ChristopherMichael

On TV I have seen a few chefs say to whip the ganache for truffles. The reason they say to do this is because it makes them more fluffy. Does anyone do this?

I just made the 72% truffles and mine came out very firm. The only thing I changed in the recipe is that I used invert instead of corn syrup. I used 72% Guittard. Does anyone know why they came out very firm? FYI, so firm that I couldn't roll them into a ball after they set.

So why does everyone always say to use (in ganaches) heavy whipping cream and not if manufacturers cream is higher in fat%? Just curious.

I don't know if it's is a west coast thing or not, because I have never worked outside of CA. I never really paid attention to it until I started working with chocolate. I tried it a few days ago to make a 72% ganache. The first batch I made I measured wrong (forgot to reset the scale) so the ratio was 1 part chocolate to 1.5 parts manufacturers cream. The ganache came out great and was still firm enough to roll (could of been even softer). I then made a batch using 1:1 and in my opinion were to firm for my taste. I'm still scratching my head. The only thing I can think of is that it has some stabilizer or something or the fat content so high that it's just takes more of it to get a really soft ganache. But, then again, I just don't really know.

Does anyone know the difference manufacturing cream and heavy whipping cream? Manufacturing cream seems to be thicker than whipping cream, so I'm assuming manufacturing cream has a higher fat%. Is that correct? Has anybody used manufacturers cream instead of heavy whipping cream? Let me know your experiences with ganaches. Thanks.

They're not in CA, they're located in Tulsa, OK. ← I came up with them in a search, too. They must have some sort of facility here, as they've got an address/phone. Next time I'm over that way, I'll drive by and check it out. ← What's their address here in CA? It's not listed on their site and I wouldn't mind driving by and checking it out.

They're not in CA, they're located in Tulsa, OK.

Unfortunately almost all of these places are just candy stores or a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory replica. But there was one that I saw that has been said to have a good reputation and that is Le Chocolatier in Laguna. I did try to find it one day, but I didn't have the correct address and wasn't able to give it a try. Now that I have the correct address (thanks to moonsnsqrl) I'm probably pay them a visit in the next few days.

I was experimenting with Guittard and I experienced a grainy texture as well. But I did solve it by using a immersion blender and also melting the chocolate to 110-115 and adding it to 110-115 degree cream. This way insures the chocolate doesn't get scorched/burned and I end up with a great ganache. Since then I haven't experienced a grainy ganache, but I have also decided that I will probably not use Guittard for other reasons.

Well as alamoana said, there's many mile from LB and LH. We do have a Teuscher (I believe that's how you spell it but don't hold me to it) that's located in Fashion Island in Newport Beach, same company that's also located in New York and elsewhere. I'm not to crazy about their stuff though. At the Irvine Spectrum you have Chuao Chocolatier which they seem to do a bunch of flavored caramels which have grown on me. If you go a little north of Long Beach you will find Jin Patisserie in Venice Beach. I like their chocolates, plus they have many pastries and a tea house. Unfortunately there's not much to choose from and to be honest with you, I have seen other chocolatiers come and go over the last few years, but don't seem to do well here. It's strange because in the Irvine Spectrum you have both Chuao and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. You can go into Chuao and it will be very slow, then you can walk down to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and it's packed. I know it's not Chuao fault because before Chuao there was another chocolatier in there before Chuao and it went under with in a year or so.

Have you examined Kroese? He has some very nice boxes. Check out the thread where I used one of his more unusual boxes: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...91602&hl=kroese and here is his website: http://www.kroese-exclusief.com/ You have to sign up in order to see the catalog, but it is free and worth the bother. Ordering is also easy and shipment prompt. ← Now those boxes are more on track with what I'm looking for. I trued to create an account, but how long does it take for your account to be active? How long does it usually take to get your boxes shipped here in the States? By the way, thanks.

Just Google [candy boxes] SB (loves Google!) ← I have, but it always brings up the same old places witt your average box. Thanks anyway.

Does anyone know of places I can get boxes for chocolates/confections, without having them custom made? I'm not looking for your average box, maybe something with a little more creativity behind them. Thanks!

I did everything via Email (info@moldart.be) and I must say it has been the best experience I have ever had with any company that I have dealt with, by far. I dealt with a guy named Jozef and he answered every question within 15 minutes from me sending my emails. This is an awesome company and I highly recommend buying from them. By the way, I received my melters today in pristine condition. It would have been here yesterday, but of coarse the holiday fell on that day. But talk about fast! I wired the money last Friday afternoon and my product shipped this past Monday, 4 days later I received my machines. I'm in static on how good these guys are. Buy direct, you won't be disappointed!

Any idea how much they charge for shipping on one of the melters? ← I ordered two 6kg melters and it came out to 160 euro for shipping and it will be on my door in 3 days via DHL.

Can I ask how much you paid for your machine from Qzina? Where they in stock?

Jean-Pierre Wybauw used the 12kg melters at the three day advanced chocolate class I took in Chicago last week (full trip report to follow in a couple days). He stated that you need to learn where the thermostat should be set for each individual melter as they will all be a bit different, and not to worry if it appears to be "off" what it should be. He tweaked the thermostat in half degree increments to dial in the proper setting for each of the melters, saying that he turns it just until the heating light comes on and checks the result. Additionally you need to stir it occasionally as chocolate is a good insulator and the top will cool off with the bottom of the pan still at the set temperature. He stated that the chocolate will slowly thicken anyway if left at the "proper" temperature because the crystals will propogate. He occasionally hit it with a heat gun to melt out some of the excess crystals. He said you could also raise the temp by a half degree at a time to keep the excess crystals in check, or add untempered melted chocolate. Using this method he kept three melters in temper for the seven hour day with very little work. The initial tempering via the seeding method went very quickly as well. All that has convinced me to go the Mol D'art melter route myself. I have a Chocovision Rev2 which works fine, but is far too small for the kind of work I would like to do. My next problem is to determine how many melters I need... ← I was going to go to that as well, but things came up and was unable to. I imagined he had a lot to say.

why, you need one for each kind of chocolate you're tempering! they're a bit expensive. may be off topic, but i'm wondering if you can get good used melters... ← They're actually not that bad if you buy them directly from Mol D'Art. Its costing me 600 euro, which is $769 US, for both a 3kg and a 6kg melter, plus shipping, about $150.

I haven't said anything negative about Tomric. I was just stating that I'm going to buy some molds from Mol D'Art, which is the supplier for Tomric's european molds, and the positive aspect is that they're cheaper and much, much more quicker. I know that there are a lot of people here that don't mind waiting for merchandise, weeks at a time, but I'm the opposite. In my opinion, if you sell a product you should always supply them in a timely manner and if you cannot, then you have no business being in business. If a customer came into my store and wanted to buy merchandise and I didn't stock what they wanted, they would go elsewhere and I would be out of business. So if that's the case, why should I tolerate a supplier taking their time getting me what I want. I'm ranting again, so I need to stop. Anyway, nothing against Tomric per se. I would buy somethings from them, but I would never wait 2-3 weeks for others when I can get them in a matter of days, not weeks and the added bonus, cheaper. Again, sorry for my rant.

Thanks everyone for their posts. I was actually looking for experiences with Mol D'Art, because I have decided against Chocovision due to their lack of progress getting me a machine. I did talk to Mol D'Art today and they're shipping my machines DHL and I will get them in 3 days from Belgium, which I would get weeks before Chocovision. It blows my mind that a company in Belgium can get me a product weeks before a company in the USA can. I'm also getting molds from them cheaper and faster than Tomric can get them, which are the exact same mold. Anyway, thanks again everyone for their post.

Ok. After waiting 2 months for Chocovision to get in a refurbished X3210 machine, which was suppose to be in two weeks after my inquiry, it never came in. So I ended up biting the bullet and ordered a new one. But unfortionately after paying for the machine they informed me they didn't have any in stock and it would be 3 weeks before I get one. This blows my mind that a manufacturer doesn't stock the product they manufacture. Anyway, long story short, I cancelled my order. Sorry for my rant. Anyway, I'm going to buy a melter from Mol D'Art. My questions for you all is has anyone ever bought from them? They don't take credit cards, so I have to wire the money. Are they easy to deal with? Please let me know any experiences, because I want to place my order in the next couple days. Thanks in advace.

Thin ganache is fluid at room temp. Think chocolate milk.... ← Oh. Will that stick to a strawberry or slide off?? ← It wouldn't slide off, because you can still make it the same consistancy as you would with the oil. Sebastian- I agree with you about your point, but it's not going to be used the whole time, maybe a couple of hours. If it ran over 3-4 hours I would start to get concerned.

You can buy Trimoline from Pastry Chef Central. Here's the link. http://pastrychef.com/Catalog/invert_sugar...ine_3754148.htm

That was what I was thinking of actually, but instead of making a cream ganache I thought of making a water ganache. I never liked the idea of adding a bunch of vegatable oil to some good chocolate. I guess I'm going to have to make a soft water ganache and give it a try or maybe even a drinking chocolate with water. I also don't understand why people say if you add water to chocolate it will seize. If you add only a little bit it will, but if you add enough to make it fluid it won't. I make my drinking chocolate with water and it's pretty fluid. Anyway, thanks everyone for their suggestions.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what would be the best chocolate to use in a fountain? I have never used one, but I have a family member that is going to use one they bought for their christmas party. I would imagine for the best results use a very fluid chocolate. Does anyone have any experience with fountains? Do you have to use oil to thin it out or can you use something else, water maybe? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance.