Candy-coating nuts, etc. Now availavable,

[andiesenji]

Several months ago someone was asking for help in coating nuts with various candy coatings.

This attachment for a KitchenAid stand mixer is now available and though pricy, should work well for small production runs.

[chefpeon]

Yee Gods! You're right......for that price the mixer OUGHT to be included.....or at least

the instruction manual!!!!

[Moopheus]

I saw Jacques Torres use one of these in a demo recently. I was instantly lusting to have one, but I figured it would be very expensive and I couldn't possibly justify the expense right now, not to mention I have nowhere to keep it. Looks like I was right.

[chiantiglace]

looks cool, but its probably a pain in the ass to clean. I'd like to try it, but it doesn't seem that hard to do it the old fashioned way. Just a couple of tosses with the nuts in the caramel with 2 spatulas and it's done. Seems like it wouldn't save me that much time, if any at all.

[foodie52]

I'm not sure I'd want to buy something from a place that doesn't include the operating manual. What are they going to do with it? Do they take it out of the box before shipping? Are they selling it on the black market????

Very strange.

[andiesenji]

So far, the only instructions available are entirely in French. My source told me that he understood that they are trying to get an English translation printed.

He said the thing connects to the mixer the same as all KA attachments.

They do state that candymaking experience is needed. He thought they might be willing to put people looking to buy the attachment in touch with people who are using it successfully.

[Lysbeth]

I actually bought one of these a few years ago. At first I really struggled trying to use it, and trying to get a nice product (could have really used a manual then!) As I worked with it more and researched more on the internet, it became easier to use.

It is a lot of money to spend, but if you are looking to coat and sell many nuts/dried fruits, it will be worth it. I think someone said it can coat up to 30 lbs in an hour. If you just coat some nuts a few times a year, use the old hand-dipping method, it works fine. As far as cleaning is concerned, If you use it right, you shouldn't need to clean it all the time. The chocolate will build up a little on the inside, but nothing too much. I saw Jaqcues Torres toss powdered sugar in his coating pan to coat the nuts. This step I do by hand, so I can reuse the pan a few times. It is a rather large pan so you'll need a large basin to clean it in.

Other than that, it's important to use cool nuts (I freeze mine quickly before coating). It helps with the setting of the chocolate. A fan pointed at the coating pan helps too. Also, you need to use tempered chocolate. This can be hard if you don't have a tempering machine as it takes a while to coat the nuts with all the layers you want to put on. If your chocolate is tempered now and you go to put on layer #9, it might be too thick. I have also found that the more nuts you put in the pan the easier it is, 1 pound just doesn't cut it, you really need to put a good amount of nuts in the pan (preferably caramelized ones, yum!). Lastly, it is important to pour the chocolate onto the nuts slowly and only to have the pan rotate on speed 1, otherwise you get one big clump.

It will probably take a you a few times to get the hang of it, but if you follow the rules above you will be much better off than I was when I first started.

[chocolatenewbie]

Lysbeth - Thanks for your help/advice! My husband and I just bought one of these attachments and have had a hard time with it (we knew it wouldn't come with directions, but we thought we'd give it a go anyway).

We put the nuts in and then added the chocolate, but the nuts stick to the chocolate (which is sticking to the inside of the drum) and they just ride around stuck to the side. They don't roll and get coated.

Any other advice you have to offer to help me get started would be great. And please send me an email if you'd rather not post a huge note here....

[Lysbeth]

Chocolatenewbie,

did you first cool the nuts in the freezer? This really helps the chocolate set up fast. Also, it is very important to pour the chocolate into the coating pan VERY slowly, while the pan is rotating on a low speed. You can only add a little chocolate at a time, then you wait for it to set while the pan turns and when the chocolate is no longer glossy or liquid, you may add some more chocolate. If the nuts stick at any point you can use a spatula to scrape them off the sides of the pan, again while it is still turning. You'll probably have to try it a few times before you get the hang of it, but you'll get it. It's all about the cool nuts and adding a little chocolate at a time. Just remember that it might take you 20 - 30 minutes from start to finish, so it's a longer process than most people think (but fun!) I made caramelized chocolate covered macadamia nuts last week and they are so yummie. Don't give up!

This is a picture of one of my first tries using the pan. You can see that it already has a lot of chocolate on the side of the pan because at the time I was putting in too much. What happens is that it hits the side of your pan instead of your nuts and this causes them to stick. Also, you can see that the nuts are still glossy, so you need to wait until they are dull looking before you add the next amount of chocolate. I have also found that using a larger batch of nuts works better.

Lysbeth

Edited February 17, 2005 by Lysbeth (log)

[chocolatenewbie]

Lysbeth - we're going to try this again this coming Saturday, and we really appreciate your help here ! One last question - when you add the chocolate, do you just drizzle it in right on the nuts ? We'll try putting them in the freezer first, too. Thanks again !

[Lysbeth]

Chocolatenewbie - yep, you just drizzle the (tempered) chocolate into the rotating pan right on top of the nuts. Use a ladle and pour it very slowly. I think that knowing to take your time with this process is half the battle.

Let me know how it goes.

Edited February 17, 2005 by Lysbeth (log)