Transfer Sheets: Tips, Techniques & Care

[Jim D.]

To follow up:  I posted my issue on Facebook, and Ruth (@Chocolot) replied that she uses Chef Rubber.  And in her photo the reds were really red.  I have bought CR transfers in the past, and the red turned brown (on a dark choc background).  Perhaps they have changed their method.  I'm not sure how I can delicately ask CR (when I want to say: "do your reds still turn brown?")

[pastrygirl]

On 11/1/2024 at 8:06 AM, Jim D. said:

I have bought CR transfers in the past, and the red turned brown (on a dark choc background)

 

Do you mean they fade over time or just don't look red enough over dark choc from the beginning?

[Jim D.]

4 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

 

Do you mean they fade over time or just don't look red enough over dark choc from the beginning?

 

The latter.  It happens with other colors as well (blues become grayish).  I have contacted American Chocolate Designs (information that came from you earlier in this thread), and they are sending me (free) some samples of transfers with red in them.  The fact that they didn't answer with something like "Oh, we know about that problem, and with ours, the red stays bright red" suggests these won't work.  I've never understood what ChocoTransferSheets does (did?) that made theirs opaque.  If they added white to red, it would turn pink.  Here is a sample of one of their transfers:

 

[Jim D.]

I did some work to show what I was describing about cocoa butter colors.  Transfer #1: The pink color transfers to the chocolate fairly well, but not as bright. But then pink contains (presumably) titanium dioxide. #2: This is red on dark chocolate at its worst, very muddy, almost brown.  #3: This beautiful transfer was my biggest disappointment (ignore the chocolate blotch in the middle; it's from a chip falling off the transfer--this is a very old transfer sheet):  Perhaps one could say the dark red/brown is OK--unless you know what it is supposed to look like.

 

 

[pastrygirl]

Thanks for the illustration.  The middle one doesn't look bad to me - not vibrant but red. The one on the right doesn't look red at all. 

 

Maybe some makers use a higher concentration of pigment in the cocoa butter?

[Kerry Beal]

Jim - when you look at the back of the  Chocotransfer sheets is there white behind the red by any chance? 

[Jim D.]

@Kerry Beal No, there is no white.  I remember meeting the owner of ChocoTransferSheets at the last Las Vegas workshop.  I don't suppose you have any info on what happened to the company.  I am still kicking myself for not taking advantage of their recent sales (if they had said "clearance," I might have taken action).   Their transfers were a cut above the rest, in my opinion--tulips, roses, cherry blossoms.

 

@pastrygirl 

Quote

Maybe some makers use a higher concentration of pigment in the cocoa butter?

 

That may be the explanation--it makes sense.

[Jim D.]

I should add that I recently saw a photo of chocolates from @Chocolot.  The transfers are from Chef Rubber, and the reds look good.  Maybe I should give CR another chance.

 

[Kerry Beal]

20 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

@Kerry Beal No, there is no white.  I remember meeting the owner of ChocoTransferSheets at the last Las Vegas workshop.  I don't suppose you have any info on what happened to the company.  I am still kicking myself for not taking advantage of their recent sales (if they had said "clearance," I might have taken action).   Their transfers were a cut above the rest, in my opinion--tulips, roses, cherry blossoms.

 

@pastrygirl 

 

That may be the explanation--it makes sense.

I do have a contact - but not really comfortable asking outright what’s happened