John DePaula

That Denise is quite a character, eh? I spent some time with her last year and she told me that she lost her entire stock of chocolates in 2003 during the canicule ( heat wave ) that struck France. About caramels, I'm not a big fan. BUT, Genin's caramels are I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E ! Vanilla Caramel - Outstanding; Pistachio Praline - Wow!; Passion-Fruit/Mango - a Revelation! It just doesn't get any better than this. Bravo!

They should have no problem with leavening agents, both readily available at any market: bicarbonate de soude = baking soda levure chimique = baking powder

Last week I made a dark chocolate bonbon with Butterfly of Taiwan top superior Formosa Oolong tea. Wow! Very smooth and delicate tea. Perfect for French style chocolates. Also have had very good success with Earl Grey. It really seems to compliment the flavors of the chocolate. Pure bliss!

I think the sheets have lines so that you can easily subdivide the sheet...

Forgot to mention that in the seed method shown below, the bowl of chocolate is actually sitting in the water bath, as much as possible without spilling the water. Lots of bain marie methods tell you to not allow the chocolate bowl to touch the water, but that's only when you allow the water to boil (which would cause the chocolate to scorch).

Just consider this a cost of training for the new assistant. Don't try to sell them to your faithful clients.

Well, you make an excellent point. Usually, the professional couvertures have the crystallization curve printed on the package. If the chocolate you’re using doesn’t, the manufacturer should be able to provide this info. Using the “ballpark” figures listed above, however, should be pretty close.

I’m sure you know that if you are making chocolate truffles, it isn’t necessary to temper the chocolate unless you were planning to dip them. However, if you do need tempered chocolate it is possible to use a bain marie as you suggest, but this method works well only if you have a small job to accomplish. First, here are a couple of things to consider: 1) If you plan on starting with tempered chocolate and placing it in a bain marie kept at the working temperature (or close to it) you will be waiting a long, long, long time for the chocolate to melt. 2) Once the chocolate is tempered, it will not stay that way for very long; you really will have to work to keep it in temper. Remember: more than a couple of degrees off the target temperature and your chocolate will no longer be in temper. 3) The tabling method, which is the classical method of tempering chocolate, is no longer considered hygienic. Additionally, you must work very quickly once the chocolate starts to set. And the room temperature plays a more important role as well. Try using the seed method, instead. Seed method: 1) Chop the chocolate into slightly coarse grind. The chocolate in this step doesn’t have to be tempered. 2) Set it in a glass bowl over 55°C water bain-marie, stirring occasionally until completely melted. 3) While that is melting, finely chop your seed chocolate (about 20% or so of the mass in the bowl). The seed chocolate MUST be tempered chocolate. (The chocolate will have a nice sheen and no streaks).You can use a food processor for this step: 15 – 20 second pulses. We will use this chocolate to quickly bring our mass of chocolate down to the right working temperature (see below) or at least just slightly warmer. 4) Break off 2 or 3 large chunks of already tempered chocolate from the slab. We will use this as a seed for the crystallization process once all the smaller bits have melted. 5) When the chocolate in the bain-marie has reached a temperature between 40 - 45°C, take it off the bain-marie and toss in your ground up chocolate and chunks. (It’s good to toss in the chunks at this stage because they may have some tiny bits of chocolate clinging to them; you want them to melt at this stage.) 6) Stir vigorously (try to avoid whipping in air) until the ground chocolate is completely melted. When you reach your target working temperature, the chocolate is tempered. To test, coat the back of a palette knife and place in the refrigerator. Check in a few minutes to see if the dried chocolate has set and has no streaks. 7) Remove the chocolate chunks to a parchment paper covered plate to be used the next time. Note: While you are making shells, if the chocolate temperature drops below your working temperature (see below), you can remove some water from your warm bain-marie and place the bowl back on top. You don’t want the water to touch the bowl. This should allow you to keep the chocolate at the right temp while you’re working. Target Working Temperature Dark Chocolate: 31°C Milk Chocolate: 29°C White Chocolate: 29°C Hope this helps!

Mais si! Il faut frapper 'Alt' + un nombre comme ça: é = Alt + 130 è = Alt + 138 ç = Alt + 135 à = Alt + 133 ô = Alt + 147

carp mentioned, above, about Acetate Sheets at Tap Plastics. Looks like they have online ordering so even if you're not in the SF area you can get some.

Thanks, Eric! I'll definitely add that recipe for Fig Liqueur to my recipe collection.

Hmmm… Fig Essence sounds wonderful. When I visited France a few years ago, I tasted a Fig Liqueur that was really good. Wasn’t ever able to find it in the States, though. OK, so a couple of things occur to me about how to use your fig essence: 1) Fig Vinaigrette salad dressing 2) Fig and Honey Ice-Cream (google it) 3) Popular to brush on fish or meat while grilling, or in BBQ sauce 4) Roasted Acorn Squash drizzled with fig essence 5) Drizzle over yogurt or ice-cream 6) Sauté some Vidalia Onions with it, yum! 7) Mashed Sweet Potatoes Also, I’d be tempted to try it, in place of vanilla, in Julia Child’s Vanilla Pound Cake (Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan). I’ve used Fiori Di Sicilia in the recipe and it’s incredible! Of course, if you like chocolate why not try to flavor a basic truffle recipe with the essence. I’ve never tasted fig essence before, so take these suggestions with a grain of fleur de sel. Enjoy!

The Philadelphia National Candy show looks good, but does anyone have a recommendation for the West Coast? Looking for a good event to meet a variety of suppliers and/or get some exposure for my chocolates.

Recently spent First Thursday in Boise. Had a very pleasant evening at Mosaic Restaurant & Wine Bar. Very good wine, very good food (we had various tapas & puerco andalusian), and there was a great jazz duo, Sally Tibbs and Kevin Kirk. Highly recommended. Also had a couple of meals at The Milky Way. Good atmosphere and good food. We had the Seared Marinated Duck Brest (excellent) and the Mustard Veal Scaloppini (very good but a bit salty). This restaurant also recommended. Read a lot of good reviews of Le Café de Paris, so I was surprised at the disappointing Tarte aux Poires Bourdaloue (almond-pear tart). To me it seemed stale and they should give you a sharper fork to make it through the tough-as-nails crust. Not recommended.

Wow, looks like a wonderful recipe. Will definitely try this one. Thanks!

When I lived in Paris, I knew a woman named Stephanie Curtis. She might be a good source for a tour. Take a look at this site (lots of interesting info) and search for her name: Sally's Place Even if she doesn't have exactly the kind of tour you want, she will know who does. Good Luck and have a wonderful time!

I'm Italian and grew up near New Orleans. In addition to all of the wonderful ways Southerners cook greens, my mom would also make: Italian-Style Fried Greens Boil greens and drain. Coat bottom of frying pan with a couple of turns of olive oil, fry greens a few minutes. Add some chopped onion and garlic; sauté until onions are soft. Add bread crumbs (Progresso Italian-Style) & Italian cheese (Parmesan and/or Romano). Allow a little bit of a crust to develop. Turn and add move crumbs and cheese – several times. Season with salt and pepper. Mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, and cabbage may be cooked this way.

I second the vote for G. Detou! Also, you may find this link interesting: Story about G. Detou on ChocolateAndZucchini.com For baking hardware, try: A. Simon 36 rue Etienne Marcel and 48 rue Montmartre, 75002 Paris Telephone: 011.33.1.42.33.71.65 M.O.R.A. 13 rue Montmartre, 75001 Paris Telephone: 011.33.1.45.08.19.24

Hmmm... some interesting options. Hadn't heard of KMM before. Thanks.

Yes, I've heard of Package Nakazawa, and they have a lot of interesting options. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hello to the EGullet community. I own a small artisanal chocolate company, and I'm in search of a good supplier of custom European-style candy boxes. Currently I'm covering 2-pc boxes by hand; very pretty but it just takes up too much time. [Time I'd rather spend making chocolate!] I'd like to find a supplier who can furnish the hot-stamped box, candy pads, candy trays (blisters) and custom-stamped ribbon. The level of quality I'm looking for is similar to what you would find in La Maison du Chocolat boxes. Does anyone have a recommendation? Thanks in advance!

I think that Parc André Citröen is lovely and there are lots of carefully designed spaces, both private and public. The kids will enjoy it especially if the fountain is running at one end of the park. On the other side of town, you can rent bicycles at the Bois de Vincennes. Take a picnic basket and lunch by one of the beautiful lakes with all the other families. Enjoy! I don't think that a lot of tourists get to see these places. Oh, by the way. At Versailles, I purchased some coconut ice cream from a little stand in the middle of a field [?]. Surprisingly, it was some of the best I've ever eaten!

I thought that Dalloyau (2, place Edmond-Rostand) near Luxembourg Gardens had excellent ice cream. Amorino, just on the other side of the park, is very good, too. What could be better than a warm summer stroll through Le Luxembourg while eating some really good gelato/ice cream? Ahh... Paris!