Chocolate Melter/Holder

[Spring]

Has anyone tried induction cooking as a method for either tempering chocolate or keeping tempered chocolate warm?

[John DePaula]

Has anyone tried induction cooking as a method for either tempering chocolate or keeping tempered chocolate warm?

I doubt you'd have enough fineness of control for tempering or keeping chocolate in temper.

[IPFCO]

I've got a few "quibbles" with the Mol d'art, most of which have to do with design, the actual performance is good.

1) The "on/off" button is AT THE BACK OF THE MACHINE. This is a rocker switch and can be accidently switched off. The thermostat dial is at the front as is the thermostat light, thus if the machine is up against a wall and is accidentaly turned off, you have no way of knowing other than to quickly raise the thermostat knob to see if the light comes on, or to move the machine bck and havbe a peek at the behind. Why they can't have the on/off switch at the front, or combined with the thermostat is beyond my comprehension.

2) The material of the machine is made of plastic, polystyrine, I think, and is screwed on to the base. No matter how gentle you are, you will develop stress cracks in the housing, especially around the screws and in the inside corners of the cavity. I guess this doesn't make a big difference in the performance of the machine, but when you fork out $800 and the thing deveops cracks after 6 mths, it kinda ticks you off a bit.

3) The machine is European, which is good, but the Europeans use "euro-norm" hotel pans, and the N.Americans use "gastro-norm". The differences are slight, with Euro-norm have more radiused corners, but Gastro-norm will not fitin these machines. Most people like to keep several hotel pans of couveture warm and untempered, and then have one pan of, say, white, work with it, then, and you drop in a new pan of hot, untempered milk, temper it off, work with it, then go on to dark. To order additonal pans from the Mnfctr is quite expensive, and the N.American ones won't fit, and you only get blank stares when you want to order Euro-norm pans from a local restaurant supplier.

As I stated above, the quibbles about "Mol d'art" melters only deal with design, the performance is quite good. Still, it's a lot of money for a melter and these issues should be dealt with by the Mnfctr.

Hello.

I was very interested while reading your post because I manufacture chocolate machines. Thought I'd give you an insider's perspective on how the machines are actually made.

My only purpose to do this is to clarify what I see as small mis-conceptions or myths. It was why I registered in the first place

I do agree with the post above me that moldart machines that I have worked with also did not have any rocker switches at the back.

I'd also like to point out that, having manufactured machines myself I am aware of the intricate details and calculations that go into making a precise unit.

Your point of stress cracks developing after 6 months would be an extreme case, valid in the rare event when someone absolutely hammers the machine in the name of stirring.

I say this point blank, since atleast we offer a full 2 year warranty with the machine. Hence, unless one violates rules and opens the unit ... this isn't even a consideration.

However, I was very surprised to read that they charged close to $800 for their machines. Even after import that seems like a lot.

Anyways that's my 2 cents worth.

Good luck!

[Kerry Beal]

I've got a few "quibbles" with the Mol d'art, most of which have to do with design, the actual performance is good.

1) The "on/off" button is AT THE BACK OF THE MACHINE. This is a rocker switch and can be accidently switched off. The thermostat dial is at the front as is the thermostat light, thus if the machine is up against a wall and is accidentaly turned off, you have no way of knowing other than to quickly raise the thermostat knob to see if the light comes on, or to move the machine bck and havbe a peek at the behind. Why they can't have the on/off switch at the front, or combined with the thermostat is beyond my comprehension.

2) The material of the machine is made of plastic, polystyrine, I think, and is screwed on to the base. No matter how gentle you are, you will develop stress cracks in the housing, especially around the screws and in the inside corners of the cavity. I guess this doesn't make a big difference in the performance of the machine, but when you fork out $800 and the thing deveops cracks after 6 mths, it kinda ticks you off a bit.

3) The machine is European, which is good, but the Europeans use "euro-norm" hotel pans, and the N.Americans use "gastro-norm". The differences are slight, with Euro-norm have more radiused corners, but Gastro-norm will not fitin these machines. Most people like to keep several hotel pans of couveture warm and untempered, and then have one pan of, say, white, work with it, then, and you drop in a new pan of hot, untempered milk, temper it off, work with it, then go on to dark. To order additonal pans from the Mnfctr is quite expensive, and the N.American ones won't fit, and you only get blank stares when you want to order Euro-norm pans from a local restaurant supplier.

As I stated above, the quibbles about "Mol d'art" melters only deal with design, the performance is quite good. Still, it's a lot of money for a melter and these issues should be dealt with by the Mnfctr.

Hello.

I was very interested while reading your post because I manufacture chocolate machines. Thought I'd give you an insider's perspective on how the machines are actually made.

My only purpose to do this is to clarify what I see as small mis-conceptions or myths. It was why I registered in the first place

I do agree with the post above me that moldart machines that I have worked with also did not have any rocker switches at the back.

I'd also like to point out that, having manufactured machines myself I am aware of the intricate details and calculations that go into making a precise unit.

Your point of stress cracks developing after 6 months would be an extreme case, valid in the rare event when someone absolutely hammers the machine in the name of stirring.

I say this point blank, since atleast we offer a full 2 year warranty with the machine. Hence, unless one violates rules and opens the unit ... this isn't even a consideration.

However, I was very surprised to read that they charged close to $800 for their machines. Even after import that seems like a lot.

Anyways that's my 2 cents worth.

Good luck!

Ankur,

Your machines look very nice. Where does one find pricing on them?

Do you use the same european hotel pans in them that are used in the mold'arts?

[pastrygirl]

Has anyone tried induction cooking as a method for either tempering chocolate or keeping tempered chocolate warm?

I doubt you'd have enough fineness of control for tempering or keeping chocolate in temper.

I have an induction burner at work that is handy for many things, but the lowest setting is 100F and the temperature increases are increments of 10 degrees, so not suitable for holding tempered chocolate. A different model with different increments or that went below 100 might be useful, but I have no idea if that exists.

[BritoJ]

A few months ago I bought a 12kg MoldArt Melter, works perfectly, the issue that I have it is too big for my use, I tried to sell on Ebay with no luck if anyone here is interested pls let me know!

I'm asking for $450, only used a few times for small batches!

[Spring]

BritoJ: Iknow someone who has the 12k and divides it into 2 x 6 with 2 hotel pans, have u tried that?

[Kerry Beal]

BritoJ: Iknow someone who has the 12k and divides it into 2 x 6 with 2 hotel pans, have u tried that?

Standard north american hotel pans won't fit in a Mold'art.

[Ashanti]

Is the chocolate melter still available?

[sote23]

I'm having the same problem. I've had mine for a couple of years and the 12kg unit is too big for my use. You have to keep at least 10 lbs in it for optimal use. Might see if I can find someone who would trade a smaller one + cash (whatever the difference is ).

Luis

[Edward J]

Just winding down from my Valetine's day rush and I'm trying to fnd a better work flow and ways of working cleaner and neater.

Currently I work in a 6' x 8' room, have a 6' table with a marble top running along one wall with an additional 4' marble clad table joining it, forming an "L" shape. On this I have my two melters, 20 kg water bath types. These take a full size deep hotel pan, one is full of dark, the other split with milk and white. I do have a dipping wheel, but find it a real hassle to clean up at the end of the day unless I'm doing very heavy production.

Along one wall I have a standard baker's rack with fiberglass "cafeteria trays" for my bon bons. One small probelm with this is that you can place two trays on one shelf, but no one really wants to pull out the first tray to see what's behind it.

I have a little Chef rubber vibrator on the main table (oh dear, that doesn't sound right...) that I operate with a foot activated pedal. It makes a heckuva racket and the FOH girls hate me if I run it when customers are around.

No matter how hard I try to keep clean it still looks like a pigsty. I cling film up the melters every day, but after the first half dozen molds they are full of drips.

I'm too small to be thinking of those 30-50 kg molders--the kind that resemble a sink on wheels complete with a wheel and vibrator, but I can still dream.

Would my current melters be at an ideal height if the top of the melter was at table top height? I've been thiking as well about making a "collar" to sit around the edge of the melter. This would be angled out like a hopper, so that it could catch drips and funnel them back in, and still keep the outside looking clean. I was thinking of making this out of nylon nylon cutting baords are easy to come by, easy to mchine with regualr woodworking tools, and the whole thing can be scraped down and tossed into the D/W at the end of the day.

Any ideas or suggestions out there?

[teonzo]

I don't want to discourage you, to sound unpopular or whatever. But when you work with chocolate, it's virtually impossible to keep your table and your floor clean from drips. The important thing, as you already know, is cleaning everything between one batch and another. But while you are making a batch, it's almost sure you will drip some chocolate somewhere, no matter which equipment you have, nor how much attention you pay.

Teo

[Kerry Beal]

Not sure about the collar - if I were thinking about making a collar, I'd probably prefer metal over cutting boards.

But in case there is anything that might help keeping your 'pigsty' mucked out - some suggestions here from a previous eG topic Working Clean in the Chocolate Kitchen.

[Edward J]

Thanks for the replies.

Satr down with a tape measure, paper and a coffee, and had a good long think.

The melters are 8" high and sit on my counters. My counters are about 35" high, a height I am quite comfortable with.

Most of the mess--drips along the rim of the melter, occur when I'm molding. It finally occured to me that i'm holding the molds un-naturaly high.

So on my "Round-to-it" list, I have decided to chop off the short arm of my "L" configured work surface. I will make custom tables to fit the melters which are on wheels. The height of the melters will be the same as my work surface.

The melters will be wheeled into a "docking station"--only one at a time, and wheeled out to the kitchen when I need to change the water or for a good clean down.