mostlylana

So now that you've retempered your colours - what is your system? Let's say you are going to use those colours again today. Do you scrape out a little or do you heat the whole bottle? How do you heat it so as to 'keep it in temper'? And doesn't the air from the airbrush require that you have the temp. slightly higher as the air cools it further as you spray?

Fanny, to make your ganache, do you add cream to the caramelized white chocolate in the same ratio as you would to regular white chocolate?

I haven't tried using caramelized white chocolte as a center yet. It seems as though everyone is using it as is... no cream added? I'm thinking that would be awfully firm. What is the texture like? Caramel?

No-one has mentioned the profit margin 'chocoera' can expect?? I have always heard the norm was a 1.5 times mark-up for retail pricing. Therefore: wholesale = $1, retail = $1 x 1.5 = $1.50. Does this sound correct?

I finally had a chance to watch the videos tonight. Thanks so much for posting the info escry! I found them informative but perplexing. Like most of you, I have no problem creating an emulsion with almost any mixing technique. I've used the hot cream over callets with success - although I prefer Greweling's technique of using tempered chocolate and cream at approx. 40C. Now that I have my Thermomix I just press the button and - poof - beautiful ganache! I have noticed that my emulsions are shinier and smoother with the thermomix than just by hand. I think he has something there about using the mixer at the end to perfect the ganache. What I found the most informative for me is to keep the temp. above 35C when making ganache. I always aim for 34C or lower as I prefer the texture of a tempered ganache. Bau even prefers that the mixture is at 40C. Soooooo, if you need to keep temperatures above 35C for a good emulsion - BUT, you want to finish with a tempered ganache - what's the solution?! I mean other than dumping it out on the marble and tabling it (that's just too much effort!). I guess you could keep the chocolate and cream above 35C for the emulsion and then add the butter and invert at the end to reduce the temp. and then use the mixer to help with crystallization. Food for thought...

I was taking a look at the ingredients list of Valrhona's Jivara milk chocolate (1 of my all time favourites). The last ingredient is barley malt extract. Seeing as this topic is so fresh I thought I would include this little tidbit. Also, for anyone interested in using organically sourced ingredients - I found some barley malt extract which is certified organic: http://www.breworganic.com/catalog/Malt_extract.htm I also found this great explanation on barley malt extract; mind you it's in reference to the brewing industry but interesting nontheless: http://www.tapbrewpub.com/what_is%20malt.htm

By crackies! I think you've done it again! I'm sure you're right about using a super thin blade. I used the thinnest blade I have but it's nowhere near a scalpel. I can't wait to try it again with something that thin. I'll let you know how it works!

I had to tell you both how well the guitar frame worked to get perfect sizing. Brilliant! I was doing rectangles so used my - oh dear, don't know the name of it - my accordian pizza cutter thingy - for the length lines. That also worked really well. Here's what I'd like to improve on if there are any suggestions... I did little coffee plaquettes and wanted them thick enough to impart flavour. I used the side not on the acetate to show as I liked the little flecks of ground coffee showing through. The problem was I got raised edges from cutting. The acetate side was fine. The thickness was around 3mm so that might have been why?? I tried cutting earlier but the chocolate wasn't quite set and it just puddled in on itself. I didn't try cutting it later though; I cut it as soon as it set. Maybe I should have waited longer?

Thanks Kerry - I'll do some shelf life tests with my experiments. Wybauw writes so much about shelf life but I don't recall any mention of caramel?? Does anyone talk about it? It seems as though the shelf life would be longer than ganache. Hey Kerry, can you zap your next batch of caramel with your Aw meter and let us know what it say?!

Thanks HQ - that sounds like a good idea. I actually do a maple caramel something like that - I forgot about it! Robert, I will also try a softer caramel. Does anyone have any idea of shelf life for enrobed caramel?

Yup. I want it to match my other bars. I'm glad I'm not the only one scratching my head over this! I looked at Schott's recipe but his caramel is combined with white chocolate - not quite what I am after. I'd rather have plain 'ole caramel. My bar mold doesn't have breaks so it would be easy to do a layer of caramel if I could somehow pipe it in. But then again there is the shelf life issue... .

I'm working on a bar series and would love to do a take on a 'turtles' bar - caramel, pecans and chocolate. I have never tried this before and have some questions... 1) My first question might be obvious but I'm drawing a blank! How do you pipe the caramel into the bar mold?! If it's thin enough to pipe - it's too hot for the chocolate! I'm hoping to have a chewy (yet soft) caramel - not runny. I don't do a lot with caramel so I'm hoping someone will say "silly Lana - this is how you do it..." 2) My other question is regarding shelf life. I want this puppy to last - months. If I can't meet this criteria I'll have to come up with a different take on this project.

I'm looking to do pieces to include in a chocolate bar - so large enough to crunch. I also do Easter bunnies with choppped nuts and those pieces need to be smaller - but certainly not powdered. I find chopping with a knife gives me so much powder (I do sieve). I have been looking for a way to reduce my 'powder' waste and save time... It's hard to believe there's not a simple solution out there! But I've been poking around for an answer for some time now and nothing has risen to the surface yet. So every time a topic like this comes up I ask again and cross my fingers!

Great tip Wholemeal Crank. As you've played around with nuts quite a bit , I'm wondering if you have a proven technique for getting uniform large pieces? Using a larger grater on the rotary unit perhaps?

Tandem instruction - excellent! I was wondering how I was going to cut the slabbed chocolate without leaving marks. Using the guitar strings as a guide is brilliant! I'm actually making my little tiles thicker than usual for the effect I want - do you still think I'd have to add weight to keep them flat?

Sorry to be starting a new topic to ask this question... I just don't know the proper name for this decoration to do a search! Can someone tell me how to make the small chocolate tile decorations to top a dipped chocolate? Here is what I am talking about: http://www.thomashaas.com/page123.htm Is the chocolate slabbed on acetate and then cut with a knife? Is there a trick to getting the chocolate a consistent thickness and a consistent size when cutting? Thanks!

Thanks for the very clear explanation. Malt has always been one of those things that I just didn't understand! Would it make a difference to the flavour if the germinated grain is rice rather than barley? I'm seeing a lot of 'malt syrup' results when I do a search for maltose. Many of them say the base grain is rice - yet speak of a fragrance of malt... Personally I use organic ingredients and was searching to see if there was such a thing as organic maltose. All I came up with is the maltose syrup sourced from germinated organic rice. Thoughts? I'm also thinking the the milk powder component wouldn't be necessary if using it to make a malt chocolate or ice cream float where milk/cream is predominant??

I was interested in this system and both Deb (prairiegirl) and Brian from Tomric sent me samples of an image I wanted to print. The ones from Deb printed just fine. The ones from Tomric did not - they wouldn't transfer. I did everything the same - actually, I did them all at the same time. I'm sorry I can't help with a solution but thought I would let you know of my experiences. As an aside, both Deco and Kopykake now recommend the Canon IP4700. It is on sale at Amazon.com for $39.99 including shipping!!! Boy I wish I lived in the States... sigh... they won't ship this item to Canada. http://www.amazon.com/Canon-iP4700-Premium-Printer-3742B002/dp/B002M78HVS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1274979533&sr=1-1 Here are the recommendations. Deco: http://www.deco.uk.com/content/view/99/135/ Kopykake: http://www.kopykake.com/documents/PrinterInks-Xref.pdf

When I do shell moulding I don't usually use the fridge either. As Steve said, put the moulds on their side for air flow and that is usually OK if your room is cool. However I do use the fridge once they're capped. Just be sure to leave them in the mould for at least an hour once they're out of the fridge to avoid any condensation. 3D molding and thick bar molding is a different story. The 3D molds I use don't have any opening so can really hold the heat. Not only do I have to use the fridge but the fridge with a fan in it! Sebastian, I think one of your points is right on for me. I make my bunnies hollow but I like the walls to be thick. I have noticed if I make them thinner the result is much better. You also mentioned mould design. I think that's a factor too. The areas that are out of temper are always in the crease where the head and body attach (and, of course, on the inside of the bunny). I was in Paul DeBondt's kitchen and watched him make one of his amazing eggs. He put it on the spinner for 10 - 15 minutes if I recall and then it went into the fridge. His room temp. wasn't noticeably cool. His egg was fabulous! We didn't open up the egg so don't really know how thick the walls were...

Sounds like a good process you've got Steve. That darn latent heat has gotten me a few times - with 100g. bars and my hollow Easter bunnies. I don't really understand how the big boys do it with their spinning machines... My bunny molds don't have any openings. I measure in a certain amount of chocolate and click the 2 sides together and become the human spinning machine. Unless I do this in a cold room, I'm hooped. Milk and white chocolates are fine but dark will go out of temper. After 3-4 minutes of 'spinning' the molds go into the fridge with a fan. This is the only way I can get good results with dark bunnies. The bars aren't as bad but they also are fussy. But back to the big boys with their spinning machines... I've seen them in different professional kitchens and they are in the main working room. How does the latent heat not affect their products?!

I just finished reading through this thread and also the thread on Glace fruits. I have never attempted either of these methods so I am looking for clarification as to which method is best for what Andie describes as 'peel with that stained glass appearance' (not coated in sugar - but rather chocolate). It seems that some people use the Glace technique for peel with excellent results. Does this mean no blanching (but rather steaming) and several days in syrup solutions? I am looking for the best results - time isn't an issue. I'm just confused as the terms 'candied peel' and 'glace peel' seem to be used interchangeably... I plan on doing a lot (several dozen oranges). The electric roaster seems to be the best bet in my view. Any tips? I know there is a lot of discussion about Andie's microwave method but I imagine the process is similar in a roaster? I'm hoping to replicate the traditional french orangette.

I have this mold and use it successfully. The holes are there so you can create hollow truffle shells (just like the ones you buy). I bought it because I couldn't find organic truffle shells anywhere. Only 1 side has holes in it. The other side is half spheres without holes. I place that side on my vibrator and, using a squeeze bottle, I fill each half sphere about 2/3 to 3/4 full with chocolate. If you make it too full, the chocolate doesn't pour out easily when you need it to. Also, the squeeze bottle doesn't take long at all once you get the hang of it. This mold has too many bumps and ridges to just fill and scrape. OK, once the half spheres are all full, click the other side on (it's magnetic). I now vibrate it on all sides so that the chocolate almost pours out of the 'necks'. Once you do it a few times you'll get the angle. You want the chocolate to completely coat the whole sphere. I then hold it upside down over my melter with the holes face down and 'tap, tap, tap' to get out excess chocolate. It should pour right out. If you put too much chocolate in to begin with the necks might get plugged with chocolate. Then you need to take a toothpick and poke it in the neck to create a flow. I've gotten pretty good at getting the right amount of chocolate in the half sphere to prevent that extra step. I keep the mold upside down to set. When you take them out of the mold they look like Christmas tree decorations with their little necks. I take a sharp knife and chop their little necks off (bawh, ha, ha!!!). They actually come off really easily. Then you're left with a truffle shell to fill. I tried filling before removing them from the mold but it didn't work well for me. However, if you have a very liquidy center, I think it would be no problem at all.

Cool! You make 6! Now for the logistics of it all. Schneich is looking into some shipping options as door-to-door delivery is quite pricey. Now that we have our 6 I'll be emailing everyone in a few days time with some options. Kerry, I'll include you too.

Yes, that is confusing isn't it? If you look at the label on the honey jar itself it says Thymian honey. Here is a better description of it from another company: http://minosimports.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=opth5&Category_Code=honey Glad to hear about Attica honey mbhank. I haven't tried that one.

I did a walnut honey center for Valentine's Day and used Thyme Honey. The first time I tried it I couldn't believe how good it was. I'm not that much of a honey fan but you want to eat this stuff off the spoon! They say the Thyme honey from Crete is one of the best in the world. I got mine online from Parthenon Foods: http://parthenonfoods.com/honey-with-thyme-400g-p-636.html They have different sizes and bottles of honey and nuts too...