pringle007

Ive only used cold infusion on a vary limited basis (beans and ginger are about all I use in this method), but the amount of work required between the two is of little difference overall. Now, if you need the cream today, you can't really cold infuse. But if youre planing ahead, like TC said, simply toss your beans, ginger, etc. in the cream, toss them in the chiller overnight, and when you're ready to begin making ganache the following day, the infusion step is already done. Kinda like using spare time today to lighten the load tomorrow. It might take less time to heat to and cool, but you aren't really working on the infusion all those hours the cream is soaking up flavor in a cold infusion, so you're basically getting free time!! I like knowing that my cream is getting flavor even when Im watching football!!

Thanks gang. I'll look around and grab some cinnamon oil and start toying with a ganache! By the way, a Cinnamon Melt-away sounds awesome!!

I checked out two new(er) local chocolatiers for the first time this week, and one gals work was very impressive. I tried a dark chocolate piece that had a very smooth, creamy filling of a dark chocolate ganache that had a nice taste of cinnamon. What got me was that the ganache taste like a "red hot" cinnamon candy and not your typical cinnamon chocolate. I would think that grinding the candies and using them in the ganache would leave the texture gritty, but aside from that, Im not sure how she got the taste - and heat - so spot on. Any idea how this was accomplished or does anyone have a similar recipe?

You guys have another fun forum? I feel sooo left out...

Your'e welcome! For the price, its a great deal, and like I said, their darker stuff is excellent. I love the "whiteness" of the white and its vanilla taste, but I found little use for it since I couldn't mold it.

I have four airbrushes I can bring, but I think I mentioned that to Leb already..

I was in the same boat. My first chocolate was Noel. I used their Lactee and their Royal along with the White. I loved the Royal, but thought the Lactee had an odd taste. Anyhow, the white is crap. I mean it. It tastes great, but man - its thick! I added over an entire bar of cocoa butter to it and still couldn't get it to mold. No matter what you do, it wont change its viscosity. Now I use Lindt and love it(shameless plug)! Its the most fluid white chocolate Ive found (although I'd love to try El Rey White if my local Wild Oats ever carries enough to make through the first ten customers of the day!). Anyhow, take it from a guy that toyed with Noel while I cut my teeth into chocolatiering.. their product line is decent (you certainly can't beat the price!) but you'd have better luck getting play-dough to thin out than their white.

Ahhh... booze

There are some new photos of black available, and if you look, the stripe appears not to be chocolate but a dark color of some sort. Its line is not even, and looks like a painted line as you see faint breaks where a "redipped" tool can be applied. As for the champaign, I did something like that last year. I dropped a small bit of CCB in the bottom, then waited till it started to set and use a fat brush to pull the butter up the sides, making sure I applied plenty of pressure so that the brush strokes would be defined. I'll look in my files and see if I can find the photos of my pieces...

Does anyone happen to have a recipe for Wasabi or any other kind of dried peas?? all the ones I found online have goten terrible reviews

How do I pay my $150 fee??

I am a big whisky/bourbon fan and I once made chocolates with both Makers Mark and Jim Beam. You couldn't tell the difference between the two really, and when I increased alcohol to increase the flavor (and in turn increase the taste difference) the "alcoholicness" of the ganache stood out and the taste was...well... icky!! Keep us updated on your progress though!!

I know the mold you are talking about - I haven't seen it recently - but I'll keep an eye out for it. Here he is at JVK in Holland. Thats it!!! Thanks you sooooo much!! I wonder what else they have...Ive never visited this site..

I had that same idea once... long ago...before I found egullet. Bad idea. Goodbye Mold. And I have yet to find the same mold again, so if anyone knows where I can get a poly King Tut mold (it had been my grandmothers, so it may have been used in the Pharoah's kitchen thats how old it "looked"), please link me!!

For Thanksgiving, I took four of five green beans and wrapped them in a strip of bacon then baked until tender and drizzled with caramel sauce.. it was delicious. I think I might try "bacon turtles" this weekend...

Does anybody have a description of Turron Candy? I googled it, and got Spanish Turron Candy, but got no real descriptions, just places to buy it. Does anybody have a recipe??

I dont feel the use of molds or any scale of production should deter a product from being handmade, given that it is "made by hand" and without machine. I dont think the amount of labor he expends should have any bearing on his product, or reflect it in a negative light. I have been working with chocolate for three years, and I can promise you there are many people on this forum that can make twice the product - by hand - in half the time as me. Does that mean their product is inferior to mine? I specialize in marshmallows - I make 42 different flavors (Like Blueberries 'n Cream, Chai Spice, and Mango Habanero) and my kitchen is set up to make 12 cake pan size batches per hour. All by hand, except for the mixer spinning the sugar solution. I doubt many that make mallows as part of their line make them on the level I do, but does that mean my product isn't hand made or isn't Artisan? His stuff probably has a longer shelf life, not because of preservatives, but because he just uses dried fruit coated in chocolate. Do you have any idea how long a chocolate covered rasin will last? I think my grandpa has some that he brought back from his missions into Allied territory on the outskirts of Germany. And I would agree, its generally assumed a choclate maker "makes chocolate" - starts with the bean, sugar, cream, and goes from there. Chocolatiers buy chocolate from chocolate makers and mold, shape, fill, and infuse it. Adding artisan to your work may be a viable option. Artisan foods are generally only prepared locally (i.e. - You cant buy an Artisan product at every Target in the U.S.) and are generally made with very high quality ingredients. They tend to have trendy flavors, cool designs or packaging, and are generally made in small batches by hand - although the use of molds is still considered made by hand. Anthony Thomas makes handmade chocolate, and its available in half the country. Same for Ben Heggy, etc. Still handmade. In terms of handmade, there is no difference in those regional brands and the guy down the street that makes buckeyes by hand all day long. I mean, Steak and Shake makes handmade burgers, but they are a far cry from the local drive-ins burgers. To me, handmade is overused and does nothing from the standopint of a consumer. Walmart fills there bakery with handmade cookies and pies, yet they are nothing compared to local amish bakers. Both make handmade products though, and both tout it as such. Push the artisan idea, tout your fresh ingredients and complex flavors, and stand by your product. PLEASE FORGIVE TYPOS!! AND THE RAMBLING ITS 3 AM HERE in OHIO....AND I HATE THE WORD HOMEMADE!!

I agree with the above... I would say it might have something to do with scorching. Given that white chocolate is the most suseptible to this idea, that might explain why so many egullers have had the problem with white chocolate. Ive used chocolate two and three years old for practice in showpiece work and when trying to do new designs with colored cocoa butter and Ive never had a melting problem as described, so I tend to think the age of the chocolate is less of a factor than the 120 degrees. Why not bring your cream mixture to a boil and pour that over the chopped chocolate like Kerry suggests. Thats how I always make ganache, and by letting the hot cream sit on the chocolate for a few minutes before stirring, you'll find all the chocolate melts without the threat of scourching.

Looking Good!

I'd like to see the pulled sugar demo too.. I've only tried it twice, and both experiences went in the "Better Luck Next Time" drawer...

Never had it, but sounds very interesting! I'd harbor to guess the seed temp wouldn't effect the mixture. Sugar gets its formation as it cools, and I don't think the toasted seeds would be hotter than simmering corn syrup. I'd guess you could just toast the seeds in advance, and the temp of them wouldn't have any impact on the candy. I make an Asian take on Buffalo Sponge Candy, and Ive used both fresh from the oven toasted seeds and ones that I toasted a week prior and there was no side effect to taste, form, or texture in either case.

I am a YES!! on attending the conference. I use El Rey and Callebaut and Noel, though the Calle is about to get get replaced with something else, probably Valrhona. I have several different models of spray guns I could bring for demos, maybe a compare/contrast element for attendees to try different machines??

Would adding Invertase help to prevent crystalization?

Those little cinnamonbears are great in a bowl with milk!! Its the best cereal they never intended to be a cereal!!

Awesome sites! Thanks Kerry and Lana!