Chocolot

If you think about it, we use tempered chocolate in molds because we want it to shrink from the shiny surface of the mold. With toffee, you want to use untempered chocolate so that it doesn't contract away from the shiny smooth toffee surface. Using nuts or pretzels will cover up the dullness. Also, when breaking, make the break in the valley rather than a mountain top. You might want to check your technique if you are getting fat seepage. Good luck.

So did you make the marshmallow and mix in the RK while it was still warm, or let the marshmallow set up and remelt?

Today I finished the milk chocolate engrossed caramelized almonds that I started yesterday. Was a little heavy on the gold luster dust, but they turned out pretty good.

Just some first thoughts: Shell looks very thin. Might not have enough contraction. Did you wait for filling to firm (like overnight) before trying to remove? I wait until filling is at least 90F before piping. Usually don't have a problem. As you dump the first shells excess, it might be getting over crystallized and affecting the next tray.

I guess it depends on your purpose. Kerry coats in chocolate, not as a way of preserving, but for creating a unique confection. If you are looking for a confectionary coating that doesn't contain cocoa products, there are several. None worth using IMHO, as the taste suffers.

RASPBERRY ROSE

Finally have time to go through the bag of FD goodies Kerry brought me in Vegas a few weeks ago. WOW! I think I have enough for a few weeks of meals. Just to name a few: peaches, raspberries, strawberries, apricots, pineapple, okra, green beans, kimchi, pickles, limes, lemons, oranges, mandarins, grated cheese, ice cream, jello (yum), tofu? curds? red peppers, corn. Thanks Kerry. What a treat.

Rob, I used to use a terry towel, but the "fingers" wiped away the cb. Now, right after spraying, I place paper towels on the table and turn the mold upside down on the towel and push/wipe the excess onto the towel. It doesn't seem to wipe away any color. I also don't heat before closing.

I, too, have been playing since the class. The pink one is caramel corn. It was engrossed with dark chocolate then topped with white chocolate with pink. Caramel corn isn't very smooth and neither are these. I also did raisins engrossed with milk chocolate. I still need to polish these. I don't understand the problem with doubles. It just means more to enjoy:)

Paul was a nice guy. Jean Marie is going down under to teach in the near future.

Donna, I think probably keeping the consistency fluid enough would be the main issue. Remember JMA reheated in microwave.

A big thank you to Kerry! We just returned from a class in Vegas and she brought me MANY vacuum bags of her FD experiments. I'm excited to try them out. TSA searched my bag. Guess they don't like the look of mylar bags and jars of Canadian maple syrup:) Hey Kerry, that might be a good one to try!

I think you need another fat if you remove peanut butter. How about sunflower seed butter?

As Kerry suggested, you don't have enough corn syrup in the recipe. I would try it with double the amount (1 cup). Also, when you pour it out, are you scraping the pit? The scraping can set up a shear and cause the crystals to form. Let us know how it works.

Many foods can act as a preservative: sugar and salt to name two. Does that make them a preservative? I think not.

A question for all. Seems to me there are actually three different methods being discussed here: dry, moist and real wet. Dry is obvious, moist is what a lot would call the wet method ( sugar damp as wet sand), and then those that dissolve the sugar in water and cook it until is caramelizes. Have I misunderstood?

I am probably in the minority, but I just don't worry about the temp or temper. I actually want it on the warm side or I am reheating the gun constantly.Yesterday, we sprayed 70 molds with several colors each, using 8 colors. Non of them stuck. I set my dehydrator to 95 and let it go all night. In the morning, there will be a layer of melted butter on top. I give it a good shake and start spraying. If we are swiping the color, I am more careful.

Some colors take more heat than others. I would turn it to about 92-95. I have had butter floating on top, given it a shake and all is well. Don't over think it:)

Pretty sure it was Dulcey. I think it is a requirement to eat them straight out of the bag, road trip to not:)

Was the disc an oval shape? Sure sounds like Valrhona Dulcey to me:) Valrhona is French.

The now famous package of cream cheese. It was indeed a HR Miracle, thanks to Deryn and Matt! I took down 3 more boxes of cream cheese, but someone else will benefit from those. The small critters on the package are very interesting. Matt FD'd Black Forest Gummie Bears. They are really good. They are gelatin based. I had him do some cinnamon bears which are corn starch based. Those were a fail--just tasted like really old, stale ones. The Gummies are very light and airy. The fruit flavor really comes through. Thanks to HR, Deryn and Matt.

No need:) I'll take more down tomorrow. Enjoy it!

I have also baked white chocolate until brown, but it just isn't the same as Dulcey. Valrhona says that they came upon the idea by accidentally leaving wc in a bain marie overnight and that was the start. It has taken years to perfect it. It has a salty flavor that they say is natural--not added. It is very thin and difficult to enrobe with. The stuff I made was ok, but just not the smooth lovely stuff that Dulcey is. $12 a lb is a bit steep, but I only use it for one piece, so it doesn't break the bank. Let us know how your experiment goes.