aguynamedrobert

Are you sure you meant to say "a whip is supposed to add the minimum amount of air"? a whip is going to ADD air... Either way I use the paddle...not the whip....and the paddle works good for me...it incorporates everything nicely... Robert Chocolate Forum

Which was your favorite bar from them and why? Very curious... Robert Chocolate Forum

Wow I've never seen a cream cheese recipe for homemade cream cheese before...I am someone that makes a lot of cheesecakes and I'm gonna try that out! thanks for the info Robert Chocolate Forum

yeah the protein in the eggs is what is going to make the whole structure of the cooked dough...you would have to find something that has similar "structure" properties that eggs do.... but I can't think of any...good question... Robert Chocolate Forum

When you temper chocolate with the "seeding" method...the one you described...you only need to bring the chocolate down to about 88-90 degrees and then remove whatever chunks of tempered chocolate have not melted... You want to bring it down to around 80 when you are NOT seeding...that will create the crystals around that temp and then you bring it back up to 88-90.... Make sure you bring the temp of the chocolate up high enough in the first place or you might have nasty left over crystals that are not what we want....I bring my dark up to 115-120.... Robert Chocolate Forum

Are you checking the temper before you dip or are you just assuming it's tempered? I would just say to check it right before you dip... There must be something with temperatures going on to blow the temper in your chocolate or it never being tempered at all...What method do you use? Robert Chocolate Forum

Hum...Ok I think I got the idea....I have never seen it in the USA before...we might have it but it isn't used much...I will have to see if I can get my hands on some... who knows...maybe its right at the store and I keep walking past it...haha Robert Chocolate Forum

The question is....what kind of Root Beer? are we talking Henry Weinhard's? lol....what kind are you gonna use? Just thought I'd ask, Robert Chocolate Forum

So what actually is it though? what makes it golden syrup and not just syrup? sorry I have just never heard of it.... Robert Chocolate Forum

Hey Everybody, Glad to see the conversations...Hershey's does own Scharffenberger and Joseph Schmidt...they also just aquired Dagoba Chocolate out of Ashland Oregon...they are an organic chocolate manufacturer...either way if you guys like dark chocolate then try out some other brands as you see them...I think you could fine a lot that you like... Guittard Scharffenberger Valrhona Callebaut Amedei El Rey Chocovic There are many that are poping up in whole food stores these days...usually with one or two brands available...you guys gotta try those out if you are a fan of the dark chocolate.... Robert Chocolate Forum

Hey Fanny....what are you refering to when you said "Golden Syrup"? Maple syrup? Honey?.... Have a good one, Robert Chocolate Forum

That sounds like fun...how often do they do they challenge? always fun to have friendly competitions.... Robert Chocolate Forum

yeah I'm in the east bay...so I am going to have an early morning but I definitely think it is going to be work it...a good old 6 am wake up! lol... Robert Chocolate Forum

so are any of you guys getting ready to go to the "Fancy Food Show" in San Francisco in January. There is going to be a conference time on January 23rd...the last day of the show about fine chocolate and defining what that is...panelists include.... Gary Guittard (Guittard) Michael Recchiuti (Recchiuti Confections) Frederick Schilling (Dagoba) and a few more....also Pam Williams, of Ecole Chocolat will be the Moderator. I am going and I hope to see some of you there...If your going give a shout out on here! Robert Chocolate Forum

Hey Fanny, What temperature did you bring those caramels up to? or did you just bring it up to a boil for a certain amount of time? Great pictures again...always great pictures... Robert Chocolate Forum

Are you guys all thinking of regular caramels or slow cooking caramels? -Regular is where you just cook all the ingredients together to the desired temp... -Slow Cooked is where you have most the ingredients in and usually have evaporated milk that you hold back....you then bring the temp of the caramel up to the desired temp and then start to add the evaporated milk slowly so that you do not lose the boil...you get all of that in and then you bring it back up to the desired temp and you are done.... Which one do you guys do? Robert Chocolate Forum

Perfect...thanks for the pics... Cocoagirl...just play around with the temps and you will find where it works for you and what certain temp you need to reach to get the hardness/softness you want...keep us posted... Robert Chocolate Forum

hum....if they are oily then some of the fat might have seperated out...possibly...How much did they harden? enough for you to cut them in squares? Yeah I always take my caramel to right below 240 Degrees and they hold their shape and they are soft....hum....I actually never have seem caramels taken up to temps that you guys are except for a place I worked for a while back and if you were one degree over the caramels would be rocks....hum....I'll have to make some to the degree you guys are saying and see how they look... Robert Chocolate Forum

Okey Dokey...at sea level your caramels should end in a range of 236-245 F(roughly)....I usually end mine at about 238-240 F and they are perfect...unless you want a hard hard caramel I wouldn't go above the mid 240's... Good Luck and let us know how the next batch turns out... Robert Chocolate Forum

You can recook them but it seems like your temperatures are already way above where they would normally be...what elevation are you at? and are you sure your thermometer is working correctly? You can always use the Ice water method to test if the caramel is done...when it is getting close to temp...take out the thermometer and then have a bowl of water and ice....with your spatula drip some caramel into the ice water and give it about 5-10 seconds...then go into the water with your hand and pick up the caramel...roll it around in your fingers...if you can form a soft-medium hard ball them you are done.... The water basically brings the temp down so you will see how hard the caramel will be when it is cooled....try it out... Robert Chocolate Forum

Has anyone tried Theo's chocolate from Seattle? I was just talking with a friend on my forum and he had just tried some of theirs...I was wondering if anyone had an opinion about their chocolate? Robert Chocolate Forum

Little science lesson...the reason the candy melts is, like others said, due to the moisture...Sugar is what we call "Hygroscopic" which means it attracts moisture...it draws that moisture in and then the sugar is broken down and diluted by the water so it does not hold its shape anymore... Hygroscopic....word of the day lol Robert Chocolate Forum

Well I hope your vacation goes well...let us all know how you liked your chocolate destinations! or at least let me know lol....when are you leaving for your trip again? Robert Chocolate Forum

Hum....well I would still have to humbly disagree(somewhat)...you are right in many of your points but I still think that a water bath definitely helps a cheesecake...but if you make them ok your way and I make them ok my way...there's no worries... Maybe I will try without a waterbath again soon and see my results with a side by side comparison...thanks for the info Have a good one, Robert Chocolate Forum

Is the ganache actually seperating or is the flavor just off? You might not have a true emulsion with the Ganache if it is seperating...but we can deal with that once you answer the question because you might just be dealing with flavor... Have a good one, Robert Chocolate Forum