Forum Activity for @Klassy

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

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

So it's been a while since I posted a question here (which is usually a good thing!), but I'm in a bad spot right now. I will explain.

So I have been using standard chocolate transfer sheets I buy from chefrubber.com (great site). The sheets are completely translucent like an overhead projector sheet. They are printed on with the cocoa butter print ink and other than that there is nothing on the sheet.

I decided to buy my own edible ink printer and print my own for when I do weddings because it costs too much to order them and they make me buy 100 times more than I need.

Here is the problem; the 'Blank transfer sheets' have this matte looking layer (not clear at all, its white) that is made out of like corn starch or something. THIS ISNT WHAT I WANTED! I talked on the phone with the lady for like 10 minutes trying to explain to her that I wanted them to be like the ones I get on cheffrubber that are COMPLETELY clear and have the design printed onto it like that.

The ones that I got leave weird texture marks on the chocolate and they dont transfer very well, and the color.... the color is horrendous! They look so dull! I am used to the ones ive been using that are so bright and vibrant.

Take a look at the pics on my site (klassychocolates.com) and see if you know what Im talking about.

I have to make a "J&J" logo in lavender by the end of the month and I was really hoping this printer thing would work.

Thank you so much in advance for any assistance you can provide. Anything you can offer will not only help me, but will help hundreds of others when they search the same topic because this site is the best one out there and always comes up first.

Thanks!

Ryan

updated by @Klassy: 04/14/15 04:55:23PM

Help with transfer sheets please (:

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

Here are a few more photos too

Help with transfer sheets please (:

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

Here are me before and after! Thanks again everyone, you can see from the pictures how much you helped. Now I can do the photos for my website.

Help with transfer sheets please (:

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

You ladies rock! Thank you so much! I guess I was just being impatient because I was excited to see the new designs lol. I will make a new batch today and leave them till tomorrow. And it makes sense that it takes 24 hours to fully set, which explains why my chocolates always taste SO much better after a day or two. I am trying to do all the photos for my website this weekend, so after I get these all ready I will upload a few so you can see how much your advice helps! Ill do a 'before advice' and 'after advice' shot lol.

Thanks!

Help with transfer sheets please (:

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

So here I am again, asking for help from the experts. (I come back because I always get such great advice from everyone!)

So, I think I got the hang of tempering in the Mol d'art melter, and now as usual, I have anotherdilemma. I really would like to use transfer sheets on the top of my truffles and have already got 40 sheets at home to use. I tried them out today, but I had ONE truffle turn out looking good out of 30! The first one I did looked great and the rest didnt take the image. Its just a design, and I got the sheets from chefrubber.com. I had the chocolate at about 89-90 degrees f, but the image only transfers partially. There are a few little parts that look good but overall the truffle looks terrible. I tried a few things. I tried putting the little transfer sheet square on the truffle faster, I tried waiting a second then putting it on, I tried letting them sit longer, and also tried taking them off sooner. I tried pulling it off slowly, and tried quickly too. I tried putting them on then lightly using a blow dryer to heat the sheet (worked a tad bit better, but still looked terrible) and I also tried heating the sheet before putting it on the truffle. That worked a little bit too, but still looked pretty bad.

It is the first time I have used these. Is there something Im doing wrong? If anyone has any advice that would make these things look good and transfer every single line from the sheet to the truffle I would appreciate it a lot. I would LOVE to use these sheets because I really like the flat top truffle look with a colorful design on it. It just looks so awesome!

Thanks so much in advance everyone! Also, have a good weekend!!!

Ryan

updated by @Klassy: 04/20/15 07:08:00PM

Need help with Jordanian flavor ideas!

Posted in: Opinion

So, I have been starting my chocolate business very slowly (but surely). I have not even finished my packaging designs yet, but I just got a special order for 3 dozen chocolates! lol


Here is the story:

I am active duty in the Army Guard for Colorado. (kindof a cross between National Guard and Active Duty. I work full time.) Anyways, the Colorado Guard has a close relationship with the country of Jordan and they are going to be here for a conference.

The General of Colorado just happened to be in my office today (very rare) and I just HAPPENED to bring a tray of truffles I made in today. She tried them, she loved them, and she wants 3 dozen of them for this conference. (im pretty excited, its my first 'order'!!!)

So, I am going to donate them to the conference instead of charging them (seems like the right thing to do).



Here is the question:

Does anyone know anything about Jordanian food/chocolate/treats/spices or anything like that? I would REALLY like to make something creative that can somehow represent their culture. If there is a spice or inclusion or anything that you think would compliment the Jordanian pallate, I would love to use it. The plan is a standard milk or dark chocolate/heavy cream ganache dipped in either milk or dark Cacao-Barry couveture.


Any suggestions? And thanks in advance. Everyone on these forums is so creative and helpful all the time!
updated by @Klassy: 04/11/15 09:01:05PM

New logo

Posted in: News & New Product Press

Yeah I have been working on a logo as well, and am trying to stay clear of the fancy script. Seems too cliche these days.

New logo

Posted in: News & New Product Press

That is pretty awesome. Very simple, yet powerful. 2 thumbs up. Your from Iceland right? If I remember correctly.

Need "ganache" help quick!

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

I have another question for the experts: See's Candies. They use real heavy cream, fresh fruits, and all this other stuff that should go bad pretty fast. I was under the impression that if I used these things in my truffles and packaged them, they would have to be eaten within like 2 or 3 days! How is it that See's Candies can use these ingredients, package them, and put them on a shelf at a store for weeks and weeks!?? Then someone buys them and may have them for a few more weeks. I would LOVE to use these things. Is it even possible?

Need "ganache" help quick!

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

Wow, the amount of help and advice that I have received here is unbelievable! I couldn't thank you all enough! I will be trying all these things throughout the week (I still have 55 hrs a week of duty in the Army), so it may take me a while to try all these out at home, but once I figure out what worked, I will post back here to let everyone know so if someone else searches this issue later, they will have whatever worked for me.

Thanks again so much everyone!!!

Need "ganache" help quick!

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

Thank you Lana, Clay and Sebastian for your responses. I am going for a 4-6 month shelf life, or longer if possible, unless that is unrealistic. And you were right about the mixing, I did use a wooden spoon in a bowl. I will try blending it with the canola oil better, and then let it sit at room temp till it cools. I was being impatient by using the freezer lol. Also, I will be enrobing them in dark chocolate (Cacao Barry Extra Bitter Guayadill, Tempered), so they will be enclosed. Also, I will try the coconut oil that you recommend. The only reason that I chose canola was because thats what I saw it on so many ingredients lists for similar products.

So another question; since there is no water in my recipe (just melted chocolate and oil), is there really any emulsification going on? What exactly am I making here, just a creamier chocolate center? Im not sure what to call it.

Need "ganache" help quick!

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

So I have 1 day to figure this out! I am trying a different method of making truffles. I need my truffles to have a long shelf life so I can package them and sell them in stores without refrigeration. So instead of heavy cream, I am using Canola Oil. The only reason I switched to oil is because when I look at truffles sold on the shelf (like Lindt's Lindor Truffles), they dont have cream in them, they have some sort of vegetable oil. The problem is I just made 2 test batches and it was perfect when it was cold/cool, but when it hit room temp, it got super grainy! It was so smooth, just like the center of those Lindt Truffles, like a super smooth creamy chocolate "ganache like" center. (I realize its not a TRUE ganache, but I dont know what else to call it lol). But after it hits room temp, it feels like I dumped a cup up sugar in there. Is this a temperature problem? Is it something to do with the emulsification? Do I need to temper it or something?

The way I made them was:

Melted the Guittard Chocolate (12 ounces) in microwave.

Added 1/3 cup canola oil for one batch, 1/2 cup for the second (as a test)

Mixed well.

Put in freezer for maybe 5 minutes.

Moved to fridge.

Took it all out when it was firm.

Then when I would take a little spoon full, it was super smooth and pretty good! But after 20 minutes of sitting out, it was the worst "ganache" ive ever had.

Im pretty new to this (chocolate), but really love working with this stuff. I want to get good at it so bad, but cant afford to go to school right now. Does anyone know what Im doing wrong here?

Possible solutions that I can think of:

I have some Soy Lecitin... Should I put some of that in the mix?

Should I let it set at a different temp? Maybe for a day instead of 20 min?

Too much/too little oil?

Maybe some butter?

Temper it? (I have a Rev2 machine, and a Mol de art melter (6kg, havent used it yet)

Ask the pros? (:

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I wont forget it either!

Thanks!

Ryan

updated by @Klassy: 04/12/15 02:05:36AM

Need help with an idea.

Posted in: Opinion

Thats a really great idea. Sounds delicious!

Need help with an idea.

Posted in: Opinion

So they were saying that the country (which had 13 colonies at the beginning) was built as strong as the pyramids which seem to last forever, and that america would last forever, and still grow to the top, under God's supervision (the eye on top).

Need help with an idea.

Posted in: Opinion

The great seal with the pyramid on it was not designed by masons. There was one mason on the committee of 14 (Franklin), but he didnt have much influence on the final design, just the first rejected designs.

There are a few lodges in the country that have tried to use this symbol for their lodge logo and what not, but that is very far and few between and is only recent. The dollar bill was designed LONG before these few lodges decided to use it. Also, there are millions of masons around the world, but I bet that you wont find any lodges in other countries using that symbol, because its a symbol specifically designed by the united states, so freemasons in other countries wouldnt adopt that symbol.

The pyramid on the dollar has 13 steps, to represent the 13 original american colonies, and the top was not finished because the country was still supposed to grow (which it has since, quite a bit lol) and the eye is to mean God's watching over the american people. the numbers at the bottom equal 1776, when our country was "born" and thats it. The pyramids have been admired by pretty much every nation of the world since they were built due to their strength and durability, and they will continue to be symbols for many cultures to come.

However!!!... all things are always open to speculation (:

Need help with an idea.

Posted in: Opinion

Awe man I just had a huge post in here and I went to add something to it and accidently deleted it!!! Did you get a chance to read it? If not, I will retype the short and sweet version:

I was wondering if you had already started the pyramid work, because the pyramid is not actually a symbol in freemasonry. I have been a mason for a while and am very involved in masonic work, and we dont use the pyramid in any of our stuff. This is just a myth (usually created by some crazy conspiracy site) that has been hyped up by all these TV specials about masons.

We do, however, have a LOT of other symbols that we use and I would love to send you pictures of the most prominent ones to see if you could use one.

Also, your mayan style treats sound amazing!!! your making my mouth water!

Tempering machine with a wheel/dispenser

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

Thanks for your reply!

I will try to upload a photo of my chocolates and also of a paper test here soon just for an oppinion. I wont be making any more chocolates for probably the next week or so though. I will try your advice and be sure to stir it a bit more. I didnt realize how important that was. And I was using hardly any seed at all. Just a bit of a chocolate bar from Lindt (very very small amount). What percentage would you recomend? I typically temper about 5 pounds of chocolate at a time.

Tempering machine with a wheel/dispenser

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

I ended up getting the 6kg Mol d'Art. I purchased it about 2 months ago, but just used it for the first time this weekend. I loved it! It was so much easier to dip in than the tiny Rev 2 that I had. One thing, though, it doesnt seem to be able to heat my dark chocolate any higher than 109 degrees, which was wierd. And it takes FOREVER to melt a large batch, so once it was in there, I just took the hair dryer to it (: that melted it pretty fast! Then I realized that the hair dryer is a great tool for a lot of things.

I have a question for everyone too: When I temper my chocolate, it is never glossy (unless I use a mold). When I dip my chocolates, they are always extremely mate. No shine whatsoever. But I thought I was tempering correctly because when I tempered it, they didnt melt on touch, and they had a nice snap. If they arent shiny, does that mean Im doing something wrong? Maybe not enough seed? This even happens in my Rev 2. Im using Cacao Barry and Guittard.

Tempering machine with a wheel/dispenser

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

I noticed that the 12kg melter is under $650 in Europe and here in the US its just under a thousand. Is this just because of shipping? Or is there some other distributor that I should go to? I have also heard stories of people buying a melter and when they get it, all the stickers are pulled off and it is in crappy packaging and they look used and what not. Do you have a place that you know for sure is reliable?

Tempering machine with a wheel/dispenser

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

Thank you so much everyone! You all have such great advice. It is invaluable to me and I appreciate it very much. I do remember watching a whole lot of videos to learn and they were always using those Mol d'Arts. I will probably get one of those. They are so much cheaper too.

Thanks again!!!

Tempering machine with a wheel/dispenser

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

Thank you so much Ruth and Lana. I cant beleive how easy it is to get great professional advice on this site! You both have really given me some stuff to think about. The machines that Ruth recommended are a little above my level (I am still getting this operation started and I am Active Army working 50+ hours a week) :/, but I hope I can get machines like those in the future! I really like the Perfect Equipments idea though!!! That was exactly what I was looking for. They quoted the Air-2 at $3275, which I can do. I was hoping to stay around $3500 or below, so with shipping it will fall right around there. The melter would be so much easier to purchase though... I guess I am going to have to choose.

I have a few questions though;

1. Can I temper the chocolate in the melter by adjusting the temp knob up, then back down, do the seeding, etc., or would I have to temper with my Rev2 and just dump it in the warmer?

2. When the chocolate is tempered and in the warmer, will it stay tempered as long as the temperature is right? How often would I have to stir it? (Not that its hard) (:

3. Does the wheel temperer (the Air-2) actually temper automatically like the Rev2 by raising and lowering the temperature?

Sorry for so many questions. I couldnt begin to tell you how much I appreciate your help though!

Tempering machine with a wheel/dispenser

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

Thank you for your help! Is there a particular savage that you recomend?

OMG.... I just looked at the savage molding workstation and it quoted at $16,000. That is so so so far out of my price range right now. Am I looking at the wrong thing? You have three?

Tempering machine with a wheel/dispenser

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

Another note; All I can seem to find is the TF20.... but I dont understand how the wheel attachment could possible cost another $1400!!!??? just for the wheel? What is so amazing that makes the wheel so pricy. I mean... I NEED the wheel, so is it just demand? They know Ill pay? Is there a cheaper way to go than paying $4000 for this? If not, I will pay it, but just wana shop first.

Thanks!

Tempering machine with a wheel/dispenser

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

Hello everyone.

I need assistance.

I am opening a chocolate company mostly selling truffles and maybe bars later (when I can do bean to bar (: which I am excited for!). I have a rev2 tempering machine, which is a great machine, but when I fill the molds, I cant just tip the mold over and dump the excess chocolate out into the machine (to make shells for filling) because the machine is so small. Its also a pain to fill the molds with a spoon and OMG does my current process make the biggest mess you could imagine. A 2 year old's chocolate dream actually.

So, I have decided that I need a bigger machine (bigger than my molds), with a dispenser OR a wheel. I like the wheel design that just makes a little fountain for you to fill the mold, then I can dump the excess right back into the chocolate supply.

Does anyone have any advice? I am willing to spend the money, but I am still learning and developing this small business. I absolutely love chocolate and and 100% confident that I will be successfull, so I am willing to pay, but I dont want to get suckered by some site with incredible markup prices.

I dont necessarily need a 40lb capacity, but should I spring for one anyways? What do you guys/girls think? I need expert advice.

Also, I do not have a shop. I am learning all this in my apartment. (1200 sq ft.) but dont mind a big machine. I use Cacao Barry (wish I could afford the Valrhona). I live in Colorado. Not sure what else to say. I wana make sure you have all the details needed.

Thank you!!!!!!!

updated by @Klassy: 04/10/15 12:26:47PM