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Sunday, January 15, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Where to Find Chocolate Molds for Sale
When you want to create custom or uncommonly shaped chocolates for special occasions, you will most likely purchase some chocolate candy making molds to get the job done. Unfortunately, you probably won't find a local vendor that has chocolate molds for sale in every size, shape, style and design that you will need for your projects. Even if you were to visit every single craft, kitchen or cooking supply store in your local area, you would probably only find just a small selection of chocolate molds, and then not the one you are looking for!
The Internet has lots of great resources, in fact, a quick search on Google or any of the leading search engines will find you lots of chocolate molds for sale. There is just about every type of theme you might be interested in, such as for weddings, religious events and holidays, nautical themes, animals and insects, and of course, Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, to name a few. You can even find unique European or Victorian style antique chocolate molds online. In fact, you might feel a little overwhelmed with so many options available to choose from. If you are creating candy for an adults-only party, such as a bachelor or bachelorette party, you will be surprised at all the adult-themed molds that are available. Certainly, there is something for everyone!
The history of chocolate is very interesting and as it relates to molding chocolate, before the 18th century it was primarily consumed as a drink than something to eat. Chocolate-makers later began the trend of creating chocolates in smaller, bite-sized pieces. These grew in popularity due to the use of chocolate molds. Molds were able to help people make chocolate in just about any shape or size, with traditional metal chocolate molds being used most often. In fact, in the early days of molded chocolate, the reputation of the local chocolatier was often judged by the unique molds he used to make chocolates. Today there are more options available aside from metal, including colored or clear plastic chocolate molds for sale.
When plastic polycarbonate molds were first created, chocolate molds became more and more affordable for amateur chocolate makers, allowing chocolates to even be made in the home.
Most of the chocolate molds available today are not designed to work with extremely high temperatures because chocolate doesn't need to be heated to hard candy-making extremes. Because of this, it usually isn't safe to put them in the dishwasher. In fact, you should be careful to never use water, candy, or anything above 160-degrees Fahrenheit with your plastic chocolate molds.
Some manufacturers have chocolate molds for sale organized by a theme that can be purchased in a set. Most of the molds on the market have as many as a dozen individual molds on each sheet for you to quickly make many candies at once. You can even purchase 3D-style molds, that create individual candies, which require you to fill two sides of the mold and allow them to cool before mating them together. While these 3D style molds are a bit harder to use than flat molds, flat molds only produce designs on one side. However, these flat molds are the easiest to use as all you need to do is fill them, allow them to cool, and then empty the chocolates from the molds.
Some unique mold ideas include a 2-piece 3D-style mold that is held together by magnets, or molds that impress designs on the chocolate using a transfer sheet. Once the chocolate has been thoroughly chilled the transfer sheet is peeled off and removed. You can find hundreds of designs. Some chocolate molds for sale are kits designed to build a specific structure, like a chocolate gingerbread house or another special treat.
It is important to properly calculate how much chocolate will be needed for a particular mold, particularly if you are going to be making a lot of candies. Simply by pouring water into your molds and then using a measuring cup to see how much water was used you will know how much chocolate your molds will hold. After you do this measurement be very careful to completely dry your molds - chocolate and water do not mix together!
You rarely want to use any soap on your molds either when you clean them, just a soft cloth and a little warm water is all that is needed to prepare them for storage. By taking good care of your molds, you won't have to go searching out chocolate molds for sale until you need a new design.
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Build Your Own Greenhouse - What Materials Are Needed?
There are basically three components to a greenhouse. You have the frame, the glazing material or covering and the greenhouse supplies.
· Greenhouse Framing -If you are building your own frame, most people will choose wood due to the availability. You can use regular 2 x 4's or treated lumber. With the new pressure treated lumber you do not have any issues with compatibility of the glazing materials. If you have access to aluminum or steel, they are also acceptable materials. Sometimes you may have a local sunroom company that will supply you with aluminum extrusions. Local welding shops may be willing to work with you on a steel frame.
· Glazing materials - There are a lot of different choices here. Also, a lot of different price points. I will discuss these from the least expensive to the most expensive. First there is 4 year, 6 mil polyfilm. This is UV protected for longevity. The name is somewhat misleading. You may get 4 years out of it, but mostly this is referring to the length the UV protection is going to last. Next is the reinforced polyfilm. This is basically 2 layers of film with a reinforced cord between. This is a rip stop feature. If the film is torn, it will not continue to tear past the cord. It will last much longer than the 4 year, 6 mil film. Next is Solexx. This is a twinwall polyethylene material. The UV coating is not applied to the top of this material, rather it becomes part of the Solexx in manufacturing. It has a 10 year warranty. It will give you a much better insulation factor than either of the films. It is soft and may be rolled to be shipped UPS. The final greenhouse glazing material is polycarbonate. It is also a twinwall or multiwall material. There are many widths and specialty sheets available to cut down on heat, etc. This is a rigid material and must be crated and shipped on a truck line. Also, don't let me ignore the fact that many people will recycle old windows to build their greenhouse.
· Greenhouse Supplies - A greenhouse will not function properly without several supplies or accessories. The two most important ones are ventilation packages and heaters. The greenhouse will need some type of system to move hot air out in the summer months. This is typically done with roof vents, exhaust fans and intake shutters. A greenhouse will not maintain heat on its own on winter nights. There are some solar methods that will assist, but usually you will need an actual heater to keep the heat at the desired temperatures. There are many other supplies for your greenhouse which may be added as needed such as, shade cloth, benches, misting systems, etc.
Don't be intimidated by the thought of building your own greenhouse. There are many advantages to building your own over buying a greenhouse kit. You can design it to fit your needs exactly. Do a little studying of the different materials available and get out there and get busy. You will get many hours of enjoyment from doing this project and ultimately, your new greenhouse.
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