New to chocolates, ganache advice

Hi,

I have stumbled into a chocolate business and now I am madly researching trying to learn as much as I can. I need a lot of advice lol but I will to only ask one at a time :)

My first question is about ganache. I want to make truffles that will last a minimum of one month at room temperature. My understanding is that a standard cream ganache will only last 3 weeks which is not quite long enough for me. I have heard (and read on here) a few different ways to extend this so I want to experiment. So dumb question... but how do I know if it worked (short of eating the chocolates and seeing if I get sick?) Will it separate or something once it is bad?

I will be selling the chocolates and I want to be sure that I am giving people something that is safe for them.

Thanks :)
Heather

Time and experience are the best teachers and they cannot be had overnight.

There is no "Magic pill" to create 1 month shelf life. How you choose & formulate your recipes, have the skill and equipment investment to make them, control your working environment and store your product, will ultimately bear on the shelf life.

Most of us test our recipes which can take weeks. Ecole Chocolat offers a great course on this subject if you need more theory.

Thanks Melanie. I do realize that it will take some time and experimentation to get it right for me. I am hoping to just start making small batches of truffles in different ways (butter ganache, cream heated up to different temps etc) and see what happens. I do want to make sure that I know what I am doing before I sell the truffles and I have considered the courses at Ecole Chocolat. What I am hoping for is some guidance on what to look for when trying -- what happens when a truffle goes bad? Does the cream curdle? Does the liquid breakdown the chocolate?

I would also be interested in finding an answer to this question. Sorry to jump on this post but I currently make truffles to sell but they only have a shelf life of 7 days because of the cream content but I am having many customers ask for a longer shelf life & I am yet to find an answer. Would be extremely interested if anyone has any help?

I've heard wonderful things about this book http://www.amazon.com/Fine-Chocolates-Great-Experience-Extending/dp/9020990209/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352238527&sr=8-1&keywords=fine+chocolates+3

I'm still not able to get it, but want to