For cleaning molds. I clean only if
A. I have a problem which shows up on the chocolate or
B. It is a seasonal mold that is being put away till next year. I wash in warm soapy water and rinse in an acid (vinegar would work but I use citric acid because I have it on hand) and air dry.
As for polishing there is corn cobb media that is made for polishing plastics and comes in 50 lb bags. I have a homemade "tumbler" (basically a drum on rollers). I put the molds inside and roll it over and over (plan to put a motor on it one day) and the corn cobb grit polishes and removes all traces of oil.
In regular use lightly warm the molds with your heat gun just enough to cause the film to liquefy before lining the molds. Don't worry it would take a whole lot longer to over heat the mold than most people would have patience for. Play the air over the mold maybe 5 at a time and then fill. I got this from Jean Pierre Wybau in a Seminar I attended in Montreal@ Callebaut Academy. It works wonders. If anything shows up after that you need to wash.
Also for the heat gun. Get a retractable cord and mount it on the ceiling of your shop and adjust it so it is just over your head. reach up pull it down use and tug and let it go back up over your head. Keeps the counters clear and gun accessable and never accidently droppped on the floor
Hope it helps
Dave
Hi Ashley, I've used that method for years, but I'm looking for detailed instructions on using the sodium hydroxide method. I have no employees, dozens of molds, and I work in a 7'x9' space that makes heatguns impossible without making the temperature skyrocket. Hence the need for a faster, simpler technique. The previous discussions on using sodium hydroxide (lye) would work much better for me and I have almost gotten it down, but I'm looking for more those more experienced in the method to give me some more detailed insight. Thank you for sharing your method though, I appreciate it.
Has anyone developed a system that cleans their molds on a regular basis, and would you explain in detail how you go about it? I work in a home kitchen with a double stainless steel sink and use powdered food grade lye with mixed results. Should the washing (soaking) water be cool, like with soap-making? (This cuts down drastically on the fumes.) How much time in the lye bath? How much lye in the bath? No scrubbing in the bath, but in the rinse, or no? When scrubbing, what to scrub with?
I put 3/4 of a cup of crystals in a sink full of hot water. I had two windows open and it was not enough to vent the fumes from the hot water. I will use a n95 mask from now on, along with chemical gloves and goggles. I soaked six molds for 15-20 minutes then rinsed for about a minute in a clean, HOT, rinse water; no scrubbing. A couple of the molds came out with CB film still on them, the others appear clean so far.
Please, if you have clearer instructions, I would be most appreciative. It takes longer for me to buff all of my molds than to fill them with chocolate and ganache, and I don't have the luxury of a dishwasher or employee. This technique would save my butt. Thank you!
Hi All,
being absent for a while..busy re-locating my factory.
We buy SH directly from a chemical factory in liquid for (40% concentration), the crystals are just 100% pure so you need to be careful with the amount used and take enormous precautions while handling it!
We fill our sink with hot water and add SH, we soak for a while the molds and then rinse in hot water while gently scrubbing. Our results are not yet 100% but we are happy with it so far.
We are going to test a higher solution (till water turn pink as per Brad instruction)
Definitely is a matter of creating a "recipe":
X % SH @X% concentration for X amount of Liter of Hot water...
Let's see who can crack this mystery of cleaning!!!
Tried it again with very very hot water and doubling the lye and I still have a film, just not as thick. I wish I had access to whatever solution you're using Brad, as I just have food grade lye, and now I'm out of that. A few questions:
Do you soak your molds in the Sodium Hydroxide solution for some amount if time or do you just swish them around in it?
I'm rinsing the molds in a bucket of hot water. Maybe I want to run hot water from a sprayer?
I'm using a solution of 5 oz Sodium Hydroxide to 15 pints of water, or about 2% Sodium Hydroxide. Clearly that's not enough. What % do you think your solution comes out to?
I can't get any food grade lye around here, I have to order it. I can get pure Sodium Hydroxide crystals, but I don't know if it's food grade or what that means. It's sold as a drain cleaner. But if I rinse it, SH should be gone either way. Do you think that's safe?
What's the brand name of the product you use?
What is the film? Is it soap (sodium hydroxide+fat from the cocoa butter=soap)? Can I just polish it off or should I clean the molds with Dawn?
I'm about to try a 4:1 solution of Greased Lightning on one of my molds that has the film. I'll post how it goes.
All of my molds are polycarbonate. I spray them with lukewarm water until I can see no chocolate remnants. Then I fill the sink with lukewarm water and a little Palmolive and I splash each mold around in the water for a few seconds -- no washcloth or anything else. Then I rinse the molds with reverse osmosis water, rap them on the counter a couple of times, and let them air dry on towels. I have perfectly clean molds with zero water spots. Chocolates release beautifully and I never see any chocolate residue in the cavities themselves. They seem to be slowly but surely building a microscopic CB presence. I also wipe the molds and cavities with a shammy before each use. I've noticed no ill effects at all. But after reading through this thread I worry...
Am I woefully ignorant of something here?
@Brad,
just a question: once dry do the molds feel "squeky?"
and is anyone that knows what could be the risk/effect if the S.O. is not rinsed properly?
Rochelle, just make sure that you buy the right product, it comes in 2 format: liquid in a dilution of 40% or pure in crystal form.
Do not confuse with ammonium hydroxide or bleach or anything else cause it could be harmful. We,all, are still Chocolatiers and not chemical engineers, so please do your research!
As soon as my friend (chemical engineer) is back in town, i will discuss with her what really is S.H. and the risk/benefit. I think that is good if we post some words from a Chemical Engineer....
Hi All,
we finally got our supply of Sodium Hydoxide, 25 l drum with a dil. of 40%
We tried a cup in about 40 lit of warm water and i must say it went so quick! my employees loved it! in few minutes we washed everything.
The rinsing part was a bit of issue: the molds after 2 rinse still have a slippery feel, not the "squicky" one as i was expecting.
@Brad and any one else: do i need to rinse them more or reduce the amount of Sodium or is just normal?
thanks in advance!
Ahhh, Brad - that makes so much more sense . I am glad this got straightened out - ammonium hydroxide is pretty nasty stuff. Not that sodium hydroxide (aka lye, caustic soda) is a cakewalk.
Please note, everyone, that this provides a very good reason to RTFM (that is, read the material safety data sheet, or MSDS) on any chemical you are considering using. I was looking at the MSDS for ammonium hydroxide and wondered what others knew about it that I couldn't find out.
In doing some follow up research on sodium hydroxide I ran across the following ( Red Lightning degreaser ), which might be a good (and perhaps safer and easier to handle) alternative for anyone who's at all skittish about using lye as a degreaser. I plan to try it - and I will let people know what I find out.
Huafeng Mold supply professional and honest service.
I think people have been slow to respond to you here because tempering chocolate has been discussed in depth several times. I was trying to find some of the links for you – but I can see that this might be frustrating because apparently it has been a while and they seem pretty well hidden away.
First you need to think about how much time you want to commit to this chocolate leaf project and decide if you really want to make these yourself or just purchase some.
If you decide you want to make these leave and that the waxy crap is out (yayayay – good choice on that at least) you need to locate some good chocolate. Chocolate for tempering is normally referred to as couverature (its French). Couverature has a higher percentage of cocoa butter. You do not want chocolate that involves paraffin or coconut oil or any fat other than cocoa butter.
Sourcing chocolate for tempering may not be easy depending on where you are located. You should use a dark chocolate because that is the easiest to work with. As was mentioned already – Callebaut is a very functional and widely used chocolate that is also fairly available. I think that Williams Sonoma sells it – another source of good chocolate is Sur La Table. Trader Joes has several chocolates that can be tempered as does Whole Foods. Or you can look on the web.
Your mold – you have just the one? This could be a slow job – you might want to look for another one or two so that you can produce more efficiently. Make sure it is nice and clean – I like to wipe my molds gently with a cotton pad or cotton ball – but if it is new and never used you should not have to do this unless you have gotten fingerprints inside the mold cavities. If you have just the one you may need to give it a cleaning once or twice during your production (either because you misstemper and need to clean our untempered chocolate stuck in your mold – or because you may see a decrease in shine after a couple of moldings as a little cocoa butter film may accumulate). If you must wash – use hot water – soap is generally frowned upon and definitely no abrasives. Dry the mold carefully with a soft towel and give each cavity a wipe with a cotton ball – if you rub vigorously you can build up static electricity that may cause the chocolate to refuse to release without a fight.
Now its time to temper and of course there are several methods to do that – you already have one that is perfectly serviceable.
You can chop your chocolate and melt it (direct warm) in the microwave. To do this your chocolate must already be in temper – which purchased chocolate should be – and you should be pretty sure of yourself and have an accurate thermometer
1) . This is not actually tempering in the strictest sense since you are merely raising the temperature gradually without allowing it to rise above 91F. Use a plastic bowl so that you do not have heat accumulation. Typically it is a good idea to temper at least 1 pound of chocolate.
2) Wave on Hi 1 minute then check your chocolate (it will probably still be pieces that are just a bit soft – maybe a tiny bit of melt)
3) Wave some more but just 10-30 seconds at a time. Check after each waving to see the melt and sample the temp.
4) After approximately 2 minutes your chocolate should be almost all melted (not all – that would be a bad sign) with many small lumps (good sign)
5) Stir with a rubber spatula smushing lumps as you do
6) Take the temp – you want it to be 91F or lower if you come up with 93F then you need to proceed to real tempering methods
7) Test the chocolate – dip a slip of parchment, or the blade of a knife in the chocolate and set it on your counter (hopefully you will be working in a comfortably cool area – too cold will mean the chocolate sets up quickly and may make it hard for you to do your molding – too warm and the chocolate will be problematic – too humid is also bad since very moist air can also cause chocolate to take on a grayish film. The dipped paper or blade should be smooth and hardened without streaking or spots in about 1 minute. If after 1 minute you still have a blade or paper that is coated in wet chocolate then you probably are too warm and will need to proceed to real tempering.
8) Never pour chocolate into your molds unless you are absolutely certain that it is in temper – otherwise you have a lot of washing up to do and waste a lot of chocolate.
The hot water method – as described previously – that should work
This is Seeding – you ‘seed’ the melted chocolate with tempered chocolate pieces. Typically you will melt 2/3 and reserve 1/3 for seeding.
You can do this same effect by dropping a block of tempered chocolate into your bowl of melted chocolate and stirring it around until the melted chocolate has cooled sufficiently and responds appropriately to the temper test. At this point you just pull out the remainder of the block and save it for later.
Tempering using an Ice Bath or Marble
This is real honest to goodness tempering – perhaps when you have messed up or don’t have any tempered chocolate left to work with.
1) Warm your chocolate (all of it) to 120F (you can do this over hot water or in the microwave.
2) Assuming you do not have a marble or any tools – you can use an ice bath to temper your chocolate you will probably want a metal bowl for this.
3) Set the bowl of warmed chocolate into a larger bowl with some ice and just a bit of water
4) Use a rubber spatula to stir the chocolate
5) You will notice that the chocolate at the bottom in contact with the cold ice sets up quickly – so you want to keep that moving and incorporate it into the main body of the chocolate
6) Assuming you are working with a pound of chocolate you should cool down fairly fast
7) Lumps may be an issue – do the best you can to get rid of them
8) Test and use
9) Be very careful since you have water hazards with the ice – get that out of the way and wipe off the bowl immediately
Tabling (Tablier - if you insist on the french) – same basic theory classically achieved
1) Pour about 2/3 of the chocolate out onto your marble (I would recommend a large marble 18x24. You will also want an large offset spatula and a dough scraper or nice large clean metal paint scraper
2) Using the large offset – spread the chocolate out in a thin layer so that it approaches the edge of your marble but not so that it drips off the edges
3) Let it set for a moment then scrape it up with the scraper – cleaning regularly with your spatula
4) You will probably have to repeat the spreading and scraping procedure a couple of times – it will be obvious when the chocolate is getting to the right temperature since it will get thick and pasty
5) Scrape up your cooled chocolate and stir it into the warm chocolate smushing any lumps
6) Test for temperature (you are always looking for 91F or below – note that under 88 the chocolate will be harder to work with for molding since the fluidity is less the colder it gets – the microwave is your friend but only used sparingly – no more than a 6 second burst to be safe
Now you have to mold off all those leaves
If the leaf shapes are complex and have creases and small points you may want to use a clean soft paint brush to brush chocolate lightly into the mold so that all the surface of the cavity is coated before you pour chocolate into the mold. The reason for this is to avoid bubbles and air holes in the finished chocolates. The down side is that once you finish with the brush the chocolate will set and you have to clean and dry it before reusing. (you can set the brush in a bowl over some hot water to keep it from hardening – just make sure to squish out the chocolate on the brush with a paper towel before using it again since that chocolate will be over warmed at will cause bloom in your mold. (bad)
I am assuming that you are using one of those clear plastic molds available at many craft and candy supply shops. The difficulty in working with this type of mold is that they are not rigid like a polycarbonate mold. If you are using a real polycarbonate mold thet is great.
Pour the tempered chocolate (88-90F) into the mold cavities – at least try to keep the stream focused on filling the holes – you could use a ladel for this – but that’s just one more thing that will now be coated in hard chocolate that you have to clean later.
Tapping is generally the next step – this gets out air bubbles – tapping is hard if you are working with a plastic mold.
Next you use the clean offset or spatula to scrape off the excess chocolate back into the bowl. If you are working with the plastic you should probably leave the mold on the counter and carefully scrape the chocolate off – ideally you now have the cavities evenly filled with chocolate all smoothed off even with the surface of the mold and the mold surface just has a light smear of chocolate.
Pop the mold into the fridge for about 15 minutes then remove. The leaves should just pop right out when you invert the mold. (keep your fingers crossed)
Good luck
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