Air Gaps In Molds Creating White Patches On De-molded Chocolate
- After melting the chocolate compound, I am pouring chocolate in the molds.
- After pouring the chocolate, I am tapping and vibrating the molds manually. This is getting rid of most of the small air bubbles. So far, so good.
- Now comes the main issue. The issue is that air gaps (from what it looks like) are being introduced in the molds, even after tapping and vibrating the molds manually. This is creating white patches on the de-molded chocolate, in the shape of the air bubble.
Here are some pics that showcase the air gaps issue:
PATCHES:
DIMENSIONS OF MOLD USED FOR PATCH 1:
DIMENSIONS OF MOLD USED FOR PATCHES 2 & 3:
From what it looks like, I am assuming that the air gaps are really air gaps and nothing else. Please correct me if I am wrong.
How to get rid of these air gaps so that the de-molded chocolate pieces are simple plain chocolate pieces without any patches on them?
NOTE 1:
The Air gaps shown in the images do behave like an air bubble. When I manually press on the exact position where I see the air gap, and I keep doing it for few times (4-10) and apply varying pressure, I am able to get the air released from the mold, but that leaves a patch on the actual chocolate, as can be seen in 2nd Patch image.
NOTE 2:
Adding one more image of the patch to illustrate the issue.
Please look at the following image:
From the above image, it looks like the white oval patch in the middle of the chocolate resembles the white mist on the rearview mirror of a car. Not only that, but it also behaves the same, in the sense that I can see the mist in the mold cavity. If I wipe the mist (I think that is what this issue is) in the cavity with a cloth, it just disappears, similar to what would happen if you wipe the mist off of a mirror.
If my analysis is right and if the white patch is indeed the result of the formation of mist in the mold cavity, how can it be prevented to ensure clean chocolate pops out when de-molded?
Best Answer
These are not air gaps. When chocolate sets, it will shrink a little bit and bend the mold, thus creating these gaps as it sets (they are effectively vacuum gaps). This can be avoided by using a more rigid mold, that wouldn’t bend as it sets.
Pictures about "Air Gaps In Molds Creating White Patches On De-molded Chocolate"
How do you prevent air bubbles in chocolate molds?
-Mold was not tapped thoroughly. -Chocolate was too thick or too cool. -The edges or details of the mold are too sharp.Why is there air bubbles in my chocolate?
Your chocolates will break easily if they're not as strong as they should be. This could mean that you should make adjustments to the ways that you're making the chocolates. For example, you might not be stirring enough if you're making chocolates using melted candy or something else similar.Airbrush Basics
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Ivan Babydov, Pixabay, Miguel Á. Padriñán, Brett Sayles