MECO

thanks! chef rubber sent me a free brick with a large order of supplies I placed a while back and it was great, they're definitely on my radar to try again soon

I made some more with the callebaut I got in just to use the rest of the molds I painted last weekend, they came out nice!

The latter! I don't think I have the savvy or time for a business right now. Usually using a pound or two at a time

That's very lucky, I'll check it out, thank you

Yeah! Sinfonia and Felchin were two I had seen from chef rubber that I was curious about (I get my paints from there already and I live in texas, so shipping isn't bad). It sounds like I just need more reps tasting different types and finding what works.

I appreciate the recommendation! They do look pretty tasty. Viscosity/fluidity isn't something I've worked with a ton just because of lack of experience, but I have been playing with how long I leave chocolate in the molds when I shell them to kind of modulate thickness.

Thank you! I appreciate the direction. I mostly play rock and folk music, mostly guitar, when I'm just jamming, but I tend towards more film and game score type things when I'm writing (I use software instruments for those). Looking forward to meeting more people here!

Hi! I'm relatively new to making chocolate confections. I purchased my first batch of couverture a month or so ago and had success with it (I had been using baking chocolate previously). I'm now looking to buy more ingredients and I'm at a crossroads on what to purchase as far as quality. I see many professional chocolatiers using Callebaut chocolate and that's decently affordable. I'm curious what the returns are like on going for more expensive/single origin brands like Valrhona, etc. These can be upwards of 40-50USD a pound, which I wouldn't mind for a special occasion, but is quite pricey to work with on a regular basis. Would using these in a filled confection be akin to using high end scotch in a mixed drink? Are there other applications for buying these more high end chocolates in bulk? I'm curious to hear anyone else's experience with these kinds of things and how much of a difference grade of chocolate makes in the finished product. Here are some chocolates I've made recently, just to give you an idea of the kind of confection I'm going for:

Hi! I'm an amateur/hobbyist chocolatier in Houston. I came here looking for more advice given that most of my google searches provided inconsistent results. I'm in my late 20s and work in the space program, and I like cooking other things and making music. Excited to get to know people here.