JenBunk
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Posts posted by JenBunk
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Got my EZtemper 2 days before the post said it would arrive! My cocoa butter was old so I did what you said about heating it up to 50 then letting it sit at room temp until hard and it worked perfectly. One thing that I have not seen mentioned about how this is a time saver is I don't have to chop my chocolate up finely to make seed chocolate. I can just bust up huge chunks and leave in the melter! The wholesaler I buy my chocolate from only carries the block form so I have always had to chop it up which also made dishes for me. Thanks Kerry!
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Kerry,
I am interested in buying an EZtemper. Just curious what shipping would be. I looked at your website, but I am in Alaska and that usually means we are the exception to standard shipping fees. Often I am told the only option to Alaska is Fed-Ex 2nd day which is Wildly expensive! Thanks,
Jenny -
I haven't had that happen with them but I haven't ordered from them recently. The few times I ordered from them in the past, the shipping cost to Canada was so outrageously out of line with anywhere else I order from that, despite them having many things I'd like to order, I had to quit ordering from them for that reason. If that has changed (it's been over 5 years since I ordered from them), I'd be happy to know about it.
I live in Alaska and the shipping is usualy as much as whatever I'm ordering. I mentioned that to them and they told me I could call and place my order over the phone and they would ship slow boat for way cheaper. I have done it a couple times and it has owrked out each time.
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An eye clinic asks me to make eyeballs for them at their annual October sale. These are the rejects. I forgot to take a picture of the perfect ones before I delivered them.
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Mina, Sure!
1kg of sugar
480ml water
1g lemon juice
Cook it to 236F. Once it reaches temp just take it off the heat and cover until it cool down a bit. I would pour it in it's container before it cools down too much as it is SUPER thick and hard to get at. Just store in the fridge for up to six months. The fridge is just to keep it from crystallizing.
I use 30% less when I am substituting it for corn syrup. Hope that helps!
Jenny
I made invert sugar with more or less the same recipe (used cream of tartar instead of lemon juice, as recommended by Chef Eddy in his blog) and cooked it to 236F. Mine has crystallized quite a bit in the refrigerator, but I just melt it enough to liquefy it and go ahead and use it. Does yours stay liquid even when chilled? I wonder whether mine is OK to use or whether the crystallization has harmed it in some way. I would guess that the temp rose too far above 236 after I took it off the heat.
I don't think it is harmed in any way. Invert has about the same properties as honey (50%fructose, 50%glucose) so it behaves like honey. When honey has sat for awhile it starts to crystallize and turn hard. You did exactly what I do with honey so I think it is fine.
No, it is not liquid in the fridge! It is really hard to work with so I let it sit at room temp for a couple hours and that helps, but it is still a pain.
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Mina, Sure!
1kg of sugar
480ml water
1g lemon juice
Cook it to 236F. Once it reaches temp just take it off the heat and cover until it cool down a bit. I would pour it in it's container before it cools down too much as it is SUPER thick and hard to get at. Just store in the fridge for up to six months. The fridge is just to keep it from crystallizing.
I use 30% less when I am substituting it for corn syrup. Hope that helps!
Jenny
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I just made the cocomel too
I used my own caramel recipe and I used invert I made myself instead of corn syrup for the first time. The result was really soft and creamy caramel that held it's shape. YUM!
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Can anyone tell me what the shelf life for the Frappe might be? I have a lot extra and I was wondering how long I have to use it up.
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Update: I just threw it back in the mixer and put it on high and viola, it came back together. I was not expecting it to be that forgiving as sugar for me rarely is
For anyone who might make this in the future, I would suggest cutting the recipe to a quarter or at least half. I wasn't really paying attention and just went with the recipe and ended up with way more frappe than I know what to do with. Also the book says you need a 5 qt mixer (which is what I have) and there was no way that it was going to all fit in there.
Curls-I did know about the fluff substitute, but I am a glutton for punishment I guess:) I even made my own invert just for this recipe too! All I can say is this better be the best coconut confection EVER!! The fluff is looking pretty good right now.
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So I am making the Coconut squares form the book and had a question about the Frappe. I make the frappe last night and all seemed fine. It had the same consistency as marshmallow fluff. Well this morning I noticed that there was a sort of syrup on the bottom and what was on top had the texture of whipped egg whites. Did I do something wrong or is that normal? Should I whip it again? HELP??
Jenny
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I went to the trade show and the public show. It was pretty disorganized and many of the staff were really rude. This was the first one so I would be willing to give it another try a few years from now after they work out some kinks. There were a lot of vendors missing due to Sandy, so it was kind of small. If it was not for the trade show side, it would have been a waste of time.
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Hey Danelle, I use the same chocolate as you and when I over seed I just add some warm (about 115 degrees) chocolate to it. I usually take a large ladle of the over seeded chocolate, put it in a separate bowl and microwave it for 15-30 seconds, then add the warmer chocolate back into the over seeded chocolate. If you were just using a bowl and hand tempering you could just zap the whole bowl in the microwave for a few seconds, but I know you are using an ACMC:)Obvious the amount you heat up and how long you heat up depends on the amount you have over seeded.
Jenny
p.s. I was excited to see you join this forum!
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Yeah, I would say you shouldn't rely on the machine temperature reading and only use it as a guide. I sold my machine to Milangal (above) a few months ago and now I use a melting tray. I don't use a thermometer at all, just look and feel and lots of temper checks.
With my machine I would bring it up to 118 and keep it there until I was sure all the chocolate was melted. Then I set it to 93 and added seed. I kept the seed in until I got a good temper, then I removed it. Like I said above, It would usually need about 10 more minutes after the machine read 93 before it was in good temper. I know every machine is different so yours may not be that off. How I noticed my machine temp was off when I was setting my temp to 89-90 my chocolate would start to get over crystallized and be super thick after only 20 min.
I would recommend tempering like you normally do and then once it reaches your holding temp just wait 10 or 15 minutes and do a temper check. If you are still getting bloom, adjust your temp one degree at a time until you find your sweet spot:)
I am no expert, just my experience with the machine. I hope this helps!
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I owned an ACMC up until a couple months ago. Are you going for it once it hits the holding temp or are you taking a temper check and still getting bloom? My experience with the machine is once it hits holding temp it needs about 10 more minutes before it is in good temper. Also mine read about 3 degrees off. I had to keep my machine at 93 to get good temper. Hope this helps:)
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How about a Griffin, Phoenix, or owl?
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I love the one lying on its back. So cute!For those who are curious, apparently the ideal number of flying pigs in a gruntle is five. Here they are!
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First time posting any of my work.
Those are white shell chocolates with fresh ginger, key lime, candied orange and a bit of Limoncello liquor infused in a dark chocolate ganache.
Decoration is a spraying of cocoa butter over the frozen chocolates. It creates that velvety look.
Cheers!
Those are really beautiful. Have you used this decorating technique before? How does it hold up over time?
Hello lebowits!
You actually let them dry for 24 hours (I prefer 48 hours) at room temp (18-20°C) and can be manipulated normally after that.
It is a really beautiful technique to use, but the only downside is that you need to let them dry at least 1 day.
Cheers!
Thanks for the tip! I didn't know that!
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Congratulations! In terms of purchases made, did you notice any patterns of preferences that might be useful to you in the future?
Yeah, I made little chocolate moose suckers for the kids and was surprised they were so popular. Only a couple were bought for kids and the rest were bought by the tourist:)
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Well my first market is under my belt. It was pretty slow, but I did better than most of the venders because I was new. It was a lot of work, but it was fun.
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Whenever I have had the same problem, it has been because I poured the mold too soon and cocoa butter did not have a chance to dry. The more cocoa butter used the longer it takes to dry. I usually decorate the mold and let sit over night and I rarely have any cocoa butter stay in the mold. I am not an expert, but maybe this will help.
Jenny
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The texture and flavor were much better this time compared to my first attempt. I don't know if it was the large pot or because it was a liquid pectin recipe, but this batch was way better!
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Just got my apple pectin in and have my puree thawing to give it another shot.
Kerry- I am going to try the Boiron recipe you sent me, but I had a question. I noticed you did a strawberry rhubarb recently. Did you use the strawberry recipe or Rhubarb recipe, or a combination of both?
Combination of both - made a half batch splitting the difference between the amounts of pectin, sugar, glucose and citric acid solution for the strawberry recipe and the rhubarb recipe. I tend to add a bit more citric acid solution than called for and I usually use about 10 grams of booze along with the citric solution - for the strawberry rhubarb I think I used a triple sec.
Thanks! I was thinking of splitting the difference, but considering how the last batch turned out I thought getting a little direction couldn't hurt.
The pdf is cooling right now and I will post pictures later. This batch came out lighter and filled the pan. My last batch did exactly what pastrygirl said happened when her intern used a bigger pot (darker, tough, an did not fill the pan). We will see if the texture turned out tomorrow.
Jenny
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This market is every other week, and I'll be doing another market on the intervening weeks while trying to stock pile solids for the Christmas rush. Let me know how it goes for you, when is your 1st market?
It was good, I was however battling the warm weather so not a huge amount of sales. I was however surprised at what sold and what didn't. I couldn't produce enough confit'd fruit (dipped in chocolate) to keep up demands.How is this years farmers markets working out for people? I'm just about to start a couple of different ones (1st time, so excited), any further advice from a few years worth of learning and hindsight?
How was your first market? I am getting ready to do my first. Really excited!
I'm glad it went well! I don't have the warm weather to battle with. This summer has been a cool one for us. Did you do one market? or are you doing them every week?
Jenny
My first market is on the August 10th and then another one on the 17th. Our outdoor markets close after that because it starts getting cold. If I like it I might do the Holiday bazaars. I am excited, but clueless about how much product to bring. I will post a pic of my booth after my first market.
Jenny
Molded and Filled Chocolates: Troubleshooting and Techniques
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
Way up north, I’m in AK too! Nice to see a fellow Alaskan on here!