pastrygirl

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.

Since the potatoes are simmered in cream and everything is warm, leaving it out for a few hours doesn't sound like the safest practice. OTOH, it will be cooked, and the last time I took my food handler's permit they had extended the window for cooling hot foods from 4 to 6 hours so 1 or 2 at kinda warm then fully cooked probably won't hurt anyone. Do you really need to pre-cook the potatoes/cream or can you assemble everything cold and just bake a few minutes longer?

Well you’d be better off using dark first then milk and washing it at the end of the day, but I think you can move one enrober between multiple machines. You want to work from fewest allergens to most.

@EsaK I got the EX with the removable screw because if I ever have to clean the thing out I want cleaning to be a easy as possible and waste the least chocolate. I'll keep dark chocolate in it and not switch chocolates too often, I use mostly 60% dark and can still use my mol d'art melters for milk and white. They offer a 'water cleaning attachment', which is the hose shown in the cleaning video. It would be easier to never clean it out and change my labeling to say 'may contain traces of' all the various allergens But I guess I should get the hose and have that option. Otherwise, you could remove the screw and wash it, and try to wipe out or wipe off the other parts but you won't get it completely clean.

I just sent in my deposit for a Selmi Color. The combination of sale pricing and how much my arm hurts after Easter production sealed the deal. My arm feels better already!

It's just camelia, which I don't consider odd. There's one in my backyard. I don't make tea with it, though

Hi Dan, welcome to eGullet and the wonderful world of confectionery. There is a thread about packaging somewhere with links to sources. A lot of it is personal choice on how you want things to look, how much you want to spend, whether you want to fold boxes or use set-up, how much plastic you're comfortable with, etc. Plenty of us can commiserate that packaging takes at least as much time and effort as making the product but here's my take: Seriously consider pre-made truffle shells for the full spheres. There is a magnetic sphere dome out there that a few of us have tried and hated. I find perfect hemisphere molds can be tricky - if the shells release from the mold before you are done filling and capping, they can slide out and lead to messy edges when filling spills over into the mold. This has been happening with some of my Easter eggs and is annoying. I'm mostly using the CW 2295 dome these days. I like Roxy & Rich cocoa butter colors though Chef Rubber are good too. Consider luster dust and piping a contrasting chocolate as other easy decor. Cupping is annoying but I'd use a cup OR a well-fitting tray. Right now I have boxes with trays for bonbon assortments, though I use cups and different boxes for bulk orders to certain customers, and I have one box that is such a snug fit that I use nothing because they can't slide or rattle around at all. Definitely be concerned. Box a few up and shake then around several times, turn them upside down, etc. Nothing wrong with that. Consider heat-sealing the bags for freshness and to tamper-proof. Find a more special twist tie - metallic or patterned or with a bow attached and a cute sticker and you're fine.

good idea! There is a company here in Seattle that makes caramrlized cocoa nibs with a variety of seasonings, marketed as a healthy ish snack. https://goodking.co/collections/shop

Cool, I wasn't familiar with the small scale models like that. Nutella uses cocoa, not full-fat chocolate, might as well put the extra CB to good use.

It's the little bit of color that creeps under the edge of the tape

What will the 'Irish' component be? Too much alcohol can interfere with gelatin setting.

yes, gelatin will set instant coffee

I wonder if there is an easy small scale way to press the cacao and separate some of the cocoa butter for use in skin care products.