gap

Truffle Guy, great points. I am two years into a start-up (unrelated to food) and your points are all valid. Some great & sobering advice for those looking to start-up.

If you don't want to worry about tempering, use some confectionary coating rather than couverture. Confectionary coating is usually sold in supermarkets in chocolate button form eg., Nestle Melts. You can melt, pipe and wait to set without worrying about tempering etc. Someone else might correct me, but I think the coating will actually react well to being put in a fridge to set (as opposed to couverture which someitmes doesn't react well). I think you'll get a nice shine if you set it in a fridge.

For what its worth, I store my transfer sheets in our living room where it gets to 32+ degrees celcius in summer and have never had a problem using them when winter rolls around again. Edited to add: although I don't store them in direct sunlight

Hi Kerry, I'm back on the Boards after a week away on holiday. I know I'm late in getting in but thanks for starting this post - great stuff.

aussiebarracuda - check the Savour website for a catalogue of their moulds. If you're after the one John is referring to above, I'm not sure if they have it but they may be able to source it. Otherwise you can overseas order from chocolat-chocolat (I've dealt with them before and they were great): http://www.chocolat-chocolat.com/c210036.2.html (scroll a little way down) If you're looking for other sources, try the Pastry and Baking section which has some great chocolatiers always ready to lend a hand.

I cannot speak highly enough of the Savour classes. I have only done the chocolate classes and they have been exceptional - I'm going back again at the end of this month for the Truffles course and there are several other courses that I'll hopefully get around to as well.

Way to go David - all that hard work is starting to take shape!!

Can't help directly myself, but this thread from another forum touches on the subject. http://www.seventypercent.com/forum/topic....026&whichpage=1

Here's another, Australian based, source for unsweetened (or 100%) chocolate: http://www.tava.com.au/ Tava make their own chocolate using beans from Vanuatu

Hi annachan, it depends what you're after. William Angliss is a TAFE course (Technical And Further Education) and, from what I've heard, is structured more like a uni/college program (ie., it goes over several semesters) Alternatively, you could try Savour Chocolate school: http://www.savourschool.com.au/ They do 1, 2, 3 and 5 day courses in pastry, chocolate and/or confectionary. I have done a few of their courses and would highly recommend.

The WCM 2008 website has been updated with a new recipes section: http://www.worldchocolatemasters.com/en/34 Sections for moulded pralines, enrobed pralines, chocolate pastry and chocolate desserts (select from the menu on the left).

Well, I've now made almond paste. I used raw almonds and it all came together quite well. I think next time I might try toasting half of them just for a bit of flavour. Also, I didn't add any bitter almond extract.

Thanks - I'll end up giving both a go for the pure nut pastes

Hi, I want to try making almond paste this weekend and was wondering if I should roast the almonds first? All the recipes I have say to use blanched almonds - they don't say "roasted", so I assume raw is the way to go? Also, does anyone know if commercial pure nut pastes (ie., no sugars added) use toasted or raw nuts? As always, thanks for any help

I've done a bit of investigating myself and found the following links: This is a description of Almond Paste and has a photo - it seems to look just like marzipan (recipes at the bottom) http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/equivalents_s...p?index=A&tid=4 This one actually adresses the question: what is the difference between marzipan and almond paste http://www.odense.com/faq.cfm According to the site, the difference is that marzipan is milled to a smoother consistency and contains more sugar (less almonds). This is in contrast to the link above that says almond paste is less granular than marzipan. Not sure what to make of the different information between websites. This is just the wikipedia entry for marzipan which I thought was interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzipan So armed with this information, I think I have the answer to one of my ealier questions but if someone could confirm that would be great - can I substitute a 50/50 (almond/sugar) marzipan with a 50/50 almond paste? - ie., wouldn't they be essentially the same thing. Or am I missing the point that marzipan is just not made with a higher ratio of almonds because it would destroy the very consistency that is required of marzipan? Cheers

Thanks everyone. Does this mean that almond paste is more of a thick liquid (like a praline paste)? Or does it look like marzipan (ie when bought in a package) but is a stickier substance to work with. Also, do marzipan and almond paste taste very different? For example, if I was using one as an ingredient to be mixed into a chocolate filling, could I susbstitute the other (assuming the same ratio of nuts to sugar in both)?

I have read a few references which indicate that marzipan and almond paste are different. However, the ingredients seem very similar. Is there a difference between the two? Is it in the ingredients, ratio of ingredients, finished product texture? Any help (as always) is greatly appreciated

While the decision changes depending on what I feel like eating, on the whole its filled chocolates for me (but I am heavily biased given I make bon bons as a hobby). I like the different flavours and how they come together. That said, there are plenty of times I go out and buy a bar of Valrhona or Cluizel and just sit back and enjoy that on its own.

Thanks all for the meltaway advice

I was wondering if anyone has made the Meltaways? What do you use for coconut fat? Is that just coconut oil or can you buy a solid block of fat labelled as coconut fat?

I made the marshmallow recipe over the weekend. Very simple/quick and was a success. I just rolled this batch in cornflour (cornstarch) and icing sugar but the next batch will be layered with a ganache and then dipped.

Thanks Kerry, I've picked up the Boiron recipes already and have used pear juice in previous PDF's, but thought it might be interesting to try the apple compote.

I was wondering if anyone had made the pate-de-fruit recipes using pectin out of this book? In particular, why is "Apple Compote" used - is it for extra pectin? Also, I saw the brief description for making Apple Compote under "Notes" for the first pectin-based recipe, but can anyone give me a little more colour? For instance, is it just baking peeled/cored/sliced apples with some sugar sprinkled on top and then puree the lot or is there a bit more to it? What sort of consistency should the final product be? Thanks for any help

Thanks for that. I actually have the book but haven't looked at it for a while - might be time for a re-read

Hi Everyone, I've been thinking about this question for a while - I've tried searching the forum and googling as well but all to no avail. So, at the risk of leaving myself open to a "bashing" by the more scientific minded in our forum, here goes: Is there a way to convert a brix reading to a temperature? For instance, 75 brix seems to always be around 106-107 degrees celcius. Here's my thinking. From my (very basic) understanding of sugar solutions, a saturated solution reaches boiling point at 106 degrees celcius. At any point of boiling above this, I'm guessing the sugar solution must be in a specific ratio to still be boiling. Ie., an 80% sugar solution has a boiling temperature at 110 degrees celcius - can you just say this is a brix of 80? I'm probably oversimplifying this and missing some vital scientific point in the calculation but is there some sort of table that allows me to convert a temperature for a sugar solution to a brix reading? And if so, would I need to start with a specific ratio of sugar/water or (as I think) could I just start with any sugar/water ratio?