Jim D.

More about the new Ruby chocolate: This detailed discussion of the product (appearance, taste, uses, etc.) by Clay Gordon, eminent chocolate authority, is quite interesting: https://www.themaven.net/thechocolatelife/news/and-ruby-makes-four-a-new-flavor-and-color-joins-the-chocolate-family-9E0qKqT9rEm7PduwTDT0Mw-9E0qKqT9rEm7PduwTDT0Mw?full=1 One salient fact: it probably won't be available until 2019.

Speaking only of the Valrhona whites, I tried Opalys when it first came out and immediately liked it. To me it has a strong vanilla flavor and (at least sometimes) a hint of something citrus--though I freely admit that this may be my imagination. I use it as my only white at this time--although it is a horror to temper and use for shells (it thickens after only a few molds). I took a kilo of it to this year's eGullet workshop in Vegas and let Kerry Beal try tempering it. To my relief (I was sure I was losing my mind), it behaved the same way for her. But if one is willing to take the usual steps for correcting its over-tempering tendencies, it is the only white I have tried so far that really tastes good (to me). And for as a base for ganaches (which is the usual way I employ it), it adds a very pleasant flavor. I bought a kilo of Waina but do not care for it. Unlike RWood, I do not taste a lot of vanilla, mostly cocoa butter and sugar. I haven't yet tried the new Valrhona Orelys but want to do so. I have always thought that finding a good dark and milk is not terribly difficult, but white is another matter.

Yes, as I was reading the ruby articles, I happened on the information that chocolate prices are plunging (news to me). Wasn't it just a year or so ago that there were dire warnings of price rises (and some in fact followed)? Glad I'm not an economist and have to explain all this.

I sent the news to Chocosphere. The owner hadn't heard of the new product but said he would contact his Barry Callebaut rep to ask about it, so we'll see how soon it gets to this side of the world. I think the real question is whether--despite all the hype--it tastes good.

Glad you pointed that out since it's not stated--as far as I can tell--on their website. In one of the Grex videos on airbrushing food items, the artist recommends starting with airbrush color, but she is not dealing with chocolate! I like the "Jewel" colors too, but those little grains of whatever it is that makes them sparkle (and it's probably better not to contemplate that too closely) have to go somewhere since they don't dissolve, and an airbrush needle is very small--in your case, 0.5mm to be exact. I am ordering my Grex airbrush next week, with a 0.7mm nozzle, will let you know whether that makes a difference. I have a feeling it's all going to come down to the compressor, which is a big one, required for the 0.7 nozzle.

Has anyone noticed any difference in difficulty when spraying Chef Rubber's "Jewel" colors as opposed to the regular ones? I would like to know if it is my imagination or not. In any event, today the only color that sprayed with any success was a non-Jewel one; the others were coming out intermittently, spitting (though the compressor showed no moisture in the trap), and generally behaving in an unacceptable way. I have noted that Chef Rubber has colors especially made for airbrushes but have not tried those.

As a packaging fanatic, I think those are very good-looking, restrained and elegant. Are you still doing filled chocolates as well as the bars with inclusions? I think I recall that you recently said the filled ones are not selling as well. Is that still true? If so, it's very different from customers in my area.

If there are bean-to-bar manufacturers in the Seattle area (which I suspect there are), I can't see how you could compete with what they make because even if their product isn't that fantastic, it will still have the bean-to-bar cachet. I always respect what Teo says, but in my experience, most customers prefer filled chocolates--after all, they can go to a grocery store and get a decent bar of chocolate at a low price, even in my small city.

This is copied from the quote I was given: Mold Charge: $ 22.95 per Mold in Quantities of 100 Molds $20.50 per Mold in Quantities of 150 Molds $ 18.50 per Mold in Quantities of 200 Molds I was assured these are "like the injection style Chocolate World moulds." I don't know the thickness of the polycarbonate, but am due to get the sample mold soon.

@pastrygirl, I have now gone through most of the process of having a custom injection mold made through Tomric and can probably answer some questions. I say "through Tomric" because it turned out that apparently Chocolate World actually makes the molds. It has been a lengthy process, and we are now quite a bit behind schedule. Apparently the Belgians take Fridays off! It is also, as you know, an expensive process. So far I have received a sample thermoformed single cavity, and it was fine. Mine is a very simple demisphere (or hemisphere, whichever term you prefer), but a midsize between the quite small one that is very common and the next size, which is huge. The minimum order was 100 molds, so I'll be hoping to sell some of them. Now I am waiting for a full injection mold sample, then the whole order will be manufactured. The other company I mentioned earlier in this thread, Micelli, makes the molds in this country. The owner did finally get in touch (apparently there was a glitch in their website--I don't know what happened to the voicemail I left). Once I saw the extra shipping charges, etc., from Tomric, the prices at the two places are about the same. But you would not be interested in starting from scratch since you are already far along. I did use the sample thermoformed cavity once. I wanted to see what the weight of a piece would be. It worked fine, but I think scraping it (if you scrape as vigorously as I do) would be a problem in the long term. If you want to know more about my experience, just ask. And if you wish to buy some nice brand-new demisphere molds, maybe around Thanksgiving, just let me know.

That would be a logical explanation, but I have not heard (or seen) any signs of it. The compressor appears to make the same sound and behave the same even when I use it for a fairly long period of time without pausing. This is what the Paasche manual says: Approximate Working Pressures: • 20 lbs. or Less: Stipple and granulated effects, pressure will vary with viscosity of fluid. • 20 to 30 lbs.: Medium consistency water colors, inks & dyes. • 30 lbs. or More: Heavy fluids, acrylics, reduced lacquers, varnishes, paints or ceramic glaze.

I didn't answer @pastrygirl's question about the equipment I currently use. I have a Paasche airbrush with a nozzle slightly larger than 1mm and an Iwata Smart Jet Pro compressor, which has a top PSI of 35--which I am learning is quite low. As confirmed by Kerry Beal (who has this same setup) the Iwata compressor and the Paasche airbrush cannot be made to do splatter. I experimented a long time with lowering the pressure on the compressor. The process is not at all exact, but no matter where I set the pressure, the output was either the usual full spray or nothing. I could not produce a splatter. If I stick with my current setup, I will definitely get the G-MAC regulator, which allows for regulating the pressure close to the airbrush.

Thanks for the info and the videos. While you were experimenting, I was doing more research on the issues. I came across some Instagram photos and videos from Salvatore Martone on some of the techniques you were trying (some of these have been posted previously on eGullet, so I'm just providing the links). The first one shows him making shells with the Grex Tritium. I suspect that--given the speed of the process--he may have one of the larger sizes of needles. https://www.instagram.com/p/BMcaOibDWt9/?taken-by=chefsmartone And another example: https://www.instagram.com/p/BSpkrfcFcHA/?taken-by=chefsmartone In the comments on the second one, he writes: "The airbrush I use is a Grex S5 it has an opening of 0.5 mm that is ideal for colored cocoa butter spray." But in the brief glimpse of the airbrush he is using, it does not look like a Grex Tritium (I don't see the telltale light green color, but I could be wrong). And here he uses exactly the splatter technique you demonstrated: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGsusAfwtRd/?taken-by=chefsmartone In that last one, it looks as if he is using a spray gun (maybe the one that Grex sells, the X4000). I sent some questions to Grex last week and got a very prompt and helpful reply: I saw a video somewhere on the "pumping" process for splatter, but don't recall where it was. It worked really well. It also appears the G-MAC regulator is quite helpful for splatter--and Grex makes the regulator for several other makes of airbrush. I am now wavering between the Tritium with 0.7mm nozzle (with an industrial-type compressor!) and the Grex spray gun, which is sold by Chef Rubber and is a LVLP gun, meaning there is less overspray and less pressure is required. I will probably hear tomorrow from Grex about differences in the two. There isn't a huge difference in cost. With all the Grex costs adding up, I wonder if the Fuji system would just be easier. Meanwhile I'm about to do some spraying with my current Paasche and see if I can live with what I already have.

Just wanted to add that the Breville 16-cup model (mentioned above) is probably fine, but I had to return the 12-cup model--a terrible task that I almost never undertake for such a heavy appliance. The smaller one makes a rather loud "thunk" noise every time you start or stop it (which is often with a food processor). After much back and forth, Breville admitted that yes, it does make that noise, which is a result of the design. Aside from that noise, which I found unacceptable, I was very impressed with the quality of Breville's machine; of course, the company is famous for that. I finally got a Cuisinart Elite 2.0 12-cup processor and am (mostly) satisfied.

It is indeed of interest, and I think this thread is very Important, but I am confused by the final statement: My first reaction is to ask why keep the cloths in the sanitizer bucket if it does NOT prevent the microbial population from increasing. Am I missing something? I may have missed it, but I didn't notice any statement in the thread about whether keeping a cloth or sponge constantly submerged in sanitizer solution (such as bleach and water) takes care of things.

Chris, That's exactly what I ended up doing. Since I didn't get a response here on eGullet for a while and needed the sheets right away, I consulted with a vendor and was directed to get guitar sheets.

@pastrygirl: It's been a while since you described your airbrushing setup, and if you have time, it would be useful to know how it is working out. Do you like the Grex? Which Chef Rubber model do you have and what is the needle size? Thanks for any help.

I'm reviving this topic because, like some of the people in this thread, I am looking for the right kind of acetate sheets for making transfers. In the past I have used the rather stiff sheets (from J.B. Prince) that I use on the bottom of ganache slabs that will eventually go on a guitar for cutting, but those have proved too stiff for successful transfer sheets--the chocolate poured into the mold tends to ooze out between the mold bottom and the transfer sheet. I discovered the proper sheets at this year's eGullet chocolate workshop, but I can't wait any longer for them to be made available through the vendor (in spite of several assurances). So rather than blindly order more acetate, I'm searching for someone who has actual experience and knows a type of plastic that will be flexible enough to work properly. Thanks for any help.

@nickrey, Can you provide a brand name for the disposable towels you mentioned earlier in this thread?

I just wanted to provide an update on L'Epicérie: Still the same message on the website. I phoned, but the voicemail was full, so no message possible. Quite a mystery. Meanwhile I will look into other options; first explorations have not been encouraging, as most vendors (e.g., Albert Uster) offer large sizes and nothing else. If anyone has other options not mentioned in this thread, I would be interested.

Excellent question. I'll try using @leopardots to get the attention of the person who is using the Grex. I am very interested in hearing how this airbrush is working out. It seemed like a middle ground between airbrushes like the Badger, Paasche, Iwata, etc., and the Fuji.

Yes, I freeze nuts and nut pastes. But when I knew (or thought I knew) that I had a ready source, I didn't buy too much at once. Thank for the offer to help. I'll see what happens. I'll also check with Chef's Warehouse and Albert Uster.

Just for the record, where did you get your feuilletine? Thanks for the offer. I have some at the moment; I was just assembling an order for L'Epicérie when I discovered their problem. I like to order as much as I can think of at the same time (feuilletine seems to stay fresh forever) so as to save on shipping and so as not to run out at an inopportune moment. And the same thinking leads me to try to locate a backup in case that site is not fixed. I did see some other places that carry that particular type of pistachio paste, but not a source that had the variety that L'Epicérie has/had. Chef Rubber has some of the basic items, but usually at a higher price.

I bought quite a few things from them: glucose, invert sugar, that sort of thing, but esp. hazelnut paste, hazelnut praline paste (they repackaged the large pails from Cacao Barry), and the "silk" (completely smooth) pistachio paste from Agrimontana. Those last three ingredients go stale rather quickly (there are some inexpensive U.S. ones that are stale on opening), and so L'Epicérie's smaller containers were perfect. Also, Cacao Barry's feuilletine, Michigan tart cherries, small amounts of new couvertures I wanted to try, the list goes on.

Did you find anything in your search?