equality5271

I will be making some chocolates for Christmas, and they are going to be all caramels. I am planning on making two chewier caramels (hand dipped) and two more liquidy caramels (molded). The question is...what are some ways of getting flavor into my caramels? Can I cook my wet sand sugar in tea not plain water? Will it crystallize or will the flavor of the tea withstand all of that heat? What about adding fruit flavors? Can I cook my sugar into a fruit puree and water? What would another way of getting a fruit flavor in? Should I add a reduced fruit puree near the end or at the end or does it not matter? I'm really worried that the fruit puree will make them have too much moisture and more prone to spoilage. I am going to play around with cream infusion. I might try some more vegetables. I've made a corn caramel this way before. Are there any other ideas out there? Thanks for your help.

I am on the hunt for a couple of blue and white striped butcher's aprons. I can only seem to find them for sale in England. The aprons aren't usually that expensive, but the shipping is outrageous. Most places don't even offer international shipping. I have seen plenty of American chefs wearing them in their restaurants. Does anyone know where people in the U.S. get these aprons here in the states? http://www.british-chefs.co.uk/acatalog/Butchers_Aprons.html

Gale Gand has a very good recipe that I recently used. 4 ounces peeled toasted hazelnuts 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons powdered sugar 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped and melted In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts into a paste. Add the oil, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla and continue processing. Add the melted chocolate and blend well. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer to remove any large grains of nuts. The mixture will be thin and a little warm. Pour into a jar to let cool and thicken slightly. Keeps 1 month, covered, at room temperature.

when i was younger, i used to drink the "juice" leftover from the black olives...straight from the can of course!

a few months ago, i soaked my first cake in class. let me just say that the passion fruityness would dripping down my chin as i made a face of disgust. i'm sure i'll always undersoak all my cakes from now on.