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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Your customers expect that each time you make a product that it will look and taste the same way as when they purchased it the last time. Your product is just as good as the ingredients you use to make it. Therefore, this week’s tip is to require your suppliers to be consistent with their own products.
Many times we hear from small businesses that they don’t feel they have the ‘clout’ to demand anything from their suppliers because of their size. However, we always remind those businesses that their own livelihood and success is dependent on the quality of their raw materials. Therefore, as a paying customer they have just as much right as any other business to require a consistent product from their suppliers.
As part of requiring consistency of your suppliers, be sure to regularly test each supplier shipment for consistency in characteristics such as taste, size and odor. Remember, if your raw materials and suppliers are dependable, you increase the chances of your finished product being consistent as well. And a consistently delicious product will keep your customers coming back for more!
This tip was inspired by an article in our Good Manufacturing Practices series found in all four 2012 issues of Kettle Talk. RCI members may access past issues of Kettle Talk by signing in as a member on the RCI website.
Tags:
Candy Making
GMP's
Owning a Business
Quality Control
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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A couple weeks ago we posted a tip on a fall favorite – caramel apples. Another favorite treat during the holiday season, and a growing snack trend this year, is popcorn. This week’s tip is quick and will help increase the shelf life for your popcorn.
To increase shelf life, we suggest air popping your popcorn. Because popping with oil increases the chance for rancidity, if you air pop your popcorn, the shelf life of your product is increased. It’s that simple but it works!
While we’re sure your popcorn is so good it’ll be flying off the shelves, we hope this quick tip will help you be able to pop your popcorn ahead of time so you can meet the demand for this great treat!
Tags:
Candy Making
Holidays
Photos
Quality Control
Seasonal
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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This week we have another quick and easy tip to help you make quality confections. If you are enrobing square confections (i.e. toffee, marshmallow squares, etc.), send them through your enrober corner first. Your products will receive better chocolate coverage from the fountains on the enrober and you will decrease the chance for bubbles to appear on the tops.
Do you have a quick and easy enrobing tip? Please share it with us in the comments below!
Connect with us! Have you liked Retail Confectioners International on Facebook or followed us on Twitter? We love to keep in touch with fellow confectioners through social media. Like or follow us and we’ll like and follow your business back!
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Candy Making
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Since August 10 is S’mores Day and August 30 is National Toasted Marshmallow Day, we’re providing a quick marshmallow tip today.
Have you had issues with chocolate-covered marshmallows cracking? We’ve got a quick solution for you: boil your corn syrup for the marshmallow to get rid of the yeast. Here’s how it works, according to our expert panel:
Most 42DE corn syrup is contaminated in a small way with yeast bacteria. It doesn’t affect most products because the yeast is killed when the syrup is cooked above a boil. The problem comes when you are using it in marshmallow. - the syrup is added to the bob* after it is removed from the fire and never gets warm enough to kill the bacteria. To fix this, pre-weight the corn syrup for the marshmallow into a copper kettle and bring it to a very low boil. Don’t allow it to come to a rolling boil because that would remove too much moisture. Just as it begins to boil it should be removed from the fire. Do this early in the day and allow it to cool to room temperature before it is added to cooked portion of the marshmallow. A fellow candy maker did this and never had a cracked Easter egg again.
*What’s a “bob?” The bob is the sugar slurry that is cooked prior to adding the other ingredients. Bobs for cooked creams and fudges are pretty much the same - the flavor or texture comes from the added ingredients (i.e. chocolate into chocolate creams, strawberries into strawberry creams, etc.). Bobs are the basic beginnings for most cooked candies.
This tip was shared during an expert panel at an RCI regional event. Retail Confectioners International has great events just around the corner to help you stay connected! Visit retailconfectioners.org/events for information on our 2013 Fall Regional in Buffalo, New York and 2014 Winter Regional in Barbados this January.
Tags:
Candy Making
Marshmallow
Photos
Quality Control
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Looking to buy or sell used confectionery equipment, post a confectionery job or purchase or sell a confectionery business? Then be sure to utilize this week’s tip to add the Classified Ads page on the Retail Confectioners International website to your website browser favorites.
The Classified Ads page is consistently one of the most viewed pages on our website. Both RCI members and non-members are invited to post an ad and available categories include For Sale, Wanted and Job Postings. Updates are made to the page on a regular basis and you’ll find a variety of used equipment and supplies available for purchase.
So, what are you waiting for? Take a moment to visit the Classified Ads page and add it to your web browser’s favorites. Then, when you have equipment to buy or sell or a job to post, be sure to post it with RCI.
Looking to get more familiar with the RCI website and the resources available there? Check out this blog post that lists some of the popular industry resources.
Tags:
Candy Making
Organizing
Owning a Business
Photos
Productivity
Quality Control
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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We have another very quick tip for you this week. It’s all about making sure your chocolate is perfectly tempered for the best results.
Using inclusions in your chocolates? From nuts to coconut to dried fruits, the possibilities are endless for items to include or mix into chocolate and create unique flavors and presentations. However, did you know that you should use slightly under tempered chocolate when using inclusions? Because inclusions are room temperature they could easily, and quickly, over temper your chocolate when adding them to perfectly tempered chocolate.
What does this mean for your chocolate inclusion creations? Chocolate that is not in temper effects the final product in terms of bloom, texture and even the glossiness of the chocolate. Therefore, take this week’s tip to heart and pay close attention to the temper of your chocolate when using inclusions.
This tip was provided at our 2013 Chocolate Boot Camp education course. Find information on additional courses and events hosted by Retail Confectioners International on our website.
Tags:
Candy Making
Quality Control
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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We have a quick Good Manufacturing Practices tip for you this week. When you receive pallets of chocolate or the 10-pound bars of chocolate from your chocolate supplier, you need to break them into smaller pieces to melt down and create your store’s confections. How do you go about doing that?
Many candy makers will break the chocolate into smaller pieces by smashing it with a hammer. However, if you are using a wood handled hammer, you risk the wood chipping off in the process and small shreds of wood landing in your chocolate. Additionally, if you are using a rubber handled hammer, it likely has small crevices in it that can easily hold chocolate and create bacteria as time goes on.
Therefore, this week’s tip is to use a stainless steel or titanium crowbar to break your chocolate into pieces for melting. It is still a good idea to clean the crowbar on a regular basis, but with no other element such as wood and rubber on the bar, it will be much easier to ensure it is completely clean and sterilized and ready for safe use with food.
P.S. This tip was shared during our recent Chocolate Boot Camp. View photos of this RCI education course on our Facebook page!
Tags:
Candy Making
Cleaning
GMP's
Quality Control
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Posted By Amy Watson, Retail Confectioners International,
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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This week’s tip is quick and easy, and it’s going to make your candy making life easier!
You likely already have a book near your kettles that says precisely which temperature each of your candies should reach and for how long. We suggest taking it one step further and marking the desired temp for your most common candies right on the thermometer. This takes guesswork and estimations out of the picture and ensures your staff is aiming at the right temperature for each candy.
As you know, one or two degrees can make a huge difference when it comes to candy making. So, use today’s tip to do everything you can to keep the quality of your candies consistent.
Using a digital thermometer? Consider hanging a chart nearby for your candy makers to quickly reference and ensure accuracy.
Tags:
Candy Making
Photos
Productivity
Quality Control
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Now that you’re finished with those Valentine’s Day moulds, it’s time to clean and put them away until the next holiday season. Be sure to follow these steps courtesy of RCI associate supplier member Tomric Systems, Inc. to take the best care of your moulds:
Because moulds are made of plastic, upkeep is minimal. At the end of the season, moulds need to be washed, well rinsed, dried and stored in a cool, dry location. If maintained, the moulds will have a shiny finish and release a nicely glossed piece of chocolate.
- Wipe with soft cloth in clear, warm water.
- DO NOT use an abrasive cleanser. If moulds become coated with cocoa butter, wash with a mild grease-cutting detergent. Use detergent sparingly and avoid scratching the inside surface of the moulds.
- Rinse in clear, cool water.
- Dry and store in a cool location.
- Use moulds at room temperature.
RCI Members: Our recent Kettle Talk publication contained an article with these step-by-step instructions. Access this and other member-only Kettle Talk articles by signing in to the RCI website as a member.
Tags:
Candy Making
Cleaning
GMP's
Quality Control
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Most candy makers would probably agree it’s easier to keep a super-clean facility when the bows and boxes aren’t flying during the holiday season. But how is your staff doing with keeping the cleaning schedule when there seems to be no extra time in the day?
One way to stay on top of this is to test the cleanliness of your facility on a regular basis. We don’t mean a visual test where you look to see if the area appears clean but an actual scientific test for allergens, sanitation, etc.
You can buy sample test kits and do an on-site test of a variety of areas in your production zone. During one of our recent Kettle Talk panel forums, a member recommended buying sample test kits from Neogen. Using their food allergen tests you can do on-site tests to detect the target allergen ( see list of allergens here) in ingredients, liquids, clean-in-place rinses, finished foods, and on environmental surfaces. They also have sanitation tests to detect the amount of food residue and other organic matter, such as bacteria, yeast and mold, that may remain after cleaning.
Please note this is just one company that was recommended from one member to another at our event and others are likely available to you by searching online. If you also want to send swabs off to a lab to be thoroughly tested, Silliker Labs, who presented at the 2012 RCI Spring Regional event, also provides food testing and sanitation information for confectioners and food facilities.
Do you have other tips for maintaining a clean food facility in the midst of your busiest production schedules? Please share with our blog community in the comments below!
RCI Members: Access additional materials on Good Manufacturing Practices on the member side of the RCI website. Our new website being revealed in January will have a page dedicated to just this topic.
Tags:
Candy Making
Cleaning
GMP's
Holidays
Owning a Business
Quality Control
Seasonal
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