gfron1

Thanks for these tips - you uses yours 13-14 times per day more than me, but I do use mine daily. What "formula" are you using- just the recommended or have you modified to something better? Asking because I feel like I can get better results if I make some changes

Imagine juicing a dried date....in this instance muscle power and a screen were the best option.

Remember those persimmons...There is a clear winner in efficiency of processing large amounts of persimmon. I tried a conical sieve. Very clunky and slow. I bought a decent sized foodmill which was okay, but these persimmon are so sugar concentrated/dry that it was gummy. Finally i scraped over this screen tammis which worked great and gave me a refined product. Regardless of method next time I will presoak in orange juice it brandy to loosen it up. Keeping the seeds to distribute to friends, and the twigs for smoking. I may dry and grind the skin to see if it has any value and will use it also in a steeped alcohol.

welcome to the forum Alan, and your English seems good to me. What flavors are these?

After all these years I still find this the absolute best. If at all possible get whole wheat fillo which really helps with the sweetness.

That's just a terrible, mean, nasty response...and I happen to agree. I've made enough matcha ganaches to know that I don't like them and have no interest in serving them. I will just note FWIW that you need to be sure to get the right type of matcha since there is culinary grade and tea grade. I less-hate the latter.

Well this was an amazing find in early December. The fact that they are ripe and wrinkly means that they will be perfect for use and no tannins. I'll process it all into a puree and then vac pack it for my restaurant. Since we're using historic Ozark recipes as our inspiration there are plenty of uses in their - mostly cakes, cookies and puddings (British style pudding). But, just like pawpaw I am more intrigued with the savory applications. Molé, dark breads, soup thickener, bbq sauce...stuff like that.

Pulled well over 100 pounds of tree ripened winter persimmons today. Note the Ikea bag for perspective!

This morning I met with the head chocolate dude at Bissingers to explore the Master Class, and specifically I wanted to talk about 3D molding. What we ended up focusing on was this: -1 hr more or less on 3D which would be hands on -2-3 hours of professional level tour of their production plant, but with a very advanced focus meaning, as he and I walked around he was willing to share experience on numerous tempering machines, packaging supplies, shipping materials, staffing, r&d, one-shots, they only use natural colorants, he has a temper meter...very cool, and on and on, panning equipment, caramel kitchen, etc... This got me to thinking about our group and how almost all started as hobbyists, and have expanded to various degrees. What I am envisioning is two sessions - in the morning visiting a mid-sized chocolate company and have them hands-on their specialty, and then in the afternoon going to Bissingers to see a large operation (not factory level). This would be a great opportunity to see two scales of ramp-up with experienced professionals who will cover the full spectrum of operations with us, and have a little hands on play time. Does this hold any interest for folks? I have confirmed that Rick Jordan can NOT do a class - he has a new project that is demanding all of his time.

No, but these all work. The fan in the closet...that's quite a commitment!

I thought there was one with a wooden frame up, a box fan and a heater filter. I built one so I must have seen it somewhere.

Gang - I'm trying to find the topic where someone showed how to build a spray booth. Maybe its just buried in this thread, but I thought it had its own. Does anyone know where that is?

idk, but I know they do an awful lot of them, and they do them by hand.

Floating an idea for the Master Class - anyone interested in 3D molding? I know Bissingers does quite a bit of this. Still exploring a few other ideas as well.

One of the fun things is the timing of the taping as at least one of the competitors received a star during the taping of the show. I am finished now and can't quite figure out what they'll do for a season two. Like so many other cooking shows it won't take long until the competition is no longer of the caliber deserving to be on stage.

I won't offer any spoilers. I'll just say that my affinity is to the style of Charles and Rodrigo. I think their food is beautifully composed, thoughtful and as perfectly flavored as I can imagine through the TV. Their avocado was a bit rough looking - they should have coated it in a powder or glazing to give it a more stunning finish. But I would have eaten the hell out of that dish.

Event Dates: May 18-19, 2019 St. Louis, MO Forest Park Community College Hospitality Building Master Class: May 17 Hotel: Marriott Courtyard St Louis Downtown West, 2340 Market Street at Jefferson St. Louis MO 63103 Book your group rate for Egullet Chocolate & Confection Workshop. Guests may also call Marriott Reservations @ 866.661.8954 and reference the Egullet Workshop group rate at Courtyard St. Louis Downtown West. Airports: St. Louis Lambert (STL) is the major airport; The regional airport across the river is MidAmerica St. Louis (BLV) and is serviced by Allegient Airlines. Registration Links: Paypal.me link or Venmo link. To ensure your space in the workshop I will need your payment no later than April 12, 2019. ***** I believe everything is up to date, links have been corrected, parking is free although it will show $10 on the website, and double beds available while they last. A previous post listed alternative hotels as well.

Our free parking is confirmed by the event coordinator

Feel free to DM any questions to me. No need to do this publicly. I've sent them a note with the contract attached.

I was told that the rooms will be corrected this afternoon. What happened is that there are two Marriott Courtyards right across the street from each other. They originally wanted us in the other, but I wanted us to get the free parking of the one we ended up with. In that switch the room break down got missed. Like I said, should be correct shortly.

Yeah, I would just call. Our contract calls for 5 king rooms and 15 doubles.

Working on it.

Interesting response from a local critic who lived in China:

I like the show as well and think I'll like it better when there are fewer contestants so we can get more time spent on their techniques, and hoping they stay away from the hokey family backgrounds and childhood upbringings. My very small quip is with the first round cultural experts. I like the critic/reviewer, but the other two (so far...I'm only on the 3rd episode) could have been more appropriate for the level of chefs. I don't really care what an actor thinks no matter how culturally relevant they are. Give me a culinary historian, a cookbook author, an anthropologist, a food scientist with an interesting POV...that would have given us more than "yummy" and "too spicy."