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aguynamedrobert

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Everything posted by aguynamedrobert

  1. Hello everyone, This is the question of all questions...what is the best Vanilla? I personally love Nielsen Massey Vanilla. I think the aroma and taste are just great. But of course I'm not a Vanilla expert. Does anyone else have a good knowledge of Vanilla or which one is the best?
  2. That might work nicely to do a dark chocolate ganache over the Lemon Pate de Fruit(fruit jellie) and then do a nice dark chocolate coating over it all. I might try that sometime soon... This is why I love coming on here...the ideas are flying! haha
  3. Um...a lemon Jelly? I have never thought of doing that. Did you use puree or juice? Did you add any other flavors to enhance it or leave it just as lemon?
  4. I personally like Perfect Puree from Napa...they are a little more expensive but I get them local so I don't have to pay shipping...I like their Puree's though. http://www.perfectpuree.com/
  5. What is everyone's favorite flavor to make Pate de Fruit - Turkish Delight - Fruit Jellies...? I am big fan of combining two fruit purees together to get a specific taste. I am a big fan of strawberry in different combinations... So what is your guys' favorite?
  6. Hello, I would have to agree with a few chocolates mentioned. I also agree that you will have to taste yourself to see what flavor you are going for. There a few good chocolate manufacturers in this world and each one has its own distinct flavors that accompany their chocolate. For baking I would not suggest Scharffen Berger. I think their sour taste does not go as well with baked goods. I use E. Guittard 72% in most of my baking items. I also like the aroma uniqueness of El Rey. If you like your chocolate on the smokey/burnt flavor side then Valrhona might be a good choice for you. French chocolate makers always take their chocolate to a higher roast so you will notice burnt flavors usually. I prefer E. Guittard 72% but their are a few nice choices so hopefully you will find a nice chocolate to use... Have a great day...
  7. Actually a 52% cocoa butter content on that bar isn't really alarming. A natural cocoa bean in its regular form has rougly 50-55% cocoa butter already. So having a 99% bar with 52% cocoa butter would mean that probably not much cocoa butter had to be added...There probably was some added but not a ton. Almost any bar that you see will have added cocoa butter to. There are some that won't and they will most likely be labeled but it is a common practice to add cocoa butter at any percentage level in chocolate... Have a great day everyone,
  8. Good Luck! That can be a really fun item to make with other people as well! Have a great day...
  9. Alright everyone...The Holiday baking season is upon us! I want to hear what recipes everyone is going to bust out to wow their friends and family this season. So don't be shy! Come on and let us have it...What recipe are you going to pull off for the Holidays ahead???? Happy Baking...
  10. Hey merlicky, I saw in your earlier post that you use Ghirardelli to make your chocolates. Have you thought about moving up in quality? Ghirardelli is one of those mid grad chocolate producers. Not terrible but certainly not the best. I saw someone recommend it earlier so I will as well, www.chocosphere.com is where I get almost all of my chocolate. You can get a range of companies bulk chocolate there so it would be a great place to start if wanting to move up the quality chocolate latter... Hope your search and learning is going great! Have a great day...
  11. Hello Everyone, I have heard the name Pernigotti a few times here and there but know very little about them. They sell Cocoa under that name and I was wondering if they made chocolate as well? Also, Do they manufacturer it or do they buy it and just market it? Any help would be great!
  12. I haven't but would love to see what peoples opinions are...I have one cocoa that I always use but love to see the differences in taste of the others...
  13. You just don't want to take it above 220 degrees F because it will become thicker and more viscous. A Caramel is taken to between 238-245 and that is firm enough to hold its shape. 220 is a good range for thicker sauces... The higher the temp the less water is in the solution and more sugar. This equals a thicker end product. Crystalization can occur at any stage so when cooking sugar solutions just whip the sides of the pot down if crystals form. But I don't presume you will have a problem at such a low temp... Have a great day everyone...
  14. I would just suggest putting a thermometer in the liquid as it boils. Don't let the liquid get above 220 Degree's TOPS! The higher the degree the less water and more concentration of sugar. 212 is boiling at sea level so just don't let it get more than about 8 degrees above your boiling point. You don't have to reduce it that much but that is as much as you would want to go... Have a great day,
  15. For anyone who was following the proposed change in Chocolate by the FDA and supported by GMA and CMA here is some news...They wanted to change chocolate by taking out the cocoa butter and replacing it with cheap vegetable fats and still call it Chocolate!!! Well, after much fight and many people writing into the FDA, Hershey's and Mars decided not to support the change in chocolate! So much thanks to Gary Guittard for getting this whole movement going and thanks to everyone who supported! WE WON!!!
  16. Well I saw a conversation on cocoa powder and you know I can't miss out on this. My favorite cocoa powder for a long time has been "Cocoa Rouge" cocoa powder from Guittard. I am biased because of my relationship with Guittard but I have actually used the cocoa powder since culinary school before I was afiliated with them and have loved it since the first time using it. It is a dutched cocoa with a nice brown/red color with a 22/24% fat content and is just beautiful in baked goods and in hot cocoa... UM UM
  17. Hey Mark, You are going to shred the chocolate in the food processor? Arn't you scared of it melting? How are you going to do it? I know of companies that put ground chocolate in with cocoa powder to make it thicker and more chocolatey but they have machines that are made for it...how do you plan to do it? I would love to see how you accomplish it... Have a good one Mark...
  18. How rich are you wanting to make the chocolate? I always use cocoa powder because I don't like how thick drinking chocolate is but some people like that. I would probably do 3/4 dark chocolate to 1/4 milk chocolate if making a drinking chocolate. Here is my hot chocolate recipe... 20 grams - Guittard Cocoa Rouge Cocoa Powder 284 grams - Whole Milk 40 grams - Sugar Let us know what ratio you choose and how it comes out... Have a great day everybody...
  19. Ummmmmm Ummmmmm...what type of filling is that? A pastry Cream or something different?
  20. Do you deal with the buyers at Trader Joe's to get product in stores or do you do production for Bay Bread? I will have to go check out Bay Bread next time I'm in the city...
  21. Hello DonnamarieNJ, My suggestions would be to weigh out all those ingredients and write down the weights...then you can split those weights in half for your recipe. You will have the halfed recipe and you will have a more accurate way of making your brownies... Hope this helps... Have a great day,
  22. Hello Everyone, Do you work for Bay Bread, jgarner53? Do they/you make other products besides the one and the other they/you are working on? It is nice to find puff pastry already made and good quality because that can be extremely time consuming and difficult in a home kitchen... Thanks, Robert
  23. What is the cocoa butters use in the recipe? And yes, how much is in the recipe? Depending on the type of chocolate you use you might not even need to add cocoa butter. You could just use a cocoa butter rich chocolate...
  24. Perfect...thanks for the suggestions those all look like some good stores to check out...if anyone has more please post them up!
  25. No, just a high end store with a large selection of many high end and fine food items... Thanks,
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