One Mean Caramel Wrapping Machine

This is the 1st in the series of posts that deals with Das Foods entreprenurial saga.
Chapter 1: Smooth operator
We're currently in the process of expanding our caramel production. Until now, we (all three employees of Das Fodos) have been painstakingly wrapping our little sweet jewels by hand for the past,oh, 10 months. We must have wrapped at least 100,000 caramels and have become quite good at it. However: this cannot last forwever and as much fun as it has been, with ever increasing demand, we simply are incapable of wrapping all of the caramels anymore. We have begun looking for the caramel wrapping machine in January'07. Turns out that these machines are in high demand and whenever one or two comes on the market they go as quickly as houses up for sale back in 2003.
another reason why these machines are snapped up so quickly is because they're used and some of them are really old.
The two options we had were:
1. Model K: can twist wrap or fold frap

2. Ideal caramel wrapping machine (this is the "official" name- no kidding!) - see video below to witness its might!
Even when we were still looking for the machine, we already endearingly named it "Steve". Steve was going to have a plush life with Das Foods: daily lubrications (this sounds vaguely dirty, but it isn't- old machines require daily maintenance) and cleanings.
Finally, Steve was purchased in May- he is about 70 yrs old, but still perky and runs well.
Immediately after purchase, Steve was sent to recuperate for tune up and repairs to our mechanics Larry and George. Since then we've been holding our breaths hoping that Steve's medical bills won't break our bank.
My prayers have been finally answered : our mechanics Larry and George have confirmed that Steve runs well and ready for action. So hopefully next week we'll be able to install and run caramels. Timing cannot be better as we're gearing up for Christmas :)
Check out Steve's Smooth Operatin' below

Steve is very fast and feisty!

The Greatest Pistachio Nut Ever!

Yesterday I was out in Milwaukee, WI for the in-store tasting of my caramels at Outpost Co-Op (a great local alternative to Whole Foods) Once again, the local favorite was our Ginger and Pistachio caramel. So I wanted to give a shout out to our pistachio supplier: The Eagle Ranch, home of wine and the plumpiest, most green and delicious pistachios.
Eagle Ranch a family owned business located in new Mexico and their pistachios are called Heart of Desert. George and Marianne Schweers have owned and operated this largest pistachio grove since 1970's and now they not only have the greatest pistachios ever, but they also now have a vineyard with 18,000 grapevines.


Eagle Ranch has a very impressive state of the art processing facility and their products are Kosher-certified.
Roasting Heart of Desert Pistachios
Before using Heart of Desert pistachios I roast them lightly in the nut roaster with some Sel Gris or (even better) Fleur De Sel and just a few drops of the vegetable oil (to ensure that salts sticks to the nuts). In just a few minutes, when the nuts warm up, a sweet fragrance fills the air: it's so hard to resist tasting just one or two nuts, just to be sure that they 're done :)


Pistachios burn easily, so constant stirring is required (especially if you're roasting them on the skillet at home!). Allow for about 5 min roasting time: they're done when the outside of the nut becomes golden brown.


After pistachios are done, I crush them a bit and add to liquid caramel at the end of cooking.

Other ideas for roasted pistachio flavors
(all recipes are for 1 lbs of pistachios)
Lime and Chile: add a few drops of the lime juice and 1 tsp of ancho chile powder (or a hotter chile- you pick!) and roast as outlined above
Chinnamon and Sugar: add 1-2 tbsp of brown sugar or (even better) Demerara sugar (can be found in specialty stores or on-line) and 1/2 tsp of Cinnamon (I prefer either Mexican or Indian cinnamon, which I also use in my Chocolate and Walnut Caramel because it is more spicy and potent)
Masala Pistachios: add 1-2 tbsp of Garam Masala (can be found in Indian specialty stores or see recipe below).

Garam Masala recipe
5 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds7
peppercorns
1 bayleaf
4 cloves
Roast each of the above till they turn aromatic
Powder to a fine powder using a coffee grinder and use as required.
This will keep well for 3-4 months in a airtight container.

Maccha Salt Pistachios
Mix 1 tbsp Sel Gris with 1/4 tsp Maccha green tea powder (can be found in Asian supermarkets- it's expensive but will last you for a long time!). Start with 1 tsp of Maccha/Salt mixure and add more as necessary to the roasting pistachios.

Chocolate Cake+ Fleur De Sel Recipe

Enough of painful memories. Here is the yummy recipe I made last night (see cakes on the left). Unfortunately there typically very little leftovers in Das household. We live by good old undergrad dorm principle: eat it now or in 5 minutes it'll be gone. Don't share. (credit for these wonderful babies goes to Bea at http://www.latartinegourmande.com/)

Molten Chocolate Cake
(for 6 small cakes)
You need:
110 g dark chocolate
115 g butter
2 large eggs
60 g flour
80 g sugar
Grated extra chocolate (or cut in small pieces)
Fleur de sel (don't know where to get it? http://www.dasfoods.com/ -)

Steps:
Preheat your oven at 400 F (200C).
Melt the chocolate and butter using a double boiler.
Greased 6 individual molds (silicone or large muffin pan).
Use an electric mixer to mix together the eggs with the sugar, until your preparation has a nice light white colour.
Add the flour and mix well.
Add the melted chocolate and mix.
Pour in the molds and add the extra pieces of crushed chocolate in the preparation.
Place in the oven for about 12-13 min and take out.
Let cool down a bit before unmolding.