolate won't snap.  Am I incorrect?

 

[Kerry Beal]

13 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Well, yes, but in my admittedly very limited chocolate experience, untempered cold chocolate won't snap.  Am I incorrect?

 

Cold enough it might. 

[Jim D.]

14 hours ago, TheLastOfUs said:

 

Hi Kerry

 

What about when you put the molds in the fridge for "latent heat of crystallization." Why would testing temper in a fridge be bad, when molded chocolate can go into a fridge for 15 minutes, etc. as I recall from your past posts?

 

The biggest issue I have as someone without a fancy chocolate tempering machine is while I'm waiting for the chocolate (mostly milk) to set up - the batch gets too cool........how does one manage this? It's always such a struggle.

 

Thank you for the clarification in advance

 

Kerry has already answered you, but I will add that you should let the molds sit out at room temp until the appearance of the chocolate turns from shiny to matte before they go into the fridge to dissipate the latent heat, so it's not the same thing as putting a temper test strip immediately into the fridge.  As for milk chocolate, I agree with you totally.  By the time the test is complete, the chocolate has gotten too cool (that is, without a tempering machine to keep it in temperature).   You just have to find a way to heat it up a little (Kerry's microwave idea is one--though a little scary sometimes and it won't work if you are using a metal bowl--a hair dryer is another).  Last week a bowl of milk chocolate (in a Chocovision machine) stubbornly refused to test as tempered.  I first used some seed, then some EZtemper silk.  The tests finally looked as if the chocolate was in temper, but I paid the price for that assumption as some of the chocolates--even ones in magnetic molds--refused to come out of the molds.  I have yet to figure out why that happened.  Can previously used chocolate sometimes be impossible to temper?  We are always learning.

[TheLastOfUs]

Wow, imagine my surprise when Kerry Beal, Jim D, pastry girl and Jo all reply to my question. I felt like it's the Avengers assembling! I have contacted each of you individually in different posts before for your wisdoms so this is quite the pleasant surprise 😁

 

Admittedly - I myself have limited workings with chocolate - but yesterday I decided to pick up some old chocolate I forgot about and temper it. I did some chocolate writing (yikes looked like a serial killer wrote it...lol) and added chocolate to those hexagonal diamond looking polycarb molds (I have just 1) to test it out.

 

First of all - surprising that untempered chocolate can snap in the fridge...in the past this definitely has been something I have been guilty of thinking it "passed."

 

Ironically - the temper test I did at room temp this time - and it set up matte and looked glossy under the light at an angle - but I'm not sure if it's supposed to "snap" right away? How long does one wait for a "snap" to check if "in temper"?

 

I ended up adding the chocolate from the molds admittedly into a 55-60F +/-1F cooler for 30 mins as opposed to 78F room temp (I believe after 2 mins of molding which may have been my mistake). Tried to unmold - didn't pop out. 1 hour. Took them out - Banged on the mold hard...nothing. Noticed that there's little water droplets forming on the chocolate. Realized from one of Kerrys posts that I quite frankly don't understand about "Dew point" that I'm sugar-bloom screwed. lol. Some say to preheat molds..others say keep it cool. Mine were just room temp...not sure what the deal is on mold temperature before molding. I was attempting to pop out the chocolates with JUST the top shell - not the entire thing like a solid piece.

 

It may help if I get a hygrometer or something that can measure my RH levels so I can see how "cool" I can make my chocolate....some people say you can leave molds in the fridge...but I'm not too sure....I'm assuming if that's possible - you may need a dehydrator or something to allow them to come back up to room temperature without condensating with water in some form...

 

Not sure why it didn't come out the mold....but I didn't polish them off before use other than with a paper towel ...not even sure HOW to properly do that. Just rub it incessantly with cotton? I don't use cocoa butter for color - I was attempting straight chocolate from the mold...

Edited October 12, 2022 by TheLastOfUs (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Show us a picture of the mold you are using. Often if you just have the shell (for example a cup mold) - it will be very challenging to get it out even when perfectly tempered. Once filled a a bottom put on they will come out much more easily. 

 

There are some tricks to getting cup molds out. Freezer for 3 minutes, twist of the mold and pull out with your finger. 

 

Dark chocolate is the only one that really gives a good snap. Run your finger along the surface of the chocolate and see if it marks - well tempered (dark) chocolate doesn't mark much. 

[jauhe]

I've been experimenting with making bonbons for a few months now, and I'm running into an issue when melting the chocolate. In the beginning I wasn't running into any issues, but recently when I melt the chocolate in the microwave, most of it melts, but there are little grains or bits that never melt. If you smoosh them against the side of the bowl they disintegrate and go away, but otherwise even heating to very high temperatures, they never melt on their own. The consistency of the rest of the batch is fine (I could strain them out and it would work fine). I've had seized chocolate before, but that seems to affect the whole batch when it happens (not just little bits), and I've been very careful to avoid any contact with any drop of water. I thought maybe they were little overheated/burned bits, but I took brand new chocolate, melted it in 15 second increments on 50% power, and I still got the same result. Any tips on what I'm doing wrong here?

 

   

[Kerry Beal]

How old is the chocolate? Has the package been open to the air/moisture?

 

 

[jauhe]

It's about 4 months old. It melted in transit and then re-hardened. I opened the package, cut it into smaller blocks, and put each in a sealed ziploc bag. I'm in a somewhat humid climate, but I've been just taking it out of the bag to cut off a block, then resealing it. Is brief exposure to humidity enough to do this?

[Kerry Beal]

It can be if the humidity is high enough. 

[jauhe]

It's maybe 70% humidity on average in the kitchen where I cut and microwave it, but everything else is done in an air conditioned room with low humidity and temperature. I can try with a new bag never letting it leave the air conditioned room. Is there anything else other than humidity to look out for that can cause this graininess?

[Kerry Beal]

Just thinking back to lumpy chocolate I have had over the years - it usually comes down to either age or moisture has gotten into it. When it came to you melted was the bag fully sealed?

[jauhe]

Interesting, ok. It's a Callebaut 823 block, and yes it was fully sealed when I got it. I'll pay more attention to moisture next time. This definitely isn't an issue of temperature then (overheating in the microwave, or sitting a hot truck during shipping, or things like that)?

[Jim D.]

When chocolate is overheated in the microwave, you will know it.  It usually has a terrible smell and little bits of burned chocolate in it.  And, as a side note, this can happen more easily than you might think.  I use very short intervals of microwaving at the beginning of the process.

 

I have had melted chocolate that looks like your photo.  Often it just goes away during the process of tempering.  In a few extreme cases, I used an immersion blender on it, and the chocolate smoothed out quickly.  Just be sure to keep the blender blade immersed in the chocolate to avoid air bubbles.

[gap]

Yup, I second the immersion blender. I've had to do it a few times. Not sure why, but it fixed the issue.