Forum Activity for @Isabella Geddes

Shelf stable hot chocolate mix

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

I would like to package our hot chocolate recipe so that our clients can make it at home. I need it to be able to be sold outside of a fridge, on a shelf. The base that is usually used is a water based ganache and a 65% chocolate. That is then added to hot milk or just heated on it's own as a thick hot chocolate drink. I am looking to either sell it as a dry mix or as a liquid ganache with instructions to add to hot milk. Is there a way of "canning" the ganache? Any advice on hot chocolate that is sold to the public  as a mix is greatly appreciated.

online school for chocolate making

Posted in: Opinion

I did the Chocolatier class with them. I did like it, but the lack of hands on one on one experience was sometimes frustrating. Especially when you are trying to temper chocolate for the first time on your own. You never have the immediate satisfaction of someone saying, yes that's tempered or no this is what you did wrong. On the other hand, I learned a lot about the beans/plantations, ingredients, industry... It was very useful as an introduction. I really wish that they had more videos and photography to guide you and that they offered a weekly class Skype meeting with the teachers or something similar. They say that many people in the world that take their classes don't have an internet connection that is good enough, but it would be great to offer the option.

I'm really interested in the bean to bar class. Based on my experience, I'm curious how much the bean to bar course would cover in terms of hands on bean to bar making. Can someone really take that class and begin a bean to bar business or is it more of an educational course about the movement?

I really don't regret taking the course it opened my eyes up to a whole new world of chocolate that is not just the confectionary part.

 

What is shelf life of coconut cream vs dairy cream in a ganache? Same?

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

I am making a dairy free ganache, replacing the cream with coconut cream and the butter with coconut oil. Will this make my ganache have a shorter shelf life? Any idea of what the shelf life will be? Also, I'm using agave syrup as my sweetner- will this alter the shelf life since it is a wet sugar, so in turn adding more liquid to teh recipe?

Thanks!

Using coconut oil in truffles help

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

I'll be doing tests tomorrow with the coconut cream and let you know. At the moment, the recipe is only cocoa with coconut milk and agave syrup. It definitely has a melt away mouth feel and I believe that if we can get a bit more strenght from the coconut cream, then we can have something that won't collapse or melt as easily, but still keep the texture in our mouths. Got my fingers crossed!

 

Using coconut oil in truffles help

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

I am working with a chocolatier who makes a ganache using coconut oil. They have a great "melting" mouth feel, but the ganache melts when it is hot and causes the bonbon to collapse. I am considering using coconut ceam to make it have a slightly harder consistency. Any idea how this will affect shelf life? Has anyone tried this combination of coconut oil and coconut cream/milk?

Sourcing chocolate and supplies in Canada

Posted in: Classifieds F/S or Wanted

Hello,

I'm about to begin the Ecole Chocolat course and I am beginning to look into the supplies and bulk chocolate that I need to buy for the course. I know that I have access to lots online, but I was wondering if anyone can point me towards Canadian suppliers. I'm in Montreal.

Thanks!

Isabella

updated by @Isabella Geddes: 06/29/23 06:49:02PM