Ping Mark Thorson

Janet said:

Chocovision

Sounds like something out of [censored] Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

-sw

Janet said:

I know you are interested in chocolate. I need to buy additional tempering
machines, and I'm wondering if you have any experience with the
"professional" Chocovision machines--or any other small-to-mid-sized ones
made by companies like Hilliard, for that matter.

No, I don't. I've considered buying one lots of times,
but haven't so far.

"Mark Thorson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Janet said:

I know you are interested in chocolate. I need to buy additional
tempering
machines, and I'm wondering if you have any experience with the
"professional" Chocovision machines--or any other small-to-mid-sized ones
made by companies like Hilliard, for that matter.

No, I don't. I've considered buying one lots of times,
but haven't so far.

Thanks anyway! The only machine I've seen in use at smaller chocolatiers is
the ACMC Tabletop, which I already have. At $795, it is a significantly
smaller investment that the Chocovision models. I'm wondering if they are
worth almost twice as much....

Janet said:

Thanks anyway! The only machine I've seen in use at smaller chocolatiers is
the ACMC Tabletop, which I already have. At $795, it is a significantly
smaller investment that the Chocovision models. I'm wondering if they are
worth almost twice as much....

Have you considered doing it by hand? You don't
need a machine to temper chocolate, and there are
alternatives for holding tempered chocolate. All
you need for holding chocolate is a thermostatically
controlled bath or circulator. The advantage of the
temperer is that it produces tempered chocolate with
minimal training of the operator.

"Mark Thorson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Janet said:

Thanks anyway! The only machine I've seen in use at smaller chocolatiers
is
the ACMC Tabletop, which I already have. At $795, it is a significantly
smaller investment that the Chocovision models. I'm wondering if they are
worth almost twice as much....

Have you considered doing it by hand? You don't
need a machine to temper chocolate, and there are
alternatives for holding tempered chocolate. All
you need for holding chocolate is a thermostatically
controlled bath or circulator. The advantage of the
temperer is that it produces tempered chocolate with
minimal training of the operator.

I started out doing it by hand, but realized as soon as I started to
attempt to turn out regular quantities that some kind of machine was
necessary, if only to hold it in temper while dipping. Once you are going to
invest in a machine to hold the chocolate at a given temperature you might
as well get a tempering machine, as far as I can see, having researched the
available equipment. Even with a tempering machine, the chocolate is
sensitive to variations in the humidity and temperature of the room, so they
don't solve all the problems by any means, unless you also have a climate
controlled environment.

In any case, I now need to hire people to work under my supervision, so I
*definitely* need machines that can be used by people who have fairly
minimal training. I prefer to hand form and dip truffles, but hand-tempering
the chocolate is too impractical even for me. <G>

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 22:45:17 -0400, "Janet" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

te
controlled environment.

In any case, I now need to hire people to work under my supervision, so I
*definitely* need machines that can be used by people who have fairly
minimal training. I prefer to hand form and dip truffles, but hand-tempering
the chocolate is too impractical even for me. <G>

You will post where these can be ordered, won't you? I can always
enjoy watching other family members eat them. (sigh)

Boron