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Alanamoana, Nice results with the rubber stamp! We too saw the stamp thread and began a bunch of experimenting, and got really excited by the results. I think we're at a point now where we could do a demo for other readers. In the meantime, here's some info: This picture shows some early experiments with the process. In this case the pieces are solid tmpered couverture poured onto the transfer sheet (seen in the background). Apparently rubber stamping is a huge hobby (associated with scrapbooking). We have a local hobby store that makes custom stamps right from computer files. They're laser cut and the detail is pretty amazing. We pay just $5.00 for a 1-1/4" square custom stamp (ideal size for palets). We also use a standard stamp pad. You can buy blank ones and "ink" them with cocoa butter. The ones we use are made by Adirondack. The box says they are "non toxic." The amount of titanium dioxide you use in your "ink" is critical to the process, because the opacity will enhance the brightness of the finished items. This will take experimentation. So far we've stuck to a gold-yellow because it seems to read the best. One technique we learned from "stampers" was to touch the wet pad to the stamp (rather than vice-versa). This gives you more control over how much ink goes on to the stamp. We use a hair dryer to keep the cocoa butter ink at about 95F and slightly damp. You don't want the crevices of the pad to fill up with ink. Wipe the stamp frequently if you need to. If you make a mistake, just wipe the ink off the acetate and do it again. After you've finished making the chocolates, gently wash the acetate sheet and reuse. With practice the end results can be pretty good (but never as clean and bright as commercial transfer sheets). Stull, stamping opens up a whole new world to chocolatiers. I'll try to put together and post a demo in the next week or two. In the meantime, have fun! Cheers, Steve

I agree with McDuff. I've made many of Gisslen's recipes and the majority have turned out very well. It's my "go to" pastry book. Cheers, Steve

Vanessa, We still have a few issues with cocoa butter sticking to the transfer sheet and not to the chocolate, so we're not experts . . . yet. But here are some things you might try: How long do you let your cocoa butter sheets set? Try letting them set at least overnight (if you're not already doing this). Do you let the chocolate you pour onto the sheets set in a fridge? That might help. And make very sure that the chocolate has completely set before removing the pieces. They should lift cleanly, without sticking, off the acetate. For what it's worth, I've never had a similar problem with commercial transfer sheets. But making your own is a noble thing. Cheers, Steven

Way up here in NW Montana the going rate is $8-10 per hour. If you pay more than that you've got to take a good hard look at your production process to make sure you can create enough product to pay for ingredients, rent and cover your labor. Cheers, Steve

Check out ICE CREAM AND FROZEN DESSERTS: A Commercial Guide to Production and Marketing, by Malcolm Stogo (Wiley, 1998). It's pricey, but it's got tons of really good information about setting up, running and producing for small and large ice cream operations. The recipes include ice cream (regular and super premium), sorbet, gelato and frozen yogurt. I've made a few of the gelatos and have been really happy with them. Recipes are given for Batch Freezers (10 qts) and Continuous (100 gallons). There are detailed chapters on ingredients, mixes, science, and so on. Cheers, Steve

There have been a number of references in recent threads to TITANIUM DIOXIDE as an ingredient in confections. There may be a lot of folks who don't know what this stuff is or how it is used in the pastry business. I'll see if I can help illuminate the topic. According to Wikipedia, TITANIUM DIOXIDE is the oxide of the element Titanium. In powder form, TiO2 is one of the brighest materials known to man. A very pure white, the chemical is used as a pigment, and as an opacifier (i.e., it is opaque, it does not let light through) in paints - both house paint and artist's colors. TiO2 is also used extensively in sunblocks and, more recently as a whitener in toothpastes. P.C.'s make use of this stuff in coloring media. At our shop we mix it with cocoa butter and dry colors to make a bright, opaque "ink" for use in creating transfers on acetate. In this thread TiO2 is used as a whitener and as a chemical reaction agent. Here is another reference to it, but being used as an opacifier. This thread on making transfers also talks about it as an opaque medium. You're not likely to find Titanium Dioxide at your local confectionary supply, or even a well stocked art store. But there is almost always TiO2 available on E-Bay (used mainly by folks making cosmetics at home). The ones that are oil soluble will work better. The cost is reasonable. And the stuff goes a long way. In terms of mixing it, you're kind of on your own - there are no formulas that I know of. And be sure to mix it thoroughly. It the stuff doesn't completely dissolve you'll have streaks and blobs and other unwanted artifacts. Good luck and have fun. Cheers, Steve

I've found that an eye-dropper works pretty well to extract still liquid ganache from the cavities. You can find medicine droppers for kids at most drug stores - they have a wider opening than a real eye-dropper. If you're ganache is stiff enough to pipe this method won't work, but perhaps a large meat baster would have the suction to pull out the extra material. Cheers, Steve

I spoke with the folks at Chef Rubber a few weeks ago about their Liquid Lusters. They said that the effect is not as strong as if you brushed or sprinkled luster dust onto your work and then coated with the color. I've not had much luck mixing luster dust into colored cocoa butter. The result tends to stick to the mold rather than cleanly separating. Anybody have any thoughts? Cheers, Steven

If you have trouble tempering (and we all have), there is another possibility. Try "Coating" chocolate. It's not exactly "real" chocolate, but it does set up rather like tempered chocolate. Most of the major manufacturers make the stuff - calling it Confectionery Coating or Summer Coating (because it is less sensitive to heat than real chocolate). We use Cacao Barry Prima for a variety of applications - mainly involving decorations rather than for pure eating. If you decide to go this route, ask whatever source you're going to buy from about the flavor, because it isn't as good as real chocolate. Cheers, Steven

Tomric has a huge range of molds - many of them for bars of all sorts of sizes. Fine them here: tomric.com. The ones imported from Europe, though more expensive, may be just what you're looking for. Cheers, Steve

Shane, your recipe seems right. At what point in the process does Wybauw tell you add the pectin? Some recipes add it near the start, some near the finish. The most consistent formulas I've found come from the Boirons Purees website. They add the pectin early on. We now use a refractometer to measure Brix, but used to just measure the temps cited in the brochure. We used (and still use for the first few minutes of cooking the fruit) a $20-30 two-piece digital probe thermometer. We got a cheap "bulldog" clamp at Staples which lets us leave the probe in the mixture, even while stirring. We can constantly monitor the temp this way. Some fruits seem to resist going higher than 205-210F without burning. But as long as the stuff seems like it's beginning to gel then it'll probably turn out all right. And don't stop stirring for more than a few seconds at a time. Good luck! Cheers, Steve

What models of Wagner and Campbell Hausfeld are you using? Cheers, Steve

The layer idea sounds neat. I'm thinking you'd need to pour one flavor, give it just a few minutes to start to cool and set, then pour the second right on top. They should then stick together like glue. We make our batches on half sheet pans with a silpat and a pan extender (to give us straight sides). The size is perfect, as you know, for a kilo batch of puree. We've had great success making our own purees. And because we don't pre-Pasteurize the fruit, there's tons more flavor. Up here in NW Montana the local summer fruit is just amazing. Our pate flavors are so pure you can taste the difference between an early season raspberry and a late season one. Other local fruit includes sweet and sour cherries, blueberries, chokecherries, red and black currants, gooseberries, and, of course, huckleberries (always wild - there is no way currently to cultivate hucks). One thing that seems to make a difference is adding sugar to the pureed fruit to bring the level up to the ranges shown for Boiron purees. This gives us more consistency and more control over the final product. Typically we don't have to add more than about 10% sugar to the fruit to get it to the set point. We then put a kilo of puree into an H pan lined with freezer paper, cover it with plastic wrap and work out all the air bubbles. We pop it into the freezer and once frozen, we remove the block of fruit from the pan, stick it in a bag and vacuum it. Our final product is a one kilo brick of long-life fruit, ready to defrost and go into the pate bowl without any further prep. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Steve

There is an earlier thread about making your own transfer sheets here: Making Transfer Sheets, How? Following Lloydchoc's example, I've been trying to make silk screen transfers. Because of the press of business it's been slow going, but I did transfer a couple of good images to acetate and they read okay on dark chocolate. One point Lloyd makes is using titanium dioxide to make your cocoa butter more opaque. This is really important if you want bright, contrasty colors. You can actually find this stuff on Ebay. Just make sure you get food grade (most is, because it's used in lipsticks, makeup and other semi-edible stuff). Add it to your liquid cocoa butter and stir well to completely incorporate. Cheers, Steve

Truffle Guy also makes a good point I didn't touch upon - the heat setting on the range. On a commercial range the best setting seems to be just about medium. If you cook too hot you're liable to burn the fruit. Take time, and as I said, stir all the time. And you will be able to see the change on your spoon - the mixture will start to get more gelified and cling to the spoon, rather than just dripping off. T.G. - how big are the batches of pates you make? 1/2 sheet? Full sheet? Have you ever tried pouring into molds, or does your fruit set too quickly? Cheers, Steve

Weeping is a common problem with pates. It usually happens when the fruit isn't cooked enough or if the recipe is unbalanced. It's possible that tripling the liquid pectin threw the formula out of whack. Weeping also occurs if you refrigerate the pates. The chill breaks down the sugar structure and the pieces will literally turn to liquid over a period of a few days. So, do not refrigerate or freeze them. Just let them sit, covered, at room temp. Pate de Fruit does not mature or ripen, it will just start to get dried out. The mixture should set within 10-30 minutes of being poured. It will get firmer within the first 24 hours. So wait until the day after you make it to cut them. Over the next 4-8 weeks the pieces will degrade somewhat by drying up. Eventually, they'll get moldy. We suggest to buyers of our pates that they consume them within a week or so. Hope this helps. Cheers,

I was just looking at your recipe and noted a possible anomaly. You say you boil the puree and sugar, then add the pectin. If you're not mixing sugar with your pectin that could be part of your problem - pectin on its own will clump in liquid and that may reduce it's effectiveness. Also, it looks to me like you may not be cooking long enough. Try this recipe: Blackberry Puree 500g Sugar + Pectin 50g + 13g (thoroughly mixed dry) Sugar 500g Glucose 100g Citric Acid 15 grams Cook the puree until it reaches about 100F. Add the sugar+pectin mixture and cook until the temp reaches about 190F. Add the sugar in 2-3 batches, trying not to let the temp drop below 175F. When the sugar is well incorporated, and the temp is back up to about 190F, add the glucose. Now bring to a boil and let the temp rise to about 215-217F. Cook at this temp until the mixture is very thick, but still pourable. Turn off the heat and quickly add the citric acid. Pour into molds. At every stage you must stir, stir, stir. Let me know how this works out. Cheers,

What kind of pectin are you using? This can make all the difference in the world. I used to get bags of pectin from my supplier. It worked very well - our pates always set. Going to a new bag of what we thought was the same stuff, we couldn't get any batches to set. Talk about frustration! The supplier told me it was exactly the same stuff, but there was no way that was true. So we spent about two months (and 30-some batches) searching for something else that would work. Finally, we discovered the 100% Pure Apple Pectin from Pastry1 (Paris Gourmet). It worked like a charm and we've been using it ever since. It's proved to be very reliable and very consistent. We get ours from Provvista in Portland, Oregon, but other suppliers are bound to have it. I've heard good things about the Louis Francoise line of pectins. But they have at least eight separate kinds and we just don't have the time to experiment. They are less widely available, but try Great Ciao in Minneapolis. Likek Truffle Guy, we also use citric acid now, rather than tartaric acid. For one thing, it's a lot cheaper. Good luck! Cheers,

Wendy, I use the funnels for accurate placement of tempered chocolate in molds where the final piece will be solid (usually .25oz bars, small hearts, etc.). When doing the shells for filled pieces, I use a ladle and smother the mold with the chocolate, then let it run out onto a sheet pan. Thus, when the chocolate solidifies all I have to do is lift it "en masse" off the pan, break it up and re-use it. Jeff, one easy way to keep at least part of the X3210 relatively clean is to cover the feed side and rear top of the machine with a pan liner (parchment). Then, again as above, once the chocolate tempers it's an easy matter to pull it off and re-use it. I sometimes fit the right side of the sheet onto the baffle retaining screw, so at least that side is firmly anchored. This method does not work on the left side because the baffle has electrical contacts in it and you'd be insulating it from the machine. Cheers,

Generally speaking, you can use glucose to lower the sweetness level in the pates, but balance is crucial. - you can't really do a 1:1 substitution. But Nicole is right. Boiron publishes a sheet with formulas for their purees. Though we make our own purees here, we've had great success with the Boiron recipes (slightly tweaked - we use a refractometer to check the sugar level of the fruit, then adjust that to bring it up to the values shown on the Boiron sheet). You might be able to find the Boiron formula sheet on their website. A refractometer is not absolutely necessary (though immensely helpful if you plan to do a lot of pates). Without one, knowing when your mass has cooked long enough becomes much more of an art than a science. Still, you should be able to achieve good results. Just keep stirring the mixture all the time and keep a close eye on its viscosity. It's easy to overcook and find your pate de fruit setting up as you try to pour it into your pan. Good luck and keep us posted! Cheers,

You might want to try one of these plastic confectionery funnels made by Wilton. They only cost $4 - 5 each. You can deposit tempered chocolate or liquid ganache very accurately with little muss or fuss. Any place that sells Wilton cake decorating stuff should have one or can get it. The plunger fits down inside, plugging the hole until you lift on the ring to let your chocolate run out. Push the ring down and, voila, the choc stops. Cleanup for ganache is hot water and a damp towel. Cleanup for tempered chocolate? Let it harden, then gently squeeze the top of the funnel. The couverture inside will crack and fall out in pieces, so you can re-use it. I've been using these things for nearly ten years and they are great. They do wear out, but hey, a new one won't set you back much. Cheers,

Here in Montana home bakers can sell to the public if they a) have a license and b) make their goods in a licensed commercial kitchen. It's not so hard to find such kitchens for rent by the hour, and once you have that access, getting a food license is pretty straight forward. Before we bought our bakery we rented a local kitchen for $7-8 per hour and it worked out pretty well. The State of Montana does not require food vendors who sell at farmers' markets to be licensed, But many individual markets do have that requirement. Still, a farmers' market is a good, low-cost way to introduce your product to the public. Good luck. Cheers,

I've had Chocovision temperers since 1997 and am very pleased with them. The first one was the now discontinued "Sinsation." That was replaced last year with a "Revolation 2." There are a few inherent problems with the Rev 2, but it does a good job of tempering small batches (up to 1.5 pounds). Sometimes you can find them on Ebay (in fact, Chocovision often sells rebuilt machines on Ebay). As for chocolate, look around for the couverture "buttons" (also called pistoles, feves, calets and other names too numerous to mention). These quarter-sized bits make working with chocolate a whole lot easier. And measuring is more accurate, as most weigh a gram or two. These guys are avilable in 11 pound boxes. We use the Cacao Barry 58% semisweet as our standard couverture and the price works out to about $3.50 a pound. Good luck. Cheers,

The Frix-Air looks very cool and its cheaper than a Paco. And yes, the canisters are much cheaper, but did you notice they only hold a third of the Paco's container capacity? It'll be interesting to see what PC's and Chefs think of the Frix once it gets into kitchens. Cheers,.