White Chocolate - All about it.

[gfron1]

El Rey for me as well for meltability reasons - BTW the Icoa is the same as the Carenero Superior.

For eating, baking, etc, I haven't found any I like better than Domori..but I haven't been able to get it to melt smoothly. But I think it has the most complex flavor of all the whites.

[Truffle Guy]

what's your favourite white chocolate to use in baking?  i like valrhona very much but the price just kills me ... 

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I agree with El Rey....I've tried everything and really like it the best.

[tmgrobyn]

what's your favourite white chocolate to use in baking?  i like valrhona very much but the price just kills me ... 

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I may be going out on a limb here... as I haven't seen it mentioned, I really like Peter's White Chocolate. You have to buy a lot to get a decent price (500 lbs or more) but they will mix a pallet for you with dark, milk, white. I haven't been disappointed with any of the chocolate I've purchased from them. It can also be found in small baking supply shops around on occasion. My rep is great, he'll send samples if needed. (Not a sales pitch at all, I just like him)

I also used the Schokinag White this past Christmas season. It was well received.

[sote23]

I have no experience with white chocolate at all. I know white chocolate is not technically chocolate, because there is no cocoa in it. my questions is, since there is no cocoa, does white chocolate have to be tempered?

[rraaflaub]

Here's the deal with white chocolate. It does have cocoa, but no cocoa solids. Legally, the definition for chocolate is a cocoa solids requirement. However, it does contain cocoa butter, and tempering is all about the cocoa butter. So...yes, if you're looking at an application that would require tempering in general, you need to temper the white as well. You temper it in the same way, only the final temperature you reheat to is a little lower...see the manufacturer's recommendations.

Good luck,

Randall

[sote23]

Here's the deal with white chocolate.  It does have cocoa, but no cocoa solids.  Legally, the definition for chocolate is a cocoa solids requirement.  However, it does contain cocoa butter, and tempering is all about the cocoa butter.  So...yes, if you're looking at an application that would require tempering in general, you need to temper the white as well.  You temper it in the same way, only the final temperature you reheat to is a little lower...see the manufacturer's recommendations.

Good luck,

Randall

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thanks for clearing that up.

Luis

[thegreatdane]

Legally, the definition for chocolate is a cocoa solids requirement. 

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Actually... legally the definition of chocolate includes white chocolate, when it's made with cocoa butter.

[Aria]

Hello all!

I'm looking for a compound for colouring white chocolate. I need it for making lime green and orange lines on my spring truffles. Does anyone have any ideas of some good quality brands? Also, Kerry, any ideas where I can pick these up in Toronto? You and everyone else on this site have been so helpful!!

[Desiderio]

I will think that you can use regular colors ( fat based ) either liquid or powder .You will have to color the white chocolate and use it to decorate ( I guess thats what you mean ).

The rubber chef brand is very good ,but probably Kerry knows a better source closer to you .

[Kerry Beal]

Qzina carries the PCB powdered colours in a size that cost about $30 each. I think they might carry the colours in cocoa butter too. Baker's warehouse carries small vials of powdered colours which are a lot cheaper.

I get the primary colours and mix my own, but I've had to get a couple of different greens, because try as I might, I can't seem to mix the green I'm after.

If you can't find what you are after, give me a call, I've got a few colours around the house.

[cheripie]

I've been having trouble tempering white chocolate lately with my rev 2. The final product often ends up with white streaks and gets stuck in the mold. I've tried agitating before I pour, heating up the mold slightly with a heat gun, cleaning the mold thouroughly with cotton, being very patient before I turn them out. I'm getting frustrated because I need to have something done today. I don't have a problem with milk or dark.

Are the temperer temperatures (try saying that 3 times) off? I don't really think it's the mold, because if I just pour out extra chocolate at the end of a run, it gets streaky (and you can see some layering).

I may have to do this by hand for now, but any insight would be appreciated.

[gfron1]

Which white chocolate are you using?

[cheripie]

31% guittard

[aguynamedrobert]

Usually when tempering white chocolate you want to bring it down to a lower temperature. If you are doing the "seeding" method you want to leave the chocolate chunks in the chocolate until around 86 Degrees F....

What is your procedure right now?

[Kerry Beal]

I've been having trouble tempering white chocolate lately with my rev 2.  The final product often ends up with white streaks and gets stuck in the mold.  I've tried agitating before I pour, heating up the mold slightly with a heat gun, cleaning the mold thouroughly with cotton, being very patient before I turn them out.  I'm getting frustrated because I need to have something done today.  I don't have a problem with milk or dark.

Are the temperer temperatures (try saying that 3 times) off?  I don't really think it's the mold, because if I just pour out extra chocolate at the end of a run, it gets streaky (and you can see some layering).

I may have to do this by hand for now, but any insight would be appreciated.

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It does sound like the temperer temperatures might be wrong for the chocolate you are using. There is some adjustment in the Rev 2, isn't there?

One (actually two) other thought, what is the condition of the chocolate before you set out to temper it? Does it look fresh or might it be out of date? How is the humidity in your work area?

I suspect by now you've probably done things by hand because you needed them today, but I'll be interested in your trouble shooting experience with this.

[cheripie]

I was thinking it might be the chocolate, but it came out fine when I did it by hand. The box was opened just recently but I remember it happening with a past box too. I don't use white as often so I've put off dealing with it.

I think the machine may need to go to the shop, but I need it next week - if only to do work with dark chocolate which does come out fine.

I can adjust the temps on the rev2 but I'm not sure if the streaks indicate that the final temp is too cold, or if it's the intermediate temps that are off.

[K8memphis]

Late last year I found some Schokinag 28% white chocolate in, of all places, Tues.Morning.

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What's Tues.Morning?

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Little late on this answer but it's a clearance type store.

So my reason to post is to mention an interesting development. I discovered that my store brand ie Kroger white chocolate chips were indeed made with cocoa butter and the Nestle brand there that stated it was Premium was made with palm oil business & lecithin etc. I went to that store because I thought they had at least some Ghiradelli's but no, just the Nestle and store brand. But doesn't that just blow you away? That the store brand has cocoa butter?

Now for a taste test...

[K8memphis]

Ok in the highly unscientific taste test, my husband said the cocoa butter one (Kroger store brand) was more buttery tasting but he liked the fake Nestle ones better due to the vanilla flavor. He didn't know which was which. I knew which was which and I loved the smells pouring out of the Nestle bag mmm. The store brand had no sucha great smell factor, not any smell, hmm. However the store brand beat out the Nestle's in the taste test for moi.

I mean they are going into a cookie, so it would be fine either way.

It's not Iron Chef or anything.

So it's a draw. But next time I'll drive a little father and get something a little more chichi and test again.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled mesage board.

[Sebastian]

It's interesting that you mention the impression upon opening the bag. A lot of research has gone into that, and some companies add flavorants to their packing material (embed them with flavor to activate upon opening for exactly what you describe - that first bam! impression - there's one about an hour from here in philly that started that biz), and others add flavorants into the bag along with their product to do the same thing.

Most people only ever open the bag once, so that first olfactory impression, many believe, is key to how the product is percieved overall.

[RuthWells]

I want to play around a bit with colored chocolate effects, but don't want to invest in colored cocoa butter. Can I use some oil-based candy colors to color white chocolate without killing the texture and temperability?

[chefpeon]

Oil based candy colors work fine to color white chocolate. However, I don't think you would be able to temper it anymore since you are adding a fat to it that is not cocoa butter.

I use powdered color to color my white chocolate.

You can find some here.

[Mette]

I have used powdered colours (from PCB) with no ill effects - to make little green frogs - gave a surprisingly even colouring

[RuthWells]

Oil based candy colors work fine to color white chocolate. However, I don't think you would be able to temper it anymore since you are adding a fat to it that is not cocoa butter.

I use powdered color to color my white chocolate.

You can find some here.

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Oooh, those are temptingly inexpensive. Thanks, ChefPeon & Mette!

Edited March 4, 2008 by RuthWells (log)

[mrose]

Oil based candy colors work fine to color white chocolate. However, I don't think you would be able to temper it anymore since you are adding a fat to it that is not cocoa butter.

I use powdered color to color my white chocolate.

You can find some here.

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You don't have to worry about tempering if you add the oil based coloring to the white chocolate after it is tempered. I have done this many times & it works fine.

Powdered colors are usually available at ckae decorating stores.

Edited March 4, 2008 by mrose (log)

[CanadianBakin']

Oil based candy colors work fine to color white chocolate. However, I don't think you would be able to temper it anymore since you are adding a fat to it that is not cocoa butter.

I use powdered color to color my white chocolate.

You can find some here.

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I'm going to make my first attempt at tempering chocolate this week. At what point in the process do you add powder to the white chocolate?