Jim D.

Just wanted to point out that gianduja can be made with any chocolate (dark, milk, or even white). And as for milk chocolate, I definitely prefer dark, but there are some milks being made that are certainly "on the dark side" (so to speak). I currently use Felchlin's Maracaibo Créole (49%) and think it's delicious. Or you can always mix some dark with the milk. I just feel there are some fillings that go better with milk chocolate.

It looks as if the Rev 2 is being phased out and replaced with the 2B (the Chocovision website lists the first as being out of stock). You can always call or email them; their customer service is good. If you are reasonably certain that you will never have chocolate needs beyond what the Rev 2 machine can do, then it's a good starting point. Its main drawback is that it is quite noisy; in addition, its small bowl size eliminates the possibility of emptying molds into it in order to make shells, and it is not programmable to the degree that the larger machines are. I have one as well as a Delta, and I still use the Rev 2 for dipping centers--for this purpose the bowl is the perfect size and keeps the chocolate at the working temp quite well. If, however, you can imagine that you will be making more chocolates (if you think you will really be into making chocolates, if you hope to get reasonably good at this, if you might start a business someday--I went through this myself), then I would strongly recommend that you go for one of the larger Chocovision machines. I know they are expensive in relation to the Rev 2, but better to spend more money now than to buy the smaller machine and need to upgrade in the future.

I have just completed experimenting with the fan spray cap and the Grex airbrush. Insofar as my efforts went, it does not do splatter, not even close. The amount of overspray is large. I never need to wear any kind of mask when splattering with the Fuji, but I definitely should have had one for this trial. I suspect my innards are now colored "Mediterranean blue." So it would seem that the options for splattering are (1) some kind of brush, e.g., a toothbrush, (2) using a flat stick and ricocheting the cocoa butter from an airbrush onto the stick and then into the mold, (3) a regular HVLP gun with a pressure regulator (not sure this works with all HVLP paint guns, but see Rajala's touting of his in the post above), or (4) the Fuji with pressure turned down. Perhaps others know of additional methods that work and can add them to this thread.

Here's an entire thread on the topic.

I have the Revolation Delta, which, according to Chocovision, has the same technology as the V, so can probably help with questions.

@Ciordia9, I know what I'm about to ask about is not your real concern in this thread, but I wanted to ask about the white-backed transfer sheets. I have long thought that would be a good idea because so many colors work only on white chocolate. Red always looks great in the pictures posted by the vendors, but in reality, when used with milk or dark chocolate, it becomes a muddy brownish color. In reality many of the most beautiful transfer sheets turn out to be disappointments, and the photos used to advertise them often amount to false advertising. I have never seen any white-backed transfers in the U.S. I don't know where you are located, but can you tell us where you got yours?

What Kerry said was to let the molds start crystallizing at room temp (I wait until most of the cavities are showing that matte rather than shiny look), then they go into the fridge. I'm not sure exactly what you meant in the quote above, but they shouldn't go in immediately. All these ideas you have been receiving are what we all go through: We never know for sure what makes certain problems occur as there are many explanations for almost all issues; all you can do is to be as meticulous as you can with tempering and keep practicing. What reference are you using for the procedures you describe? I ask because all of them (that I know of) mention putting molds in a cooler to help with the problem of the latent heat of crystallization. I think Peter Greweling's book is generally considered the standard reference, though there are many others.

I did look at the Chocolat-Chocolat site (they have prices in U.S. dollars), but it's really difficult to know whether the shipping charges and import duty are better than from Belgium, given that the prices are higher to start with (not as high as at some vendors in the U.S.). TCF Sales has good prices, but has a 5-mold minimum, and in most cases I'm just adding to the stash I already have of a few molds, so don't need 5. I also want a few magnetic molds as they really come in handy in the holiday rush, and the prices some places charge for those are outrageous (given that at Chocolate World they are only 32 euros, or about 35 USD). JB Prince has some less expensive magnetic molds, but I am sick of having to reglue the magnets into the frames.

In spite of saying repeatedly that I would not buy any more molds, Christmas is approaching and I do need more (or so I am saying). For me it will be a fairly large order, and the prices at Chocolate World are very tempting. But is this really a bargain? I realize the shipping will be more expensive than in the U.S., and I assume there will be import duty to pay as well (plus the fee the credit card company tacks on for whatever). Does anyone know whether this is a case of penny wise, pound foolish?

I see your mind is in the gutter--and so early in the day!

That sounds like a very good idea, solves the whole issue of getting "banana burns" from the fruit cooking in the caramel.

Can you provide the source of your recipe? Or if it's your own, the method you used? I ask because I have had much trouble with banana caramel: Not only does the banana cause the caramel to splatter dangerously, but the banana tends to burn before the correct temperature can be reached. And, to add insult to injury, sometimes the fat separates out, and I have to put the whole mess in the food processor. The usual remedy for a separated filling is to add some liquid, so I add dark rum, which goes beautifully with the banana but, of course, thins out the mixture even more.

@Desiderio. it sounds as if you are going about this exciting yet frightening new project the right way. The decision on the part of management to purchase new equipment is also very encouraging. Good luck on the Melissa Coppel gambit--we'll see how much the new employer loves you!

@Pastrypastmidnight, could you say a little more about how you make that layer? Grind up graham crackers? Then add ... ? I can imagine using the same chocolate as the shell or using white chocolate plus cocoa butter, which would detract less from the taste of the graham cracker. I ask this because I just finished a strawberry cheesecake bonbon and included a graham cracker cookie surrounded with white chocolate (plus coconut oil to keep it softer). But it's difficult to get a cookie the right size, both in diameter and in height. The graham cracker recipe I use calls for baking soda, which makes the cookie rise a little; therefore it is nearly impossible to keep the cookie thin (without perhaps putting a baking sheet on top of the cookies as they bake). Let's just say there were some filled bonbons that took a bit of effort to seal neatly. I think your praliné layer piped in would make that process much easier, but I wouldn't want to lose the wonderful crunch and taste of the cookie inclusion.

I did pursue my question and was reminded that Grex airbrushes do not come with the 0.7mm needle. You have to purchase a 0.5 airbrush and a conversion kit to the 0.7. So that's what I did, and the kit included the fan spray nozzle. Once you have the 0.7 needle installed, then it is indeed quick to exchange the regular spray cap for the fan spray one--so there's no need to take the airbrush apart each time.

I assume this means you were not successful at splattering with the Grex and its regular needle? I wonder if the fan cap has too wide a spray to make it practical for molds (too much overspray). When I have some time, I'll try to find out. Meanwhile maybe you can try it and report back.

Upon further checking, I see that the fan spray cap is not new. In fact, I must confess that I bought it when I got the Grex and had forgotten it. I have never pursued trying to splatter with it. The website says it can be attached without any hassle, but somewhere I saw that the airbrush needs to be disassembled to use it. I gave up on it temporarily and have never gotten back to it. In all my back and forth with Grex tech support about splattering, the spray cap was not mentioned. I'll have to pursue this further.

@Kerry Beal, thanks very much for mentioning this new toy--I had not heard about it. And yes, it does look very much like the Fuji spray. I will definitely look into this (you know I can't resist anything that might make the elusive splatter an easier technique). Ruth seems to have great success with her Fuji, but for me splattering is a hit-or-miss proposition.

@Desiderio, those look good, much better than most of what I came up with. Andrey would never approve of your kitchen temp. He specifies what I considered very low temps, uncomfortably so at times. Some think that is the secret to his amazing shine.

Ah, Kerry the tempter at it once again.

I see from eGullet notifications that you are looking at that thread. I think I wrote a review of the course. It has now been a year since I took it. My thoughts are still on the positive side. I learned a lot, and I still use some of the designs he taught (just today I did the "Outer Space 2" one, it has layers of yellow and green), though I have adapted them in some cases. Perhaps more importantly, I use the techniques I learned in the course to do other designs (sometimes successfully, sometimes not so much). To my great disappointment, I never mastered his major technique, the "eye" design. Sometimes I get it right, but I never have enough usable bonbons for it to work when one is actually "in production" He makes it look so easy, but it's not. I even had someone video me as I did it, sent the videos to Andrey, he evaluated them, but I still could not get it right enough of the time. For what it's worth, he would not say anything about other techniques he has been using since the course went online ("maybe in a future course" was the response). Would I do it again? Definitely. There are other chocolatiers supposedly with courses in the works (Melissa Coppel and The Chocolate Lab are two I know of). I am especially interested in the latter as I think they have some wonderful designs. Sometimes they demo how they do things, but new designs are always appearing on their Instagram feed.

Yes, several eG members have taken the course. There is an entire topic (of many pages) devoted to discussion of it.

Yes, I think it's more computerized than the earlier model.

It's the word "just" that raises cautionary flags for me. Any of us can go out and purchase an air tank (I suppose I could, once I found a source). But for those of us technically challenged and/or without serious tools, I think attaching this new tank to the old would seem a daunting task indeed. I suspect the average chocolatier would buy a new compressor before attempting this fix.

I do not find it that loud, compared to a compressor. Yes, the compressor shuts off for much of the time, but when it starts up, I am always a bit startled. The Fuji noise is often described as that of a vacuum cleaner, and I think that's an apt description, perhaps the noise of a Shop Vac. It is a steady noise that does not seem as loud as the compressor's. The Fuji setup instructions specify that it must be placed at a distance from the gun (so as to prevent the air intake from sucking in bits of paint/cocoa butter). I have mine in the same room where I do the spraying, but Kerry's idea of putting the motor in another room would certainly help with the noise. So what are the actual measured sound levels? My 2HP compressor is rated at a sound level of 70 decibels, whereas the Fuji (I have the Q4 model) is 62 dBA (a similar measurement of sound weighted to come a bit closer to what the human ear actually hears--I'm not sure how much these measurements differ, but these two figures give an idea). Normal human conversation is about 60 decibels.