pastrygirl

I cycle between conviction that it's fine and panic that it's not on a pretty regular basis. With the next round of insane price increases/tariffs coming I'm wondering if I should change my practices or get all my sellers a mini fridge. I feel like the more things cost the more critical people are. I have mostly excellent reviews but did recently get one that was snarky about $3.50/bonbon so if I go up to $4 each I want to be extra dedicated to quality. Since it was the day before I left for spring break I panicked and composted about 900 pieces. Probably could have found freezer space but figured I'll just start fresh after Easter.

I sell bonbons to shops that keep them at room temp and put a best by date of 8 weeks after they leave refrigeration, otherwise I keep them cold. I'm not 100% sure they're as good after 2 months at room temp but I do it anyway. (I've done some aW testing of the recipes but I don't test each individual batch) Today I went in to fill an order and my bonbon fridge had died sometime after yesterday afternoon, was blowing warm air and displaying 76F. Nothing was melted but definitely warm. so, would you: A) sell that product as usual, it's just warm room temp, no worse than summer B) sell but with a closer 'best by' date C) panic and throw everything in the compost

Just gotta say that "chantilly" is whipped cream, not American buttercream. The cake contains heavy cream, maybe that's what they mean. 🤷‍♀️ Anyway, this note amused me:

is it Gus? Buck? Thor?

I could also see this marketed to college students for their dorm rooms. Sometimes they can't have a regular hotplate/burner but they can have small appliances like a coffee maker.

Does it alert you when the egg is done? I could see something like this in hotel breakfast bars next to the pancake tunnel if it had an egg storage and dispensing system and shell disposal so you didn't have to touch raw egg.

Even when flowing freely, the spray pattern is only half to 3/4 an inch wide. I personally don't worry about getting good coverage all the way to the edge of the cavity, but you can try the fan spray cap for a wider pattern. Coincidentally, I just noticed this store is having an anniversary sale, 15% off online today (3/29) through Monday with discount code 21ANNV https://merriartist.com/products/grex-fan-spray-cap-0-7mm-for-tritium-airbrushes-tf-5?_pos=1&_psq=grex+fan&_ss=e&_v=1.0 I like Roxy & Rich colors and mostly use their sparkly 'jewel' line. Available from chocolat-chocolat or I think Tomric is carrying them now and also webstaurant store. I'd gotten some samples of their natural line, need to test those out and report back because more states are banning more food dyes. West Virginia just banned a bunch, don't think I've ever sent chocolate there but this could be a trend. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/west-virginia-food-dye-ban-preservatives-harmful-health-effects/

What does this mean, do you find those colors to be more viscous? What brand are you using? I use the same Grex, with a 2 gallon compressor. I'd say double-check your needle position, if it's too far forward it could be impeding flow. Also the knob at the back end that controls how far you can pull the trigger. And sometimes you can blow chunks out backwards by blocking the nozzle with your hand and spraying. Otherwise, I think that's just how it is. You have fat that wants to solidify in a metal cup in a cold room. It's gonna solidify. Keep your heat gun handy.

How would the chatbot gain direct access to these chefs, and why would they respond to a bot over humans?

https://shop.tillamook.com/products/makers-reserve-2014-extra-sharp-white-cheddar Tillamook has cheddars up to 10 years old available. I wouldn't be concerned about the quality of the cheese, but do be careful so you don't end up injured and posting in that 'never again' thread

https://www.ampersanddairy.com/ ampersand butter, to go with your wildfarmed bread

Are you planning to re-sell them or use them in producing food to sell? If not, I wouldn't worry about items for personal use.

I have a shop, or more accurately a production kitchen where people can also shop. It's in an industrial area & I'm always a little surprised when people find me. I sell more wholesale to gift shops & gift basket companies than I do direct, which is fine. If you decide to go into business, check with your state Dept of Ag for their Cottage Food laws & if they aren't friendly to chocolate, look into commissary kitchens.

IIRC, that's the 'bakery' discount, I think there's a 'chocolatier' discount as well but it's not as good so convince them you're a bakery if you can

It's super satisfying when the bonbons come our all shiny and pretty, but excited customers doing involuntary happy dances are downright intoxicating. Makes all the hard parts of business worthwhile!

I used to be a restaurant pastry chef, did mostly plated desserts for years. Now I'm focused on chocolate.

@Saltychoc I use Felchlin Edelweiss, I'd say it's a little less sweet than Ivoire and a little less opaque than Opalys. Should be around $30-35/kg.

I'd try wrapping it in a damp towel then in plastic for a day.

welcome!

Hygropalm 23

@GRiker I don't think it's supposed to be instantaneous. I have the Rotronic, which lets you set a 'dwell time' of how long you want it to analyze the sample before computing. 20 minutes might be what you need for accuracy.

Borrow money in this economy??? That is a rational fear. Rent is easy enough to figure out, just look at your local commercial real estate listings or talk to an agent. You already know your ingredient & packaging cost. Where are you? I agree that marketing is huge. You can make the best product but people need to know it exists before they can buy it.

Oh yeah, you had mentioned that in your intro post. Also check out Caputo's and Worldwide Chocolate, they have pretty decent prices for retail and even re-pack some items into one pound bags. https://caputos.com/chocolate/ https://worldwidechocolate.com/

They had been carrying a wide variety of Felchlin then had a clearance sale & now have a much more limited selection. I'd gotten some Sao Palme 60% & 43% plus some Edelweiss at way better prices than AUI, now those aren't listed. Sorry, not sorry for buying it all Worldwide Chocolate also carries Felchlin and will break cases but prices aren't great, even wholesale is higher than AUI. @MECO are you starting a business or are you sticking to small volumes for friends/family?

I have a commercial kitchen with an exhaust hood, but I'm also using a 0.7mm grex with 2 gal/1hp compressor and spraying each cavity individually rather than blasting the whole mold in a few passes. I have a Sagola mini spray gun (0.9 mm?) and a larger compressor that I got last year but it seems like overkill for tiny bonbons so I haven't made the switch.