pastrygirl

Not half bad ... entirely bad?

that sounds delicious, is that your own recipe or a classic dish?

La Fruitiere purees are similarly liquid and should be interchangeable for those brands. Perfect Puree can be thicker and/or more concentrated - for example their passion fruit concentrate is much more intense. They're more local to you but I've heard they are having either production or distribution issues so may not actually be easier to find

You may be thinking of wheat bran, the fibrous outer covering. Wheat germ is added for the protein content, not fiber.

I've tried the blood thing - it works!

You start when you get there and finish when you're done. It is very rare to have set or consistent hours in an independent restaurant. Weekends are usually busier than weekdays and you have seasonal ups & downs too, depending on your draw for tourists and holidays. As a pastry chef, I've mostly enjoyed that. The super slow and super busy times are challenging in different ways but otherwise I don't mind balancing a few longer days with a few shorter days. And if you are the head chef or owner there is much more than just cooking. Money management, people management, business management ... That said, there are some sectors that are more stable. Retirement homes, schools, and hospitals should be much more predictable and able to offer a set schedule. Big hotels somewhat too.

How about something like a cider press, possibly in combination with a mesh bag? example: https://pleasanthillgrain.com/macintosh-apple-cider-press-with-stainless-basket?gclid=CjwKCAjwo4mIBhBsEiwAKgzXOAEfC5MK6HtoJ5qEVKEiZLl0pgYwuem_6MhhbNu9znSHmSoeqNkPfhoCKOoQAvD_BwE https://modernistpantry.com/shop/?search_query=superbag#/filter:categories_hierarchy:Gadgets$253ESuperbags or just a juicer that you continuously feed berries into? https://www.webstaurantstore.com/waring-wjx80-pulp-eject-continuous-feed-juice-extractor-120v-1000w/929WJX80.html https://championjuicer.com/

How large are the bars? You can calibrate the machine to dispense X grams at once per press of the foot pedal. Of course a depositor head would be faster since its one step not four, but check the available configurations before you get too excited. Tomric or Selmi or both have video showing the cleaning process. I'd guess it takes and hour or so, depending on your method of making sure everything is completely dry before re-assembly. Solid bars should go pretty quickly, idk, can you fill one mold a minute?

0.7 mm Grex here, fine for small volume of a few molds at a time, though in truth I don’t go for 100% full coverage and settle for decent color on top to save time.

@GRiker this is a winco pan, not a perfect fit but it works, wasn’t $65, and I can fit an extra 2 kg.

From his ‘fruit’ book: the ‘coating mixture’ is a base of white choc & cocoa butter sorry, posting from my phone, I’ll see if I can rotate the pics later.

Check the fit, you may be able to get away with it. The corner radius might be different. I have a couple of deeper ones that fit and even allow me to work with more than 6 kg.

Bonbons have been quite popular for me lately & I'd like to add a display case so people can choose their own flavors. What do people think about a regular deli/pastry refrigerated case with PID controller to keep it at 60ish for chocolate diplay? I have no idea what humidity would be like ... I could find a mini dehumidifier and still save $5k ...

I've been enjoying it as usual and the lack of drama due to everyone just being happy to cook is nice. I'm re-watching the season in advance of the finale and am rooting for Shota. Maybe because he's a local boy, but also Gabe lost me at the chicken liver churros in the movie challenge and Dawn might make some tasty things but has left too many of them off the plate.

I go there sometimes, it's a bit out of the way but they do have really good deals. Plus there's the 'treasure hunt' aspect that some people enjoy. They have everything, but the specifics may change. Like they always have pints of premium ice cream for $2-3, sometimes there might be a few flavors of Haagen Dazs, sometimes it's Ben & Jerry's, sometimes Talenti gelato, and often the more niche or seasonal flavors - pistachio or rum raisin instead of vanilla. My understanding is a lot of it is overstock or closer to the pull date than other stores will accept. Fresh produce can be on the meh side but everything else I've bought has been good quality. Things I buy there include nuts (sliced almonds are even cheaper than TJ), sparkling water, frozen pizza, tortilla chips, guacamole, cheese, beef jerky, granola, olive oil, dried fruit, hand soap, cotton balls ... If there's one near you, might as well check it out!

Yes, lots of different skills to gain. Have you sorted out your packaging, labeling, pricing ... ?

That one does say it can applied directly to the mold, use a dry fluffy paint brush to push a little powder into each cavity and it will cling to the mold on its own. You won't get an intense color but you'll get a sheen of sparkle.

lol, a chocolate industry friend has referred to the Hershey's sour milk taste a few times, I didn't realize it was intentional!

Yes. Toffee and nuts can last up to a year especially if fully encased in the chocolate bar (not just sprinkled on the back & exposed to air) depending on freshness of the ingredients and how they are stored. But nuts and butter fat can go rancid so of course you don't want to get too far ahead and you still want a few months left on them when you sell them. Obviously you're not going to make each bar to order, you need to figure out a good batch size or par number, which will of course grow with the business. Maybe when you're just starting out you need to keep 20 of everything in stock but after a few years as you do holiday events and pick up wholesale accounts you'll want to keep 100 or 200 per item. And it'll take time to see what the best sellers are, they are not always what you think they will be. Are you hoping to turn this into a full-time business and make a living or keep it as a (more fun than profit-focused) hobby? Do you have experience in sales or marketing? To me, that's the hardest part - chocolatiering and marketing skills do not necessarily overlap 😆

Thanks for clarifying, and no need to apologize. I think I've seen those before, maybe Francisco Migoya did a brioche with them? Traditional to some part of France? The candying steps will be relatively high heat, hard crack sugar is 300F + and the pan itself will be hotter. But if you're mixing the finished candy into bread dough, only pieces that stick out above the crust will be subject to high oven temps, the internal temp of a baked loaf of bread is only about 200F. I have no idea about natural colors but anything artificial and meant for candy or labeled 'bake stable' should work. I did an art project last summer with big slabs of hard crack colored sugar, pretty sure I used my usual gel/paste colors, the colors remained vivid.

The CW 2295 is just a little smaller than the 2116 but same configuration (8 x 4), could be either. I use the 2295, if you want to send me a box I'll let you know if SWM's are the same size https://www.pastrychefsboutique.com/CHOCOLATE/Chocolate-Molds/polycarbonate-chocolate-molds/Modern-Shaped-Molds/chocolate-world-cw2295-polycarbonate-chocolate-dome-mold-29x21-mm-32-cavity-13gr-modern-shaped-molds https://www.pastrychefsboutique.com/CHOCOLATE/Chocolate-Molds/polycarbonate-chocolate-molds/Modern-Shaped-Molds/chocolate-world-cw2116-polycarbonate-dome-chocolate-mold-30x23-mm-32-cavity-14gr-275x175x28mm-modern-shaped-molds

‘Praline’ can refer to a number of things, can you be more specific? Since you mention high heat I’m thinking of the mostly sugar pecan pralines from the southern US but I don’t know why you would subsequently bake those. For reputable brands I recommend ameri-color and Wilton gel colors.

I keep inventory so I can fulfill orders as quickly as possible. Sharing a hometown with Amazon.com, I've come to expect my purchases to be shipped within a day and I try to do the same for my customers. Most bars will keep for a year, so might as well have a few months' supply. Bonbons are more of a conundrum that I'm solving by freezing, which is fine for shipping, just move the box to the fridge and ship the next day or keep it frozen with an insulated bag and ice pack if shipping to warmer areas.

Have you considered a guitar?

75F is my limit