11.02 Re-Crystallizing Cocoa Butter

Tools:

Scrapper (Putty Knife 7" or 8")

Offset Spatula ( Larger than Scrapper)

Bowl

Hold Offset with dominant hand

Don't use larger quantities of CB. Smaller quantities are more manageable and are easier to move around.

Pour some melted CB on the table (either 2/3 or 3/4). The warmer the kitchen. the more it can be poured, up to 100%.

The poured CB will be used to build the crystals, and the rest will be used to warm it back.

The poured CB will be cooled down to 29ºC. Temperature range for generation of 𝛽2 crystals is 29º-34ºC.

Melting-Crystallization points of CB Polymorphism:

I     II         III     IV V     VI

γ     α         𝛽′2′     𝛽′1 𝛽2     𝛽1

17.3    23.3 25.5     27.5 33.8     36.3

Temperature	Dark chocolate	Milk Chocolate	White chocolate
MELT	50°C– 55°C	45°C – 50°C	45°C – 50°C
COOL DOWN	28°C – 29°C	27°C – 28°C	26°C – 27°C
WORKING	31°C – 32°C	29°C – 30°C	28°C – 29°C

The results will be even better if you keep the chocolate at the MELT temperature for an extended period of time (even few hours)

Temperature Variation when tabling

In a bowl (double boiler) melt the CB at 45-55ºC

Pour 2/3 to 3/4 of melted CB onto the cold table

With the offset, move the CB by sliding back and forth. Don't spread too much as it cool downs quickly (aprox 1")

Using the scrapper, bring the CB back in the centre, cleaning the scrapper with the offset

Keep monitoring the CB surface for signs of crystallization (dullness, thickness, temperature)

Once the CB cools down to about 29ºC (27.5ºC ideally. It can go down to 25ºC) start transferring it to the bowl with the warmer CB

Thicker or solidified CB shouldn't go into the bowl

Clean the tools and table while the CB is still soft

Stir the CB, it will start turning opaque. Warm up if necessary.