Posted by Carl on Apr 15, 2009 in
Good Going
A toffee recipe, at first glance, looks deceptively simple. What could be easier…combine butter, sugar, and little water, cook it to a set temperature or certain color…poured out to cool, cover with chocolate and behold another perfect batch of toffee! If you have made toffee at home then you know that there are a host of things that can go wrong, many times for no apparent reason. I have personally produced hundreds of thousands of pounds of toffee…I am a professional toffee maker. Almond Toffee
I’m going to give you a few Toffee Maker’s secrets to help you make that perfect batch of toffee, consistently, batch after batch after batch . . .and not just ordinary toffee, but World-Class Gourmet Almond Toffee!
Toffee Maker’s Secret #1: Use an accurate candy thermometer. Use the thermometer as a guide or as a roadmap. It’ll give you an idea when you have arrived. As you gain experience, the color of the batch will also tell you when the toffee is ready.
Toffee Maker’s Secret #2: For consistency from batch to batch weigh each ingredient with a food scale and use only the finest ingredients available.
Toffee Maker’s Secret #3: Follow the cooking procedure exactly. When making toffee the procedure and timing is just as important as the ratio of ingredients. What makes toffee. . .”Toffee”. . .is the procedure.Cooking The Batch.It’s important that the butter is brought to the boiling point. Add the water and again bring to the boiling point. Boiling the butter and water will dissolve the sugar crystals very quickly. This will keep the batch from recrystallizing during the cooking process. Almond Toffee Recipes
Toffee Maker’s Secret #4: Very important! Wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush and water. Any undissolve sugar crystals will cause the batch to recrystallize. If the batch recrystallizes it will be very grainy and will also separate. I personally have never been able to save a batch of toffee if this happens. You would need to throw the batch out and start over.Let’s continue…Some critical temperatures to be aware of: At about 250°F the batch would recrystallize if the heat source you’re using is not high enough to dissolve the sugar crystals as they form. From 250 to 280°F the toffee syrup will appear thick and heavy and will give the impression that the batch is partially recrystallized. But if your stove is hot enough the tendency to recrystallize would be eliminated.
Toffee Maker’s Secret #5: Every single Toffee Maker has experienced this problem. The butter and sugar will separate during the cooking process. To solve this problem all we need to do is add an emulsifier at the beginning of the cooking procedure. Lecithin is used for this purpose. Lecithin allows the butterfat to mix with the moisture in the batch. Lecithin is a by-product in the production of soybean flour and oil. The lecithin is purified and non-allergenic for people with soybean allergies. Soy lecithin can be found in health food stores, some major supermarkets and stores that sell candy making supplies and ingredients.
Toffee Maker’s Secret #6: Depending on your elevation, adjust your temperatures by subtracting 1°F for every 500 ft above sea level. (For example: at sea level water boils at 212°F, but where I live water boils at around 201°F). Now back to cooking the toffee…As the batch thickens it will not cling to the side of the pan. As soon as the batch shows some signs of scorching, at about 290°, the heat should be turned down. From this point on the batch will gradually become thinner and will again cling to the sigh of the pan. Cooking beyond the temperature of between 280° to 315°F will cause the batch to scorch and will invert too much sugar. If this happens the toffee will be too brittle and will not develop a soft grain as it ages.
Toffee Maker’s Secret #7: Toffee should be aged for a least one week. This aging process gives the toffee a chance to develop an ideal grain and maximum butter flavor. Let’s continue. . .At the end of the cooking process, 302 to 306°F, the batch will be free from grain. At this point, add a small amount of Baker’s Special Sugar to start the graining process to give the batch a fine soft grain texture.
Toffee Maker’s Secret #8: Toffee should always be kept refrigerated or frozen and tightly sealed. NEVER, EVER, store toffee at room temperature or out in the open air!
Toffee Maker’s Secret #9: Take the flavor of your toffee to the next level, pre-roast your almonds. Use whole, raw, shelled, Non-Pareil almonds. Speed almonds on a cookie sheet and place in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Toffee Maker’s Secret #10: Use only cane sugar. The above procedure can be applied to or adapted for any toffee recipe and in many cases can be applied to any of your candy making adventures…not just toffee making. Columbine Almond Toffee
Posted by Carl on Apr 15, 2009 in
Good Going
As anyone in the process of deciding to acquire or sell a home can tell you, the complete procedure can seem impossible. Many who seek the help of a professional real estate broker endure many long nights trying to decide who is taking advantage of them more — the broker or the lender. The FTC booklet gives advice to sort it out.
You may want to visit the Buyig your First Home article to read more about how to deal with homes for sale.
The Federal Trade Commission provides a useful booklet that presents new buyers or sellers with some FAQs concerning real estate. called “Selling Your Home – Tips for Selecting a Real Estate Professional”. The booklet focuses on the proper amount you should expect to pay for a real estate commission, the ins and outs of contracts as well as business models.
While the booklet is a little short, with only a few pages, it does have many helpful tidbits. In the portion on the subject of agent charges, the booklet indicates that 6 percent is the customary standard, it is negotiable.
The booklet helps to nudge prospective customers to attempt to negotiate for a lower commission, since the broker wants your business just as much as you need theirs.
You can obtain the booklet by navigating to the FTC website at ftc.gov. When you are ready to buy or sell you may want to visit the Property for Sale site to get your best buy on a new home.
advancedonlinedegrees.info
Posted by Carl on Apr 15, 2009 in
Good Going
Daily news reports are coming out informing us something that is evident just by looking at all of the foreclosed homes in your neighborhood, the economy looks gloomy. Even as the safest investments prove to be not so safe, there are some ways to improve your bottom line.
Businesses report that earnings are down and morale is low. Consumer confidence is low as well. Because the credit market is tight, businesses are not borrowing as much to invest, expand, or fund new projects. This all affects the bottom line. With that said, times are not good right now. However, it is hard to call an actual bottom on the market, so we don’t know for sure if it will go lower.
How can I increase my income, so I can invest in the stock market?
As an investor you are taking a much greater risk, saving is a stage on the road to investing. You cannot be an investor without being a saver but you can be a saver without being an investor. Investing is what you do with the savings you have created if you are looking to generate a return on your money that is greater than what is already available to you through your savings instruments.
Are you tired of losing money in the stock market?
Millions of people have lost billions and trillions of dollars and are watching their hard earned money taxi down the runway. But putting your money under your mattress is still not the best investment in these volatile times.
The economy the stock market and the dollar are on a steady decline. It’s not a surprise that many people are scared to invest their money in the stock market right now with the wild volatility it has been showing over the past year.
With the current Obama administration, one way to start investing now is to start investing in green technology. Now may be the time to concentrate rather than diversify your portfolio. Solar cell and wind power companies would be some possibilities. Although we are facing the worst economy since the Great Depression, it is clear that in the next five years you will see more money being invested in green technology which will result in positive results for companies in this industry.
A Property Empire
Posted by Carl on Apr 15, 2009 in
Good Going
MySpace has become the most popular social networking site in the world with more than 95 million members. It accounts for 80 percent of all visits to online social networking sites according to Wikipedia. MySpace anticipates 50% of their total traffic to come from mobile phones within the next few years.
Even though MySpace has millions of users, it’s slowly losing market share to Facebook. Right now, MySpace has a larger foothold internationally but that is expected to change soon.
MySpace is an online community that lets you meet your friends’ friends. Create a community on MySpace and you can share photos, journals, and interests with your growing network of mutual friends.
The site is more for those individuals that aren’t tech savvy, which I think is part of its popularity. Users can add music, video, graphics, new fonts and crazy layout schemes to their profiles via the easy-to-use interface.
MySpace users can even use a script called a MySpace layout stealer or Myspace layout generator to copy other user’s layouts. They can also use graphics and video files that are hosted elsewhere, which is nice because it gives people an incentive to create new layouts in exchange for putting a link in the layouts they create.
MySpace backgrounds are a dime a dozen these days, and I know how tiring it can be to try and track down one that feels even mildly original. So many free MySpace layouts look alike or very close to it that locating an original layout can be frustrating. However, if you spend a little time looking around, you’re sure to find one you’ll like.
Educate Yourself For Success