pastrygirl

Not exactly, but since my gas oven stays warm from the pilot light, I've melted lots of chocolate and cocoa butter in there by leaving it overnight. I think it's about 95F? How high can your 'proof' function be set? I think if you have silk then don't worry about keeping the chocolate below a certain temp, especially of it's not fluid enough to work with at that temp. Go ahead and melt it at 93 or 95 and let it cool a bit before adding silk to temper. Agree that you can leave it melted for days, though the fats and solids can separate after a while. Also agree with covering. Dust exists, and it just seems like best practice. There is no water in pure chocolate so no condensation will form.

I've never seen empty shells spontaneously crack, that's wacky. How long after shelling did this happen? Was the room extra cold?

I do have one induction burner, I brought it out & will turn off the gas for a while and see if I miss gas. This is my commercial chocolate kitchen, I have one large gas burner and a 5 burner range with oven but I don't use them much. All my chocolate melters etc are electric. I also use the microwave a lot. But I'm not trying to get an even sear on anything, I'm browning butter, warming cream, making toffee. It's hard to picture any restaurant I've worked in going all induction, though. Line cooks would have to be much more careful about banging saute pans

Thanks for posting your thoughts. I, too, am contemplating a switch from natural gas to induction but am thinking my larger candy/stock burner would be hard to replace. Maybe I'll keep that for large batches of caramel and go electric for all the small stuff.

Strawberry is a delicate flavor - Valrhona has a strawberry 'inspiration' but I found it to be one of their weaker forrmulae. I think a white chocolate butter ganache made with strawberry jam & liqueur might work better. Sorry, no recipe but Greweling covers butter ganache if you have his book.

Was the carrier FedEx by chance? I'm waiting on a package that's currently a week behind schedule.

It's totally acceptable to use a different or no frosting/icing. You do you. Except for raisins, don't do raisins. 😜😂

Yes, and silicone doesn't seem like the ideal material for a double boiler since it doesn't transfer heat as well as metal. This thing seems like a solution in search of a problem. Is the rim stabilized with something sturdy, at least? The last thing I want is a flexible/floppy/shapeshifting bowl of hot goo. That said, if you have a specific bowl and specific pot that you want to use as a double boiler but they don't quite fit as desired, use aluminum foil to build a ring around the pot rim to decrease diameter and hold the bowl higher.

How would you prefer to describe the de-solidification of cheese?

Eggs only need to reach 75-80C to set. Your custard has those bubbles because it is overcooked.

Welcome. 175C is a bit high for custard, try 150-160C.

I think so. What are the cheap alternatives? I wouldn't bother with anything less than 0.5mm. Yes* *in my experience, no guarantees

30 seconds? I airbrush frequently so I keep the compressor on a wheeled cart that fits under a prep table. Making sure I have all the right colors melted takes longer. Go for it! I'm currently using a grex 0.7mm and a california air tools 1hp/2gal compressor, have made tens of thousands of bonbons. I did just order a spanish 0.8mm airbrush in hopes of making things go a little faster. Was debating the grex 1.0 mm spray gun but am worried it'd be overkill.

Are you ever drunk or stoned? The name is terrible but it probably tastes good in a cheap salty way.

Not actually sure what size wire I have. You're probably fine with the 'standard' 0.5

Useful when you don't have a solid filling to support pouring chocolate on top. Or in the Amado example, chocolate could run through the gaps in the lacy shell.

I have cut caramels on my guitar, they can't be too firm. If you don't want to risk it, you can instead push the wires into the top of your caramel to mark it for cutting manually.

It would be easier and probably not much less accurate to make 2 cuts. Cut 45 mm strips then slide them over & cut again to make 22.5 mm strips

About 5 minutes at 325F should crisp them up

Yes, the closer to horizontal the wires are, the harder it is to cut. The Dedy wires end up at least 2” below the base at hinge side, 1” at handle side. I got a piece of plexiglass cut to fit the bottom of the cart so I can store the base there and it all fits under a work table. Frames double as a mold-drying rack. Mine is circa 2009, base weighs 5 kg, a frame is 3.6 kg that concludes my enabling for the moment

@GRiker that video looks like the wires don't pass all the way through the base. Either they have it set up wrong or the frame needs to be an inch or two longer. Edited to add I think they have it set up wrong, other pics look like it clears. It doesn't look as deep/tall as the dedy, not sure if that makes a difference I saw a used guitar on facebook recently here (you might have to join the group, it was $800, in Maine) https://www.facebook.com/groups/737168320528310/permalink/1402338137344655/?sale_post_id=1402338137344655&mibextid=W9rl1R

Isn't below 0.65 'microbially stable' i.e. nothing grows? I wouldn't worry, especially if the flour has been cooked.

Can you stop it after the air bubbles have ballooned up but before they're sucked down again?

yes

Maybe it wasn't sugar bloom after all, just some weird fat bloom from hanging out all day?