pastrygirl

I'm self-employed, I don't go out to restaurants anymore I would think there must be something more exciting than Etta's but if that's what your friend wants, I'm sure it will be fine.

For tools, toys, and transfer sheets, try Design & Realisation in Quebec. They have chocolate too. http://www.dr.ca/bulk-chocolate/

In the videos Curls posted, he scrapes the spatula with the second color back into the bucket with the first, so that makes me think the formulas couldn't be too drastically different, or you wouldn't want to risk mixing them.

Everybody's doing it! https://instagram.com/p/7AKGGuNiiZ/?taken-by=paulkennedysavour https://instagram.com/p/5ecNK1NioV/?taken-by=paulkennedysavour Except all of us who don't know how I always think it looks like caul fat!

Sugar is a fickle bitch.

How fun! I always love to see what other chocolatiers are doing and how they set up their work spaces, and what toys they have that I need.

I agree with Jim, Opalys is lovely stuff. I used to use Felchlin Mont Blanc, but mostly i was roasting it to make discount Dulcey and its been a while so I can't comment on its molding properties. I'm also a Felchlin fan, i use their Maracaibo Creole 49%, Sao Palme 60%, and Arriba 72%. Opalys is 32% cocoa butter, so I'm sure a 36% white chocolate will be much more fluid.

I wanted to report back on today's test. I got a 3 liter Bunn airpot - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BQEHM4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01 - and made a batch of hot chocolate. At 8:30 this morning I put it in the pre-heated pot at about 200F. At 4pm when I got home, what was left was at 155F. So still hot, but if it was really cold outside I might want to keep them insulated a little more, but I was happy overall. Now I have to convince myself I want to be outside in the cold this winter. Brrr, only if sales are hot enough to keep me warm

Jim, that sounds really yummy! Have you tried not stirring as it cools? Obviously it needs to be completely cool, so why not just leave it alone for a few hours? Stirring at the wrong time or temp will ruin many a confection.

Sure looks candied to me. Cut a piece and taste it.

Boy am I a sucker. I expend way too much effort getting nuts into the desired size pieces.

IMO, poor. I think they repeat whatever press releases and list-icles thy can find, it's not necessarily about the best of the best in that city. Otherwise, why do they keep mentioning that guy with the crappy pop-up bakery? Also, at least in Seattle their copy editing sucks. Recently someone wrote of a gluten free buckwheat cookie with malted salt. I asked the bakery, and as I suspected since malt is not gluten free, they actually use Maldon. When they make mistakes like that, my trust in their reporting drops.

Yes, that will keep it warm all day. Do you need to keep it in temper or just warm and melted? Temper is possible, but would take more attention.

There might also be varying amounts of sugar in praline vs gianduja, but I think you could fake it. What %'s of chocolate do you have? I think somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 praline paste by weight . 40% praline, 60% chocolate?

I freeze it or use it for macaron fillings. You can also add it to buttercream to flavor frosting for cakes or cupcakes.

I will offer one task for which a kind of dull knife is preferable: cutting citrus supremes. A sharp knife cuts into the membranes, while a not so sharp knife glides along it to separate the segments cleanly.

How about bacalao as the salty part of salty caramel something?

I have a couple of heavy-bottomed stainless pots from Sur la table that I like, I think they are 8 quart. The heavy bottom helps with even heating, and if you are making a large batch, you want a pot big enough for all the foaming & expansion that can happen (especially with caramels), but not so big that it overlaps your burner. I also use a vollrath optio pan, I think it is 4 or 6 quarts, good size for a smaller batch, but I don't like the handle, it is awkward to pour hot stuff out of the pan.

I have Fine Chocolates Great Experience and Fine Chocolates 2: Great Ganache Experience. They do seem to have mostly or entirely different formulas. The second book doesn't have a traditional index.

You can add a fair amount of lemon curd to Italian buttercream.

Cute, but how many people really need the quail egg version?

People sell businesses on Craigslist. What would you be selling exactly? Recipes? Brand, website, fixtures? The building itself?

2-3 days, as far below $1k as possible to be competetive with or lower than Callebaut academy or Ecole Valrhona. On one hand, as Ruth mentioned, it has to be long/intense enough to be worth traveling for, on the other, it can be difficult to get more than a few days away from a small business. I would be much more likely to attend something on the West coast - Seattle, Portland, SF, LA, or Vancouver BC... or at least west of the Rockies.

I would want some theory and science! Shelf life and calculating aW without expensive testing or equipment is probably a big one for a lot of us. I get so paranoid about shelf life of bonbons. I would love some experience with a small tempering machine and enrobing line like the Selmis that a few folks here have. And panning and airbrushing. And small batch bean to bar.

I think less liquid overall. Was the glaze pretty runny? I would try reducing the apple cider by 1/3 to 1/2 - reducing by cooking to concentrate the flavor, not just using less.