Sugar Art questions...

[panini]

Sure there are. Let me ask the kid to see if he knows of any good free websites

[cakerookie]

Thats alright I have stopped doing sugar work anyway. Just not any good at it. Y'all have a good one I am outta here.

[chrose]

Originally Posted by cakerookie

Thats alright I have stopped doing sugar work anyway. Just not any good at it. Y'all have a good one I am outta here.

How could you be after a month or so. It t'aint easy. Besides we can't all be good at everything, you want to see some real artwork, look up some Garde Manger work, or if you want to be amazed seek out Gabriel Paillaison for some amazing ice carving. There is also some incredible work going on in Europe (alright fine, here too) with things like Fondant and Massa Ticino etc.
Sugar is not the be all and end all. Art is in the eye of the beholder.

[momoreg]

Some things do take practice. For someone with such enthusiasm, I'm surprised you've invested this much time, only to throw in the towel, cakerookie. But I do recall this happening a couple months back. Maybe you just need a push. You can learn, if you really want to, but you know that already.

[cakerookie]

No what I need is a good swift kick in the pants. I have been a jerk!

[VillageCakeLady]

Upper NY State? You must be able to go to NY City. Try doing some demo classes at FCI. Check out ICES in your area. Once you are addicted , there is no turning back.......

[Mike Hartman]

You're all right (correct). I meant by going into Sugar Art through the Pastry industry. (sorry). When I said Gourmet chef, I was referring to a national cuisine skill (like French cooking, Chinese, Italian, etc.) I was mainly curious about sugar art as just a hobby to do, but if I enjoyed it enough, I would go into the Pastry career, doing sugar art as a side project to work together w/my pastries. And if all else fails, my back-up plan would be the "Gourmet Chef" (as I described above). I'm not 100% sure on termonology for it, but that's the best I can describe it, making a bit of sense , like Sous Chef (still not sure what exactlly it means or what it is) and the other specific types of Chefs out there in the industry. So, I'm really sorry if I don't make some sense when I ask questions . You'll have to excuse my lack of termonology, still fairly new to the whole industry, but have a fond love of cooking.
Ok, I think I summed up most of the problems...? If it's still not clear, sorry . Anything else...?
Art to me is what Chefs and Artists do. In other words, if a person smiles and says the like it / love it, it's art to me. I just LOVE making people happy when they bite in to food or sweets and tell me they love it. It's just something I can't live w/o. I LOVE IT! (Voted "Most Artistic" in High School this year. I'm a senior in H.S. right now,by the way.)

Sorry,
Mike Hartman

P.S. - VillageCakeLady - NYC is about 4-5 hours from me. I live about 30 minutes outside Syracuse (if I take the Thru-way). So getting to NYC would be about a 1/2 day trip. lol.
And I would LOVE to see a show, showing sugar art. It's just amazing!!

P.P.S. - Panini: a good free website I use (not sure if you will or not) is www.9k.com. But limited to a certain ammount of things to add. Check it out and see what you think.

[foodpump]

Don't want to sound like I'm nagging or anything, but alot of us have worked long and hard to earn the title "Chef". It comes only after years of experience, and technically, only to those who operate or manage a kitchen and a brigade.
Before you can walk, you have to crawl, and before you can become a "Chef", you have to become a cook. Seems to me the media in this continent have made the word "Cook" a dirty word. It's not, I am proud to call myslef a Cook. A sous-chef is the second in command. Again, someone with years of experience, for s/he must impart their knowledge to thier subordinates.

Don't spend too much on the sugar stuff right now. A decent pot, a good thermometer, a solid table ( that hot sugar poured on a thin s/s top will immediatly buckle and warp) maybe a Sil-pat. Once you're comfortable with pouring and casting, then go on to the next stages. Oh, and most important: When you do your sugar stuff, make sure you're comfortable and not stressed for time.

[cakerookie]

I agree with foodpump. You can tie a lot of money up in this stuff real quick and it don't come cheap. Most of it you can make yourself or get it at the local hardware store. Most chefs practice this as a hobby anyway because most commerical kitchens do not have areas set aside for this type of work. You will proably read that a copper pot is essential for boiling sugar. You can use a good stainless steel pot or even enamel ones.Copper is excellent for sugar work because of its even heat conduction but copper pots don't come cheap! A good 2 quart size stainless steel pot will work fine. The one most important piece of equipment you should invest in is a good candy thermometer! This is your most valuable piece of equipment in sugar work. Does any of this make sense? I am still working on the website let you know when I get it back up.

[Mike Hartman]

Yes, most of it is making sense. I did buy a Candy Thermometer last night. And I also got 3 Plastic Cutting boards (it says it's capable of withstanding the cooling of baking goods on it.) So I got those. I also got the other things needed to at least go abouts doing / starting it. I do have a stainless steel pot with a copper bottom on it. Will that work ok?
(And still waiting for your website! lol )

Thanks again,
Mike Hartman

[cakerookie]

Yeah, your pot will work fine. If you are going to use those boards I would suggest oiling them lightly with vegetable oil first before you pour the hot sugar onto them. I am going to throw another wrench in the pile here. Do you have a metal spatula or dough cutter. The boards you have are fine. But I would suggest looking into getting some silpats or a marble slab. A large cookie sheet pan will work to I have used mine on numerous occassions. Might want to consider a cheap pair of rubber gloves too. Not going to do much in the way of protecting your hands from the heat but it might cut down on your blisters. Yeah, blisters! Part of the hazard of this type work and you will get a few.

[m brown]

Get some sergical rubber golves, they come in a box of 100.
AND
Cotton under liner gloves, ie butler gloves.
First put on the cotton and then the rubber.
If you have never done sugar, be extra careful with your hands and face.
I have seen professionals get nasty injuries from sugar.
Get to some hands on demos etc.
Best!

[cakerookie]

Amen! And have a bowl or sink full of cold water handy in case there is an accident.

[cakerookie]

Well I finally found a webspace site. You can check it out. Note that the site is still under construction and I would like some tips from everyone on what I should add or take away. Thanks.

http://freewebs.com/dessertcarnival/

Oh, anyone with web experience. Should I post links on the first page or last page? Not sure where I should put them have several at least 3 already. I also have a blog@

http://www.mycookingblog.com/1-sugarcreations.php

[Mike Hartman]

Yeah, I've heard of such injuries before as well. That was one of the first things I read about when I started looking in to this subject. I don't have any metal spatulas and no, I don't have any dough cutters. But I am capable of getting one either tomorrow or Saturday. And I was preparing on buying a pair of gloves for handleing the sugar,too (yet wasn't sure what kind of gloves until I got to the store and browsed around).