John DePaula

I really love being able to work at a slightly higher, and therefore more fluid, temperature. Fantastic! And another thing: using transfer sheets must be a little easier as well, right? I don't recall seeing any mention of it but the slightly higher temperature should make transfers go more smoothly.

Well that worked out most excellently! Just finished a batch of ~300 milk chocolate shells - all beautifully in temper thanks to EZtemper. The hardest part was waiting for my chocolate mass to cool down to 33.5°C. Toward the end of the run, I noticed that the chocolate temperature had somehow spiked at 33.8°C or so. I got it stirred well and once the temperature had cooled down a few tenths of a degree, I added a dollop of silk just as insurance. Worked beautifully.

So I have some Cacao Barry cocoa butter that has been sitting around for a couple of years. It looks fine; it smells fine. It has been stored, sealed at cool room temperature. But as I said, it has been sitting around a while. I placed a portion in my EZtemper and used the factory setting of 33.7 ºC. After a few days, I got back to checking it. When I stirred it, the consistency is like thick frosting and it seems that there may be a few unmelted grains floating around. I’ve read that for Cacao Barry, some people are finding that 33.8 ºC works best. I’ve adjusted the setpoint of the EZtemper up by 0.1 ºC to 33.8 ºC. I’ll check it again in a few hours; however, is that sufficient? Or do I need to bring the CB up to 60 ºC and allow to set at room-temperature before proceeding? And if I do that, should I start over at the factory setting of 33.7 ºC?

Well, the LOOK pretty tasty to me!

In the United States, I believe 'Limburger' is reserved for the "I really hate you" jobs. LOL

I'm always greatly impressed by people who can turn a hopeless situation into a big win. And that looks like a big win!

I believe that the closer your molds are to the temperature of the chocolate when you fill them, the better result you'll get e.g. a reduction in release marks. And also, you get a little more working time to shake out bubbles if your chocolate doesn't begin immediately solidifying when you add it to the mold. I also used my oven to "proof" the chocolate molds. I didn't like using a heat gun because it would not heat the mold evenly.

And here I thought the inspiration harkened back a bit further... LOL Crunchy Frog

I'm always very careful to make sure someone is not allergic to an ingredient. Shellfish... could be very bad.

I'm sorry. Maybe I don't understand sous vide. Doesn't that work by sealing an item in a plastic bag and submersing it in a controlled temperature water bath? If so, it would be an entirely useless method for tempering chocolate.

Here's a little write up in Manufacturing Confectioner: EZtemper Seed Generator

As a lot of you already know, Kerry Beal has been working on a device to help the artisan chocolate maker – the EZtemper. I got a chance to see the EZtemper in action this weekend at the eGullet Chocolate and Confection 2015 workshop and it was nothing short of amazing. Dead simple to operate, you basically just load a container with cocoa butter and turn it on. Allow it to work overnight (about 12 hours, I think) and the EZtemper will produce cocoa butter silk i.e. Form V Beta crystals. The cocoa butter is transformed into a mayonnaise-like consistency which can then be used to instantly temper any melted chocolate or ganache. Like Mycryo, you add 1% by weight to melted chocolate at the proper temperature; however, the chocolate silk produced by the EZtemper is superior, in my opinion, because you don’t have to worry about melting out the Mycryo cocoa butter crystals and incorporating it into the melted chocolate. You just have to stir the silk in – much more easy. Not only that, but you can use it to temper your ganaches which we all know produces a product with longer shelf life and better mouthfeel. As if that weren’t enough, it also causes your ganache to set up much much faster. So you can pour out a slab of tempered ganache and move to cutting and enrobing a short while later. I think this device is going to revolutionize the chocolate industry. You should consider it for your confectionery business if you want to save a lot of time and produce a superior product. Take a look at the web site here: http://www.eztemper.com

I generally use an aluminum quarter-sheet pan to roast nuts in the oven. Stirring often, I get a fairly uniform color. Thanks for the info. I'll try misting the pan lightly to see if it's the effect I want.

I used to use a product whose ingredients listed Almonds, Sunflower Oil and Sea Salt. Recently, the ingredients changed substituting Peanut Oil for the Sunflower Oil. I want to avoid using peanut oil because of allergen concerns. I would like to replicate these roasted nuts at home, using sunflower or safflower oil. The end product should not be oily at all. So, would you just mist the nuts very lightly with oil and roast, stirring often, in a 325F oven (165C)? Like I said, I do not want the nuts to be oily but I do want the salt to stick. Thanks.

Sucre fondant = Sucre à glacer = Sucre en poudre = confectioner's sugar

Yes, definitely, congratulations! Marmalade has some info on your enrober: See Enrober Questions - Post #62.

I found a picture of the item which was served. Not great but maybe someone will recognize it and know more details: KLM Snack

I recently took a holiday in France and fortunately, one of my connections took me through Amsterdam on a KLM flight. It was just a short hop to Bordeaux, but on the airplane we were served a wonderful hearty rustic whole-grain bread. It was shaped like two small circular buns close together. One side had gouda cheese, and the other was spread with a sweet almond mixture (?). It was just wonderful and compared to the food I had to endure on Delta, it was like dining at a 3-star restaurant after being forced to eat at McDo for a month. So now, I'm constantly thinking about the traditional breads of the Netherlands. Can anyone suggest a recipe or a good place to start looking? Thanks in advance.

I'm a big fan of this chutney: Green Tomato and Apple Chutney (though I used quince from the garden rather than apples).

I 2nd that rec - he's really good. So many times I go into a pastry shop and the case if filled with examples of i) bad technique and ii) stale/off flavors. Not so with Thomas Haas. Highly recommended. You can find lots of articles about him on the web with some links on his web site.

Well, I stand corrected. Can't for the life of me find the site that referenced the €65 figure... €25, wine incl., sounds just great!

Ooo, ouch, on second thought I'm never going to get the group to go for a €65 menu. Perhaps something in the €35-40 range?

Thanks for the recs, Parigi. Le Taulado sounds perfect. Can't wait for this trip!

I'm visiting Dordogne in late summer and would appreciate any current recommendations for a good Ferme Auberge and a fun Marché Nocturne. I'll be staying in the Sarlat/Le Bugue/Trémolat area. Thanks in advance.

Darienne, I like this one a lot: Raytek MT6. My only quibble is that it's not easy to switch back and forth from Celsius to Fahrenheit.