thanks, as much as i know about resto/food service in general, my expertise
is more in main line cooking and the business end, i know virtually nothing
about desserts which i see is a serious mistake... Lee
"merryb" > wrote in message
...
On Dec 9, 10:09 am, "Storrmmee" > wrote:
> ok now that really has me curious, first i only asked because i thought
> perhaps i had missed something you had posted, i remember lots of baking
> type posts from you but not much on candy...
>
> now for the curiosity, i know little to nothing about baking/bakeries/ or
> that profession how does that relate to candy, is it a subset you learn
> while in school, or an area you got into because of the job? Lee"merryb"
> > wrote in message
>
> ...
> On Dec 8, 7:08 pm, "Storrmmee" > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > what makes you so sure you have made more than him? Lee"merryb"
> > > wrote in message
>
> ...
> > On Dec 7, 10:53 am, John Kuthe > wrote:
>
> > > On Dec 7, 11:12 am, merryb > wrote:
>
> > > > On Dec 6, 7:03 pm, John Kuthe > wrote:
>
> > > > >http://oi53.tinypic.com/20hmyc7.jpg
>
> > > > > Got 164 of them out of 2 lbs of white chocolate! I was kinda
> > > > > surprised
> > > > > I got that many, but I did. Thought I was gonna have to make
> > > > > another
> > > > > batch.
>
> > > > > Here's my recipe. I kinda modified a recipe I found on the
> > > > > MyRecipes
> > > > > website:
>
> > > > > 2 lbs white chocolate
> > > > > 1 cup eggnog
> > > > > 1/2 cup dark rum
> > > > > 1 cup powdered sugar (at the recommendation of MyRecipies)
>
> > > > > First, I reduced the dark rum (I used Myers) by about 1/2 to
> > > > > reduce
> > > > > the amount of liquid I was putting in (not to remove the alcohol,
> > > > > but
> > > > > it probably did). Then I added the eggnog and brought the mixture
> > > > > up
> > > > > to a boil then dumped in the white chocolate and p-sugar and mixed
> > > > > well.
>
> > > > > It was more watery than I'm used to with other ganaches I make,
> > > > > and
> > > > > I
> > > > > poured it onto a plastic lined baking sheet and refrigerated.
> > > > > Still
> > > > > pretty soft so I put it in the freezer overnight. That was
> > > > > workable
> > > > > but I had to keep it refrigerated and cut it into strips outside
> > > > > where
> > > > > it's cold (32F and dropping!) which I them brought inside one at a
> > > > > time and cut into piece size pieces, quickly form into a ball and
> > > > > dip
> > > > > in white chocolate compound coating (**** you Bryan, YOU deal with
> > > > > the
> > > > > "real" chocolate for enrobing when you make almost 200 pieces of 8
> > > > > different kinds of Christmas Candy!!) I sprinkled a little nutmeg
> > > > > on
> > > > > each piece immediately after dipping, and they eat just like a sip
> > > > > of
> > > > > eggnog, with the nutmeg sprinkled on top, only sweeter which is OK
> > > > > because they are candy!
>
> > > > > I have now entered the world of white chocolate after 25 years of
> > > > > making Christmas Candy! :-)
>
> > > > > John Kuthe...
>
> > > > All that work and you're using compound coating? Real white
> > > > chocolate
> > > > is nasty in my book, and I would think the white coating would have
> > > > a
> > > > weird chemical taste...I think you'd be better off using tempered
> > > > chocolate since you are putting so much into this.
>
> > > The cost difference is significant. Plus the trouble of enrobing with
> > > "real" chocolate. I do it with my Chocolate Covered Cherries by slowly
> > > heating the "real" chocolate so as to not break the temper. And I keep
> > > quoting "real" chocolate because the only really significant
> > > difference between "real" chocolate and compound coating is the fat,
> > > not the cocoa, The cocoa is real chocolate.
>
> > > Of course white chocolate contains no cocoa, which is why some say
> > > it's not really chocolate. And I've been one of those for a long time
> > > too. But I've come over to the "white side"! I made a ganache with
> > > real dark chocolate and eggnog and I could not taste the eggnog! So I
> > > got some "real" white chocolate, made a ganache with white chocolate,
> > > eggnog and reduced rum and it's YUM!
>
> > > You can bitch and moan all you want about what I enrobe my Christmas
> > > Candy in, I don't care. Several years back there was an interruption
> > > in my usual supply of the compound coating I'd used for years, so I
> > > had to find a substitute. And I sampled several compound coatings, and
> > > the Bada Bing Bada Boom line by Chocoley.com was by far the best. So
> > > that's what I use now. If you don't like it don't eat it. You're not
> > > paying any $$ for it because I do not sell it. It's a gift. Accept it
> > > as is, enjoy it if you can (*many* do, me included!) or STFU about it!
> > > Make your own damned Christmas Candy if you think you can do better!
>
> > > Merry Christmas! :-)
>
> > > John Kuthe...
>
> > Hey- chill out! Just offering my opinion. BTW, I'm sure I've made many
> > more truffles than you have, and know the work involved. I'm saying
> > that I would use the real thing if I'm going to all the work of making
> > them...
>
> You may be right- he's pretty ambitious. In my former life, I was a
> pastry chef/baker and you can believe I've done my share!

We learned chocolate as one of the "stations" along with breads, pies,
cakes, cookies, deco, and french pastry. Every 2 weeks, you moved to a
different station, advancing as you went. In the first hour of school,
we had special demos and used different mediums, like pastillage and
sugar work.