Hi All, I’m relatively new to chocolate making and am currently working for a small company. I’ve not been properly trained and the previous chocolatier left so I don’t have anyone to ask when things go awry.
There are 2 tempering machines, and I find when I use them the chocolate tends to get thick before I use the majority of the chocolate. So I have to start the tempering process over and this just takes too much time. Is there a reason it does this?
And sometimes parts of the top layer of the chocolate sticks to the molds. Other molds come out nice and shiny and others have trails from where the chocolate has stuck. Is it something to do with my molds or tempering?
I’d appreciate any help, words of wisdom or tips you could give me. It’s frustrating when I have no one to turn to and YouTube only helps so much.
Thanks for your time
Thanks again for your helpful tips. I tried everything I could track down on the internet, but regardless they kept getting worse and worse. I got my boss to buy new molds and everything is now beautiful!
These are the machines I have been using. I put the chocolate in, bring it up to 45 C, once there I attach the wheel and add 5% chocolate reduce temp according to type of chocolate and continue seeding until it has reached the specific temp.I appreciate your help!
I will give this a try thank you! I appreciate your time.
@Boulangetta -@CaptainChocolate has probably got it right with respects to the issues you are having with your molds: they might not completely clean. However, this might also be tied into your tempering issue. If the crystals of cocoa butter are not evenly mixed through the chocolate you’ll get some areas that temper differently from others and, in fact, some areas might not even be in temper! That kind of makes sense to me from what I see in the photos.
What tempering machines are you using? There are many reasons why a chocolate might go out of temper during the course of a work day and I am guessing you are using a batch tempering process. Knowing what machines you’re using will help identify the issues and potential solutions..
I’m thinking that the moulds are not entirely clean. If you touch the surface it is enough to give you a problem. Total cleanliness is critical. Try gently polishing with a microfiber cloth when the problem happens and do ensure you don’t let anyone touch the surface. 🙂