Jim D.

Spray guns are useful for very large molds, but not necessary. I use my Grex airbrush for single molds and for Easter eggs as well. The airbrush will be the more expensive item; spray guns can be found for very little money. They tend to use more cocoa butter than an airbrush. I have a Fuji, and at first I used it because of its speed in coverage, but I quickly discovered it uses a huge amount of cocoa butter. I was using so much cocoa butter that I fully expected a thank you note from Chef Rubber. After a while the necessity of removing the tube delivering pressure to the Fuji spray cup became really annoying. For me the Grex is quite sufficient for coverage. I also have an Iwata (which I bought just for trying Dubovik's eye technique). I don't know which model you are thinking of, but the one I have has a button on top which you press to spray (this is how most airbrushes operate). In time, that motion becomes much more uncomfortable than pressing the trigger on the Grex (and other airbrushes like it). As for compressors, I wouldn't trade a 3-gal. one for a 1-gal. unless you absolutely cannot endure the noise. Bigger is better. I have a compressor of 4.6 gallon capacity, and it struggles with a spray gun.

You might look at Badger and Paasche within your price range, but unless you already have a compressor, you will need to buy that as well. You cannot do all this for $100. You might wish to read through the entire airbrush thread for lots more information. And, for the record, I wouldn't say Fuji is the favorite. The Fuji system is really overkill for a typical small-volume chocolatier. My personal favorite is the Grex, but you won't find that (and also a spray gun) for $100.

Thank you. I haven't updated the list since I started doing a lot with inclusions (various cookies, etc.), but, to be honest, I couldn't stand to do this if I didn't have a variety. And I am in a different situation from you and other professional chocolatiers. I am retired, so do not have to depend on making chocolates for income; in addition, I make them once a month (except at Christmas); and, perhaps more importantly, I don't offer a choice of fillings--customers have to accept what I have in a particular batch (in essence, they have to trust my taste). I make chocolates in my home kitchen (my state allows that, as do most U.S. states), meaning I wouldn't have a life if I turned my kitchen into a production facility. If I were younger, I would build a chocolate kitchen in my back yard, but "if" is the operative word in that sentence. And my final consideration is the community where I live. It is a small city with tradition ruling the day, and most people just aren't willing to pay what chocolates cost. That situation is changing as people from other areas are choosing to move here--most of my customers are the new arrivals, many of whom think my pricing is too low! But I think the only chocolate shop in town, which makes only truffles, not filled or enrobed bonbons, is not overflowing with customers.

I am required to follow the same process here. Since writing down the lot numbers of ingredients is incredibly time-consuming, I came upon the idea of taking a photo of each bag or box in question; the inspector thought it was a great idea. I have a computer program to format and print the labels (a different label for each size box, since they differ in weight), and at the end of each ingredient list (and, of course, the ever-popular allergen list), I print the date of that batch (in code so that frozen boxes from previous batches don't reveal how technically old they are). I am not required to have the ingredient list visible, but do have it available and it is included in an insert in each box. For wholesale situations, I provide a single copy of the list for posting. So far no customer has ever asked a single question about ingredients. And, after all, bakeries don't provide an ingredient list. In the U.S. the allergen list is ever shifting (only going up, never down). I had a "discussion" with the inspector about why pinenuts should be included since they are not nuts; she sighed and said, "I know, I know, but just do it."

I wish I were closer to you, so much to learn from you! Unfortunately after 50 years close to you in Boston, I am now considerably farther south (but I hadn't the slightest thought of making bonbons during my "Boston days").

I use this fan placed in the refrigerator near the wire racks used for molds. You need to be sure whatever you purchase is refrigerator-proof.

I think the need to temper chocolate and keep it in temper makes the process a bit different. In other words, having the chocolate ready to use (which also includes the crucial step of not letting it get "overtempered") means, for example, making all the dark shells at once, storing them while you make the fillings one by one, then tempering chocolate all over again and sealing all the shells. At least that's what I have found works the best for me. If the chocolate would just sit there in perfect temper for days on end (which is what the Selmi accomplishes, but most of us small producers don't have those), then we could use your cannoli method. In making chocolates, the fillings are the most time-consuming part by far. For me, boxing the finished chocolates works best when all of them are done at once--the boxes are readied, the chocolates are spread out on a counter, then comes the tedious part of filling the boxes. I do sometimes hire people for that final step (or, even better, my sister offers her free help). I am not so much an "efficiency bitch" as a perfectionist nut, meaning I need to see each box myself before it is closed.

Just to add a little confusion to this issue of cleaning molds (there are many, many posts on this subject scattered around the forum): When the eGullet workshop last met in Las Vegas, we were able to watch Melissa Coppel in action. She vigorously cleans her molds with alcohol, so they are super-spotless. Jin Caldwell, across town from Melissa, does not clean her molds between uses at all. Both produce beautiful chocolates. One might draw the conclusion that it doesn't really matter, although I do clean mine just in case. Sometime during the summer I plan to test a really dirty mold with bits of colored cocoa butter still visible to see what happens when it is used to make new bonbons.

I agree. Magnetic molds are wonderful at busy times. The time it takes to cut and insert a transfer sheet is nothing compared to airbrushing. Other advantages include the fact that the chocolates all come out of the mold without fail and you don't lose any bonbons from flaking and sticking cocoa butter (do you have that issue? I certainly do). The downside is that magnetic molds are expensive. At first I felt guilty using them--they seem like a copout--but I really appreciate them in December. And, a final plus, customers like them and no one has ever commented on how much less work they involve than sprayed bonbons. In fact, several customers have asked me how I managed to paint such intricate designs onto 200 chocolates (yes, I do confess). Finding attractive, well-sized transfer sheets is difficult, but they exist. You would have access to European sources.

Beautiful bonbons, beautiful display case. I think the obvious answer to your question, "will it kill me making nearly 10,000 bonbons a month?" is "probably." Your singlehanded production is amazing to me. I also am a one-person operation, and I considered it an accomplishment when I made 3700 for the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas period. Do you have a life beyond chocolate-making?

The Aw reading (free water, allowing for microbial growth) for my caramel with sea salt was 0.56. According to experts, that means it will last for many months. As for poisoning your children, I don't think you will do it with caramel. There may, of course, be times when you might wish for that outcome. If you start making bonbons in quantity, you may want to look into freezing them (lots of info on how to do that on this forum).

I use the "wet" method, but both involve much stirring (well, maybe less for the dry method). I would not be disturbed by the bubbles in the photos. Do bubbles still appear after you have piped? Caramels (if not cooked to too high a temp) will settle into a cavity with time, leaving no air. Although it is heresy to say this, you may be worrying needlessly. I can't believe I wrote that.

How do you get the caramel into the molds? With a pastry bag? I don't recall seeing lots of bubbles in caramels I have made, but I would think the pressure of the piping would remove them. You can also tap the molds on the counter after they are filled. I use an immersion blender to add the softened butter to my caramel, but even that doesn't make bubbles I have noticed.

@Jonathan, about your baklava bonbon: I'm assuming this is the filling in the faceted pyramid/triangle. I get the green part of the filling, but what is the pink- or tan-colored base? It looks very interesting. I tried a baklava, but in attempting to get a strong honey flavor (definitely part of actual baklava), the ganache ended up much too sweet. I even bought some of the macadamia honey (I think you are the one who mentioned that).

Congratulations on taking this significant step. We will be looking for samples of your work in the future. I am sure fame and fortune are just around the corner! Well, fame at least.

I assume when you say $1,000 you are converting your currency to the US dollar. If that is the case, you can do this within your budget. Here is what I wrote previously: The following is the setup of another eGullet member: If you can afford it, this compressor looks good: https://www.homedepot.com/p/California-Air-Tools-20-Gal-2-0-HP-Ultra-Quiet-and-Oil-Free-Electric-Air-Compressor-20020/312624543

I don't know if you have read through this thread, but it contains a great deal of information relevant to your questions. If you absolutely know that you will never do more than occasional painting of molds as a hobby, then what you propose will work, but it won't satisfy you if you get "hooked" on decorating chocolates. You might look in this thread for a discussion of what are the essentials for a good compressor. HP is not the main issue; storage capacity is, and I noted that in the specs for the Iwata compressor you mention, the storage is left blank. A compressor that has to run almost constantly to provide enough air will wear out quickly (I speak from experience--just discarded my old Iwata compressor a few weeks ago). You can get decent compressors for a reasonable amount of money. I have an Iwata airbrush that I have used for blowing air into cavities to spread cocoa butter around, but the capacity of the cup will not be sufficient for serious airbrushing--you will go crazy filling it up often. If you can afford it and have a source to purchase it, I recommend the Grex 0.7mm. I think a trigger-style airbrush (such as the Grex) is much more comfortable to use than one with the button on top (like the Iwata).

I think that, by definition, ganache contains chocolate, but if you are making a filling without chocolate, I don't see any workable way to do what you want. You could undoubtedly find a way to thicken it (cornstarch, pectin, etc.), but the water content would be so high that (assuming you are intending to make bonbons) the shelf life would be unworkably brief. I attempt to get fruit flavors as close to the taste of the original fruit as possible by making a pâte de fruit, then (after some steps to reduce its water content) pipe it into a mold, usually layering it with something else--one example is cherry PdF plus pistachio gianduja.

I would guess that it would emulsify without a problem, but the final water content might be cause for alarm (in terms of bonbon shelf life). It sounds more like a chocolate sauce.

There have been quite a few previous discussions of this issue, and no one has come up with a solution. It doesn't usually happen with domes (such as your first photo), but it often occurs with the shallow molds (such as the "quenelle" in your second photo, also with demispheres). I used to worry about it a lot until I saw examples from Melissa Coppel's chocolates. My "solution" is that if she can ignore it and put those photos out there for the world to see, then I can learn to ignore it too. If you are really meticulous and careful, you can sometime scrape the chocolate from the cocoa butter, but this sometimes damages the shells.

If I had to choose a favorite, I think it would be a raspberry-chocolate tart. The basic recipe for it came from an ancient issue of Bon Appétit, but a friend and husband had something similar at a pioneering "gourmet" Boston restaurant to celebrate their anniversary, so I tweaked the original to incorporate her description of what they had (alas, their marriage ended soon afterward, so perhaps I should recommend the tart with caution). It consists of a pâte sucrée crust (for which I sometimes substitute a pâte brisée), then a layer of pastry cream incorporating ground toasted almonds and almond flavoring. When that has set, a thin layer of dark chocolate ganache thinned with framboise is added. When that has almost set, it is topped with concentric circles of fresh raspberries.

Doesn't that take a lot of extra time? And doesn't it thicken the bottom (and we all know how we hate a thick bottom)? 😛

It's 2141 (shows in the second photo).

I agree. Unless your work space is unusually cold, I see no reason to do it, and there is the danger of getting them too warm.

I agree. Even after multiple attempts, with the mold looking as if the spaces between cavities are completely clear of chocolate, I remove the acetate sheet (either plain or a transfer sheet), and there is still a lot of chocolate. When I empty the mold, it is very difficult to get the chocolates out since they are "cemented" to that remaining chocolate. When it works, It's a great effect and, in particular, helps when the filling is a little too high and can't be removed (as when I use a cookie inclusion), but I need more practice.