Muscadelle

I was away for quite a while and I can't believe I've almost missed this. Thank you so much for sharing all your experiments! This issue had been puzzling me for so long. You are the real MVP

There seems to be a great fear of working with eggs for bonbon fillings and I have to ask why. As long as the eggs are cooked over 80C to kill any possible salmonella and the AW is adequate, why would it be anymore problematic than dairy? Am I missing something?

@EvgenyPI still get them from time to time but I drastically reduced those by not tapping the mold to remove air bubbles when capping. I realized that many of those air bubbles that would come up to the top where created by the air between the shell and mold that was escaping and that’s why I had chocolate slipping in between leaving big streaks. Sometimes when you look at finished bonbons of Melissa Coppel you can see some small chocolate ring at the bottom too. They don’t have to be all perfect all the time, remember that maaaany photos are edited and that some bonbons that you see on Instagram and such are just pictures of the shell and not the finished product. 😊

Reading that, I thought some people might like to know that cellulose acetate can be 100% compostable. That’s what I use. In bulk, they are 0.20$USD per sheet. So that’s an additional cost of approx 1 cent per bonbon. They give a nice sleek look and I can fill my bonbon generously 😊 I don’t know if it’s because of the material but even if it gives a perfectly flat bottom, the surface, although not dull looking, never gets as shiny as it would with a plastic sheet.

Can’t you just tap your bowl/pan full of tempered chocolate for a minute or two to get rid of most air bubbles? I get those a lot in my milk chocolate but not so much in my dark chocolate. It’s a little better when I use cocoa butter to temper, I guess that’s because it increases the fluidity just a notch.

I tried infusing toasted oats in Half cream/ half milk overnight and it resulted in a solid dry and mushy mess. Impossible to extract anything even after warming it up. I don’t know how different cereals could react though...

Thanks Jonathan! Those are only the shells so I know for sure the problem is not caused by fillings. I double polish as well! haha glad to see that i'm not so over-zealous after all I'm wondering if maybe I'm keeping my cocoa butter at a too low temperature. maybe I should keep it more around 30C? I'm using my notes from my Melissa Coppel workshop, but maybe there's something i forgot to write down? Anybody know enough about Crystals and tempering curve of cocoa butter? I'm wondering if the flecks looks like the result of over tempered CB or maybe CB that went out of temper?

I’m really puzzled by some dull or white flecks that appears on some of my chocolates on almost every batch I make. By the look of it, do you think it’s because my cocoa butter gets somehow out of temper when I paint, even though I have a high accuracy thermometer in my cocoa butter the whole time. I keep it around 28.5C. My molds are always between 18 and 19. I have to say it happens the most often with that technique. (Drop of cocoa butter dispersed by the airstream of an airbrush). Does it happen to any of you? What would you bet the issue is? It’s getting very annoying and I’m not sure what to do because most of them are perfectly fine. Also, I wash and polish my molds with 94% alcohol at every use.

I wish I could try those 😭 I love pu-erh tea and they are so pretty!!

I love the first ones! They give a Van Gogh vibe! Thats what I use for some of my metallic effects: I'm in love with the copper, it gives such a pretty result! But the one used for the quenelle chocolate (ombre) is the bronze highlighter.

Hi guys wanted to share those, really proud of that shine! Fun fact: I accidentally heated this black cocoa butter for 1:50 in the microwave instead of 0:15. It went all the way up to 110C! I was horrified. Turns out, cocoa butter isn't as fragile as chocolate. 😶

Staying on the same topic (invert sugar) Has anyone of you ever tried using the syrup from your candied fruits (citrus peel, cherries etc) in a ganache to replace invert sugar? I'm really trying to do something with all my syrups, it seems like such a waste otherwise. Do you think that the resulting syrup of candying fruits is in fact invert sugar? If not, is it possible to make it an invert sugar? (by adding acidity and boiling it to 114 maybe?

Thank you Jim! Maybe we could pour the ganache in the little cup when it's still warm so it can flatten out and cover the bottom perfectly and then wait the next day to place it into the meter to get a reading?

Interesting! Thank you

I have a question for those who own a water activity meter. Do you let your ganache crystallize before putting it into the meter? It would makes sense to me... but i'm not sure

Hi everyone, When I started my business, trying my best to be eco-friendly was a priority. I realized soon enough that it was not a piece of cake to make my ethic works hand in hand with my business. For reasons like hygiene, costs, standards, it's not easy to make it all work. I'm creating this topic so we can inspire each other with simple tricks to help our planet! I just want to be clear, we're not here to shame anyone's practices. I want this to be a safe-space for people wanting to upgrade their eco-friendly game! Please, feel free to ask any questions, validate your ideas you're not sure about, and of course share all the little things you do you think ca help the environment! 🌱 Let's talk packaging, food waste, ingredients, plastic usage, water usage, etc... What are your biggest challenges when it comes to eco-friendly practices?

My advice would be to use less sorbitol (half of it) and make sure your ganache is tempered

I don't know, they do keep happening to me from time to time, but maybe I'll try like really mixing the chocolate between each molds, I've been given them a few swirls but maybe it will help to be more careful. Also, sometimes it's due to my shells being too thin and they can't contract enough to release from the mold entirely, leaving a mark.

I'm in the same boat as you, my apartment seems to be shrinking as my chocolate production is getting bigger. Not sure what to do just yet. I hope you'll get some insightful replies.

That chocolate indeed seems well tempered. I always work with half-sphere too. That spot looks like a release mark, and it's very tiny. I feel like @teonzo might have pinpointed a very probable cause. Either that or your cooling process may not be fast enough. When I put my mold in my chocolate fridge, I lower the temp of the fridge by1 or 2 degrees so that the cooling system kicks in and there's a nice cool air flow that helps the chocolate contract quickly. Next time, watch your shells contract from the molds: If you see a tiny spot that sticks, you can be pretty sure it will leave a mark, and it's due to the contraction of the chocolate, not the cleanliness of your molds. That's all I have! Keep us posted on your results

Among the top reasons why shells won't contract are: not properly tempered chocolate and a shell too thin. If you heat your mold before pouring chocolate in it, you may end up with that problem depending on the fluidity of your chocolate. (I work in a room at 18C and I never heat my mold before ''shelling'') It's important to let your shells crystallize a little bit at room temp before placing them in a cold place. As soon as the chocolate start setting (normally it should take like 2 mins, if it's taking more than that, maybe your chocolate is not well tempered enough) you can place it in a colder place to help the shells contract. Your chocolate fridge at 16C is perfect. For your next batch, before pouring your chocolate in the mold, make sure your chocolate is properly tempered by dipping a piece of parchment paper in it, place it on the marble countertop and let it set at room temp. If it takes more than 2 mins to set and doesn't have that nice velvet shine, you gotta re-temper, otherwise you will waste your time afterwards with shells that wont come out of the molds.

I have a general question for you guys. Is there a minimum waiting time before you pour the chocolate after painting your molds? In fact I'll go ahead and ask: What are the general waiting times in between steps for you. Do you follow a precise guideline? Personally, I know you have to wait 12 hours for fillings to crystallize and maybe 1 hour before unmolding, but I've never really though about how long I have to wait after painting or how long I have to wait before filling the shells.

Oh! I read that wrong! 😵 Good thing you caught it!

Okay I’ll try heating them a little more! Thank you!

Thank you for responding Kerry! Yes I do heat them before capping. I almost never use the same type of chocolate for shelling and capping so I'm not sure...but most of them turns out just fine. I feel like the shell is not that thin either... could it be a filling that is too soft even when fully crystallized?