Franci

Little update. I've been on the phone with Italy yesterday. And the engineer on the other side couldn't believe it if he didn't see it with his own eyes. The only explanation for him is that the problem is with the program on the machine. So he sent me instructions on how to reprogram the machine. Today and tomorrow are very busy for me but over the weekend I'll do. Hopefully will work. I'll let you know. Thanks for all support!

@boudin noir I repeated the experiment of bringing water to 100C different times, each time at the same 1L mark. I tried to use cold tap water to start, it might have been a slight difference each time and the base of the machine might have been a little warmer. But each time I took a different time and sometimes I've been minutes! The funny thing about the pastry cream is that at a certain point the temperature starts to go down, without reaching the set temperature. This never happened with water. I want to clarify that this machine doesn't have a transformer but has been reengineered for the north American market

A little update. This is crazy. Yesterday I was on the phone with Hotmix Italy. So, following their instructions, I put water to the first level of the carafe (1L), selected the first speed and then temperature to 100C. The machined reached 100C. I repeated numerous times and each time took a different time, I supposed if the machine is still hot makes a difference. First time it went to temperature in almost 11 minutes. I also tried with milk. 500 g, reached temperature in 6 minutes and 29. I tried again with the pastry cream. At 25 minutes was still at 65C, I selected 84C. Also on the other side of the phone were saying that it's crazy. I don't understand how this is possible. Next week we are doing a video call...

I've used atta flour in the past but not to substitute 00 flour, rather durum flour, that is like semolina but finer (and atta as pastry girl is saying is also whole wheat). Usually pasta is made with 00 flour but some people actually prefer the 0 flour, so why don't you just try the flour that is available to you and decide if you like it? I've never seen anybody in Italy making pasta with semolina (except Sardinians maybe but you have to work it much much longer). I am a Southern Italian and for traditional Southern pasta we use durum (finely milled semolina) and I've used Atta before when living out of Italy and having a problem finding durum. But for a egg pasta, I don't normally use durum, or if I do is to cut 00 fllour with 10-20% durum.

Sure! I'll let you know. @dcarch best day to buy would actually be Thursday and Friday those are my delivery dates, except Caputo's fine foods that actually gets delivery more often on my way back home. They are still delicious many days after! I had my share of cakes past the expiration sell date... Soon or later I'll sell online! Need to solve the packaging issues... Rotuts, too bad we are not neighbors, just for the cheering you should be granted free supply :-)

Thank you guys! Thank Rotuts! I'm so excited about this, even if it's a very small mention. I'm not sure if it's going to bring new business or not but great anyway.

Yes, there is a manual but didn't help too much. Today for example I didn't use a set recipe. I only wanted to whip my eggs and sugar to 80C, never reached 80, when it got to 68C actually the temperature started to decrease. Then went into the pulse mode and I didn't manage to take it off. I'm a little frustrated. Tomorrow I'll call Italy, today is labour day there, and see if I can troubleshoot.

Definitely me still missing something. I tried the caramelized sugar at 120 C, in the extisting recipes. So, just pour sugar and hit start but temperature didn't go up to the level it was supposed to. Then I went manually: time 5 minute, temperature 100 C and start and it got there very fast. So maybe it's not so automatic but need to add time...ahh. It's going to take a little...

Glad @JoNorvelleWalker you had a good experience with supermarketitaly. Talking about anchovies...if anybody looks for salted anchovies. These are really good, in my opinion better than Agostino Recca. I didn't buy from the website but a friend what owns a pasta store in Park Slope, Brooklyn carries them (but he gets them from Gustiamo, I know a lot of businesses that buys here from them). It's the salty kind, perfect for pasta. I also buy also the boquerones from Recca at Eataly (one of the few anchovies marinated that don't taste of horrid quality to me, unfortunately I don't think they sell online) and replace the bad oil with my good extra virgin from Puglia and I alternate the salty anchovies and the boquerones, plenty of good oil and bread, tapas style.

I poured in the sugar and the water and pressed start. Started at 26C. Now 20 minutes later is still at 46C...really??? if I hit the temperature icon it shows 100C temperature that the syrup should reach (but was not 121C for pate a bombe?). Worst come worst I'll call Italy on Tuesday.

Ok, I picked another recipe from the folder "programs", Recipe #62 is for Pate a bombe (sorry, not going to look for the French accents) 5 steps in the recipe:

Rotuts, I bought it for work. I want to make sure my eggs are fully pasteurized without having to worry or spend too much time on it but, since I have it, I'll experiment. It looks so more cool than the thermomix. BTW, I think I am wrong about the steps. I just don't know why it takes so long to go to high temperature. I'll try now caramelization of sugar to see if it reaches the temperature.

So, here I am owning a Hotmix Pro Gastro. I started with the wrong foot already. I got a machine and after 20 seconds of use, I got a message of Code 007, already change the fuse??? Did it but blade where not working. I sent it back. I finally got a new machine. There is a whole book of recipes already saved in the machine. You just need to access to the right program and select your recipe and follow the ingredients in the order listed, then press start. I picked the recipe #12 in dessert, that is pastry cream. If you see in the top right corner of the screen 2 steps are listed. Step 1 is to drop all the ingredients and press start to go to the following step that is cooking the cream. That wait temperature function tells you that the cream is going to get to a certain temperature, in case of pastry cream it is 84 C and hold it there for the time you select. So, by pressing the temperature icon on the display that you see, it came out 84C that should be the cooking temperature of the cream. My problem is that I don't think I never went from step 1 to step 2 and the temperature never got warmer than 69 C and it actually reached 69C just because I played with it. I just think that the program never got to the next level and just pressing start after introducing the all ingredients, all it did was to start the blades and the paddle and the temperature increase was too slow. I got fed up and tried to increased manually but I got to 69C and that's it. Then I pour everything in a pot on the stove to thicken and only after it got thicker I poured the cream back in the hotmix to whip until got cooler and shinier. Now I'm ready to unlock all the secrets of this machine because, on paper it's all very cool but still need to figure things out.

Fresh fruit tart with pastry cream completely decorated by the kids

@DianaB thanks for taking the time to write this message. Beautiful Chestnuts and truffles! I will have to take the time to read more deeply but for what I've read briefly it's great. No worries, I am working on it. Right today I am meeting with my video producer to put down on paper the videos content. Videos are going to be 2-3 minutes long and very simple to start. Giving some basics. Fundamentals from where to develop many more recipes. I am going to start with Italian short pastry, we have many recipes and depending from the final use the recipe might vary. I'll keep you posted!

Interesting a pesto of rucola from Aosta Let's say that some of this might have a...how do you say in English? I seed of truth but others are questionable let's say that because friarielli are largely consumed in Campania doesn't mean there is such thing as a friarielli pesto commonly found in the houses in Campania...but they don't put in the list pesto trapanese.

Don't think it as a same recipe as pesto genovese. This is not the same and not intended to be consumed as genovese pesto. But I am sure there are pestos with lardo in the regional cooking of emilia/toscana where you can use lardo as a soffritto and I don't think of it as vile at all. But there is also something called pesto modenese or "cunza" that is a pesto of lard, rosemary, garlic and salt that is usually spread on tigelle. Lardo used is very nice and sweet very hard to find the same quality in the US.

Long time I've not been posting here guys. Nothing very interesting. But after being used buying this all the time in Europe we couldn't hold anymore and this time I do have something to share

Thanks, guys you had me thinking of a lot of aspects I didn't even take in consideration!

Thanks @pastrygirl I already have a label with "best enjoyed by" and it has been fine until now. I am not planning into baking many different items, just the 4 cakes I'm baking at the moment, plus a new products. I'd like to be able to extend the shelf life, so I think might be useful coming with a more certain date for expiration. I'll keep you posted!

thanks, again, Jeannecake. I will call for a quote. National not yet...I wish! But let's say that I want to start to see what I need to do to be able to sell online. As a first step I'd like to determine for sure the shelf life of my cakes, then look for solutions to extend it a little more!

Thanks JeanneCake. My dilemma is that I spend a lof of money to buy these organic eggs from pastured raised chickens...and I like the idea of using them!

Sorry guys to be a pain lately but trying to do things right...So, point is, I need to be sure my egg yolks and/or eggs are pasteurized to use in a product with no cooking. I want to be able to do it in the most consistent and easy way. A lot of people just keep telling me, go with the always used pate a bombe method. But many also say it's not the safest method. Is it really not? It's just a matter of volume? It would be actually the easiest method for me. I was thinking of pasteurizing the eggs sous vide but I think I need a special permit at work...do I? The end product also, I don't think I can seal under vacuum without a special permit but I am positive I can seal the bags. I was thinking of getting a thermomix or a hot mix (hence the question Kerry!) but do I really need the investment at the beginning?

Thank you Rotuts. I have a lot of yolks left over at work from one of my cakes. Finally I am coming out with a new product where I can use yolks and in decent quantities, so to eliminate waist. I am looking for the less painful and economical way to pasteurize the yolk to use in a product that doesn't require cooking. So, my main objective is pasteurization. I am afraid though, for what I read on line, that I will need a permit to use sous vide, even if by just water displacement. I am going to ask on the pastry forum. Thanks!

Question. If I want to pasteurize only the yolks in ziplocks, how long should I go at 55C? I have a variable amount of eggs every time but I could make bags of same quantity, lets say 150g. Thanks!