I NEED HELP!

Hello everyone!!!

I started my chocolate making business. I bought the tempering machine, the polycarbonate molds and I have a great chocolate to work on...but i have a lot of questions and Im hoping you all can help me.

Here is the list of questions:

1. Is there a specific brand of chocolate for tempering that taste similar to godiva style chocolate that you recommend?

2. The garnache that Im making is made of chocolate,cream and butter and this is my filling for my molded chocolates, ofcourse I add all the ingredients to make the different flavours that we offer. The question is how long do you guys think the garnache lasts if not in refrigeration. The reason I ask this is because I do not own a chocolate boutique yet, so my chocolae boxes will be in different stands at different selling points. Its the shelf life Im concerned of, since the garnache is made of cream and butter, they can get easily ruined. thoughts and advice on that? Do you have a specific recipe of garnache that has a long shelf life? I heared that the more creamy it is the less shelf life it has, since it contains a lot of creme...I was hoping to find a recipe that is creamy enough and still have long shelf life since it will not be in a refrigerated area.

so sorry for the details, but im really hoping to get some advice on all of this..any aditional info you think is usedful to me please dont hesitate to let me know.

thanx.

Christine,

I'm not an expert on molded chocolates but I hope I can be of assistance:

1. I believe that Godiva doesn't manufacture its own chocolate, they probably buy it from Callebaut, but others can confirm. Finding a similar or better brand of chocolate shouldn't be hard at all. Try getting several brands from a specialized online store like Chocosphere.com and see what works best.

2. The ganache shelf life depends on the amount of cream and the storage conditions. I would strongly suggest getting yourself a copy, or finding in a library the books by Jean Pierre Wybauw ( v1 ) ( v2 - ganache) ( v3 - extending shelf life) as well as Chocolates and Confections by Peter Grewling. All are very good books, well worth the money. They explain the concepts of water activity (Aw) in confections and how to increase shelf life by the addition of glucose, butter. They have great recipes but different styles. In my opinion the Peter Grewling book is easier to understand, better organized and better value for the money.

Good luck!

Felipe

[Editor notes: added links to books]

Thank you so very much!!!! all the info was so helpful...I will look up those books and buy them....

Really thanx for the advice.

Havea great day,

Christine.

In Peter Grewling's book he writes about the possibility of freezing chocolate bon bons. That is a possibility that is worth exploring. Good luck!

i hope you do boil the cream but with just a cream and butter i would risk only 2 maybe 3 weeks

yes I certainly boil the cream (200 ml of heavy cream,50 g of butter and then i add the chocolate).

But this ganache is not creamy at all as you can see its more chocolate based that cream and butter based. How long do you think this would last in the filled and sealed chocolate? is there any advice you have on a different ganache that has a longer shelf life and at the same time has more shelf life.

thanx.

to balance the sugars and to avoid drying etc you would need to use also inverted sugar, sorbitol and glucose. but the recipes are very different so to understand you need to get into it and know the function of those ingredients and their characteristics.

cheers.

rene

I have insight into question 2:

A normal cream/butter/chocolate ganache will last a maximum of ~3 weeks unrefrigerated. With the addition of invert sugar you can prolong that to ~6 weeks. Any longer than that and you need to start using preservatives (sodium benzoate et al) or alcohol. Alcohol introduces a whole new regulatory quagmire.

Here's a basic dark ganache for slabbing:

720 grams dark (60-70% cacao) chocolate, melted

580 grams cream, boiling or close to it

105 grams invert sugar

155 grams pasteurized butter at room temp

Hope this helps.