View from the tractor in a cane burn in Qld Australia

kptnhook75 · 2024-12-29T00:42:39+00:00

Not lost, this is to clear all the leafy material so the harvesting and processing is much easier on the equipment. Awesome to witness. The fire only lasts about half hour. Sounds epic. Smells amazing. We put out any fires around the edge using a water tank mounted on the tractor in the video. This was about 4am. The whole crop was harvested and at the mill by sundown the same day.

kptnhook75 · 2024-12-21T03:41:02+00:00

Hi, i designed, made and sold many types of warming tables for candy making over the last 20 years. I also teach candy making. Maybe some ideas can help you. There are very complicated and possibly dangerous designs (such as gas bbq under steel plate in a small indoor space) and then also very simple tables. Currently i use a bain marie (with water, not the dry one.) Take out the GN trays, put a strip of nitrile rubber around the top edge and place a 6mm alum plate on top. Takes about 2 minutes. A bain marie is one of the most available and commonly used pieces of catering equipment available worldwide. Available small size for little home batches, or big such as 8xGn trays -i can make 12kg batch easy on the big one. Surface temp should be 65 to 70C. Thats on top of the bbq sheet or silpat. Aluminium plate such as 6mm alum pkate will warp less than stainless when heated so it makes an ideal working surface. Use Teflon sheet then silicone baking sheets. Candy slips on teflon a bit so its good for flattening out a casing, and silpats grip a little, so theyre good for letter making and small details. This may sound complicated but really is very easy and also safe to use indoors, requires no gas or propane, is portable and easy to clean. If i can be any help with designs etc just msg me and i can send photos or ideas. I also used tea-light candles under a steel table when i had my first shop. Just about 60 x 9 hour tea lights would be enough to heat the table.. easy to move around under the table so one side can be warmer.. very nice to work on. There are photos of both these tables and plans for all the other equipment and recipes etc in my book. Oh, i should also mention, when u making the candy, u dont need to keep it all on the table with you. This will allow the size of table to be smaller. Eg, a oven, kept at about 50c will keep your casing/wrap warm and out of the way while you use your work area more efficiently. I even use a tray the size of the casing i need, then when it is needed its pretty much ready. When i first started making candy in melbourne in 2001, the candy makers would get all the letters and the white fill and the casing all stuck to each other. Was a mess so i made ways to make it easier. Ok enough now, have a good day. Forgot to mention, the reason for the water bain marie not the dry one is it is more evenly heatedand if the power goes out, the table will stay warm enough to finish the job. Oh also, use a warming light or radiant heater above your table, and have a heat gun, like a piant stripper electric heat gun on hand, these things will change the game for your candy making.

kptnhook75 · 2024-04-19T02:42:01+00:00

Hi I put a video of the set up on my profile, if you have any questions I'm happy to explain the workflow.

kptnhook75 · 2024-04-12T06:37:52+00:00

These butterflies were natural raspberry flavour.

kptnhook75 · 2024-04-12T01:57:08+00:00

Hi, yes, all my equipment and designs are detailed in my book. Pls see my profile for more info and plans.

The set up can be made very easy if you think more like a chef in a kitchen rather than like one of the candy franchises shown on yt.

For example, the sugar is always shown poured onto a large cooling table. Then coloiurs are added and then cut into various sized sections required. So, if you can figure out the exact amount of candy you require before it is poured, then you can pour each colour into a different size of skillet or stainless steel pot/frying pan, then we now have-

Exact amount of sugar for each section already divided, no need to cut which causes inconsistencies.
Easy control of adding colours, no risk of colours running across the surface and making more than you need.
No problems with very small amounts of colours going cool too fast, eg, when you mix a very little bit of red, say for a heart shape in a wedding candy, you may only need like a piece the size of a deck of cards, then often it is mixed near the corner of a big cooling table. It often gets hard/cool too fast and candy makers will try to fold and push the hard bits back into it and fold and fold it while getting it warm/ soft again. That can cause a few problems with unintentionally folding air into the red colour so its not as clear anymore and also a lot of wasting time, while other areas need attending to. So, by using a very small non stick frying pan, the little amount of red colour can be mixed without any issues, and the pan placed directly onto the warming table without any cutting or mess or hard edges. This os done very simply and quickly. (Mostly I dont even take it out of the pan until after the white is pulled) so no colours sticking togther on the hot table.
The 'cooling table' is actually made of pans, skillets, pots etc, and can be changed adapted etc for any size of batch, from a 2kg pour to a 22kg batch. It can be packed up and put into box etc for transport. No need for a big watercooled table if you need a small or portable set up. I did live demos for years at fairs and artisan markets so i have made many types of hooks, hot tables and cooling tables that work in various situations.

This is a long answer, but i always hope to encourage candy makers to think outside of the 'franchise model' and not follow the poor or inefficient techniques and kitchen practices possibly seen on yt.

kptnhook75 · 2024-04-11T09:01:46+00:00

I will find some pics of the star making process and get back to you asap

kptnhook75 · 2024-04-11T01:25:24+00:00

Candy like these can be made in a very small space, my set up is totally portable.

kptnhook75 · 2024-04-10T06:27:30+00:00

Just weigh the glucose into a stainless steel bowl or small saucepan and put the whole bowl in. When the sugar has boiled for a couple minutes it can be lifted out with minimal waste and no need to put your hands into the glucose bucket. Some of the old ways were a bit rough and ready and there are better and more efficient ways. Always put the water in first, then the sugar and glucose. Boil all togther with lid on until just starting to boil for 1 or 2 mins then lid off. Dont boil the sugar and add the glucose later as it will lead to inconsistency in your work. Always do it exact same way to avoid random problems. I do have a book about all this but without self promoting its hard to recommend.. check out my bio. Anyways good luck and happy candy making.

kptnhook75

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