Marking the Passing of an Inspiration: Mott Green
Posted in: News & New Product Press
Clay,
Sorry for the loss of your friend, he sounds like an amazing guy.
Forum Activity for @Christopher M Koshak
Posted in: News & New Product Press
Light Corn Syrup in Artisanal Chocolates?
Posted in: Opinion
Hey Glenn,
Just a little advice that I have found helpful, go get yourself a book called "Chocolates and Confections" by Peter Grewling. I have been a chef for 25 years and know a something about a lot of different foods but when I started with chocolates, this book became like the Bible for me. It goes through everything you can possibly imagine, from every ingredient you could use to things needed to start a professional chocolate business. I know this book will help you it is fantastic.
Best of luck,
Chris
Cleaning Molds
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
My local health dept. is great when it comes to this, they know their stuff and don't bust my chops about not sanitizing my molds. Once the chocolates are out of the molds I put the molds into my warming cabinet and then wipe out the excess chocolate, then use cotton cosmetic wipes to shine them and they are ready to use again. The health dept. is fine with this method. If there is something stubborn stuck in the mold such as caramel I run it under hot water and dry it quickly as to not leave water marks on them.
I'm Interested In Your Opinion!
Posted in: Opinion
Hi Brad,
Not to pile on here but, I agree with just about all of the bad things that were said in the other reply's, but I also have never seen the the word cacau before I've always seen it spelled cacao, when I Googled it, mostly all that came up was a Brazilian soccer/football star named Cacau. I may be wrong but I just thought you should check.
Best of luck with the new business.
Chris
updated by @Christopher M Koshak: 09/07/15 06:38:14PM
After action report on my first attempt at Caramels
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
This is just my opinion & I don't know about everyone else, but I've never thrown out a batch of caramel, if it's too soft try cooking it again, it works. Mix some nuts in it to make it firmer, then dip it, give it out as samples, but don't throw it out or you'll never make any money in this business. Everybody makes mistakes but what you do with the mistakes could be the difference between making it and not making it.
Like I said just my opinion.
GANACHE FEELS CRUMBLY
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Hi Christine, Two things, first off from what I've learned and read, if you completely seal the truffle in chocolate it should be air tight and be good for a month or more. Also if you want to extend the shelf life you could add a small amount of invertase to it and this should help as well.
Chocolate Education. What is best?
Posted in: Opinion
I know Callebaut has The Chocolate Academy in Chicago, you can definitely find a class or 2 there with your skill.
http://www.chocolate-academy.com/us/en/calendar?country=us,oper=detail%2CcourseDate=722%2Ccourse_academy=21
Displaying chocolates on granite vs. candy case
Posted in: Opinion
Hi Kate,
I have kind of a combination of these, I have the case but I put everything on to Oneida Sushi plates, With the smaller plates I can fit more in the case and I like the way it looks. Also while researching our shop we looked at other shops here in CT and a guy in a nearby town had that setup and had flies and fruit flies all over his stuff ( we didn't purchase anything from him) I don't know how the bugs are in upstate NY but the refrigeration really controls this issue.
Best wishes,
Chris
Troubleshooting the Chocolate on Butter Toffee
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
I am waiting on the edge of my seat here to see how it went, this is a very interesting discussion. I have not made toffee in my shop yet, but have been working on a recipe for it, but now I'm having second thoughts. There hasn't been much call for it here but I always want to try new things to keep my creative juices flowing. I can't wait for the next chapter.
Making bark with a tempering machine
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Do you temper the chocolate before you make the ganache? I've learned that ganache needs to be made with tempered chocolate to get the proper consistency.
Thanks
Making bark with a tempering machine
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
So, I have a question related to this, what do you do with the bark after it has bloomed? You do you re-temper it with all the ingredients in it or do you use it for sampling (which I have seen at some shops I visited while doing research for opening my shop) I have some bark that bloomed and I don't know what to do with it. I can't bring myself to sample it because of the look of it and I don't know if it will work trying to temper it manually. Any ideas or thoughts?
Mol d'Art 6 kg Chocolate Tempering Machine
Posted in: Opinion
I am new to The Chocolate Life, and am planning to open a shop and am gathering equipment, has anybody used the Mol d'Art 6 kg temperer? http://www.tcfsales.com/shopexd.asp?id=248&bc=no I was planning to buy a Revolation Delta machine but if I can have a bigger machine for a cheaper cost I am all for that. Does it work as well as the Revolation without the baffle? Any insight would be appreciated.Chris
updated by @Christopher M Koshak: 04/10/15 06:37:44PM