mostlylana

Absolutely... as I was saying - everyone is putting in their own orders and paying their own shipping. The benefit to the 'group buy' is the discount of 10%. If I were you Kerry, I would get someone close to you to add to their order so you're not paying a separate shipping charge. You can go in on their shipping... I'll keep you in mind as people confirm their order. You're in Ont? Near Toronto? Or if you're going to be at the conference, anyone else who's ordering and will be there would work too.

No idea about shipping costs to the US. The Dedy website URL is listed above. Contact them with your info and they will give you a shipping quote. At first they gave me a quote to the Vancouver airport - in which case I would need to clear customs myself. As Vancouver is 4 hours away from me I asked for a door to door quote. It was almost double in price! But that way the shipping company clears customs on your behalf and it's delivered to the door - hassle free. That being said, if I lived in a main center I would probably save some $ and clear it myself. That entails getting the paperwork from the shipping co.. going to customs and having them stamp the papers. Then you go back to the shipping co. with the stamped papers and they give you your guitar! Anyways, back to shipping costs. Even with door to door shipping, the final price for me is still a few hundred dollars cheaper than anywhere else I could get it - and that's without a discount. With a discount it's several hundred $'s cheaper... So you can ask for shipping quote to your airport and/or a shipping quote door to door.

Thanks Lebowits. Yes, I think I will go with the 'grip lids'. I wonder if they are easy to get on and off?? If they seal that tightly that might be a chore. If anyone has experience with these I'd love to hear how easy they are to get into. Here is a link to them: http://cool.cambro.com/Camwear_GripLids_Food_Pans_and_Lids_Storage.ashx The key is to fill the container completely so there is very little air space left. But I also plan to get a pump-n-seal so the contents are under vacuum. Here is some info on it: http://www.pump-n-seal.com/ I've heard good things about it. Right now I put completely boxed chocolates into double ziplock bags and vacuum seal. I freeze (no cool down) with no issues. To thaw, I remove the pkg. from the freezer, and put into an insulated bag and that goes in the fridge for 18 -24 hours. Then I remove the insulated bag and the package stays in the fridge another 18 -24 hours. Then it's back in the insulated bag which stays at room temp. for 18 -24 hours. Then out of the insulated bag again and leave another 18 -24 hours at room temp. before taking the box of chocolates out of the ziplock bags. Sounds complicated but it's not. It's just a very slow thaw so no condensation forms. I've rushed the process and had no issues. Ideally, I would like to be able to access chocolates directly from the freezer. So I'd love to know how easy the grip lid is to get into when it's frozen!

I'm considering getting some Camwear containers for storing chocolates in the freezer. Can anyone suggest which base and which lid would be appropriate? I am thinking the lids with the gasket would be best as it is important to keep air out. As for the container itself??? Which would be best for freezer use?

OK folks - it's crunch time. I'd like to get the Dedy order in next week. I'll need to know who is serious about ordering so we can know if we will get a discount (see above quote for explanation). If you can email me asap that would be great. I phoned Canada customs this morning and spoke to a senior officer. She thought the proper tariff code would be 8438.20.90.90 which means: Machinery for the manufacture of confection or chocolate: other: other. And that is designated as No duty! If anyone from the US is interested it might be a good idea to contact US customs to see if any duty applies into the States. So for a 7.5mm base with 4 frames the CAN$ price comes to $2332 (which includes shipping - shipping will differ for everyone though. This is a shipping quote to BC. Canada). I use this example as it's the same as what DR.ca offers at $2795 CAN. It's also the same package that Tomric offers at $2995 US$. Neither of those 2 prices include shipping. So if we also get a discount of 10% as well we're doing pretty good. So far we have 7 people interested and I'd say 3 that are a sure thing.

I want to add an Aztec bunny to my repetoire this Easter. I'm looking to do either chili/cinnamon or chili/allspice/nutmeg. This thread had a great discussion about infusing chocolate but I'd like to just add powders (for ease and efficiency!). I'm hoping someone will have a starting point for me in terms of how much chili to add. Anyone played with these spices in a solid bar before?

I got a sample of Tahitian Gold's vanilla bean paste at the Fancy Food show. It doesn't contain any sugar - I think the Nielsen-Massey one does doesn't it? I also got a sample of whole vanilla bean powder. The aroma is amazing. It is just ground vanilla beans. Has anyone tried this product yet? What applications are best for the powder vs. the paste?

I think there are a few molds I need from JKV - keep me posted...

Over on the Ecole Chocolat grad forum - we are discussing doing a group buy for guitars. I contacted Dedy and they will offer a 10% discount if 6 people order. Each person would pay for their own and have it shipped to their address. I highly doubt we can get 6 people intersted in such a high priced piece of equipment but I thought I would put it out there... It is important to know what sizes you want to cut and order the appropriate base size. You can just order a base and 1 frame if you just do square. You can add on frames as you can afford it. Dedy website: Dedy: http://www.dedy.de/index.php?id=14&L=1 Oh, and here is a great site for $ conversion as the prices from Dedy are in Euro dollars and will need to be converted... http://www.xe.com/ucc/ O F F E R (these are their regular prices not including the 10% discount) D E D Y P R A L I N E C U T T E R This cutter is suitable for cutting and deviding marzipan, jellies and similiar products. The cutter is carried out in stainless steel. The standard base is subdivided in 7,5 mm or 5mm. The base can be fitted on a movable table, also made of stainless steel. Accessories: take-off metal sheet, wire, screws, tools Price : Standard base 7,5 mm EUR 580,00 Frame 15 mm EUR 280,00 Frame 22,5 mm EUR 240,00 Frame 30 mm EUR 220,00 Frame 37,5 mm EUR 200,00 Standard base 5 mm EUR 710,00 Frame 10 mm EUR 330,00 Frame 15 mm EUR 280,00 Frame 20 mm EUR 257,00 Frame 25 mm EUR 236,00 Frame 30 mm EUR 220,00 Movable table in stainless steel : EUR 490,00 I also contacted dr.ca and they now sell the Dedy - they no longer make their own. dr.ca price for the Dedy 7.5mm base + 4 frames (includes tools): $CAD 2 795.00 USD$ 2 627.30 Tomric price for the Dedy 7.5mm base + 4 frames (includes tools): USD$ $2,995.00 Editted to add: email me if you are interested...

I don't pour mine out - lid on and that's it. I've never had any issues. At the end of a holiday I will let the milk chocolate get low and pour it out and use it for making ganache (I find it gets slightly thicker after many, many, uses). I don't do that as often for the dark. I did get grainy chocolate once Ilana but it wasn't in my melter. I melted some in a bowl in the oven on low setting but I left it in too long and it got grainy.

Lid on. There will be no condensation. Remember, there is no liquid in chocolate... Chocolate = cocoa solids + cocoa butter (+ maybe vanilla and lecithin!)

Patrick Roger.

Can someone provide a link to the Tomric mold rack? I can't find it on their site. Thanks!

I took this photo at the Callebaut Academy in Chicago. Wish I had that set up!

And there's the new Callebaut school in Chicago as well... Be sure to drop in at David Bacco's shop in Madison. After trying chocolates from pretty much all around the world - I would say his are my favourite. I actually say 'ummm' after almost every chocolate of his that I eat. I don't usually do that!

I think coating in dark will be delicious. We did a 2 layer bonbon with the lemon curd gananche and a tea ganache. It was dipped in dark. Yum yum.

I normally slab ganache and dip. I have that down to a science! At Valentine's I like to do molded hearts and I fill with caramel and a dark chocolate ganache. Now that I have my thermomix, I use it to make all of my ganache. It makes a beautiful emulsion! Here's the bad part - after filling a few molds, the ganache is starting to get too thick to smooth out in the mold. The good part is that it's a lovely smooth ganache. I'm not sure what to do!! I don't want to jeapordize a smooth emulsified ganache in order to keep it liquidy enough to fill all of my molds. And of course, I can't work with it too hot. I usually pipe the ganache at around 27C. I really don't even let it sit at all. By the time I transfer it to the piping bag and fuss around for a few minutes it's at an OK temp. to pipe. I tried heating it with a heat gun and smooshing it around but didn't want to get it too hot so that didn't really work... I know there must be molding experts out there with a dandy answer to this problem that has me perplexed. Just to let you know... I'm not using the same ratio's that I use when I slab! I'm using approx. 1.25 : 1 (chocolate to cream). But what I am doing is adding the butter once the chocolate/cream is combined and cooled (and I like to use a fair amount of butter in this particular ganache). Maybe melt the butter along with the chocolate?? Thanks!

Oh, I have to second gap's suggestion. We did a lemon curd ganache in the Callebaut advanced class with Derrick Tu Tan Pho. It was sooooooooo good. My fav.

Ahhhhh! I get it now. Thanks for the clarification.

Success! I was actually a little too stingy with the 'puddle' so I had a few with very few nuts sticking to them. No problem - they're just experiments. It's great that you can control the amount of chocolate that will coat the truffle - and thus the end size. I tried the bulldoze technique Ruth but I don't think I had enough chocolate for it - the nuts didn't stick very well. I found rolling them around right away resulted in better 'stickage' when using little chocolate. Thanks again everyone!

Isn't it fascinating how everyone has a different technique that works for them! Thanks for all the input everybody. I'm about to try the hand method right now (I've already tried the fork method). I noticed my walnuts are oily again. Maybe it's the nut itself - high in oil?? I'm also going to try rolling them in chopped hazelnuts which aren't oily at all. I read that it's a good idea to freeze nuts first before chopping to keep the oils from releasing. I didn't do that...

This is fascintating! I don't imagine I would do alcohol chocolates but you never know - and it would work for any liquid. I remember the method of using acetate sheets to finish off bars but the chocolate wasn't applied to the sheet itself. Can you explain further how the chocolate on the sheet is transferred to the shells and how it would be different from regular bottoming? Thanks Ilana! And no rush if you're not feeling well.

Thank you all so much! I will definitely use the gloved hand method - sounds faster too. I have another question about the nuts... How should I chop them?! I'm about to try using the cheese grater on my food processor. That should keep them dry and of uniform size. But the size will be really small, I'm wondering if that will make clumps like you mentioned R?

I usually do palet shaped chocolates but I'm trying truffles for the first time. I would like to roll this particular flavour in walnuts. I've done a few experiments and the truffle ends up quite large. Too big to fit my boxes! I took a look at another chocolatiers nut covered truffle and it is smaller (and would fit my boxes!). I cut mine and hers in half and they are both the same size before coating. Here's what I'm doing. I'm using a truffle fork to dip. Being used to dipping, I'm not leaving much chocolate on - it doesn't puddle at all. So I'm thinking the problem is the nuts. I did ask about nut grinders in another post. What I'm using now is my food processor and I find the nuts get a little 'sticky'. I'm thinking this may be why I'm getting a thicker coating?? I guess the nuts should be quite dry and small. The other thing that may be the culprit is my technique. I have the nuts in a shallow pan - plop the truffle onto them and roll the pan around and around. I do this right away. Should I be waiting for the chocolate to set up just a little? I notice my truffles don't stay round (but the other chocolatier's are perfectly round). I'm thinking the chocolate is flinging around a bit?? Any advice will be very appreciated!

Which grinder are you talking about Mark? The ones I linked to above? When you mention 'he' - do you mean the guy from the website I linked to? Do you know anything about these grinders? Are they good for nuts?! Don't grind too small?! I'd love some info!!