Mamma Maya

Archive for the ‘Les Beaux Arts’ Category

At first glance, chocolate candy making is quite a straightforward process. But since it involves tempering by hand that requires preserving specific temperatures accurately, even expert chocolate makers consider it a challenging proposition.

You need the main ingredient of basic dark or semi-sweet or white chocolate and cooking paraphernalia like a reliable thermometer that’s calibrated on a regular basis, a double boiler, a rubber spatula and candy molds or cookie cutters.

The first rung of the process starts with your melting the chocolate in a double boiler. You should be cautious not to scorch the chocolate so you should be stirring the contents constantly but gently. The molten chocolate can be used to enrobe fruits and other fillings. You can also pour the chocolate melt on candy molds or cookie cutters for different shapes. You finish the candy making process by setting the chocolate in a chiller in an air-tight container or by air-drying them.

The step that makes tempering by hand difficult is maintaining specific temperatures accurately. Since tempering is important to turning out shiny and crisp chocolates, you can’t skip this step. It stops blooming from occurring, averting the formation of unattractive crystals on the surface of chocolates. You can finish candy making without tempering chocolates if they are meant for your own use but if selling confections is your aim, you should take the time to master tempering for that attractive luster and snap.

What makes tempering necessary in chocolate candy making is the presence of cocoa butter in chocolates. Cocoa butter has fats that crystallize into six crystal structures. These crystal forms dominate at their own particular temperatures. When you do tempering, your aim is to prevent the five other types of crystals from hampering the production of type V crystals without which the shine and snap will be non-existent in chocolates. Be aware that the temperatures at which these type V crystals form also differ for dark, semi-sweet and white chocolates.
A degree change up or down the thermometer may also allow Type IV crystals to multiply. These crystals also give that attractive shine and snap to chocolates but they melt much too quickly, even at room temperature, so by keeping temperatures at their proper levels you’re sure to get only the type Vs.

An accurate thermometer is the accessory used while you maintain specific accurate temperatures. If you compromise on this accuracy, you should repeat tempering. To avoid re-tempering, which may happen repeatedly if you’re not watchful, candy makers shift to using automated chocolate tempering machines wherein you have a computer chip that takes care of tempering and temperatures for you. With a tempering machine, you not only produce the type V crystals, but you make the same quality chocolate candies all the time. Tempering machines also make available to you a lot of free time so that you can be more creative and innovative on improving your skills which amounts to improving your business.

Over the years, collecting coins has grown from being just a hobby to becoming a full-blown enterprise with numerous Internet sites devoted to coins. Over the next several weeks, I will give you a little background about coin collecting to help those who want to pursue this as a hobby and maybe even make some money in the process.

People have been collecting coins for centuries, because of their beauty, their value, and their history. When you hold an old coin in your hand, it allows you to take a step back in history to the time of the coinage. For over 2,500 years, man’s history has been reflected in coins. From the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the British Empire, the California Gold Rush, and US coins, man’s achievements have been depicted in coins.

Coin collecting, called numismatics, has become one of the most rewarding and popular hobbies in the world today. Over a period of time as you begin to add more coins to your collection, you will be pleasantly surprised at the hours of enjoyment your collection will bring. If you have taken time and care with your collection, not only will it be of value to you and those you pass it on to, but could also be an investment for the future.

Please check back for future articles where we will be discussing early coins, 19th and 20th century coins, commemorative coins, gold coins, determining the value of coins, and buying coins.

Copyright © 2005 Susan Daniel and Debbie Overstreet

About Susan and Debbie: Susan and Debbie are internet marketers. You can review more articles and Web sites on coin collecting by visiting http://www.showmerarecoils.com.

Retired professor of Microbiology, Harry Gilleland certainly has a wide variety of experiences and thought-provoking insights to share in his latest poetry book, Gilleland Poetry – Storoems and Poems. Harry’s poetry has appeared at numerous establishments over the years and he has authored three books to date. His dedication to and love of poetry is evident in the way that he writes his work.

Evocative and mentally stimulating throughout it’s 205 pages this book is sure to strike a cord within any reader. War experiences and trials of man are mingled with true-life experiences, fantasy, love and nature.

Harry explores the wonders of nature in a beautiful way and returns to the theme that seemingly runs throughout the entire book – what it could mean for man. Fun, playful – sometimes sad. He has us riding the rapids with him one moment and learning shocking news about American history in the next breath.

You Snake in the Grass is one of my favorites because it invokes awe of nature. But I also got a real kick out of The Power of Splinters and One Leaf’s Journey, which are clearly parallels to life experiences.

I really cried over A Journey Home and Alfred Must Die. The author’s deep endearing love for his wife is both moving and inspiring.

Though this might sound a little corny – I felt I lived a little more because of reading this book.

ISBN#: 1411629272
Author: Harry E. Gilleland, JR
Publisher: Lulu Press

~ Lillian Brummet – Book Reviewer – Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment – Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry. (www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)