RanaMN

Does anyone know if I am allowed to bring the dipping fork on the plane? Anyone in the us brought it in their carry on before? I would hate to toss it away if it's not allowed, because we aren't checking bags. I didn't even think about that when I got it.

Toronto friends, if you ever want to try premium, authentic Turkish baklava, this is the place to go. They have four locations around Toronto.

Any suggestions for places that aren't touristy ?

I will join the fun. Just had dinner at MSP Airport. It's hit or miss at the airport, but the shaved beef sandwich was actually good. Jake's Peanut Porter smelled heavenly. We will be exploring the Lawrence/Distillery District tomorrow. If anyone has suggestions for restaurants there, let me know. Looking forward to meeting everyone on Friday!

YES! I was just thinking the same thing!

It's okay. I think with that much sugar in any brand will probably be okay. Usually, I am super picky when making hummus because it does change the taste of the end product drastically.

Searched for years to find decent Tahini here, and finally landed on Lebanon Valley Tahineh Extra... I can find it in the Middle Eastern stores in Minneapolis or order it from amazon. I already checked Amazon Canada to order it to your house when I realized I couldn't bring it with me, I could not find it there.

Omg, this is super exciting! I don't know you yet, Kerry, but I love you already. Guess what I did yesterday. I tossed away the bitter soapwort water and then reboiled the used soapwort again, thinking and hoping the bitterness would go away. It didn't completely go away, but it was less bitter. I tried to use that and made some as well, using a different process (I will explain more in person) and added very little soapwort water (just 4 tablespoons for 400 grams of product). My final halva tasted good according to my family (I still think it has a slight bitterness), but the final texture wasn't as crunchy as it should be. It was more fudgy, possibly because I didn't use enough soapwort or my sugar wasn't boiled enough. I found some more info online, mainly from a paper a student wrote comparing the usage of powdered soapwort vs. liquid, regarding percentages in the halva. I will share that in person. Here are my pictures from my experiment. Side note: I said I would bring good jar of tahini, but I didn't realize our tickets don't include checked bags, so I won't be able to bring that on the airplane.

25 grams soapwort with 300ml of water. Boiled it until I had 75ml liquid. The meringue itself was beautiful I made it with sugar syrup but was inedible. I saw here somebody else complained their meringue was super bitter, the writer thought it was probably the soapwort. https://www.anissas.com/natef-a-miraculous-transformation/

Okay, I tried making meringue with the soapwort I ordered from Amazon today, but it turned out to be inedible because it was so bitter. I'll have to try a different type of soapwort when I'm in Turkey this summer. I suppose this will be a project for next time

Yes, exactly! Natef is the Arabic word for soapwort meringue. I grew up eating it, but we never made it ourselves. We bought it at a store; they only made it once a year.

I just got it off Amazon. I will bring it. I will also bring a jar of good tahini. I will read more about making Natef; I think that's essentially what they are making with the soapwort.

Thanks, Curls. I did check that thread, but there's no actual recipe. some people are aware of the root I'm talking about to make it in the thread too. I was hoping Kerry has tried it with that root since it feels like she's tried everything under the sun related to sweets. I will share a video of the traditional way it's made in a factory in Turkey. I know the ingredients needed; I just need to experiment making that white fluff using soapwort. It will probably take me all summer to figure it out, but that will be my challenge for the summer Here is the video I am talking about in case anyone is curious about the type of halva I am referring to:

Kerry, have you ever made Tahini halva (Helva in Turkish)? The traditional way in Turkey is made using Gypsophilla root (I think in some cultures they also use Saponaria, also known as soapwort, which is in the same family as Gypsophilla, I believe). The root is boiled, and then the water is used as a texturizer in the syrup base. I am just curious if you ever tried it.

I would LOVE to see a Fuji in action! I have been intimidated about getting one.

Sounds like Rodney has superpowers: he can drag two selmis from point A to point B just like that and make killer pastries. I just can't wait to be there with all of you!

Can you caramelize large batches of nuts in Firemixer 14? If yes is it possible to try that as well?

Kerry is this deodorized cocoa butter? I will take 3 pounds if it is.

Kerry, thank you for sharing details of your past trip. I have a question. We have a trip in the fall for 6 nights. We are flying to Amsterdam and will take the train (or maybe rent a car, not sure yet) to Belgium. We'll fly back from Amsterdam, so we maybe will plan to stay in Amsterdam for a night or two as well. So we will probably have 4 nights in Belgium. I am struggling to choose which cities to visit and whether we should have a base camp or stay in each city we visit. Right now, we are considering Brussels, Bruges, and Antwerp. Do you think we should visit all three in such a short time? Are there any other cities we should consider visiting? Should we consider spending all 6 nights in Belgium only? Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

Kerry, do you mean he will send whatever is needed for us to use and check out during the workshop, or will he send whatever we want to purchase? (I've been considering buying something from them for a while now, but I should probably talk to all of you first about what you have, what you recommend for my business model, and whether I should consider a refiner or a panner first.)

Did you experiment more? I have been recently cleaning mine right before capping- I have a very sharp scraper (it's a no-brand one I got on Amazon and I like it better than my CW one) . Most of the cocoa butter curls up and stays on the scraper- after that, I swipe the scraper on a paper towel. A couple of things though I don't have a fuji -I spray with grex- so likely a lot less cocoa butter than yours. Very minimal cocoa butter may get into your bonbons- I don't worry about it but as I said mostly its on he scraper for me.

Hi! Have you experienced more with this? I love it when I make praline and always want to use it straightforwardly- I think when turns into Gianduja the forward roasted nut flavor lessens considerably. Just curious if you experimented with stabilizing it with cocoa butter or blonde chocolate.

Thank you Kerry! Everything that has been mentioned sounds amazing to me: panning, creating bonbons with low water activity, large batches of caramels, or InstaPot candying. I am super duper excited to learn from the giants (in my eyes). Since I am very likely to be one of the most novice— in terms of chocolate— let me know if you want me to bring some of my Turkish cooking experience with me, whether that's to teach a quick couple of mezes (side cold small plates) or just me quickly making them to share for a snack. I don't want to take away from chocolate at all; it's totally okay to say no— just trying to think how I can contribute ....This is my little small novice chocolate gig page—I doubt this, but if you see something on there I could share, I am happy to do that too....Looking forward to meeting everyone. https://www.facebook.com/MoraChocolate

Super excited to join you this year! I can't wait! I have always wanted to be the fly on the wall when I noticed this group is getting together- I can't believe I will be joining you!