Andrey Dubovic online classes

[gfron1]

Latest assignment for me. One more, then I'm going circle back and work on the eye.

[gfron1]

Final assignment. Not sure why this is last instead of first. But now I can circle back and start working on the eye design.

 

[Smithy]

It looks a bit as though the circular "stamp" in the corner of some is made by a circle with teeth. (Not being a confectioner, I think of either a certain type of frosting nozzle or a very coarse hole saw.) It also looks as though it lifted the enrobing chocolate away from the material underneath. Is it supposed to look like that? Were you happy with the results?

 

I think the chocolates with the red "seal" on top are very attractive. I thought the same about other posters' photos of the same assignment. What sort of stamp was needed to make those impressions? I've long since given away my sealing wax sets, but those wax stamps come to mind here.

[gfron1]

that's exactly what those were - letter seals that you can buy online. I don't remember why but I bought them for a chocolate project ages ago.  And I really just wanted to get this assignment over with. I hate hand-dipping. I don't hand dip. I won't hand dip in the future. So I let some feet show up on some of them. Really the only thing I was interested in was to see if the seal would easily release from the red chocolate, which it did. 

[Jim D.]

39 minutes ago, Smithy said:

It looks a bit as though the circular "stamp" in the corner of some is made by a circle with teeth. (Not being a confectioner, I think of either a certain type of frosting nozzle or a very coarse hole saw.) It also looks as though it lifted the enrobing chocolate away from the material underneath. Is it supposed to look like that? Were you happy with the results?

 

I think the chocolates with the red "seal" on top are very attractive. I thought the same about other posters' photos of the same assignment. What sort of stamp was needed to make those impressions? I've long since given away my sealing wax sets, but those wax stamps come to mind here.

I'll let Rob respond about the circular marks. What Dubovik used was indeed a pastry tip. I can attest that the technique requires a very steady hand.

 

The red seals were made with a wax stamp. Again, a very difficult decoration to get just right. As I posted with my photos, I could not get the stamp cold enough to make more than one seal at a time. I have received lots of positive feedback about the look, but for obvious reasons it's not a decoration I will be able to use much in future batches.

[gfron1]

The dotted circle is a pastry tip. And the problem with the red seal for me is that you have to add so much colorant to get that waxy color that it becomes bitter to my palate.

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, gfron1 said:

The dotted circle is a pastry tip. And the problem with the red seal for me is that you have to add so much colorant to get that waxy color that it becomes bitter to my palate.

You tasted them?

[gfron1]

11 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

You tasted them?

of course. I made lime pate de fruit/marzipan so I ate a lot of them. Just not so many with the red seal.

[Kerry Beal]

8 minutes ago, gfron1 said:

of course. I made lime pate de fruit/marzipan so I ate a lot of them. Just not so many with the red seal.

Mine was passion fruit but decorated the tops with some blitzed freeze dried raspberries because I was too cheap to buy yet another thing!

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

Mine was passion fruit but decorated the tops with some blitzed freeze dried raspberries because I was too cheap to buy yet another thing!

I love those Sosa raspberry crunches, but quite a price on those. The hidden costs of this course (hidden until you sign up and get to see all the lessons) are considerable, especially if one buys all the molds, ingredients, and equipment called for. It should all be stated clearly, I think, though I suspect it would scare off potential students.

[Kerry Beal]

3 hours ago, Jim D. said:

I love those Sosa raspberry crunches, but quite a price on those. The hidden costs of this course (hidden until you sign up and get to see all the lessons) are considerable, especially if one buys all the molds, ingredients, and equipment called for. It should all be stated clearly, I think, though I suspect it would scare off potential students.

Indeed - and you don't really know all the stuff you need until you start.

 

[YetiChocolates]

On 7/27/2018 at 5:23 PM, Kerry Beal said:

Indeed - and you don't really know all the stuff you need until you start.

 

Sounds like when you’re doing a home remodel project...

 

All the feedback the 3 of you (@gfron1, @Kerry Beal and @Jim D.) provided I feel was quite generous and definitely gives those of us that couldn’t take the course a lot of food for thought. So thanks!

 

I just took the time to read the thread and I will say that I keep my kitchen at 65F (18C), and didn’t make the correlation between the shine I get and the temperature. And I just bought a substantial amount of cocoa butter, but will consider mixing my own in the future once my supply runs out if the results are that noticeable. 

[Jim D.]

13 minutes ago, YetiChocolates said:

Sounds like when you’re doing a home remodel project...

 

All the feedback the 3 of you (@gfron1, @Kerry Beal and @Jim D.) provided I feel was quite generous and definitely gives those of us that couldn’t take the course a lot of food for thought. So thanks!

 

I just took the time to read the thread and I will say that I keep my kitchen at 65F (18C), and didn’t make the correlation between the shine I get and the temperature. And I just bought a substantial amount of cocoa butter, but will consider mixing my own in the future once my supply runs out if the results are that noticeable. 

I tried for Andrey's recommended 18C, but it made airbrushing cocoa butter practically impossible (I can't tolerate stopping after every 4 or 5 cavities to use the heat gun). I have given up on that low temp. Rob contacted a student in the course who produced a stunning version of Andrey's "eye" design, and that person has the room temp around 70F. So much for the theory, I guess. It is very difficult to determine what the crucial factor(s) is/are: is it the temp or consistency of the cocoa butter, the strength of the air flow, or the room temp? Or is it all of that...and maybe more?

[YetiChocolates]

2 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

I tried for Andrey's recommended 18C, but it made airbrushing cocoa butter practically impossible (I can't tolerate stopping after every 4 or 5 cavities to use the heat gun). I have given up on that low temp. Rob contacted a student in the course who produced a stunning version of Andrey's "eye" design, and that person has the room temp around 70F. So much for the theory, I guess. It is very difficult to determine what the crucial factor(s) is/are: is it the temp or consistency of the cocoa butter, the strength of the air flow, or the room temp? Or is it all of that...and maybe more?

That’s interesting. I can usually spray 4-5 molds at a time before I need to reheat my gun, so I typically swap back and forth between handpainting and spraying. When I splatter I can get around 10 molds before I have to reheat. Not sure if the type of gun has anything to do with it as well? I also feel that everyone has a different technique and can get similar results so it is hard to ascertain what are the best conditions to create the best result. I feel I have been having good luck with what I’m currently doing so I’m just gonna keep doing it for now

[Tri2Cook]

One day, all will cast aside the vain search for theory and rules of man regarding chocolate work and pay heed unto my words that the Chocolate Gods either smile on you that day or they don't... and on that day, my church will be born. 

Of course, there are basic procedures, commandments if you prefer, that must be followed to appease the Chocolate Gods and increase the odds of them smiling upon your work. But in the end, you can do everything right and they can still say "not this time" and leave you frustrated, confused and second-guessing everything you did. I never claimed the Chocolate Gods can't be jerks sometimes. 

[Sweet Impact Mama]

1 minute ago, Tri2Cook said:

One day, all will cast aside the vain search for theory and rules of man regarding chocolate work and pay heed unto my words that the Chocolate Gods either smile on you that day or they don't... and on that day, my church will be born. 

Of course, there are basic procedures, commandments if you prefer, that must be followed to appease the Chocolate Gods and increase the odds of them smiling upon your work. But in the end, you can do everything right and they can still say "not this time" and leave you frustrated, confused and second-guessing everything you did. I never claimed the Chocolate Gods can't be jerks sometimes. 

Preach it, sister! 🤣

[Anna N]

3 minutes ago, Sweet Impact Mama said:

Preach it, sister! 🤣

 Pretty sure he’s a brother.🤣

[Tri2Cook]

1 minute ago, Anna N said:

 Pretty sure he’s a brother.🤣

Yeah, what she said. 

[Sweet Impact Mama]

4 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Pretty sure he’s a brother.🤣

😖 Oh for dumb! That's such a newbie forum mistake! So, so sorry!! Of course, that would mean, according to the fundy churches I grew up in, you'd actually be allowed to be the preacher of your new religion. ☺️

[Tri2Cook]

14 minutes ago, Sweet Impact Mama said:

😖 Oh for dumb! That's such a newbie forum mistake! So, so sorry!! Of course, that would mean, according to the fundy churches I grew up in, you'd actually be allowed to be the preacher of your new religion. ☺️

No need to be sorry. Certainly no offense taken on my part. I wouldn't make a good preacher though, public speaking is not one of my strengths. Anyway, we probably should let this steer back on course to the discussion at hand. I didn't mean to distract from that.

[gfron1]

10 hours ago, YetiChocolates said:

I just took the time to read the thread and I will say that I keep my kitchen at 65F (18C), and didn’t make the correlation between the shine I get and the temperature. And I just bought a substantial amount of cocoa butter, but will consider mixing my own in the future once my supply runs out if the results are that noticeable. 

There's disagreement among the group, but I will never buy colored cocoa butter again. I haven't done the cost comparison but I'm sure its a savings, but the level of control are creativity is what I need.

[YetiChocolates]

3 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

One day, all will cast aside the vain search for theory and rules of man regarding chocolate work and pay heed unto my words that the Chocolate Gods either smile on you that day or they don't... and on that day, my church will be born. 

Of course, there are basic procedures, commandments if you prefer, that must be followed to appease the Chocolate Gods and increase the odds of them smiling upon your work. But in the end, you can do everything right and they can still say "not this time" and leave you frustrated, confused and second-guessing everything you did. I never claimed the Chocolate Gods can't be jerks sometimes. 

 

This is why my mantra is “I am not the master, chocolate is the master”

[Kerry Beal]

 

Got a little tripod for my phone - went out in the 2 pm haze and got a few more pics of the first assignment redo that I played with up north under less than ideal conditions.

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

Got a little tripod for my phone - went out in the 2 pm haze and got a few more pics of the first assignment redo that I played with up north under less than ideal conditions.

 

That's beautiful if created under ideal circumstances, but it is remarkable considering the issues you had to overcome with temperature, etc.  And they are as shiny as Andrey's--is there a higher compliment? I think the main issue with this design (at least in my attempts at it) is not to allow the first layer (the dark one) to block out the other colors completely.

[Kerry Beal]

34 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

 

That's beautiful if created under ideal circumstances, but it is remarkable considering the issues you had to overcome with temperature, etc.  And they are as shiny as Andrey's--is there a higher compliment? I think the main issue with this design (at least in my attempts at it) is not to allow the first layer (the dark one) to block out the other colors completely.

Indeed - that one was transparent - those behind not so much