Forum Activity for @Robyn Wood

Filling Multiple Molds

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I've done it a lot. If I'm working with one type of chocolate (milk or white especially, since I don't run those as much), I'll try to get as many molds lined as possible. After they have set, I wrap each one in plastic wrap to keep out dust, and store them in bins I use for the molds. I've had no trouble with them at all. And, I don't have a problem backing the dark chocolate with milk or vice versa. It saves time and who's gonna notice a thin layer on the bottom?

Troubleshooting the Chocolate on Butter Toffee

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

You know, with all the problems you guys are having, I hate to say this. But, I've never had this issue. I've made toffee two ways. One, I scatter half the amount of chopped chocolate and nuts on a silpat. Pour the toffee over as evenly as I can without spreading. Then scatter the other half over that. Let set and break into pieces.

The second way: Pour the toffee in a thin layer on a silpat and let harden. I usually have my tempering machine working while making the toffee. I spread a thin layer of chocolate on one side, then top immediately with chopped nuts. After setting up, I flip it over and repeat. I then break into pieces. I don't usually have a lot of oil form on the top. I have occasionally brush with cocoa powder, but have found it's not necessary.
None of this helps I'm sure, I just can't think of anything that is causing such problems.

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I've only bought the one pack of sheets and those were from Tomric. I'm not doing a lot of chocolates right now, so I haven't had the need to buy anymore. I've had good luck with them, and the Pacifique logo is just printed then airbrushed.

This link has sheets, but it doesn't give any details on ingredients. Bookmarked this site long ago as something to look in to, but they are more expensive.

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I mostly use inserts that come in boxes that I ordered from Chocolat Chocolat in Montreal. I also use some from Nashville Wraps. They seem to fit in most I have.

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

The top photo has white cocoa butter airbrushed over the printed image. The second photo has a thin layer of white chocolate that I simply piped in the mold over the image. Let that set and molded with dark chocolate.

Airbrushing with something white is really the only way to get the true colors to show up on dark chocolate. I did the white chocolate on the picture of my cat when I was first experimenting with the whole set up and it worked better for her blonde coloring.

TRANSFER SHEET CRISIS! Wedding is in 3 weeks! Im doomed...

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

The pre-made sheets that are clear are made with cocoa butter, not any kind of ink. Edible ink printers only print with food coloring. They are not going to be the same as the commercially available ones.

If they are "white looking" it is because they are made so that they will absorb the ink, therefore allowing it to adhere to the chocolate. If you try to print on acetate, which is clear, the ink will just smear.

Depending on where the sheets came from , they are probably covered with a mixture of cocoa butter, gelatin or something else.

Also, if you are trying to use the ones you print on dark chocolate, they are not going to show up. You need to either spray the back of the transfer sheet after printing with white cocoa butter, or put a thin layer of white chocolate in the mold before the dark so it has a light background.

There is nothing available for a printer that will make sheets like the ones you buy from Chef Rubber. As long as the chocolate is in temper (should be at the higher end) there will be shine.

These are some of the ones I've done using the white background.

And this one is with a thin layer of white chocolate

Help with blank transfer sheets for printing on chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

It's been a while since I bought them, and I may be wrong, but what I can remember is that they are coated with a mixture of cocoa butter, gelatin, maybe some type of egg white? I can't find the info I had, but it's supposed to be a mixture of ingredients.

My thought is that since the sheets you are using don't contain cocoa butter or other fat, it doesn't melt into the chocolate when it's applied. So, it's not adhering.

Help with blank transfer sheets for printing on chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I purchased my sheets from Tomric. I have never had any problems with the sheets, but have seen comments from others stating that they had gotten a bad batch, but others were fine.

The last inks I bought were from www.photofrost.com . I've had good luck with them. There is also www.tastyfotoart.com .

The main thing I've noticed is that the chocolate has to be at the high end of the temper range so that it is warm enough to have the image adhere.

I just print normally, using the best print option. I allow the sheets to dry about 1/2 hour, and mold as usual. I'm thinking unless you just got a bad batch of sheets, it's the chocolate that's causing you problems.

Photography

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I attempted some myself, and while they looked OK, I'm not a photographer. I had a professional take mine. Even though he wasn't a food photographer, he has been doing it more because he works for the chef I work for.

Here are a few he did for me. He used a light box he had designed. While shine is good, I didn't want too much reflection on them, so his lighting was muted.

Need an Internship....Any suggestions??

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Check craigslist for the SF Bay Area. I saw a couple of jobs in SF and Emeryville for chocolate assistants.

Fondant creamer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I guess it depends on the amount, but I just put it in a kitchen-aid bowl with the paddle attachment.

Transfers on White Chocolate?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

Well, it's possible. I don't do that style of chocolates, so I can't offer much. I do know when I did mess around with trying that, I didn't leave the transfers on long enough, and they didn't adhere. You may just have to dip and get the transfer on as soon as you set it down, and leave them on overnight. I just feel this method is too time consuming, and dipping is my least favorite part anyway.

Transfers on White Chocolate?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

Never had any problems with white chocolate and transfers. I use the chocolate at 88 degrees. I generally use either El Rey or EGuittard.

These two are the usual ones I make, and never had a flop.

How long do you leave them before unmolding? It helps if you can leave them overnight, even though I have rushed them and they still worked.

Dipping Chocolates

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

Adding water to chocolate is going to make it seize, and then it is useless.

You may just have to try different chocolates to test viscosity, they are all different. I personally don't want my chocolate thick for dipping. I prefer a more fluid chocolate so the dipped items look better.

melting/tempering white chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

It may be the chocolate you are using. Some of the cheaper ones never get passed being a big clump. I've tried a few and just ended up throwing them out because it never melted completely.

I have found that Valrhona, El Rey and EGuittard seem to be pretty fluid. Some complain they are too fluid, but I prefer that. I've had no trouble enrobing or molding with these.

The Perfect Chocolate Kitchen ...

Posted in: Opinion

A temperature controlled work environment is the first thing that comes to mind. Most kitchens are hot and extremely difficult to work with chocolate in. I work in a catering kitchen where I do other work besides my own chocolate stuff. If the line and ovens are all going, I have to plan my chocolate days for when it's not going full blast. Or, if we open the doors, it's like a wind tunnel with the ocean air blasting through. We are a block from the ocean, so dampness can be an issue as well.

I used to work for a large caterer that was in a warehouse. We hand tempered chocolate for everything and some days it was too warm to get the chocolate to cool down enough, even on marble.

A private country club in my area is remodeling their kitchen and are including a "chocolate room". Would be my dream .

Help with transfer sheets please (:

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

After placing the sheet on the chocolate, I use a clean dipping fork and lightly press the top to make sure it's fully on there. I would try leaving them on overnight. They should look like they are letting go on their on before taking them off. If your chocolate is in temper, you shouldn't have any trouble.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I don't do anything special or different than when using the white cocoa butter for anything else. I warm in in the microwave in bursts until it's fluid enough to use with the airbrush. Never checked the temp, but it should be around 90 degrees. I have heard from some that they get it hotter than that because the air brush will "temper" it as it goes through sprayer. Has never worked for me that way. If it's too hot, I usually loose a lot of pieces. After the printed sheet has dried, I just spray over it in a even layer, and let it set until dry. Then mold as usual. I have had some chipping on corners, but haven't figured out what causes it. It's really random, and it hasn't happened much.

I use the Badger 260 sprayer on my compressor just FYI.

Probably not a lot of help, but when I first started playing around with this whole thing, I just jumped in and figured it out as I went.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I don't see how the ink cartridges can be filled with cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is solid and needs to warmed to work with. I don't know of a heated printer. All the edible ink cartridges I've used are filled with the same ink used for cake decorating. As long as the sheets are treated to absorb, it works.

As far as the edges coming out ragged, I've had some issue with that. Haven't found a solid solution for it. It only happens randomly to me, but I think the cocoa butter just wasn't the best temperature when applied. Or the molds need to set longer before unmolding.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I've heard other issues with the sheets, which could have just been the batch. I still have the first original batch I ordered, so I don't know if another one would give me problems.

I don't have any secret trick, it's all been hit or miss when I first started using these. I just spray the cocoa butter the same for anything else I do.

I have used them without the cocoa butter and they worked, but I felt the image wasn't as bright as with the white. This shows without, but the logo is white, and this is way is too yellow from the white chocolate.

But, this photo is of my cat, and the white chocolate works better than white cocoa butter because it's her blond color:

Since Tomric only sells these and are not the maker, I don't know if any info from Deco in the UK or Chocolate World in Belgium would be better. They are the ones that developed it. I was going to order the sheets from them until I found that Tomric sold them.

I've never had any trouble with the printer clogging. www.tastyfotoart.com is the other place I ordered ink from. I liked them better because the came with the chips that the Canon printers have, and I didn't have to move chips between cartridges.

I can still have problems occasionally, but it's mostly been from the cocoa butter not being the right temp or something.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

Yeah, unfortunately, printers don't print in white. I tried molding with white chocolate, and for some things it works without the white. I used a photo of my cat, and molded with a layer of white chocolate behind the photo. It worked better because she's Siamese and the more golden color looked more like her coloring. I did it with white cocoa butter and she was washed out. So, it just depends on the image.

And Jackie, you can just brush a thin layer of cocoa butter on the sheet with a brush or sponge as long as the printed image is dry. I did that for a more streaked appearance on a logo I did for Infiniti (don't have a photo unfortunately). It's not as solid as the photo above though.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

No, not yet. I'm not doing a lot of chocolate right now, and haven't gotten around to it. Another thing on the list.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I have it and use if for logos and photos. I chose to get a printer on my own, and then ordered the software USB. I ordered the sheets and USB from Tomric.

I have a Canon MP620 and ordered edible ink cartridges from KopyKake and another place I can't remember the name of.

It works well, but the software could be better. Better editing and sizing options would be helpful. I have one scalloped round mold that the software doesn't have an option for. So, I choose the rectangle and it lines up almost perfect with it.

This is a logo from the caterer I work for. I always airbrush over the image with white cocoa butter to keep the colors true and to have it show up on dark chocolate.

I hope down the line the have some updates to the software, but I like using it.

Untempered chocolate....what must I do?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

No, just temper what you need. There's no reason to temper all the chocolate, and then re-do it. I have all kinds of bloomed chocolate, and I just temper as needed.

Cocoa Butter Problem

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

I've had some of the same problems, mostly with my red colors (which I've heard happens a lot.)Yesterday I tried a few things differently. El Rey says to bring the dark chocolate only to 108. My Rev Delta machine is preset at the temp as well. I've always felt that was too low. When I use to hand temper large amounts of El Rey, I always brought it up to at least 115. So, I reset the machine to melt to 115, and the temper was much better. Set extremely fast, and had great shine. I also heated my cocoa butters higher than I normally have (sorry, didn't check the temp), and had much better luck with airbrushing. I haven't gotten to the molds with the red yet, but they are already releasing, so I hope there won't be as many duds this time. It's weird, some molds released perfectly, and some had duds here and there. Most of those had only a small spot that stuck, so that is still frustrating.

Custom Boxes

Posted in: Classifieds F/S or Wanted

I can't say what it would cost, but most places that do high end custom boxes have a high minimum. The places I checked into had a 1000 piece minimum on each size. I've looked everywhere, and have had no luck finding a company that will do small quantities. You may have better luck with custom printing on a stock box. Nashville Wraps has a better selection, and they do custom printing and labels.

Colored Cocoa Butters from ChefRubber

Posted in: Opinion

I've only used the Chef Rubber colors so can't give an opinion on others. But, I did have a problem with the red colors for a while. Every time I used it, lost 90% of the molded chocolates. Very frustrating to say the least. I don't know if the batch was bad, but I tried several things to get it to work with no luck.

A couple of months ago, I ordered two new bottles of red and they have worked great.

I ordered some new colors and they were a little strange. They seemed thinner, and had a really strong cocoa fragrance. All the original bottles I ordered just had kind of a neutral smell. They have worked OK, so can't really complain.

It does take a lot of trial and error with this stuff. I've found that if they are overheated, it will mess it up. Just my experience. I melt them in the microwave on medium and shake the bottles a lot.

Chef Rubber is great for a lot of items, but they are a little overpriced on molds I've noticed.

Chocolate Thermometers

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

When I first started learning to temper, I bought one of the glass chocolate thermometers, and it helped me greatly. Other people were using a regular metal thermometer, and I could never catch it before it got to hot. With the one specifically made for chocolate, I could see exactly where the temperature was, and wouldn't over heat it. I had to temper 30# at a time back then, and and it made a huge difference. Never used the infrared. I just use my machine now

chocolate tempering machines

Posted in: Opinion

Hi Ian,I would love to try the holey baffle. I have the Delta, and it's been a great machine. I was surprised after hearing the complaints about noise on the smaller models, this one is extremely quiet.Thanks so much.Robyn