beta 6 crystals

Anyone using the beta 6 crystals? What do you think? It sure is easy enough.
let me know

forgive the ignorance....what the heck are beta 6 crystals?

Blade,
They are pretty new. You melt couvature in the usual fashion and the add 1 % beta crystals and stir them in. Voila your chocolate is tempered with a really nice snap etc.

You mean tempering made extremely easy?!

Why didn't anybody tell me this lovely new invention earlier?! :cry:

More Info please...

I would like to know more about this. Will certainly do a search.
Nhumi

Beta 6

Hi,
Is this a different brand name for MyCryo?
Where do you purchas this?
I am looking for cost, recently used MyCryo.
Thanks in advance for any info.
The Dessert Diva

Albert Uster carries it

beta 6

I wouldnt dare use it for chocolates or anything using valrhona or the sort but I could deffinatley use it for tempering bulk callebaut chocolate for small garnishes and stuff; which has wierd stuff in it but being able to temper it would be cheap.

Tempering

Could you explain what the product is a little more? is it just a large amount of cocoa butter that has been tempered with lots of beta crystals that you add to the chocolate?

-Robert
chocolateguild.com

spicy pickles....

Can you elaborate why you wouldn't use it with certain kinds of chocolate and certain applications. I am very curious about this product as I have never heard of it before.

Panini...

Have you actually tried them yet?

Why does everyone find tempering so hard, its just one step further than melting a compound, don't you use injection?

I have not used them yet. I know a hotel chef using it.
I am of the impression that this is a production helper.
Felix
I am willing to try anything to help with production. We have many problems with chocolate. We work in a 1000 sq ft location that does both retail and production. I know, small!!! but you would be surprized how much can be produced. There is sometimes a temperature difference of 30 deg in a 20ft area. LOL sometimes in the spring when it's humid , cold in front and hot in the back, I sometimes we can make weather right in the bakery.
pan

hot kitchen

What are some good pointers for tempering when the kitchen is so **** hot.
I have basicaly given up on tempering at this point. I do sheets of choc for shards(the look so much better than chopped chocolate) but its never consistent. Tempering at home is a cinch as long as your not too drunk.

Pan, I'm not knocking you mate! I don't see any real saving of time between melting a bowl of couverture and injecting or by using beta 6 crystals (which I assume also have to be injected). Either way its still a matter of temperature and timing. (just my 2 cents -save your money)

Pan, I sympathise - I don't know how large 1000ft sq is as I deal in metric over here. (I think it could be around 3ft to a metre?)

Dealing with chocolate, in a small area with fluctuating temps? Tell me about it. I've been around long enough (check my profile!) and I now run a retail/production pastry kitchen and when we get 6 people on the floor per shift there's room for no more!! No bench space and no storage.

Our area is open plan with glass partitions and out the back its a laserlite (plastic) roof which heats up above 35 degrees Celcius in the middle of the day, throw in an overworked Hobart pot washer and malfunctioning airconditioning, in the largest sub tropical city in Oz and **** me! it's summer already.:eek: :lol:

So what do I do, I do chocolate work early or late at night, I just have to rework production, store it in the coolest area possible and cross my fingers.:p

BTW I have used samples of mycryo to temper with and to be honest it saves no more time, but costs more!!:eek: Good luck!

And this makes 100 posts!!:smiles:

congrats on 100
I'm assuming when you say injecting,your seeding, putting chopped cooler choco in an blendind down to temp.
Least you can squeeze in 6 people:D We max at 5:crazy:
I thinking the crystals will be faster only because I don't even have a way to keep my seeding chocolate at a consistant temp. I was thinking to infuse with a stick blender at a temp more closer to usable. Am I wrong. Now, if I wait to seed with a cooler chocolate I loose snap and life.? Hey, enlighten me, I'm all for using any technique. I'm much to old to be coming in early or God forbid staying late;)
pan

Seeding/Tempering

Hi,

Just my 2 cents, I have been working with a Swiss trained chocolatier, we use Mycryo it saves a lot of time versus seeding when you are doing large amounts, we have melters for both dark and milk and hold the chocolate in a machine that rotates and heats the chocolate simultaneously.
However we use a lot less white chocolate so that is done the "old fashioned way" by seeding.
I don't know if that helps or not, that section of the building is also extremely climate controlled as are the holding area's.

Being up "North (I am south of the equator) has many problems and I have got a couple of tricks up my sleeve to try to get what I need done. Although we have a bloody hot summer coming and I am already advising clients that Chocolate in the day time, standing out as a centrepiece is a really bad idea!!

In theory I would advise against the stick blender, although I have not tried it. My thinking is 2 reasons.
1. The potential for a build up of heat through friction would take the chocolate off "temper".
2. If not fully immersed and kept immersed it would whip air into the chocolate, ruining the finish.

Anyway can I ask some questions about your setup.
Also, I will need to convert from Celcius to Farenheit and back again so bear with me.
What is the "average" temp of your work environment on an average day at the moment. Is this where you store your chocolate?
I assume it is almost winter over where you are?
What access do you have to equipment?
Do you have a microwave?
Do you have an oven? Is it a Bakers oven (deck) or a Combi oven?
How much chocolate do you need to temper?
My method of preparing and tempering chocolate depends on many factors. What I am using it for, what quantity I need, how soon I need it, what the enviroment will be like where I am working.
I look forward to a reply soon.:D

BTW I agree about the staying up late/getting up early issue, I must confess my version now days is early = 6am start and late = 8pm finish.
I remember working for my dad and starting at 11pm:eek:

Dessertdiva, I now have a matfer machine with wheel and motor. It sounds similar to what you have. I don't see time as an issue, if production is planned properly you should be able to inject and walk away leaving the machine running while you take care of other tasks.

i totally understand how some places are not meant for chocolate tempering. we just dont do it because it wont stay in temper (being held on the line, or in the reach in. nobody respects the chocolate) - and the chocolate work is definitely not our top priority unfortunately!

so can someone explain the mycryo tempering method. do you just add 1% and stir it in--- ??? we have the stuff to experiment, maybe thats what i'll do! but any help is appreciated . thanks .

BTW I am not against using mycryo or beta 6 ( I am assuming they are the same?) for tempering. I am not making a judgement of one being better or worse, I just see that it is more expensive and I have never had an issue with injecting.

Jessiquina, follow this link! http://www.callebaut.com/en/50170

And here is the link for Beta 6 Crystals, http://www.auiswiss.com/culin_whatsnew.cfm?catid=1237

The process looks to be the same. I am still not "sold" on the stick blender being used.

thanks! i will experiment at work.