pastrygirl

No. If I have a craving, I most likely want it now, not tomorrow. It would be a nightmare in terms of execution because the plan lacks any economy of scale in either purchasing or prep time. I don't think it could be done at that price point due to insane food and labor costs.

I did a little searching and I think invertase could really be worth a try. If its what they use for Cadbury Creme eggs and fat doesn't have an effect it should work, shouldn't it? Make a gooey but not runny caramel, add invertase, fill & seal eggs, wait a week? https://books.google.com/books?id=zp8oBgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA434&ots=IBaWGBEBlY&dq=effect%20of%20fat%20on%20invertase&pg=PA434#v=onepage&q=effect%20of%20fat%20on%20invertase&f=true

Except sugar doesn't freeze easily, but maybe you could get it frozen enough to be thick enough to work with? I wonder if inverts se works on caramel...

Are you using 3-D molds or flat sided half eggs? If 3-D, I have no idea but would love to know! Making a hollow piece then trying to fill it seems risky and tedious (make hole, fill, plug hole) but I don't know how else you would do it.

You can dip the pan in cold water to stop the cooking and re-warm as needed to keep it liquid. For a cage, having the caramel somewhat cool will make it thicker and easier to work with - when it's really hot it's too runny.

I use full sheet pan size with the corners trimmed so they lay flat. Tan color, never seen or used another color.

I eat what I want and try to give up guilt and shame instead. Chocolate or pork would be easier

I don't have any answers, but will suggest that the shelf life issue is why there are so many bars and caramels out there! I worry about what happens when people get the candy home. If they are used to buying Russel Stover off the drugstore shelf, they might assume that all candy has a long shelf life. So bonbons may be fine on the retailer's shelf for 4 weeks or even 6, but how do you know the buyer isn't going to stash them in their candy cupboard for another 6 weeks? Or longer! I guess you can put pull dates on things, but if the retailer wants 6 weeks of shelf life they'll want at least 8 weeks before the best by date. Jim, I have a small vibrating table that never seems to work very well - maybe it's not big enough or I'm not vibrating long enough? (It's a small dental lab vibrator.) Anyway, it had no effect on some thick ganache I was trying to settle recently. I always end up just pushing the ganache hump down with a gloved finger.

Nice! Do you remember how much you paid for it?

Looks to me like India/South Asia but that is a vast area indeed. I'm most curious about what the dough becomes. Sort of like a chapati, but softer from being steamed inside the banana leaves?

I don't think that you need both layers to be pipe-able at the same time. I'd be inclined to pipe one, let it crust a bit, then pipe the other.

Honestly soup then chili sounds redundant, as does the pork duo. Can you coat the meat with something after the SV and before the sear? Crumbs, nuts, thin slices of potato...

Je33, that looks great! Is there a reason why you don't just wash it? I have a dedy and just run each piece through the restaurant dish machine. Rotuts, I didn't think pasta chittarras had the cutting base, were rather wires that the dough is pushed through from the top? With the confectionery guitar, most of us pick the strips up, rotate and cut into squares. I use mine to cut truffles that are then coated in cocoa powder, cut pate de fruits, and I frequently use the wires to mark portions on things to be cut by hand

I'm in the not too sweet camp, maybe because I've been in pastry too long For chocolate, I like about 60-70% for eating, and I want it to taste like chocolate not sugar. If it's a fruity dessert i want a good balance of acidity, and if its a caramel I want it decently dark.

It can work, but you do need intense flavors. And as Jim D mentioned, Valrhona Opalys is very good and probably the least sweet white chocolate out there. Recently to save a few $$ I bought a bag of Callebaut Zephyr instead (Zephyr was only $7/# instead of $12!). It's a little more opaque and less sweet than a lot of white chocolates but not to the extreme of the Opalys. It's 34% cocoa butter, so I think that helps. You do want to concentrate your flavors to stand up to the sweetness. I make a passion fruit white chocolate ganache using Perfect Puree - their passion fruit flavor is already concentrated. And today I made an orange caramel ganache using white chocolate for which I infused the caramel with orange zest, then added reduced orange and tangerine juice and a little cointreau. I think that is what Kerry means by layers of flavor - not necessarily making different layers of fillings, but using different forms of the same flavor. Both of those ganaches go in a 60% dark shell. Also, I would have to disagree with the "people love white chocolate" idea. I mean, I know a few, but I almost always combine white chocolate with dark so the whole experience is not too sweet. I only have one regular item that is all white chocolate, and even that is Valrhona's Dulcey "blond" chocolate, and I add salt to it.

Thanks for the support, guys. Of course you're right, there are plenty of customers to go around and we all do slightly different things. I'm not really that worried about competition, just a little thrown off that such a big name was there, especially juxtaposed with the flashbacks to the late 90's I was having - the event was at a local microbrewery that I haven't been inside of in years, so that was fun and a little weird. I still got a nice handful of "yours is the best"s last night, and the team from Fran's stopped by to gush over my peanut butter truffles, so I'm good with that! I also have to remind myself that the countless people who come to my booth at events and ask "what's a truffle?" or "is that fudge?" have no idea who the big names in pastry are. So in that sense, the more artisan chocolatiers to educate the public and elevate the taste level, the better! It does look like EN is doing a sugar class at a community college a few miles from my house, so I might have to check that out, just for fun. As for collaborating ... I'm still stubbornly trying to do my own thing and will continue on this path for a while longer. At some point, working for someone else may seem like the better option again and if Notter or Francisco Migoya (who moved to the area a year or two ago but is currently doing test kitchen stuff instead of retail) wanted to hire me, I'd certainly entertain the offer.

Huh, I guess he is working with the local caterer. Interesting. Great, how am I supposed to compete with Ewald Notter for my slice of the regional chocolate pie? I wonder where they're going with this. And how I can get into that kitchen...

Does anyone here know what the story is with Lumette? I was just at a chocolate event and a local caterer was featuring these chocolates. I doubt that Ewald Notter is working for a caterer in Seattle, so is this a wholesale line he's doing? The website seems to be just a landing page for now. Just curious, it was odd to see the name at a local event.

Correct, it was a dessert component not a chocolate filling. Just suggesting juicing and reducing to help with flavor intensity.

If the chicken is safe to eat, why wouldn't the juices be? Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see any problem with saving the liquid in the freezer. Wouldn't keep it in the fridge for long, there are other things besides botulism that would make it go bad.

I used to do a rhubarb chiboust for which i juiced fresh rhubarb then reduced it with a little hibiscus for added color intensity and tartness. That might help.

Martin, are you doing all bean to bar and then also making confections? Very ambitious! Which i respect and appreciate, but it seems like a lot of bean-to bar makers just do that and focus on the different profiles of the bean. Do you have a retail spot or wholesale accounts lined up? I tend to have a lot of items because I like making different things, but it is sort of crazy-making for production and sales. I think the people who just focus on a handful of items might be smarter Have you considered getting another grinder or two and focusing on the craft of bean to bar to start building your brand?

Yes the microwave does come in handy. The problem with melters is they are so slow, it takes a few hours to melt a full pan.

I have a guitar and a 6kg melter. I actually get a lot done with a big bowl over a bain marie. You do have to keep an eye on the temp, but I just keep a hair dryer handy to warm it as needed. I usually have a few things going at once. Even with the melter you still have to maintain the temper. If left for a while it gets a thick layer on top or overcrystallizes. I too, have Selmi dreams but feel like maybe I should just get a few more melters next. Although I agree with Kerry that the sky's the limit, I don't think you necessarily need a guitar cutter right away if you are also doing molds. Molds are cheaper. Do like gfron1 suggests and get several of a few designs that will fit together nicely in your packaging, you can get started for $5-600 and supplement with a few hand dipped pieces. You could also consider fleximolds like this for your hand dipped pieces http://www.trufflymade.com/product/square-chocolate-mold/ I've found that packaging and kitchen rent have been the biggest expenses. Custom packaging is expensive, consider printing your own at home for tiny runs. I use these for some items: //www.zazzle.com/custom_square_sticker-217389348496383495

Oh I see, like his mint fondants that say to deposit at 60 C. Someone on another forum was looking for a drip-less pourer, and when I was out for pizza this weekend I saw something that reminded me of that, and which may possibly work for you too. The bartenders kept all their juices and such in syrup dispensers, like this: Winco G-116 Syrup Dispenser, 14-oz Should be able to handle the heat and has a handle to protect your hand, and they do pour fairly cleanly, might be worth a try!