Chocolate Tempering Machines

[Chris Hennes]

I tried it, but honestly found tempering by hand faster, easier, and less messy.

[AnythingButPlainChocolate]

I did read the John Lewis thread with interest yesterday, but purely from a tummy rumbling point of view rather than thinking about tempering. I can see how, with a bit of practice it's eminently do-able.

[Chris Hennes]

What is your expected output? How much are you looking to temper at once? And what's your budget? Tempering machines by and large are not cheap devices (it's a pretty niche market).

[AnythingButPlainChocolate]

So I've noticed. I've been looking into it for a few months now (hence the jealousy at what's unavailable).

I was hoping for something larger than the Rev2, but am realistic that until my sales pick up, it's going to be that or a less well-known (to me) brand.

I've tried looking around my area to find a kitchen I could rent with chocolate making equipment, but have so far lucked out. So I'm hoping to spend as little as possible with the hope that once I start networking with others either kitchen availability or more money will come up and I can move out of my kitchen into something a bit more suited.

My turn-over is likely to be small to start with (as with before, I have to be realistic, even if I hope for better) so a 1.5lb unit will be sufficient.

I've been looking around and have seen a few different makes available in the UK, but it is but a handful: ChocoVision (a well known make), Chocolatier Electroniqu (an unknown for me, not been able to find out much about them) and Chocolate World.

[Chris Hennes]

Have you considered just using melters? They are a lot cheaper than fully-automatic tempering machines: of course they require a little babysitting, but you can make them work. And they will be useful to you even when your volume picks up, and you start tempering in an automatic machine and just transferring the tempered chocolate to the melter when it's ready to go.

[AnythingButPlainChocolate]

I wasn't sure how well a water-based melter would work with the chocolate (not wanting to ad extra moisture into the chocolate), but the decent melters I did find were about the same prices as the small temperers, although naturally the melters could hold more chocolate.

Are the melters accurate enough to hold in temper for a long time while doing a lot of dipping?

I'm happy enough with manually tempering as that's how I learnt.

Edited May 25, 2011 by AnythingButPlainChocolate (log)

[Chris Hennes]

At the eG Candy and Confectionery conference we used a bunch of Mol d' Art melters and they held the temper all day without much trouble, just the occasional application of a heat gun to the surface and some stirring. If you are doing dipping I think you are going to want a melter regardless of whether you use it for tempering.

[lapin d'or]

In addition to looking at the equipment available from Vantage House you might also look at keylink and the home chocolate factory.

I bought both my Mol d'Art melters from HB ingredients but their equipment range is quite limited.

I started with the 3kg (round bowl) Mol d'Art melter and later bought the larger one to make working with larger figure moulds more practical. They hold temper well but you need to manage the way the chocolate can gradually thicken up, so as mentioned above, use a heat gun regularly to keep it fluid.

My biggest problem with working from a home kitchen in the England (Devon) is managing the room temperature and the especially the humidity.

I hope that helps,

lapin

[Edward J]

My thoughts on this are almost the same as Chris's--you'd be better off with a larger melter.

I have the small rev. machine, probably one of the first (back then it was chocovision)and it works good. O.T.O.H. it is too small to cast shells for bon-bons, too small to dip anything more than a dozen or two of truffles.

The mol'dart's are robust melters and are quite good, big enough to cast a few trays of bon-bons, and accurate enough to hold their temperature for a few hours.

Currently I have two 20 kg water bath type melters at work, and am quite happy with them.

Here's where you have to bit the bullet. If you do get a fully automatic temperer without first learning to temper by hand, you will be in for a "surprise" in a year from now if the machine breaks down or whatever. With a melter you temper by hand, and gain the knowledge and experience needed.

[AnythingButPlainChocolate]

Thanks for the advice all, you've convinced me, melters are the way to go as I can continue to use them in the future if/when I expand.

I'm glad I posted!

And especially thanks lapin, it's nice to have some regional-specific advice. The heat in my place isn't a problem with 3 foot thick stone walls (I live in an 1800's school house) but the humidity is worth noting. I was going to buy a de-humidifyer for the room and a wine chiller with de-humidifying salts to store the chocolate in for that very reason.

[confiseur]

A friend of mine will probably be willing to sell his Rev 2 .. still in original packaging, never been used and sat in his store room for the last 2 years...at a very reasonable price indeed if you are interested.

[chocoera]

hey chocolate lovers!

so....i'm going to bite the bullet and buy a tempering unit for christmas season. currently we use 3 table top mol d' arts, 2: 5 lbs and 1: 10 lb. the unit i'd like would be a 10 lb at minimum, if i could go up a little more i would, but not sure how big they get before they get "massive"

anyone have thoughts on where to buy a unit and what brand works best for a professional kitchen? we currently temper every day and sometimes several times a day depending on production schedule, so i'd need one that's pretty reliable and keeps a good temper.

thanks for thinking about this!!

PS- if someone has one they don't need because they are upgrading in size, let me know!

[Kerry Beal]

Are you thinking you want a unit that you can attach an enrober to eventually?

[Baylee Chocolate Lady]

What is your budget?

[Edward J]

Tabletop Mol d'arts are fine but they are melters,not tempering machines.

Both Kelly and I are thinking tempering units, as in, press the button and walk away, and 20 minutes later, the couverture is tempered. These are usually coupled with an enrobing device.

I am still small volume,top capacity per day for me is 500 bon-bons, 240 50gr bars, and maybe a couple dozen hollow molded figures. For this,I have 2 large melters from D & R, and one cheap-o 5kg melter from Martillato for my white couverture. The D&R melters take a full size deep hotel-pan, I think 20 kg capapcity. I have one for dark, and one for milk. I also have the electric wheel, which usually sits in the dark, but sometimes I have an "all-day milk day" and swap the wheel into the milk melter. All temperature changes on the melters and tempering is done by me, manually. The units are bomb-proof, but as simple as a regular soup warmer. I work alone, and also produce pastries and high teas during the day as well.

Mol d'art makes a full line of s/s behemoths, from 40 kg and all the way up to institutional. Savvy makes a line of tempering and enrobing machines as well. Both of these companies are European, and nothing will be under 15 thousand. The units are well constructed, beautifull, really; but are complicated and computerized, and regular kitchen equipment repair guys will have no clue as how to service/repair them.

D & R (design and realization) is located in Montreal, and is geared towards the smaller artisan producer.

Hope this helps,

[Chocolot]

I have a Hilliard 80# per day machine that I have used for 30 years and love it. Very dependable and easy to use. Downsides--harder to do molding out of it and the heat source is light bulbs and they are going to be harder to find. It is good for hand-dipping. I also have 3- 50# Savage that I also love. Very simple to use, almost a set it and forget it. They are designed to have water plumbed into the water jacket for quick temperature changes, but I just use them as a closed system. Very easy to mold with--open the spigot and the chocolate pours into your molds. Tap the excess back into the top of the melter. I can hold temper for several days in these. I also have a Perfect wheel temperer with my enrober. It works, but I still prefer the Savage for tempering.

[chocoera]

Are you thinking you want a unit that you can attach an enrober to eventually?

i'm sure that would be smart to consider, not sure on how much room i might need for that? i'd look at both options

[chocoera]

Tabletop Mol d'arts are fine but they are melters,not tempering machines.

Both Kelly and I are thinking tempering units, as in, press the button and walk away, and 20 minutes later, the couverture is tempered. These are usually coupled with an enrobing device.

I am still small volume,top capacity per day for me is 500 bon-bons, 240 50gr bars, and maybe a couple dozen hollow molded figures. For this,I have 2 large melters from D & R, and one cheap-o 5kg melter from Martillato for my white couverture. The D&R melters take a full size deep hotel-pan, I think 20 kg capapcity. I have one for dark, and one for milk. I also have the electric wheel, which usually sits in the dark, but sometimes I have an "all-day milk day" and swap the wheel into the milk melter. All temperature changes on the melters and tempering is done by me, manually. The units are bomb-proof, but as simple as a regular soup warmer. I work alone, and also produce pastries and high teas during the day as well.

Mol d'art makes a full line of s/s behemoths, from 40 kg and all the way up to institutional. Savvy makes a line of tempering and enrobing machines as well. Both of these companies are European, and nothing will be under 15 thousand. The units are well constructed, beautifull, really; but are complicated and computerized, and regular kitchen equipment repair guys will have no clue as how to service/repair them.

D & R (design and realization) is located in Montreal, and is geared towards the smaller artisan producer.

Hope this helps,

hi edward,

yes we temper by hand currently and would like to look into an actual machine. i am also small volume right now and will look into D&R (was unfamiliar this company existed)

so how exactly does this wheel thing work that you're talking about? do you temper by seed method and manual aggitation? or how do you temper with your melter and wheel? would love to learn more and will check out the D&R site

[chocoera]

I have a Hilliard 80# per day machine that I have used for 30 years and love it. Very dependable and easy to use. Downsides--harder to do molding out of it and the heat source is light bulbs and they are going to be harder to find. It is good for hand-dipping. I also have 3- 50# Savage that I also love. Very simple to use, almost a set it and forget it. They are designed to have water plumbed into the water jacket for quick temperature changes, but I just use them as a closed system. Very easy to mold with--open the spigot and the chocolate pours into your molds. Tap the excess back into the top of the melter. I can hold temper for several days in these. I also have a Perfect wheel temperer with my enrober. It works, but I still prefer the Savage for tempering.

the savage sounds close to what i'm looking for...not sure if i'd dig the idea of light bulbs plus being in algona, we don't have much of anything here in terms of if something breaks or needs replacing. thanks ruth!

[chocoera]

What is your budget?

well. not sure. i've never been one for machines because i'm a control freak and figure i temper best manually and if it screws up, its on me, and i can change me...if a machine screws up...then what do you do? but i know i need to upgrade so thinking about a machine that is quality at the same time we just bought our building and renovated my space and brad's space, so $ is short. so i figure i can try a machine and then upgrade later? that long story being said, i figure i could convince brad to spend $2,000-5,000 now, and maybe upgrade later? will that get me anything?

[Edward J]

www.dr.ca

I temper by seed method.

The wheel is a separate unit and sits in the tub. It just spins around and at the top there is a comb and a chute. Couverture flows out of the chute and back into the tub. Not a bad set up for smaller places, and the units are pretty much bomb-proof.

[Baylee Chocolate Lady]

The termpering machine will save you time. We have to multi-task: while the machine is heating or cooling, we can work on a ganache or make caramel or whatever. I have the feeling that an automatic machine would drive you nuts. My trusty old ACMC's have to be monitored and we add seed, but they are usually dependable. Too small for your needs probably.When I started out, that was all I had and I turned out a lot of product. I left seed behind the baffle and let it melt while I worked. They are just 6 pound machines but I used 3- to 40 pounds a day for dipping. And I felt in control. Have you been to any of the trade shows? There are a lot of choices displayed, especially at the Philly Shows and, I think, the RCI meetings. When you are out of town, you can ask chocolatiers what they use. I have gotten to see a number of kitchens and lots of equpment that way. Folks seem very generous with their time and informaton as long as I am away from my home turf. Sometimes there are ads on the RCI site or The Chocolate Life site. Happy hunting.

[Lior]

I even smaller than you guys here. Much. I use 2 6kg mol d'art melters, and 2 X3210 "tempering" machings from chocovision. Works perfectly for me in a variety of combinations. I can keep melted choc in the melter-not tempered and as I use tempered choc from the machine, I replacce whatever I use with untempered from the melter and then add choc to the melter and this can go on for eternity!!!

[chocoera]

I even smaller than you guys here. Much. I use 2 6kg mol d'art melters, and 2 X3210 "tempering" machings from chocovision. Works perfectly for me in a variety of combinations. I can keep melted choc in the melter-not tempered and as I use tempered choc from the machine, I replacce whatever I use with untempered from the melter and then add choc to the melter and this can go on for eternity!!!

do you add the untempered behind the baffle or right into the tempered chocolate? do you have to be careful with your ratios?

[Coreen]

Hi all, does anyone here have experience working with ACMC tempering machine? I just received mine 2 weeks ago, have been working with it but I still see bloom in my chocolate bars. This is getting on my nerves as I dont get that kind of bloom when I was tempering by hand.

Done all the necessary reading online. Found out that the temperature shown is actually the temperature of the bowl, I have used my own thermometer for checks before using the chocolate. However Im still faced with similar bloom.

Any kind fellow chocolatier willing to share some tips with me on how to deal with the machine?

Thanks.