Jim D.

So you don't use the term for white chocolate either? Valrhona calls the new product "fruit couvertures" and lists it as well as products like its Ivoire white under couverture. Perhaps they are using the term more loosely than you would?

I knew that AUI would become the sole distributor at the beginning of 2018. For me that was good news because they are located rather close to me, and if I buy enough at a time, they have free shipping. I wonder what strategy Felchlin has in mind with limiting distribution; it was always rather difficult to find. I would think the more distributors, the better for sales. I bought some Creole once but don't recall what it tasted like (it's less sweet than most milks, I think). I use the Maracaibo Criolait, but don't think it's less expensive. I gave up on the wonderful Fortunato milk as couverture (it's just too temperamental to make shells, though it is great in ganaches). You will certainly not cut your costs with Valrhona. By the way, I bought a Valrhona dark sampler once and found that their Caraïbe is the closest in flavor to Felchlin's Maracaibo dark (alas, it also shares Maracaibo's tendency to become overcrystallized rather quickly). Could you give your source for the raspberries? The freeze dried fruit I have purchased (actually I think it was powdered) has been weak and "sawdusty" in flavor, though it was from a highly rated source.

Leave it to you to be on the cutting edge! These sound intriguing. How did you get to taste them? I would certainly give them a try. At first thought, it seems a sacrilege--to work with flavored couverture seems like one of the dreaded "shortcuts" (like chocolate coating), but the more I think about it, it would open up possibilities to make a filling that works with (or contrasts to) the flavor of the shell. I think of a coconut ganache in a passion fruit shell.

"scrape the line clean"? Now there is a task for a chocolatier's minion. What tool would be used? A carefully applied ice pick? With the cost of labor on this piece, ignoring the ingredients, they must be priced around $50 each.

Could you say a bit more about a "household air filter"? I would think this would have to be a filter that would allow air through but stop any droplets of cocoa butter. I have an old-fashioned hot water system so am only vaguely familiar with that item. Would these filters be labeled for use in a "forced-air" system? In your setup, do you ever see any cocoa butter particles on the filter? I can't quite picture how an ordinary box fan would have enough power to pull air from the spraying box. Obviously @Kata's original post has got me thinking. If one goes for protection at the user end of the process (that is, me), a painter's mask might be enough (I recall that Kerry was using some sort of mask before the construction of her chocolate "atelier"), and I have used those as well as medical masks. A more serious alternative would be what airbrushers using paint recommend, a respirator. That device is not part of my usual "look," but appearances aside (and I do work alone, so no children would be frightened), someone at 3M gave me a recommendation for a respirator to use when spraying cocoa butter.

I have a Grex airbrush. It's a gravity feed model. You can read my review of it. Previously I used a Paasche siphon feed airbrush. I hold a mold a foot or more away from me when I spray. As I said, there is some overspray but not a lot, and the box catches most of it. My impression from comments on eGullet from people who do not work in professional settings (that is, they mostly make chocolates in their homes) is that they do not have ventilation systems. I am not saying this is an ideal situation. If one is using a spray gun (such as a paint sprayer), I think ventilation or a mask meant for spraying paint would be a must.

What brand of airbrush and compressor are you using? How far away from you are the molds when you spray? I don't have the kind of overspray you describe, and I use just a cardboard box, no spray booth such as yours (which looks very nice), no venting to the outside. To be safe, I wear a mask over mouth and nose while spraying, an idea I got from Kerry a long time ago, but when I finish there is very little if any cocoa butter on the mask.

Glad to hear that. My molds are 34mm in diameter. I was concerned that the narrow tape would make too small a stripe for my use, but that should be fine.

Did you see this from Melissa Coppel in person or in a photo or ... ? That would be very interesting as she is such a perfectionist. I've had a few more thoughts on the issue: It's really not possible to cap the mold quickly because there is the filling to be piped plus time for it to set. Heating the mold before capping is an intriguing idea. I heat my molds when there is caramel involved (this has virtually stopped leakage from apple caramels), but do not use heat otherwise. Another thought: When I was at the chocolate workshop last year in Vegas, the chocolatiers we saw used demispheres almost exclusively (I remember squeezing into a tight closet at Jean-Marie Auboine's to retrieve as many of these molds as I could carry). Yet I never saw the problem with any of their chocolates.

Now I see what you mean. I have never had this happen (at least that I have noticed) except with the demisphere molds. I will be using some of those molds in the coming week, so I will do some experimenting. Since those molds release so easily, I will try taking out a few pieces at various stages to see if the issue occurs. Have you had it happen with other molds? ... Now that I think about it, I had this same issue with filled Easter eggs last year--and those molds have a similar shape and also released very easily. At the time I thought I must have missed spraying the top edges. Meanwhile others with more experience may have ideas.

I am not clear on what you mean by "small amount of chocolate manages to get between the mould and the chocolate shell." Do you mean some chocolate gets between the polycarbonate and the colored cocoa butter? I don't see how that is possible. I have never seen the colored c.b. contract at all. The idea is that when you pour in the warm chocolate, it binds to the colors to form a unit. Maybe if your layer of c.b. is too thick, you could get a problem. In any case if there is contraction, I don't see how you would stop it, unless you make the chocolate shell so quickly that there is no time for contraction--but you already said you had that advice. If you have more pieces, you might try carefully scraping off the chocolate that is showing at the edge and see if there is c.b. behind it. If there is, we will know that that theory is correct. I don't have similar chocolates right now, so can't test it myself.

I would say from that evidence that you are an ideal neighbor to have above a person, very considerate! But your method does explain some of the issues you are having, especially turning off the compressor. Quite naturally it will take some time to get back up to pressure, starting from scratch. Compressors with tanks are intended to come on when more air is needed so that operation is more or less seamless. I think my padding idea might allow you to run it continuously, but of course I don't know how loud it is (and you are right, it is the vibration that makes a difference). How well do you know your neighbor? Can you ask him? Or is that stirring up trouble, making him notice something he had not up to this point?

This look great. The stripe is still sharp after unmolding. I wish they made the tape you found in a wider size, but I could not find it. And speaking of finding the tape, it does not appear on the main Scotch site. If you do a search for it ("Artist Tape for Curves"), what comes up is "Artist Tape for Canvas," which may or may not be the same thing (of the three images provided, one of them is of "Artist Tape for Curves"--rather confusing). Also interesting is that on Amazon the "Curves" tape is listed as being 1/8" wide, but if you look closely at the image, the package says it is 1/6" wide. I think the crucial factor about the tape you found is that it is plastic and stretchy, not paper and therefore produces a sharper line. What is the approximate diameter of the cavity of the mold you used?

Crucial thing to know that you have to take neighbors into consideration. First, it's good of you to think of them. I spent many years living in apartments below people until finally my #1 criterion for choosing a place was that it had to be on the top floor. But even there you do have to consider those below you. If I were in your situation, I would find a way to cushion the sound--if the compressor is small enough, put it on a stool or table or wooden box with as much padding as possible beneath it--definitely not directly on the floor. That kind of noise can drive even nice neighbors to violence!

I have had that happen, particularly with demisphere molds (which is what yours looks like). Did you also have the issue that when you are adding ganache (or whatever the filling is) the chocolate shell can be dislodged easily? That is also a characteristic of flatter, spread-out cavities (while being an inconvenience, it is also a positive sign that your chocolate was in temper and is going to come out of the cavities easily at a later stage of the process). As for the chocolate showing around the bottom of the finished bonbon: I have always assumed it is because I did not completely cover the cavity with colored cocoa butter--that is, up to the very top. If you leave any spots unsprayed, they are, of course, going to show the underlying chocolate color--it's easy to miss this when you are in the process of spraying and you don't want to make too thick a layer of cocoa butter and you are hurrying because the cocoa butter may be getting too thick or cooling too much. The gap in color could also happen when you scrape after capping the mold. Not everyone agrees with the following, but I think you need to scrape off all the excess cocoa butter after spraying the mold so that you have a completely flat surface when you pour and scrape what will become the bottom of the cavities. Immediately after spraying a mold, I invert it over paper towels and rub it back and forth to get off as much c.b. as possible. Later I use an offset spatula and paper towels to clean off what I missed. Experience has taught me that leaving any bumps of c.b. will make scraping uneven.

I think that is the same tape that@pastrygirl said Melissa Coppel was using. I bought it under the Martha Stewart brand, and in the thread linked to below demonstrated that I could not make it work. So please tell us exactly what you did.

I'm not sure why you find that a problem. Does the PSI on yours drop to zero just before the motor turns on to refill the tank? Mine drops until the PSI reaches a certain set point, when it comes on, but during that process, there is still enough PSI to continue working. The small compressors (such as the Iwata Studio series) provide compressed air on demand, and so don't require a tank for storage. The downside, of course, is that their PSI is low (and, in the case of the Iwata that I have, their price is relatively high).

Is it the same as the Chocolate World #1673 mold? Called a quenelle by some people. I bought 6 of these and was not thrilled. They are rather long, but don't hold a lot of filling. They are probably better with two fitted together (and they have the holes to help with that).

I have the Aqualab Pawkit, used by several on this forum. Aqualab has now become Meter Group, but I think the Pawkit is still sold, though they are emphasizing more expensive equipment now (the Pawkit is labeled a "legacy" product). I am happy with it. It's accurate to within + or -0.02 (which is enough for me). Warning: it is not inexpensive.

Definitely true. There is a drying out and shrinking of the ganache that happens as well as a fading of the flavor.

To add to what I said above: If a shelf life of 3 weeks sounds like a "no problem" situation, it isn't. I talked to someone a couple of days ago who received a box of my chocolates as a Christmas gift. She proudly announced that she is still (this was on Feb. 10) enjoying them, one piece per day! That is the sort of information that keeps me vigilant and led me to purchase a water activity meter. No one has any control over what the recipient does with the bonbon. And that is why I would never produce a bonbon such as the crème brûlée one sold by a famous NYC chocolatier (who, I have read, tells customers to consume it within a day or so). And finally, it is why I purchased food insurance.

Yes, it is. Or at least knowing the water activity can provide an estimate of shelf life (about the only indicator there is, aside from just keeping ganache for a while and checking it for spoilage from time to time). Jean-Pierre Wybauw gives the following guide for how long a ganache can be safely kept: for an Aw greater than 0.85: maximum of 3 weeks for an Aw between 0.70 and 0.85: maximum of 3 months for an Aw between 0.65 and 0.70: maximum of 9 months for an Aw below 0.65: "the ganache is microbially stable" (I'm assuming that basically means "forever") I operate on the general principle that the Aw must always be below 0.85, with the goal of getting it as low as possible. In the U.S. some states have specific regulations that nothing at 0.85 or higher can legally be sold.

When you refer to "cookie butter gianduja," you are referring to the paste + choc slab? This method would have the flavor, but I'm not sure how much crunch there would still be after the shortbread has been reduced to a paste.

That sounds entirely too easy! Thanks for the idea.

I remain pleased with the inclusion of a shortbread cookie in a bonbon and have refined the logistics of getting it in the shell successfully. Now I would like to find a way to include those same cookies in a truffle. I make a chocolate chip cookie truffle by creating a ganache with Dulcey, cream, and molasses, then add coarsely chopped dark chocolate and pecans, and roll the mixture into balls, which I dip in dark chocolate (milk also works) and decorate with either more chopped pecans or cocoa nibs. I think adding pieces of the shortbread cookie would contribute a great deal toward reaching the taste of an actual chocolate chip cookie, but of course there is the issue that a ganache will soften the cookie bits (in my current use of the cookies, they are surrounded with gianduja, so no problem). I can't make this as a bonbon because the pecan and dark chocolate pieces cannot be piped successfully. But I'm stuck with how to protect the cookies in a ganache. I've had a couple of thoughts: (1) Turn the base mixture into a gianduja with Dulcey and some sort of nut paste (pecan probably). But that leaves out the molasses taste (which is meant to suggest brown sugar), and in my experience giandujas tend to get very firm--and regulating the final texture is nearly impossible because nut pastes vary so much in viscosity (you don't know how they will turn out until it's too late). (2) My other thought would involve the kind of detailed work that only a few (not mentioning any names ) would undertake: bake the shortbread cookies not as 1" rounds but as small squares, which could be dipped in chocolate to protect them from the effects of the cream and molasses. These would be substituted for the chopped chocolate and would still suggest chocolate chips--with the bonus of the buttery cookie flavor from the shortbread bits. If anyone has other ideas, I would love to hear them before I begin experimenting.