in case you're new to all this, let's talk batchcrafting
plus a bit o'wonder grinder love, no matter what a PITA they are
I realized during all the inclusioncrafting hoopla that, for new-to-chocolate makers the idea of batchcrafting may still be in the Say what? category. This post isn’t a complete tutorial, but I hope it answers a few questions. For you folks yearning for the white chocolate rainbow, never fear, that’s a topic next week (there’s no way I can teach inclusioncrafting without it!)
Long before I began teaching batchcrafting there was me and the smallest tabletop melanger available. It was called a Wonder Grinder, had a blue base, and has never failed me to this day, though it’s officially retired due to that pesky little fire issue the early models had. Before my WG I made my first-ever batch with a very loud rock-around-the-house Spectra that, had it been my only choice I might not be here writing this today. Interesting they changed the name from Spectra to Santha at some point, but the really weird thing is, Santha/Spectra and the folks at Premier/Diamond Custom Machines are the same family. It’s a tiny grinder dynasty! Which is likely why the darn things plague us with issues: I’ve been told, and not by the DCM folks, but by someone who has been credited with a lifetime achievement award for the reason the stonewheel wet grinder became the gateway drug to crafting bean to bar, that the two companies share the same factories and parts suppliers. Go figure! The truth is that making chocolate is hard. It is fraught with obstacles, and even when you’re a former tech company owner who cashed out to become a zillionaire with a 75,000 square foot chocolate factory, there will be a day you forgot to measure the door to make sure the bar-wrapping machine shipped from Europe will fit.
Always remember that even on our small end of the scale, the problems are all figureoutable (thank you Marie Forleo for that word). This includes the sometimes daily issues of tabletop refiners, and this list has the DCM20 on it too. Machines, like cars or blenders or iphones, do not always do what we ask them to do. The good news is, wait. Is there good news? Okay, let’s call it the truth. The truth is, we have each other. Makers making chocolate is how the issues come to light. We know now that reaching out to the manufacturers can be…irksome. Exhausting! and frustrating. Yet here I am, extolling my ongoing love affair with the wonky, wobbly, creaky, prone to slinging chocolate throughout my clean kitchen (not the floors! not the floors! is my mantra) tiny grinder, despite it all.
If you are new to crafting chocolate and still reading, be proud. It’s this fearless pursuit of making chocolate that will carry you through 1am tempering sessions for the custom wedding bars on the day your a/c blinks out and the highest temperature on record blankets your humid lil hamlet in a suffocating heat: you can do this! Which is EXACTLY what these silly cantankerous grinders purr to us batch after batch. A ball mill in our kitchen? a roller mill in the garager? ha. Those beefy bulked-up sheet metal behomeths are factory workhorses, but they have no soul.
Ask 99% of chocolate makers (skip the trustfunders with helicopters and private chefs whisking them to sniff cocoa pods at origin) how they got their start and it will be a tiny mofo grinder. So, settle in and make these do what we (they) are here to do, write the manufacturer every single time you have an issue (black gunk is not coming from the wheels, spattering sky-high has not always been an issue, fires are NOT OKAY, etc), and then offer your insights to our fellow community of makers.
A few questions to help getting started.
What size should I buy? As long as you make chocolate, no matter how large you grow your biz (if a chocolate biz is your goal), there will be a need for the smallest size melanger, namely for test batches. There is also much to be said for beginning with something that doesn’t require a lot of nibs, i.e, multiple roast batches and longer winnowing.
How do I assemble a tiny grinder? and never ever leave the wheels where they can roll of the table because they will. Ask me how I know. Assemble according to the instructions; before making chocolate melt cocoa butter, add to the melanger, turn on and then add a small amount of sugar (aim for a soupy slurry). Turn it off and empty, then wipe clean, removing the wheels and cleaning those too.
What is a batch? A batch is all the weighed ingredients of a formulation, and can be sized to fit your melanger. A melanger doesn’t have to be run “full” (and ideally the chocolate should never completely cover the tops of the stones/wheels) but know that the teensier the batch the faster it will refine (et voila, why a small refiner is a test batch friend).
What do you mean by formulation? see the earlier discussion below
Can you give me a recipe? oh sweetie, I can or could but I can’t and won’t, because I actually truly want you to understand all the beautiful messy parts of making chocolate, not just the weights needed for a batch. Read the post above, it even has a pdf!
Do I need to wash a grinder after using? Yes. And the reason is food safety. Also, cross-contamination if you ever work with allergens (nuts, seeds, coconut, soy, dairy, wheat, etc). But this is a trick question! We do not need to wash after every batch/between batches if we are (1) repeating a batch of the same origin or (2) following a batch of an origin with a variation on the batch; for example, if I make a batch of Fiji Matasawalevu 78% dark, I can make a batch of Fiji dark milk chocolate if I need to. But the reverse is not true: I can’t make a milk or white then follow with a dark etc.
To wash: if your sink doesn’t have a grease trap make sure to pre-wipe the bowl and wheels before washing in the sink; hot soapy water, rinse well, dry completely. Make sure to remove the wheel from the wheel unit, as cocoa butter etc migrates into the wheel housing easily. I use a stainless skewer to poke a food-grade disinfectant wipe through the hole, then wash and rinse and dry.
How do I make a batch of dark chocolate? My favorite question! Once you have determined your formulation, weigh out all the ingredients. if the room is cool pre-heat the melanger bowl and stones (a blowdryer works fine). For dark chocolate, if I’m using added cocoa butter I like to add all of that first as it’s 5% or less in my formulations. Turn on the melanger, and add small amounts of nibs unless you’re using a DCM20 which is direct drive, not belt-driven (the tiny grinders are powered by a belt, which get’s loose over time or under stress; they can’t power through a lot of nibs all at once.) Keep adding nibs until the cocoa butter (if added or, the inherent cb in the nibs) has helped make a thick gritty but liquid enough to keep going mass. The melanger is designed to run 24/7; I recommend a camera and app set-up plus a smoke detector/app so you can always know if something’s gone awry. after 12-24 hours add the sugar, continue refining. Depending on batch size (this is a huge caveat!) between 48-72 hours is my length of time for dark chocolate. Origins differ! Cool temp grinding = slower, hot weather = faster.
What about cocoa butter? two words: personal preference. I am more focused on matching a % to an origin; sometimes I add cb, other origins I don’t. Do what works best for you, which means, an intentional choice. And, here’s a post.
How do I make a milk chocolate? Start with a dark milk formulation, and be aware that it’s easy to overfill a melanger the first time if you just wing it.
Why does my chocolate suck? Give it a week and taste again. Is it flavor? if so, what don’t you like? is it texture? what does it feel like on your tongue? What origin? what was the % you used? how (did?) you roast the beans? did you test batch, or is this the first test batch? Does your head swirl with all my questions?
My advice, take a deep breath and read this (yet one more) post. And email me if you have questions. No judgment for unhappy chocolate; every single maker has been there, and if we’re lucky enough, we’ll keep learning.
Happy crafting, and if you have questions or want to share insights, please do!