sote23

I don't know the answer to this one. I'd suggest you go and talk with them and see what they have to say the differences are. ← no problem, i thought you might know which one you got.

I noticed on the metels supermarket website, they have different types of stainless steel bars you can get like 303, 304, etc. does it matter which one is used?

← rosemary caramels, that sound yummy. i've never attempted caramels. do you have a recipe? luis

As Alana mentions, they are solid and very heavy. Not sure where you are located but here is a link to the metal supermarkets. Perhaps you can find one close to you. ← thanks kerry, there is one about 30 mins from me.

ok, so what they had at the hardware store is not what i'm looking for. thanks for the info on the mediants, I will have to take a look at making them in the future.

The beauty of caramel rulers is that you can adjust them to any size you need. These ones are just some stainless bar I had cut by the Metal Supermarket. Got hubby to polish the ends and remove any burrs for me. I seem to recall they cost me less than $30. ← thanks kerry, that is a great idea. Any idea what size or thickness they are, so I can look for the same thing. the ones I see for sale such as this one, don't seem to be as hefty as what your using. http://www.pastrysampler.com/Products/360.htm ← These are my light ones actually. They are 3/8 by 1 inch. I had 2 cut 8 inches long, 2 cut 12 inches long. The first set I had made were 1/2 inch by 1 inch, two were 18 inches, two were 12 inches. They are a challenge to fit on the counter. I don't need them that big, and I certainly don't need them that heavy. I didn't realize at the time that they would hold themselves up just fine at about half the weight. I bet you could get 1/4 by 1 inch and it would be just fine. ← hi kerry, One question, are the bars solid all the way through or hollow? I went to my local hardware store looking for them and they only had square bars that were hollow and not the size I was looking for.

I will try using full sprigs.

I'm going to try it tomorrow, I will let you know how it turns out.

Luis, Those stencils allow you to make fairly thin even chocolate shapes. You can put a transfer sheet underneath them, pour tempered chocolate over top, scrape and let crystallize. My friend Mari uses them to make her mendiants (discs of chocolate with fruit and nuts topping them). She does about 1/2 a mat at a time, quickly working to press the crystallized nuts, raisins and dried fruit on to each. Check here for a picture of some freeform mendiants. ← I've seen them, just never knew what they were used for. thanks again for the help.

The beauty of caramel rulers is that you can adjust them to any size you need. These ones are just some stainless bar I had cut by the Metal Supermarket. Got hubby to polish the ends and remove any burrs for me. I seem to recall they cost me less than $30. ← thanks kerry, that is a great idea. Any idea what size or thickness they are, so I can look for the same thing. the ones I see for sale such as this one, don't seem to be as hefty as what your using. http://www.pastrysampler.com/Products/360.htm ← These are my light ones actually. They are 3/8 by 1 inch. I had 2 cut 8 inches long, 2 cut 12 inches long. The first set I had made were 1/2 inch by 1 inch, two were 18 inches, two were 12 inches. They are a challenge to fit on the counter. I don't need them that big, and I certainly don't need them that heavy. I didn't realize at the time that they would hold themselves up just fine at about half the weight. I bet you could get 1/4 by 1 inch and it would be just fine. ← Thanks Kerry, you've been most helpful. I have another question for you. I've seen these chocolate stencils. How are these used. http://www.tomric.com/Section.aspx?cmd=local&cat=12&sec=31

The beauty of caramel rulers is that you can adjust them to any size you need. These ones are just some stainless bar I had cut by the Metal Supermarket. Got hubby to polish the ends and remove any burrs for me. I seem to recall they cost me less than $30. ← thanks kerry, that is a great idea. Any idea what size or thickness they are, so I can look for the same thing. the ones I see for sale such as this one, don't seem to be as hefty as what your using. http://www.pastrysampler.com/Products/360.htm

any idea on how much rosemary? or whether it's dried or fresh?

can you explain the reduced shelf life to me? i understand reducing water activity in ganaches in order to lengthen shelf life, but if it is only water and chocolate, what is there to cause mold and bacteria growth? i know, the water, but again, there isn't the same amount of sugar, etc. i think i'm being dense on this ← that's what I thought as well, since there is no cream, i thought they would last longer, but I guess they don't. maybe it's the fat in the cream that stabilizes it.

oh ok, no it's not a concern, just didn't know how they stayed in place. I've heard tap plastic mentioned before, i will have to look into them. Luis

i've heard of the rulers, but how are they used? ← Check out the confectionary course pictures of the rulers here. Fourth picture down shows the rulers, then scroll further down to see them in use for caramel. ← thanks kerry, for sharing your wealth of knowledge. Looking at the pics, do they lock into place? i'm assuming they can made to different sizes as well. luis

Anyone have any good recipes for rosemary ganache? Luis

i've heard of the rulers, but how are they used?

That was a good thread, thank you very much. So I would say that you don't use invert sugar. It's probable that chocolatiers like Recchiuti, Christopher Elbow, Donnelly Chocolates, etc. don't use them either, would you say? ← Recchiuti does uses inver sugar, not sure about donnelly or christopher elbow. christopher is a member here, you could ask him.

That's good to know. Is there any circumstance where you would refrigerate?

I've been refrigerating mine until I'm going to enrob them. I'm having trouble with cracking as well. I will try letting them sit out unrefrigerated awhile next time. It's ok if they sit out 24 hours?

I think i've read you don't need to cook kiwi, just mash it up. would one of those baby food mill machines work?

thanks for the help kerry. Luis

I cook the fruit just long enough to make it easy to put through the food mill. Cooking it a bit also inactivates the enzymes that encourage spoilage, like blanching veg before freezing. Then into the freezer in appropriate sized containers. When I'm ready to use it I sometimes simmer it to concentrate depending on what I'm using it for. ← do you add anything else to it , like sugar etc? ← I generally don't unless it's a fruit that seems to need the extra preservation of some sugar. I tend to use the purees for chocolate centres and I generally don't want any extra sugar. ← i agree, I don't want any extra sugar either. I know it varies by fruit, but how much puree is used, say in a recipe that calls for kiwi for example. ← What sort of recipe? Truffle, praline filling? ← it will be for a truffle.

I cook the fruit just long enough to make it easy to put through the food mill. Cooking it a bit also inactivates the enzymes that encourage spoilage, like blanching veg before freezing. Then into the freezer in appropriate sized containers. When I'm ready to use it I sometimes simmer it to concentrate depending on what I'm using it for. ← do you add anything else to it , like sugar etc? ← I generally don't unless it's a fruit that seems to need the extra preservation of some sugar. I tend to use the purees for chocolate centres and I generally don't want any extra sugar. ← i agree, I don't want any extra sugar either. I know it varies by fruit, but how much puree is used, say in a recipe that calls for kiwi for example. I'm also assuming that you use some sort of strainer.

I cook the fruit just long enough to make it easy to put through the food mill. Cooking it a bit also inactivates the enzymes that encourage spoilage, like blanching veg before freezing. Then into the freezer in appropriate sized containers. When I'm ready to use it I sometimes simmer it to concentrate depending on what I'm using it for. ← do you add anything else to it , like sugar etc?