John DePaula

Gorgeous, Kerry!

Anna, your bonbons look great! Though I know what you mean about photos don’t lie. A photo can really show details that would otherwise go unnoticed. If this helps, I could offer some suggestions about the streaking, which, by the way, I can’t see in your photos! 1) Stir often until you think that your chocolate is in temper. 2) Wait 5 minutes 3) Stir well again. 4) Test temper. This will allow the chocolate to equilibrate and have all of your lovely beta crystals uniformly dispersed throughout the melted chocolate mass. Keep up the great work!

Thanks for the info; looks like a great resource! Here's the link: At Home with Patricia Wells : French to English Food Glossary

Ditto.

In my 40’s, I had always wanted to live in France but never seemed to be getting any closer to making it happen. So in 2003 I took the plunge by leaving my job and moving to Paris. I enrolled at Ferrandi to study pastry and bread baking. When I first moved there, it was quite a challenge trying to find equivalents for typical North American baking items. It was funny, I searched Paris high and low for vanilla extract but just could not put my hands on it. In frustration, I called a coordinator at school and she replied simply, “When the French want vanilla flavor, they use vanilla beans!” Well, duh! I felt so stupid. Over the course of a year, I began assemble a small but useful vocabulary: cassonade, vergeoise, lait ribot, etc. My question, finally, is this: Have you ever thought about publishing a definitive guide for conversions between North American and French baking ingredients?

Great minds yada yada, Alana.

Anna, I've got some molds they call 'student molds' they have 3 different patterns on each mold. That way you can put a different filling in each shape, less to remember. I'll bring you one. Not that you are interested in doing chocolate however! ← Sounds like Kerry has got you covered! However, I noticed that JBPrince has some polycarbonates with multiple shapes on a single tray: K526 - 4 Assorted Shapes Mold. Chocolat-chocolat probably has something like this as well... Good luck and have fun!

No, surprisingly, the hot fruit didn't seem to cause any damage at all. I did however, give them a good wash and then polished them with a microfibre cloth (as you suggested) before I put the chocolate in there. The major pitfall with these plastic molds is that they are "floppy" so you cannot get a clean base. Using them for solid chocolate was not so bad but I couldn't imagine trying to get a thin base on a filled chocolate using them. But then again, I might be brave enough to give it a shot if I get through my to-do list in good time today! ← Wow, didn't know that you could put hot fruit in those floppy molds! Might try that myself, sometime. About getting a flat edge with them... I don't use the floppy ones myself, however you might try putting them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet for stability. Then grab one end of the mold and drag the palette knife across the top letting the excess chocolate spill onto the parchment paper. Messy but it might work.

Oh, Anna, you're so wrong about that! I think that your chocolates look just gorgeous! Brava!

Seems like I may have seen something like that at Tomric Plastics

Regular Wilton pastes -- no. But, Wilton does have oil based colors for candy making. Ususally found in the same aisle as the regular colors. ← Exactly. When I first started out, I used the Wilton Oil-Based Colors; however, they do fade after several months if that's important to you.

I haven't frozen gianduja before, but it does have a long shelf-life - about a year if stored in a cool dry place. I'm not recommending that you freeze it but if you do, wrap it very very well in film (plastic wrap). You don't want it to absorb any moisture or odor. When you want to use it, move it first to the refrigerator for 24 hours, then at room temp for an hour before removing the wrappings to avoid condensation. The best would probably be sealed in a vacuum seal plastic pouch. Hope this helps, Mette.

i temper with mycryo, i usually have around 35 c on tempering (white choc) how high can i heat it without loosing the temper ??? cheers t. ← At 35C I don't see how you're in temper... seems way too high.

Correct... chocolate was too cold. Slightly warmer should fix the problem, as long as you're still in temper.

I've begun watching them. Still, I have a nightmarish vision of a chef screaming at me in patois while I try to avoid cutting off my fingers.... The collection resides here http://www.metafooder.com/?cat=45 ← Mais, Non! This will probably not happen, but if it does why not just have fun with it. Just smile demurely and bat your eyes at Chef. I'm sure that will defuse the situation... (though it never seemed to work for me... ) Seriously, though, don't let your fears stop you from having a potentially wonderful experience. Life's short - Cook well.

In this context, 'confit' means 'conserve.' It is duck which has been preserved in its own fat. This is one of my favorite French dishes to which I was introduced in Dordogne (Thank you, Marie! ). It's especially wonderful if served with Pommes Sarladaise - potatoes sauted with garlic and duck fat. Here's a good thread on eGullet about making your own Duck Confit: Confit Duck, Step by step with photos

I'm surprised in all these months on eG I've seen no mention before of Capretz's films, tapes and workbooks. In another life I know/knew about things paedagogical - Capretz combines vocabulary and verbs, oral and written, the esoteric and banal, cultural (and here we go back on topic) and food. He's a treasure. And, you find out how to order, eat and send back badly cooked dishes, as well as where the culinary center of the world is. ← I studied French for years and made grindingly slow progress until jumping into Capretz' French in Action series. I made huge progress in just a couple of months. Can't recommend this method enough. And now, you can even watch all 52 videos online for free! Formidable!

I do not have direct experience with any of the following, but they are worth checking out: Bellouet Conseil Ecole Lenotre Ecole Ritz Escoffier I think that all of the above have long as well as short programs. Of course, longer would be preferable, oui? Get a french tutor and start learning from Capretz' French in Action series immediatement. You won't regret it.

What is LCB? Perhaps this is a new topic? ← LCB = Le Cordon Bleu

I'm told by an American student currently at this school that it is in turmoil. The French-English teacher was dismissed, the school wouldn't hire another one, and it has also announced that henceforth all tests and classes will be exclusively in French. Were it later in the year, it might be less of a problem for the foreign students. Last week there were protests and meetings going on. That's the last I heard. I'm expecting an update today. Maybe it's all been resolved. Or maybe we'll be seeing "manifs" in the streets around the school. ← Quelle surprise… Not! When I was there in 2003/4 we had some problems as well. But you know, there are a few rules to live by when immersing yourself in a different culture: 1) Learn to cultivate patience. People do things differently than the way to which you may be accustomed. Things may seem disorganized and haphazard. Somehow, they muddle through and still manage to get work done. 2) Don’t let the histrionics disturb you. There can be a lot of hand-waving, yelling and at times, pot throwing. It’s ok… just a more colorful way of expressing an opinion. As I mentioned above, one of my classmates used to say, “Hey, it’s just dessert. Get over it.” 3) Develop a thicker skin. I know that I’m often given to “take it personally” when it’s not intended as such. Just stay calm and don’t view everything as a personal attack. I don’t know who the current French teacher is (was) but we had someone named Mireille whom we all liked a lot – very cool. I just can’t imagine what could prompt them to fire a French teacher. Mystère et boule de gomme. I agree, it’s a bit early in the year to drop the French instruction. However, I know that most of the chefs have a fairly good command of English – at least enough to flirt with the girls… (sorry, couldn’t resist a little jab). The French portion of the program was valuable but to me, the most important things were learned “on the job.” When it comes time for the stage, you will really be so much better off if you’re fluent in French. Better to do your sink-or-swim time early on, I guess. SO, I guess I’ll just close with this: things aren’t what you expected, or perhaps they’re not even what you were promised – don’t worry. It’s still a very high level of instruction and you can learn so much if you don’t let the snags define your time at Ferrandi. Bon chance. P.S. Randy, if you get an update please let us know what’s going on.

OMG, the list is endless… How about: - cutting into long strips, brushing with melted butter, sprinkle with grated parmesan, fleur de sel and pepper to taste, twist and bake. - wrap a square around an olive - layout a long rectangle, brush with butter, add anchovies on half, fold over other half and bevel cut, bake - cut into interesting shapes, top with jam, bake just a few ideas.

I thought the same thing, too, Kerry. It looks soupy but it should set up nicely once cooled. ETA: One thing that I forgot to mention is that I do primarily filled chocolates so I wanted a less firm ganache for filling shells. If you're doing enrobed truffles, then you'll certainly want to use a higher chocolate to water ratio.

Sorry folks – been kinda swamped today. Just getting back to this thread. Sounds like Rodney has his finger on things, though. I did think that adding more sugar and/or alcohol would surely increase shelf life but I admit that I haven’t tried that as yet. I’ve just noted empirically that a plain water ganache chocolate doesn’t last as long as my others. Hope this helps.

Well I’ve tried this and it’s surprisingly wonderful and “creamy.” Yes, you do get a deep rich chocolate flavor with a water ganache – I made mine with 70% Belgian bittersweet and Earl Grey tea (water) infusion specifically for some vegan friends. You’ll have to be pretty patient and diligent to get the emulsion to come together but once it does it’s pretty nice. I would recommend an immersion blender to get the best results. The only caveat is that the shelf-life is greatly reduced. I’d say they probably last about 5 days – which is why I only make them in quantity for special orders. I don’t use preservatives in my chocolates, but if you do then go for it! Also, might be a good candidate for sweeter or alcohol based ganaches which will both help to preserve the ganache naturally. I think I tried it with a ratio of roughly 1:1 water to chocolate but your mileage may vary. Good luck, Vanessa, and if you decide to pursue please let us know how they turn out! Ciao!

I've never tried this myself, but you might try Fondant Sugar which, as I understand it, is pulverized to 100 times smaller than normal powdered sugar grains. Might give a better mouth feel.