Chocolot

I am with Jim...it isn't fair that you can mess up and it turn out!! Here are the instructions as he gave them to us. These are Las Vegas temps. Pastrygirl, I have given up on Grewelings. Always much too firm. Start to cook sugar, glucose and H2o. When sugar reach 110C, start to cook the honey and whip the egg whites in 3rd speed. Add granulated sugar to the egg whites. When honey reach 121C, poor on top on the whipped egg whites in 2nd speed. Whip in 3rd speed and poor the sugar a 155C in 2nd speed. Whip 5 MN in 3rd speed. Mix until reaching 70C. Add the melted cocoa butter in 2nd speed. Change the whisk for the paddle.

I have used Guittard for 50 years, literally:) When I was hand dipping, I used some of their regular chocolates. Since doing molded and ganaches, I use their E Guittard line. I use 61%, 38% and 35% for white. The viscosities all work for me. I tend to run my dark at 91, milk and white at 89. I know that is warmer than most, but it works for me. I have never needed to add any CB. With that said, I live in a very dry humidity. If more moist climate, chocolate will pick up moisture and thicken. I use some Valrhona for ganaches. I don't see the point in paying for a super premium chocolate for shelling. It is a thin shell and the flavor comes from the ganache, not so much the shell. I do love Orinoco, Guittard 41% milk chocolate. It uses premium beans and has a great flavor. I just don't think the extra dollar a pound is that noticeable in a thin shell. I did a tempering experiment with Callebaut, Valrhona, Noel, and Guittard. The Guittard and Callebaut were the easiest to get in temper, then the Valrhona. The Noel just didn't shine like the others. Perhaps it has a different tempering curve, but the others did well. Willow, I started out using the 31% white, but it was too thick. I prefer the 35%. I really don't like any white, but they are a necessary evil for ganaches and some shells. I still use a little Callebaut, and Valrhona, but my work horse is E Guittard. The beans are ethically sourced and it is a family owned company. They are great to work with and have great customer support. If you have any questions, just call Thalia in the lab. She knows more about chocolate than I will ever learn.

I think DR or Chocolat Chocolat.

Ganache filled bunnies.

So excited, Bob! Getting Mark Heim is amazing. Some of us took a course from him and Peter Greweling with PMCA. The two of them were amazing. Mark will be such an asset. Thanks for getting him!!!

Just bought my tickets. Can't wait!!

Yes, I bought direct from them. I think it cost about $700 for the shipping and paper work. Tom at TCF is a nice guy and good to deal with. I think Tom reps a small enrober from Italy. Have you talked with him about it?

I like my Perfect---don't love it. I bought because of price, space it takes and power. It runs on one 110 outlet. Not many can do that. I would love a Selmi, but don't have 3-phase or want the heat of a converter. I think you can order them for single phase. The Perfect gets the job done. It takes a getting used to, as I'm sure any of them do. The instructions are practically nonexistent. They have pretty good support. I usually run it for about 3 hours at a time, once a week. Busier times, more. The mini enrobers won't have a blower, detailer, bottomer, and other things the larger ones will. Plan a trip and come on down and try it out:)

You two are getting good at this!

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.