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My shop is closed in the winter so I like to take this time to get new recipe books and try some new things out, so tonight I found some interesting books on Amazon and wondered if anyone has an idea what they are about. The cost is pretty high on them and my usual go to reference person - The Chocolate Doctor - has not heard of them so I thought maybe someone out there has some input! http://www.amazon.ca/Complete-Confectioner...3195633&sr=1-12 $1936 seems a bit out of this world And there is a pre-order listing of a book to be released in July http://www.amazon.ca/Technology-Coated-Cho...3195633&sr=1-11 If anyone has suggestions on more reasonably priced confectionery books I would love to hear them. Thanks for your input!!

Given that the packing and shipping has been covered nearly ad nauseum, I should probably thank everyone for clicking on this one anyway. I searched and found quite a lot on temperature and the like, but nothing on this specifically. I've been planning to ship chocolates to some friends for quite some time now. The chocolates/candy are finally done, and I had purchased some very nice boxes, inserts, and cups to ship them safely halfway around the country. They don't fit. Oops!! A few flavors of truffles were slightly (ha!) oversized and won't fit in the trays. I'd resigned myself to the 3-4 hr round trip to pick up appropriate sized ones this weekend but had a thought based on something someone here had mentioned regarding taking them on an airplane. I forget who it was, but here's the thought- would it be possible to vaccuum seal them and layer the packages with bubble wrap and peanuts? Lovely boxes would be nice, but not only to the recipients not care what they look like, they're beginning to get anxious- and I've already spent quite a lot on the endeavour so far so if I can avoid the trip to Ft Wayne... Has anyone else done this? Do you think that the bags would leave stinky plasticness all over my hard work? Any and all input is welcome! Alternative ideas as well. Thanks!

Cardinal chocolatier makes some chocoalte I got this from my local forum and decided to share it. Nothing really new or amazing, but nice. Eli of Cardinal Chocolates here uses only Valrhona and for some reason makes thin, thin plain bark from 70% Guanaja and 100% pate to get 80%. I am interested in knowing why he doesn't just use 80% . I guess it is a flavor thing. Well sorry that you can't understand the language but the pictures tell it all I think. editted to tell you that you have to scroll down to get to the video-sorry!

I am looking to incorporate banana into several of my molded chocolates. Do most of you use a banana puree? I tried using a few fresh bananas and some confectionary sugar to make a puree, then mixing that into my ganache. I found the shelf life to be very short though..only about two weeks. Any help or tips?

Getting into the chocolate business is something that I would like to do at some point. I am not at that point yet, as feel I am still too novice to produce a competitive product. But, I am curious about a couple things. Reading other threads about starting a chocolate business I see that people on here range from small direct sales to selling via the internet to wholesaling to owning a boutique. A lot of focus in other threads has been in starting a wholesale business or opening a boutique. I’m curious about the direct sales or internet sales side of the business. What rules are involved? Do you need to work out of a commercial kitchen? Are there labeling requirements? Etc… I guess I’m looking for the minimum requirements to be able to sell chocolates. Obviously I know nothing about this stuff. And as I said before, I am not ready to start being a chocolatier yet, but I’d like to know what it entails when I am ready. Thanks.

There have been several threads recently about making chocolate confections, and a few in the recent past about making chocolate from the bean. Strangely, there doesn't seem to be a lot of overlap between the two. From what I can tell, the people making bonbons don't seem to be the same people experimenting with melangeurs. In English, we don't even have good terms to describe the difference, and some manufacturers gain advantage from this. Sometimes this is deceit, sometimes a convenient omission, and sometimes just an oversight. I recently bought a pricey sampler of 'single origin' chocolate bars from a high end shop based on the clerk's statements that they were made in house from the bean. Internet research showed this to be most likely false. I think this was just a poorly informed employee who was making the logical conclusion that a chocolate shop would make its own chocolate, but the manufacturer's own website certainly made no effort to clear up this confusion. What do people think about this? What would be comparisons be to other products? Is a chocolatier that uses commercial couverture like a bakery that buys pre-made flour instead of grinding its own wheat, or is it like a bakery that buys all its products frozen and par-baked and while claiming that everything is 'baked fresh daily'. My feeling is that it depends greatly on the way it is presented. Talking about 'our chocolate made from our beans' is wrong if one is simply melting down a commercially available product, but using chocolate as a basic ingredient is fine so long as this is done without deceit: I don't expect a bakery to grind its own flour, but I do expect it to make its own dough. But having recently made my own chocolate from the bean, and being surprised by the quality of the finished product, I'm surprised more people aren't interested in going this extra distance. ps. Alan McClure, the owner of Patric Chocolate, has a more coherent post on this topic up on his blog: http://www.patric-chocolate.com/store/2007...-chocolate.html

Help! I offered to make the chocolates for my lovely stepdaughter's wedding-shower-brunch, and was asked for Tiffany-blue chocolates. Since I have no experience coloring chocolates and (frankly) would rather not, I'm looking for other ideas to propose. A Tiffany box cake and diamond ring cookies are being made by others. I have the geodesic dome mold that looks like a cut gem, am thinking that could be part of it. Any thoughts, anyone? Am also doing the fruit salad, so any ideas on 'Tiffany-ing' that would be great, too! Thanks so much Jennifer

Does anyone know where to get confectionary supplies in London? I figure stores that sell things like invert sugar may be easier to find then equipment suppliers, but im looking for both if anyone has any ideas.. Oh an I found glucose syrup at Sainsbury's, but its in tiny quantities. Thanks!

I got an ad in my e-mail today for the Culinary Institute of America's "Captivating Confections" DVD set. Here's what it said about the set: They want $200 for the 3-DVD set (I guess it's ordinarily $250, this is a Valentines Day Special). That a bit more than the latest Hollywood blockbuster... and definitely quite a bit more than I typically drop on "cooking show"-type DVDs. I understand that this isn't one of those, but still... lotta money! Has anyone seen this set, or had any experience with the CIA's other DVD sets? I don't have the time or money right now for a real class on this stuff, so if this is a worthwhile investment I would be willing to spring for it, but I don't really know what to expect.

I'm heading out tomorrow evening for Belgium to take a course on making chocolate showpieces at the Belcolade factory in Aalst, Belgium. Puratos - the supplier of Belcolade in Canada has arranged the course and was kind enough to invite me along. So in preparation for this trip I've been following a jet lag program that I have used with success in the past. It involves dietary manipulation and caffeine restriction, with reintroduction of caffeine at the appropriate times to 'reset' the body clock. So starting on Wednesday I have done alternating days of 'feasting' and 'fasting' eating mainly protein for breakfast and lunch, and carbohydrates at dinner. No after dinner snacking allowed. Caffeine is allowed only between 3 and 4:30 in the afternoon. Apparently studies have shown that depleting glycogen stores makes you more sensitive to the effects of the caffeine. Tomorrow - the day I fly - is a 'fasting' day - about 800 calories - and at 6 in the evening I drink several cups of black coffee. In combination with resting at the appropriate time, waking 1/2 hour before breakfast Belgium time, doing a bit of physical exercise and brain exercise, then starting another 'feasting day' - I should be good to go for the start of the course on Monday morning. I've used this program a couple of times before when traveling to europe and it has made a world of difference to the jet lag I feel. The down side I suppose is the headache from caffeine withdrawal on Wednesday and the boring diet for these few days. This morning - a 'feasting' day I had a 3 egg omelet with onion, mushroom and cheese for breakfast, a steak for lunch and I felt rather yucky all day. It was all I could do to eat the high carbohydrate dinner - I don't think I achieved the kind of calories the program requires for a feast day. Can't wait to get back on a regular varied diet - some protein, some carbohydrate at the same meal. Moule frites I hope will be one of my first proper meals in Belgium. This will be a pretty much all chocolate and food trip, so I'd love to take you along with me. The plan is to attend the course Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - with any luck we will hit a mold factory on Thursday - then Friday I'm taking the train to Germany. I'll have a quick stopover in Cologne where I hope to get some pictures of Schneich's chocolate lab - then off to visit friends who collect old metal chocolate molds and produce very large equipment for chocolate factories. I'm the proud owner of a new Asus eee computer - a tiny little thing (less than 1 kg) with full WiFi capabilities that should allow me to keep in touch as long as I can find wireless. Picture transfer is a bit of a challenge, so I'll probably post a bunch when I get back, but I'll try to download some while I'm away. I'd love any suggestions about foods I should try - if anyone knows of restaurants in Aalst that are worth checking out I'd love to hear about them. I found lots of threads on Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp, but nothing about Aalst. Also anxious to hear suggestions for any particular chocolate I should try in Brussels.

At risk of asking a silly question, I have someone who is looking for "high quality nonpareil chocolates." I thought that had something to do with the Kosher process, but when I looked up the definition of the word, her request became redundant since technically nonpareil means unparalleled quality. So what does this term mean in this context? And if its a legitimate term, does anyone have recommendations for such a thing? Thanks.

Does anyone have any tips on how to cut the sweetness of fondant? When I add maple syrup to flavor it, it becomes really sweet. and since this is going inside chocolates, i feel it is overall to sweet. id like to havea strong maple flavor, but less sweetness. any suggestions?

After Kerry's marvelous explanation of the making of molasses honeycomb chips, I was moved to wreck my cookbook budget for the next few months and pick up "Choice Confections" by Walter Richmond. (Well, okay, I also picked up Morimoto's cookbook.) Although I've only had a few hours to glance through it, it brought up a couple of questions I have for experienced candymakers...regarding English Toffee. First, he talks about adding "Baker's Special Sugar" to the mix to start the graining. Now, I'm confused about this ingredient. Some sites refer to it as basically superfine sugar (so I'm thinking Domino's superfine will do the trick). Others seem to list Baker's Special Sugar as being a coarser grade than superfine, so I'm wondering if superfine will work. I would think so, but I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this. Second, he talks about aging the toffee for a week before selling it. I'm wondering if this will accomplish what's been my "holy grail" of English Toffee since I started making it: creating a toffee that doesn't stick to your teeth when you chew it. It seems to me that much commercial toffee doesn't stick to your teeth; it somehow seems a little "drier" when it's chewed. My homemade toffee, which always gets eaten in a few days, tends to stick when chewed. I'm pretty sure I've got the temperature right, so I've been thinking it's a matter of ingredients...but Choice Confections has me wondering if it's a matter of age instead. --Josh

Hello, I went to the previous class of Andrew Schotts and want to hear about the one that just took place at Notter. I hope a fellow egullet member went and is willing to share!!!

Hi, I was wondering if anyone out there has experience in vacuum sealing their chocolates before they are frozen, as mentioned in the Peter Greweling book. Any info, would be greatly appreciated. Luis

Okay, I’ve made some ganaches and most have turned out. I have now had a few that haven’t. I’ve saved some by adding corn syrup as described in Making Artisan Chocolates and I’ve read a few threads that give plenty of other options too. But, I also had one that wouldn’t come together. I’ve arrived at the conclusion that I do not have all the equipment that I need to make chocolates (or at least to save them). Any recommendations on the essential tools that I need and what the best brands (that are also economical in price) would be? Thanks, Mike.

i guess everyone has heard of those japanese chocolate truffles called "nama chocolate" they are basically a soft ganache dusted in cocoa. they are supposed to be kept in the fridge, nevertheless when you take them out and eat them right away they are very creamy, but they wont melt even if you keep them at rooom temp for a few hours... my question would be does anyoone have a ganache recipe that would match that, very creamy velvety in a cold state, but not fluid at room temp ... cheers torsten s.

Just got an e-mail from C.H.I.P.S. notifying me of another $100+ book that I'm sure I can't live without. I really just love Jean-Pierre Wybauw, so I guess I have to buy this book... It looks like it focuses on ganaches. The above is from C.H.I.P.S.

I have been up in Manitoulin Island for the last few weeks working and I always like to bring along a new project to work on that I can't find time for at home. You might recall that last year it was making a silicone mold for chocolate (that would be the groundhog that everyone found quite amusing). This year, prompted by Lloydchoc's suggestions in this thread I purchased a copy of American Cake Decorator magazine of May/June 2003 to help me get started and worked my way from there. So follow along and see what we have accomplished so far. I started by obtaining the emulsion. This is the stuff that is applied to the screen. The American Cake Decorating magazine said to get Ulano TZ/CL (CL for clear) as it is food grade. In speaking with Ulano directly, they told me that while this is the one everyone uses for chocolate transfers, they have never gone to the expense of having it declared so by the FDA. Essentially it is a mixture of poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and diazo dye. Diazo dye is light sensitive and causes the PVA to harden when it is exposed to light. The first problem I ran into was that no one in Canada carried that particular emulsion so they would have to order it from the US. By the time all was said and done I was forced to purchase 4 - 4 litre containers of the stuff. Once you have mixed it up you need to use it within several months, so I poured off 1 litre, weighed out 1/4 of the diazo dye and mixed that. I couldn't help but notice that the base - the PVA - smelled and looked just like white glue. A little research online has convinced me that it really is just white glue, so right now experiments are underway to test this hypothesis. These are pictures of my screen. It is an 80 mesh which means it has big holes compared to the usual silk screen. It means that your print won't be quite as crisp, but lots of coloured cocoa butter should get through. The two sides of my 80 mesh 'silk' screen. Polyester actually. I purchased the screen at Screentek, the same place I got the emulsion. Andria there gave me a quick lesson. Originally I had planned to expose the screen using a 150 watt light bulb as shown in the cake decorating magazine, but Andria convinced me that she had a great customer who lived on Manitoulin Island and she had already told her what I wanted to do, so I should go and visit her to expose my screens in the most professional way. I stopped in at Bebamikawe Studios the first day I worked at the clinic in Wikwemikong. There I met Georgina, the proprietor. She is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and runs a very sucessful business making signs, screen printing on fabric and other items, and embroidering traditional native designs on clothing, moccasins and various other items. She was rather intrigued with this whole chocolate idea, but was rather unclear about what a chocolate transfer was. The following pictures are to illustrate applying the emulsion to the screen, this is Georgina at work. Note the even, smooth strokes. Nothing like my application. But like she said, she does have over 20 years experience doing it. This is actuallly the experimental emulsion that I made with white glue on one of her reclaimed screens. The emulsion is poured into the applicator. The emulsion is applied to the screen with the applicator in a thin layer. You do the flat side of the screen first then the raised side. In this way you end up with a thicker layer of emulsion on the side that will be down when you are printing. The emulsion then needs to dry overnight protected from light. A couple of days before I went down to Wiki, Beth (Beth Wilson on eG) from the Manitoulin Chocolate Works and I spent the afternoon in her brother in law's print shop getting our images prepared. It is important that the image be crisp and clear and that the lines are thick enough to show up when printed. For example a flowing script that has a loop in a letter may not actually end up with a loop when you are done. I had Keith take the script from my label and rearrange it in a way that should print well. Beth had him take an image of Manitoulin Island and add the initials MCW for the chocolate works under the island. Two transparency copies are made of the desired image and taped together to make the image as black as possible. The image is placed on a table that contains some extremely strong lights. The frame is placed on top of the image. The screen is placed over the image. Care must be taken in determining which way is up, you want to end up with a backward transfer so that when you apply it to your chocolate it is the right way around. A vacuum is applied to the frame with it's attached transparency. This holds everything in place and minimizes extraneous light. After about 8 minutes under the strong lights, the emulsion has hardened and you are ready to wash the screen. After exposure to the light a strong steam of water washes away the areas masked from the light by the black printing. Now we were ready to try to learn to print our transfers. Beth and I taped a piece of overhead projector acetate to the counter and prepared the coloured cocoa butter. I mixed some melted cocoa butter with powdered PCB dye on a piece of marble. I worked it until it was starting to firm up but wasn't so stiff if wouldn't flow. I used the heat gun to warm it again if it got too stiff. The coloured cocoa butter pool. Note the tongue depressors taped to the frame. This holds the screen an 1/8th of an inch or so above the transparency so that it springs back after the squeegie is applied. Getting ready to flood the screen with the coloured cocoa butter. The initial squeegie to push the cocoa butter into the screen. Note that I am holding up the end of the screen that is towards me in order not to print on the acetate yet. The final squeegie to push the cocoa butter onto the transfer. Beth's transfers in blue. Very early on the learning curve as you can see. Beth's transfer in dark chocolate. My first attempt in blue. The chocolates with the transfers still in place. After peeling off the transfers. My trials with gold coloured cocoa butter. After showing the dark chocolate and blue transfers to Georgina she showed me how she floods her screen for printing T-shirts. So on this attempt I dragged the squeegie over once to fill the script, then went back over it a couple of times to make sure there was lots of cocoa butter over the lettering. When I pushed down for my final squeegie application I got a reasonably good application. Of course you have to work quickly before the cocoa butter starts to firm up or your screen will glue itself down to the acetate. There is a bit of a problem I have yet to sort out, the edges have more intensity of colour than the middles. When I get back home I'll take my screen and cocoa butter etc and head back to screentek and get Andria to watch my technique and give me suggestions. This is what happens to transfers after the dog hauls them out of the box and licks each one to get the chocolate off. Not a single transfer escaped his tongue. Total cost - $74 Cdn for 4 litre pail of emulsion, $22 for applicator, $17 for squeegies, $20 per screen. Cost for Georgina to copy our images on to the transparencies and expose them $55 for both screens. We could have saved $30 by printing our images to the transparencies ourselves.

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone has eaten any of the chocolates of Franck Kestener or have visited his shop in Sarreguemines? Any comments? Thanks!

After thumbing through some old threads, I ran across the name of Raindrop Chocolates, regarding placse to get Gelato in Houston. After dinner last night, we decided to stop in and check it out. They have wonderful gelato. My wife got the blood orange/chocolate, and I got the lemon custard. The intensely nuanced flavors of each, plus the fact that we were having something made from blood oranges in September, led me to ask the owner where he got his citrus. He said he orders them from Sicily. Everything is fresh and wonderful. We will definitely make this place a regular after-dinner stop.

I recently saw on the ICE culinary CAPS course list that both Andrew Shotts and Jean Pierre Wybauw (JPW) are teaching clases. I know that many people have taken JPW's class. Any comments on how that might compare to Andrew Shotts class? Here is the link to the course descriptions. http://www.iceculinary.com/professional/caps.shtml Jeff

My sister-in-law is having a major birthday, and my husband forgot that it is tomorrow. I'm hoping to find her some very nice chocolates that I can buy online and send overnight to California. Any ideas?

I'm looking into going to Melbourne, Australia to study. I found a lead for William Angliss, which offers a confectionery program. Anyone know of this school or program? Would you recommend it? Also, if anyone know of other similar programs in or around Melbourne Australia, please let me know!

I just got email from www.notterschool.com announcing their new 24 week pastry course. It's in Florida and is just under $18,000. Taught by Notter, Anil Rohira and celebrity guests. I met Chef Rohira in Maryland last year and really liked him. He is an easy personality and wants to share information and help his students succeed.