pastrygirl

Matty, I think Chefsfeed has a point. Young cooks want to be creative and contribute, they don't want to put in the time taking direction from someone else, making someone else's food. It's nice that the industry has become somewhat kinder, gentler, and less sexist, but its still not about making friends, its about getting the job done.

I agree with Lisa, honey is a bad idea. Do you have a way to grind sugar very fine? Since chocolate is fat-based, there is no liquid to dissolve granulated sugar, so you have to either use something very fine to begin with, or be OK with detectable sugar crystals. Or conch/grind it until smooth, but that takes special equipment.

"I know one of the reasons why Boston is getting hit hard by it is because so many chefs and resto owners are getting amazingly greedy - an incredible amount opening a 2nd, even a 3rd restaurant is as many years, flooding the market with yet another taco/burger/latest trend idea. Another reason I think, at least here why things are rough, is because inexperienced people are being promoted too early - I've had resumes pass through where they've been a 'sous' for the past year or two, when they have maybe 4 years *total* of kitchen experience - a lot of places are promoting people too fast just to hold on to people, so they don't get even more screwed, so the few people looking have no real experience or idea what they're doing." I think this is a big part of it. In Seattle, two local restaurateurs have something like 20-25 restaurants between them, and many more chefs have opened 2-3 locations. Plus, it seems like everyone who was ever a sous chef has opened their own place, and you have another fraction of the industry splitting off to start some other specialty food business. I left a good pastry chef job to struggle as an independent chocolatier with the goal of having a little chocolate/pastry shop within a few years. I see the industry expanding more rapidly than the talent pool, and too many kids who went to cooking school but didn't learn how to WORK. And yes, some of the entitlement that you & Deryn mentioned. They love to talk about how passionate they are but fail to actually get the work done. I like to talk about food, which is why I come here in my free time. At work, I'm trying to get as much done as possible, not standing around talking about who I'm following on Instagram. You're also right about chefs holding on to cooks because they are afraid of not being able to replace them. That happened at my last restaurant job, the CDC who opened the new location left, a new CDC came on who I really liked but was kind of a hard ass on the cooks, the cooks all threatened to quit, new CDC got fired and the line cook who had been promoted to sous not long earlier was stuck running the place. He didn't really want the job and wasn't cut out for it, but the cooks stayed.

Good ideas here, especially the ganache cubes for individual servings. I used to make a simple ganache to be used for staff mochas at my last restaurant, we'd keep a quart in the fridge. And I didn't know about samovars, very interesting, that would look great. But I spoke with the market director, and while she liked the idea, it sounded like hot food would require an extra $300 vendor permit plus the fire permit plus equipment, and the prediction is for a relatively warm dry winter. I think I will back burner this idea for a few months and try the year-round market with my current set-up before I sink another $500 into anything. Thanks anyway!

Thanks, Drewman and Tri2Cook, you're probably right that 8+ hours is too long to expect insulation alone to keep things hot. The market in question runs from 10am-5pm, and with travel and set-up time, I'd be heating and leaving the kitchen around 8-8:30 am. I would be OK with making a small amount and selling out before the end of the day. I will check with the actual requirements for open flame, a couple of those portable butane burners would be easy enough as long as there isn't an expensive permit required. Since I wouldn't be using eggs or meat in the hot chocolate, the health dept shouldn't have too much issue, as long as hot stays hot and cold stays cold, I am already permitted as a caterer in a low risk category. Being able to grab things from the fridge and heat on site would save me a little time in the morning too. I'm heading to a different market run by the same people today, so I'll see what they think of the hot chocolate plan.

LizD, I'm not sure about volume. Somewhere between 2-5 gallons? Alex, I won't have electricity, so I don't think that will work. Are you talking about the heat created by friction alone? Unfortunately a vita prep is not in the budget at this time, though it would make for unique presentation. I think if I want to use propane burners all I need is approval from the fire department, and approval from the health department either way for hot holding. So the question is how airpots/Cambros heated in advance compare to heating on a propane burner either in a pot of Bain Marie in both price and effectiveness. Warming small batches on site might be better for the product, but also more distraction. I'm not sure if the extra heat would be nice on a cold day, or if having a burner in my booth would be too dangerous for the other chocolate items. I've been fighting heat all summer! Anyway thanks for your input, if I'm going to do this I want to do it right from the start

Since Solo is corn syrup, seeds, sugar and water, you could experiment with making a syrup and cooking the seeds until the consistency seems right. Here are a few recipes from a Viennese baking book: Poppyseed filling for strudel - bring 3/4 c milk and 1/2 c sugar to a boil, add 3 c ground poppyseeds and simmer a few minutes, stirring, until seeds have expanded. Remove from heat and add a little melted butter and the zest of 1 lemon. Add 2 bars or squares grated semisweet chocolate if desired. Spread poppyseed filling over yeasted strudel dough and scatter with raisins. Roll up like a jelly roll, let rise then bake. If you're after a cake, you could try this one with ground poppyseeds instead of the paste - plain poppyseed torte/einfache mohntorte beat 4 egg yolks with 1/2 c sugar until light and fluffy combine with grated zest 1 lemon, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of clove Beat 4 egg whites until stiff but not dry, gently fold into batter along with 2 cups ground poppyseeds bake in a buttered, floured 9" pan at 350F 30-40 minutes when cool, slice into two layers and spread 4-5TB apricot jam in the middle cover with chocolate icing or confectioners sugar, as desired. mmmm, now I want to bake something with poppyseeds!

Hi all, wondering if anyone has experience with keeping hot chocolate hot for several hours? I've been vending at a couple of outdoor markets this summer and since it has been quite warm chocolate sales have been slow. I'm looking forward to cooler weather and also debating whether I want to add hot chocolate to my offerings. There are a few year-round outdoor markets, and I know of one person who does hot cider and a hot ginger drink but no hot chocolate drinks. I would either have to heat the batch at the kitchen and keep it hot for 8 hours, or sort through additional regulations and permits in order to heat it up onsite. I would rather not have to buy too much extra equipment beyond beverage dispensers and cups, but would consider a gas stove if that was a better way to keep things hot. Winter in Seattle can be soggy and cold, and I think a couple varieties of hot chocolate could be popular. I don't have a generator and electricity probably isn't available. I appreciate any experience or advice you may have! Thanks, Andrea

Pine nuts are pretty soft compared to other nuts/seeds, so you may get lucky, but I'd proceed with caution and have extra wire handy. Also with harder things sometimes it helps to not make a full slab, and eliminate those those last few rows where the cutting angle is more acute and you have to really push to get through the slab. I make a peanut butter gianduja that is much easier to cut as a 3/4 frame rectangle than a full frame square, the full frame is too hard to cut through the last few rows. Ymmv.

I could see it as a non-dairy option if it was only coconut water/milk, but coconut water plus whole and skim milk? I mean, I grabbed an extra because they were free samples, but I can't imagine actually buying it. If I want coffee, I'll get coffee. If I want a refreshing coconut beverage, I'll get coconut water. I'm not sure what need the combo is supposed to meet.

Maybe not quite apocalyptic, but definitely a WHY?? for me - Vita Coco Cafe Latte, espresso + coconut water + milk. Ingredients: coconut water, whole milk, skim milk. espresso, sugar, natural flavor, carageenan. It also comes in mocha. I like coconut, I like coffee, and it doesn't actually taste bad (you can't really taste the coconut). Just, why? Coconut water has become super popular as nature's own hydrating electrolyte replenisher, doesn't adding milk, sugar, and caffeine kind of negate that? Huh.

Both pans and liners come in various sizes with little standardization. I've had mini muffin pans that were wide and shallow, taller with a bottom so narrow the finished product was unstable, and in between. Measure the diameter across the bottom of your muffin tin cavities as well as the height of the sides. Height isn't as crucial, but I do like to have the bottom diameter a close match. The following links should either help or really confuse you http://www.webstaurantstore.com/guide/629/baking-cups.html http://www.webstaurantstore.com/221/baking-cups.html?filter=color:white,type:baking-cups

Tikidoc, I would aim for another 2-3 degrees C or 5-6 degrees F higher than originally cooked to firm them up, maybe a tiny bit more if they are really impossibly sloppy soft.

Every time you two talk about going North to Manitoulin, I picture you way up in the Yukon with polar bears and ice floes. Then I look at the map and realize I am still farther North than you! Clearly a West coast perspective on the North-ness of Canada Have a great trip!

I highly recommend pre-coating with caramelized sugar if only for the extra crunch and flavor it adds.

I don't know, but I'd like to help you eat it.

Thanks, Ruth and Kerry. Hard to believe its just that easy! I can't afford any more toys right now, but knowing this is out there is going to make me resent all the time I spend stirring and seeding. Oh well. Meanwhile, I propose we re-christen Kerry as the Chocolate Witch Doctor for coming up with this voodoo magic.

Couple more questions to understand how this changes production. Do you still have to melt your chocolate to 120f then cool it before adding the silk, or do you just melt it to 95f? Once the chocolate is tempered, does it behave the same as if you seeded it by hand and there is a few degree range where it is tempered and workable? It sounds like the working temp is higher, but is there the same few degree range? Currently I seed and temper by hand with either a 6kg melter or a bowl and bain marie. I keep an eye on the temp and warm it up with a hair dryer if it cools off or starts to thicken. Not doing all that stirring and waiting sounds fantastic, but will I have to re-learn how my couvertures act? Or is it really just that easy?

Nice! I can't wait to see what you make. I haven't gotten very far with panning, only did a few batches. One of them turned out pretty well, but mostly by accident, and I just coated them with cocoa instead of making them shiny. For me, chocolate covered nuts just did not sell, I'm not sure if they weren't sexy enough or what. I didn't really mind eating them all, but I haven't made any in a while.

Dammit, I wasn't going to read this thread because I knew it would make me want one. Seems like the EZ temper plus a couple of melters could replace a small but much more expensive tempering machine. That is, if the machine was only to be used for tempering and not with an enrobing line. Kerry, has this changed your habits with regard to your Selmi?

If you want to play with ratios and see how they affect firmness, use tempered chocolate and it will set up as firm as its going to get within an hour or so. Other fats have a softening effect on the cocoa butter, so the more peanut oil you add, the softer your gianduja.

I agree with Chocolat. You could change the ratios to yield a softer gianduja. I use 2:1 milk chocolate to peanut butter and it is firm enough to slab and almost too firm to cut - I've taken to filling my frames only 3/4 so I don't break guitar strings trying to force them through the last few rows (making a rectangle in square ganache frames, not a shallower square). Equal parts would be much softer, but still probably not as soft as ganache.

What are your ideas on how to do this? Do you have ideas for flavors you want to try? The easiest way to add flavor without texture is to add a fat based flavor, such as Lorann Oils. You can also vacuum pack chocolate pieces with strongly flavored ingredients like coffee beans until the chocolate absorbs the flavor. Nut pastes can be added directly to chocolate, resulting in gianduja. I think of infusing as what we do when we make tea or add aromatics to stock - steeping in liquid then straining. I know there are other ways to use the word, but I don't think of gianduja as an infusion, just a mix. I suppose there is no reason why you couldn't melt chocolate, add dry spices (or even tea) to infuse then strain out and temper.

I signed up for two outdoor weekly markets this summer, will be making lots of pate de fruits so I have something that won't melt! Flavors of the moment: nectarine, raspberry-apricot, blueberry-ginger (with some morello cherry puree because the blueberries were a bit insipid) and strawberry-rhubarb. Using fresh fruit may end up being a challenge... though that rarely stops me

I have a couple of those and did the same thing. I think as long as you're not bending them back and forth and weakening the metal you should be fine. I don't do much hand dipping though. I have a hard time with how thin the handles are, I feel like i need big clunky 'good grips' type handles to not make my hand go numb