Jim D.

I have purchased some hazelnuts from Freddy Guys in Oregon (thanks, @curls, for the tip). They are more or less peeled (the contact said about 80%, which is less than I would like). I did find the Piedmontese ones via Amazon, they looked luscious, but alas at 250g for $18, they were a little rich even for my blood, considering the quantities I need. That's compared to the 1361g for $40 I'm paying at Freddy Guys.

I don't suppose you would like to hike out/drive out and pick some from the trees to send me.

I found the answer myself regarding AUI--they don't carry hazelnuts. And in addition, Sunnylandfarms doesn't list hazelnuts as available.

Thanks for the tip. I agree about the chore of peeling hazelnuts. I did it the baking soda way once, and even then it was very nasty. I'll pay anyone else almost anything to do it for me. By your distributor, did you perchance mean AUI?

There's one about 35 miles away, so I could get to that. But in my search for previous eG references to hazelnuts, I saw a post about something inferior being substituted for the previous TJ ones (can't find that post right now but I think Thailand was mentioned as the source).

I am looking for quality hazelnuts. I have purchased them from nuts.com; these taste OK, but the husks are not well removed and the nuts are often very irregular in shape. Yes, I am fussy, but I am using some of these for the decoration of dipped chocolate bonbons. I have seen Piedmontese hazelnuts highly recommended, but don't see a ready place to purchase them. I have also heard good things about Oregon nuts. Freshness is, needless to say, crucial since there is nothing worse than a rancid hazelnut. Surprisingly I have been able to buy them in bulk at a local grocery store, but COVID has caused the removal of all bulk bins (and, with that, of the hazelnuts). Thanks for any help.

Depends, of course, on size of the tanks. With mine (2 tanks), it does not. I would say it starts running every 6-8 minutes or so.

I wrote this question to Grex tech support: And received this answer: But I (and many others on this forum) have found 60psi to be more satisfactory, and that's probably why I said earlier that 60psi is required (I had forgotten exactly what Grex told me). I can't imagine that more than 60 would be needed. Perhaps the Grex person with whom you spoke meant that the compressor should be capable of more than 60, since you don't want to run a compressor at its full capacity all the time. The GMAC pressure regulator between the hose and the Grex airbrush allows you to regulate your pressure easily without going to the compressor all the time to do that.

I agree that the 0.6HP compressor would work as far as producing the required pressure (60 psi I was told by Grex tech support, which, according to the chart you included, would mean 1.01 CFM). But I would find the 1-gallon capacity of the tank very limiting. My 4.6-gallon compressor turns on fairly frequently, so I would think a 1-gallon machine would be almost continuous. There are certainly less expensive compressors out there that would work, such as this one from Husky (which has an 8-gallon tank for $149--though it does get mixed reviews).

Oops, no, should have said 0.7.

I won't presume to speak for Teo, but your volume is not that different from mine, and, at this time, I use only the Grex with the compressor I have described previously. So you will probably be fine--for now. But I do have the Fuji HVLP sprayer for holiday work, and its speed in covering molds is impressive. What Teo is suggesting is that the future should also be considered (something I did not know I should do, foolish as I was). I had not gotten the impression you were willing to spend more, but I would probably buy a compressor large enough to handle both the Grex and an HVLP gun. With a quick-connect hookup, you could easily switch from one to the other and so use the Grizzly gun for splatter, then switch to the Grex for covering a mold (if you didn't want to use so much cocoa butter as a gun takes). If you are as certain as it is possible to be that your quantity will not go up dramatically, then the Grex and a somewhat smaller compressor will work.

I found this useful article explaining compressor terms; it has this statement: For the .7 Grex setup, you will need 60psi (and I would think you would want a compressor that puts out more than that so that it doesn't struggle constantly to keep up...and so wear out prematurely). Two air tanks are better than one (for reasons of moisture reduction and ease of continuous spraying). An air capacity of about 5 gallons is sufficient for the Grex (mine is 4.6), more is better, and you would need a different compressor if you go with an HVLP gun (or you can follow Teo's suggestion of adding an extra air tank yourself--but that assumes you are much more mechanically capable than I am). I am sure you can find compressors at Home Depot less expensive than the Husky models discussed previously (I recall the Campbell Hausfeld brand being mentioned on eGullet). I see that Teo has replied, with good advice. I will add to what I said before that if you make delicious chocolates (and if they are also beautiful, that is a bonus), people will find you and will want them. Depending on where you live, your potential audience may never have seen airbrushed chocolates before. I am going to send you a PM with the details of what I purchased for my Grex setup--all the connectors, hoses, etc. You know, of course, that there is always more to these endeavors than just buying an airbrush and spraying away!

Has good reviews, but I don't think its 1-gallon capacity would be enough for the .8mm Grex needle.

I was looking through the Home Depot compressor offerings. My compressor is 2HP but only 4.6 gal. According to what Teonzo wrote earlier in the thread, it would be nice to have at least 2 or more HP, but it is the capacity that affects your work the most. HP seems to be what raises the cost. The Husky ones have lower HP, but more capacity. All of the ones I looked at offer sufficient PSI for both the Grex and an HVLP gun. As I said previously, my HVLP gun (the same type as the Grizzly you are looking at) struggled with a 4.6-gallon tank. Teonzo recommended 50 liters (13 gal.) minimum, 100 if possible. Home Depot has several Husky models with 20 gal. (76 liters); the least expensive I saw is $219. If you go with a smaller tank model (as you mentioned you are thinking about), it will probably be fine with the Grex, but if you move to an HVLP, you will need to invest in a second compressor (or drive yourself crazy waiting for compressed air). You mentioned having spent enough time thinking about this. I would say it is time well spent. The decision has to do with what direction you expect your work to go. I hope I don't sound like a know-it-all (I certainly am not); I am just thinking of all the expensive mistakes I made along the way. If you can swing the more expensive Grizzly, it will allow for several options. I will try to get @teonzo's attention and hope he can offer his advice on your options. Now for the easier question: If you start with a new bottle of cocoa butter, you can microwave it in short bursts, shake the bottle, and it will probably end up in temper. I transfer cocoa butter to little glass containers and heat them (in my dehyrator) to well above 100F. Then I cool them in cold water (just to save time), and use a little cocoa butter silk from the EZtemper to bring them into temper. There are, of course, alternatives, such as using some fresh cocoa butter as seed, but nothing as quick as @Kerry Beal's silk. Do you have an EZtemper yet?

There are different opinions on the subject of whether colored cocoa butter must be tempered. One theory (which is enticing because it makes everything much easier) is that the cocoa butter gets tempered as it flies from the gun. I have never seen anyone with any proof that occurs. Ever since I took an online course with Andrey Dubovik on decorating shells, I have tempered all cocoa butter. Melissa Coppel does so. Kirsten Tibballs does. I just don't want to take a chance.

You could achieve that with a water ganache (that is, substituting the purée for the entire amount of the usual cream--as you plan to do with the blueberry). Wybauw does that with his black currant ganache. You can do it, but you will have a short shelf life. Wybauw adds a considerable amount of sorbitol, which helps with shelf life, and a large amount of alcohol, which may or may not help with that issue. I will be interested in your blueberry experiment since I did that a couple of weeks ago (following the black currant recipe). I tried it with both white and milk chocolate, and the white was not delicious, the milk was better. I couldn't help thinking that the blue color of the shell was actually what made it taste like blueberry. In your caramel experiment, adding the blueberry at the beginning reduced its flavor to some degree. The water in the purée (as well as in the cream) has to be cooked off at some point.

Yes, basically. I always test the caramel (per Greweling, as temp is unreliable) and wait until it is at the firmball stage. Then I blend in the butter. I use an immersion blender to help prevent separating, since you are making an emulsion and are now "playing around" with the proportions--you have reduced the liquid, thus increasing the proportion of fat, and are now adding some more fat. Once the butter is in, I add the flavoring. If the butter causes some separation, I don't panic because the purée will help balance the amount of fat. I do recommend reducing the purée as much as you can in advance to get the most flavor using the least amount of it. In actuality I ordinarily use the Amoretti natural flavorings, which are reduced purées (I suspect they make them with vacuum so that burning is not an issue), but I didn't think you could probably get those easily where you are (maybe there is a European equivalent).

The real issue I have found with fruit caramels is that the fruit can easily scorch when being cooked to the proper temperature. I have had more success with first reducing the fruit purée by itself (when it is easier to watch for burning), then cooking the caramel a little beyond the final stage for piping and adding the fruit after the caramel has been removed from the heat (that is, cooking the caramel to the hardball stage, then letting the purée bring it back to the ideal softball stage). This procedure gives a lot more fruit flavor because the fruit is cooked less. And aiming for caramel that can be piped gives more leeway with consistency.

I knew you would know. Is there anything in the pastry world you don't know?

If there is anyone on the forum who can give you information, it is @teonzo--perhaps he will respond.

No, this is the Grex I have (the Tritium model with the .7mm nozzle). The Bakedeco setup is not robust enough (the compressor is 1/8 HP, much too little power, the nozzle is only .35mm, and the cup is very small--Grex makes a 50ml size). The compressor is approximately what I got in the beginning, and I had to replace it as I began doing more molds. I mean, it will work with the .35mm needle that comes with it, but you will be frustrated waiting for enough compressed air to spray adequately and I don't think .35 will be satisfactory at all. HVLP guns have different sizing, and nozzle sizes are larger than those for airbrushes. If you need to keep the expense low, I would probably go with the Grizzly spray gun (which is only $43) and a larger compressor. If you hate the Grizzly, you will be out a relatively small amount and will have a compressor that will work for whatever you decide to use. The dehydrator I use is $190 and works well for heating cocoa butter, a spray gun, and chocolate in preparation for tempering.

@lironp, a few thoughts on your decision: I have used 4 different airbrushes, and by far the best has been the Grex. I find the gun-like trigger action easier and more comfortable to use than the more prevalent ones with the trigger on top of the gun. The Grex is more expensive than many other airbrushes, especially if you upgrade to the .7mm nozzle, which works better for cocoa butter, and it requires more compressed air and so a stronger compressor. If you keep it warm (which I consider a "must"), it sprays beautifully. I bought a dehydrator to keep it warm, and the model I purchased is great. The Grex has a larger size cup, and that is a crucial consideration; stopping to fill up the cup as you spray is a major nuisance. HVLP spray guns are, of course, similar but are different in many ways. I bought a very inexpensive one from Harbor Freight tools. It sprays more rapidly than an airbrush but uses more cocoa butter. Mine does not do splattering, but some of them do. Here is a link to a Grizzly model recommended by @Bentley, and he stated that it does splatter very successfully. Of course, an alternative for splattering is to use toothbrush, recommended by some famous people in the field (such as Andrey Dubovik). I also have a Fuji spray system, another version of an HVLP gun. It works very fast but uses a huge amount of cocoa butter. From what you wrote, it is beyond the price range you are looking at. As people have posted in this thread (see especially the comments by @teonzo), the compressor is a crucial choice. It's not just the HP but the amount of storage of air that counts. My Grex works fine with my 2HP, 2-tank California Air Tools compressor, but the El Cheapo HVLP gun kept the compressor running almost constantly to provide enough air at high enough a pressure. If you go with an HVLP gun (such as the Grizzly), I would recommend a compressor larger than what I purchased. So if you will be doing 10-20 molds, an argument could be made for either choice. An HVLP gun will use more cocoa butter and will get them done faster than an airbrush, and if you want to do splattering with whatever you choose, the Grex does not do splatter, and only certain HVLP guns do. No matter what choice you make, I would strongly recommend getting something to keep the cocoa butter and gun warm. My dehydrator has changed my life (as far as decorating molds, goes!). And, sorry to say, you might be able to stay within your desired budget, but it will be difficult, and (in my opinion) allowing for expansion (making more chocolates in the future) will save you in the long run. I predict that as you get into more elaborate decorating of molds, you will be hooked, like so many of us on eGullet.

I doubt that eGullet would appreciate my listing everything here, so I'll send you a PM with the details.

@Louise nadine brill, glad you found the diagram. It was indispensable. I think you will be pleased with the Grex. If you want any info on exactly what I ordered, I would be glad to furnish that. You will find Grex tech support among the best anywhere (or at least I did). They are not experts in spraying cocoa butter, but at least they are aware that it is being done and have some knowledge of what is entailed. Although I have a Fuji setup for large production, I mostly use my Grex. I can state one thing: The amount of cocoa butter used is much, much less with the Grex. I know those bottles are only $20, but when one is addicted to the array of available colors, those $20 mount up. I will be very interested in hearing about the peach. As I reported at some length, I tried everything I could think of (even to roasting fresh peaches with brown sugar and buying peach liqueur) without success. I was just thinking about it today at the farmers' market when I picked up some peaches, hoping the guy from the orchard wouldn't remember that I told him about all my experimentation last summer. At least those roasted peaches did make a nice tart.

Sorry to take so long to reply. I wanted to take a look at the bottoms in question. I think you are right, that it's an appearance thing, nothing oozing out. Where the bubbles were are now little bumps, but they don't appear to be actual holes in the chocolate.