Jump to content

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'Confections'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • Society Announcements
    • Announcements
    • Member News
    • Welcome Our New Members!
  • Society Support and Documentation Center
    • Member Agreement
    • Society Policies, Guidelines & Documents
  • The Kitchen
    • Beverages & Libations
    • Cookbooks & References
    • Cooking
    • Kitchen Consumer
    • Culinary Classifieds
    • Pastry & Baking
    • Ready to Eat
    • RecipeGullet
  • Culinary Culture
    • Food Media & Arts
    • Food Traditions & Culture
    • Restaurant Life
  • Regional Cuisine
    • United States
    • Canada
    • Europe
    • India, China, Japan, & Asia/Pacific
    • Middle East & Africa
    • Latin America
  • The Fridge
    • Q&A Fridge
    • Society Features
    • eG Spotlight Fridge

Product Groups

  • Donation Levels
  • Feature Add-Ons

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


LinkedIn Profile


Location

  1. LMDC and Patrick Roger have both managed to create this sweet wrinkly effect: Furthest bonbon on plate. I've had zero success in trying to recreate it. Does anybody have any idea how to achieve this?
  2. I temper chocolate using a variety of methods, depending on how much I need, what equipment I have available, and the mood I happen to be in on any given day. I started perfecting this method late one spring, when the house was too warm to temper on my marble slab, and I needed some tempered chocolate to make a couple of hundred mocha chocolates for a wedding shower. I soon discovered the advantage over the marble slab technique, no chocolate dripping off the marble onto the floor, no danger of dropping my 3 inch thick slab of marble onto the tile floor (again). EQUIPMENT LIST 8 cup pyrex measuring cup microwave safe silicone spatula accurate digital thermometer pan to hold cooling water microwave oven heat gun parchment to test temper chefs knife or chocolate fork to chop chocolate MELTING THE CHOCOLATE Chop chocolate, place in pyrex measuring cup, place in microwave and microwave on high initally for 1 minute. Stir after heating in microwave. Continue to heat for 20 to 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating. After you reach the point where there are just a few small lumps left (3rd picture), heat again for about 10 to 15 seconds more. The temperature will be about 40 degrees centigrade (104 F). I do not let the temperature get above 45 degrees C (113 F). COOLING THE CHOCOLATE Now place pyrex measuring cup in pan of cool water, taking care not to get any water in your melted chocolate or it will seize. I add a couple of ice cubes to the water to speed cooling. Stir the chocolate away from the sides and bottom of the measuring cup frequently. As the chocolate cools you will begin to notice that it lightens in colour and begins to thicken as you can see in the picture. As you drag the spatula through the chocolate you will notice that it forms slight ridges. When the chocolate cools to 25 degrees C (78 degrees F) remove from cold water and wipe the bottom of the measuring cup with a tea towel to make sure water doesn't get in chocolate. REHEATING TO WORKING TEMPERATURE Now I use the heat gun to reheat the chocolate to about 29 degrees C (84 F) which will be my working temperature. I stir continually while using the heat gun to heat the chocolate that is on the spatula, the outside of the bowl and the surface of the chocolate. Once the temperature starts to rise, I remove the heat, stir thoroughly and wait a minute before adding more heat because often as I stir chocolate off the sides and bottom of the bowl the temperature will jump up. I want to be careful that the temperature doesn't go above 31 degrees C (87) or it may drive the chocolate out of temper. TESTING THE TEMPER I let the chocolate sit and equilibrate for a few minutes before testing the temper. I place a thin streak of chocolate on a piece of parchment and let it sit for a few minutes. It will lose it's wet shine and solidify. It can easily be snapped in pieces. If it doesn't solidify in a few minutes let the bowl sit for 10 minutes or so and test the temper again. If that fails, you can try putting it over the cool water until it reaches 25 degrees again, reheat carefully and retest. This is not a technique recommended by 'proper chocolatiers', the standard teaching is that if you are not in temper, you must reheat back to 40+ degrees and start again, however I have had success doing this in some cases. Once your chocolate is in temper you can start having fun. Molding, dipping, making ruffles, truffles or masterpieces. If the chocolate cools a bit, I heat it back up again to the working temperature either with the heat gun or by adding warm untempered chocolate. The tempered chocolate will act as a seed for the untempered chocolate and put it in temper, as long as you don't exceed the working temperature. So try it out, post your sucesses and failures. Ask lots of questions. Kerry
  3. Ummm I have done some mint chocolates in the past and I have used the peppermint extract, but I feel that the taste isnt that soddisfacent,so I did another batch with fresh mint instead ( I saw many chocolatiers make it with fresh mint ),so i did it , and finish up the chocolates. Unfortunally I tryed one yesterday and the taste its very very weird , too weird to be selled , the only positive thing is that it leaves a great fresh back taste in your mouth , but the firts taste I dont know how to explained but it is weird like you can actually taste the plante inside , I would say not too appealing. Now I am going to try a different appoach just to experiment something, I made some fondant and Im going to mix it with som epeppermint extract ( I need to find some mint syrup ) and the fill the chocolates with that. What are your experience with mint? And did this weird taste ever accour to any of you guys? Thank you
  4. You lucky Islingtonites, Paul Young - a proper chocolatier, teacher (for himself, for Rococo, etc.) - opens his patisserie/chocolate shop on Monday. It's at 33 Camden Passage. I think he'll be offering freebies. I don't think I'll make it but would love to hear peoples' opinions: paul.a.young fine chocolates 33 Camden Passage Islington London N1 8EA
  5. I worked out the details to colour the coat on these bunnies and showed one of my students how to make them. She is trying to make 30 of the middle sized rabbits for someone in time for easter, and is molding them solid rather than hollow. She has found they are frequently breaking at the neck or feet. I have had similar problems with some of my figural molds in the past. I have a lovely Antoine Reiche mold of 3 rabbits and a basket and when molded solid it often breaks across the neck of one of the rabbits. I also have a fabulous chef mold that breaks at the feet almost every time. The chocolate appears to be well tempered, it unmolds cleanly. Any thoughts?
  6. Can somebody please tell me the addresses of Jaques Genin and Pierre Marcolini(sp?) in paris Thanx tarek
  7. Ok it was an accident not an experiment, acutally I did some chocolate last night after work and was very late,so I unmolded most of them right away , and some from a one mold didnt came out right away and I couldnt tap too hard on the counter because everyone were sleeping . Anyway this morning I went down , where I keep all my chocolates in the basement its very cold, and I unmolded the rest form that last mold, and I have noticed that the one I just unmolded are way shinier than the ones I unmolded last night after I covered them ( I waited ofcourse ). Now my question is , what can be the cause of this difference? The fact that the chocolate srhink even more in a cold ( not fridge ) enveiroment ( sp)? I am courious because if is the case I will change my unmolding time and place I guess . Thank you the pic isnt the best .
  8. We were walking down Second Avenue today and saw that Elk Confectionery had closed. A "no further information" message from the phone company played when we dialed its number. Does anybody know what happened? Last time we were there, a couple of months ago I suppose, it seemed to be thriving.
  9. Ok finally I got my testure sheets ( still to hot to order transfer sheets ), I am going to use them for chocolates , and I was wondering a silly question, can i cut the sheets like I would for transfer sheets to fit the chocolate size?And can I reause them? Thank you much
  10. Has anyone been to Eclat Chocolate on High St in West Chester yet (besides me)? Imagine the overachieving offspring of Ferran Adria & Willy Wonka's sister and you have an idea of what Christopher Curtin is like. They won Best of Philly for 2005 without advertising, an accomplishment in itself. Their artwork is on display and you can see the kitchen through a window behind the counter. Never have I seen 20 chocolates disappear so fast, especially when only 1 person was eating them.
  11. I asked a friend of mine to build a guitar cutter for me. He is a professional fabricator and based his design on specs found on this website and other pictures I could find online. It's a beautiful piece of equipment. The problem is that it doesn't cut through my caramels. I cook them to just below the hard ball stage then set them in a caramel ruler. When I try to cut them, the wires just don't make it all the way through, though it perforates enough where I can then follow the lines with a pizza roller. So my question is this, am I having problems because the wires aren't right (I don't know enough to tell you what kind of wires they are) or do those of you with professional guitar cutters have the same problem?? Thank you diana
  12. I'll be heading out west again, and have a hankering for some delectable chocolates and cakes. The last time I was in Vancouver, I tried Thomas Haas chocolates (Yum! Esp. the Campari ones...) and Ganache Patisserie (delicious and very well-constructed mini cakes). Are there any other can't-miss chocolatiers and patisseries in town that I must try? Thanks!
  13. CONFECTIONERY 101 by Kerry Beal This course will begin next week on Sept. 5. Please read through the introduction for information on equipment and ingredients. The Instructor Kerry Beal, The Chocolate Doctor, started making candy in childhood, learning how to make fudge from her mother and pull taffy from her grandmother. (Because she had the patience of a gnat, she had trouble waiting for her fudge, so it tended to be grainy. She's gotten better.) Her interest in candy revived as an adult, and she started working with chocolate about ten years ago after purchasing a small tempering machine while on holiday in San Francisco. That started her journey into all things chocolate. Kerry is the author of the Chocolate Doctor series of educational DVDs, which cover the basic techniques for working with chocolate. She plans to make at least two other DVDs in the series to cover airbrushing with chocolate and pan coating with chocolate. She teaches courses in chocolate techniques, caramel making and confectionery. Although she has no plans to open a chocolate or candy shop, Kerry loves to develop new recipes and enjoys reverse engineering what she tastes. Friends bring her treats from around the world with instructions to 'copy it for me. She supports her passion for all things in the kitchen with her day job as a family physician, so she truly is the Chocolate Doctor. The Series: Confectionery 101 The subjects we will cover in this course are: 1. Caramel 2. Nougat 3. Fudge/Fondant 4. Pull Taffy The art of confectionery is all about the control of crystallization: the crystallization of sugar in sweets and the crystallization of cocoa butter in chocolate. Caramel, toffee and butterscotch are all candies with a non-crystalline structure, the differences in texture being determined by the temperature to which the batch is taken. For caramel and related candy, sugar is dissolved and large amounts of glucose are added to retard crystallization. Very little stirring takes place, again to discourage crystallization. Producing nougat and divinity also involves the retardation of sugar crystallization. A combination of boiled sugar and glucose with a frappe of egg albumin gives them their characteristic texture. The density and chewiness is determined by the proportions of sugar to glucose and the temperature to which the sugar solution is cooked. Fudge or fondant is made by boiling sugar with a liquid to first completely dissolve the sugar, then cooling to the ideal temperature before beating to encourage the formation of crystals of the desired size. It is the very fine crystals that we produce under these conditions that give fudge or fondant its creamy texture on the tongue. Pull taffy is sugar syrup cooked to a soft crack stage then allowed to cool just until it can be handled. It is then pulled until it lightens in colour and the crystals form a series of parallel ridges, providing its characteristic texture. Required supplies Note: Much of the equipment and ingredients will be used in all four classes. Class 1: Caramel Equipment Heavy pot 6 quarts or larger Candy or digital thermometer Silicone spatula or wooden or bamboo spoon Caramel rulers or pastry frame or metal baking pan Parchment paper or Silpat or oiled marble slab Chef’s knife or pizza cutter or guitar cutter (if you are so blessed) Ingredients Sugar Glucose (white corn syrup) Butter Honey Heavy cream Vanilla Class 2: Nougat Equipment Small heavy pot Candy or digital thermometer Stand mixer Caramel rulers or pastry frame or 8 x 8 inch metal pan Chefs knife or pizza cutter Ingredients Sugar Glucose (white corn syrup) Egg whites Peanut butter Class 3: Fudge Equipment Heavy 4-quart pot Candy or digital thermometer Wooden or bamboo spoon or silicone spatula Marble or granite slab (optional) Scraper if using slab to agitate Ingredients Sugar, white and brown Glucose (white corn syrup) Butter Milk or cream Vanilla Pecans Class 4: Pull Candy Equipment Heavy 4 quart or larger pot Candy or digital thermometer Marble or granite slab or large platter or flat pan Two strong arms or taffy hook Scissors Ingredients Sugar Glucose (white corn syrup) Vinegar Peppermint oil (optional) I hope these classes will encourage you to follow along and try some new techniques. I don't pretend to know everything about confectionery although I learn a lot every time I teach. I look forward to everyone's input, tips and techniques and trouble-shooting ideas. Together we will be able to answer questions, make suggestions and encourage successful confectionery. So get out your heaviest pots, your silicone spatulas, and your candy thermometers, and let's make some candy. Note from the eGCI team: A food scale is also necessary for these classes. Please post your questions and comment on the class here, in the Q&A.
  14. Please post your questions and comments about the Confectionery 101 Course here.
  15. My lovely husband has given me a surprise trip to London for my birthday, leaving tomorrow There will be lots of eating and drinking, but I also need chocolate recommendations! Please! What is good, what is overrated, what is best to avoid? Leaving tomorrow morning and having to work doesn't leave me much time to research, and besides, I prefer recommendations from the people in the know Thank you P.S. Will post pics if anything good comes my way in the UK
  16. hi all - Can anyone tell me what edible lacquer or confectionery glaze are used for? If I understand correctly they are both used in cake decorating as a finishing...but I'm not a baker so I don't know for sure... Are they the same thing? Are they used interchangably? I guess what I really want to know is ...what are they?? Lynne
  17. Anyone know where to find a nice acrylic display case for chocolates, doesn't need refridgeration, and should sit on a counter top. Even better would be a Canadian source of this. Also wanted are the trays that chocolates are displayed on in a case such as this.
  18. I'm looking at buying confection frames for ganache centers. Does anyone know where to buy them other than Tomric (they dont stock anything and I don't want to wait 3- 4 weeks) or Pastry Chef (to expensive)? Here's a link to what I'm looking for. http://www.tomric.com/ItemDetail.aspx?cmd=local&item=4969 Thanks in advance.
  19. I have two questions but they are related so I am putting them both here. Is it better to put the transfer sheets on top of the chocolate ganache squares dipped into tempered chocolate (by cutting the sheets into into smaller squares?) or put the tempered squares directly on top of the transfer sheet? Also, would it be possible to airbrush an acetate sheet and then put the tempered squares onto the acetate as a way of making my own transfer sheet? Any suggestions would be welcome! Thanks, Jeff
  20. I came back with a bottle of lemoncello. Any ideas on how to incorporate it into a ganache? Would you think it would be better in a white chocolate ganache or dark chocolate or neither? Thanks, Jeff
  21. On the back of the January issue of Fine Cooking, there is an article about Christopher Elbow and his chocolates... they are gorgeous! He is out of Kansas City, MO. I am definitely going to order some for Christmas presents! http://www.elbowchocolates.com/
  22. I meant to get to this weeks ago and got sidetracked. I apologize and hope that this demo, in conjunction with John's fab demo, will completely demystify molded chocolates. Because I needed Honey to take the photos this was done at home. So, please also accept my apologies for the dog bowls, etc. It's usually too cold in the kitchen in the morning to make happy chocolates so instead of wasting precious gas on the heater, I cranked on the oven and made these. Not only do they warm the kitchen to a chocolate favorable 68 degrees but they also make for a nice afternoon snack! So, here's the stuff: Baby tempering machine, Mommy tempering machine, Vibrating table, gold leaf, luster dusts, PCB colors, Polycarb mold (I get mine from Tomric), natural cotton batting, offset spatula, some paintbrushes, and a rubber scraper all on top of plenty of parchment for easier clean-up. Oh, and a pastry bag and some scissors for the ganache. Make yourself a nice ganache so it has time to cool while you get things ready and temper your chocolate. If you're using a machine you will start the tempering process now. Polish your mold well with the natural cotton batting (found at most fabric stores). It can be washed and used again and again. If you're not using a tempering machine you may want to create a set-up like this. Grab a big bowl, put a heating pad in it and set it to low. Add a few towels and a probe thermometer followed by your bowl of tempered chocolate. You can monitor the temp of the bowls and add or subtract towels as needed to maintain a good working temperature. Just before filling, I hit my molds with a blow dryer just enough to ensure the poly is the same temperature as the chocolate. I find that although the ambient temperature is just right, sometimes the various objects haven't quite warmed up enough. This step will secure a glossy bonbon. Fun time! Warm some colored cocoa butter in the micro and drop it on your finger or directly into the cavity.... Swirl it around the inside of each cavity. Get creative. Use as many colors as you like and have fun, it's not that serious. You'll notice I smeared some gold leaf into one row of cavities in this same fashion. For more complete coverage and that super-trendy, high-color look, use a fluffy brush to coat the entire cavity. Tap in some luster dust for a little more drama and texture. You may prefer to create definition with a different shade of chocolate. I used my favorite tool, my finger, and swirled in some milk chocolate. On the next row I used a spoon to pool some milk chocolate in the bottom of the mold. One could use an airbrush with some white chocolate here too (if one could make friends with her airbrush). Let these set a bit and fill the entire mold with dark chocolate. I like to use a deep silicone spatula because I can use it again later when cleaning out the bowl. Many chocolatiers prefer a ladle. Give it a quick scrape with your offset spatula (just so things don't get TOO messy). Set the mold on your spiffy "new" vibrating table for a few seconds. OR smack it around violently on the counter, bouncing it from side to side while doing a little dance to release bubbles and get some exercise. Turn 'er over and dump out the extra. I do this over a sheet of parchment and use the chocolate another day. I worry that pouring it back into my tempered chocolate may upset things. It probably wouldn't but we all have our neurosis. Swirl that baby around to get out all the extra and make a nice thin shell. Give it another scrape and set it aside to dry. Now the shells have that velvety sheen which means they're dry and are ready to be filled. Fill a pastry bag or a squirt bottle (if you don't mind washing it) with ganache and pipe into the shells. Be sure to leave 1/8 inch of space for the bottom and don't allow the ganache to touch the rim of the shell or the bottom may not adhere properly. In this batch I have piped a drop of ganache, added a glaced cherry and covered it with ganache. Now you want to give your ganache an hour or two to develop a slight crust. If you're working with caramel you may have to wait a day before bottoming. Use your silicone spatula to add chocolate with the same technique you used to fill the shells. Give it a couple of taps and swiftly scrape of the excess. Don't muck about here. The more you mess with it, the less successful your bottoms will be. Leave the mold in a cool spot for an hour or so and them turn the bonbons out onto a sheet of parchment. You may have to give it a little whack to get every last one out. Use a gloved hand to place them on a pretty platter or into a gift box. and here's the final presentation! Notice the gold leaf; the colors; the colors with gold dust; the two toned; and even one that got a last minute dusting of lustre. Honey liked the photo so well, he put it on the website! There are so many options. Have fun, be creative, be silly, and remember, it's all edible.
  23. Demo: How to Use Transfer Sheets (and Structure Sheets) with Magnetic Molds for Making Chocolate Bonbons This thread will demonstrate how to use transfer sheets to decorate chocolate bonbons. Structure sheets, which are plastic sheets embossed with a pattern, can be used in exactly the same way. Let’s begin: 1. Here is a photograph of my workbench. It's important to have all of your tools ready when you work with chocolate because you need to work fast. a) Transfer Sheet; b) Structure Sheet; c) Bowl of seed chocolate; d) Small bowl; e) Scale; f) 2-piece Magnetic chocolate molds; g) Magnetic mold taken apart to show top and bottom pieces; h) Scissors; i) Acrylic paint brush; j) Straight spatulas; k) 7” Wide Spatulas; l) Ladle; m) Chocolate Melter 2. Here's a close up of the magnetic chocolate molds. On the left, two fully assembled molds; on the right, a mold with the back showing. 3. Here is a close up of the transfer sheet we'll be using. On the right is a structure sheet. 4. The first thing we need to do is cut the transfer sheet to fit into our magnetic mold. Here, I'm using a pre-cut structure sheet as a guide for marking my transfer sheet. Obviously it should be marked on the non-cocoa butter side. 5. Cutting the transfer sheet. 6. Positioning the transfer sheet inside the chocolate mold. Here I have the mold upside-down and the transfer sheet is positioned over the cavities with the cocoa-butter side down. 7. Carefully replacing the mold backing. As you can see, we are "sandwiching" the sheet between the two parts of the mold. Be sure that the sheet doesn't slip out of position as you're replacing the back. 8. Fully assembled (upside-down). 9. Fully assembled (right side up). 10. Painting each cavity with tempered chocolate ensures that you won't have bubbles in your finished pieces. You may be able to skip this step if your chocolate is very thin. 11. Once all the cavities have been painted, you can scrape with a chocolate scraper to remove excess chocolate bits from the top of the mold. The scraper should run smoothly across the top. 12. Here is our prepped mold held up to the light. You can see that it doesn't need to be very pretty; you just need to be sure you've gotten into all the corner spaces. 13. Now we can immediately ladle in some tempered chocolate to make a suitable chocolate shell for our bonbons. 14. Spread the chocolate with a palette knife so that each cavity gets its share of chocolate. Work quickly. 15. Tap the side of the mold to help the chocolate settle and to remove bubbles. Here, you're just trying to ensure that no bubbles are clinging to the surface of the mold. 16. Now we need to eliminate excess chocolate in our mold. Just turn the mold over and let the chocolate drain back into the melter. You can tap it on the sides with the palette knife or whack the mold on the edges of your melting pan to encourage the chocolate to depart. 17. Now we scrape with a spatula to clean up our mold. 18. Turn your mold over and allow excess chocolate to drain, if necessary. Check again in a few minutes and scrape with a spatula, as before, to clean the mold. 19. Here we see our chocolate shells, still in the mold, with a nice even coating of chocolate. They are now ready for filling with your favorite ganache and sealing in the usual way with tempered chocolate. Our bonbons: transfer sheet and structure sheet examples
  24. Technically a New Jersey item, but of interest to Philadelphians like me who find themselves on the other side of the river: Stopped by Miel's Patisserie at Village Walk, Cherry Hill this afternoon, and found that their chocolates are on sale at 50% off. Although I've had finer French style flavored chocolates, these are still darned good chocolates. And at $19 a pound rather than $38, a very good value, indeed, a downright bargain. I believe the sale lasts through the weekend, but they are closed on Labor Day. Lots of interesting flavors, including a dark ganache with fleur de sel.
  25. I'm planning on making chocolate truffles in the near future so I've been reading a bit about chocolate tempering. Now, as far as I understand it, as long as chocolate is already in temper (like most chocolate that you can buy), keeping the chocolate liquid, but in temper is simply a matter of heating it to between 90F and 94F. Conventionally, this is either done by suspending over a pot of simmering water or by using a microwave. But that always seemed rather illogical to me, if you want something to get to, and stay at 94F, then why would you use something hotter. Whats wrong with simply getting a large water bath, heating it to exactly 94F and then suspending the chocolate in the water until the chocolate comes into equilibrium with the water? First of all, it allows you to keep the chocolate at a stable temperature for longer, the water has a huge amount of thermal inertia so it can keep within the 90-94 band. Secondly, you don't have the problem of steam condensation like with a bain, water at 94F is less than body temp and wont steam. Finally, as long as you have a good digital thermometer, keeping the water in range is very easy. Just have a large pot of boiling water on hand and just pour some in and stir if it starts dropping. Is there some hidden flaw with this technique that I am missing? It seems eminently sensible for the home cook who cant afford marble slabs and $10,000 tempering machines.
×
×
  • Create New...