pastrygirl

Exciting possibilities, for sure. But might really limit applications. Sounds like a no for wet produce, I wonder how long it lasts in a humid environment. Could be good for things like the inner sleeve on packaged crackers or cookies.

The 7.5 mm base refers to the distance between the grooves. Then I have 4 different sets of wires in multiple of that distance - 15, 22.5, 30, and 37.5 mm for cutting different sizes. It is easy to change from one set to another. I make small truffle bites that I cut 22.5 mm square, when I make caramels I cut them 37.5 mm one way then change to the 15 mm set to cut rectangles. base wires truffles, 22.5 mm square caramels 15 x 37.5

I have a Dedy guitar with 7.5 mm base. You can get a heavier wire to use as replacement if you have frequent breakage.

It's true, I cut caramels and giandujas on my guitar. I'm also pretty fast at replacing broken wires if you know what I mean 😆 From a business standpoint (rather than just fun toys), what are your pain points? What are your best sellers/most profitable items and what would help you make & sell more of those? At first I was excited by the mini enrober for the 3Z but after watching the video I'm not impressed. I think you'll still be hand dipping. The guitar would save you all the hand scooping and cutting. I'd say either a guitar or more molds and an airbrush setup. Would you rather be hand dipping all day or polishing and painting molds all day?

I don't warm molds and am not aware of that being a standard practice. Maybe if it's insanely cold in your production room and the chocolate is crystallizing way too quickly? But it would have to be below 60F before I'd think of doing that.

& that's another thing to be aware of - some people will give you feedback, many won't, so it's even harder to know what has happened to your product once it leaves your hands. As much as I prefer the gushingly positive emails, if I've made a mistake somewhere ultimately I do want to know and try to make it right if possible. And if it's something like an un-named allergen - hey, it didn't say nuts on the box but I just bit into an almond- the maker really needs to know before they hurt someone.

yes The fat bloom on the hazelnut was my own fault, I got the (not so) brilliant idea to line the shell with a layer of gianduja, thus putting too much oil right up against the dark chocolate shell. Oops 🙄

Today was a shelf life test day, I went to one of my consignors to pick up unsold Easter items and they still had a box of bonbons from Valentine’s Day so I grabbed that too. I delivered those at the end of January so they’ve been at room temp 10 weeks, in my fridge up to 2 weeks during production. Out of 12 pieces, I think the coconut had gone a little off, the hazelnut was super dull from fat bloom, and the cinnamon had both a pocket of blue mold and fuzzy white mold under the shell. 😳 Really glad I pulled that and I hope the 9 boxes they sold have been eaten by now. I wonder when the turning point was ... I had been getting more confident - or perhaps cavalier - and went with 12 weeks for a recent batch. Maybe I should be more conservative and say eat within 8 weeks?

Since you were able to melt it and it's not seized, it's probably not the chocolate There may be chocolates that are easier to use, but even experienced chocolatiers using expensive chocolate have failures. I've been at this several years and have probably tempered a literal ton of chocolate but sometimes I still get it wrong.

@Dan K we spend all this time trying to coax chocolate into crystallizing, the hitch is you need to either use it right away or constantly maintain it. “In temper” really just means a small % of the cocoa butter has turned to stable crystals. As the chocolate cools more or is agitated more, that % increases and the chocolate gets more viscous.

Yeah that top pic looks super thick, chocolate should flow Since it was so thick and behaved better at higher temps, that sounds like over-crystallized. Too much stirring at too low a temp, I'd guess. I assume you have your KA on lowest speed but maybe don't stir constantly? Did you mix the luster dust with something? You can also use it dry, just swirl it into the mold cavities with a clean dry paintbrush of appropriate size.

Something with Okanagan huckleberries? Here's a liqueur https://okanaganspirits.com/product-category/liqueur/ and some jam https://wcwf.ca/shop/specialty-products/mountain-huckleberry-jam/ they also have fish, mushrooms, the fruits of BC

For Canadian chocolatiers who ship, check out Soma in the east and The Chocolate Lab to the west.

Not many of us use the precise heat mixing bowl, but I believe @JoNorvelleWalker has used it for chocolate work, maybe she can weigh in. You can thin the chocolate with cocoa butter as needed to make it more fluid. Did you test your temper or are you only going by temperature only? Temperature is important because your stable crystals won't form if things are too warm, but the crystallization is the main thing.

@Altay.Oro try warming it up to 35C to emulsify

yeah you don't want to dilute the sugar too much, I don't remember how fully cherries re-hydrate but I'm sure I've done something similar maybe 2 c dried (sweetened) sour cherries, 1/2 c (1:1) simple syrup, 1/4 c brandy? You don't want a ton of extra liquid, that would be a waste of brandy

Shelf life can be 1 week, 6 months, or anywhere in between, it all depends on formulation and storage temp. A cold case is fine as long as humidity is low and there is no condensation.

Are they sweetened dried sour cherries? Dried fruit has very little water and wouldn't get icy, and any sugar in the fruit is already concentrated. I think the brandy soak should suffice without additional sugar.

Maybe too much fat? Why add extra cocoa butter to ganache?

There is often room for education - some customers are vaguely aware, some are not. I just got an email asking about the shelf life on two products someone had sent to their family overseas. I looked up their order and they had bought a bunch of stuff in early December last year. Luckily the items were caramels and gianduja so I could tell them they should be fine through end of May, but I wouldn't feel so confident about bonbons made last November. (And there are best by dates on those boxes)

4 weeks is a relatively short time and most things should be fine. But for example today someone picked up a box of bonbons and said it's for a birthday in 3 weeks. If they've been in my fridge for a couple of weeks, then they go to someone's house for 3 weeks, then maybe the birthday person went keto for the month ... how are they at 8 or 10 weeks? Or if you do holiday markets, you'll have people wanting to buy gifts in November to give six weeks later, then the recipient saves it til Valentine's. Can you keep things frozen til ready to sell and give a reasonably confident 6-8 weeks? Or if it's a month, just make it clear. Occasionally I'll taste test old bonbons in the name of science (and as an excuse for gluttony) and often they're fine but sometimes there's shrinkage or flavors will fade, even mold. I am super paranoid about it, I admit.

https://ziploc.com/en/Products/Containers/Rectangle/Containers-Large-Rectangle I've discovered that these fit 96 (3 molds full) of my domed bonbons (CW2295) with candy pads between layers. I keep things refrigerated or frozen. You're pre-boxing everything, right? Keep 5 or 10 or 20 boxes put together and someplace cool then freeze back-ups. What do you currently suggest for shelf life? I figure that keeping them in the fridge will buy a little more time and the shelf life clock doesn't really begin until they're out at room temp.

I have had deep fried fish skeletons at Japanese restaurants and also enjoy crunchy fried shrimp heads. I wonder if you could candy a fish skeleton? Blanch it a few times to remove the fish flavor then cook in syrup ...

how moist, exactly? nuts, crispy pearls, or crunchy cookie bits with a chocolate raincoat Though I'm trying to think of positive experiences of bones in food ... 🧐

... and they can’t tell you how to do it, they can only tell you if you’re doing it wrong.