Chocolate Tempering Machines

[Desiderio]

CHristopher, did you contacted them via email or on the phone?

[ChristopherMichael]

CHristopher, did you contacted them via email or on the phone?

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I did everything via Email (info@moldart.be) and I must say it has been the best experience I have ever had with any company that I have dealt with, by far. I dealt with a guy named Jozef and he answered every question within 15 minutes from me sending my emails. This is an awesome company and I highly recommend buying from them.

By the way, I received my melters today in pristine condition. It would have been here yesterday, but of coarse the holiday fell on that day. But talk about fast! I wired the money last Friday afternoon and my product shipped this past Monday, 4 days later I received my machines. I'm in static on how good these guys are. Buy direct, you won't be disappointed!

Edited November 24, 2006 by ChristopherMichael (log)

[Desiderio]

Well , I am glad the experience was a good one, its always kinda stressing dealing with a company oversees.

Thank you for you feedback, I need to buy one melter , I was thinking the 6 kg one and you are right it is cheaper buying directly from them excange and all.

I think I am going to order it and need to learn how to work with it.

Thank you Christopher, enjoy your new "toys"

[aguynamedrobert]

Wow they sound like a good company....let us know what you think of the performance of the moldart machines once you try them out....

-Robert

www.chocolateguild.com

www.chocolatiernoel.com

[sote23]

Yes, let us know how they turn out for you.

[Desiderio]

Just to keep an update >The 12lb one will cost me 642$ more or less direcly form them .Since the Dollars is very weak at this time it will be about 20 dollar cheaper to buy it from the ebay site ,bonapetit 1.

[tammylc]

I won a 3 kg melter on eBay last week. Not a Mol d'Art - the brand name is Felchin, IIRC, but it seems like basically the same thing. I'm still waiting for it to arrive, but in the meantime I thought I should start learning how to use it! What do I need to know? What methods work well? Thanks!

[Kerry Beal]

What I have found with the mold'art is that I put in the chocolate, turn the heat up so about 2/3 of it melts, then turn the heat back down to the working temperature. As the chocolate melts I continue to stir the not yet melted chocolate into the melted chocolate. With a bit of a balancing act you don't even had to add any seed chocolate, the stuff that hasn't yet melted acts as the seed. If all your chocolate melts before it is in temper, then I add a handful of chocolate shavings as seed. I just check the temper of the melted stuff, when it's in temper if the remaining unmelted chocolate is still around I remove it, melt it in the microwave and add it as required.

I use the heat gun to warm up the chocolate if it gets too thick (too many beta crystals) just until it is thin enough to work with, or add warm chocolate, or turn up the dial a bit. I haven't actually stuck a thermometer in the mold'art the last few times I've used it.

[Desiderio]

I do exactley the same.I just put the chocolate in the mol d'art and let it melt to a certain point , then stirr stirr stirr and the chocolate is always in temper ,I dont use a termometer anymore since I bought the melter.It works beautifully and it saves me so much time on the production, I simply love it , I think I am going to buy the 12 kg soon ( I have the 6 kg ), so I can use the 6 for milk and the 12 for dark.

[tammylc]

Thanks so much for the tips. I'm hoping that this will really ease production for me! Not to mention helping keep my chocolate at good working temperature in the cold kitchen I'll be working in. How long can I expect it to take for 3 kg of dark chocolate to get to the 2/3 melted stage?

[Desiderio]

I have the same problem in my basement , its extremely cold and the chocolate takes forever to melt and I need to keep the temperature little bit higher than I would upstairs.One day I needed the chocolate melted faster so I just melted on a double boiler ( it was fast ) and then transfer it to the melter keep stirring and set up to the working temperature ( 32/31 for the dark ).How long , it depends on how cold is you kitchen ,like Kerry said you can alwasy use a hot air gun ( I used a hair dryer , for a while ), to expedited the process of melting .The only thing will be do a testing melting so you know what to expect when you start your real production.I am sure this will work great for you , I founf that since I use the melter my work is so much easier .

Buon Lavoro

[David J.]

What I have found with the mold'art is that I put in the chocolate, turn the heat up so about 2/3 of it melts, then turn the heat back down to the working temperature.  As the chocolate melts I continue to stir the not yet melted chocolate into the melted chocolate.  With a bit of a balancing act you don't even had to add any seed chocolate, the stuff that hasn't yet melted acts as the seed.  If all your chocolate melts before it is in temper, then I add a handful of chocolate shavings as seed.  I just check the temper of the melted stuff, when it's in temper if the remaining unmelted chocolate is still around I remove it, melt it in the microwave and add it as required. 

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Kerry,

Can you do this to the chocolate that you have tempered and let cool back down in the pan? Do you have to do anything special to ensure the chocolate stays in temper as it cools? Or do you need to add new chocolate as seed if you are reheating what was in the pan from last time?

[Kerry Beal]

What I have found with the mold'art is that I put in the chocolate, turn the heat up so about 2/3 of it melts, then turn the heat back down to the working temperature.  As the chocolate melts I continue to stir the not yet melted chocolate into the melted chocolate.  With a bit of a balancing act you don't even had to add any seed chocolate, the stuff that hasn't yet melted acts as the seed.  If all your chocolate melts before it is in temper, then I add a handful of chocolate shavings as seed.  I just check the temper of the melted stuff, when it's in temper if the remaining unmelted chocolate is still around I remove it, melt it in the microwave and add it as required. 

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Kerry,

Can you do this to the chocolate that you have tempered and let cool back down in the pan? Do you have to do anything special to ensure the chocolate stays in temper as it cools? Or do you need to add new chocolate as seed if you are reheating what was in the pan from last time?

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Once the chocolate in the mold'art is in temper I just heat it up as required to thin it, or add warm chocolate to thin it. After it's been in there for a while and you have an over abundance of beta crytals you can really push the temperature up without losing temper. If I recall correctly Wybauw said you could push dark to 34.5, milk to 32.5, white 30.5 as it thickens over time. Once in temper you won't have to add seed again as long as you don't heat beyond the maximums.

If you are asking, what if I take the pan out, let it harden, then the next day start over - then as long as the chocolate in the pan seems to be in temper you can just melt as before. If it seems out of temper I would probably heat higher and add fresh seed.

[David J.]

If you are asking, what if I take the pan out, let it harden, then the next day start over - then as long as the chocolate in the pan seems to be in temper you can just melt as before.  If it seems out of temper I would probably heat higher and add fresh seed.

That's what I was asking. I was wondering if it would stay in temper if you let a pretty large batch cool in the pan, and if you had to do anything to ensure it remained in temper. My thought is to take the pan out of the melter for a while, then slip it into the fridge to cool under the theory that if left out the exothermic reaction of such a large batch would break temper.

Most of the time of course I'll need to add additional chocolate anyway, but I figure some times what's left over will be enough for what I've got planned and it saves on raw chocolate if I don't have to add a lot of seed each time.

[gap]

David,

when I have leftover chocolate in temper that I want to reuse, I pour it onto baking sheets and let it set. Then I can break it up and store it in freezer bags (the ones with snap locks) to use again later.

Also, with the Mol D'Art machines, you can leave them running overnight. Just temper your chocolate, use what you need and then leave it set at the working temperature. I think I'm right in saying that the next morning it may have a bit of a "shell" on top but you can warm with a heat-gun and stir it in - if done right it should still be in temper and ready to use. Also, if you use the machines as melters (put in tempered chocolate callets, set to working temperature and leave for 24 hours to melt), I think you can get away with giving it a good stir and it should be ready to use.

Edited January 24, 2007 by gap (log)

[John DePaula]

If you are asking, what if I take the pan out, let it harden, then the next day start over - then as long as the chocolate in the pan seems to be in temper you can just melt as before.  If it seems out of temper I would probably heat higher and add fresh seed.

That's what I was asking. I was wondering if it would stay in temper if you let a pretty large batch cool in the pan, and if you had to do anything to ensure it remained in temper. My thought is to take the pan out of the melter for a while, then slip it into the fridge to cool under the theory that if left out the exothermic reaction of such a large batch would break temper.

That's exactly right, David. Unless my kitchen is really cold, the chocolate will go out of temper by the time it sets unless I put it in the 'fridge to cool.

Most of the time of course I'll need to add additional chocolate anyway, but I figure some times what's left over will be enough for what I've got planned and it saves on raw chocolate if I don't have to add a lot of seed each time.

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ETA: I bought an extra pan for my Mol d'art melter, so when I have left over chocolate I just pour it into the parchment paper lined pan and refrigerate to cool. Then I let it come to room temp and wrap in plastic film. The next time I need to temper chocolate, I have a block of chocolate that fits exactly in my melter.

Edited January 24, 2007 by John DePaula (log)

[David J.]

I ordered to 6kg melters and just tried to use them tonight only to find myself staring at a European style plug that is the proverbial round peg for my rectangular hole.

Do they manufacture these with US style plugs and I just got shipped the wrong one, or is everyone expected to find a plug adapter?

I believe I read that it works with both 110v and 220v so I would assume I only need a plug adapter and not a voltage converter.

[Kerry Beal]

I ordered to 6kg melters and just tried to use them tonight only to find myself staring at a European style plug that is the proverbial round peg for my rectangular hole.

Do they manufacture these with US style plugs and I just got shipped the wrong one, or is everyone expected to find a plug adapter?

I believe I read that it works with both 110v and 220v so I would assume I only need a plug adapter and not a voltage converter.

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Mine are wired for north america. You'd better e-mail them and ask before you simply use an adapter or you might damage it. Mold'art's website says 110v or 220v, while the Bon Appetites site says 110/220V I assume they will send you one wired for the US.

Edited January 28, 2007 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Desiderio]

They are adapted for 110 and I am using an adaptor.Unfortunally I thought they would send me one with the american plug but , oh well. Adaptor works fine , I founf one at wal mart.

[tammylc]

I got my melter yesterday, but haven't had a chance to try it yet. Turns out that it is actually a Mol D'Art melter! The eBay listing said it was a Felchlin melter, but the box says Mol D'Art, and it's just got a sticker on it to brand it for Felchlin. I'm thinking that was a lucky thing for me, since it probably didn't attract as much notice on eBay that way, so I was able to get it for the minimum bid.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get a chance to try it out later today.

[David J.]

They are adapted for 110 and I am using an adaptor.Unfortunally I thought they would send me one with the american plug  but , oh well. Adaptor works fine , I founf one at wal mart.

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I wrote Jozef Vanelven at Mol d'Art and he said that they had some with the USA plugs but forgot to send that style. He said it was easy to change the plug style so I take it that all I need is a plug adapter and not a step-up transformer. Is this what you used?

http://bargainoffers.com/catalog/product_i...bcdd61712bd04b1

[Desiderio]

Yes no transformer only a plug adaptor.

[tammylc]

Okay, Mol D'Art people - talk to me about this dial. Is the little tiny divot at the top supposed to be what I check the temperature against? Is it weird that the light didn't come on until I was well up into the numbers on the dial, and that the dial turns past where the numbers finish? Any suggested methods of checking the calibration?

[Kerry Beal]

Okay, Mol D'Art people - talk to me about this dial.  Is the little tiny divot at the top supposed to be what I check the temperature against?  Is it weird that the light didn't come on until I was well up into the numbers on the dial, and that the dial turns past where the numbers finish?  Any suggested methods of checking the calibration?

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The little divot at the top is what you check the temp against as you suspected. The dial does turn past where the numbers finish. I never bothered to check the calibration, cause I kind of use the dial as guide rather than as dial a particular temp.

When the chocolate is getting a little thick I just turn the dial up until the light comes on.

If you want to check the calibration though I'd just put my digital thermometer in the chocolate after it is melted and see how the temperature compares.

[tammylc]

Thanks Kerry. I guessed that that was the case, and my test temperatures at the various settings proved the guess.

My first trial run went pretty well. The first time around I tried doing what you and Vanessa had talked about - doing a partial melt then stirring the leftovers in. But I didn't get a good temper - maybe not enough fresh chocolate in the mix. So I turned the heat back up, and reseeded, and that time got temper. I was only working with a couple pounds of chocolate - I can see that if I'm going to fill up the whole thing, it's going to take a LONG time to melt. Sometimes that might work with my timeline, but I can see that there will be days when I'll need to melt in a double boiler and just use this for holding it at the working temperature.

And I'm in love with using a heat gun (hair dryer for me, actually) for giving it that little bit of a hit. This was my first time trying it and it worked so well!