sote23

Hi Andrew, I must have been napping, I did have jet lag after all. lol The reason I brought it up is Peter Greweling mentions vacuum sealing chocolates in his book and he says the vacuum should be gentle one so as not to damage the chocolates. So is the heat sealer, just a standard one, they use to shrink wrap items? Luis ← Luis, I'm not Andrew and I know nothing about chocolates (except that I like eating them), but I have used shrink wrap film as well as heat seal bags and sealers, and they are not the same. A heat seal unit does not shrink plastic film. It bonds the edges of a heat seal bag but doesn't shrink the plastic around the item being packaged.Here is an example of a heat seal unit. It gets plugged into an electric outlet, which heats up a strip of teflon along the edge. Then its gets clamped onto the end of a polypropylene bag and the heat bonds the bag together. How heat sealing works. Shrink film comes in different size rolls or bags and different gauges. A heat sealer can be used to seal the edges of a bag, but then a heat gun (or hair dryer) is needed to shrink the film around the item being packaged. I've seen wrapped chocolates in gift baskets that are shrink wrapped, but you wouldn't want to use a heat gun directly on anything that would melt. Hope this helps. ← Yes, that does help. I guess I was thiking of the heat shrinking, which is not the one I want. Luis

Hi Mary, so it is possible if you use a box. what type of box are you using? Luis

I was going to take a class in Barcelona with Ramon in June, but I wasn't able to attend. Maybe I can take a class with him next year. Luis

Hi Andrew, I must have been napping, I did have jet lag after all. lol The reason I brought it up is Peter Greweling mentions vacuum sealing chocolates in his book and he says the vacuum should be gentle one so as not to damage the chocolates. So is the heat sealer, just a standard one, they use to shrink wrap items? Luis

I would also recommend https://www.bakedeco.com/cart/tracking.asp in brooklyn. Luis

I was in his class in January. He did mention it, but I didn't get a detailed answer on the process. Just bits and pieces. If I recall correctly, he heat shrinks them. Luis

If I'm not mistaken, I don't think you can freeze the containers. Luis ← I did not know that. Perhaps the cold air makes the seal fail? ← I looked into it in the past and they don't recommend it. I don't think it's designed to be frozen. Luis

If I'm not mistaken, I don't think you can freeze the containers. Luis

I wonder as well if double sealing would help. there must be a professional type model out there. I'll see if I can do some more research and let everyone know. Luis

HI Eileen, Is heat-seal anything like they use for shrink wrapping? Luis

Hi, I was wondering if anyone out there has experience in vacuum sealing their chocolates before they are frozen, as mentioned in the Peter Greweling book. Any info, would be greatly appreciated. Luis

looks great kerry!!!

I know it's not what you were looking for, but sometimes when things turn out differently, it can be just as interesting as what you wanted. I look foward to seeing what it looks like on chocolate. Luis

thanks, I will check it out. Luis

Anyone know where to get square candy cups? Luis

kerry, that's funny they thought you were nuts to be doing 5 colors. Just ignore them and continue your interesting project. Little do they know you won't quit until you get it right. Luis

So far I've made the roasted bananas ice cream and the lemon ice cream. Anyone else make these? Luis

kerry, great job. Keep us posted on the ones with colors. I would be very interested to see ho that turns out. Luis

I love Marque! That's really my go-to place for bulk. Marque Foods is where I was introduced to Weiss. But the prices per lb is still quite high, at least it was at the end of last year. Back then, I believe it was still quite a new product and Marque was not selling Weiss in large quantities. I was told that it would be around $10/lb. I will check with them again though and see if anything has changed. ← I've never priced out weiss at marque foods. Let us know what it prices out to. Luis

Anna, also try marque foods www.marquefoods.com they are not too far from you in south san francisco and they do carry weiss. Luis

Kerry, I do the same method. I add the seed and let it sit. It works very well. Luis

kerry, glad to hear it. I was looking at that recipe as well. Did you use the Bermudan rum or something else? Luis ← I used my favorite rum in the world Barbados Cockspur VSOR. That's got me thinking that the next center I try should be to imitate the drink I love in Barbados which is any combination of fruit juices, grenadine and the Cockspur rum. ← That would be intersting. keep us posted. Luis

kerry, glad to hear it. I was looking at that recipe as well. Did you use the Bermudan rum or something else? Luis

I would say a big yes as being worth the money. Honestly, it's not that much money for the level of expertise your getting. In my opinion he would still be worth it for double the price. He is very knowledgable and approchable. He is very humble, and his expertise is unriveled in my opinion. Luis

infuse your hips into a spirit. vodka or rum if you want to add lots of sugar... but if you don't want to add alot of sugar and want it really strong i'd use a very neutral pisco for its heaviness. your infusion might only take a night and a half. if you hips are bitter or have a quality that seems to come out first that you don't like you could blanch them lightly first to get it out then do a longer infusion in alcohol. a very delicate clove or subtle anise might be a good note to also put in there. maybe a little orange flower water? strain it all very well through cloth. if you have the time let it sit for a month so you can rack off whatever sediment sinks to the bottom. if you are ready for some trial and error you could use a clarifier like bentonite which uses your sediments polarity to attract the molecules and clarify your liquid. there are others with different polarities etc. then add sugar. think of another liquor as your benchmark. i often use sweet vermouth as my gauge. 25 brix. last step if you want a red color use a very tiny amount of hibiscus flower to color it all then strain it out. shaking it until you get your color will probably work. ← thanks for the input, I will give it a shot.