Darienne

Thanks, Kerry. Denny picked semi-sweet without any discussion. There we were, armed with coffee beans, chocolate and three slightly differing sets of instructions. By the time we were into coating #3, we had it figured out and under control. The trick was balancing the bowl of chocolate and beans in ice cold water while stirring like mad , and the answer was our dog water bowl which I had grabbed off the floor and dumped ice cubes into as a last resort. We could nicely tip the mixing bowl on its side in the dog bowl without having the bowl slide or risk getting water into it. And now the beans did separate so nicely as they cooled and were manipulated. Yes, just remember the dog water bowl solution. As for using one bowl versus two bowls, we never quite got that one right. We merely cleaned the one bowl over and over again after each use. And two sets of arms were better for the stirring than one. I might think about that coffee can set on a drill panning machine idea. Doing something for the first time is always exciting and a bit nerve wracking. Doing it again is very satisfying and I might try it again soon with sugared nuts which appeal to me more than coffee beans. I think I just like bittersweet on everything!!!

Thanks for that link. Downloaded it and will read it pronto. Never gave a thought to the difference the altitude could make in cooking.

Completely forgot to ask... I am going to give my friend the choice of dark 63%, dark 56% and milk chocolate in which to dip her coffee beans AND she is going to say, FOR SURE, ...oh, whatever you think is best. Well, I have no idea what is best. Any thoughts? What do you dip your coffee beans in: bittersweet, semi-sweet or milk? Thanks

Very interesting rambling !!! I was telling my friend about this problem and she said that dried beans can take forever to cook up here which is still lower than where you are. That could well be another thing. I have cooked rice, made scones...the scones showed no changes from sea level...mostly biscuity things. No problems so far. But no Yorkshire puddings or cakes either. We cooked both fresh and dried pasta. Ed cooked the dry...it did seem to take a long, long time as I recall. So I used the Revolation this afternoon, with Guittard Eclipse a dark of about 56 % I think. First time using Guittard chocolate. Was the lowest viscosity chocolate I have ever used. Very liquidy. Another little glitch in a world lately of confectionary glitches. However, after covering myself and everything else it seems in chocolate, it all worked well. The resulting dipped things are glossy and have a snap. Following Kerry Beal's advice, I'll just let them sit for I can't remember how many hours. Well, overnight anyhow. Except for the ones we eat now. Thanks again.

HOST'S NOTE: Moved here from a discussion on tempering chocolate at altitude, which can still be found here. Thanks Lisa, every bit of information helps. Would you please tell me the names of some foods which do not cook well when boiled at high altitude. I see the explanation, but am curious to have an example to know. Boiled vegetables? Crustaceans? All new to the flatlander. I have the Revolation working as we speak with 56% dark Guittard in it to dip the results of yesterday's hardwon caramels at high altitudes lessons. Thanks.

Thanks for your response. It makes sense. It's fat molecules, not water we are dealing with. Since I wrote the post, I have been delving about online and have found articles...not read yet really...that support changing the temperatures for high altitude and the opposite. I'll just try the Revolation later and report back my own findings. Thanks again. edited note: Come to think of it, I don't know why the altitude should not affect fat molecules in the same way it does water. But then it's all a bit beyond me sometimes.

Ruth and I have been discussing my disaster with making caramel yesterday...all turned out well in the end...and the temperature changes for cooking at higher altitudes. I suppose that this holds true for tempering chocolate too? I have a little Revolation I with me for tempering purposes...yeah, yeah, I know ...will it work fine at this higher altitude? About 4000 feet. Or is it somehow internally geared to work only at sea level???? I'll obviously try it this afternoon and see. As for tempering by hand...should I subtract the 8 degrees from each of the chocolate prescripted temperatures? Makes sense, I know, but I feel a bit uneasy about it. Thanks.

The only advantage I found to the single dirty bowl was that the subsequent doses of chocolate hardened more quickly than the first. (I suppose the chocolate on the beans might have the same effect). I know that with the coating pan the first application of chocolate takes a long time to harden up, and you actually drizzle chocolate on the sides of the empty bowl and wait for it to harden before you start - it helps the product tumble better. I wonder if it helps it harden faster too? ← I love it when two experts begin trading suggestions back and forth. Thanks, guys. Tomorrow morning is now set for the coffee chocolate coating event. My friend/landlady/next-door-neighbor has never worked with chocolate before and I am hardly an expert in the field. Should be fun.

The caramel is saved and all is well. It cuts beautifully. Tastes divine. It probably won't last long enough to see if it crystallizes. Did the water test. My electronic thermometer registered 203 so I am probably alright with it. We are higher than the town proper thus the one degree difference. Right. Works for me. However, my glass thermometer registered only 199 thus being in the category of not very useful. Still, how can I use the metal probe to work with candy? I seem to recall some posting about stringing wire across the pot and clipping the wire onto it???? Just checked the current humidity. 23% Feels incredible to someone who lives at around 90% most of the time and hates it. Ruth, you are a dear. Thanks for all the help.

Thanks Ruth, Your comments are very useful. I'm up at 4000 feet and normally I live at about 600 feet. Wow! No one has ever called me a 'flat lander' before. Here's another factor. The humidity here is about 40 % and normally in Ontario it is ALWAYS over 80%. Would that make a difference? The caramel looks and cuts fine this morning. I'll cut it and coat it later. I think my thermometer is fine. How can I test it? In Ontario, I would test it in boiling water, but does water boil at a lower temperature up here? (The DH has just said, yes it would. OK. Now we do a test.) I must admit I love the endless complications of it all even while I am frustrated dealing with them at the time.

Today has been a very caramelly day. I used Kerry Beal’s recipe once again, but this time, shame to tell, I turned away and forgot the cream. The cream boiled over. I guess I did not add back enough cream because the caramel, although it appeared to pour nicely, became brittle. Read the entire troubleshooting thread, all 8 pages, and tried the following two suggestions: 1. Shane kekau@comcast.net I've re-cooked many caramel by breaking it back up and adding 35% water to a pot. Cook as you normally would. Depending on the amount of inhibitor in the original recipe you can either leave as is or add 5-10% to prevent crystal growth. To be safe, you may also add 1-5% salt to balance out the sweetness level, and if added at the beginning of the cooking process will also aid in inversion of the sugars. Good luck. ****Added the water, ignored the inhibitor and salt. But then, didn’t know how long to cook it. Till it reached 250F degrees? Actually, I used only 100 grams of the crunch, so we ate it all before it had a chance to set. A useless experiment, but delicious. Tri2Cook I know a firm caramel simply warmed to melt over water with a small amount of cream will set again when cooled and be softer. As for whether it causes crystallization to happen quicker, I don't know... I've only done that for dipping apples. Definitely works though, you just have to be careful with the cream. Too much in one batch caused some droopy looking caramel on the apples. Had that wrinkly, elephant-leg thing going on. *****Chipped up the remainder, put it in a bowl over gently boiling water. It took FOREVER, but finally it all melted, just like that. Added ‘SOME’ cream…no idea of how much to add…just slurped it in. Poured it out and now am waiting to see how it sets up. ANY and ALL advice and comments are welcomed.

Thanks, Kerry. Tomorrow may be the day we make them.

And yet another question: Greweling talks about applying the dragee method, first with the sugar syrup and later with the tempered chocolate, for nuts. Then he adds that this could be used for coffee beans, spice seeds and cocoa nibs. Would you actually first coat the coffee beans with the sugar syrup? The sugar syrup toasts the nuts...should the coffee beans be toasted? There was no consensus of opinion around the table today. But then we were all just guessing. Thanks.

Beautiful

Just looked up Greweling's method again. I think his chilling of the nuts offers the same effect as Recchiutti's cocoa on still warm nuts. The nuts go into the tempered chocolates, then you add an amount of cocoa, plunge your hands into the mess, and slowly separate the nuts by the action of your hands and the cocoa. I don't have the book with me in Moab, so I can't tell you how much he adds to how much nuts. It works well. You finally shake the cocoa covered, chocolate-coated, sugared nuts in a sieve and then eat. Very nice combination. No doubt either way would work. I really like the coffee can on the electric drill panning technique, but I think I'll stick with Greweling or Recchiutti. Thanks

Well, first I had to find out what a 'china cap' was. OK. Thanks for the information.

This recipe, given to me by a Japanese Canadian friend, isn't made with popcorn, but small round Tostitos and if you want to be popular, try making this one and giving it to friends: Tostitos Kakimochi 20 oz small round Tostitos 1/4 pound unsalted butter (I use salted) 1/2 cup corn syrup 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2-3 tablespoons black sesame seeds Melt the butter on low heat. Add sugar, syrup, soy sauce and sesame seeds and mix until the sugar is melted Place ½ the Tostitos in large bowl, add ½ the syrup mixture and slowly mix thoroughly, trying not to break chips. Put into a large greased pan. Repeat with the remaining Tostitos and mix well. Bake in 250 degree oven for 1 hour. Mix every 15 minutes (do this or your snacks will stick into one big clump.) Turn out the chips onto a large surface and try to separate as many as you can during that short period between burning your fingers and the time the chips are too cool to separate. As soon as they no longer stick to each other, store them in an air-tight container...if they last long enough for storing them at all. Add shredded nori (seaweed) or rice seasoning for different flavors Yummmmmm

A terrific story and very interesting to read. It seems to me that one of the most important factors in starting a new business...been there, done that...is the courage to hold on when it all looks pretty discouraging. This you have done in spades and come through the other side. Congratulations!

Hmmmmm..... I suppose the freight charges wouldn't be all that much extra from Quebec to Utah, as from Quebec to Ontario. Why didn't I think of that?

A friend would dearly love to make chocolate-coated coffee beans and I had to tell her that I didn't know how to do it without a panning machine. I did tell her about Recchuitt's method to coat hazelnuts and said we could do that, but then the coffee beans end up coated also in cocoa...which is alright by me. Any other method short of dipping the beans one at a time Thanks

If I can have only one mold...this is the one. It can be used right side up or bottom side up. I can't find an American source for this one which is from Chocolat-Chocolat in Quebec. If someone can't tell me where I can find this one...or one pretty much like it...in the US , I'll just have to wait until I get back to Canada to order it. That's two of it. Thanks.

Welcome to eG, Nawtees and thanks for your post on molds. I am really looking forward to learning more about these mold making processes you use.

When I was a little kid, my Mother used to make what she called Beaver Pudding, a tomato and cheese souffle. It had eggs, which were separated and bread crumbs too. I loved it. She never gave me the recipe and I have never found a recipe called Beaver Pudding online. Has anyone ever heard of this recipe? Does anyone have an excellent tomato and cheese souffle dish?

Again my thanks for all the answers. I haven't made up my mind exactly what to buy, but I am feeling less intimidated by the enormous selection now.

I am trying not to get too excited as you directed, but I think I might show this one to Ed, my DH, who can build anything. Thanks for telling us about it.