pastrygirl

No, no rules, doesn't have to be edible, I just thought it would be cool to get a time-lapse video of something self-destructing. Gingerbread is a good idea! Would you believe I've never made a gingerbread house? this is the event, in multiple cities: https://www.nationalartsdrive.com/

My kitchen space is part of 3 industrial buildings full of artists' studios and we are participating in a drive-by art event this weekend. I have a sunny patio so was thinking of making a giant pile of chocolate balloons to let melt and collapse in the sun as my 'art'. However, it looks like it might rain and also chocolate is expensive so maybe I should switch to sugar. Of course, I've never made a sugar sculpture, and it needs to be big enough to be interesting from 15' away. My first idea is a house of cards with half sheet pan size sheets of sugar. Do I need molten sugar to glue them together or can I soften the edges with a propane torch? Will I be happier if I get isomalt instead of regular cane sugar? And can I use gel food colors in sugar? Other ideas or tips?

Thanks I did get some of the SAF from Peterson, where I have an account and get deliveries. I'm going ahead with my mini grocery store, trying to figure out space and supply chain for a decent number of skus so someone could actually get a couple days worth of meals. Not really sure what I'm getting into, two other businesses in the neighborhood are also pivoting to grocery. A coffee/brunch spot has rearranged and added shelves and a cold case but wasn't stocked yet as of Thursday. Not sure how I can compete, besides my desserts. And parking, that's important.

if it's pink or blue but doesn't have fruit it in

Consequences of the general public shopping at restaurant wholesalers - There's one where I don't have a delivery account but do will call for some ingredients. They're always super nice, you just call ahead and pay by credit card, easy. 2 weeks ago I tried to get yeast but they were reserving it for their restaurant accounts, today they said you had to show a copy of your re-seller's permit. Not a problem because I have one, but interesting that they are limiting it to business customers when they never did before.

Powder free but black and a different brand. All the bleach probably isn't helping either 😜 Hmm, good idea, I did get a bunch of cheap cotton gloves once for handling chocolate. Though if the cotton ones end up sweaty and gross inside the other glove, I might stick with the suffering I know. thanks!

On the subject of food handling gloves ... Over the years I've found that latex gives me a rash so I use the white-ish nitrile gloves. Recently gloves have been out of stock everywhere so when my kitchen tenant found some and brought me 4 boxes I was excited. However after a few days of the new black nitrile gloves the backs of my hands are itching like crazy with tiny bumps. Coincidence? Different formula for the black ones? Any suggestions for a snug, flexible, hypo-allergenic disposable glove? My hands have enough to deal with 😟

If you know what model it is you can check the user guide online, but IIRC the bottle needs to be full to the line and it works best if the water to be fizzed is already very cold.

I haven't used mine in a while, but aren't you supposed to charge full bottles only? Was the nozzle immersed in the water?

If it has separated, maybe you can pour off the oil and use the concentrated, less oily pigment? I wonder how you can force the other colors to separate, maybe heat well then let sit? I've had cocoa butter colors separate sitting in the melter too long but they're fine after shaking up. Chocolate stuff is always expensive, it hurts to have to throw anything away!

@EsaK I’m curious what these liquid oil colors are designed for. Is there any description or suggested use on the packaging? They might be meant for coloring hard candy or glazes rather than chocolate. Can you post a pic or link?

@Tropicalsenior thanks, that helps a lot. I was thinking 2 & 4 servings in oven-safe aluminum pans but I'll see what my options are, take-out packaging is in high demand right now.

I have surprisingly little experience with mac & cheese ... if I was going to make mac & cheese or lasagna as a frozen take & bake entree, I'd just assemble it and freeze to be baked by the customer, rather than assemble, bake, freeze, and have the customer re-bake, right? Same with pot pie, the filling is already cooked and the customer bakes it long enough to bake the dough and heat the filling? I don't buy many frozen entrees besides pizza, am trying to put together a menu that I can sell to the neighborhood* but want to limit refrigerated items with short shelf life and focus on shelf stable and frozen. *out of my commercial kitchen, don't worry

I've always assumed that the fruit gets leathery and weird and the chocolatiers are ok with that. You'd have to fully enrobe the pieces in chocolate to keep them crispy.

Use an ice pick or chisel to make smaller chunks, then suck on them. Pretend it's Bhutanese dried yak cheese, if you like.

I wonder if the rapeseed oil is to blame. I believe both Chef Rubber and Roxy & Rich colors are cocoa butter only, no other oils. Is the CW color solid at room temp like cocoa butter should be?

Here is what I have, not sure how it was chosen.

I'll try to remember to look at my grease trap tomorrow and see if there are details. Probably one of those things where its better to err on the side of larger? I don't currently have a dishwasher, I have a ginormous 3 compartment sink that is awesome because a full sheet pan will fit flat in each basin. Takes more space but much lower cost. Things to consider in dishwashers - does it sanitize by heat or chemicals and what will that do to your molds? Will it fit all your equipment - sheet pans, hotel pans, melanger drums, etc? Do they require a service contract and/or charge per cycle? Restaurants I've worked in have used Auto-Chor, it's nice to have that regular service and one less thing to worry about but may be costly. But how much volume are you washing? You don't need to keep up with dinner service.just clean after a production run. A high temp dishwasher is going to be hot and steamy and should be in a well ventilated area away from chocolate. A low temp one might use chemicals that degrade your molds.

just a 12 quart cuisinart stock pot. I also have a 16 quart that I use on my stock burner, the larger ring of flames helps sugar cook evenly.

That's tiny. Since caramel needs so much room to expand and foam as it cooks, that seems impractical for all but the smallest batch. I recommend a stainless steel stock pot with a heavy bottom, this 12 quart will hold at least 2 kg of caramel. https://www.wayfair.com/kitchen-tabletop/pdp/cuisinart-stock-pot-with-lid-cui2499.html?piid=13675208

Apparently that's the 'bone notch' https://images.app.goo.gl/rsXeewVHahifb6eN9

No, might be radiant such as this https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-30-in-Radiant-Electric-Cooktop-in-Black-with-4-Elements-including-2-Power-Boil-Elements-JP3030DJBB/205951510 Radiant should work with any material pots and pans and heat without anything being on the burner. Induction will only work with conductive metal pans and the burner itself won't heat without a pan on it.

Do you have the Harvest Right? How long does it take and how could the results be better? I'm slightly interested in one for freeze drying fruits to be blended into chocolate. It would be cool to be able to use local fruit. If you're serious about selling it, what part of the world are you in?

Meh. It's easy to say what other people should or shouldn't have done.

There's a local fish wholesaler who has opened to the public. My production kitchen is in kind of a food desert so I've been debating getting some bulk things to re-pack and sell to the neighborhood but it's hard to get motivated when there is little foot traffic and probably not a lot of money to be made on dry beans/rice/pasta.