Chocolate will not release from the mold

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Permalink Reply by Brendan on September 22, 2009 at 7:06am

They are not releasing because the chocolate did not contract, which indicates it did not properly crystallize. One possibility is that the chocolate was well-tempered but allowed to agitate too long and too many stable crystals formed in the machine (the chocolate would become more viscous in this case). The formation of stable cocoa butter crystals is what causes chocolate to contract when cooling, so if the crystals have already formed when the chocolate is poured into the mold, it will not exhibit the expected behaviour as it cools. Since melted chocolate becomes noticeably thicker as the stable crystals multiply, this is an easy issue to spot.

More likely is that the chocolate was well-tempered when poured into the molds, but did not cool correctly. The thick polycarbonate of professional molds insulates your chocolate, trapping heat inside. The outer surface may begin to cool, but the warmer chocolate within the mold transfers its heat to the outer surface and interferes with crystal formation. In other words, because some of the chocolate in the mold is exposed to air and some isn't, it cools unevenly and does not set up properly. This problem becomes even worse when molding large masses of chocolate (bars and solid figures). Allow the chocolate to cool to the point where its surface has just gone from wet-looking to slightly matte. At this point it's beginning to crystallize. Ideally it should now be put in a cooler environment, say 10 degrees cooler than your workspace, with lots of air circulation, which is important to disperse the heat. If that's not an option, popping it into the fridge at this point should produce good results, though drastic temperature changes can cause cracking, condensation etc. Leave it in the cooler environment until the chocolate has fully pulled away from the sides of the molds, and allow to gradually return to room temperature before demolding. Lastly, always cool molds with the open side up, otherwise heat will be trapped within the cavity.

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Permalink Reply by Andre Costa on September 22, 2009 at 2:22pm

Brendan.

Thank you for the explanation. Very helpful. I will see what changes I need to make in order to improve my unmolding!

Thanks again.

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Permalink Reply by Diana on September 22, 2009 at 12:58pm

Comprehensive advice there...my only point to add would be that possibly your layer of chocolate was too thin which can sometimes make release difficult.

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Permalink Reply by Andre Costa on September 22, 2009 at 2:23pm

Diana,

My shell is usually very thin, which is something I am quite proud of...lol
In any case, I will keep the information you gave in mind. That's a good trouble-shooting technique.

Regards,

Andre

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