Ke Kau

Calcium helps with gellation, but sugar will inhibit. I always process my mixes in the blender, sprinkling the gum into the vortex. Allowing 2 minutes or so of hydration time, then adding sugar. Any time I've added sugar pre-hydration, it never sets.

You could use .5 to 1.5% xanthan gum. You could even add up to 15% white chocolate and vary the ratio of xanthan gum to play with texture. The xanthan gum will give you stability with flexability, so to speak. A little pectin(.25-.75%) would also give stability, but too much would alter the texture of a traditional lemon curd. Methylcellulose would let you do it hot(.5-1%). A gum blend might help. Check out TIC Gums www.ticgums.com Let them know what you want to do and they'll make a suggestion. Very good people. Good luck. Let us know what you come up with.

John, I've recooked many caramel by breaking it back up and adding 35% water to a pot. Cook as you normally would. Depending on the amount of inhibitor in the original recipe you can either leave as is or add 5-10% to prevent crystal growth. To be safe, you may also add 1-5% salt to balance out the sweetness level, and if added at the beginning of the cooking process will also aid in inversion of the sugars. Good luck. Shane

Check out Savage Bros. I got mine from them. It's a nice, heavy cutter with super sharp stainless steel blades. I believe it was around $550 standard. They will customize one for you as well.

David, Try fruit powders. http://www.remarkablefoods.com/fruit-powders.html The Duby's use a wine powder for one of their ganaches. Let us know how it works. Shane

[Moderator's Note: Please see this post below for an exciting announcement concerning the 2007 World Pastry Forum! -- Chris Amirault] I recently purchased my tickets to the 2007 World Pastry Forum where I will be lucky enough to student assist Stephan Iten in the hands on demo classes that are being offered. I'm really excited about going as I missed out last year. My question is, does anyone know who the other instructors are going to be and who the competitors are this year? Particularly backgrounds and recent projects. Also, are there any favorites for the competition? Is anyone else here going? It would be great to meet any fellow eGullet posters. Thanks to all for any information. Shane

I have a question about brix as well: When using a brix meter, do you have to cool the solution before testing or can you put it right on the glass? I know brix is a much finer measurement of sugar concentration, but up to this point I've always done the drop of jelly on a cool surface to test for set point. I guess what I'm asking is will using a brix meter give me a more consistent pate de fruit? Thanks for any advice in advance. Shane

RaviFruit is one I've seen. Shane

The concave designs of most moulds do not allow fine lines. The pressure from the air, even on a double action brush, gets condensed by the dimensions of the mould and pushes the colorant around. Masking and layer building are the only alternatives. They both yield good results, but are very time consuming. I remember someone posting awhile back about devising silicone inserts for moulds which could possibly achieve the same effect. Even this would require some form of adhesive to obtain clean lines which, once again, would be time consuming. In a hobbyist time frame you can produce magnificent pieces with great detail, but from a production perspective...well let's just say, "I wish...." Good luck. Shane Tracey KeKau Chocolatier www.kekau.com

I've experienced similar issues using the mol d'arts. If you don't get the dial right, the chocolate has a tendency to over crystallize and it's a pain to get it back. When in doubt, go higher on the holding temp and when you are ready to work it, just add enough stable seed to bring it back around. In order to fix your issue I have done one of two things. Completely melt out the chocolate (I melt to 115 - 120F for dark) and reseed or you can add a larger amount of "good seed" to the over crystallized chocolate and melt it out with a heat gun. You should be able to reset the crystal structure to its proper stage by introducing an abundance of stable crystals. I hope that helps David. Good Luck. Shane

Fanny, Walk into the situation with an open mindset. Absorb everything you see and volunteer for any task that comes up, regardless of your experience level. Trying is the only way to truly learn. Have faith in your self. If pastry is truly your passion, every experience, good or bad, is beneficial. I wish you the best on your journey. Shane Tracey www.kekau.com

Use the framboise as a component to your main flavor profile. I suggest using real raspberries for a raspberry flavor. Replace up to 50% of your cream with raspberry puree and use the framboise to really bring out the flavor. A touch of balsamic vinegar will also enhance the fruity flavors. [qoute]I really want to make ginger truffles. Seems like there are a couple of schools of thought out there - steep sliced ginger in the cream, or use ginger juice. What are the pros and cons of the two approaches?

It's also available at PACO TORREBLANCA: The Book: http://www.chipsbooks.com/paco.htm

So a friend of mine just gave me an Amish Friendship bread. The instructions state to "mash the bag" for 6 days and bake with it on the seventh. It gets "refreshed" on the 7th day. This contradicts everything I have ever read about caring for a starter but apparently people have been passing this around for a while. The "starter" has no real character, and my guess, no real leavening power. But I'll play with it and pass it on as requested. I wanted to know if any one out there has been given this before and what there experience has been? I can't wait to see! Shane

For a ganache I would boil the cream, remove it from the heat and then add chopped basil. Experiment with a mix of dried and fresh. Steep for 5 minutes and strain over chocolate. Shane