Jim D.

On the Cabela's site, I read that the Excalibur dehydrator has "a thermostat adjustable from 95° to 155°F." 95F. is warmer than I would want cocoa butter to be. Am I missing something about this product?

Can you tell me the brand of dehydrator you use? Does it hold the cocoa butter at an exact temperature? Perhaps there is a link to the item. Thanks.

Minas, Pecan pralines are definitely an acquired taste--a real sugar overdose. But the standard Southern praline can be found at this link from Southern Living magazine. And Southern Living is as Southern as it's possible to get (in my opinion). http://www.southernliving.com/food/how-to/southern-pecan-pralines-00417000071984/ The photo on that page is what I have always seen as a praline (I live in Virginia). I find it hilarious that, according to that link, pralines were originally considered "an aid to digestion at the end of the meal." More like a diabetic attack.

Have you found that IR thermometers are reasonably accurate (with fresh batteries)? I have been wondering. Yesterday I tested, and both IR and non-IR gave approximately the same reading. Other times they have been too far apart for comfort. I am new to using IR and am still not confident enough in the accuracy. But they certainly are convenient, especially when testing two different mixtures at the same time and when one of them is tempered chocolate (it's difficult to remember that I mustn't dip a regular thermometer into some liquid and then into tempered chocolate).

I've posted many times on failures in tempering, but this time I have a bizarre success to report. I had a little leftover mint ganache and decided to make a few pieces; my main desire was to try some new decorating techniques. I swirled cocoa butter into the cavities, then tempered (or perhaps not) some milk chocolate. The test for tempering was inconclusive, but by the time I had placed the mold in the refrigerator for a while, I knew that the chocolate was not tempered (after half an hour, the chocolate in the mold was still soft). The leftover chocolate on parchment was a mess, did not harden for a long time. But I persevered and filled the cavities with the mint ganache. For closing, I made sure the chocolate was tempered. I knew the effort would be a failure, but out of curiosity I wanted to see what would happen. After 30 minutes in the refrig, I turned the mold upside down--and out popped perfect chocolates, shiny, nothing left in the mold. In some ways this is more annoying than a successful effort as it makes absolutely no sense.

I can't help with the tabling method, but have you tried seeding? It's generally considered much easier. I know what it's like to want to conquer a major hurdle, but sometimes practicality is the way to go.

"Rummy," not "runny." I must need new glasses. I'll give your recipe a try. When I was cooking the caramel-banana-passion fruit mixture (Wybauw says to 221 F.), it looked as if it was about to burn. Good point about the banana thickening the ganache. It's the flavoring that makes it so difficult to determine the ratio of chocolate to liquefier--some liquefiers are more liquid than others! To make matters more difficult, Wybauw's recipes can be rather vague at times: "Caramelize the sucrose and glucose until they acquire an attractive golden brown color." Jim

The recipe looks good. I am puzzled, however, by the proportion of chocolate to cream. I would think that if there is so little chocolate (compared to liquids in the recipe) that the result would be quite runny, might never firm up. But you say that it could be more runny. I ask because today I attempted Wybauw's "Frutti" recipe for the second time. The first time I made it, it never firmed up. So today I added more chocolate and some cocoa butter. The result was a total mess--the ganache separated.

Not sure what you mean. I should add additional cream to the ganache? Or did you literally mean milk? That is not something I have ever seen in a recipe.

What are the chances we would be using the same chocolate for the same ganache at the same time? Great minds.... I used Valrhona Ivoire previously, Callebaut's white for quite a while before that. I don't know the fat content, but all these chocolates are supposed to be fine for ganache. I made another ganache later today--Wybauw's banana. He calls for tempering the chocolate and mixing it with the caramel (which has banana and passion fruit in it). I was extremely careful to have the choc. at 84-85 F. and the caramel mixture at 105 F. I mixed the choc. in very slowly. Same thing happened. Tried the stick mixer, then the food processor, and neither did any good. So I resorted to mixing the broken ganache into a little heated cream. This worked, though the result didn't look great. I am quite perturbed that this is happening so often. I have made the passion fruit ganache previously since switching to Opalys, and it was fine. This time, in fact, the result looks great and I can cut the slab with no problem. As an experiment I might give up tempering the choc. and see what happens.

I know this is a very specific question, but I'm seeking some assistance from anybody on the forum who uses Valrhona's fairly new Opalys for making ganache. I am having trouble with white chocolate ganaches separating and have noticed it especially since I began using this chocolate. I just finished Greweling's passion fruit ganache--one of the simplest recipes imaginable. I have made it many times without an issue. Since I am slabbing it, I followed his advice and tempered the chocolate, had the cream and passion fruit purée at 105 F., mixed them as usual, but the mixture separated. I was able to get it back together by mixing it gradually into some heated cream, but the texture is less than perfect. So I'm wondering if Opalys is more sensitive to heat or ...? I use it because I really like its flavor but may have to reconsider.

Thanks, Kerry, that is exactly what I needed to know. And I am grateful (as always) for all your help.

With the advice of Kerry Beal, I moved to a Paasche external-mix airbrush and have had more success with it than I did with the Badger 250. They have in common, it would appear, a rather wide spray area, but I guess that is the nature of external-mix brushes. I do have a few questions from my experience so far and would be grateful if those more experienced could help: 1. My impression is that covering a mold with colored cocoa butter takes a lot more time than painting it with a brush or finger. To get a complete covering, I had to make as many as four passes over the mold with the airbrush, and still it did not look as opaque as it would if I had used a paint brush. I think I had the paint level as high as I could get it. Is this normal? I recall a photo from Chocolot showing some molds sprayed with her Fuji, and they look much more thoroughly covered than I have managed. 2. After about two passes over a mold, I had to stop and hit the airbrush with a heat gun, then the color would start flowing again with more fluidity. Is this normal? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Minas, As always, your confections are beautiful--and look so delicious. To think that you are more or less a beginner at some of these techniques (such as decorating molds with cocoa butter) shows how talented you are. If you don't mind, I would like to ask two questions: For the 3rd item (caramel bonbons) and the 8th (red velvet), did you use an airbrush or your finger for the swirl effect? They are very nice. For the red velvet, do you mind telling where you found the recipe for the filling, and what makes it "red velvet"? This issue came up with someone else on the forum recently, and she had a "red chocolate" (not sure what that entails) layer plus a cream cheese ganache layer. Obviously yours is different. Again, congratulations on your success. Jim

Gary, I wanted to thank you for bringing up the issue of refrigerating shells--and also Kerry for confirming this practice. Interestingly, it is not mentioned at all by Peter Greweling (and therefore I never thought of the refrigeration procedure). I am doing my first batch since this discussion, and I added the chilling time. What a difference! A tray of hearts, filled with Greweling's cherry kirsch ganache and made bright red with my first airbrushing attempt (fairly successful, I would say in all modesty), fell out of the mold before I could even give it a twist. Is there anything so satisfying as that sound when the pieces fall?--as long as there is something to catch them! Many thanks for the help.

Just wanted to add that, after calming down a bit from yesterday's less than successful attempt at spraying, I have taken some steps. With Kerry Beal's advice, I have ordered a Paasche external-mix airbrush. Meanwhile I experimented with the Badger 250 I already have, using water instead of cocoa butter, and found a spray setting that produces a smaller mist, but it still looks like too much. I am mystified since in the Bill Fredericks DVD, there is no visible cloud of droplets whatever, and he is using the Badger 250. I checked the compressor pressure, and it reads close to the number Badger suggests. And finally, to protect my fairly new kitchen from colored cocoa butter droplets, I found a nice place in the basement where I can spray to my heart's content without worry--except, of course, for my lungs. A really nice finished product may just make the physical perils worth it.

Thanks for that tip about the compressor's pressure. That had passed through my mind as I was washing up all the mess I had created. I'll check tomorrow (after a drink and dinner, I have decided not to give up). I do hope all the eGulleters will come visit me when I am in respiratory care with "cocoa lung" disease.

I have just taken the leap into airbrushing, and I must say, it was not a smashing success. Yes, I got color to come out and land in the molds, but there are issues. I decided to start simple and got the Badger 250, which many people (including Norman Love, I have read) use. I got an Iwata compressor. I bought the "Molding Techniques" DVD by Bill Fredericks. What happened is what Kerry Beal described some time ago: There was a huge cloud of cocoa butter that, in spite of the mask I had bought--as Kerry recommended--was unpleasant and gave me the distinct impression that something was wrong. I can't believe that chocolatiers endanger their health regularly. There must be something I am doing wrong since in the DVD there is no cloud--and no coughing fits. As for the result, the coverage seems quite light, even after repeated passes over the mold. The coverage seems light, that is, until I go to scrape the extra that lands around the cavities. I am ready to give up and go back to painting cavities with a finger or with a brush. If it weren't for the expense of the compressor, I probably would. Does anyone who uses the Badger 250 have any suggestions as to what I could do to solve the problem? I should add that I am working inside a very large box, but that does not stop the cocoa butter cloud. There is only so far one can stand away from the procedure and still be able to work. And I have adjusted the nozzle up and down. If I lower it (less paint coming out and less cocoa butter cloud), there is barely any color at all deposited in the mold..

I just looked at my Notter lime recipe and see a note to myself to reduce the amount of cream to 80g as the final product was too thin. Otherwise I follow his recipe (except that I am using ordinary limes, not key limes). Last time I added a touch of green cocoa butter, which made the ganache say "lime" a little more. When I was testing it the first time, I made a batch and let it sit out while friends were coming by to taste it. It was on the counter for days, with no ill effects on the ganache (or on the people). So I don't think his recipe is faulty. Your photo does look like a shell that is too thin (in spite of the Callebaut chocolate). Is there any way the chocolate was heated above its ideal working temperature? That's all I can think of.

Here is some info on "Aw" from Keylink.org: Usually, the most important determinant of shelf life is the amount of ‘free’ or ‘available’ water (AW) in the ganache. If there is too much water, it can lead to separation of the fats and provide an environment for mould growth. Water Activity (AW) is defined as the vapour pressure of water divided by that of pure water at the same temperature. In effect, it is a measure of the ‘free’ or ‘un-bonded’ water in a food product. The closer the AW is to 1, the more liable the product is to bacterial, fungal or mould growth. Typical AW values are 0.99 for raw meats, 0.95 for bread, 0.85 for cheese, 0.6 for dried fruit and 0.3 for biscuits. Solid chocolate has a very low AW and is therefore microbiologically stable. Bacteria usually require an AW of above 0.9 and most moulds require an AW of above 0.8. An AW of below 0.6 would prevent any microbiological spoilage at all and this is what is required if you want a 12 month shelf life at room temperature for your ganaches. To lower AW, you need either to remove water, or bind it using agents such as sugars, or lower the temperature of the product. One common way of reducing the AW of your chocolate centres is to add sugars. There are many sugars that can be added and glucose and sorbitol are the most common. Each sugar has different characteristics and differing levels of sweetness, so you may need to use a combination of sugars to achieve the best overall results. For instance, sorbitol is very good at binding the water and it is only half as sweet as normal sugar (sucrose), but too much can have a laxative effect! --------------- I have some questions about how you created that beautiful top on the lime praline. So first you color the texture sheet with light green. Then you said you "polish the flat parts clean." By that, do you mean you rub off the color that is on the raised design of the sheet? How do you do that without taking off the green on the "floor" of the sheet? Finally, you say you "airbrush the second color." Assuming this refers to the yellow color, how do you airbrush that without getting the color onto the green as well? Forgive me if I am missing something obvious. I have made that lime recipe and love it. I have had a filling (it wasn't the lime) bleed through the sides, but I was using Valrhona's Opalys, which is less viscous than many white chocolates. I have used the Callebaut that you mentioned, and it is very viscous, so I agree that it is unlikely the sides would have been too thin. I'm not sure what could have caused the issue.

If the goal is to get the dark caramel into molds, then I would heat it just a little, cool it off to the right temp for piping (Greweling says 77 F., Notter gives a higher temp)--you don't want to melt the chocolate in the molds. I should give a disclaimer: there are many more knowledgeable people on this forum on the subject of caramel, so please take what I say as just suggestions. Everything I know about caramel is from Greweling and Notter--oh, I should add, also from sad experience. Greweling says (contrary to what seems rational) to cook caramel at a very high temp, to melt the sugar as fast as possible. It's scary, but it does speed things up a great deal. The trick is to take it off the heat a little before it's the color you want--easier said than done. I don't know why you got a thicker texture the second tme; it should end up the same regardless of how you cooked it. I would check Greweling's chart of what can go wrong with caramel. The final texture is governed by the temp to which you cook it once the cream has been added. I have had good luck with Notter's suggestion of 230 F.--it pipes easily into molds, firms up some, but stays soft enough to know you are eating caramel. William Curley (in Couture Chocolate) says to take the caramel off the heat as soon as you add the cream (in his delicious orange and balsamic caramel), but I found that resulted in a caramel that never firmed up and had to be cooked longer. By the way, note the photo accompanying the Greweling recipe you are using--the caramel is quite soft and flowing.

About the dark caramel: Recently I made a caramel that turned out darker than I had planned (the color change is very fast). I went ahead and put it in molds with a Valrhona really dark chocolate. I renamed these "burnt caramel" chocolates, and they were a big hit. If you really want them lighter, you can heat the caramel and add some warm cream. I have taken a caramel that was too fluid and recooked it, and it was fine. As there is no chocolate in Greweling's recipe, you don't have to worry about what would otherwise be a complicating factor. But before you "lighten them up," I would ask some people to try them. Burnt caramel is very popular. You could try it as a sauce over an apple dessert. There is a place in Cambridge, Mass., that makes a fantastic burnt caramel ice cream that is one of their biggest sellers.

I too am finally taking the airbrush plunge and plan to start out with the Badger 250. I'm finding confusing information on what comes with it. So a few questions: Do I need to purchase an adapter for use with a compressor? Is there a standard adapter I should look for? One place said the Badger came with an adapter, but it seemed to be referring to canned air. The jars with the basic model hold 3/4 oz., whereas the 250-4 jars hold 4 oz. I would be using one color to paint a couple of molds at a time. In practical terms, how far does 3/4 oz. of cocoa butter go? I'm assuming I should buy extra jars for the sake of convenience. As for a compressor, some posters have recommended the Badger 180-10 with a regulator, but that model has been replaced by the 180-15, and I can't find whether the psi can be regulated or not. I am also looking at the Iwata compressors; their "Studio Series" models say they come with all adapters, hoses, etc. It's all very confusing. Any recommendations? I won't be using the compressor all that often, but I don't want some noisy machine that will die on me after a short while. I notice that compressors have somewhat ominous ratings for use in their descriptions (such as "for occasional use" or "for use several times a month"). Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. And someday I might want to upgrade the airbrush, so I wouldn't want a piece of junk for a compressor. And finally, a very practical, mundane question: As long as I am buying a compressor, I may as well get something that also inflates auto tires. Should I assume these machine will do that? Another adapter needed, I suppose. Any guidance in this process would be most appreciated.

Pastrygirl's suggestion, "Maybe you could create a special holiday collection with gianduja, butter ganache, caramels, and maybe some fondant or liqueur fillings" sounds like an excellent idea.

If you follow that link to the previous thread, on page 2 there is a photo from David J on how he freezes chocolates--individual chocolates in the vacuum bag. The only time I did it with finished chocolates, I left them in their gift boxes, put the boxes inside a plastic bag, sealed and vacuumed it. Once I removed the piece that collapsed from the vacuum, the people to whom I gave the chocolates loved them and, even after I told them they had been frozen, they could detect no difference. I doubt that Sees is going to reveal how they get that shelf life. Frankly I have not been impressed with their product. Perhaps their fillings don't contain really perishable ingredients. I doubt, for example, that they include raspberry purée in their chocolates; the water in it can cause problems (Wybauw includes the water content in his recipes). Like you, I make a coconut truffle. I use toasted coconut as a decoration, so since it's already dried out, further drying doesn't show. A 60-day shelf life is quite a goal. How will you know if they are still any good? You can't test one piece and just assume its neighbors are OK. Can you perhaps make chocolates more often and so solve the whole issue? I don't know if you are a hobbyist (as I am) or in business, but if it is the latter, you have liabilities to think about. You don't want to give "Death by Chocolate" a whole new meaning!