Best route to mastery beginning chocolate & confections?

[Cocoa Joe]

Hi everyone!

 

I have to admit I’ve been lurking on the forum for a little while, and after being endlessly impressed with so many of you and not only your skill, but your enthusiasm and willingness to share, I thought it was finally time that I ask for your advice!  Let me first apologize for such a long post, but hopefully it will help you understand my situation.

 

About 10 years ago, I had to choose between going to school for specialty baking and pastry, or for kinesiology and psychology.  For a variety of reasons, at the time I decided to go to University and graduate school in performance psychology.  I’m still incredibly passionate about making chocolate and confections, and am only now just getting more time to start practicing different skills and techniques.  So while at my day job I’m a performance psychologist, in my off time I still (not so secretly) desperately want to pursue the creative confectionery path that could have been.

 

Let me first state that I’m not trying to learn these skills because I’m intending on switching careers right now or anything of that sort.  I just find it to be a fascinating and amazingly rewarding hobby, and I want to learn it properly and become well-rounded rather than just dabbling in it (and possibly get good enough to make some money from it to cover the cost of the hobby itself).  I’ve been voraciously reading books on chocolate (Greweling, Shotts, Notter, etc.), and I’ve spent a few hundred dollars getting all of the basic supplies (even a KitchenAid!) so I think on that end, I’m at a good starting point.  I've also been looking through all the amazing resources and index provided by the community here, which has been incredibly helpful.  So without rambling any further, here are my questions for all you seasoned pros!

1. What are the best ways methods you have found for beginners to practice chocolate making (truffles, confections, etc.)?  I’ve been trying to make smaller batches of things more often so I get more opportunities to explore recipes and techniques without spending too much on ingredients.  Finding ways of reusing chocolate (e.g., tempering chocolate, creating decorations, and remelting it to try again) has been helpful, but any other advice since I don’t get endless repetitions or resources would be greatly appreciated! 
2. Sort of a follow up to the above:  With practicing enrobing, are there any clever ideas on how to be able to practice it over and over again without actually using a center?  (E.g., enrobing a stone of some kind where the chocolate could be remelted off of the center to practice over and over?)
3. As my time and resources are limited, what foundational skills/techniques/recipes would you suggest that I practice and prioritize to develop my ability?  I’m assuming tempering is at the top, and I have been practicing this as often as possible, and have become fairly consistent (although still a bit timid) with the skill.
4. Are there any common mistakes that beginners make that you would suggest I avoid?  This could be broad (e.g., underestimating the difficulty of chocolate work) or specific (e.g., not doing X in Y recipe/technique).
5. Are there any essential lessons or realizations you’ve had along your path that you think would be helpful for someone starting out?

6. What chocolate do you recommend for a beginner?  I’ve currently been using Trader Joe’s Pounder Plus (only $4.99 for 500g!!) so I don’t feel too bad if I mess something up, but I’ve been considering the 5kg block of Callebaut once I feel ready.  I'm sure this is a matter of taste, but I'm not sure where to find small amounts of these chocolates for sampling.  Trader Joe's carries Valrhona, which is great, but haven't found too many others.

 

I hope I’m not jumping straight from lurking into being a burden on the forum here.  I’m sure my over-analytical performance psychology mind has become apparent in this post, but I’m a firm believer in deliberate practice rather than aimlessly “tinkering around” for someone like myself who genuinely wants to improve everyday.  Anyways, time for me to shut up.  Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

 

P.S. I found this forum post, which was very helpful.  But being 5 years old I thought I’d see if anyone had any other advice: 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/139905-chocolate-and-confectionery-where-to-start/?page=1

[Kerry Beal]

Welcome Joe!

 

Firstly - what are you up to on the 14th and 15th? You could come to Toronto and join us at the annual eGullet Chocolate and Confectionery Workshop - here  No experience required.

 

1, Agree small batches frequently, You can retemper endlessly - add some fresh chocolate each time.

 

2. why not make a thinnish block of chocolate - cut into small squares and enrobe them in the same chocolate - melt the whole thing to reuse - no stones to strain out.

 

3. Tempering, enrobing and molding 

 

4. Not using enough chocolate - it just makes things more challenging.

 

5. Chocolate is the boss - get cocky - she will remind you!

 

6. Nothing wrong with TJ's Pound Plus to start with - nor Watermark from Walmart, nor big Lindt bars. Valrhona is kind of dear for experimenting.

[gap]

Can't disagree with Kerry above.

 

Re 5: For me the biggest thing was learning hands on from classes or demonstrations. It wasn't even the big things like the recipes - it was watching how someone held a mould while filling with chocolate and how they tapped it out/scraped it down - those are the little things which I think you need to learn hands on if you want to get really proficient. I also found I came along in leaps and bounds when I got my own melting tank at home. As Kerry says above, trying to work with small amounts of chocolate is very hard work. With a melting tank I could use a large amount of chocolate (say 3kg), melt it and temper it and the tank could hold it in temper. That meant I could slow things down and take my time when enrobing or moulding rather than trying to rush because I was worried the chocolate wouldn't hold temper.

Edited May 1, 2016 by gap (log)

[gfron1]

My 2 cents after agreeing with all above. 1. as a new chocolate maker restrain yourself from buying all sorts of stuff unless you absolutely have to. It seems many, many of us have ultimately sold off or given away gear and supplies that we didn't need as we advanced. The biggest thing is molds. So many of of us bought one each of a gazillion different molds ultimately realizing that we ultimately wanted a gazillion of one style of mold.  2. Follow your interest. If you don't have the time to commit to a set curriculum then pick a book or a blog or something where you can work your way through the recipes. Everyone has their favorite so it really has to be which one excites you. For me, in chocolate, it was Paul Young's Adventures in Chocolate, but for many others it was some of the books that you've already red. But has to be something fun and exciting to you.

 

From your comments I think what might be restraining you a bit is funds. Based on your comments my guess is that you could start selling some to friends which will allow you to play even more. And finally, post pics of successes and failures here so we can help and support. I'm sure you've seen the various threads on Confections, Showpieces chocolates and troubleshooting. If not, say so and we'll point you there.

[keychris]

1 minute ago, gfron1 said:

The biggest thing is molds. So many of of us bought one each of a gazillion different molds ultimately realizing that we ultimately wanted a gazillion of one style of mold

 

This! I'm currently in the process of whittling back my mold collection to 4 different varieties.

 

Also second everything else Kerry, gap & gfron say above. If it's in your budget, face to face classes are always going to teach you more than the internet, IMHO.

[Tri2Cook]

2 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

4. Not using enough chocolate - it just makes things more challenging.

 

5. Chocolate is the boss - get cocky - she will remind you!

Yep. I'm a beginner and it didn't take me long at all to discover those lessons. Especially the "get cocky" lesson.
 

18 minutes ago, gfron1 said:

The biggest thing is molds. So many of of us bought one each of a gazillion different molds ultimately realizing that we ultimately wanted a gazillion of one style of mold.

I'm not far enough along to have learned that lesson on my own but it's advice I plan to follow. For production purposes, I've already decided that I'm going to do most things in the same basic dome mold and just differentiate by decoration. But I think it's fun to have one or two each of a few other molds to play around with now and then or for specific occasions.

[ElainaA]

@Cocoa Joe As a fellow psychologist/ amateur chocolate maker I think I know where you are coming from. All of the above advice is important. For me, finding a book that I could really use and explore was a real learning tool - for me it was Greweling. Trader Joe's chocolate is fine but also look at on line sources. I use Callebaut  from gygi.com.  Before you even think about selling though, find out about your state's laws. I'm in NY and can not sell chocolates unless I have a commercial licensed kitchen. Which would mean building another house or renting a commercial space. I decided I would rather just make chocolates to give away. 

[pastryani]

6 hours ago, gfron1 said:

The biggest thing is molds. So many of of us bought one each of a gazillion different molds ultimately realizing that we ultimately wanted a gazillion of one style of mold.  

 

Double Gulp.   Rob I wish I had seen this advice a year ago!!! 

 

CocoaJoe - I'm still a beginner and learning as I go.  I agree with the above and would add:

1.  "Small batches" can be smaller than a full tray/chocolate mold.  Often times when I want to check out a design or technique, I'll fill just 6 or 8 cavities to see what it looks like before proceeding with the full mold.  Also, dividing standard recipes into 1/8ths is good for trying out new things but also not having so much leftover that you're using it for ages.

2.  You could take a standard (plain chocolate) candy bar like Hershey's which is already scored, break it up, and dip those pieces over and over, and eventually just melt them to reuse.

5.  When you need it to be warm, it's cold.  When you need it to be cold, it's warm. 

6.  Guittard is pretty reasonable, much more so than Valrhona I believe.

 

Good luck and have fun!! 

[Cocoa Joe]

Wow, thanks for all the great replies everyone!  I certainly appreciate the advice and I will be sure to try each of the ideas mentioned.  I was wondering about just enrobing chunks of chocolate and remelting the whole thing, so I’m glad to hear that sounds like an option! 

 

Kerry, I would kill to be at that workshop!!  I imagine I could compress a years worth of mistakes on my own into a weekend with you all.  Unfortunately I live in Seattle, and can’t quite afford a trip that far.  Thank you so much for the invite, and I really hope that next year I’ll be able to come with a greatly improved set of skills to show off!

 

To those of you who mentioned classes, I’ve signed up for some basic 2-3 hour classes that I was able to find around the Seattle area that I will be going to soon, but those are going to be much more oriented towards “fun” rather than developing any skill set.  Most classes, as you would expect, are more of a “hey, let’s go have some fun hand dipping chocolates and getting messy” rather than a education-oriented technique-driven session.  I have considered the online Ecole Chocolatier program, but I’m always a little skeptical when it comes to learning skills like this online as opposed to in-person. There are actually some quite impressive chocolatiers in the Seattle area though, so I should get the opportunity to at least see their work, although I doubt take any classes from them.

 

I greatly appreciate the suggestion of posting my successes and failures on here for advice, and I will definitely do that!  I have a double layer gianduja setting right now, and should be finishing that tonight, as well as throwing together some peanut brittle and (hopefully) salted caramel truffles. I’ll try to get some pictures afterwards!

 

A couple additional questions based on the advice:

 

1. With the suggestion of a melting tank, what affordable options are there?  I absolutely have been struggling keeping chocolate in temper while working with it (I think it becomes overseeded as the working temperature stays in range but viscosity increases and lumps form from taking too long?) so a better method would be appreciated.  I’m experimenting with the heating pad trick, but have found that a little hit and miss so far.  As Kerry mentioned, I probably need to work with more chocolate at a time so it holds temper better.  I’ve been too nervous to do a ton, so I’ve been tempering about 8oz at a time.  I should probably step that up to 2lbs or so and just retemper the unused portion later?

2. I haven’t gone too crazy with molds, but you are all completely right about the temptation to want to get a closet full of them!  I got a handful of cheap plastic molds for about $1.50 each, and I can practice with those, but I’m wondering:  Is it worth the investment now to get a nice polycarbonate mold or two?  Something versatile like a dome mold?  Obviously they aren’t cheap, so I don’t want to do too many impulse buys.

3. Of course I decide to get serious about chocolate making just as the house starts heating up and we don’t have air conditioning.  I was trying to temper chocolate in a 76F house and it would NOT set.  Is this just an unfortunately reality that chocolate making and summer cannot coexist without AC or are there any tips?

4. I have some raw cacao butter: http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Organic-Butter-Food-World/dp/B00UA67P4S/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1462206858&sr=8-1&keywords=raw+cacao+butter   Now that I’m getting obsessive about chocolate, I’m also very cognizant of the difference between cacao and cacoa, so if this says raw cacao am I to assume there is a difference?  I’m struggling to determine what that difference would be.  The cacao has already been fermented, heated, processed, etc., to remove the butter, so at this point doesn’t it have to be considered cocoa?  I don’t have my books in front of me to reference, so I’m probably completely overlooking something, and I’m probably overanalyzing, but I’m interested to know. Would there be any potential issues using this in recipes or coloring it to use to decorate molds?  
5. Another thought I had was regarding volunteering at a local chocolate and confections shop.  This is part of the reason I wanted to develop a well-rounded skillset so that I could approach the owner and offer to help for free on nights/weekends to get much more practice.  Any thoughts on this option of getting more exposure and practice?

 

Again, thanks for all the responses.  I promise I’ll respect your time and expertise and quit the super long posts.  Just want to wrap my head around a few things as this whole journey gets rolling!

[tikidoc]

43 minutes ago, Cocoa Joe said:

I haven’t gone too crazy with molds, but you are all completely right about the temptation to want to get a closet full of them!  I got a handful of cheap plastic molds for about $1.50 each, and I can practice with those, but I’m wondering:  Is it worth the investment now to get a nice polycarbonate mold or two?  Something versatile like a dome mold?  Obviously they aren’t cheap, so I don’t want to do too many impulse buys.

 

Absolutely on both counts, unless you are planning to just make enrobed chocolates. I'm a small step above a beginner, so take my comments with that grain of salt. Initially, I got some of the cheap-o plastic molds and was unhappy with the results. Polycarbonate molds (well cleaned!) make a big difference. And your idea of getting a versatile mold is a good one. Spend some time looking at the "showroom" thread - LOTS of the most beautiful examples of chocolates made by people on eGullet use fairly simple molds like domes, half spheres, and teardrops, using a variety of techniques to add color. As someone who still struggles with perfect temper, I can tell you that the simple molds are easier to work with, and easier (and less frustrating) to clean in the event that they don't unmold perfectly. At some point, you might also invest in a simple magnetic mold like a square or a heart, if you want to play with transfer sheets. 

 

I have been lucky enough to go to the eGullet workshop for each of the last few years, and I can't recommend it enough. There are always members who will take you by the hand and help you with basic things such as tempering, working with molds, and decorative techniques. There is tons of chocolate to play with, which is a luxury if you are not wanting to buy a lot at a time. I have always come back inspired by the amazing creations the eGulleters come up with every year. Makes me wish I had more time to practice! I know it's late to plan for it this year, but I would highly recommend that you plan to go to next year's workshop.

 

[gfron1]

2 hours ago, Cocoa Joe said:

 

1. I haven’t gone too crazy with molds, but you are all completely right about the temptation to want to get a closet full of them!  I got a handful of cheap plastic molds for about $1.50 each, and I can practice with those, but I’m wondering:  Is it worth the investment now to get a nice polycarbonate mold or two?  Something versatile like a dome mold?  Obviously they aren’t cheap, so I don’t want to do too many impulse buys.

    

2. Of course I decide to get serious about chocolate making just as the house starts heating up and we don’t have air conditioning.  I was trying to temper chocolate in a 76F house and it would NOT set.  Is this just an unfortunately reality that chocolate making and summer cannot coexist without AC or are there any tips?

    

3. Another thought I had was regarding volunteering at a local chocolate and confections shop.  This is part of the reason I wanted to develop a well-rounded skillset so that I could approach the owner and offer to help for free on nights/weekends to get much more practice.  Any thoughts on this option of getting more exposure and practice?

1. Pony up for decent polycarbs. They should last a lifetime.

2. I shut down my operations from May through October because my building doesn't stay cool enough. Others have tips for making it work but its just not worth it for me.

3. Absolutely go volunteer (stage pron: stahghz). Be up front that you know very little and are happy to wash dishes and polish molds. Someone will take you.

[teonzo]

1 hour ago, Cocoa Joe said:

 

With the suggestion of a melting tank, what affordable options are there?  I absolutely have been struggling keeping chocolate in temper while working with it (I think it becomes overseeded as the working temperature stays in range but viscosity increases and lumps form from taking too long?) so a better method would be appreciated.  I’m experimenting with the heating pad trick, but have found that a little hit and miss so far.  As Kerry mentioned, I probably need to work with more chocolate at a time so it holds temper better.  I’ve been too nervous to do a ton, so I’ve been tempering about 8oz at a time.  I should probably step that up to 2lbs or so and just retemper the unused portion later?

 

 

 

 

Working with 8oz of tempered chocolate is pure suicide. 2lbs is just the minimum amount to work decently, I would suggest you to work with 4lbs to have more time before it cools. Tempering 8oz, 2lbs or 4lbs by hand takes almost the same time, the only difference is the time those quantities take to melt (but this job is done by the microwave not you). If you are taking this hobby a bit seriously then it won't be a problem to have 2-3lbs of leftover chocolate, you will use it after few days for your next experiment. Working with 3-4lbs ot tempered chocolate gives you a good window of working time for hand dipping, molding or whatever. To keep it in temper you just need to use a hair dryer, the hot air will help you to solve the overtempered problem too.

If you feel nervous, consider you already learnt how to temper chocolate. If you are still nervous, apply your studies to yourself!

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Cocoa Joe said:

 

I haven’t gone too crazy with molds, but you are all completely right about the temptation to want to get a closet full of them!  I got a handful of cheap plastic molds for about $1.50 each, and I can practice with those, but I’m wondering:  Is it worth the investment now to get a nice polycarbonate mold or two?  Something versatile like a dome mold?  Obviously they aren’t cheap, so I don’t want to do too many impulse buys.

 

 

I would suggest you to learn hand dipping before molding, it will help you to develop more sensibility to temper zones and all the chocolate temperamental behaviours. So just start to enrobe pieces of pure chocolate as Kerry suggested. You can practice basic molding while doing this: just pour pure chocolate in the molds you already have, let it set, then hand dip those pieces to practice hand dipping.

After you are confident with the hand dipping technique, then you can experiment with real pralines. Make some basic ganaches, cut them and dip them. This will give you more infos on the quantities of pralines you want and can make for each session.

After knowing your production volumes you can start move to molded pralines. Start with molds with an easy geometry (half sphere is best), buy as many molds (of the same model) as will be needed to reach your production quantity. Then practice a bit until you will feel confident with this technique too.

After this you will have enough experience to see what you want to do next and decide your own path.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Cocoa Joe said:

1. Another thought I had was regarding volunteering at a local chocolate and confections shop.  This is part of the reason I wanted to develop a well-rounded skillset so that I could approach the owner and offer to help for free on nights/weekends to get much more practice.  Any thoughts on this option of getting more exposure and practice?

 

 

This would be your best choice. If I'm right the user Pastrygirl is in the Seattle area. You can volunteer to be her slave, ehm, her part time stagiaire.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[pastrygirl]

39 minutes ago, teonzo said:

This would be your best choice. If I'm right the user Pastrygirl is in the Seattle area. You can volunteer to be her slave, ehm, her part time stagiaire.

 

 

 

Slave is more accurate, I am extremely hard to please.  What's so hard about a shiny kitchen and perfect every time?

 

But seriously, I'd be happy to help you out with whatever I know, and chocolate sources.  PFI has pretty good prices on callebaut and a few others http://www.bigjohnspfi.com/ or Merlino's should be willing to sell to you at will call.  They don't have prices in their catalog, but are generally very nice and helpful on the phone.  http://www.merlino.com/web_order/ Or I can hook you up with 2kg bags of Felchlin, it's about $7-$13/# depending on the variety.  Peterson has more chocolate than merlino but I don't think they sell to the public.  I work on capitol hill and will also be at the SLU Saturday market this summer.

 

If it's too hot, chocolate just doesn't work.  You can set up fans or put it in the fridge but some days you're better off not fighting it.  I am not happy about record temps in Seattle, business definitely slows down when it's warm. 

 

Yes, a few nice polycarbonate molds are worth it.  Get a few of a few different shapes.  I think the exchange rate is still favorable, so check out dr.ca and choclat-chocolat.  Hobby molds are too flimsy for filled centers, but I do use few in novelty shapes.  I very rarely hand dip, it is so tedious. 

Edited May 2, 2016 by pastrygirl
perfectionism (log)

[gap]

FWIW, my thoughts:

1. Define affordable :-) Jokes aside, they are expensive, but you can't do large volumes without them. I use a Mod d'Art 6kg tank and have found it invaluable to the point of getting a second one. I got both of mine second-hand, so I haven't had to pony up full price fortunately.

2. If you want to make moulded chocolates, you need polycarbonate moulds. As others mentioned, pick simple designs that will release the chocolate easy and be quick/easy to clean & polish.

3. I live in Australia and do not even try and make chocolates if my room temperature is above 23C (73F)

4. Chocolate is international and there are a lot of common words which have slightly different meaning in different countries - for most things there is not one definition that is correct everywhere ("praline" is a good example of this). I have seen various ways of people trying to differentiate cocoa and cacao but not everyone uses the same definition. At the risk of attracting the ire of the board, they generally refer to the same thing.

 

[Kerry Beal]

No ire attracted here - I too use them interchangeably. Depends how snobby I want to sound.

[Tri2Cook]

I honestly think the second most helpful thing for me was just diving in and doing it. I'd read as much as I could find from the books I have and the huge amount of information available here on eGullet, all of which is hugely helpful and gave me a feeling of confidence going in. But actually getting in there with the chocolate and doing it demonstrates in a very clear way exactly all of those things you read about. I mean, I'd read that chocolate work can be messy for the beginner but nothing made that more clear than the time I spent cleaning chocolate from the counters, microwave, floor, front of the dishwasher, etc. after a busy day of chocolate work. Nothing made Kerry's point about getting cocky more clear than a successful round with the dark chocolate, a successful round with the milk chocolate and diving into the white chocolate thinking "damn, I don't know what all the fuss is about" just to have it laugh at me and not cooperate at all on the first attempt. Of course, the most helpful thing of all for me has been endlessly pestering Kerry with questions that she patiently answers without telling me to piss off and figure it out.

[keychris]

1 hour ago, gap said:

3. I live in Australia and do not even try and make chocolates if my room temperature is above 23C (73F

 

 

hahahaha, me too!

 

It's important to understand what the tempering is actually doing, too - don't rely on temperatures to tell you your chocolate is in temper, rely on a test showing a shiny set chocolate with no streaks. As your working day progresses your "in temper" chocolate temperature will rise the longer it's sitting there.

Edited May 2, 2016 by keychris (log)

[Darienne]

15 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

I honestly think the second most helpful thing for me was just diving in and doing it. I'd read as much as I could find from the books I have and the huge amount of information available here on eGullet, all of which is hugely helpful and gave me a feeling of confidence going in. But actually getting in there with the chocolate and doing it demonstrates in a very clear way exactly all of those things you read about. I mean, I'd read that chocolate work can be messy for the beginner but nothing made that more clear than the time I spent cleaning chocolate from the counters, microwave, floor, front of the dishwasher, etc. after a busy day of chocolate work. Nothing made Kerry's point about getting cocky more clear than a successful round with the dark chocolate, a successful round with the milk chocolate and diving into the white chocolate thinking "damn, I don't know what all the fuss is about" just to have it laugh at me and not cooperate at all on the first attempt. Of course, the most helpful thing of all for me has been endlessly pestering Kerry with questions that she patiently answers without telling me to piss off and figure it out.

Tri2Cook says it all and so well.

[Cocoa Joe]

@pastrygirl  Thank you so much for all the great info!  I will definitely take you up on that.  It would be great to stop by and visit you at the SLU Market.  When does that start?  I couldn't find a date on the website for it.

 

 

Based on everyone's advice it sounds like I should get at least one good polycarbonate mold.  As I'm not too worried about "production" volume yet, even one or two molds would give me plenty to play around with.  I was hoping to find some on Amazon Prime for the free shipping, but only looks like they carry "Fat Daddio" which seem to be pretty hit and miss according to the reviews.  I'm looking around on choclat-choclat (minimum $100 US order, laaaame), bakedeco, chefrubber, chocoley.  I'll see if I can find a couple on there to get started.  Are there any brands to avoid, or if they're polycarbonate are you pretty safe?

 

In the meantime, I'm going to practice molding with the crappy ones and see if I can do anything with those until some polycarbs get here.  I will continue to experiment and improve, thanks to the help of you all!

 

Oh, by the way.  I made some layered gianduja, but I'm leaving for about a week.  How would you recommend storing these in the meantime?  Any necessity to refrigerate as it is getting warmer in the house?

[curls]

@Cocoa Joe welcome to the world of chocolates! I like the Chocolate World polycarbonate molds they are available at Tomric in Buffalo, New York as well as Chocolat-Chocolat. If you are searching for molds on Tomric's website, the Chocolate World molds start with item number "I" under Praline molds --> http://tomric.com/moulds/praline-moulds

[keychris]

4 hours ago, Cocoa Joe said:

Oh, by the way.  I made some layered gianduja, but I'm leaving for about a week.  How would you recommend storing these in the meantime?  Any necessity to refrigerate as it is getting warmer in the house?

 

Gianduja has a zero water content and thus has a very long shelf life. It should be fine sitting in your cupboard so long as it's sealed airtight. If you're really worried it won't care if it's in the fridge IMHO.

[pastrygirl]

5 hours ago, Cocoa Joe said:

@pastrygirl  Thank you so much for all the great info!  I will definitely take you up on that.  It would be great to stop by and visit you at the SLU Market.  When does that start?  I couldn't find a date on the website for it.

 

 

SLU market starts May 14.  I'll be the one cursing the sun and wishing it was 65 and overcast

[Cocoa Joe]

5 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

 

SLU market starts May 14.  I'll be the one cursing the sun and wishing it was 65 and overcast

 

Awesome!!  I'm leaving for vacation in Colorado in the morning and I'll be back next week, so my girlfriend and I will come up and see you on the 14th!  So excited to meet another local chocolate enthusiast   Hopefully the weather will be a typical cloudy and cool Seattle day for you  (can't believe I'm saying that).  

[trisme11]

I don't know if anyone has suggested eBay, but you can find many poly-carbonate molds on there. I bought most of the molds I have now from ebay, both regular molds and the magnetic ones.