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I'm playing around with this recipe and wondering what the purpose of the baking soda is. Thoughts?

So is the Wybauw chocolate class worth $800 + expenses? For those who took his class, did you think you learned enough to justify spending that kind of $? If you had the chance to do it again, would you? Why? What did he teach in class? Did he just go over chocolates or did he also talk about other aspects of confections? I know there's threads, but I would really know if it was worth the $. Thanks in advance.

Has anyone ever used a Mol D'Art 50kg tempering machine or a Prefamac 30kg or 60kg (AKA Bakon in the US) machine? I have always used Mol D'Art melters, but never a machine with a wheel. I'm in the market for one of these machines and was wondering if someone can voice their opinions about these machines, if they have used them. One of the questions I have is about how long the chocolate stays in proper temper without having to do any adjustments. One thing that I don't like about the melters, is that the chocolate seems to overcrystalize quickly when you're working with them and then you have to toy around to get it back to a good fluidity. So if you have worked on the big machines with a wheel, please give me your results and problems you experienced. Thanks for you time in advance, it's very appreciated.

I had an email in early April on my website asking if I would be willing to teach confectionery to someone who is interested in becoming an artisanal candy maker. I assumed it was someone living close by who would come by a time or two to learn what they could, however it turned out that Pamela lives in Los Angeles and was so excited about the opportunity to learn that she was willing to come all the way up to Southern Ontario and spend a 3 day weekend of solid candymaking. Apparently someone had pointed her to the confectionery course here on eG and while she read through it, having had no experience cooking, she wasn't comfortable trying things on her own. Pamela has been very successful in her current business but loving candy as she does, sees high end confectionery in her future. One wonderful thing about Pamela is that she doesn't feel constrained by the rules, never having cooked before, anything goes. She's a quick study, and she has these wonderful ideas of things she wants to try. I can't wait to see what she creates, I suspect when she turns her hand to it we might just see her do things that are new and groundbreaking in confectionery. I haven't been as good at taking pictures as I should, but I'll try to give a little overview of what we have covered so far and I'll try to take more tomorrow. So Pamela showed up on Friday morning at 9 am, just after I got the rug rat off to school. Our first project was jelly beans, something she was most interested in learning. We needed to start with them because they are really a two day project, the first to build up the soft panned coat and the second to polish and seal them. The coating pan in the middle of a rather disorganized kitchen. The jelly beans after coating, set out to dry over night. Soft panning involves coating jelly bean centers with alternating layers of sugar syrup and sugar. The movement in the pan compacts the sugar crystals together to allow them to form a sugar crust around the center. Colour and flavour are added in the sugar syrup and you use finer sugar in the outer layers, ending finally with confectioners sugar. Pamela chose honeydew flavour for the jelly beans, and they are absolutely amazing to taste. Today we polished the jelly beans, after rehydrating the surface with a 60% sugar syrup, a bit of wax is added to the pan and it is run until the beans start to shine. Shellac is applied, the pan runs to distribute it, then air is applied to flash off the solvent. As you can see we didn't end up with a uniform finish on the jelly beans, there is some mottling of the colour. We split the batch in two for polishing and to the other half we added a bit more rehydrating syrup, but we had more issues with mottling and never did get them to shine. E-mails are out to see if we can figure out exactly what needs improvement. I need a resource on the finer points of polishing soft panned goods. Our next project was to start some orange rinds candying. Pamela wants to learn to candy whole fruits, however 3 days really only allows us time to do some rinds. The original recipe actually calls for candying over 8 days, but I've discovered that if I reboil when I think of it (usually first thing in the morning, after I get home from work and just before I go to bed) that I can get them done in 3 or 4 days. Sponge toffee was our next item. I don't have pictures of batch number one - we could have posted that on the regrettable food thread - I always say to just barely mix in the baking soda, however we discovered that you can actually undermix it. Looked like something the cat chucked up. Here is Pamela measuring out almonds for the nougat we made, finished pictures aren't so great. We added some candied orange rind to the almonds and pistachios at the last minute, it was a little moist which made for a nougat that was a bit soft, but darn tasty. A batch of caramel today was divided to make some chewy caramels, coating for marshmallows and dipping some pretzels before rolling in pecans. We had some issues in our attempts to make pulled hard candy today. The recipe gave a large range for the hard crack stage and the first boiling was a bit soft. We reboiled, but the lemon juice added at the end of the boil caused too much inversion and we had quite the sticky mess on our hands. Tomorrow pulled candy again, until we get it right. Our last project today was starch molded gummies, orange colour and flavour. Not quite enough flavour - we used the recipe from Greweling's Chocolates and Confections - which just said to add flavour 'as required'. Trouble is at 120 C you don't really want to be tasting the jelly. Last night I dragged Pamela with me to Scarborough where I was doing a chocolate class for a bridal shower. Seventeen girls, a very warm house, a very late night. Pamela is not interested in chocolate, doesn't actually like it very much, but I felt it wouldn't hurt to learn for her to learn a bit about chocolate tempering.

Let see if I can keep this short. My brain is on overload. I've finally put myself out there, meaning bringing my chocolates to an upscale chocolate shop (they don't make their own, only sell) to see if they'd be interesting in selling mine. I've been selling to friends, friends of friends, and at small vendor fairs, so this would be a big step for me. I've been doing this for some time (and learning loads from this site as well as books and classes) so I'm stressed...OK this is already too long. Another aside - I'm out of town and don't have access to my Schotts book, Wybauw book, etc. so I appreciate any help. Now to the questions: 1.How long do you tell a shop to keep chocolates on their shelf. I'm using basic gananches, some with trimoline, but most without. If you sell a number of different fillings, do you go with the one with the shortest shelf life for all? (I assume one with a fruit puree would be the shortest?) 2. How much do I need to worry about how their storage is? The day I was in there, it wasn't as cool as I would have hoped, but it's a small space and the door keeps opening... 3. How do I decide on pricing? I know how much the ingredients cost me, and I know how much I sell them for (mostly based how much the market around here will bear) but what's a reasonable price for me to sell to them. Do you reduce prices for really large volumes? 4. Any other tips? Well this certainly wasn't short, but I hope you'll be patient. More questions will probably pop into my head as I restlessly try to sleep tonight. It's all good!

Talk to me about vibrating tables. I don't have one - I'm banging around my molds by hand, and ending up with more holes and bubbles than I want. Could be I just need more practice and to tweak my technique. But what do I need to know about vibrating tables? Who has one? What do you and don't you like about it? How is it used? Where's the best buy for a chocolatier on a budget?

With apologies to those folks who feel that the Pastry and Baking forums are being taken over by candymakers I think it's time we started a thread on cooking from 'Chocolates and Confections'. I know at least two of us have the book now. I'm still just reading it through from cover to cover and the only thing I've tried so far is aerating some tempered milk chocolate in my cream siphon. Of course I didn't read the directions thoroughly and I only used one charge so I didn't get a lot of real bubbles in the chocolate. It did however lighten up the chocolate to a nice soft texture. I used some milk chocolate I had left over from dipping some cookies, I had added some orange oil to it. I used some easter egg plates that make about 6 large eggs. I poured a shell with milk chocolate then used the cream siphon to discharge the aerated chocolate into the molds. So I ended up with these nice big eggs, apparently solid chocolate, but the texture was light enough to bite into them without breaking your teeth. I'll try it next time with 2 or 3 charges and see if I can make aero bars. The one theory I need to test out is weather if I don't line the mold with chocolate and just discharge to contents of the siphon into a mold whether there will be bubbles on the surface of the mold or will it sort of form a smooth 'skin' like an aero bar has.

Over the past few years I've managed to build up my chocolate book library but I'm interested to hear what other people have read and their thoughts on the books. To start things off, some of my better books are: Fine Chocolates Great Experience: Jean-Pierre Wybaux I don't think this one needs any further description. THE book for many chocolatiers although it does assume some previous knowledge. Belgian Chocolates: Roger Geerts Another chocolate book I love. Lots of recipes, lots of photos on finishing techniques. Can be a little hard to follow in places as it has some assumed knowledge. As an aside, Geerts has now done a DVD to accompany this book. The Chocolate Bible: Christian Teubner This was a great find for me. I picked it up fairly cheaply at a bookstore and it has a wealth of information. Once again, lots of pictures of finished products. On the downside, the book is not dedicated to chocolate alone - there are also cakes and biscuits etc. Candymaking: Kendrick & Atkinson This was my introductory book to candy and chocolate making and still serves as a great reference for me - I still use the Creamy Fondant and Soft Caramel recipes. A little cheaper than some of the books above if you are looking for an introduction to the topic. Truffles, Candies & Confections: Carole Bloom Not many pictures, but choc full of recipes and tips. Covers a wide variety of chocolate and confectionary recipes. The Complete Home Confectioner: Hilary Walden A great introductory book more for confectionary than chocolate. Simple recipes but on a wide range of recipes and recipes different to those covered in the books above. Otherwise I'm waiting for Making Artisan Chocolates (Shotts) and Chocolates and Confections (Greweling) which seem to have been well received by the eG community judging by the posts. So what does everyone else read/use . . . ? (edited for typos)

Hard to believe there isn't a topic on this one yet! I try to go to Lady M (at 78th and Madison) at least once every couple of months to sample the Mille Crêpes and an individual pot of the Lady M Grey tea. I've found the service to be...um...not so much lacking as it is ditzy. Everyone is sweet as pie, but it can be a nightmare getting seated or asking for the check. Today it was the former. I met my brother around 4:45, and we went in. There was a small line for tables, and we put our name down. A couple came in behind us and put their name down as well, then ran out to check out a store. They came back in, stepped in front of us, and were seated ahead of us. Not usually a problem (and not the couple's fault at all), but my brother was in a time crunch, and I was peeeeved. We ended up being seated quickly after that, and all was fine. Jeremy had a sort of banana cream pie type thing (sorry, they don't allow pics, and this one isn't on their site) - it was fabulous. Crisp, super-flaky pastry. Mountains of cream. And bananas galore. It was perfect with his hot chocolate. I made myself deviate from the usual Mille Crêpes and instead went for the Choux fromage (labeled Gateau au Citron on the website). It was delightful - cheesecake filling (though light as air and lemony) sandwiched between layers of pate à choux. Our check came uncharacteristically quickly.

DH and I and the two pups live a life full of folks who make our lives pleasant and easier. These folks don't really have to give more than minimum service, but they go out of their ways to be kind and helpful. One of the joys of living in a rural area. They love our dogs, and they apparently like us too. And Christmas is nearing. Our vets treat our dogs very well. The guys at the transfer station (aka the garbage dump) give our dogs cookies. The butcher gives us special meat cuts. And on and on the list goes: computer tech, pharmacist, chiro, hardware store guys, library staff, lumber yard, mail-lady, etc. Oh, the library staff who get me Inter-library loan books constantly. They have to be kept happy. However, some of the confections must be able to withstand a number of treatments: being in the cold for several hours, stuck on a shelf for several days, put into a fridge, etc. (The fridge treatment is the opposite for those who live in a warm climate who might fear their treats will be left in the sun, etc.) Even forgotten and left behind for a couple of weeks. The transfer guys work outside...they don't even have a real 'inside' at all. Of course some will eat the candies right away and I'm already down for chocolate-dipped ginger from a number of places. And of course, I am making hard tack lollipops for the library to sell as usual. I just need some good ideas which I haven't considered. Thanks.

Hi Everyone, Just by way of introduction, my name is Jaycel and I have been reading the threads of egullet for a couple of years with great interest. I graduated last year from the French Culinary Institute, interned at Ron Ben Israel Cakes, and have taken a few classes at the Notter School of Pastry Arts in Orlando. I am hoping to open my own chocolate/ice cream boutique where I live at the end of the year and hopefully I can put up a thread similar to Mel's Bakery, which I have to say was my favorite thread thus far. But, like the title says, I did attend the Andrew Shotts class at Notter a week ago and would like to share with everyone my personal thoughts (and if someone would please tell me how to post pictures) show pictures of the products that were made during the three days. I really would like to just list what was done, some interesting tidbits (not all, since I think people should take his class), and then my overall impressions. The class was made up of about 18 people, who were mostly professionals working in the industry, which I thought was really great. I have attended classes at Notter where sometimes there are alot of hobbyists or amateurs (I don't mean 'amateur' in a bad way, just people who work in other industries other than the food industry) and there gets to be an empathsis on the basics, which is great, but when you are in the room with a Shotts, Wybauw, or a Notter, you really want to skip to the good stuff! The products that were produced were: Bonbons: Raspberry Jelly and ganache (dual layered); Lime; Pistachio; Salted Caramel; tea; Pecan Cinnamon; Vanilla-Honey; French Roast; Sur de Lago; Three Brothers; Exotic Truffle; Peanut butter crunch; Belle-Orange Cognac; Praline; Passionate Hearts; and Kentucky (whiskey). Dry Chocolate Goods: Grignotine, Rocher Noisette, Nougat bar, chocolate bar, and caramel chocolate popcorn. The class was set up so that all the students would mis en place the ingredients and then Chef would demonstrate each recipe. Students actually didn't make the ganaches, chef made the ganaches while the students watched and took notes. Some people might not like this idea or way of doing things, but I was actually really pleased with it. I took the Wybauw class last year, and we broke up into teams and were given a recipe to do. But the problem with that was that you didn't get to see the techniques that were used in the recipes of the people across the room, so much. Here, you got to see the whole process and have Chef explain each step as he did them, which I really liked. I know how to make a ganache, but how do you incorporate things like extra cocoa butter or to make the dual layered bonbons that he is well known for, which we were shown, using a few examples. I won't explain how to do it here, but all you really have to do is think about it to figure it out, it's not the hardest thing in the world to execute actually, and it opens up a whole world of flavor combinations and textures. Very exciting! (I think you can get the technique from his book, anyhow.) The recipes that we were given were the actual recipes used in his shop, just reduced by volume, since I think he makes extremely large batches. He included lots of info on techniques, sources for equipment, packaging, ingredients, business advice, and words of wisdom. For instance, EVERYONE FREEZES! Chef stated flat out, if an artisan chocolatier says they don't freeze their finished product, then they are probably lying or don't know what they are doing. I plan on opening my own shop at the end of the year and this was a sensitive issue, since I want to do 'artisan' products and was concerned that I would be violating that spirit by freezing my products. The only person that I know of that, I think, doesn't freeze is Kee's Chocolates in NYC, but she does low volumes and pretty much sells out by the end of the day anyhow. One technique that I think some people here might find useful is the production flow/schedule that Chef uses: Day 1: Make Ganaches Day 2: Cut Ganaches Day 3: Enrobe Ganaches Day 4: Package When you cut the ganaches on Day 2, seperate them out, so that the moisture in the ganache evaporates all around, rather than just from the top. Plus letting them sit out overnight, allows you to keep really crisp and sharp edges when you enrobe, so the chocolate doesn't dull the edges. If your bonbons develop cracks in them after a few days, then it's from moisture, let it evaporate. Even with your molded products, pipe the centers and then let them sit overnight, before covering. I would really recommend his class to anyone that is interested in pursuing chocolates. He guy really knows his stuff and had alot to offer everyone. For me, I took away alot of things that I hope to make appliciable in my own store. The only downsides were the size of the class, perhaps a little smaller would have been nice. And in the notebook handed out with the recipes, to have had a written process of the dual layered bonbons procedure. It's commonsensical, but I think that was the only thing missing. Perhaps including some words on scaling up and scaling down recipes, which I am sure is covered in other places, but to have seen his own method. One last thing, even though I say that the class a bit a large, everyone in it was really nice and friendly and a great source of information and contacts. It felt like alot of us were trying to open our own stores and had been doing alot of research, and everyone was willing to share what they had found out during their quests, which was fantastic! Good Luck Everybody!

My uncle just got back from Venezuela with a bunch of El Ray chocolates for his wife...she's a great baker. Well, I freaked as a chocolatier and told him how sought after they are ( right? ). Anyway, he said he could easily be a distributor of them in Canada but hasn't a clue about what the market would be like? Well, just a question to all the Canadians out there, is there an El Ray distributor in Canada (T.O. specifically )? and if there isn't is there a market? Take care,

Hi everyone! I came across this site trying to learn about my great-grandfather Edison Sutter's famous New York bakery and noticed there was an old topic that discussed it in passing. My grandfather recently passed, and he lived in the old Sutter house. Now having the opportunity to go through it and learn the story, I have decided that this is a calling to reopen a great New York landmark. I even have the old neon signs and menus in my possession. If anyone here has any stories or pictures to share that would be great as I was born a decade after the corner Greenwich store closed. Thanks, Dan

I love the PCB transfer sheets I see on their european website but can't find the selection here. I have been trying to find European Imports but can't find a website. Any good links for chocolate transfers would be appreciated. Thanks All

While I have been able to get through most of the rough translation in La Patisserie de Pierre Herme, I'm still lost on "Maitre Chocolatier". My best guess is that it is calling for Chapon (and the reasoning behind my guess is poor). Can anyone enlighten me?

For my first eGullet post I thought I'd do something meaningful, so therefore it involves two favorite things - beer and chocolate. For the grand opening of my husbands brewpub, I'd like to surprise him with some themed molded chocolates, the theme being beer. I'm thinking about a stout flavoured filling and perhaps something made with malt syrup and maybe a hint of hops. Anybody have experience with any of this? I've dabbled with making a stout flavoured ganache (Young's chocolate stout, cream, chocolate), but the stout flavour was way to subtle, ie. basically non-existing... All ideas regarding this theme are most appreciated. I've only got the kitchen in my home, but a good supply of chocolate-making equipment (and experience) as well as access to good quality chocolate and all sorts of beery ingredients. Thanks Mette (no longer an eGullet virgin)

There's no shortage of fine chocolates today to be found from many suppliers. Many of them offer their products classified by cocoa solids content, and many of them do so in incriments that are fairly small, such as 50%, 54%, 58%, etc. I'm interested to see how those of you who are selecting your chocolates using cocoa solids as one of your criteria are using them. Especially those of you who are using multiple products that are slightly differientated from one another such as the above example. Do you find, for example, the 50% more desireable for baking, while the 54%'s more appropriate for mousses and ganaches? Do you like to make shelled materials with the very dark products that have very sweet centers, or would you rather bake with the very dark products? Inquiring minds want to know 8-) So how about it - what products do you use, and why?

This article from Sunday's New York Times (free registration required) offers a guide to Paris chocolatiers. It is not exhaustive, but provides the author's "selection of those most worthy of your time." The shops on the list: Angelina (just for hot chocolate) La Charlotte de L'Isle (just for hot chocolate) Michel Chaudun Christian Constant Pierre Herme Jean-Paul Hevin La Maison du Chocolat A post about this article here in Pastry & Baking has resulted in no discussion. I have no expertise in this area, but I wonder if any of you do. Did this article include any unworthy choices? Are there other "must-see" chocolatiers left out?

I've read of people on here making their own transfer sheets and was wondering if someone could explain how to do so. Thanks

For Polyanna at work, we post a list of 3 "suggestions" that we'd like. I'm sure it means years ago there was a disaster! The person who's name I picked wrote "good chocolate" as 2 of her 3 suggestions. I can take a hint. I was going to compile an assortment. I'm definitely going to Miel and a new place I heard about in 1 Liberty Place. Where else do I go to avoid pecan turtles and chocolate covered potato chips? There's nothing wrong with either of them, just not in the same league as truffles and bon bons. Jubilee is practically unavailable, and not my favorite.

Hi folks, Straightforward request, really: what is the best value chocolatier in NYC? At the bottom of the list, I gather, is Godiva. I also know that there are a lot of really good chocolatiers (La Maison, Payard, Torres, etc.) but which is best for someone who loves excellent quality chocolate, but hasn't got a fortune to spend on it? Thanks, Anthony

Could anyone please tell me where I could buy these in the DC/VA area?? I am desperate - thank you!!!!

Minister of D®ink and I are thinking of venturing out in the real world after a few more inches fall. I've never not gone to a bar on a snow day since I've been of boozing age... Minister's still partially honoring the early stages of the South Beach Diet...and I'm pretending to follow in his foot steps. So, where can we go to get a hot drink that's cooler than our Tazo teas at home? Someone said Oyamel for hot chocolate? Why is this? Please help! Our wagon is out of fuel.

Today, I stopped in to visit Fran's Chocolates in University Village. Fran Bigelow produces not only some of the best chocolates in the world, she also creates some of the finest ice cream I've ever enjoyed. Before we go on, I have to invoke Stendahl's famous dictum about ice cream: "Ah, such a pity it isn't a sin!" Spoken like a true Catholic and a true Frenchman. And obviously, as much an ice cream devotee as I am. FIf you live in Seattle and have never enjoyed Fran's confections, you must. Even if you don't live in Seattle, you can enjoy her mail order confection (alas, no ice creams though!). Now, Fran's come out with her own chocolate cookbook, Pure Chocolate, which I heartily recommend.Everything that Fran produces is impeccable and delicious. But here are some of my personal favorites: Tahitian Vanilla ice cream Chocolats de chocolats ice cream Turbinado Burnt Sugar ice cream Dark chocolate truffles Chocolate espresso torte The Seattle Times' Pacific Magazine has done a Fran Bigelow profile with some fine photos. She's been written up in a New York Times food section blurb (but I think they've missed out in not featuring her food in an article) and food mags like Food & Wine & sells at Neimanmarcus.com (why in heaven's name am I shilling for them?). So the snooty wealthy can enjoy her as well. This is not just Seattle's best, but some of the world's best! This post first appeared in my blog: http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_ol..._worlds_be.html

I am starting up a small chocolate business and have begun my search for a guitar to cut chocolates involving ganaches, etc. prior to enrobing. Knowing how expensive they are is somewhat daunting in that I'd like to think there are alternatives to cutting the perfect and standard shapes one gets with a guitar. Are there any alternative ideas out there that have proven successful, or ideas on where to purchase new or used guitars? Patty