The Chocolate Tempering Machine’s Abbreviated History
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010Previous to the development of the tempering machine, hobbyists and homemakers alike had to temper chocolates only by hand with such methods as tabliering and seeding and also with the aid of a microwave, where the double boiler and a reliable thermometer figured well in the procedure.
It wasn’t a walk in the park for these hobbyists and homemakers to undertake tempering using these methods especially for beginners who discovered that the result of their tempering efforts was uncertain. Only the commercial chocolate makers who handled hundreds of pounds of chocolates a day had the humongous tempering machines existing at that time.
An ace computer professional from Poughkeepsie, New York, Skip Snyder changed the status quo when he introduced the compact chocolate tempering machine.
Snyder focused his efforts on perfecting temperature control with the machine because temperature mostly dictated the outcome of any tempering effort. If the right temperatures were not maintained during tempering, proper tempering did not take place. This was because cocoa butter had fatty acids that formed into six types of crystals, each of which dominated the crystallization process at particular temperatures. The temperature at which type V crystals are formed had to be maintained accurately because only these crystals could turn chocolates into the famous shiny, firm and smooth candy that chocoholics favored.
Once Snyder succeeded in how temperature is controlled, he obtained a patent and started marketing the Sinsation Chocolate Maker after 1995. Hobbyists and homemakers happily embraced the use of the Sinsation.
Chandre LLC, a company for which Snyder was the chairman, was the first outfit to sell the Sinsation, whichat this timewas gaining notoriety as a “kitchen appliance.” An IT company in New York, Indotronix, ventured $1 million in Chandre LLC. At that time, the Sinsation was marketed via gastronomic and chocolate publications and it was through mail order that the machine was sold.
ChocoVision started advertising the Sinsation in 2000, branding it as the “New Sinsation” and including it in the Revolation merchandize line. It is believed that Indrotronix still retained its stake at this time.
EBay was mostly where ChocoVision’s New Sinsation was being sold. It was much later when they started taking part in trade and industry shows, including an active role in the World and National Pastry Competitions which was held in 2006.
Emulating their hobbyist counterparts, professional pastry chefs, reputed chocolatiers, restaurants, coffee shops and small-sized confectioners started using the Revolation tempering machine, whichto this dayis already being marketed across the globe through various retailers and other distribution channels.