Je33

Slightly off the current discussion but i recently took class with Kirsten Tibbals, super exciting for me was taping moulds- Personally i don't think it is cost effective but it was fantastic to have ago because i probably wouldn't have otherwise. She had a special tape that she had brought with her from Australia, it was so similar to Washi tape, so i bought and experimented with a few. It works and works so well plus its inexpensive and you can get it in a variety of thickness. If anyone is UK based paperchase sell rolls ranging from 5mm! I couldn't not share, sad that I'm so excited about tape i know lol

so all in all not too bad price wise, cheaper from keylink

This might be helpful from home chocolate factory

The price hasn't been released by my usual suppliers just yet but im interpreting what the official Callebaut ppl were saying about it being 'rare ' & 'limited supply' so expect it to be reflected in the price. I honestly have no idea as yet and I'm just guessing

Thank you for resharing this post Kerry, i loved reading it! So much knowledge! I remember reading about the invert sugar when i first got his book but for the life of me couldn't remeber where I had read it so when i recently questioned someone about boiling it my response of 'I read it in a book ' sounded silly and was dismissed 😂 thank you again for sharing

I got to try this in April as they were launching in the UK, I also happened to be at the Callebaut factory. The process is just as Kerry said that they have selected the red beans and used those. They didn't share the process from bean to chocolate. It's being rolled out in September here in the UK. My best description for the taste was raspberry yoghurt, slightly fruity, creamy with a pleasant acidity. I look forward to playing with it but my guess is the cost is going to be astronomical. I also recently got to try all the Valrhona chocolate and tried a dark chocolate that has been fermented with passion fruit in the initial process and I have to say it was for me incredible! It doesn't contain any passion fruit but tasted so fruity

Personally I like them but mainly because I can partially see through them ( not totally clear) and they don't seem as brittle as the solid white ones ( i have both) as quite a few of them have cracked. It's very satisfying to see the chocolate contract when in the mould which you can't do woth the old version.

I found out the law changed recently and all the moulds will now be the clear material instead of the white as apparentlythe white is carcinogenic so dangerous for the makers ( fine for use)

I didn't mean offence to anyone with my post I'm just aware that before anyone started on the course his bon bons were consistently discussed on the 'how did they do that thread ' I wouldn't expect anyone to share as you have pointed out they have paid and i have not. Just thought this is a forum where technique is often shared and discussed and I was merely in awe of the skill being shared

I have been following this thread with admiration and envy ! I would love to do his class but have neither the time or money but its so amazing to see what you are producing( all of which are amazing) Will he be showing his coveted technique for the half spheres ? Hopefully you guys will share some secrets

I thought that might work too, maybe a choc layer and then honeycomb, break up and then spray. im going to experiment later- I will post results thanks Kerry

Hello I came across a bag of uncoated honeycomb (cinder toffee, hokey pokey) in a shop that was uncovered- I have no problem with my honeycomb but if left uncovered it becomes sticky and it got me thinking anyone know any tricks for honeycomb, caramels etc so that they could for example be made into a bark( exposed bits of honeycomb) without being completely enrobed? i have seen that I can buy tiny pieces of honeycomb (nibs) dipped in cocoa butter but I want to make my own if possible as they didn't have the lovely aeration I achive and they were tiny! thank you!

Hope you are enjoying your visit to Ruth, she is fab! I have used purée from various brands in patisserie before but the usual suspect flavours (pear,rhubarb) are always still a bit vacant. if you ever manage to get hold of the kalamansi lime it's worth a play with

Oh, just clarify they are always empty bottles I buy and are always sterilised before use! The garden center ones just seem to have a finer mist compared to other bottles hope you manage to figure something out

I've found the best bottles are one from the gaden center- usually because they have the finest mist spray setting for a better coverage. No particular brand I'm afraid but I look forward to seeing your results

A normal spray bottle rather than one with gas canister ( I'm guessing that's what you meant by aerosolised?) it's the only way I can think of an even application across a large surface area and what I use when making bread. Hope you find a solution

Yeah, I will once I clean it but please don't ask how it's made as I don't have the first idea!

Sorry I'm not sure what you mean by strips or pasta?

Thought I'd share my trials with a guitar cutter! I had a friend make one for me ( he can make anything!) we tested about 20 different wires and eventually after a lot of research piano wire is the best, I also called Vantage house to ask what they use and they said it is basically piano wire I find the easiest way to clean it is to remove as much debris and then I spray with lots of sanitizer leave it a few minutes and then I use a hand held steamer which makes light wrk of the grooves! Plus the steamer ensures it is safe and hygienic ( which always makes me happy) I only chablonage when the ganache is too soft and it helps with moving it around

Keep an eye out on eBay for an air conditioner! I thought I'd be fine and then the random hot few days that England surprises us with really made it impossible. Oh I do markets and wholesale too !

When I making anything in the kitchen I treat it as If it's the first time every time. Basically I remove as much 'home' stuff as possible and then sanitize everything so the risk of cross contamination is controlled. I wouldn't recommend preparing bean-to-bar at the same time you are preparing anything else, cross contamination would be a worry but also your products will be affected. Temp fluctuations, moisture etc will more than likely have an impact and also reduce the likelihood of a consistent product sorry it's not very helpful but ideally you need a space to just let a grinder do its magic

It was a clients request and even though I explained that some fruits don't work as well they insisted. I will keep trying but I think it may be fruitless ( sorry I couldn't help the pun!) i will keep you all posted incase I develop a magic method!

Hi Martin I'm based in Manchester

Thank our for the suggestion, its got me thinking that a pate de fruit may work better for shelf life, I don't use moulds so a compote wouldn't work for me ( slabbed ganache ) but i didn't really want a sweet truffle and think a pate de fruit will make it really sweet. I just need to keep experimenting Exactly what I did, maybe I will try a further reduction and see if I can intensify it thank you all for all your suggestions

thank you Jim Rhubarb, pear, apple! what wrong with these fruits that they don't like chocolate! What percentage of chocolate do you replace with cocoa butter? sounds interesting, does it have any effect on the set?