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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?

I have absolutely no experience with the Callebaut courses, so I can't speak about those. That said, I have just undertaken a Level 1 and Level 2 Chocolates & Pralines course run by Savour chocolate school in Melbourne. I had been doing my own thing with chocolate for about 2 years before I went on the Level 1 course and everyone said I was mad to be doing a beginners course, but it was well worth it - I couldn't believe how much I learnt and how many holes in my knowledge were filled in.

John - for what its worth, the "stencils" we used at Savour were referred to as Chablon mats. I did a quick Google but couldn't find a retailer on the Net (I bought mine direct from the school).

Kerry - did you just leave the centers in the sugar solution overnight? I had read before that you pour the sugar syrup over the centers, let it dry, then re-pour over etc etc. Did you just leave them overnight once and that was it? All done?

Yes, thanks to all for sharing - its a great way to pick up tips and tricks and its interesting to hear about schools in other places and things they are teaching. Also, thanks to those of you posting pictures - I know they take some effort, but they really make a great impact.

I went to watch the judging of the Australian Chocolate Masters on the 23rd March - the winner of which goes on to represent Australia in Paris at the World Masters. The winner was Paul Kennedy which was particularly exciting because I have done a few classes under him here in Melbourne. The Easter Egg competition was also on at the same time, so there were plenty of sculptures to admire. I've finally managed to figure out how to resize photos so I can put them on here (for other peoples info, there are websites where you can load your photos and they resize automatically - very easy to use). A table from the display: The winning display (after moved by Casino staff who managed to lose a couple of pieces): A close up of part of the winner: A fantastic egg with Aboriginal theme: A monster from another display: An amazing effort with crocs coming out of the egg, with coloured eggs inside it:

I like that idea Pat - I might have to hook something up this weekend

Another trick is, rather than weighing it down, use a spot of melted chocolate to stick the parchment to the tray

alanamoana is describing the exact method I use its just a lot easier to picture it if you have seen/done it before. As mentioned though, let the center slide off the fork and just before it come to rest on the baking paper, nudge it ever so slightly away from the fork side (this will prevent a foot forming). Then as you are withdrawing the fork, just as the prongs are coming out from under the chocolate, run the tip of the fork around the bottom edge of the center. If you just remove the fork by pulling it away from the center, the bottom of your center will have three (assuming a three prong fork) little marks left on the edge by the prongs coming out. You are basically trying to use the tip of the fork to wipe a little chocolate around the bottom edge of the center to cover over these prong marks. Uhhmm . . . reading this back I'm not sure if I'm helping or hindering

I fully subscribe to the "surface tension" method, mentioned by alanamoana and also "lifting" the chocolate over the top of the center. I've also found wiping the fork clean of chocolate (with a paper towel) inbetween each dip - as Mary F said - is an absolute must.

I use hands for truffles. For other centers I use dipping forks. I'd back up exactly what Kerry says. Bend the dipping fork in the middle to a "sort-of" 45 degree angle and make sure you have a foot or thin layer of chocolate on the bottom of the center you are dipping as it will help it release from the fork. I always let the center slide off the fork - dont wiggle it about to speed it up. To avoid a foot forming, I push the chocolate forward just as its coming off the fork and then as I'm releasing the fork, run it around the side of the chocolate so that it doesn't leave any prong marks on the side.

Spot on

Are you suggesting something like this? http://www.vantagehouse.com/chocolateworld..._depositing.php I like it, but it looks expensive to me. ← That's not it. We used a handheld depositor in school. Made all from metal, could be warmed in an oven and was then used to deposit jellies into their silicon moulds. It could be held in one hand and had a "trigger" that opened the funnel at the bottom and closed it when released. Sort of like this: http://www.matferbourgeatusa.com/catalog.a...00&prodid=77800 The key when buying any depositor is to make sure it is seamless (so that sugars etc do not get caught). They are built more for depositing jellies and caramels, so I'm not sure if they would work for chocolate. I just thought it might be an idea to test if you had access to one.

Thanks for asking! Did he say how he would fill the bottom? With the ridges around each cavity you can't just run a scraper across the top to clean it. ← Ah, didn't realize there were ridges. I would think you would fill it with a doser on a tempering machine (if you had one of course). I'm going to suggest you just over fill, don't scrape, put the top on, then scrape the sides before you start turning. ← What about using a depositor that is slightly heated (not hot enough to knock the chocolate out of temper, but just enough to stop the chocolate from setting too quickly)

Thanks for all the energetic postings by the Eg chocolatiers (Kerry especially), I am looking forward to reading through your posts. I am in the process of typing up my own notes from a 5-day Level 1 and 3-day Level 2 Chocolate and Pralines course that I did at Melbourne's Savour Chocolate School (where the World Chocolate Masters Australian selections are being run). Its amazing to look at photos from the other side of the world and see almost identical kitchen setups, equipment being used and techniques being taught - probably an indication of just how far-reaching the impact of Callebaut and its instructors has been.

David, thanks for the update - I think several of us are following with interest. I chatted with my brother-in-law just this weekend and showed him some pictures of a guitar cutter (he had never seen one before but is handy at building things). We're thinking of giving it a go after the dozen or so other projects on at the moment.

Tammy - when we were using cutters at school, we left the slab of ganache overnight to set up and then cut the shapes out and dipped immediately.

Over the past few years I've managed to build up my chocolate book library but I'm interested to hear what other people have read and their thoughts on the books. To start things off, some of my better books are: Fine Chocolates Great Experience: Jean-Pierre Wybaux I don't think this one needs any further description. THE book for many chocolatiers although it does assume some previous knowledge. Belgian Chocolates: Roger Geerts Another chocolate book I love. Lots of recipes, lots of photos on finishing techniques. Can be a little hard to follow in places as it has some assumed knowledge. As an aside, Geerts has now done a DVD to accompany this book. The Chocolate Bible: Christian Teubner This was a great find for me. I picked it up fairly cheaply at a bookstore and it has a wealth of information. Once again, lots of pictures of finished products. On the downside, the book is not dedicated to chocolate alone - there are also cakes and biscuits etc. Candymaking: Kendrick & Atkinson This was my introductory book to candy and chocolate making and still serves as a great reference for me - I still use the Creamy Fondant and Soft Caramel recipes. A little cheaper than some of the books above if you are looking for an introduction to the topic. Truffles, Candies & Confections: Carole Bloom Not many pictures, but choc full of recipes and tips. Covers a wide variety of chocolate and confectionary recipes. The Complete Home Confectioner: Hilary Walden A great introductory book more for confectionary than chocolate. Simple recipes but on a wide range of recipes and recipes different to those covered in the books above. Otherwise I'm waiting for Making Artisan Chocolates (Shotts) and Chocolates and Confections (Greweling) which seem to have been well received by the eG community judging by the posts. So what does everyone else read/use . . . ? (edited for typos)

Here is a link to the World Chocolate Masters for 2005. http://2005.worldchocolatemasters.com/default.dhtml Check out the Inspiring Recipes section for some of the 2005 tournament's special entries.

I thought the "Chocolate and confectionary" brigade would be interested to hear about the World Chocolate Masters 2008. http://www.worldchocolatemasters.com/en/ National selections (done in 2007) are starting now. The Australian selections are on 22 and 23 March at Crown Casino and Savour Chocolate school in Melbourne - I've seen some of the work thats gone into these displays and would encourage people in Melbourne to get there if they can. Other countries selections can be seen at: http://www.worldchocolatemasters.com/en/37

I must admit to having a similar experience with dark chocolate recently. I have always enjoyed a bit of dark chocolate - the Cluizel 72% is one of my favourites - but I recently tried the Valrhona Manjari 64% (Madagascar). WOW. The fruitiness just blew me away and the flavour is just amazing. I've been eating a few squares each night now - I'll have to be careful this doesn't become a habit. But it has opened me up to the idea of origin bars which wasn't something I'd paid a lot of attention to before.

If you think of normal white sugar from the supermarket as having a "sweetness" of 100% then glucose is roughly 70% sweetness and trimoline is roughly 130% sweetness. Those are the ratios I use when substituting those two ingredients. I'm not sure about the exact sweetness of Nulomoline but it would give you a good place to start.

Thanks for all the advice. I guess I'll move my cocoa butter out of the fridge and into a cool cupboard.

Hi Everyone, I was wondering what the best way to store cocoa butter was? Should it be kept in the fridge once opened?