pastryani

Is there a way to highlight the etching on this mold? http://cmc.best-options.ca/chocolate-making-shop/chocolate-molds/mayan-pomponet-chocolate-bonbon-polycarbonate-mold/ With white chocolate the orange spray works well, but I'll be using milk chocolate so I'm not sure if I should use a little white chocolate over the pattern first or do something else. Ideas?

@Jim D - thanks for starting off with the questions. As a first-timer, I've got a couple of questions too. 1. I gather we're supposed to bring some chocolates for the group to sample. Are there any guidelines as to how many types/flavors, how many of each kind, etc? Are we limited to just chocolate? 2. Do we need to specify food preferences for the lunch on Sat? If so, ovo-lacto vegetarian here. 3. Re: Chef Rubber showroom - EGADS!! Will the whole store be closed?? That would be such a shame... Bonus: Is anyone staying an extra day (Monday) and interested in sight-seeing? If so just message me. Looking forward to meeting everyone, learning, and tasting all the treats along the way.

Agree completely. I was always taught that coffee enhances the chocolate flavor in cakes and pastries while being undetectable itself. Never tried it in a ganache though... Perhaps I'll have to do a side by side taste test.

Does anyone know of some good kitchen ware stores in or around Seoul? Places where you can get bakeware, silicone molds, or even polycarbonate chocolate molds? Also what about any must-see pastry or chocolate shops? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. .

Does anyone here wholesale their chocolate bonbons? If someone asks you to wholesale (and you've never done it before!), what kind of questions should you be asking? And if they want to buy chocs from you and then label them with their own logo, is that standard practice? Any reasons not to have them re-label? Also, what is the standard "wholesale rate" as compared to what you would normally sell them for? (sorry, that's a lot of Qs but if anyone would know it would be y'all...)

On the subjects of both cheese and shelf life, I've been toying with the idea of a cheesecake bonbon using dried/powdered cheese. I know it's been done before (ahem @Kerry Beal) so it definitely seems possible, but what is the shelf life of a freeze-dried dairy product that has been reconstituted? More/less/or the same as the real, fresh thing?

Hi @a_pinch_of - welcome! May I ask why you still need to use grease proof paper (or glassine paper) if the chocolate will be cello-wrapped to protect it from the elements? That is, could you use a more easily available black-colored paper to wrap around the cello bars? Construction paper, scrapbooking/craft paper, or even a good quality wrapping paper might fit the bill and be more readily available to boot.

Thanks all for the info - these are good guidelines. I was thinking about doing dipped truffles instead of molded chocs as it's easier and faster. I'd like to demo a ganache but that would depend on if they had a kitchen/stovetop. How do you typically temper chocolate while on-site? Most people don't have marble slabs for tabling, so I'm guessing it would have to be seeding or Mycryo (oh EZ temper, why oh why can't you be pocket-sized?!).

While we're on the subject of pricing... Someone has inquired to see if I could do a chocolate-making demo/class at their company, but I'm not sure of both the logistics and what to charge. How much do you folks charge for a chocolate-making class? I don't know the size of the group just yet, but do you typically charge per person, a flat fee for your time/ingredients, or some combination of the two? Also in terms of logistics - how do you run such a class? I'm assuming it'll be on-site, so I'd have to haul my equipment there and hope I don't forget anything. But more than that, do you have to have multiple scrapers, spatulas, bowls, thermometers, etc for everyone to be able to work concurrently, or do you have stations with groups and only one group gets to make ganache, paint, mold, etc.? What is a reasonable number of chocolate pieces that each person should leave with? (Oh that reminds me, I'd have to bring packaging supplies too) As with the costing of chocolates and ingredients, it's got to be worth it to you, and in this case it needs to account for both the cost of the ingredients and packaging as well as your travel time and on-site time as well. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks for the ideas all - some interesting applications!

I recently ordered some ginger puree (impulse buy, oh my) and I'm not sure what to do with it. I thought it was just going to be spicy ground ginger with maybe a little sugar added, but it's actually quite sweet https://www.perfectpuree.com/product/ginger/). It's more of a liquidy, jammy consistency. Ideally I'd like to use it for bonbon fillings (ganache or pdf) but worry that it might end up being too sweet, so I'm open to other suggestions. Thanks.

Happy Valentine's Day All! Cinnamon caramel hearts.

Gulkand does smell delicious and it tastes even better. The only thing is that it's brown in color (at least the ones I've seen). I like to add some pre-made rose jam to my rose bonbons. If you're okay with purchasing some instead of making it, I'd recommend a Greek or Turkish brand. They're closer to rose color, though I suspect food coloring is a likely addition.

Thanks @curls and @keychris. Will have to try it out sometime.

Nice work @curls! What did you use for the red stripes on the gold hearts? At first I thought it was red cocoa butter, but the lines are too clean (and there are no drops). Then I thought white chocolate with red cocoa butter, but for me that's resulted in pink, not red... so I'm intrigued.

@Choky - my hero!! Thank you, you are a super-sleuth! Now if you'll excuse me, I must spend the next few hours perusing their website and figuring out what and how to order.

Okay so I got the dehydrator and here are pics from my initial tests: I tried my hand at fruit leathers, apple/pear/orange slices, and kale chips, all at 135F. Here are the before pics: Pineapple leather Peach leather Apple rings Pear and orange slices Kale chips And here are the after pics (you can see where I may have snacked a wee bit during the process). Overall - the Excalibur worked well! For the leathers, I have to play around with the drying times as they got a little too crispy (but when I went to take them out sooner they were still wet in places). Lower drying temp maybe? Thicker layer of purée? The apple and pear slices were chewy and the oranges were crispy and fun to eat. The kale chips were good too, though not very crunchy (which I think is more a function of the fact that they weren't dredged in a coating). Now to see what else I can dry...

Thanks to everyone for their input - I ended up getting the Excalibur but went with the one with the digital display because apparently the newer non-digital ones don't start at 95F anymore, but rather at 105F (though honestly I don't know how helpful it is to have that extra 10 degrees). I'll update with my experiences once I get it.

I love that I'm not the only one who cuts out the label from the actual package and tapes it to the container. I too use my label maker as much as I can. There should be a new thread where you post pics of your pantry (OR pics of your ingredient/equipment shelves for those of us who don't have separate pantries but have instead turned our dining areas/living rooms/bedrooms into make-shift pantries).

@Darienne - the oven would be the easiest option (and not take up any more space!), but my concern would be leaving it on all night and of course production volume (I'd only be able to do 1 or 2 trays at a time).

After eating a fruit and veggie dehydrated snack that was pretty yummy and yet pretty overpriced for what it was, I'm considering getting a food dehydrator (an investment that I'm sure will prove its worth after 1000 uses or so!). Can anyone recommend a really good, reliable dehydrator? I've heard of the Excalibur and Weston brands, but am not sure what model numbers would be best, or if there are better brands out there.

Does stored fondant in a tub tend to separate like invert sugar does? (I guess I should first ask if it's normal for invert sugar to separate, and then toss mine depending on the answer!)

@Kerry Beal 3 extra copies, oh my! If you're looking to get rid of the extra copies, I'll take one off your hands. Please message me the amount. Thanks. p.s. - what's a "bob syrup"?

Thanks @ElainaA for the info.

@ElainaA - that is the book I used. I didn't even consult the professional one assuming they'd be the same. How funny. @Chocolot - what is the name of your book? I think I may need to get me a copy.