kitchen aide panning machine

hi folks.

I am wondering if the kitchen aide panning attachment is worth the 575 they want for it ?

I understand that it is not made by kitchenaide, but by a French company, and I would like to make sure that it will work on my model, and make large enough batches that it is cost effective to spend the money on the equipemt and labor,

also I have never used a panning machine before, i'd ike to hear people;s experiences.

thanks.

updated by @matt-carter: 04/11/15 01:02:54AM

Ive got this one ... http://www.dr.ca/confectionery-coating-pan-attachment.html Its abou $75 cheaper. Use it all the time and it works well. Its cost effective if you are going to regularly sell panned items. Panning is a blend of art and science. The more you can control your environment the better. Takes some practice and time to figure out what makes it work, what doesnt work. Its not something you can just put on your machine and go. But the more you do it, the more you develop a feel/intuition for what works and doesn't work.

Must agree with what Jeff has to say about panning. Really is something you need to have someone show you tips and tricks for and spend a lot of time getting right. Environment is incredibly important to the finished product so being in a humidity/temperature controlled room is very important.

thanks for the reply.

that looks like the same machine, but the best price I have seen so far.

from what I understand, you put in your coffee beans or nuts, and slowly pour in tempered chocolate as it turns?

here is a good conversation that I found on the topic. **

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/121548-panning/

apparantly it does take a lot of temp control, and it seems that each batch takes a considerable amount of time.

It is hard to imagine that much investment in equipment and labor paying off.

** Jeff, I just notice that you are involved in that conversation, and that you know MIchael Recchiuti. That's great!

AsI was starting out, I was told by a mutual friend of mine and MIchael's that I should look him up, so I went to his shop at the Fisherman's Terminal and of course I was very impressed. Love what he does.

I did not get to meet him though.

Yup - all about the temperature control. I've got the DeBuyer panner that goes on the Kitchen Aid and also a slightly larger pilot pan. In the demo linked to above on eGullet I use dry ice to cool the pan, but I've bought a dedicated air conditioner that I'm waiting for my hubby to adapt so I can blow cold air into the pan. Using the warm exhaust from the air conditioner will probably work as a heat source for the polishing phase of the panning.


--
www.eztemper.com

www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

we also have a hair dryer in the shop, maybe that will work for heating

to polish... can we achieve shine with my regular couverture?

You can - it's just a matter of heating until the couverature is 'plastic' then chilling to shine.


--
www.eztemper.com

www.thechocolatedoctor.ca