curls
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Posts posted by curls
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1 hour ago, Douglas K said:
@curls I will never discourage anyone from doing something like tabling chocolate to temper it. Full bore ahead if you want to learn it. For many of us it is impractical to say the least. I’m definitely a novice, and I have no desire to be a professional, so doing the easiest possible thing for what is possibly the most daunting task in chocolate is what I’m about. Seeding chocolate, especially since I am taking it from the melanger is the simplest most foolproof (me being the fool) method I’ve done. I realize that there is some honor and tradition in learning the old method, but for me if the end product is the same, I’m all for easy and slightly skilled. This is coming from someone who is generally more of a traditionalist. Ultimately I’m not about screwing up a bunch of batches to learn when I get it right every time with little skill. I guess I’m a bit of an idiot, but proud of it this time.
@Douglas K I am puzzled, why have you mentioned me? I was responding to Rajala and putting out a positive message for all who choose to temper chocolate via tabling. Temper your chocolate with whatever methods you like and that work for you.
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Tabling chocolate to temper it doesn’t have to be messy. I took a 3 day chocolate showpiece and bon bons class that was taught by Ewald Notter; he tempered all of the chocolate that we used for the class via tabling. In the hands of a master tabling is fast and clean. Ewald tempered huge amounts of chocolate quickly, cleanly, and effortlessly. It was amazing to learn from him and watch him work.
@Rajalaif tabling is your preferred method, keep doing it and enjoy. If I recall correctly, tabling is also the method that @Chris Hennes prefers.
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4 hours ago, kayb said:
I was perched at the keyboard and ready to order today when my Misfits Market window opened. They were out of nothing. So early ordering is the key.
Wonderful! Looking forward to seeing your next box. I’ve set an alarm so that I can order early.
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9 hours ago, lironp said:
I do not temper my cocoa butters and have 0 problems with shine and release.
I melt them in their bottles, let them cool down to about 32 celsius, shake them like crazy in the bottle for about a minute and then use.
For cleaning- dishwasher, and then alcohol with exfoliating rounds. I don't see much of a difference with/without alcohol in the molds that have round cavities, but in those that have some sort of detail (such as the skulls i did for halloween), I need it to really get everything out.
Dishwasher!!!? A standard household one or something special for moulds? Are you using soap? If so, what kind?
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9 hours ago, kayb said:
I've learned it's best to sign on as early as you can when your window opens. I was late last time, and several items were out.
Yes, I’m going to try to log in when they open. I liked a lot of the produce that was sold out — need to sign in sooner so that I can get a box that I want to cook from! Want to try this out a few times so that I know if this is the right thing for me or if I just stick with grocery shopping & delivery (if/when COVID gets worse around here).
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On 11/27/2020 at 7:12 AM, chefmd said:
I ordered a box from misfits market with 50% off code BLACKFRIDAY50 code. A cheap way to see if I like it.
@chefmd have you ordered or received your box yet? What do you think?
Yesterday I was scheduled to make selections for my box. Scheduling opens around 4pm... I was busy and couldn't get to the site until around 8:30pm... there was still a selection but not too many things that I interested me (did not need onions, limes, lemons, or green bell peppers) so I cancelled this weeks box and will try again next week.
I hope that your experience was better!
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4 hours ago, gfron1 said:
CW2116 Pain. In. The. Ass.
Interesting, that is the mould that I use for cherry cordials and it works well for me.
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Agrimontana makes some wonderful candied peels. Looks like some of their products are available for mailorder from Market Hall Foods https://www.markethallfoods.com/collections/agrimontana
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Every time I go grocery shopping I look for Lysol, Clorox wipes, and Ball jar canning lids. I have seen various wipes. Yesterday, at Wegmans, they had restocked Ball canning lids (regular and wide mouth)! They also had Ball jar bands and one case of jars. Strangely other aisles had added limits to things I hadn’t seen issues with previously — only one per customer for aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and plastic take away containers. I did not check the status of the toilet paper and paper towel aisle (we have a good supply).
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16 hours ago, chefmd said:
I ordered a box from misfits market with 50% off code BLACKFRIDAY50 code. A cheap way to see if I like it.
Thank you for the info! I’ve ordered a box too. Mine is scheduled to arrive next Saturday. Looking forward to seeing how this all works. Went with the smaller of the two box sizes.
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18 hours ago, Kim Shook said:
I find myself craving a hot breakfast lately. I’ve looked for some frozen prepared things that might be a good breakfast for when I’m alone here – stuff that I can microwave quickly (if I sit down, I’m down for a long time without a boost), but I’m guessing that that is the kind of thing that folks are stocking up on because no one seems to have them.
Trader Joe’s has sous vide egg bites in the refrigerated section that may help. They can be reheated in the microwave or the oven. I picked some up this week and had them for breakfast with an English muffin — heated them in the CSO. Quite tasty. Same issue with them that I have with other egg bites, they are sticky, had issues removing them from portions of the ceramic ovenware that I used to warm them in the CSO.-
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Went to Trader Joe’s today and got their kraut with Persian cucumbers. Thank you for mentioning that this could be a substitute for Vivian’s can do kraut! A few more weeks until my citrus shrine is done but I sampled a lemon quarter today... chopped it up and added it to the kraut. Tasted good, hoping my gut bacteria like it too.
Also feeling very lucky that I got to TJ’s early, while I was in the store they were ringing the bells and adding cashiers. When I made my way out, there was a long line of socially distanced people waiting for permission to enter the store (COVID restrictions are tightening back up in Virginia). Still haven’t picked up any Thanksgiving groceries, think I’ll go to the store early tomorrow or see if I can do curbside pickup or delivery.
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34 minutes ago, amyneill said:
I have the Rev Delta and I have issues with it constantly with chocolate falling out of temper or not able to temper correctly because it doesn't have a cooling mechanism and only a heating one. I keep struggling with it over crystallizing because it takes so long to drop from 115-85. Does anyone have any advice on this? I've always tempered by hand but we've taken on a big new project and upgraded to this and now I can't seem to temper for the life of me and I'm going insane.
What temperature is your room? Which chocolates are you trying to temper? Why are you taking your chocolate up to 115 degrees?
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43 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:
This was one being shipped to Montréal - the courier did it. It’s cost me a fortune - the haven’t refunded the shipping so I’ve paid for shipping it, shipping it back and shipping a second one.
That is horrible! They should refund you; they damaged it.
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9 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:
Here's what happens when a fork truck goes through an EZtemper box.
Here's what it looks like after hubby gets to work on it.
Lid doesn't open quite as it should - but it appears to still work.
Wow! Your husband did an amazing job. Hopefully no other EZtempers were injured by the fork truck.
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10 hours ago, David Ross said:
I'm planning on making chocolate coins for the Holidays. Now mind you I am not a candy maker and don't work with chocolate. Do you have a good resource for plastic molds for chocolate coins?
If you know anyone with a vacuum former, they could make the coin molds for you using real coins to create the mold. A few of us played with this technology at the St. Louis eGullet Chocolate & Confections workshop.
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Very interesting apple @BeeZee. I’m going to see if it is available in my area. Did you get the Lucy Glo apples at a speciality or regular supermarket?
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10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:
You label and date your jars?
Yes I do. Most are labeled with blue painters tape. I usually hold off on labeling until after the picture taking.
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Now the waiting begins...
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9 minutes ago, Shelby said:
I think clementines would work great. IMO, the more juice the better!
I ordered some half gallon mason jars from Amazon, but they didn't get here until yesterday (shipping ain't what it used to be). So, I used some random old jar I had downstairs. If you slice your fruit differently than Vivian does, I think you can fit it in a quart wide mouth jar (maybe not the whole recipe though). I need to go out and visit my batch. It's in the garage fridge. A couple days ago it looked good.
Thank you! Largest canning jars that I have are quart sized. Will try slicing my fruit in halves or quarters and see how much I can fit into one quart jar. Can always make more later when the winter citrus is in abundance. I look forward to trying her margaritas and lemon pie. Also using it as an addition to various recipes. The summer squash with citrus shrine is also calling my name.
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On 11/7/2020 at 8:49 AM, Shelby said:
Got the pickled shrimp made yesterday and the citrus shrine as well.
We will sample the shrimp tonight...they smell delicious.
Here is the citrus shrine. I think there is a reason why it wasn't pictured in the book---not very photogenic lol. I know the lime aren't fully covered here. I poked them back down after the picture. She says they can sit on the counter, but I chose to put them in the fridge. Now we wait for 4 weeks. Oh, and it took way more than 2 lemons to get enough juice...I think my lemons were smaller and less juicy.
Getting ready to make my own batch of citrus shrine. Going to start with lemons and limes... the oranges that I saw didn’t impress me. Do you think you could add clementines to the mix or are they a too much juice / too little skin citrus? I haven’t made preserved citrus before so not sure what types of citrus will work best for this preservation method. @Shelby what size jar (or jars) did you use for your batch and how is it coming along?-
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14 hours ago, Kim Shook said:
@Captain & @Okanagancook– Oh, dear Lord. That crackling. I would seriously eat it all and explain that it caught on fire and had to be cut off and discarded.
@David Ross – I’ve saved your sauerbraten recipe. I love that dish and need to make it again.
@Ann_T – what beautiful little roasted potatoes to go with your gorgeous duck. I can almost taste them.
@Shelby – your fried shrimp look really good. Are those cornflake crumbs?
I am starting to call myself Calamity Kim. Last fall I was diagnosed with “runner’s knee” in both knees. It can also affect older knees and I apparently have the old people version because I am decidedly NOT a runner. Nothing really helped a lot, though physical therapy (PT) did a little and I’ve been doing a regimen at home. I went back into PT to get some additional exercises and managed to hurt myself doing one of them. I am now basically bed/couch-ridden. They have me using a wheelchair or walker, icing my knee on and off and keeping it elevated. It happened last Tuesday, and it is not improving. I’m getting an MRI on the 17th. So, I’m just not cooking right now. At least until I can figure out how to do it on my back.
Last week we finally cut into one of the huge radishes that Jessica got in her vegetable box. It was really pretty and fairly tasty. I put it with English cucumber and rice wine vinegar:
Used more of the char siu that night on top of what was basically vegetable fried rice:
The rest of it went into the freezer for our next family project – eggrolls.
Night before last, bless his heart, Mr. Kim made spaghetti:
Then last night he used the leftover sauce and some frozen cooked fried chicken cutlets to make chicken parm:
He served it with a crusty roll, salad, and apricots:
Pretty sure I'm getting spaghetti tonight, too. 😳😉
@Kim Shook sorry to hear about your injuries; wishing you a speedy recovery. Perhaps instead of repeated spaghetti dinners Mr. Kim can pick up takeout from some of your favorite restaurants.-
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Black walnuts are great in banana bread. Not sure how you would translate that into a bon bon. I like your cheesecake & black walnut idea.
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Unseasonably warm weather in Virginia along with time to prepare lunch = tuna salad on greens with assorted nibbles. (Cross posted to the Cooking with "This Will Make It Taste Good", by Vivian Howard topic)
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Molded and Filled Chocolates: Troubleshooting and Techniques
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
You can see an example of getting the chocolate back into the bowl in this video at about the 1:23 timestamp.