pastrygirl

30 seconds? I airbrush frequently so I keep the compressor on a wheeled cart that fits under a prep table. Making sure I have all the right colors melted takes longer. Go for it! I'm currently using a grex 0.7mm and a california air tools 1hp/2gal compressor, have made tens of thousands of bonbons. I did just order a spanish 0.8mm airbrush in hopes of making things go a little faster. Was debating the grex 1.0 mm spray gun but am worried it'd be overkill.

Are you ever drunk or stoned? The name is terrible but it probably tastes good in a cheap salty way.

Not actually sure what size wire I have. You're probably fine with the 'standard' 0.5

Useful when you don't have a solid filling to support pouring chocolate on top. Or in the Amado example, chocolate could run through the gaps in the lacy shell.

I have cut caramels on my guitar, they can't be too firm. If you don't want to risk it, you can instead push the wires into the top of your caramel to mark it for cutting manually.

It would be easier and probably not much less accurate to make 2 cuts. Cut 45 mm strips then slide them over & cut again to make 22.5 mm strips

About 5 minutes at 325F should crisp them up

Yes, the closer to horizontal the wires are, the harder it is to cut. The Dedy wires end up at least 2” below the base at hinge side, 1” at handle side. I got a piece of plexiglass cut to fit the bottom of the cart so I can store the base there and it all fits under a work table. Frames double as a mold-drying rack. Mine is circa 2009, base weighs 5 kg, a frame is 3.6 kg that concludes my enabling for the moment

@GRiker that video looks like the wires don't pass all the way through the base. Either they have it set up wrong or the frame needs to be an inch or two longer. Edited to add I think they have it set up wrong, other pics look like it clears. It doesn't look as deep/tall as the dedy, not sure if that makes a difference I saw a used guitar on facebook recently here (you might have to join the group, it was $800, in Maine) https://www.facebook.com/groups/737168320528310/permalink/1402338137344655/?sale_post_id=1402338137344655&mibextid=W9rl1R

Isn't below 0.65 'microbially stable' i.e. nothing grows? I wouldn't worry, especially if the flour has been cooked.

Can you stop it after the air bubbles have ballooned up but before they're sucked down again?

yes

Maybe it wasn't sugar bloom after all, just some weird fat bloom from hanging out all day?

Valrhona has 1 kg bags. They make Cacao Barry look cheap.

Making butter for holiday baking? I haven't noticed shortages but I did notice price increases - a half gallon was $12 at the restaurant supply store vs the usual $9.

Do any immersion circulators get to boiling?

I was looking for just one bag of something and discovered that Chef Rubber is having a Felchlin Clearance sale "while supplies last". Not sure if this means they're discontinuing or just over-stocked, but prices are well below AUI, like 20% off even including shipping fees. Wish I'd discovered this sooner!

More stable, but harder to hold onto if you have small hands.

That's why most of my designs are abstract 😅 But seriously I think painting will be tedious any way you do it and just takes practice. Piping white chocolate into the mold might flow nicely to fill the ribbon on top but the sides would be a pain. Piping white chocolate on the finished bonbon could be cute and you could add a little bow. And faster if you're doing a zillion for the holidays. CB should be liquid but not too hot (low 90's F), molds should be room temp (mid 60's to low 70'sF). A different brush might help, play around.

Fats can go rancid, if it doesn't taste good, don't use it. Also possible the product is reasonably fresh but picked up strong smells in storage.

Not sure what you mean. A 3k tempering machine is an asset, not COGS. At tax time you can choose whether to claim the expense all at once or over time.

You could use ghee or clarified/browned butter.

If you like cleaning cocoa butter out of silicone. If not dumping chocolate back into the bowl, just use parchment.

Cocoa butter order error in my favor, 1kg packs instead of 225g. Anybody need holiday colors? 😅

I've done 1kg granulated sugar to 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out, and pod cut into pieces. Throw it all in the food processor for a minute to distribute the seeds evenly. Shouldn't be much different for 10x.