patris

Hi jlwquilter, Glad you had success this time! The only trick I have for not having much left in the bowl is to scrape it out with a great big sturdy spatula (ever so lightly coated with pan spray) immediately - seriously, without any delay - after taking the bowl off the mixer. If you're going to enrobe the marshmallow, I highly recommend dusting them first. Those buggers are sticky. (Not that I speak from particular experience of not paying enough attention to where the pan of marshmallow for dipping was sitting and consequently having naked marshmallow cubes stuck to my right arm up to the elbow, stuck to the fingers on the other hand trying to get them off of my arm, stuck to the wall from shaking my hand to get them off of my fingers, stuck to the counter, or anything...)

I struggled with chocolate marshmallows for our Easter production as well. First I tried mixing a slurry of 1/4 cup cocoa powder and 2 oz. boiling water, which I added to the marshmallow at the very end of mixing. I wanted a chocolate swirl, so I just let the mixer run for about 5 seconds after adding the slurry. The result was very very very soft and sticky, but when rested ended up to be a nice consistency - very silky and soft. The flavor of chocolate was extremely pronounced. I enrobed them in dark chocolate, and the cocoa flavor and the dark chocolate really complemented each other nicely. Next I tried adding some mini chocolate chips, again at the end of beating while the marshmallow was still quite warm. After letting them sit a moment, I turned the mixer on low for about 10 seconds. What I ended up with was really lovely - both the vanilla and chocolate flavors came through. As an added benefit, when I patted them out in the pan the chocolate swirl looked like some kind of gorgeous satellite picture. The final texture is kind of interesting on these - the melted mini chips turned into thin, thin striations of chocolate in some places. In both cases, the volume of the finished product was not too far off from the plain marshmallow. Hope this helps - good luck!

Well, the Puff Girls were featured in the Buffalo News this week... Here's a link to the article (it'll only be valid until March 10th or so). We've gotten incredible response - close to 100 e-mails so far, the orders have started to come in, and 3 inquiries from shops wanting to sell them - one of which seems to want to resell in their own packaging. This has raised an interesting question for me, though: what are the advantages and disadvantages of selling bulk product to someone who will then package and sell under their name? My gut reaction is that I want my brand out there, and I don't want anyone else's brand on my product. Others of you may have a different perspective... I'd love to hear other viewpoints on this.

Thanks, Rob! My extensive analysis this morning includes every product we make, and factors in kitchen rental, packaging costs, and labor, and is based on our most recent production (which was highly efficient in terms of the way we used our time and the amount we were able to produce). I came up with a cost of $4.30 per 8-oz. package, which is an average of the cost of the dozen varieties we're doing right now. Your feedback is really helpful - we're an itty bitty business in an area where locally-made is a huge selling point, and we do have a great story - my business partner and I have known each other for 30 years, her brother is married to my sister so we're practically related, yadda yadda yadda. I think our plan is to come up with a wholesale price we're willing to accept, and take samples and copies of the upcoming article to a small number of local specialty retailers after Easter. One other question - do we suggest an end retail price? Our direct-to-consumer (up to now, friends, family and work folks) prices are lower than what I think they might retail for, but I don't know if the seller would want input on setting the price or not...

That's enormously helpful, Rob. I spent this morning doing a detailed cost analysis of each of our products, and I'm realizing that as we're structured right now (renting a kitchen, working in single batches and buying ingredients mostly at the grocery store), wholesaling at 50% of retail would mean we'd actually lose money. Lots of thinking to do! One of my very favorite things about this forum (where I have not spent nearly enough time lately!) is how generous you all are with your thoughts and experience.

Tammy, I've been monitoring this thread with keen interest, as we're really in the same place as you at the moment. Our businesses have a lot in common - side businesses that we're financing on a cash basis, trying to figure out what to do next. In our case, we may be approaching an inflection point that will force a decision soon - our newspaper's food writer interviewed us last week for a feature story that will run on Wednesday (eeeeeee!). Up till now, our sales have been seasonal and direct-to-consumer, but the circle has expanded each time we go out and we're starting to get some inquiries from small shops. I suspect demand may go way up starting this week! All this to say I'm happy to post the process and progress of any major decision-making we do over the next several weeks. In terms of how to package bulk pieces, what about layering them in Cambro food pans or some such - you'd have to get them back from the shop you're selling to, but there's no risk of smushing/crushing like you'd have with a cardboard box. Plus, regular visits to the shop will tell you a bit about how they store and handle your stuff. And a question for you as we approach the idea of selling product for resale - what's your markup percentage? I have no idea what's sensible - 50%, 100%.....?

Hi Vanessa, Just thought I'd chip in with my recent experience (New York State). We rent a kitchen and cart everything we use back and forth each time we do production. Our inspector was keen to understand every phase of the process - ingredients (we nearly came to blows over my ganache recipe!), how we'd store and transport our ingredients and equipment, what tools we'd be using, what we'd be storing the marshmallow in to transport it to the company where we have it enrobed, how long it'd be stored and where, where and how our excess inventory would be stored, how and where we'd do packaging, what our labels and bags looked like and were made of, when we'd be producing - I forget what else, but he was thorough to say the least. He said he was not as hard on us as he is on some - apparently he regards chocolate as a potentially hazardous product due to the working temperature range. I can't quite figure that one out... I brought labels, bags, and the cambro pans we use for storage/transport, and seeing those seemed to satisfy him. I suspect you know an awful lot more about chocolate and confectionery than any inspector - just rely on your knowledge, careful processes and terrific work and you'll do fine!

Having had the distinct pleasure of dining (the soup place was Brodo) and shopping with Kerry before she headed off for the weekend, I have been following this adventure with delight. Gfron and Verjuice and Patrick - you lucky dogs you! Maybe if I start calling Mighty Taco the "drive through burrito vendor," it'll taste better...

I definitely third that - I use anywhere between a half teaspoon and a teaspoon per batch, added to the fruit puree that I mix with the sugar and corn syrup. It really perks up the flavor, especially with raspberry and cherry. I haven't yet made a strawberry flavor that I'm entirely happy with - I think strawberries just have a much milder flavor than raspberries or cherries. Good luck!

Tri, That made me laugh so hard I now have a headache. Rob, I second the linen recommendation - it's what we used at an artisan bakery where I worked once upon a time, and well-seasoned linen is a beautiful thing.

Lior, Those are beautiful! Chris - we make s'mores using bought graham crackers broken into quarters - we spread a layer of ganache on a sheet of marshmallow, (sometimes wait for it to set and then spread a layer of peanut butter), stick the graham cracker quarters on it, cut and enrobe. It's particularly good with raspberry marshmallow using all fruit puree, as others have suggested. One item we tried was a take on the old Crown cookie - a vanilla wafer with a little bit of raspberry ganache piped on top, then a piped mound of marhsmallow, enrobed and decorated with powdered raspberry. They were spectacular. I've thought many times of doing a chai marshmallow with gingersnaps in the same way (without the raspberry, of course...)

We used two 5-quart, 325/350w, bowl lift Kitchen Aids (one about a year old, plus my trusty 8-year-old one) for our holiday production - they were going pretty constantly for about 8 hours without a single groan or mechanical complaint. We do a marshmallow with loads of almonds and toasted coconut mixed in, and even 7 pans of those didn't make the mixers break a sweat, as it were. I'm dreaming of the day when this business actually makes money and we can buy a couple 10-quart mixers, but for now it's nice to know that my trusted mixer can take the punishment!

If you haven't found a recipe yet, I think there's one in Bo Friberg's The Professional Pastry Chef. If you'd like, I can check when I get home this evening and PM you the recipe if my recollection is correct.

Bitter cold and snowy here in Buffalo, so I screwed up my courage to try making macarons for the first time. Despite my food processor's feeble attempts at finely grinding the almonds, I think they turned out pretty well: Then I filled them with sea salt caramel. Yummy! There are definitely things I'll do differently next time -probably use almond meal, cook the caramel a bit darker, and use butter that hasn't been sitting in my fridge for months (bit of an off taste, to say the least). Done properly, these little guys, and variations thereon, are definitely going into my holiday gifts this year!

Tammy, Your chocolates are stupendous! I'd totally volunteer to brave the snow to be your assistant if I lived in your area. I get the whole 'holiday orders getting out of control' thing - the inaugural production for my brand-new marshmallow business last weekend was 46 pans of marshmallow - covered in chocolate (which thankfully we outsource), about 250 pounds - all in a day and a half!

Mine has that oil on top - I wasn't crazy about the looks of it either, but I agree - the extract itself is lovely! I used a blend of tahitian and madagascar beans, and the fragrance and flavor are really terrific.

You're welcome - I'm delighted that you like them (and I'm totally stealing your rolling in walnuts idea)! Dark chocolate really does make them extraordinary...

The only marshmallow-spreading tools that have ever worked for me (and I make a LOT of marshmallow!) are my own 2 hands, sheathed in non-latex gloves and coated liberally with pan spray. If you stop beating a bit early, as Kerry suggested, that will make it easier as well.

This sounds like an opportunity - raid the bulk bins at the grocery store (that's where I've always gotten them), package them nicely and call them "chapeaux de neige"!

Might they mean those chocolate buttons with the hard candy sprinkles on them? Like sno-caps, but bigger? We always called them nonpareils when I was a kid.

Tammy, Those are gorgeous! The colors are wonderful - did you add any coloring to the pumpkin ones? Mine don't ever have that beautiful soft coloring - maybe I use too much ground spice, but they seem to turn out a bit browner and muddier.

Totally agree on the chocolate coating keeping them fresher longer. I have managed to keep enrobed marshmallows for as long as 8-10 weeks with little deterioration in texture or flavor. I had been having issues with re-crystallization after a week or 2, but I started adding about 3/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar to the sugar (or for fruit flavors, a scant 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid). That has extended the shelf life considerably for me.

Thank you! I've never had a big problem with the marshmallows melting - perhaps your chocolate is too warm, or you're letting them sit in the chocolate too long? Or are you putting several marshmallows into the chocolate at once and taking them out one at a time? I just drop one in the chocolate, flip it upside down with my dipping fork to get it coated, then knock the excess chocolate off and slide it off the fork onto my wax-papered cookie sheet. As far as coating them goes, for myself I find a mixture of half cornstarch and half powdered sugar works really well. I cut them into cubes, toss them in that to coat them thoroughly, then knock off the excess in a strainer. Mine haven't really gotten sticky. I think if you're cooking to 240ish, the sugar temp shouldn't be an issue, and Nightscotsman's recipe gets rave reviews from just about everyone who tries it. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

After reading about and looking at all your work from this book, I took the plunge and am desperate to start playing around! I just have one question: can anyone suggest an appropriate substitute for the invert sugar that is called for in most of the recipes? Can I swap it out for an equal amount of corn syrup in, say, a ganache recipe? You all are truly an inspiration to a novice like me who has never even tempered chocolate before. Thank you for sharing your work and your wisdom!

I don't know how much I could add to an educated discourse on this subject, but it seems to me that it's maybe 80% clever marketing ploy and 20% good idea. Aren't there volatile oils in spices that dissipate - or even go a bit rancid - over time? Whole spices might fare better, but I would imagine that ground spices would indeed deteriorate significantly over, say, 15 years. In terms of aging, it seems to me that a kitchen cupboard environment might experience significant changes in temperature and humididty, particularly in a house without air conditioning, or when spices are stored in a cupboard above the stove (um, not that mine are, or anything...). I would assume that a warehousy-type environment wouldn't be so susceptible to these things. Of course this all assumes that aging is necessary/a good thing. All in all, a very intriguing question!