Confections! What did we make? (2017 – )

[Kerry Beal]

16 minutes ago, Rajala said:

 

Haha, I've heard this one before.

 

One thing though, I've heard/read (maybe even here) that shells that are too thin, are prone to not retract enough. Anyone know if this is correct?

I’m not sure if that is the case. I do know that over tempered chocolate does not retract as well

[Jim D.]

38 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

 I do know that over tempered chocolate does not retract as well

 

That is very interesting. I had not heard that before.  I have always labored under the assumption (maybe delusion) that allowing chocolate to be overtempered doesn't matter all that much. I will start paying attention and try to see if there is a pattern (such as do early shells release better than ones made later in the process?).

[Kerry Beal]

8 hours ago, Jim D. said:

 

That is very interesting. I had not heard that before.  I have always labored under the assumption (maybe delusion) that allowing chocolate to be overtempered doesn't matter all that much. I will start paying attention and try to see if there is a pattern (such as do early shells release better than ones made later in the process?).

I think I meant to say contract rather than retract. I kind of think of it as over-tempered chocolate is already full of crystals so there is less work to do pulling them all together as it cools. The crystals don't have to move as far to come together so the chocolate doesn't shrink as much.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Kerry Beal (log)

[teonzo]

On 3/8/2020 at 11:40 PM, Rajala said:

So one thing I encounter some times, but just never asked about, until this very day... When I mould shells, sometimes some of them get some weird lines etc. What can be the cause of this? Is it just that the mould wasn't clean enough or is it something I'm doing wrong?

 

Look at the left one. Above the reflection of my lamp, you can see some lines. What's up with that?

 

You need to pray Quetzalcoatl and offer him the proper sacrifices.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Tri2Cook]

8 hours ago, Jim D. said:

I try to remember to find it all funny (as I bang a mold on the counter to the point where I think I may prove that polycarbonate can be shattered).

I haven't shattered a mold yet but I once had 17 of 18 pieces fall right out and after a few polite taps didn't dislodge the remaining piece, I smacked it on the table hard enough that the entire bottom piece of chocolate from closing the cavity blew off. The shell and most of it's filling was still in the mold though. My usual "something's wrong, go bother Kerry" resulted in her suggesting sticking it in the freezer briefly which I did and it came right out after that. But the damage had already been done so I had to eat it. That was a shame. 

[Pastrypastmidnight]

In my experience both over crystallized chocolate (I had the same theory, @Kerry Beal)

and shelling too thinly will prevent the bonbons from retracting from the mold. The freezer will fix both issues, but it’s a pain in the rear. 

[Jim D.]

57 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

My usual "something's wrong, go bother Kerry" resulted in her suggesting sticking it in the freezer briefly which I did and it came right out after that. But the damage had already been done so I had to eat it. That was a shame. 

 

Although practically everyone cautions against using the freezer, I don't hesitate when I encounter the most stubborn bonbons. Quite often I don't just want every one of them, I need every piece for sales. So I pound for a while, back in the fridge for a while, pound again, then it's into the freezer. Occasionally even that doesn't do it, but it almost always does. And I have never seen the loss of shine that is predicted from use of the freezer. My horror story still is an occasion when Kerry said she was at a show or class demonstrating how to shell and unmold chocolates, but they refused to drop out as they were supposed to (you know, the way ALL of Dubovik's do).

[Rajala]

On 3/9/2020 at 11:56 PM, teonzo said:

 

You need to pray Quetzalcoatl and offer him the proper sacrifices.

 

 

 

Teo

 

 

Italy was my offer. 😈

 

Jokes aside, I hope you're safe!

[teonzo]

On 3/11/2020 at 12:33 PM, Rajala said:

Italy was my offer. 😈

 

We stink, so you made him more angry and next time your de-molding ratio will be 0.

 

 

 

On 3/11/2020 at 12:33 PM, Rajala said:

Jokes aside, I hope you're safe!

 

Today I'm going to dip 1 kg of candied orange peels in dark chocolate. I will be forced to eat them all by myself. Life could be much worse.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Anna N]

4 hours ago, teonzo said:

Today I'm going to dip 1 kg of candied orange peels in dark chocolate. I will be forced to eat them all by myself. Life could be much worse.

One of my very favorite treats. I envy you your orange peel and chocolate but not your current situation!  Stay safe and well. 
 

 

[GRiker]

4 hours ago, teonzo said:

Today I'm going to dip 1 kg of candied orange peels in dark chocolate. I will be forced to eat them all by myself. Life could be much worse.

 

My husband usually takes my practice pieces to his work, but alas now he's working from home.  This might be my opportunity to try to freezing techniques!

[teonzo]

7 hours ago, Anna N said:

One of my very favorite treats. I envy you your orange peel and chocolate but not your current situation!  Stay safe and well. 

 

Thanks and don't worry, everything is going to be fine.

I forgot how boring it is to hand dip stuff in chocolate, god bless enrobers. I have a pot with another 2.5 kg batch of candied orange peel in the process, so next time at the supermarket I'll look for a boatload of ricotta, I see some pastiera and cannoli in my future because I don't want to hand dip again all those peels. And hopefully ginger, candied ginger is the best.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Darienne]

44 minutes ago, teonzo said:

 

And hopefully ginger, candied ginger is the best.

 

Teo

 

Candied ginger dipped in chocolate is the absolute best! 

[Rajala]

Hmm, candid orange peel. Makes me think - will peel from blood orange taste any different? I love blood oranges, some of them have red peel - but not sure if the peel will taste any different.

[teonzo]

I use blood oranges, so you are totally fine. They have a thinner peel than navels and others, so it's easier to candy them thoroughly.

If you freeze the peels before candying them, then you get better results. I mean freezing, not blast freezing, in this case you are hoping for the formation of big ice crystals, so they break the cell walls and the syrup penetrates more easily. Usually when I eat an orange I put the peels in the freezer in a bag. When I have enough of them and I'm in the mood / have time, I make a big batch. I amassed quite a lot of peels from this winter, so I made a first batch of 3 kg, then now I'm making a second batch of 2.5 kg.

No ricotta and no ginger in the supermarket today. But yes butter and yes mascarpone. So it will be pound cake with (lots of) candied orange peels and something else I will improvise just for the sake of improvising. Most probably it will involve cardamom: mascarpone + orange + cardamom sounds quite appealing.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Rajala]

I feel stupid when I read that. Why have I never thought of saving the peel when I eat oranges? 😂

[teonzo]

Hahahaha I felt stupid too when I heard about it.

Beware to use only organic oranges for candied peels. It's obvious, but better repeating it one time more than one time less.

For the candying syrup, use invert sugar (or pure dextrose) and avoid glucose syrup / corn syrup, you want monosaccharides and avoid dextrines. The smaller the molecule, the easier it will penetrate in whatever you are candying (osmotic pressure and blabla). Invert sugar is sweeter than dextrose, so the choice depends on the final result you are aiming for.

If you don't have invert sugar or dextrose and want to avoid the hassle of buying them, then you just need to put 1 kg water, 1 kg sucrose, 20 g lemon juice in a pot, cover it with a lid, bring it to the boil, keep it boiling gently (lowest stove possible) for 1 hour, always with the lid to limit evaporation. This way you end up with enough invert sugar to get good results and avoid the crystallization of the final product (which is the problem if you only use sucrose).

After completing the candying, don't waste the syrup, it's full packed of flavor. So when you need a syrup for something you can use the candying syrup, always adjusting for the density. For example you can make a pound cake with candied orange peels, then soak it with the candying syrup (after diluting it), this way you get an orange bomb. You can use it to soak a sponge layer in an entremet. Or you can use it when making orange sorbet, to add more punch. Or to make marshmallows with gelatin. Or pate de fruit. Wasting it is a crime.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Tri2Cook]

On 3/13/2020 at 5:26 PM, teonzo said:

I made a first batch of 3 kg, then now I'm making a second batch of 2.5 kg.

I'm genuinely impressed. I don't think I've eaten enough oranges in my entire life to save up 5.5 kg of peel... and I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that. 

[teonzo]

14 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

I'm genuinely impressed. I don't think I've eaten enough oranges in my entire life to save up 5.5 kg of peel... and I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that. 

 

You need to consider that:

- I'm spoiled, about 1 km from my home there is a store run by a Sicilian family, they sell the oranges cultivated by their relatives in Sicily, so I have access to much better fruit than what supermarkets sell (and luckily they continue to be open in these days);

- I'm maniac, when in season I eat 4-5 oranges per day, don't know anyone else that eats so many oranges.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Jim D.]

46 minutes ago, teonzo said:

 

You need to consider that:

- I'm spoiled, about 1 km from my home there is a store run by a Sicilian family, they sell the oranges cultivated by their relatives in Sicily, so I have access to much better fruit than what supermarkets sell (and luckily they continue to be open in these days);

- I'm maniac, when in season I eat 4-5 oranges per day, don't know anyone else that eats so many oranges.

 

 

 

Teo

 

When your skin turns orange, you will know you have a Vitamin C overdose. What's the opposite of scurvy?

[keychris]

8 hours ago, Jim D. said:

When your skin turns orange, you will know you have a Vitamin C overdose. What's the opposite of scurvy?

 

Yvrucs

[teonzo]

12 hours ago, Jim D. said:

When your skin turns orange, you will know you have a Vitamin C overdose. What's the opposite of scurvy?

 

I got scarlet fever when I was a child, so that's out of range. I can become ginger with speckles and risk Cartman's hate.

 

 

 

4 hours ago, keychris said:

Yvrucs

 

If it stands for Young Venetian Really Ubergreedy of Citrus of Sicily, then you nailed it.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[minas6907]

Hello All,

 

Here's a cache of photos from things in the last 6 months or so. Theres been a few topics I've been meaning to comment on, but just havent had the time to respond. I should be able to get to that in the near future.

 

1. Sesame Halva. I've been trying to nail this down for a long time, gave up plenty of times, but I think I got it. Went thorough around 6lb of tahini, but this is the texture I remember as a kid when my grandfather would bring me back halva each year from Greece.

 

2. If I recall correctly, I had made a blueberry caramel that didnt set up quite as hard as I wanted it to. I was messing around and put it into a small batch of hard candy. The result was ok, but I think I'd like to come back to this in the future.

 

3. Watermelon lollis

 

4. Assorted Bonbons, left to right: Anise caramel with cashew, peanut butter, lemon white chocolate, whit chocolate with frangelico, mango pate de fruit.

 

5. Candied Pineapple

 

6. Pillow Mints

 

7. Panned Caramels. This was just another thing I've been meaning to do for a long time. I made the sweetened condensed milk caramel from Grewelings book, only added 1/2 of the glucose, pulled it like a taffy to agitate, and set it in a frame and let crystallize for a few days. That way I was able to cut into even cubes and coat in the pan. I also threw some gold cocoa butter on the outside just to see the effect. Overall, they were ok, they tasted fine, but with a panned dragee you really do need a contrasting texture, like an appealing crunch. The texture of the crystallized caramel was too similar to the white chocolate, there was no contrast.

 

8. I didnt like the pillow mints too much, so I panned them in chocolate. They actually come out pretty nicely. They had a nice crunch, fun to eat, I'd try these again. One note, these are the pillow mints from Grewelings book. After the mints are cut, you let them crystallize in confectioners sugar. They actually do enlarge considerably in size, so I'd have to plan accordingly to cut the mints smaller then I'm inclined to, let crystallize and enlarge, and coat with chocolate. I think like a pillow mint that is flavored with lemon oil and panned in white chocolate would be nice, something like that.

 

9. Pineapple pate de fruit

 

10. Hazelnut Gianduja

 

11. Candied Kumquats coming up from syrup

 

12. Candied Kumquats

 

13 and14. Almond Dragee

 

15. Best for last - Butterfingers. I'll elaborate more on this one in the butterfinger topic.

[Darienne]

1 hour ago, minas6907 said:

Hello All,

 

Here's a cache of photos from things in the last 6 months or so. Theres been a few topics I've been meaning to comment on, but just havent had the time to respond. I should be able to get to that in the near future.

I have really missed seeing your confections now for a long time @minas6907.  Glad to see you are back! 

 

[curls]

Gorgeous work @minas6907! Congratulations on re-creating the halva of your childhood!