Confections! What did we make? (2012 – 2014)

[JenBunk]

Mina, Sure!

1kg of sugar

480ml water

1g lemon juice

Cook it to 236F. Once it reaches temp just take it off the heat and cover until it cool down a bit. I would pour it in it's container before it cools down too much as it is SUPER thick and hard to get at. Just store in the fridge for up to six months. The fridge is just to keep it from crystallizing.

I use 30% less when I am substituting it for corn syrup. Hope that helps!

Jenny

I made invert sugar with more or less the same recipe (used cream of tartar instead of lemon juice, as recommended by Chef Eddy in his blog) and cooked it to 236F. Mine has crystallized quite a bit in the refrigerator, but I just melt it enough to liquefy it and go ahead and use it. Does yours stay liquid even when chilled? I wonder whether mine is OK to use or whether the crystallization has harmed it in some way. I would guess that the temp rose too far above 236 after I took it off the heat.

I don't think it is harmed in any way. Invert has about the same properties as honey (50%fructose, 50%glucose) so it behaves like honey. When honey has sat for awhile it starts to crystallize and turn hard. You did exactly what I do with honey so I think it is fine.

No, it is not liquid in the fridge! It is really hard to work with so I let it sit at room temp for a couple hours and that helps, but it is still a pain.

[psantucc]

I've been reading the forum again since I found out I was able to go back to the conference workshop this year. I've really missed eGullet; I didn't realize just how much.

I'm posting now from a backlog. I haven't actually done all that much, but I have gotten a lot better - tempering by hand is no big deal any more, and most of my cooked sweets turn out first time.

Here's a few things I did for a charity auction:

Violet Truffle: Violet Jelly ganache, white chocolate shell, sugared violets on top. My wife grew the violets, made the jelly, and placed the leaves.

Rivera Mya: The latest iteration of my take on the Xtabentun liquer truffle (developed at conference 2010 with RobertM)

The Capricious Bee: Honey and chevre in a smooth cream center, wrapped around a single salted pistachio and covered in dark chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups: I'm proud of my bottoming on these, since the mould makes the bottom the top.

Alton Brown's Dark Salted Carmels. hand-dipped and sprinkled with Hawaiian Red Sea Salt

Not pictured: Coconut butter fondant wrapped around dried sour cherry in a dark chocolate shell

More soon -

Pat

[keychris]

I just melt it enough to liquefy it and go ahead and use it.

Bear in mind that if you raise the temperature of invert sugar too high (I think it's 70 or 80C) it loses all the properties that you are using it for in the first place.

Pat, looking great!

Chris

[RobertM]

Pat- those are looking awesome! Keep up the great work.....

[minas6907]

I just melt it enough to liquefy it and go ahead and use it.

Bear in mind that if you raise the temperature of invert sugar too high (I think it's 70 or 80C) it loses all the properties that you are using it for in the first place.

Pat, looking great!

Chris

Chris, I not trying to challenge what your saying at all, in fact I feel like I barley understand invert sugar, I have many questions. But if what you say is true, about raising the temp too high, what would be the point of Greweling specifying invert sugar in his marshmallows or fudge, both things that are boiled to 240f or so. I've made chef Eddy's recipe for invert sugar, it seems to be keeping fine in the fridge, but I feel like it shouldn't be refrigerated, from a confectionery point if view, nothing really seems to be in the first place. I feel, like Greweling says in his book, that a reliable invert sugar can be made with invertase, but have get to find a recipe that uses it, only cream if tartar and citric acid. Anyways, thanks for reading my jumbled questions and thoughts!

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[minas6907]

Blackberry Lavender Macaron

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[Jim D.]

Bear in mind that if you raise the temperature of invert sugar too high (I think it's 70 or 80C) it loses all the properties that you are using it for in the first place.

Chris

Chris,

On the heating invert sugar issue, there was a thread about this previously.

From Kerry Beal:

We have had this discussion before about overheating invert sugar - which seems to have originated with something Wybauw said. Is there any evidence that overheating invert sugar really does change it's chemical structure in a way that negatively impacts shelf life and taste?

Answer from lironp:

I asked him about that in the course I took with him-

He said that he found that to be true only for one type of inverted sugar he had worked with that had been inverted with some sort of chemical, (that is not really available to purchase), instead of the traditional way (which is what confectioners usually buy). I don't remember the details of the whole explanation, or the differences between the sugars, but at the end he explained that there is no problem boiling the invert sugar that we usually buy, and the one we used in the course.

[psantucc]

Thanks for the kind words, keychris and RobertM!

Going back in this thread only a few pages I find so much that is praiseworthy that it's hard to choose and probably a little annoying fanboy to enumerate everything, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention curls' lovely hearts, minas' candies (and hooray for more people showing non-cocolates some love!) and the gorgeous hand-dipped caramel discs from keychris.

Digging up some more photos now for later post.

Pat

[psantucc]

Some of last Easter:

Peanut Butter filled chocolate bunny. Yummy, but my hobbyist grade ILA mould never really let me settle properly, and died as this batch came out. Here's to hoping the Tomric replacement on it's way is big enough; I know it will hold up.

Mazetta filled chocolate eggs in natural shell. Very swank, and a massive annoyance to do - even with some extra cocoa butter it's the devil's own time getting the chocolate out once the inside of the shell is coated. Anyone done this with good success? About 1 in 4 of mine were way too thin or thick in spots, and broke in the shelling process.

Cheers!

[curls]

Great work Pat! Glad to see you posting again and looking forward to seeing you at the 2013 workshop.

[minas6907]

Here was my project yesterday. Grewelings Chocolate Fudge. Pics are chocolate and fondant added to boiled syrup on the slab, working the mixture, and the finished pieces. Now, this is my very first time making fudge, and I do feel like it is a little bit softer then it should be. Can someone describe what the texture should be? I imagined rather short, like fondant, but mine seems to be almost, I would say, soft to the touch. I do have a good feeling that I should have agitated it for a bit longer, but was afraid of it crystallizing on the slab, but I dont think that would have been a particular problem for me. Anyways, if anyone has any insight, its much appreciated. Btw, this was the "Chocolate Fudge" from C&C, not the chocolate fudge with frappe. Thanks!

[minas6907]

Hey Everyone! I wanted to share a video that a friend of mine made, it's a micro documentory about my candy making, its called "sweet!" It came out so much better then I was imagining, he does very good work!! Hope you guys enjoy!!

http://vimeo.com/60511611

[Kerry Beal]

That's excellent - thanks for showing us.

[Emily_R]

Love it -- what a great video! And your candies are so inspiring!

[curls]

Thank you for sharing the video. Very well done and great to see you making candies.

[psantucc]

Great video - I particularly like the reference to accumulating the equipment. Sounds like home!

Your layered gloves look very effective. Do you mind sharing the parts list?

[Sue Casey]

Thanks Minas, it's a firm-ish caramel - still nice and chewy at room temp, not going break your teeth. And yes, I deposited whilst hot into my flexipan

I finished this cinnamon ganache today

Love the transfer sheet. Is this one you made? If purchased, where did you get them, if you don't mind sharing? They really add such a nice touch to the finished chocolates. Beauty to behold and taste as well I'm sure

[minas6907]

Great video - I particularly like the reference to accumulating the equipment. Sounds like home!

Your layered gloves look very effective. Do you mind sharing the parts list?

I'm glad you guys liked the video! I was very suprised at how it turned out, while I was working, I had no idea he was getting such close up shots. Some things I really cant remember how he got from different angles. Anyways, his website is www.handrawnpictures.com for those who would like to see some of his other work.

Psantucc, I'm more then happy to share a parts list. Are you wondering about something specific, or general equipment? As for the gloves, I've sort of got down a system now. I use vinyl, just in case anyone has an allergic reaction to latex. I put one pair of vinyl gloves on, then a pair of neoprene gloves which help the most with heat, when another pair of vinyl, since I dont like handling a food product with just the neoprene. The reason I wear a pair of vinyl on my bare hands is that, while I'm working with hot sugar, my (and I have to believe everyone else do also) hand get sweaty, just because handling the hot sugar. So I dont really have to worry about washing the neoprene gloves, since they dont touch my hands, I just dispose of both pairs of vinyl. And it is an effective way of pulling sugar, neoprene gloves are a bit thinner, so they work nicely, its easier to handle when the gloves arent so thick. Also, with the vinyl, I've seen that it doesnt leave a latex smell on the candies. You cant taste it, but if your storing hard candies that were handled with regular latex (or ever more so with yellow latex dish washing type gloves) when you first open the container, I can smell the latex, which really is a turn off. Anyways, just things I've noticed and changed over the past few years. Let me know of you wondering about anything else.

[Darienne]

Wonderful video and thanks for the glove information. I was wondering about them also.

[psantucc]

Great video - I particularly like the reference to accumulating the equipment. Sounds like home!

Your layered gloves look very effective. Do you mind sharing the parts list?

I'm glad you guys liked the video! I was very suprised at how it turned out, while I was working, I had no idea he was getting such close up shots. Some things I really cant remember how he got from different angles. Anyways, his website is www.handrawnpictures.com for those who would like to see some of his other work.

Psantucc, I'm more then happy to share a parts list. Are you wondering about something specific, or general equipment?

Just looking for the gloves, thanks! I've used vinyl over cotton and not been best pleased; I'll try your arrangement soon. I'm jealous of the depositing funnel, but I know where to get one any time I want to make the expenditure.

[korhan]

Hi everyone,

I want to share my new order, I made 400 pieces of nut variation cubes...

From left to right,

%60 single origin bitter chocolate+almond praline covered with %60 single origin bitter chocolate and chopped toasted almonds

%33 gianduja chocolate+almond praline covered with %60 single origin bitter chocolate

%40 grand cru milk chocolate+hazelnut paste(without sugar) covered with %40 grand cru milk chocolate and chopped early harvest pistachios

%40 grand cru milk chocolate+almond praline covered with %40 grand cru milk chocolate

At the end early harvest pistachio and pure chocolate mixtures covered with chopped early harvest pistachios

[psantucc]

The end of the backlog. I'm not entirely sure what I had in mind when I posed this shot:

It's rustic almond milk chocolate truffle dusted with cocoa, with the secret ingredient standing watch.

[minas6907]

Heres some wedding mints I just got gone with. Flavored with peppermint oil, lemon oil, and a honey flavor.

[minas6907]

Still trying to perfect chocolate fudge. After multiple attempts at Grewelings, I made the chocolate fudge from CIA's Baking and Pastry. Getting better results.

[minas6907]

Pear pate de fruit.