markg109

Thanks for the tip, I'll try it and let you know how it goes. Thanks Again, Mark

Hi All, I'm trying to make blueberry cordials, similar to cherry cordials. I know that using fresh blueberries would give them a very short shelf life. I tried using dried blueberries, but after reading Greweling, I found out that the invertase needs the liquid to complete the reaction. The fondant gets soft, but doesn't liquify. I was wondering if anyone knows of a blueberry similar to a maraschino cherry, or perhaps using a brandied blueberrry would work? Thanks, Mark

Naturesflavors.com also has organic coloring, as well as many more organic products

Thanks John, Is Titanium powder something you can buy at a candy supply house?

Thanks Tammy, And by the way, your adventures in starting a chocolate business, is really quite informative. Thanks for sharing. Mark

Do you know of a place i might purchase these powders?

Hi All, I am an artist ( oil and pastels) by trade so the coloring of artisan chocolates really appeals to me. I was wondering if I could make my own colored cocoa butter using oil candy colors and cocoa butter, or is there more involved. Also, if I add the oil candy color to white chocolate will it affect the temper? Thanks, Mark

David, After you redip them how is it possible not to leave a little bit of a foot or tail where they are spherical?

The reason why I'm trying to make them myself is i question the shelf life and the quaility of the chocolate they use in the premade shells. I do see your point though, it is quite time consuming, and they are a lot harder to master then conventional molds. Most of mine split in half, I agree with David I think this is due to too thin a shell. Il'l need more experimentation with them. Mark

After a second failed attempt. I think the ganache has to go in after the spheres are demolded, and then put a cap on.

David, Thanks for the thread, that really helps. The El Rey that I use is quite fluid. I set my temperer to 89.6 F . I forgot to heat the molds though. I did spin them quite vigorously, as I'm yet to purchase a vibrating table. I think my shells were a little to thin. I think I might try filling them up 3/4 of the way, then letting them sit for a couple of minutes before emptying them out. In Peter Greweling's book he advocates letting the mold remain upright for upwards of 5 minutes. I think I can pipe 32 shells in that time, I hope. I did fill eight of them with ganache, two of them came out great, I had to sort of eyeball where I thought the top of the sphere was. I let the ganache settle and then topped it off. This will take some practice though. In the couple that came out good I let them set for a while before piping a small amount of more viscous chocolate into the opening. I don't know if it was luck or not but it worked, as I said I had problems with the rest. Most of them split in half, some looked like christmas ornaments with the little neck on the top. Thanks Again, Mark

Vanessa, I tried that but the viscocity of the chocolate is to great for the size of the hole. You end up with a very thick shell. Mark

David, I see what you mean about it being hard to use an offset spatula. The little ridge on the bottom piece presents a problem. I'm using El Rey Mijao 61% Dark, I let the shells sit for about 30 minutes before filling them. I allowed them to set for about an hour and tried de-molding them. Only about half of them came out right, the others were in halfs. I probably didn't wait long enough to demold, room temp is 66 F. Mark

Thanks David, Those are exactly the molds that I have. I plan on making some today and will take your advice. Il'l let you know how they come out. Mark

Thanks Vanessa, I really liked John's demonstration. He was using more conventional molds though. The question I have is when using a spherical mold will filling the mold, and then draining out the hole in the top cause too thick a coating. I guess I could try filling them half way, putting the top half of the mold on, and letting it drain. Mark