Desiderio

They might be custome made ( the molds I mean ) I think I recall one of the italian vendors having praline bar molds , I need to chek it out .

Great job your chocolates look very neat and well made

In the chocolate bible, he ( cant rember name??) shows the two differnt type og ganache made unwhipped and whipped , shape for truffles etc. I personally dont whip my ganache , only for some hazelnut cups I made , but those need to be consumed faster ofcourse, more a type of dessert .

My house gets pretty warm ( even when outside is 0 ) so when I moved to my basement , wich is pretty cold, I had to adjust some things , because as John said chocolate set firm pretty fast Also need to keep the melter little bit higher .The way my molded chocolates ( and enrobed as well ) came out in the colder enviroment , though, is much better , they are shiner and the chocolate just has that nice snap to it all the time.I also agree that fridge doesnt give that nice shine to the final product than is you leave your moled chocolates inside the mold for another 12 hours , I did an experiment a while ago ( I think I even posted here ) . here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=86464&hl=

Usually the substitution is more like 2.5 of milk chocolate to 1 of cream , if your recipe calls for 2:1 Maybe you can post the formula.

Ahhh Lucky Girl Lisa I told my hubby to better not surprise me with chocolates !! He knows better .I wish i had a different passion so I could actuallt have some chocolates as gift ( for this Valentine season I am all fed up on chocolates sorry )

Anna I remember a thread a while ago ( wich one was??? ) about farmers market and chocolate selling.One of the egulletier here used a regular cooler , he tweket into a little portable fridge with drawers ( made out pvp ?) where he stored his chocolates for the famrers market.It looked very nice and a great idea. I thought about the wine coole as well, but if I have to rent a kitchen for now it might not have enough room for that , but I will definately get one in case I have more room.

No , it is nice and informative to know others experiene and knowledge . The question and this thred was born after surfing the web for other chocolatiers and how they handle their products.The only one I found since now is Vosges ( sp?) chocolates that says to the customers to refrigerate their chocolates for up two weeks to keep them fresh etc etc. I never had any problem keep mine at room tmeperature for even more than a month, but I do suggest whoever gets my chocolates to eat them within two weeks if possible ( usually isnt an issue right? I have a friend that buys my chocolate in large amout ( large trust me )and she use to buy an industrial amount of FannyMay candy and store them in the fridge , so I told her to not store mine into the fridge as well, but to keep them in the basement , wich is considerably colder (my basement where I keep my chocolate is around 55/58F ). Anyway she had one of the last batch for over a month ( maybe close to 2 months ? ) wich it kinda made me worry ( same as John ) but she said they were fine .I never had mold problem , but that might be a lucky chance and because the climate here in Colorado , extremely dry .But when the real production will start I am going to make sure customers are aware of the very short life and probably put some kinda of note ( as John suggested ) into the box, expecially if you sell Wholesale and dont have direct contact with the customers ( storefront ).

I couldnt agree more with you guys!! There arent many people willing to share their recipes and tips around .Thats how I grew up in Italy , bakers and chef there do not like to share anything , thats one reason why italian cousin and pastry world isnt as famous and fancy as the french one ,but thats another story.... Thnak you guys all of you and happy Valentine's day

Hi and welcome ! One think I can add is the fact that you put the molds in the fridge right away.We have been talking about that issue on another thread .The molds should be put in the fridge , if you decide so .only after the chocolate is starting to crystallise ( getting firm )at that point if you want to speed up the process you can pop it into the fridge ( but the fridge should be like at 50 F or not more than 20 degree lower than the temperature your work room is ).I suggest you skip the refrigeration and try to let them stay a t room temperature before you put them into the fridge eventually.

Happy Valentine's day to you too. Wonderfull idea ,I am sure your wife was thrilled

Good to read all your answers.I dont like to refrigerate and tell the customes to keep them in a cool dry place ( In colorado we have both ).And I do to detect the flavor difference in the refrigerated chocolates.Its courious to see many people asking me about keep their chocolates in the fridge , I guess people think their chocolate in general needs to be refrigerated ( I have seen many friends doing that ).

I have been looking around for other chocolates company to get a better idea of the products out there, prices , packaging , services etc. Chocolates like Vosges ( sp ?) say their chocolates are made fresh bla bla and they last only 10 days , so to keep them refrigerated till you need to use them etc. Now I am trying to check out most of the fine chocolates maker around , expecially small company that have a production more similar to the one I am working on. What are your experiences on teh refrigeration and artisanal chocolates.? I personally dont like to put my chocolates in the fridge because I think chocolate stored in the fridge have a different taste etc. Do you usually suggest refrigeration for your products , since the most people I have seen here use fresh ingredients and no preservative. Just a thought for a new conversation . Thank you

It seems too much water for me ( hopefully someoneelse will help here ) I would make a regular caramel for a croquant , using only sugar and eventually some glucose to avoid cristallization or honey if you like the taste .If you decide to experiment without water , make sure to stirr the sugar/glucose mixture till its completely melted and then let it caramelise and procede as for the recipe. I will definately try without water ,or if you want to have water I will use a Tbsp thats it.

Hello and Welcome I use lint free cotton pads , but just recentrly I opted for 100% cotton batting ( for stuffing pillows etc) its much cheaper ( 6$ for a huge roll , that will last me forever).Only wash them if you encounter the problem you described above. Godd luck

Same as above Just scrap down sides and top.But you will get better with time , you just got your first mold not long ago , so dont worry

Awesome experiment David!!!

As Alana said, I dont wash my mold often ( its a pain to polish then ) but only if there something that went wrong and they really need to be cleaned.I do the same hot water and dish soap , then dry them and polish them . I used to use lint free cotton pads , but I just purchased some 100% cotton batting and I am using that , it works great .

Umm, I havent try to caramelise it, but probably I would try alone.I guess it depends on what yoyr recipe calls for usually sugar and glucose ( corn syrup ) are caramelised together .

Chris I am wondering if is the glucose with a low DE is denser( maybe some more sugar expert will pich in) I have found a great organic corn syrup at my local vitamine cottage, doesnt contain high fructose corn syrup and is very very thick , like the regular glucose you will buy for pastry use ( online for me ).

MAPLE CREAM FUDGE!! AHhh YUMMYYYY DROOL , what else, that looks deliciuosssssss.

Yummy!! I love those marshmallow, white chocolate is a great idea ( and dark will rock the house )

Those are a dorable and what a fantasy My compliments to your daughter for those cute airplanes. What kind of marshmallow did you make?

Thank you Tammy, I will order el rey then , like you said I am more of a dark person ( in older age I guess for me ) and el rey never disappointed me .I will though order some to try it out so I know . Yes I will have to order several lb also.

In Colorado they might ask you to do something like that.Someone told me that I would have to send some of my chocolates ( each of the ones I wanted to sell ) to the dept of agricolture, now it requires a fee and isnt cheap either.But Patrick ( he used to have a chocolate business here in Colorado ) told me that he didnt have to do that and someone can do that for me for a cheaper fee , that is also part of the dept of Agr. etc.The rules are about the same here in Colorado , you could have your own home kitchen , if it is separeted from the rest of the house , has an external door for inspections ( they can not walk thru a private house ) have all commercila equipment , 3 sinks , vinal washable walls and floors, you can have it if you hvae the money etc.A friend of mine told me though, that if the business gets big enough for me to rent or have my onw kitchen , its much better buy a place that is already commercila etc, becauce whe its time to resell the house you might not get all the money you got into it ( not everyone is looking for a commercial kitchen in their basement right? :-P ). Just make sure you know your stuff , be at the kitchen in advance so you can kinda have the feeling for everyting and organize yourself, the rest will be fine. Good Luck