Why do certain ganaches leak out of molded pralines?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I have two ganache formulas that consistently leak out of the caps when I use them for shell molded pralines. One contains amaretto and the other is a lime/honey/ginger ganache. Both are delicious and I'd like to use them in my products, but no matter what I do, they leak. Since I don't have this problem with other shell molded pralines, I'm assuming that this is a problem with the ganache itself and not with my molding technique. Any suggestions?

updated by @Laura Trairatnobhas: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Eat More Chocolate, Help Your Country

Posted in: News & New Products Press

A strong correlation has been found between average chocolate consumption and the number of Nobel Prizes won by country. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMon1211064 or see article in New Scientist Nov 3, 2012.So get eating, i am certainly eating above my average, i estimate my intake at around >15kg of dark or dark milk chocolate annually.
updated by @Tom: 03/11/26 06:20:34

Chocolatiers using mini roaster

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

It is well known that all chocolatiers factories needs roasted nuts. Some of them using their own traditionals roasters which roast with salt and somt of them buy from suppliers. Some how they buy roasted nuts, more roasted or less roasted beucase it seems it not matter for chocolatiers. As Sevval nuts Roasting and Drying system we supplied many miniroaster which gives you constant same level of roasting. Mini roaster has PLC screen and when you set parameters like speed of belt and temp. for each nuts. Also you can save your receipt for each target final nuts. Because being belt roaster there will be no strach or broken while you are roasting.

It is great soluiton for , Labaratories of the factories, Choc olatiers, Brands for promotional activities and SHOPS & Supermarkets

Mini Easyroast Concept in Use

www.sevvalmakine.com

updated by @Rifat Tuzcuoglu: 04/10/15 13:03:23

Chocolate Tours in the Caribbean - NYT Article

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Here is a link to the article

http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/travel/a-chocolate-tour-of-the-caribbean.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Chocolate Tours in the Caribbean - NYT Article

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

That looks awesome. The hotel has a menu where every dish includes chocolate.

Chocolate Tours in the Caribbean - NYT Article

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

In Friday's New York Times travel section there was an interesting article about chocolate tours in Trinidad, Tobago, Saint Lucia and Martinique. It is worth the read.

updated by @Thomas Forbes: 04/20/15 20:16:00

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

I had a sample from Cacao Atlanta .... no vanilla but very grainy .

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Brad,

Quick question: Any special reason you needed a separate refiner for white chocolate?

Do you find that once you use a refiner for white/milk chocolate it leaves notable traces when doing dark batches?

Felipe

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

The Askinosie Davao white chocolate bar has no vanilla. But I don't know if it's available in professional weights such as multi-kilo bars. Then again they're not a huge outfit, so if you need enough they would probably hook you up.

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

O really shoot. Thanks for the correction.

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Thanks Lana !

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

I made it a lot in the past and with Callebaut HW2 and it was good but reminded me of rhubarb and custard ... i don't use Cream , just fruit puree and i want unadulterated Tartness. I've recently acquired abottle of rhubarb bitters which i'm eager to try out

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Yea! Hope its useful. Let me know how the rhubarb ganache goes. It sounds tasty.

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Thanks for this Duncan! Much appreciated

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

sounds Great! yeah I was looking at making my own too but that's a lot of expense.

Mine's a Rhubarb Ganache BTW

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Good luck with that. Other than getting someone on here to make it for you (such as good 'ol Cheebs), you won't find it. Several of my recipes need a white chocolate with no vanilla, and I couldn't find any, so I ended up breaking down an buying a refiner specifically to make my own.

Now that I can make my own white chocolate with or without vanilla, that REALLY sets our confections apart from our peers. No local chocolatier can do a Pomegranate white chocolate center like we can!

Cheers.

Brad

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

I can make you a 7-lb batch if you want. Send me a private message if you're interested.

White Chocolate WITHOUT vanilla

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

simple question..... does it exist? I need a vanilla-free white chocolate ganache.

updated by @Paul John Kearins: 04/07/25 13:00:14

That One Bar of Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

For me it would have to be Amedei's Cru Venezuela. I visited Amedei in Sept, sampled almost all of them, but the Cru is a classic bar, for fun, I also liked their white chocolate with pistachio.

That One Bar of Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

From the ones I have tried in the last year, Michel Cluizel, Los Ancones or that variety pack of El Rey I had after the FCIA conference in June. They ended up being dinner in the hotel room.

That One Bar of Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

Good call. Cluizel makes a 5kg Villa Gracinada. That would probably last 3 weeks.

That One Bar of Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

A tie:

• Fresco 212 Dominican Republic 72%. A quintessential example of what I like in a chocolate bar!
• Rogue Piura 2010 75% (no longer available). A magical bar!

Both rated 9.8 out of 10.

If I had a time machine my all time favorite was Amedei Chuao 2009 vintage (but their current bars have significantly declined in quality so I wouldn't choose that bar today).

See my reviews at ChocoFiles .

That One Bar of Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

There are some new ones that I like very much, for example Danta's Chuao and Dandelion's Ambanja. But if I can only have one....I take a 2 kilo bag couverture of Felchlin's Cru Sauvage 68% - 60H conch That's enough for 2 weeks on a desert island. Then I wanna go home to taste other chocolate! Chocolove, Vera

That One Bar of Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

Likewise for me, i make a bar lovingly dubbed Daintree Mocha, a dark milk Australian chocolate with just a hint of coffee ground in and packed with crispy mouthwatering nibs......damn going to have to go and eat some now!If commercial, very difficult, Pralus Chuao or Valrhonas El Pedregal....got to go

That One Bar of Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

A milk chocolate bar I make with beans from the Ocumare De LaCosta region of Venezuela. (I don't sell this bar).

Mmmmmm.... to die for

That One Bar of Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

Thanks for sharing, Clay. If that's a 100% cocoa content bar, does it feel slightly clayish at the back of the tongue?

That One Bar of Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

Used to be Amedei Chuao, now Pralus Chuao

That One Bar of Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

You can have only one bar of chocolate. The circumstances don't matter (zombie apocalypse, climate change devastates cacao around the world, you're stranded on a desert island, etc), you can only choose one.

Which one is it?

After my recent trip to Europe, I'd pick the IL100% Criollo from Domori. Why? It delivers pure chocolate intensity with no punches pulled.

Yours?

updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/15/15 19:19:04

Bean to Bar Mentor

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am looking for a Bean to Bar mentor. I have been making bean to bar chocolate for the last 5 months and am in need of guidance and knowledge. Currently it's a fairly small production but I would like it to grow. I have had a candy business for the past 10 years and recently got introduced into making Bean to Bar chocoalte.

updated by @Lisa R: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Truffle ganache recipe- can someone tell me if this is right?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Haha I'm not sure actually, they never last that long, but I've opened them within 2 weeks and they're still perfect. I've read that using glucose, boiling the cream and using tempered chocolate makes your chocolates last very long (about a month). But it also depends on your recipe.

You can also freeze your ganaches, and finished truffles as well so you can work the heavy seasons in advance

Truffle ganache recipe- can someone tell me if this is right?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Daniela, how long do your truffles last? Do you add the extra preservatives to your recipe? Thanks x

Truffle ganache recipe- can someone tell me if this is right?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

You can extend shelf life by adding glucose, corn syrup, invert sugar or alcohol to the recipe. also be careful about not leaving any air bubbles inside the truffle, or it'll be a certain spot for mold. I boil my cream and let it rest until it reaches 30C, then I mix it with the tempered chocolate.

Truffle ganache recipe- can someone tell me if this is right?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi,I fairly new at making chocolate truffles but they are getting very popular. Basically at the minute the shelf life of my truffles are 5-7 days as I use fresh cream (which has not been boiled first)Someone has told me that if I follow the below recipe then I can extend the truffles to have a shelf life of 3 months at room temperature, is this right?Recipe400g chocolate150ml fresh creamMelt chocolate. Boil the cream then cool to 115 degrees. Add cream to chocolate to create an emulsion. When set, roll into balls and dip into chocolate/coverings.From what i understand by boiling the cream i would be sterilising it.Any help & advice is very much appreciated!Thanks x
updated by @Sarah Mander: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Unwanted fragrances in potential new shop

Posted in: Opinion

Good Call. The place should be odor free BEFORE you lease it and spend all the money on reno's. The fact that he doesn't value your time or money tells me the landlord'sdefinitely not a professional when it comes to commercial real estate. Don't waste your time with him.

There is something to be said for commercial leasing companies, that's for sure.

Cheers and Best Wishes.

Unwanted fragrances in potential new shop

Posted in: Opinion

I brought this up with the landlord. He agreed to include a termination clause in the lease if the problem was not fixed to my satisfaction. When he sent me a copy of the lease agreementhowever, there was a time limit of 9 days on that. Yikes! I told him I could not agree to that. Not only do I think that is not nearly enough time todetermine if I can remedy the situation,I also would not begin investing a bunch of money updating the place until I knewthat I could. So I guess I'll keep on looking for now.

Unwanted fragrances in potential new shop

Posted in: Opinion

Have your landlord take care of the issues as part of the lease negotiation, and ensure that the issues are dealt with "subject to your approval". Chocolate is very hygroscopic, meaning it readily absorbs odor and moisture from its environment. Once the odor is absorbed, there's no going back.

Unwanted fragrances in potential new shop

Posted in: Opinion

Yup.

New ceiling tiles won't break the bank, nor are they particularily hard or time consuming to install, but the price can add up.

Shellac has a very nice property in that it blocks odours, it's also organic. Again, applying this to the walls won't break the bank, but the cost will add up, and then you'll need a few more coats of paint on the walls.

Same goes for the floors, Sand them down and reseal with varnish (or linoleum in the kitchen) will block the odours.

On one hand you have to deal with "perfumy" odours. I dealt with 30 yr old "ethnic restaurant " odours..........

Unwanted fragrances in potential new shop

Posted in: Opinion

Hi Giovanna,

I had a drain-cleaning company move in next door to my industrial unit. Nice guys and I'd recommend them as drain cleaners but not as neighbours. They moved out after a month when I complained about the smell but I was still throwing chocolate away 6 months after that despite throwing all the doors open, having fans blowing and giving the place several thorough cleans. I'm not sure what the risk is exactly but unless you can get rid of the smell by cleaning the place and thoroughly ventilating I'd be wary.

Duffy

Unwanted fragrances in potential new shop

Posted in: Opinion

After finding what I had hoped would be a good location for my new shop, I haveserious reservations. The space was previously a hair salon formany years (they recently moved tothe larger space next door). My concern is the smell. There is a distinctsoapy/perfumy fragrance of hair care products that has not dissipated over the last month or two that it has been vacant. The cabinet mounted on the wall where the hair wash station wasseems to be the main culprit, however,I am concerned that even when the cabinet is removed, the smellhas alsopermeatedthe wood flooring, drywall, and hung ceiling tiles. The last thing I want to do is commit to a lease, only to find out that the ambiant odors render my product unsellable (I don't thinkextra-body shampoo infused ganache would be a big hit). Has anyonedealt with this kind ofstinky situationin their work space?

updated by @Giovanna: 04/10/15 09:54:21

New to chocolates, ganache advice

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I've heard wonderful things about this book http://www.amazon.com/Fine-Chocolates-Great-Experience-Extending/dp/9020990209/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352238527&sr=8-1&keywords=fine+chocolates+3

I'm still not able to get it, but want to

New to chocolates, ganache advice

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I would also be interested in finding an answer to this question. Sorry to jump on this post but I currently make truffles to sell but they only have a shelf life of 7 days because of the cream content but I am having many customers ask for a longer shelf life & I am yet to find an answer. Would be extremely interested if anyone has any help?