Desiderio

Lately I have been using a combination of microwave and melter, due the fact that I need larger quantities of chocolate, but I don't have a large melter. I do leave an 11 lb block over night in the melter, and then I melt more during the day as I go.

That is what I am doing at the moment, with my ole badger compressor and bottom fed spray. It's an ok method but it doesn't give a uniform pattern.

This is very interesting, I might have to try it out too. Would it work if the sheet is put on an enrobed chocolate as well?

I know there is at least one topic on setting up chocolate kitchen space here, any links? The company will be moving by the end of the year in a new space, and I am hoping I will be able to design, at least in part, my chocolate laboratory. The current location is an old set up, based on old fashion candy making. We use a gas stove, more like a foundry, and copper kettles, I don't even have a regular stove or an induction burner. Production is kinda weird at the moment, very different from what I am use to. But with the new place I can set it up the way I want (at least I hope). I need some help figuring out what we need in the space in order to make it functional for production. Thank you 🙂

I have been going to the "other" job once a week in the past few weeks, and sometimes in the evenings after the museum job :-P. Yesterday I got to play with new (old) toys. It was fun and less daunting then the oldddd enrober machine, which I hope I never have to use again. The company is moving at the end of the year, apparently we are not taking anything to the new facility (because the two enrobers are so old and not up to code), he is buying new ones, just for the chocolate production. There are a couple of large tank tempering machines, which I would like to take with us, they need to be look at, but one is practically new! Anyway, I am thinking to take the leap around October, and I am also thinking of asking the owner to pay for a Melissa Coppel chocolate class as a signing bonus 😂, we'll see!

Kouign Amann from William Curley's book (I love that man!! I want to go work with him some day soon!!) I broke the butter though, they were still pretty great. Next time European butter!!

Thank you so much :-) I am so looking forward to the next workshop!

But I did try my hand at the technique, Jim posted (Instagram I believe). It was a humbling experience to say the least. What I was observing, is exactly what you guys were talking about, temperature of the CB. At one point I deposited more than one cavity at a time, because when the cocoa butter is more viscous, it works better (instead or running back down the sides, after you spray in the cavity with the airbrush), but at the point the Cb was already getting little firmer, so the experiment only worked for the first few cavities. The rest I had hard bits of Cb in the cavity. My room temperature was probably around 72 and higher than usual humidity (kitchen doesn't have a vent!!!!). Anyway, it was fun to try something different for a change, but like I have mentioned before, i need an upgrade 😄

Thank you again Jim, I made it through the thread, and it was very helpful. It also made me realize, that probably for now, that is not a class I should be taking. Having been away from regular chocolate production for few years, and just getting back, my equipment needs some updating. The air compressor and the airbrush, would not cut it, also I am not looking forward to buy more molds, for the moment at least. Maybe a face to face class would work best, since all that I need would be there :-P. Meanwhile, I'll take all of the tips you guys gave on making your own colored Cb, and try my hands at that, which I am sure is already challenging. Temperature and humidity control is an issue that I need to conquer at this moment, (new personal kitchen and new working kitchen). I am looking forward to a professional class though, I will check Savour as well. Thank you!!!

Old post, but I was wondering if you could share what model did you get. I am still with my little Badger, which has been getting super hot lately and yesterday while I was using it, was spaying moisture (I wasn't using the bottle with colored CB, but just the air from the top portion of the bottom fed mini gun), so I am not sure whats the deal with that. Michigan is humid and my new kitchen doesn't have an ac vent and it gets warm and super humid. Also I have noticed your gradient are pretty smooth, of course due to user skill, but I wondering what do you use for airbrush. Again, I am super behind on all matter of chocolate and colors right now. Trying to catch up :-P Thank you!

Thank you Jim!

I just saw (yes, I am really behind in the chocolate world these days :-P) that Andrey Dubovik has an online class for his stunning techniques. Has anyone here enrolled (its about $650) in it, and or what are your thoughts on it? Also I did enrolled in the trial for the chocolate academy online. I have enjoyed the videos, and the chocolate techniques, so far, but I am interested in learning some more coloring techniques, even though, my coloring equipment need some serious updating :-D.

I am not familiar with these berries (at least not in English), but I found this interesting site, maybe it will give you some ideas. Have fun, I love new projects that challenge creativity. https://foragerchef.com/rowanberries/

I love my Mol d'Art! Was the first piece of equipment I bought when I first started with chocolate. I got rid of a lot of stuff in the past few years, but that one will be buried with me 🤣.

Was so excited to see a bag of the Ruby, at the company office (the new place I am working part time at). They have a table with a bunch of samples and there it was a large sample of Ruby. So I took possession of it, cause well, after all, I am the chocolatier there, right?! I am thinking a pistachio marzipan or gianduia, with a simple butter ganache, cut and dip in the same chocolate. Ohh, play time 🤗

So today I tried to channel Kerry, while learning how to run the old Hillard enrober, but I felt more like Lucy! I have never worked with a machine of that size. It's an old one, it has so many quarks, I was trying not to laugh (or cry). The people there have been doing this for years. I guess maybe I'll find my moment to shine when it comes to create new chocolates and recipes, but for now it's a humbling experience. So rusty, and I have always worked on my own, in chocolate at least. On the plus side, I got the keys, so I can go in or stay later if I need to play a bit. I did some house cleaning though, reorganize stuff, now I know a little more.🙄😏

I should give it another try then, following the pear/yuzu combination. Thank you

Anyone has experienced any issues making PDF with Yuzu puree/juice? The two times I have tried, I wasn't able to create a cuttable PDF, only more like a fruit compote or jam, to fill molds. I have tried couple of different recipes, they usually call for pear puree to go with it. But then I saw another recipe (Boiron I believe) where the chef uses just Yuzu. Is Yuzu too acidic to properly gel to a solid PDF?

I don't think I ever worked with such small amount of chocolate before. Made tiny truffles. They mentioned to keep this chocolate as unadulterated as possible and fat base fillings are better. So simple buttercream, with a small amount of homemade berry jam. Made few bottoms and piped the buttercream on them. Dipped them in the tiny amount of chocolate left, it was cute :-P. The flavor is subtle and, to me at least, it doesn't linger, which leaves the taste buds wanting for more. but, it is definitely less sweet than white chocolate, and I think it could complement some flavors very well. I can see myself using it for some special chocolates, as I usually don't work with white chocolate, this could be a thing. Now, I need more!

So I figured I'll fill you in with the latest news from my new adventures, since you were all so kind to pitch in and give me some sound advice!! The company sent me the offer, after much pondering I decided to turn it down. My thing is that I am not a great negotiator and if something doesn't work I just cut it out 😂. So they were like "wait, wait we can do better!" and told me that everything is negotiable (imagine that! :-P). So I have wrote them an email where I clarified my points. The president of the company wrote me back with a very nice email, where he explained better what they were looking for this position. My bad too, because I didn't give them a chance to explain it before, I just said no, but thanks. Anyway, we got back on the negotiating table, and settle for me starting part time, higher rate and we'll see how it works. I am excited about the potential, especially, if like he is saying, they want to modernize their product and introduce a more artisan line of "real chocolates' Yesterday was my first day, not much happening, the ladies that work there have been doing it for a long time. Pretzel dipping is the majority of their daily work. They have two enrobing machines with cooling tunnels, and are used almost exclusively for pretzels. Their chocolate line is secondary, they have few accounts, but the chocolates, are not chocolate in the sense of what we mean by chocolates, truffles and bon bons. They are made with a fudge base, corn syrup, butter, chocolate and then they flavor the batches. I wouldn't even know what to do with that, meaning, no I don't want to do that. The president said he is moving this operation out of the chocolate kitchen, to combine it with their other production where they make caramel corn etc. (different location) He even said, I don't have to worry about the pretzel (the ladies must have told him that I was surprise to see so many frigging pretzels, when I went for a tour 😆). Anyway, I got the chance to talk and go through some stuff with the chef that they use as a consultant, he is a really cool guy, full of knowledge and since he is also a teacher, eager to pass it along! He told me that it was a smart move to try this out first, he also is not 100% sure that the company is ready for a real change, even though they say they are. I guess I'll see how it goes, for now, I'll try my best to think outside of the box, which I have been stuck in for a while :-P Thanks everybody, again for all of the help, I am planning on posting updates, and probably ask for some more moral support and expertise advice 😄

A year late on this, but I have been curious about this chocolate, like everyone else. Trader Joe's is not selling it anymore and I guess it pays off to work in food, cause I just got a sample. It was waiting for me on my desk this morning (yay, cause I am on almost 60 hours this week 😓). After all I have read about it, I was a bit put off, but still, I want to know what it tastes like, right?! Like others have said, I don't hate it and I think it could make some interesting things. I smell cocoa butter, fruity coco butter, it melts really easily on the hands, flavor isn't too sweet like a white chocolate and it finishes slightly sour, but very faintly (although, everyone will taste different things, I am not totally sure my taste buds are working right anymore :-P). There was a facts sheet with the sample, the same info you can find online on their website. They say the best way to use it is to leave it unadulterated as much as possible. I am thinking a butter ganache, maybe dipped in a thin layer of a nice super fruity El Rey milk 56%, https://chocolates-elrey.com/special-reserve its an amazing chocolate I have picked last time I made chocolates for the holidays. But chances are the flavor wouldn't stand a chance with that monster of a milk. Maybe when its a bit cooler I'll order a smaller bag, and play around with it (my supplier doesn't carry it). More to play with, I am excited about that.

Great project! And thank you for taking the time to post all of the steps. Now I want a slice :-)

Thank you! As always, lots of ideas :-) For some reason I didn't even consider cranberry juice :-P I will give that a try, and make a French type buttercream that uses only egg yolk. The lime curd is a great idea, I think the bride would really enjoy that one. Thank you for all the great suggestions, and your time 💗

I am a little in the fog for what to do with all the egg yolks I am saving, from macarons making! The macarons are for a friend's wedding, and I am also making single serve dessert shooters. I am thinking something like stout cake and chocolate mousse, and a margarita cake (layered in 3 oz single serving shooters). Any other ideas? I suppose I could make lemon curd of some sort and do a lemon blueberry one, since we still have blueberries available. Or, one of the macaron is supposed to be orange cranberry, and I was thinking to make a cranberry (where am I going to find those now? Frozen section??) curd to place in the middle of the macaron with an orange buttercream on the outside ring. I made this super yummy cranberry meringue pie last Thanksgiving, it was absolutely divine, I think its NYT recipe (cranberry curd tart). Boop, I am stuck in a loop 😶

Ahh I have not posted goodies in a while, it's always so inspiring to see what everyone here makes and concoct:-). Strawberry madness cake, everything strawberry, cake, filling and buttercream. Sour cream chocolate cake with chocolate mousse, I did this at work, but only because i was craving a multilayer chocolate cake!!😋 Black Raspberries jam, we moved to a new house and there are tons of raspberries, so good! Cornetti, or croissant, always a big hit, at work and home. Umm I think this weekend I should try something new 😁