Cooking with "Chocolates and Confections" by Peter Greweling (Part 1)

[alanamoana]

in the old time/life series book "candy", there are two recipes for what i think you're describing josho. one is referred to as molasses taffy and the other is called "yellowman" or golden honeycomb pulled taffy. neither one describes how you can get such perfect air holes. that is certainly accomplished via the pulling rather than the baking soda. the chemical reaction certainly wouldn't give you such perfect hole structure.

[gfron1]

I've never seen that before - now I'm fascinated. How does it achieve such uniform structure? I want a demo!

[Kerry Beal]

Hi, Kerry,

So glad you're here! I've been following this thread with some excitement. I had the chance to be in a class that Greweling held at the CIA a couple of years ago during "Pastry Boot Camp."

What I'm talking about is Molasses Honeycomb, which, I believe, is essentially Greweling's "Peanut Butter Honeycomb" minus the Peanut Butter filling. I'm not talking about the "cook and pour" honeycomb candy/Seafoam, which isn't pulled.

Attached is a photo of a Molasses Honeycomb Chip. (These are made by Plantation Candies in Pennsylvania, and I've been told that they're hand-pulled.) I believe this is what Molasses Honeycomb looks like when properly made. On the left is the enrobed candy, in the middle is the denuded version, and on the right is a cross-section. As you say, it shatters when you bite it.

--Josh

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Josh,

Sorry to take so long checking this out. I pulled out a couple of the professional candy books I have last night.

So you make a batch of molasses honeycomb, pull it lightly and knead it on a warm surface so there are no lumps. Then you flatten it out and put it around a 4 inch rolling pin and seal the sides. You pull it off one end of the rolling pin and seal the end. You remove the rest from the pin, put a bellows in the open end and pump some air into the tube. You remove the bellows and seal the end. Now stretch out to 5 feet (batch with 10 lbs sugar), seal the middle, cut and lay both pieces side by side. Stretch again and repeat the cutting and stretching until you have 64 tubes. Now the batch is stretched one last time, cut with a roller knife and dipped in chocolate.

Now, who wants to try it first? Where would you get a 'food safe' bellows?

[Tri2Cook]

Now, who wants to try it first?

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I thought I was the adventurous type but... no thanks!

[alanamoana]

Now, who wants to try it first?  Where would you get a 'food safe' bellows?

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you could probably use a sugar blowing kit. but it is only like a pump attached to a rubber tube with a wooden piece at the end to attach the sugar. the pump is the one-way kind that is attached to the old school blood pressure cuff (that they don't use anymore as they have computerized automatic ones).

kerry, you're a doctor, you probably have a bunch of those cuffs laying around!

[lapin d'or]

Well completely at the other end of the effort scale to hand pulling pounds of sugar into perfect channels I have just done another version of the totally easy meltaway recipe.

I did the praline meltaway with a new praline paste I have just bought. It is made by Cocoa Barry and has an rather odd name ' Favourites D'Autrefois' but is really tasty. 30% almonds, 30% hazelnuts and 40% sugar but some of the nuts are still in tiny cruchy pieces so you get a really nice texture. I wasn't sure if this would be right with the meltaway but I really like it - it reminds me of tiny Lindt mini eggs I used to buy as a child that had a crunchy praline filling.

I have a pretty big bucket of this praline paste as the only size available is 5kg. It has about a 6month shelf life but I think I may try putting some in the freezer.

[Josho]

Kerry,

Holy cow!

Well, thank you so much for investigating this and getting me such a great, complete answer.

I won't be the first one to try this...sounds WAY beyond my fledgling abilities. But it's certainly something to work up to, and I'm very grateful to have the instructions.

I may try visit Plantation in the near future to watch them do all this (realizing that that's a longshot, given how secretive candy companies are).

Just out of curiosity -- which professional candymaking book did you find these instructions in?

Thank you again,

Josh

[Kerry Beal]

Kerry,

Holy cow!

Well, thank you so much for investigating this and getting me such a great, complete answer.

I won't be the first one to try this...sounds WAY beyond my fledgling abilities. But it's certainly something to work up to, and I'm very grateful to have the instructions.

I may try visit Plantation in the near future to watch them do all this (realizing that that's a longshot, given how secretive candy companies are).

Just out of curiosity -- which professional candymaking book did you find these instructions in?

Thank you again,

Josh

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I found instructions in two books. The most clear instruction was in Choice Confections by Walter Richmond, the other was A Formulary of Candy Products by Harris, Crespo and Peterson.

[mrose]

Kerry,

Holy cow!

Well, thank you so much for investigating this and getting me such a great, complete answer.

I won't be the first one to try this...sounds WAY beyond my fledgling abilities. But it's certainly something to work up to, and I'm very grateful to have the instructions.

I may try visit Plantation in the near future to watch them do all this (realizing that that's a longshot, given how secretive candy companies are).

Just out of curiosity -- which professional candymaking book did you find these instructions in?

Thank you again,

Josh

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I found instructions in two books. The most clear instruction was in Choice Confections by Walter Richmond, the other was A Formulary of Candy Products by Harris, Crespo and Peterson.

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How are those books? I saw that Choice Confections is $75 giving formula for both smal & large batches. Are they worth the price?

[Serj]

Okay, so i haven't posted in a couple of months and it's been a hot summer's day in Chicago so I figured what better to do than play with sugar. I tried out the honeycomb thing and this is what I came up with:

I don't care for molasses so I just left that out of the recipe and I don't have any pump contraptions so i just used the barrel of a bic pen. I also don't have a heat lamp... without it I don't think I could get the holes any smaller. Of course it all melted together when I cut it with a hot knife but oh well. I can just call it rustic!

Okay someone else try!

Serj.

[Kerry Beal]

Okay, so i haven't posted in a couple of months and it's been a hot summer's day in Chicago so I figured what better to do than play with sugar. I tried out the honeycomb thing and this is what I came up with:

I don't care for molasses so I just left that out of the recipe and I don't have any pump contraptions so i just used the barrel of a bic pen. I also don't have a heat lamp... without it I don't think I could get the holes any smaller. Of course it all melted together when I cut it with a hot knife but oh well. I can just call it rustic! 

Okay someone else try!

Serj.

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Serj, thanks for trying this. It's obviously got potential. Did you have any trouble getting the mass of candy off the rolling pin?

[Serj]

No I just waited for the sugar to cool down a little before i rolled it around the pin. It came right off. But I worked so fast that I ended up wasting a lot of the sugar. I also only did a miniscule batch... it's probably a lot easier with a whole recipe. That's the great thing about sugar though, tomorrow I can melt it back down and try again!

[Kerry Beal]

No I just waited for the sugar to cool down a little before i rolled it around the pin. It came right off. But I worked so fast that I ended up wasting a lot of the sugar. I also only did a miniscule batch... it's probably a lot easier with a whole recipe. That's the great thing about sugar though, tomorrow I can melt it back down and try again!

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I know that the recipe said there would be about 4 lbs wasted in the recipe that calls for 10 lbs of sugar with all the end bits that don't have holes. They suggested reintroducing it into the next batch.

[John DePaula]

I tried the Hot Chocolates recipe this weekend. I thought it was fairly successful - though you can see that my hand dipping technique needs a lot of work!

[alanamoana]

john, i think the dipping looks great, nice and clean without big feet. if you're concerned with thickness, it has more to do with chocolate viscosity than anything else. the chocolates look good!

[Lior]

Your chocolates look great! Did you put a gold leaf on top? Or what is it called? I want some for my palet d'or but I don't think I can find any here. Your dipping also looks very nice in my opinion. I kinda like it when things don't look machine made, and yet look professional and not amateur-that is my goal anyway, but I still need more practice. Next week I will be in Belgium for a short course.

Edited September 26, 2007 by Lior (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Your chocolates look great! Did you put a gold leaf on top? Or what is it called? I want some for my palet d'or but I don't think I can find any here. Your dipping also looks very nice in my opinion. I kinda like it when things don't look machine made, and yet look professional  and not amateur-that is my goal anyway, but I still need more practice. Next week I will be in Belgium for a short course.

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Tell us more about the course you will be taking?

[Kerry Beal]

I tried the Hot Chocolates recipe this weekend.  I thought it was fairly successful - though you can see that my hand dipping technique needs a lot of work!

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Your dipping is still heads and tails above mine. Alana's suggestion re viscocity is bang on - try warmer or a bit of added cocoa butter.

[Serj]

I think the dipping looks good too. I was in paris for a couple of weeks this summer and was checking a lot of stuff out. Turns out even the famous french patissiers who hand dip their chocolates don't manage to get it done like it's been done by machine. To me it's that thing if you only manage to fulfill 75% of your own expectations, you are still far exceeding those of the customer...

[John DePaula]

Your chocolates look great! Did you put a gold leaf on top? Or what is it called? I want some for my palet d'or but I don't think I can find any here. Your dipping also looks very nice in my opinion. I kinda like it when things don't look machine made, and yet look professional  and not amateur-that is my goal anyway, but I still need more practice. Next week I will be in Belgium for a short course.

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Yes, please tell us a bit more about your course in Belgium.

The gold leaf I used (since the Poodle Curls didn't come out all that well) is called Edible Gold Flake. I got it at a restaurant supply store in Vancouver, BC. I'm sure you can mail order this kind of stuff but it's not cheap...

[John DePaula]

I tried the Hot Chocolates recipe this weekend.  I thought it was fairly successful - though you can see that my hand dipping technique needs a lot of work!

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Your dipping is still heads and tails above mine. Alana's suggestion re viscocity is bang on - try warmer or a bit of added cocoa butter.

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Thanks to everyone for the encouragement!

Regarding viscosity, I did add quite a bit of cocoa butter to start but was thinking that it could have used even more. It might take a while for me to develop a sense of the right amount. When I first started making chocolates, I remember a batch of white chocolate to which I had added too much cocoa butter - wasn't a pretty sight!

[alanamoana]

Your chocolates look great! Did you put a gold leaf on top? Or what is it called? I want some for my palet d'or but I don't think I can find any here. Your dipping also looks very nice in my opinion. I kinda like it when things don't look machine made, and yet look professional  and not amateur-that is my goal anyway, but I still need more practice. Next week I will be in Belgium for a short course.

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gold leaf is pretty available on-line. the stuff that comes in little booklets is the most expensive. in the jars you can get "crumbs" or something like that...much harder to apply to the top of chocolates and not as even looking. you can also get gold transfer sheets that look like a dab of gold leaf made specifically for palet d'or. of course, this isn't real gold like the leaf but just gold colored cocoa butter transfer. don't know which one would be cheaper in the long run.

[John DePaula]

Your chocolates look great! Did you put a gold leaf on top? Or what is it called? I want some for my palet d'or but I don't think I can find any here. Your dipping also looks very nice in my opinion. I kinda like it when things don't look machine made, and yet look professional  and not amateur-that is my goal anyway, but I still need more practice. Next week I will be in Belgium for a short course.

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gold leaf is pretty available on-line. the stuff that comes in little booklets is the most expensive. in the jars you can get "crumbs" or something like that...much harder to apply to the top of chocolates and not as even looking. you can also get gold transfer sheets that look like a dab of gold leaf made specifically for palet d'or. of course, this isn't real gold like the leaf but just gold colored cocoa butter transfer. don't know which one would be cheaper in the long run.

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Yes, that's true; I should have mentioned that. The stuff I used was pretty irregular. I think that either of the other two suggestions that Alana has made would work better.

[Lior]

Hi! Well I have a few minutes before a crowd comes for dinner in our little "sukkah"- for a holiday called sukkot.

My course is aT cALLEBAUT - nothing major, just to see experts do it! I was promised private attention to see how I temper and to watch over my techniques, learn a few techniques, some decorating. If I am allowed I will take photos. I plan on going to Bruges to tour and visit the chocoalte museum, as well as check out chocolatiers such as Pierre Marcolini in Brussels. Any advice or suggestions? The lovely Jozef Vanelven of Mo d'Art will actually come to Wieze to pick me up and take me to the factory for a tour, and I will buy two melters and a bunch of animal shaped moulds, and then back home to this crazy country. A breather will be just great!! Jozef will arrange an internship for me next fall at a small chocolatier nearby them for 2 or three weeks. I will have to learn some Flemish... Anyone interested in joining me??

[Kerry Beal]

Hi! Well I have a few minutes before a crowd comes for dinner in our little "sukkah"-  for a holiday called sukkot.

My course is aT cALLEBAUT - nothing major, just to see experts do it! I was promised private attention to see how I temper and to watch over my techniques, learn a few techniques, some decorating. If I am allowed I will take photos. I plan on going to Bruges to tour and visit the chocoalte museum, as well as check out chocolatiers such as Pierre Marcolini in Brussels. Any advice or suggestions? The lovely Jozef Vanelven of Mo d'Art will actually come to Wieze to pick me up and take me to the factory for a tour, and I will buy two melters and a bunch of animal shaped moulds, and then back home to this crazy country. A breather will be just great!! Jozef will arrange an internship for me next fall at a small chocolatier nearby them for 2 or three weeks. I will have to learn some Flemish... Anyone interested in joining me??

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Sure wish I could go. I seem to recall the last time I looked for shops in Belgium I wanted to try Mary's chocolates.

There are few threads on favorite belgian chocolatiers somewhere on eG.

Here's one

Another