Hello everyone! I am glad to welcome you at the course devoted to Chocolate. In this lesson we will have a look at the basic equipment we are going to use during the course and which will come in handy at home.
Please note that we are not going to use special equipment that’s why this course is available for everyone to recreate at home. I often work in a nonprofessional kitchen and will share all the aspects of working with chocolate in inappropriate conditions.
I will provide a list of equipment we are going to use but you can always buy moulds which differ from ours or replace some utensils to your taste. It’s a flight of fancy. Now I will show you which utensils are better and more convenient to work with and so on.
After reading the introduction you will understand what equipment you won’t be able to go without and what equipment you can buy to your taste.
Let’s start!
Every lesson has a list of equipment and products we will need. Here you can find a list of everything described in general.
Pyrometer
We are going to use a non-contact infrared thermometer. A model and temperature range do not matter because we are going to work at an average temperature range. You can buy the cheapest non-contact thermometer. The main thing is that it has to measure temperature :).
Can I use any other thermometers, probe ones for example?
Yes, you can. But it isn’t convenient to measure temperature of chocolate in such a way. Using such thermometers you must not touch the surface of a slab (with a tip of the probe) on which we are going to temper chocolate otherwise you will measure chocolate temperature wrong. Moreover it is almost impossible to do in the right way.
Aerograph (spray gun), not necessary
We use an aerograph (spray gun) in one of the lessons. If you are sure you want to continue working with chocolate after the course I advise you to buy a spray gun with a nozzle diameter of not less than 0.3 mm and no more than 0.5 mm. The label and other characteristics don’t matter. This lesson can also be covered without a spray gun. You can dye everything using a simple brush. If you make efforts and apply colourants carefully and thoroughly you will get an excellent result which won’t be worse than you might get with a spray gun.
Marble slab
A marble slab can be replaced with a granite one. It must be smooth and without cracks. Minimal size – 60×30 cm. The bigger it is the more convenient it will be for you to temper a large amount of chocolate (but it will be harder to move the slab because of its weight). You’d better buy a light-coloured slab because it’s easier to notice where chocolate is. The colour doesn’t influence temperature. A small size of a slab can be found in the ceramic tile shops where you can also buy both marble and granite slabs. Or you can order it from someone who makes table tops of these materials.
Do we really need a slab at the course?
Yes, you do. Of course we will tell you how to temper chocolate without a slab but when you have 300-400 g of chocolate it won’t be convenient to do in a bowl.
Microwave oven
It’s necessary for melting chocolate. You can go without it and melt chocolate over a hot-water bath. But it takes a lot of time and it’s not convenient to control temperature of chocolate. That is why for saving time I recommend to you to use a microwave. If you don’t have any just borrow it from your friends for the whole course. Any microwave will do!
Room temperature requirements
You can pass a course at home without using an air conditioner.
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That is basically everything we need to know to get down to the course. Take the equipment and we will begin with the most interesting part.
The full version of article is available only for students