22 minutes ago, gfron1 said:I still struggle with this. 1) Cold room. 2) Proper temper. 3) Tempering my cocoa butter each use for spray or brush. 4) Alcohol polish. Not sure if all are needed or if I could let some of these habits go. I've had so many great teachers and they all do things a bit differently. Most lately I've been thinking that tempering my cocoa butter each time can be let go. Don't most of you just melt and shake?
I also continue to try to find the "right" procedure, while having the suspicion that there may not be a right way. I dutifully temper the cocoa butter and test it before use. I do not work in an especially cold space. I think one factor that has not been mentioned is humidity, and I often wonder if that is important. It will always be a mystery to me: In a recent batch, most bonbons released with no issues, but some (far too many for my sanity) left cocoa butter behind in the molds. I can't think of any sensible explanation for these erratic results. The adjoining cavities were washed, polished (cloth only), etc.--in every conceivable way treated exactly the same. But how many times has this observation been posted on eG? I am going to pay more attention to the temperature of the cocoa butter as it is being used (swirled, airbrushed, etc.) on the suspicion that I may be using the heat gun too carelessly (or letting the cocoa butter cool too much while in use). It is a major pain to stop airbrushing to take the temp of cocoa butter, but I continue to seek a factor I can control. Just another guess in the puzzle.
