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I would love to be able to make Glacé fruit and or vegetables at home. Looking around there seem to be a variety of techniques some taking only 30 minutes ( boiling in a thick sugar syrup for peels) or taking up to a month slowly creating a stronger syrup each night and ending up with a glazed product as opposed to a crystalised product. Has anyone tried this ? What was sucessfull? What did not work so well, has anyone tried candying something unusual ? I believe you can do this to carrots and watermelon rind. I am really looking forward to hearing from anyone that has done this and knowing how and what fruit - veges you used

Hi all, I need some advice what to charge a bakery that is ordering some chocolates from me. I still don't know what the quantity will be, but lets say it's about 150-200 pieces, and about 5 different flavours. I think the best way is to come up with a price per piece. I am concerned with charging enough to make it worth my while, yet not too much, as the bakery needs to make thier profit as well. Suggestions???? Thanks!

Hello to the EGullet community. I own a small artisanal chocolate company, and I'm in search of a good supplier of custom European-style candy boxes. Currently I'm covering 2-pc boxes by hand; very pretty but it just takes up too much time. [Time I'd rather spend making chocolate!] I'd like to find a supplier who can furnish the hot-stamped box, candy pads, candy trays (blisters) and custom-stamped ribbon. The level of quality I'm looking for is similar to what you would find in La Maison du Chocolat boxes. Does anyone have a recommendation? Thanks in advance!

I looked at some of the recipes in wybauw's book, and while I have some good pastry and chocolate experience, as an "amateur" I don't have access to all the ingredients he mentions in some of his recipes. The coconut chocolate lists ingredients like sorbitol, mycryo butter and inverted sugar. [i am still in the process of reading the book on a detail level, but had a craving for a "Mounds" bar so I figured, I'd try making one myself] I think for inverted sugar I can use corn syrup. But what are your comments about the other items he lists in his ingredients. How about list in the front of the book. Jeff

We've been meaning to try this place which we've heard is really the best chocolatier in Lyon, Tourtiller. Sunday was Mother's Day in France, and since I have visitors with children visiting, it was the perfect opportunity to pick up a nice cake, diet be damned. Some snapshots from the patisserie side - A budding food photographer... The thing about this place is the chocolate...

School has been on my mind lately. When nightscotsman, a fellow host of the P&B forum here on the 'gullet graduated from the FPS (http://home.earthlink.net/~neilr/pastryschool/), I was very impressed with the quality of his work and then when he landed a job at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, specifically the pastry department, under Executive Pastry Chef Jean Philippe Maury it impressed me even more. So it was with great interest I read the article in the new issue of PA&D magazine. At the moment I find myself caught between the proverbial 'Rock & a Hard Place'. When I got into cooking, attending a nine month course right outside of D.C. at 'L'Academie de Cuisine', I did a basic cooking course, two actually. 'Theory and Technique', which is exactly that, and 'Practique', the practical useage of what you learned in the T & T class, hands on cooking. I was pretty sure I wanted to work in pastry but thought being grounded in everything would be helpful ( it has been, immensely) and also, there was no "short" course in pastry (2 year minimum) and the cost was prohibitive, no time for that kind of commitment, etc. I graduated, got an apprenticeship at a highly rated yet "homey" French Place outside of D.C., and began working in food on and off for the next few years, including a stint in a Manhattan restaurant where I learned a huge amount and fell in love with actually making plated desserts like I was eating in some of the nations best restaurants. Cut to the present. I've been a pastry chef pretty much exclusively for the last 4 or 5 years now, garnered a bit of a reputation for my work here in my neck of the S.W. but have hit a wall in what I can achieve monetarily, benefits (LOL!) and feel like the 6 month course that FPS offers could "complete" me. I'm self taught, for the most part, I can temper chocolate, do some sugar work but not in the classical sense. Everything I've seen about FPS seems like that would be the place to go, unless I would choose to take shorter courses at Ewald Notters school. I feel like Notter would be good if I was already making the kind of money I want to be making, I know the instruction there is top notch. Notters seems like where you want to go to brush up or learn new techniques. 17.5k isn't cheap but if I could couple a diploma from the FPS with already having had previous experience in running my own pastry programs, it would seem like perhaps I could get into a place at a bit of a higher rate, not feel as inexperienced in the kind of garnishes I would probably be expected to produce in a place like Las Vegas, for instance, and maybe even be able to find backers easier if I choose to do my own thing and open a dessert place of my own. My main qualm is, is the state of pastry at the moment really as "hot" as that article states? Are pastry chefs really "more in demand then ever before", like Norman Love states in the article? My own experience's, by that I mean what I've personally observed, participated in, and even read here, don't totally back that up. But I'm willing to be proved wrong. What do you folks think? Have you gone to either one of these fine places or to other 'pastry-centric" schools, especially if you're already a working chef, and felt like you had an advantage in the kind of salary you were able to get offered or ask for? If you went to school, did you take advantage of any scholarships that are out there? I'm all ears ( eyes, actually). Talk to me...

I was talking with a local Potter today who explained that she leaves a little blemish in every piece that she creates. She says that is what distinguishes her work from the work of machines. An artist friend, who loves to paint with lots of color, chastised me for adding a chip of colored chocolate to the top of my green tea chocolate. She said chocolate should look like chocolate, dark and satiny, nothing more. I've noticed that some of the artisanal chocolatiers are exclusively using a guitar slicer and transfer sheets. Some seem to use only Belgian molds. Some allow tiny air holes or slight irregularities. I know what matters in the end is the taste but what about first impressions? You're spending $30 on a box of 20 pieces.....Would you rather see something so perfect that it looks as if it cuold have been created by a machine or something flawed in some small way? Do you want it to look naturaly formed and organic in color or more dolled up in high fashion. Opinions please.... trish

I'm trying to start a small chocolate business. Boxes are eluding me. I've tried package nakazowa that someone else recommended, and while their boxes are beautiful, I'd like to find a retailer in Canada to cut down on shipping costs(and exchange). Does anyone have any ideas?? How can I find something? Google does not seem to be my friend, as whenever I search I just come up with other chocolatiers trying to sell their packages.

I am developing a line of chocolates and am quite ignorant as to the necessary ingredients to ensure a two month shelf life. I have some base recipes that I am comfortable but would appreciate any advice regarding "preservatives" or storage techniques. All the ganaches are simply Cream Invert sugar Chocolate Butter Thanks

I have a jar in the kitchen where I put all those chocolates that nobody in the family wants. I keep telling myself to throw them out, but I can't bring myself to. Perhaps I could put them to good use? Any suggestions to use them up? It's a real mish-mash, there some expensive chocolates from boxes, some easter eggs as well as the cheaper kids' chocolate bars. I did a search here and on Google, but couldn't find anything substantial. Is my only option to throw them out? Thanks as always, Suman

Do they exist? I've found a number of US sites that sell them, but I'm hoping to purchase locally if possible. Ideally, I'm looking for a good selection of styles, preferably coloured sheets (red hearts, floral motifs, etc. ) over the typical gold swirls or coffee beans. I don't even know where to begin trying to track them down, so I appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks!!

Hello all; this is my first post and I want to thank this site for the wonderful information that I have received thus far. I am a chocolatier who has decided to take the leap and turn this into a full-time business. I have a game plan and have bought everything that I need slowly so that I have no debt. I have developed a small clientel that buy from me on a regular basis. What I want to do now is appeal to a bigger crowd with packaging that will attract them to try me out. So far, I've only bought candy boxes from papermart.com and they work okay for my molded chocolates. What I'm looking for is for the big candy bar boxes that the people from ghirahdelli use to package their bars. I am also curious as to where you all buy your boxes/packaging. I would love to have a box custom-made with my name and logo on it. Also, how much do you spend on your packaging? Thank you all in advance and I look forward to participating more in these forums!

I hope this is in the right category... I'd like to ask your advice on how we should handle a situation that just happened to us. Someone broke into our dessert bakery and stole our recipe book. Now, we have the recipes on backup, and so we won't lose them, but we are in a pretty competitive market, where new dessert bakeries are popping up all over the place (Like the rest of the country I guess) We are pretty well established, have a good name and reputation, and can't help but be furious--yet a little paranoid about all of our best kept recipe secrets getting out. I know it's only a matter of time before they end up on some blogs--but I thought it'd happen by someone reverse engineering. So what should I do? Is it worth worrying about? Does recipe theft usually hurt a business? Here are some of the things we have thought of doing: 1. Launch a pre-emptive, proactive approach--perhaps contact the local media and see if they would report on it (we've been featured a few times on the news, because of our unique atmosphere) 2. Perhaps offer a reward? 3. Put a sign on our marquee saying "Our recipes are so good, someone broke in to steal them" There is the more vindictive side--which wants me to have the police bring in any previous employee who was disgruntled, and run a full investigation (we did file a police report)--but that's probably because I've watched too many detective/crime shows. Anyway, it may not seem like a big deal, but to us, the creation of our recipes is our prized position. So we feel quite angry and violated that someone would break in. How do you recommend we react? Thanks, Doug

I’m new to the forums here, but I wanted to share this pastry event I heard about. One of my chefs mentioned it the other day at school and there’s going to be a bunch of different pastry classes and competitions. It sounds like it’s going to be pretty fun, so here’s the website: Pastry Live. If you’re interested, check it out! Host Note:

Alain Passard served -- maybe he still serves -- a dessert at Arpege called "tomate confite aux douze saveurs" -- tomatoes braised in caramel and stuffed with fresh fruit and spices. I've been playing with the idea, which can be very tasty indeed! But is the original dish served hot? Or cold?

What shall I do with a 2mm flexible slab of Morello Cherry candy on a silpat (hard ball stage)? Concentrated, very solidly chewy. Thanks!

I don't mean to be cocky but I think the cheesecake I make is the best TASTING cheesecake I have ever had. I didn't invent the recipe and making the stuff is extremely easy and difficult to botch. The recipe comes from my girl Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa. It's basically 90% cream cheese with a little sour cream to lighten things up (plus all the rest of the standards) with a raspberry topping. Being from NY, I have had all types of cheesecake from the most well known of bakery's (been in the closet S&S calls their headquarters), and in terms of taste nothing beats Ina's creation. Now on the topic of S&S: you can't beat their texture, I can't figure out how they do it. Kind of like of feels like a keylime pie going down, velvety smooth throughout. Does anyone know how they accomplish this? What do you guys count among the best cheesecakes around? I am obsessed with the stuff, and gained 7 pounds the week I made 2 of them.

I don't think anything or anyone can top the 2011 Confection Conference thanks to Kerry's outstanding organization skills but I do believe that it's time to begin planning and organizing the next conference dedicated to confections My proposal is to convene in the Washington DC area (last time it was held in Gaithersburg, MD) location TBD once we can find a suitable space to accommodate us. Steve, the host organizer for the 2010 Conference has offered his assistance in obtaining the same venue should we decide that we want to go back and (hopefully) they would want us back. We will work on the dates for the event, I know that some people have commitments to farmers markets and other shows and hopefully we can work on a schedule that will allow them to join us for the weekend. I will also work with some of the hotels in the area to try and obtain some group discounts, I will post that information here when I am successful Let's plan on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday again as that seems to work out well for people attending. With that in mind, how about some thoughts on what people are interested in doing and learning next conference so we can start to come up with a plan. We'll need everyone's generous assistance in different equipment needs. I have an American Chocolate Mold Co. tempering machine and just purchased a JKV-30 tempering machine that I could bring (if the venue has 220). I also have some other equipment such as an airbrush. We can discuss these needs as the dates get closer. In the past we have had an amazing response from the industry in regards to providing samples for our use, I will continue to reach out to various confection supply houses and ask for their continued support. Friday evening has typically been a group gathering with individuals bringing samples of their work to share with the group. ABOUT THE CONFERENCE: Location: in/around Washington DC Dates: TBD For the past 3 years we have run a DIY chocolate and confectionery conference for eG members and other interested folk. Everyone is welcome - no experience in chocolate or confectionery required - just a desire to learn and play. Costs are shared between the participants so they are very reasonable. We put out a little breakfast and lunch on both the Saturday and Sunday. Generally on the Friday we have some sort of outing. Year one - we crossed the border and visited Tomric Plastics to play on the Selmi enrober and have an opportunity to buy equipment and supplies. Year two - we went to Albert Uster and attended an excellent class covering a variety of pastry and confection topics. This year we also crossed the border for a tour of a confection company and another visit to Tomric. Not sure what we will do this year - but I welcome suggestions. On the Saturday evening we have a group meal - I will work on an appropriate venue for this as well - but how do you compete with this past years conference??? (I'm still reeling from it) Previous conferences: 2011 conference (Niagara on the Lake, ON) 2010 conference (Gaithersburg, MD) 2009 conference (Niagara on the Lake, ON) THIS EVENT HAS BEEN ORGANIZED THROUGH EG FORUMS BY MEMBERS BUT IS NOT SPONSORED BY THE EGULLET SOCIETY FOR CULINARY ARTS AND LETTERS OR EG FORUMS. YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ANY EVENT OR ACTIVITY ARRANGED ON OR DISCUSSED IN EG FORUMS IS AT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE RISK. BY USING AND PARTICIPATING IN THE FORUMS YOU AGREE AND UNDERSTAND (1) THAT IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ANY EVENT OR ACTIVITY, YOU MAY BE EXPOSED TO A VARIETY OF HAZARDS AND RISKS ARISING FROM THOSE ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS; (2) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, YOU AGREE TO WAIVE, DISCHARGE CLAIMS, RELEASE, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE SOCIETY, ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, AND OTHER PARTNERS AND EMPLOYEES, FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY ON ACCOUNT OF, OR IN ANY WAY RESULTING FROM INJURIES AND DAMAGES IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ANY SUCH EVENTS OR ACTIVITIES. YOU AGREE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THESE TERMS WILL BE BINDING UPON YOU AND YOUR HEIRS, EXECUTORS, AGENTS, ADMINISTRATORS AND ASSIGNS, AS WELL AS ANY GUESTS AND MINORS ACCOMPANYING YOU AT THE EVENTS.

Two days ago I forgot to take care of the sample turtle lollipops I had made for the regional Turtle Trauma Center. Left them out uncovered all night on a plate. Very bad. Very stupid. Fortunately, only 6 pops. Not the 200 they want. So in the morning I had sticky turtles. Put them on a grid up in front of a fan. Boy, that sure didn't work. Of course not, idiote. Tried a dehydrator next. Where was my brain? Then into the fridge. Wait a second...you can't put hard candy into a fridge. Last step was to immerse each pop into granulated sugar. They were by then so wet and sticky that each pop was immersed three times before the sugar stopped going transparent in just a few seconds. OK. Into little plastic bags and into an air-tight container. Well, duh. Too bad you didn't do this in the first place. This morning, the final coat of white sugar is still mostly visible. It worked well enough. I know what I was supposed to do. I know in my limited way how hygroscopic ingredients work. What I don't know is how to fix a mistake. Is there a way?

This being the tail end of cherry season up here I am now in the process of candying cherries for my annual Christmas baking. Having read some of the threads recently on food safety, botulism and dangerous temperature zones, I have some questions about the safety of the candying method. I'm using the standard candying method that I've read on here and other websites where over a period of a couple weeks the concentration of a sugar syrup containing the fruit is gradually increased until the product is shelf stable. Every two days I pour off the syrup, add more sugar, bring to a boil and then pour back over the fruit. Is this boiling every two days enough to make sure it remains safe, or are there other safety measures I should be looking into? Is the natural acidity of the fruit enough to ward off any botulism? Tyler

Having an issue w/diminishing intensity of citric acid in production of Sour Citrus Gummies. I'm using the Gelatine Gummies recipe from Grewling's C&C. After setting the product, I'm cutting and dredging them in caster sugar:citric acid 9:1 and then sealing in poly bags. New productions have a whole lot of punch - right on the edge of what I think is a good sour balance for a gummy. We give them a 2 month shelf life and after the first couple of weeks, there's little residual sour. Any thoughts on where the sour is going?

Dear Everyone: Now that I have the science of making fudge down to where it does not crystallize on me, I am now focusing on the taste of the chocolate. I'm looking for a name of a couverture chocolate that I can use to make a creamy, melt in your mouth fudge. Does anyone know what kind of chocolate Rocky mountain uses? I bought some of there fudge and that is the taste that I am trying to achieve. Just a smooth, not to over powering taste of chocolate. I used Guittard chocolate (don't remember if it is dark chocolate-bitter chocolate or what) but that came out not tasting right-a bitter ahhh taste. I also used Felchlin Gastro 58% Rondo and that is more along the lines of the creamy, melt in your mouth taste that I am trying to achieve. Since there are so many different chocolates out on the market, can anyone direct me to the chocolate that I can use? Please provide a name, coco %? Thanks Mandy..

Hi eGullet, I've been doing some meddling about with modelling chocolate, looking at different websites I have seen references to the "cold emulsion technique" for making chocolate models but I can't find any details! Can anyone please give me a rough idea what it means? Thanks all

I have a Gami Tempering machine I just recently purchased. It is wonderful, I might add. However, I have some vintage Christmas and Easter molds I have been playing with. Does anyone know the correct technique for using these old molds? I have tried filling the mold completely. I have tried pouring in chocolate and rotating around many times and pouring out excess. Each time, the chocolate figure comes out of the mold easily, but they all seem to crack. Sometimes in half, sometimes just a piece. Any suggestions?

I have been making nut brittles lately using piloncillo /panela / palm sugar and having a good time. PanaCan gave me a lovely recipe from Ecuador which calls for 1 cup shredded ginger to 4 cups of sugar. I loved it. Dawn, who is helping with the renovations, thought it needed more ginger. Ed, the DH, said...way too much ginger. OK. So I thought...what about orange flavor? lemon or lime flavor? high contrast to sweet sugar flavors? Found some fairly anemic recipes online and thought I would turn to eG for advice. Who has some lovely tasty answers for me, please?