Edward J

Secret igredients? Pigs feet. Split, blanched, and roasted with the rest of the mirepoix. A lot of gelatin in there, and more gelatin gives a much richer mouthfeel. Turkey wings and veal feet will do the same, but not as much gelatin. Fat, to me, is a flavour robber. Anyone who has stored uncovered butter in the fridge knows it absorbs odours. Some Chefs store fresh truffles with chunks of butter in a sealed jar in order to get the flavour in there, then use the butter to mount sauces. Once place I worked in would cook whole crayfish in butter, use the crayfish for other things, but the butter would be saved and used for a'la minute sauces.

The one and only food I won't eat is rhubarb--neither will my brother or sister. Too much of it force-fed to us as kids I guess. Can't go near it, even if it is mixed with other fruit. When working for other people I would prepare it as required, but would never, ever, taste it. Just the sight of it makes my tongue go all shrivelly--like I was forced to suck on a penny. Brrrrah! nasty stuff....

Yeah, that's what I thought. The couverture in the melter wasn't out of temper. For one thing there's almost 12 kgs of couverure in there, and the melter is a waterbath type, with about 8 liters of water in it. In order to raise the temp it would take almost 20 minutes--and I didn't touch the thermostat. I also did a test after discovering the bloom on the molds, and the couverture was in good temper The bloom on the molds was a very consistant, even layer. The molds that spend the most time in the vibrating table had the most bloom on them, the simpler molds had less--when I finally got the shells out, the outside layer was still in good shape, but the inside had turned grey. The room is quite small--about 6' x 8' (2 meters by 21/2 meters) with central airconditioning and no heat sources other than the two chocolate melters. There are two tables, one 6" and one 2', and each topped with a 3/4" (20 mm) continous marble slab. The chocoalte wheel is good, but the noise was unbearable. I contacted the mnfctr, and let him listen to the noise on the phone--they agreed that the motor was faulty, I Fed-exed the motor on Monday, and will try again molding with the wheel when I get it back.

Scratching my head over this one.... Last week I got in a chocolate wheel that sits in the full gastro-norm size (full hotel pan size in N.American speak) chocolate melter. With dark couverture I work exclusivley with Lindt 70%,. The couverture was tempered properly, did a sample and it showed no streaks. Hand dipped maybe 70 pcs and the temper was good--all this while the wheel was running. Next I coated out some molds. I held the molds under the stream of couverture from the wheel, scraped off, then put the mold on the vibrating table, knocked out the excess, then placed the molds upside down on s/s bars resting on a marble topped table. Did 4 or 6 molds @18 cavities each. Scraped the molds clean, and left them to crystalize in the upright position. My room is around 20 C and the humidty is under 60%. Within 10 minutes the molds developed fat bloom. The melter is a waterbath type, and I did not touch the settings the whole morning. The hand dipped pieces are good, but I'm still scratching my head about the molds. Am I correct in thinking that the couverture was "overtempered" from the motion of the wheel PLUS the vibrating table? Am I going to have to ladle the molds inspite of the wheel?

There are quite a few Wendy's/Tim Hortons outlets here in Vancouver. I believe Wendy's owns Tim Ho's, so it comes as no surprise of the doubling up. What I find amazing is the "kitchen" at a local mega-movie house. The movie theater chain has all the regular big name fast foods: Pizza, burgers, mexican food etc, each with the standard corporate decor and front, BUT all the kitchens are connected, a skelton staff of 2 or 3 could man the back of all 6 franchises with one employee each at the respective cash registers. How much does Pepsi really own when you look at all the fast food franchises?......

Thanks. I'll try e-mailing, but I think I'll go the bookstore route. I don't mind paying the extra as compared to a subscription.

I'm licking my chops, wanting to try some...But I'm guessing your local tax-man wants a piece of your action too.....

I've been cooking professionally since I got out of highschool. The hobbies I am into are a direct result of the, uh.."different" working hours and demands of the hospitality industry. A fair amount of my carreer was spent in Europe, where split shifts are the norm ( and the 5 day work week only intoduced in the early '80's...) and in Singapore, where 6 day weeks are the norm and the hobbies of the general public were shopping, shopping for food, and eating. Any form of team sports or any kind of organized activity was, without fail, a bust. Something would always happen when I took a day off or made plans for a scheduled day off. One of my bosses, the F&B of a large private club who would refer to himself as a "Benevolent dictator" gave us specific instructions never to give any of our staff the same day off, and naturally he would include this rule with us, the lower management. My wife would have to call in sick if we wanted to spend a day off together when I worked at that club.... Thus, my hobbies are mainly cycling, which includes the maintainence as well as rebuilding and restoring bikes. My other great love is woodworking, working with hand tools. I find this hobby greatly satisfying. The good cook is the one who multitasks and has a built-in clock ticking the seconds away--the key words are timing and multi tasking. With woodworking the emphasis is on the task at hand, very little multi tasking and timing is not as crucial. Completely different, very refreshing, ample opportunity to show creativitity, many techniques and working knowledge to learn and master.

No. There never was a card, always "Subscribe on line"

I would like to subscribe to some confectionary magazines. Unfortunately Pastry & Baking ONLY accepts Visa/M/C via the internet. There is no alternative to pay by cheque, and I am very, very, very very, reluctant to put my visa # on the internet--paypal or not. I did say I was reluctant to do this, right? Other thatn P & B NA, what other ones are out there? I can't seriously consider "Chocolatier" as it refuses to give weights in their recipies. I can still read German fairly well, and have access to French speakers, so I'm open to any European publications. I am not all that thrilled with "On-line" magazines, I don't spend more than 1-2 hrs per day infront of a computer, and don't see spending any more time in the future. I like a "real" magazine that I can read on the bus to work, in the bathroom, or in bed. Books.... Currently my libarary consists of Grewling's "Chocolates and Confections", Wybauw's "Decorations", the entire series of Fachschule Richemont (Craftschool Richemont) books. Needless to say I need some "new blood". The one, decent bookstore here in Vancouver that specializes in cookbooks has the above titles and thats about it. One intersting book by a Spanish author, beautifull book, half in spanish, half in english, but $ 250.00? Suggestions?

Interesting article and thread... As a matter of fact, the very last thread I just read on this site was once concerning IKEA's restaurant and food. The poster concluded that the food was excellent value, and tasted pretty good to boot. Normally I'm a cynical old goat, but in this case I'd like to say that the sky is in a continious mode of falling, but will never actually hit the earth. Now, it's true that many of the world's population have lost the skill to prepare food. When giving cooking lessons to kids many are "grossed out" to find that eggs come from the back-side of a hen. And yes, my brother was included in the ranks of college students who considered mac n'cheese or porkchops burried under a can of Cambell's cream of mushroom and shoved in the oven for two hours "Cooking". I say "was", because now 20 years later he has become a fairly competant cook. My pets can eat the same dog/catfood day after day, year after year, without complaint. Not so for us, it is human nature to want variation in our diet. We suffer from cravings of well prepared food,--not junk food or fast food, but well prepared food every now and then. And all humans are curious. Curious enough to want to actually learn how to cook, how to recognize fruits and vegetables, how to give a darn about raw ingredients. So, yes, a large portion of the public will not enjoy well prepared meals, claim ignorence in matters of cooking and baking. BUT, a smaller, albeit significant portion of the public will want to learn this and enjoy cooking and all the trappings that go with it. Cookbooks still sell, Celebrity Chefs still exist, there is still market demand for exotic ingredients and produce. The sky is falling, but it will never hit the earth. I hope.....

In response to the orginal poster, "Why are thee no decent pizzas in Vancouver" I have a pet theory, perhaps even a conspiracy. Vancouverites love cheap pizza. You know, the $1.14 take-away kind kind on a paper plate? Every major street and mall has at least one such pizza joint. How good can a $1.14 slice of pizza be? But that's only part of the conspiracy... The most popular oven for baking pizzas in Vancouver? A Doyan convection oven Not ideal for a crispy crust or even baked texture, but hey, it's cheaper than a conventional deck oven, and a lot cheaper to operate too...

Heat wave? Here in Vancouver we don't have a heatwave--we're too far away from Seattle to have a heatwave....... For my biz, I took the "European solution".... I just shut down from the 28 of July to the 14 of Aug..probably the hottest part of the summer. Judging from from previous years, customers don't have much of an appetite for chocolate when it's so hot. I've mothballed the chocolate work and instead am doing some minor renovations/repairs to the shop. A/C is a must, not only for the chocolates, but for the customers. They won't buy so much when it's hot and muggy in the shop anyway.

Individually washed in hot soapy water should remove the crud. I've heard everything from powdered chalk to talcum powder to polish metal molds. Don't know about it though--I Haven't got any metal molds......

All Ikea cabinets start out the same, then the dollars start to add up when you want nice cabinet doors and drawer faces. Still, the quality is pretty darn good for the price. 5/8" termite barf (a.k.a "particle board" is 5/8" particle board. Only custom cabinets would offer 3/4" plywood, or heaven forbid, real wood. So, in other words, They won't fall apart, and if you get tired of the them, you simply upgrade to a better/higher quality door/drawerface and toss the old doors out--no need to "redo" the whole set of cabinets. Of course, the reason WHY they're cheaper is becsue you have to assemble yourself.......

Try an experiment next batch: Make absolutely sure that when you handle the mold your fingers never touch the backs of the cavities, only rest on the edge/wall of the mold and any internal ribs the mold might have. Some molds have more internal ribs, others less. I find that pieces stick whereever my fat little fingers have been.....

Thanks, will give it a try. Where did you get the "other" polishing compounds?

I've had some success with panning hazelnuts and espresso beans. I did these in the winter and spring in the hallway between my kitchen and the parkade--the ambient temp. was around +10 C, and it worked out pretty good. However......last week I had a rush order for more panned hazelnuts, and now it's July and the hallway is a balmy +26 C.. I did have a portable A/C stashed in the garage at home, and I was dreaming up a way to rig up hoses and expell hot air when an idea suddenly hit me: Why not just shove the whole thing--mixer and attachment in the fridge? I don't have a walk-in, but my fridge will accept 18 x 26 sheetpans, and the mixer and attachment fit onto a sheet pan. Worked quite well--apply left hand to shoulder and pat heartily. But now I can't get a decent shine on the things..... Grewling is not very specific about "polishing compound" and using his suggested references in "Choc & Conf.", I found an old issue of Minifie's "Chocoalte, Cocoa, and Confectionary" from the "stacks" in the public library. In the end I only photocopied one page pertaining to panning. Minifie states that all items should be sealed and gives the following formula for a sealing solution: equal parts of gum arabic solution (50% w/w), glucose syrup, and sugar. Pans operated at 20 rpm and held at 16 C. So far so good. I sealed the nuts, and for good measure tossed in some cooca power as well. I still have a few nuts from this spring and they show no sign of nut oils seeping or chocolate flaking off. I have problems with the glazing, mik chocoalte is no prob., but dark couveture just doesn't want to shine up. Minifie gives the following formula for polishing: 4 parts gum arabic (50%w/w), 6 parts water, and 1 part glucose syrup. No go for dark choc. Don't know if it's too much humidity in the fridge, too cold, or what. Come to think of it, I had the same problem with dark choc in the spring when I panned out in the hallway too.... Anyone care to hazrard a guess?

Had a chat with Renee at Chocolat-Chocolat. She used the words "Caveat emporium" to describe the system, and made it clear that she did not advertise the equipment on her website. On the plus side, it does print as advertised. On the negative side, it only prints on white backgrounds , and the software only allows it to print on the formats or sizes of the magnetic molds that are included/for sale. And Renee is "not thrilled" with the software's user-friendliness. I have made, and am continuing to make my own magnetic molds. Actually a fairly simple process if you use simple woodworking skills, plexigalss sheets, and rare-earth magnets. I also like to enrobe pieces and lay them directly on large pieces of the transfer sheets. The price is tempting--compared to multiple thousands for systems that supposedly print directly on the item. Then again,. I've fought many-a-battle with cheap printers--specifically clogged/ruined print heads, and the printer has always won, and my wallet always lost. I dunno about this one.....

Most European recipies for sorbets use Baume. Until the last 10 years or so, a refractometer was a very expensive piece of equipment, usually only for vitners. The sugar density meter, however is cave-man simple and very cheap to buy. Mineis just a glass tube with a plastic scale in it, with lead shot at the bottom. You drop this tube into a tall thin container of the liquid you want to measure and you read the scale directly at the surface of the liquid.

It would be a challange to make.... OTOH I have seen "Icecream bon-bons" made. These were mini scoops of icecream rolled by hand into a thin layer of couveure, then frozen again, and dipped in thinned couveture, and kept frozen. What about piping the buttercream on a choc (or other material) base and then spraying it with couveture? Or just piping the sucker into molded shells....

In response to the original poster, I remember seeing some of the first induction cookers at IGEHO in Basel in the late 80's. Big song a dance with the demo guys putting a Swiss 20 franc note between the burner and the pot and then boiling water or something. While gas is plentiful and cheap here in N. America, it isn't very cheap in most parts of Europe. Most kitchens I've worked in Switzerland had electric stoves--big 1 meter solid plates with a simple 5 step temp. control, even the fryers and salamanders were electric. And electricity isn't very cheap either, but it is cheaper than gas. So the induction stove was created in part to conserve electricity and in part to be as responsive as gas. Over a 5-7 year period, it still is cheaper to purchase a induction stove for a commercial application in Europe than it is to continue using a regular resistance electric stove. I've used them in catering (great!) in hotels for egg stations on brunches and the like, and they are good. The cheap ones tend to burn out quickly. Do you need one? Single units sure come in handy at home. When the gas and electricity prices start to rise and the prices on induction ranges comes down, it's just a matter of money, I guess.....

One of my "regulars" was watching me through the little window in my chocolate room cutting caramels. He approached me afterwards and told me he had come back from Japan and now had distribution rights for several smaller Japanese knife companies . He doesn't have a store yet, but is intead approaching Chefs directly and offering a week "trial period" on certain knifes. I will try out a 6" knife as well as a cranked-neck pastry spatula. If anyone is interested in contacting him, PM me and I will give his particulars

None....At least for apple. I used too, and still occasionally churn out apple pies. I use the $30.00 apple peeler. Next I heat up a bit of butter in pot and saute the apple slices untill they start to collapse a bit. The best apple I've found for this is Braeburn. Sweeten, if you like, a hint of cinnamon--if you like, and into the shell. Now, it's true that you might get a few crumbs when you slice, but on the whole, the pie slices come out fairly cleanly--and it's all pure apple.

I suspect I'll be buying an airbrush in the near future, Christmas, if I play my cards right--this information had been very helpful. I have been "guilty" of using the PCB aerosol cans of coloured cocoa butter--I know! $31.00 CDN per can. That stopped when my partner found out how expensive they really are..... I've always "made" my own coloured butters with dry powders (just the three primary colours) and the cheapest c. butter I could find (Kessko, around $12.00/kg here), and in the bottom of one of my toolboxes I found a tool I had bought a loooong time ago and had forgotten about. It's a very simple tool, usually used to apply nougat laquer in the days before aerosol cans. All it is is two little tubes, a fat one, and a thinner one. You fold the tubes so they meet at a 90 degree angle, immerse the thin tube into whatever you want to "paint", and blow on the fat tube. Cave-man technology, but it works Ok., takes a bit of effort though. Can't tell the difference between that and the PCB when I use it on my gemoteric domes.