"The ginger pieces are water, the chocolate fat. They don't like each other. Try precoating the pieces with something to act as an emulsifier "glue". Common is gum arabic solution or a quick coat solution (1:1 gum…"
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Mark Heim
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Mark Heim replied to Walt Moody's discussion After action report on my first attempt at Caramels"The moisture after cook has a huge affect on texture. Try a few degrees higher, maybe 245F. There are other things you can do with recipe to control the cold flow, but moisture is the easiest. Unless the caramel is very firm,…"
Mark Heim replied to Lane Wigley's discussion Is it worth tempering gianduja?"I temper until about ambient. Getting the right crystal structure can not only help with texture but in slowing oil migration into the shell."
Susan Van Horn left a comment for Mark Heim"Hi Mark, I'm hoping you can help with 2 things since you appear to be well versed in the science of things, and I just can't seem to figure this one out.
!. What do I need to do to get a nice, easy crunch to my toffee? Most of the…"
Mark Heim replied to Christine de Massis's discussion HELPPPP: CHOCOLATE IS CRUMBLY"Look at the centers. Chocolate will pull water from a ganache. Once it does it gets dry and crumbly in texture, as the moisture enters the chocolate and forms syrup with the sugar. Look at how much moisture you're adding…"
Mark Heim replied to Bindiya sharma's discussion Tempering"Ask 10 people and you'll get 12 techniques, and they can all work. Give all of 'em a try with the goal to find which one, or your own version of one, that works best for your situation, your equipment. And enjoy exploring."
Mark Heim replied to Esteban Iriart's discussion BRIGHTNESS ON CHOCOLATE"If all of the pieces are round, they may have been polished and glazed through panning. If they are you can taste it just before the chocolate melts."
Mark Heim replied to Katie Perry's discussion Best hazelnut flavor"You might want to try making a basic praline. Take 50:50 sugar and hazelnuts, you can caramelize the sugar with them, like a croquant, or partially, or just a blend depending on your target flavor profile. Grind them to a nut butter and…"
Mark Heim replied to Michael Karren's discussion Invertase"Invertase as an enzyme will continue to work until forced to stop. One way is heat as mentioned above, another is pH, but not a problem with fondant unless you've added acid for a fruit flavor. The final way it's stopped is if…"
Mark Heim replied to Christine de Massis's discussion GANACHE FEELS CRUMBLY"The ganache is an oil in water emulsion. So the water/syrup phase has a lot to do with texture. Peanut butter loves to suck up moisture, and so will have a dramatic effect on texture in no time. This is why nut pastes are…"
Mark Heim replied to Andy Ciordia's discussion Troubleshooting the Chocolate on Butter Toffee"Start with about 2%, temper like you would milk, and compare the snap of a tablet with the original dark or see if it's close to a milk sample. You can use other oils like coconut oil, but then it would fall out of the standards of…"
Mark Heim replied to Andy Ciordia's discussion Troubleshooting the Chocolate on Butter Toffee"Called butter oil, clarified butter, or AMF (anhydrous milk fat). Should be clear yellow when melted. Note that the more you add, the lower your temperature for tempering. Same reason why milk is lower than dark, and white lower…"
Mark Heim replied to Andy Ciordia's discussion Troubleshooting the Chocolate on Butter Toffee"Regarding the difference in success between white or milk vs dark. The toffee is an aqueous system and so does not want to adhere to chocolate. If you were panning chocolate on a water based center, or sugar on chocolate, you would…"
Tom left a comment for Mark Heim"I just replied to a comment you left in the fresh pods thread but don't know if you will see it as you didn't start the thread. Just wondering how many days in the freeze dryer you dry your cacao pods?"
Mark Heim replied to Beth L. Evard's discussion Stuck Chocolate In Mold"The moulds should be just below the temperature of your tempered chocolate. If too cold it will crystallize in less stable forms. You can get the same thing if cooled too quickly. Skin temperatures are about 92F, making it hard to…"
Profile Information
- Dark, Milk, White?
- Dark
- Most memorable chocolate experience:
- As a child, went on tour of the Hershey Factory, back when you could tour the factory. The room full of conches made it look like a chocolate lake in an amusement park.
- My favorite chocolate is:
- Depends on when, dark, milk, but usually with almonds.
Comment Wall (2 comments)
- At 3:21pm on October 25, 2012, Susan Van Horn said…
Hi Mark, I'm hoping you can help with 2 things since you appear to be well versed in the science of things, and I just can't seem to figure this one out.
!. What do I need to do to get a nice, easy crunch to my toffee? Most of the time it's too hard for my taste. Is it the temp. that I cook it to? 290°. It's just too hard for my liking and I would love to have your help on this. When it is refrigerated (I did this due to weather) it comes out with a nice, much easier crunch. But when it warmed up again, it went back to being too hard.2. How do I get it to not pack teeth?!!. Is it the thickness? 1/4" Is it the texture? If so, it goes hand in hand with needing help on #1.Help!!
- At 10:54pm on July 9, 2012, Tom said…
I just replied to a comment you left in the fresh pods thread but don't know if you will see it as you didn't start the thread. Just wondering how many days in the freeze dryer you dry your cacao pods?
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