Does anyone have a recommendation for chocolate molds,
specifically for bar molds. Plain, undecorated bars would
be fine. Googling gets tons of hits for companies selling molds.
I'm more interested in feedback from people who've used
molds and know what is good or bad about molds or the
companies that sell them.

The first company I went to, tcbsupply.com, has a 2-cavity
bar mold for only $2 that looks like it's a good size and
shape for me. The fact that they also sell wrappers that fit
the mold is a big plus. But I know nothing about molds.
I'd be perfectly happy to pay much more than $2 for
a mold, if it gets me a feature that is useful, like a
non-stick coating.

I'm thinking about doing some experiments in chocolate
blending and formulation, just a few hand-tempered
and poured bars per batch. Not a commercial operation.

It might cost $50-60 but u could have a custom silicone mold made. then it
is flexible and easy to get the bar out. but of course if u temper it
right, it's not supposed to be a problem anyway.... I buy most of my regular
molds from sugarcraft.com.

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> Does anyone have a recommendation for chocolate molds,
> specifically for bar molds. Plain, undecorated bars would
> be fine. Googling gets tons of hits for companies selling molds.
> I'm more interested in feedback from people who've used
> molds and know what is good or bad about molds or the
> companies that sell them.
>
> The first company I went to, tcbsupply.com, has a 2-cavity
> bar mold for only $2 that looks like it's a good size and
> shape for me. The fact that they also sell wrappers that fit
> the mold is a big plus. But I know nothing about molds.
> I'd be perfectly happy to pay much more than $2 for
> a mold, if it gets me a feature that is useful, like a
> non-stick coating.
>
> I'm thinking about doing some experiments in chocolate
> blending and formulation, just a few hand-tempered
> and poured bars per batch. Not a commercial operation.
>
>
>

wrote:

> It might cost $50-60 but u could have a custom silicone mold made. then it
> is flexible and easy to get the bar out. but of course if u temper it
> right, it's not supposed to be a problem anyway.... I buy most of my regular
> molds from sugarcraft.com.

That's an interesting thought -- I could have my own
custom design on it, like EXPERIMENTAL CHOCOLATE
HANDLE CAREFULLY. I wonder what the CAS number
for chocolate is?

Are silicone molds reallly better than metal? I would be
concerned that they wouldn't be very rigid, leading to
distortion of the shape being cast, especially if the
casting is thin like a bar. Also, I'd like a glossy surface
finish -- would silicone have a problem with that?

Mark Thorson > wrote in
:

> wrote:
>
>> It might cost $50-60 but u could have a custom silicone mold made.
>> then it is flexible and easy to get the bar out. but of course if u
>> temper it right, it's not supposed to be a problem anyway.... I buy
>> most of my regular molds from sugarcraft.com.
>
> That's an interesting thought -- I could have my own
> custom design on it, like EXPERIMENTAL CHOCOLATE
> HANDLE CAREFULLY. I wonder what the CAS number
> for chocolate is?
>
> Are silicone molds reallly better than metal? I would be
> concerned that they wouldn't be very rigid, leading to
> distortion of the shape being cast, especially if the
> casting is thin like a bar. Also, I'd like a glossy surface
> finish -- would silicone have a problem with that?

If you wish to experiment there are plenty of resources on the www about
molding with alginate and plaster and silicone.

I can try and dig some out if you're interested. You should be able to get
a glossy finish from silicone.




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My email address doesn't.

Demetrius Zeluff wrote:

> If you wish to experiment there are plenty of resources on the www about
> molding with alginate and plaster and silicone.
>
> I can try and dig some out if you're interested. You should be able to get
> a glossy finish from silicone.

Thanks, but I'm interested in buying molds or hiring a mold maker
to make one for me, not getting into mold-making myself.
It's making chocolate that I'm interested in.

OTOH, if I _did_ get into mold making, I think the right way
is to sculpt the original, then coat it thickly with a thermal metal
spray process, saw apart the shell, weld on any hinges or flanges,
grind the mating surfaces absolutely flat so their won't be any flash,
then electroplate the whole thing with compatible metals. By
the time I put that much work into it, the cost of gold would
be small compared to the cost of my labor, so I'd gold-plate
the whole thing.

Mark Thorson > wrote in
:

> Demetrius Zeluff wrote:
>
>> If you wish to experiment there are plenty of resources on the www
>> about molding with alginate and plaster and silicone.
>>
>> I can try and dig some out if you're interested. You should be able
>> to get a glossy finish from silicone.
>
> Thanks, but I'm interested in buying molds or hiring a mold maker
> to make one for me, not getting into mold-making myself.
> It's making chocolate that I'm interested in.

Well, yes. It's better to concentrate on the important stuff.

> OTOH, if I _did_ get into mold making, I think the right way
> is to sculpt the original, then coat it thickly with a thermal metal
> spray process, saw apart the shell, weld on any hinges or flanges,
> grind the mating surfaces absolutely flat so their won't be any flash,
> then electroplate the whole thing with compatible metals. By
> the time I put that much work into it, the cost of gold would
> be small compared to the cost of my labor, so I'd gold-plate
> the whole thing.

Blimey. You're serious about this stuff, eh?

I'll be looking out for your website when you have a product developed!

--
Kill-filers:
My screen name changes,
My email address doesn't.

"Mark Thorson" > wrote: "Does anyone have a recommendation
for chocolate molds, specifically for bar molds. "

I live in Toronto. I recently used plastic molds from the only cake supply
store I could find here, McCalls School of Cake Decorating
<http://www.mccalls-cakes.com/>. They're a stiff plastic, almost like
vellum. I found they were easy to use and my chocolate didn't stick. I
used a mold for leaves, and another that was a kit for a box made of
chocolate. I've used similar molds in the past that came from a store in
Halifax, NS. They were so similar I suspect they just use the same
wholesaler.

I did find it hard to get the chocolate out of the box base, which was very
deep (constituting the walls and base of the box). But that wasn't so much
a sticking issue as it was a vacuum issue. Eventually a lot of pushing and
twisting got it out, but I had to pass the point where I worried about
breaking the box. Luckily, it was fine.

What I did like about the plastic is that it is see-through, which meant I
could see air bubbles trapped in it, and remove them before it hardened, and
I could also (I was using white chocolate) colour some of the chocolate and
paint parts of the box first with the coloured chocolate to create a
pattern.

I like the sound of your plan, including the foil covers. I'm interested in
trying truffle moulds, which I also saw at McCalls, and for which the also
supply foil wrappers.

As an aside, I collect the molded plastic portions of packaging - the kind
that's used with cardboard backs to encase batteries, hardwear tools, dental
floss, etc. The cardboard is recyclable, but the plastic part is generally
not (it's often a code 3 or highter). I use them for mixing paint usually,
but I've been wonding if they could be used as a chocolate mold. My concern
(apart from cleanlinss) is whether there would be a chemical reaction that
might taint the chocolate. I don't want melted plastic in my chocolate, or
any chemical residue at all, really. Anyone here a scientist? Is this a
valid concern?

Margaret Robinson
Toronto

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> Does anyone have a recommendation for chocolate molds,
> specifically for bar molds. Plain, undecorated bars would
> be fine. Googling gets tons of hits for companies selling molds.
> I'm more interested in feedback from people who've used
> molds and know what is good or bad about molds or the
> companies that sell them.
>
> The first company I went to, tcbsupply.com, has a 2-cavity
> bar mold for only $2 that looks like it's a good size and
> shape for me. The fact that they also sell wrappers that fit
> the mold is a big plus. But I know nothing about molds.
> I'd be perfectly happy to pay much more than $2 for
> a mold, if it gets me a feature that is useful, like a
> non-stick coating.
>
> I'm thinking about doing some experiments in chocolate
> blending and formulation, just a few hand-tempered
> and poured bars per batch. Not a commercial operation.

You can get professional chocolate molds from Chocolat Chocolat, located in
either Montreal or Quebec. The people are very nice, and they have an
extensive online catalog. (I'm forgetting which, but I think Montreal.)