Forum Activity for @Ruth Atkinson Kendrick

I haven't had that problem and I freeze chocolate on occasion. Call Thalia in the lab at Guittard. She can answer any question you have.

Meltaways need to be tempered. You may have lucked out in the past. Combine tempered chocolate and cooled coconut oil. stir in peanut butter and place over a bowl of ice. Keep stirring until mixture thickens. Pour into frame. That should get the correct crystals forming. You can always remelt the grainy batch and retemper.

There is a difference between adding cocoa butter and adding Mycryo. With Mycryo you are adding beta crystals, not just cocoa butter. Of course the cocoa butter is the beta 5 crystals, but just plain cocoa butter isn't the same thing.

What did you do with the tempered chocolate? Enrobe something, or just leave in the bowl? If it was all left in the bowl, you would get streaking from the large mass of chocolate and the latent heat of crystallization. If the streaking is on an enrobed piece, the chocolate wasn't truly in temper, or the room was too warm.

What do you plan to make with it? Is viscosity a factor?

Are the whole or cut? Fresh?

If you use coconut oil instead of cream, you will end up with a melt away, not a truffle. Still tastes good, but not a truffle.

I think you should concentrate on what is selling. Sounds like you know what you should do:)

I assume you have called Hilliard? They have always been very helpful to me. Will they let you send it in?

4 to 1 ratio for dark chocolate is overkill. 2 to 1 is more realistic. Are you adding other ingredients? What is the temp of your ganache? Putting in fridge temporarily helps, but it will soften more when you bring it to room temp. Try to not get your chocolate out of temper and it will set up nicely at room temp. White chocolate is a bit trickier. 3 or 4 to 1 is normal. I start with melted white chocolate and pour the cream over it at about 115F. What is the cocoa butter content of your chocolate? It is the CB that sets the ganache.

It takes a bit of time to build up a customer base. Did you have customers before moving? Do they know where to find you? Are you sampling? Is the rest of the store at the same price point as you? Is the rest of the store competing with you? Can you use the window? Can you make something with an aroma to draw customers to you?

I took two courses in Montreal. I thought they were great. This was before they had the Chicago location.

Brush, shake any foreign material off before sending down the belt.

Is a Thermoblend the same as a Thermomix? If so, it works beautifully.

There are so many ways to answer your questions. I would order your molds on line after you figure out what you want. As to chocolate, again, depends on a lot of factors. The only chocolate that Gygi carries that I would consider is Callebaut. Bakers C&C carries a lot more options. We can talk in April.

Thanks, yes, I have Chocolot:). To register call 801.393.2230. Be sure and let me know who you are.

Hi Arianna, I teach classes in Salt Lake, Ogden and Logan. My next class is scheduled at Love to Cook in Ogden, April 12. Not sure what I will be teaching, but it will involve chocolate:). Other than that, I will be teaching at Bakers C&C, Gygi's and Love To Cook in Logan, in the Fall. Come to the Natural History Museum on March 22-23 and meet many of us local chocolatiers at the Chocolate Festival.

Are you looking at the water temp or the chocolate temp? On the Savage, it takes a bit of practice. I don't drop the temp, but rather seed. I can hold temper for at least a day. I love my machines, but it does take a while to learn how to use them.

You can get the product tested at most State Agriculture Colleges, or buy your own meter. It isn't a matter of water in the recipe, but available moisture for the bacteria and mold to live on.

Get the water activity checked, then you will know.

There are two different type of converters. One is cheaper and VERY loud and puts out a lot of heat. Can't remember much more, but do your research before buying.

You can buy natural colored cocoa butter. I do both molded and enrobed pieces. With whipped ganache, don't you have a short shelf life?

My experience has been that no matter how careful you are, there will always be imperfections. That is what photoshop is for:)

I don't think you can get it smooth with a food processor. Definitely not at Robot Coupe. They only have a 5 minute duty cycle, not nearly enough time to get it smooth. There is specialty equipment for this.

Chef Rubber is certainly not a super market. Paul specializes in specialty items for the pastry/chocolatier market. I have never found any of his products to be less than top quality. Chef Rubber does not make the products, but distribute them is small enough quantities that yu are able to buy

Yes, it is the Pawkit. I bought it on Ebay for $500. It is accurate +/- .02. I would also taste the sample. Taste can tell you a lot. Just curious, what happens after 4-6 weeks? Do they mold?

The good news is you probably won't kill anyone with "old" chocolates I have a water activity meter from Decagon that gives me all kinds of confidence. If you are using GMP, and good formulas you should be ok. Mold is the obvious thing to look for. If you are careful, you should be able to get 6-8 weeks shelf-life. It isn't a matter of spoiling, but of the flavor fading or getting fat migration. Seriously, put some samples on a shelf and test/taste them every week to see what is happening to them. Our Land Grant College will test your ganache for you for a minimal fee. Make a bunch and take it to them for testing. Each test takes about 10 minutes. I did that until I got my own meter. You can also freeze your chocolates-Greweling explains the procedure. Good luck.

Please post it here. Others would like to learn from it.

I also use EGuittard. I take the 55 or 61 to 118, 38 or 41 to 115 and the 31 or 35 to about 112. If it is "new" chocolate and not been used, I might not take it that high, but with bad crystals, you need to.

Depending on which chocolate, I would probably take it to at least 118 if it has bad crystals. That way, you will be sure and melt them all out.

As a consumer, I put everything on a credit card because 1-It is easier, 2-I can track where I spend my money, 3-I get cash back at the end of the year (a percentage of all charges). I rarely carry much cash. I also pay off my card each month so I don't have any fees. I think most people assume the fees are built into the price. As a business owner, I have to accept credit cards. Online sales would be non-existent (I know, you don't do that). Also, at pop-up markets, which I rarely do, they are a necessity. Square is perfect, fees are low, and it is on your smart phone or iPad. Bottom line--I vote for B.

Why don't you call the lab at Guittard? They are very helpful and can answer your questions. Guittard also sells cocoa butter. They might suggest you use a different chocolate than Ramona.

Talk to your people at Oregon State. You have to be concerned with the water activity and possibly using a small amount of preservative. If you pack at 180 degrees and have your aw low enough, you SHOULD be ok. Wouldn't want that liability without the experts advice.

Andy, I used to use the same brushes, but have recently changed. I'm sure you are making sure the air hole in the lid is open? I found the same situation as you-I even started to put the "bad" lids aside so I wouldn't mix them up. Have you adjusted the nozzle on the lid?

I recently bought a Badger 175 and I'm much happier with it. I think all airbrushes come with their challenges--you just have to figure out which ones bother you the least:-). I have found that if there is even a tiny amount of butter is not melted, it will clog. I tend to run my butter a bit warm to make sure it is melted. I don't worry too much about temper-it seems to temper when sprayed. The new brush also has less atomized spray so I am not breathing it or losing extra product.

Forget the chipper and use a large hammer!

At what pressure are you running?

Just use a funnel with a stick. Lift the stick to allow the caramel to run out. Stop the flow by pushing the stick down. You can also just use a spoon, but that takes a very long time.

You might want to read this article. http://www.lecitina.it/pdf/Lecithins%20in%20the%20Chocolate%20and%20Confectionery%20Industry.pdf

Chef Rubber is my goto.

Just because you were asked, doesn't mean you should do it. If it is too warm for chocolate, it might not be a good market for you. Even if you can keep the chocolates cool enough to sell, your customers still need to get them home safely.