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  1. I have a question regarding the candy thermometer shown in the photos. You can see the red fluid line separates at the top, which has made finding an accurate reading difficult. Additionally, when I purchased the thermometer, it was fairly calibrated. Now, it needs to be calibrated by over ten degrees, I find I have to pull the glass tubing just about nearly to the top, with little room to spare. Given that context, is the thermometer broken and worth replacing? My assumption is the thermometer will continue to require to be pushed up indefinitely, but it's already out of space. I'm likewise curious if the gap in the temperature reading fluid means the thermometer is broken.
  2. It's been a couple years, but Trader Joes used to carry Locatelli Pecorino Romano. 7 bucks a pound, and potent AF. Then they switched to private label. I think it's still imported, and the price is right, but the wedge I tried had no umph whatsoever. After that, it's no more private label for me. Locatelli or bust. I'm having an especially hard time finding a good price in Northern NJ. Aldi - doesn't carry it Shoprite - $16/lb Wegmans - only private label Uncle Giuseppe's - $15/lb Costco has it for $10/lb, but, it's a 2 lb. block. I don't go through it that quickly, and, while it keeps well in a glass jar, I don't have a jar that size, and, even if I did, I just can't afford that much space in the fridge. When it comes to finding the best price on food, I'm normally in my comfort zone, but, this is really kicking my butt.
  3. OK, my mother, and father They LOVED Shrimp, They LOVED Lobster. And they can't touch them anymore. Yes, some years back, Mom got severely sick after eating a plate of shrimp. Her doctor revealed she is allergic to shellfish. Dad is allergic to fish in general, denying him the right to enjoy his favorite Fish Spread whenever we go down to St. Pete Beach. I want to surprise them with something similar enough to the stuff they loved, the texture, the seasoning (Old Bay?), something that can bring back a bit of that feeling, with none of the potential for swelling up and going to the hospital. What can I do?
  4. Host's note: this was split from the I Will Never Again...(Part 4) topic. If I knew what I had done, you can bet I've never do it again. I've made only gluten-free bread before this in this Breadman machine with no problems. This time I was making a Challah, which I've made many times before in my old machine, a Regal, probably circa 1996, which I bought for $5 in a Moab second-hand store. I don't have the attribution of the recipe, but I have a feeling I found it either on eGullet or through a connection to eGullet. What I did wrong...I have no idea. None. Not a one. At least it's good for a laugh. Added: It still tastes good.
  5. I made and dipped some sponge candy in dark chocolate the other day. It was probably my second or third time ever tempering chocolate (seeding method), so while I roughly understand the process, I'm far from experienced. I didn't have much chocolate on hand, so I had to split the dipping into two batches on separate days. The first batch set perfectly. The second batch of chocolate appeared to be in temper - when I tested it with a cold knife, it developed the appropriate shine within a few minutes. I proceeded to use all of the chocolate and then move the pieces to a slightly cooler area, but after I cleaned up, I returned to find that every single one had bloomed badly. To my surprise, however, when I ate one of the bloomed pieces after letting them set for 24 hours, I found that it had the hardness and snap I would expect from properly tempered chocolate - certainly not the mushy, almost frosting-like texture that I've seen before in completely untempered chocolate. The chocolate I was using was not particularly fluid, if that matters (Guittard's 70% "baking bars"). I understand that bloom can have a million different causes, but since I used the exact same chocolate and technique both times with dramatically different results, I was hoping to narrow down the possibilities before I risk another attempt. In particular, I was wondering if a warm kitchen could cause this type of problem. I keep a combination thermometer-hygrometer in the kitchen, and on the second day, it was around 77 degrees Farenheit while I was working (far from ideal, but it's what I had to work with). Regardless, I didn't move my finished pieces to the fridge, since it is my understanding that rushing the setting process will interfere with proper crystallization (Greweling mentions this in the context of ganache, but also says the same is true for chocolate). I guess I sort of naively believed that as long as the temperature of the chocolate in the bowl was controlled properly, and the room wasn't warm enough to heat up and literally re-melt the setting pieces, I would be fine. I don't recall the exact kitchen temperature on the first day, but I believe it was around 72-74 degrees Farenheit, definitely cooler than the second day. I found some posts while browsing eG that reference the "latent heat of crystallization" and describe this type of loss-of-temper, but always in the context of molded chocolates, rather than dipped chocolates. I presume the reduced ventilation that chocolate in a mold receives makes the issue more common?
  6. Hi! I am making molded chocolates at home and just started airspraying cocoa butter into the molds. I only have R & R cocoa butter. I haven't been able to find any discussions here about using it. I know I am tempering the cocoa butter and I have a Grex Tritium (side feed) with a .7 needle. I have a California Air Tools compresser 1 HP, with an 8 gallon tank. The cocoa butter seems to clog in the airbrush, and I have to heat it with my blowdryer every few (2-3) minutes to keep it running. It seems I have to use high pressures to get any spray from the gun. I wish I hadn't gotten the side feed, but I didn't know better. Could the brand of cocoa butter be part of the cause? It splatters a lot as well. II am loving the airbrush but I know I have much more to learn yet! I would appreciate any help to help improve my spraying!
  7. Recently I watched a visit to an Entemann's bakery where they ran all the doughnuts under a UV light to kill mold spores before packaging. A few days later I was at Staples, where they had 'room sanitizing' UV lights on clearance and I'm thinking it couldn't hurt to get one and shine it on my bonbons before I cap them. Also to sanitize the kitchen in general, especially the walk-in fridge. Does anyone have experience with UV lights in a food production setting? Will the cheap one from the office supply store help me at all? thanks!
  8. Hello! I'm fairly new to this site so I don't know if my search was weak. I'm trying to find a way to make Mandarin orange puree at home, but I couldn't find anything even similar in the forum. I am a home cook, but I have been making chocolate bonbons and other confections for over 4 years (intermitantly). It is too expensive for me to purchase this online- not because of the price of the puree, but the cost of shipping makes it prohibative. The recipes I've seen online are all differant and don't seem to be what I need. I would love any help with this! I look forward to hearing and learning from those who have much, much more experience than me. Thanks!
  9. In another thread, one of our members @scott123 said that he is looking for a Chinese pickle jar. Similar to this: Or this: Since we have a lot of members in the New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia area, I thought someone might be able to help him out. My little Chinese restaurant supply has a whole range of different types and sizes but unless he is planning to take a vacation to Costa Rica soon, that doesn't help a bit.
  10. Pork Belly which is vacuum sealed and was sous-vide-d for 48 hours. It's been sitting in the fridge for a few months, not in the meat drawer (which is close to freezing). I was thinking of putting it (still wrapped) in the Anova Oven at sv temperatures to get warm, and then opening the bag. If it still smells okay, can we eat it?
  11. Help! I am an amateur and make chocolate truffles, bonbons, and caramels for friends and family. I made some soft caramel for filling molded bonbons. The flavor and consistency are fine, but the caramel is filled with bubbles. I don't know how to get the air bubbles out, and am concerned using it in my molded chocolates. I would like to know if it is okay to use. I have been making confections for about four years and this is the first time this has happened. I would really appreciate any help! I'm new to the forum and don't know anyone yet.
  12. I'm relatively new to chocolate making but now that I've finally got the hang of tempering (by hand using the seeding method) I'd like to work on incorporating less air during the process. I mainly make bars at the moment so I can tap out air bubbles after filling but I want to start making dipped biscuits and that's not going to work! I've watched oh so many videos of people stirring their chocolate while tempering and can't pick up any nuances that make their process different to mine, though they clearly have significantly less air in their mixture. Any ideas how I could fix this problem or should I consider incorporating air bubbles into my biscuit design?
  13. Hi all!! I work at an amazing little New Zealand Style ice cream shop in the beautiful Denver Colorado. I was hoping to get a little help on the subject of adding fruit into ice cream after extracting it and ensuring that, when the ice cream is frozen, the fruity bits don't turn into rock hard shards. I am planning on doing a cherry chocolate ice cream and I was going to soak some dried cherries that we're no longer using for something else. I was planning on using some brandy and a ton of sugar, but I was really hoping someone had a tried and true method they could send my way so that I KNOW that the fruit will be luscious as it's frozen. If you have a certain sugar ratio. I know there is the brix test, but to be honest it's been many years since pastry school and I am very rusty. Would love to hear from some of my fellow sugar-heads. Thank you! Amy
  14. Hi all! I just wanted to pop in here and see if anyone had some advice on canning/jarring caramel sauce for ready-to-eat consumption. The ice cream shop I work at is putting together gift baskets for valentine's day and we wanted to toss in some caramel and fudge jars in to add some tasty treats. We have a recipe that works great in the shop in our squeeze bottles for topping the ice cream, however I don't have a ton of experience with the canning process to make it shelf stable and shippable. I've canned tomato sauce and salsa in the past, but my method wouldn't be efficient for canning hundreds of jars for consumption. What is your method for success? Does it all hinge on the sealing process, and if so what are your favorite (cost efficient) products? Do you know of a jar that is self sealing or more durable than others? Thanks for any suggestions!
  15. Does anyone know if using a high-protein flour, rather than AP flour, in a quickbread formula could create a gummy texture as a result of the protein slightly developing as it absorbs water? I was attempting to reduce water activity in the formula by using flour with 14% protein rather than 8-10% protein. Am I out in left field on this one?
  16. I made my fifth ever batch of chocolate over the weekend, a 45% milk chocolate. I did the usual warming of everything, and the batch started off without a hitch. After running 24 hours I got ready to cool the chocolate to temper, and the stone seemed awfully hot. Sure enough the chocolate was 147 degrees F. Normally it comes out at around 120. The chocolate seemed kind of thick, but this is my first batch as low as 45%, so not sure if that’s normal. The chocolate tempered just fine, and tastes fine for have gotten so hot. I’m wondering if I got a minuscule amount of water in the batch? I’m not sure how that would have happened, though thinking of everything ad nauseum I can think of possibilities. The ingredients themselves are all ones I’ve used before without issue, though first time with the roasted nibs, but they came from the same reliable source as all my other nibs. Just curious if anyone else has seen this happen.
  17. Hi, I need to make portions of exactly 12g (=0.423oz) of truffle ganache. These truffles will be packed in a cardboard box with the total weight written on the package - so I cannot mess up... What solutions do you have to control the weight of the ganache for truffles? I tried to measure them on the scale but it's time consuming and not very reliable... I bought a silicone mould - the cavities are too small and the ganache seems to stick to the mould. Have you tried to make your own shells for truffles? It's not very clear how many cm in the mould will translate in how many grams in the product.... any suggestion will be appreciated.
  18. Hi all, Hopefully someone can help me with this? I really enjoy making tartalettes of sorts. When baking the dough rises a lot meaning that there is not really a lot of space to fill with something nice. I am using glutenfree flour (Peak's All Purpose) and have tried blind baking them. But from my first blind baking try, it seems that the bottom stays raw. Have put it back in the oven 'unblinded' (can i use this term? :)) but still its not the way i want it. Could sure use some tips on how to get these tartalettes nice and thin. Thanks in advance to anyone who tries to help, i appreciate it. regards
  19. About two weeks ago I made a jar of oranges in brandy. I think the seal is bad and the fruit has started fermenting. There’s a few bubbles and a slightly sour smell, the taste is still sweet. The oranges were off our tree (no spray) and it’s a simple no cook recipe that calls for sugar, brandy and spices. The jar was sterilised. What would you do ? Is there a way to rescue them, are they still safe to eat ? Any advice will be much appreciated.
  20. I'm a Brit. I'm also a closet Frenchman. To cap it all, I'm happily retired in Bangkok, the city of a street food culture that's second to none. The Thais are healthy and slim. I'm just this side of alive and far from slim. Lockdown has me fantasizing about my days working in London, Paris and New York, an existence, if one could call it that, revolving around gastronomy of one kind or another. They paid me, not so very much as it happens, to do what I enjoy doing most in life. We all get to do it, but I was one of a fortunate few who made it his metier. Well all that's in the past now, but I still dream of my time in Paris when lunch was a tad short of 2-hours, little-known local bistros remained affordable until the day they were discovered by La Bible (Michelin Guide) and the students were revolting - this was the summer of '68, for heaven's sake. Someone should open bistro here in Bangkok with a table d'hote of Soupe a l'Oignon gratinee, Blanquette de Veau, a stinky Epoisses and Tarte Tatin to finsih with creme fraiche. Ah, it's back to lockdown and pad Thai.
  21. Here's where I'm at with baker's percents: 150% Salted Butter 58% Trader Joe's 72% Belgian Chocolate (I don't enjoy super chocolate-y brownies) 240% Sugar 100% All Purpose Flour 91% Eggs Melt butter with chocolate (I take it to 170F). Mix in everything but eggs. In separate bowl, whisk eggs and then add eggs to everything else until just incorporated. Bake at 275F for 70 minutes My goal is Two Bite Brownies. I'm looking for an end product that's chewy and a bit dry with a homogenous texture. I don't want any fudgyness- at all, and, right now, even with 70 minutes at 275, my end product has a super fudgy crumb and a crispy exterior. I don't want a cakey texture either. This is the territory that I'm shooting for: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKDujihI6Es&app=desktop These are not exactly Two Bites, but, if you look at the beginning, you'll see that the crumb is pretty dry. The only major difference I'm seeing between their process and mine is that they add the flour last, while I add the egg last. They don't show the flour being mixed in, but they do show the batter being dispensed into the baking pans and it definitely looks a bit thick- not cookie dough thick, but definitely not batter-y either. The goal is a brownie with more of a cookie texture, which might mean less eggs, but, before I take that direction, I wanted to see if anyone here had some thoughts on this.
  22. I have been working on buying an already existing diner and then Covid-19 hit and crippled the economy. Now I'm having second thoughts on fulfilling this venture. Is it still a good idea? Will I succeed? Do you all have any advice?
  23. I need some advice on a safe(ish), easy, and fast way to cut buttermints I often make buttermints for friends for the holidays, and have run into problems cutting them into bite size pieces before the sugar cools and starts to crystallize too much, so I'm looking for ideas on how to do it more quickly so I can do larger batches. Note that I am doing this at home and have very little budget, but on the plus side I don't need to end up with perfectly uniform pieces. The basic process for making the buttermints is: 1. cook butter and sugar to 260 degrees 2. pour out onto buttered marble slab and let cool slightly 3. add color and flavor, and pull like taffy while it cools further 4. when it just starts to show signs of crystallizing, roll into ropes and cut before it crystallizes much further (I have maybe 2 minutes if I'm lucky to get all the cutting done) The main problem I run into is that when handling the candy during steps 3 and 4, my hands need to be buttered so the candy doesn't stick to me, and even if I quickly wash my hands, any cutting tool needs to also be buttered to prevent sticking, and basically it's nearly impossible to maintain a good grip on anything. The second problem is that the candy at this point is hard enough that if I try to snip it with scissors it will tend to slide along the blade instead of getting cut, yet it is still plastic enough that if I pick it up it will tend to sag under its weight and thin out too much while I'm concentrating on getting the scissors to cut right. My best results so far have been with leaving the candy on the marble and cutting it with a pastry scraper, but pressing down hard enough to cut all the way through with a slippery (due to the aforementioned buttered hands) pastry scraper while trying not to gouge the marble underneath is not particularly fun. I did try pruning shears once because the curved blade holds the candy in place instead of sliding along the blade, which worked fine except for the fear of lopping off parts of a finger made it too nerve-wracking to be done quickly. Basically, I'd love to find something that works like this, but for something with the consistency of a hard caramel: Any ideas? -Trufflenaut
  24. Hi, This is a slightly odd question, and I think this is probably the right place for it. As I mentioned previously, I'm hosting a failed selfie exhibition and will be doing food and drink to match. One thing that I thought would be fun to do, however, was encase a functioning telephone in a set jelly/jell-O and have people call it. It would be set on vibrate, obviously Anyway, this is not something I've done before, and the logistics are a bit interesting: - How can I stop the jelly destroying the electronics? Would a phone survive being vac-sealed? - Which proportion of gelatin to water do I need for structural stability, but maximum wobble? - Would a larger jelly wobble more satisfyingly? - Is a phone's vibrate setting even strong enough to wobble jelly? - Fully transparent or coloured? I don't intend to serve this as food, so food safety and flavour are not an issue. All suggestions welcome.
  25. I'm trying to make bonbons with milk shells for the first time and I'm struggling. When I melt my milk chocolate it is really thick. Is this normal? I'm pretty sure humidity is not an issue. I'm concerned that my shells wont empty out well and I'll be left with no room for ganache. I tried adding some cocoa butter last time but it affected the flavor. Disclaimer: I'm using pretty cheap milk chocolate (Ghirardelli) cuz I'm still learning. If you think this is the only issue please let me know.
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