Showing posts with label white chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label white chocolate. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Edible Art


How about creating a painting that you can eat? Sounds weird ? But believe me its possible. It is CHOCOLATE PAINTING. You can use this kind of painting as a cake topper, as a piece of candy or as a personalised gift. The best part is that you can make it yourself . Don’t worry,  it doesn’t require any special equipment or outstanding drawing skills. You can choose any motif you want, be it pictures of friends and family, handwriting, an elegant pattern, or the movie star you have a crush on – almost anything can be turned into an accurate chocolate picture. Lets now see how a chocolate painting is made. I m sure that it will change your perception that painting isnt fun.

You will need:
- Printer and paper
- white parchment paper
- baking spray or oil
- tape
- cutting board
- white chocolate
- dark chocolate
- clean thin paintbrushes
- toothpicks

Step I:
Find the picture you'd like to paint, or make it yourself.Pictures with high contrast work best.With a picture editing software, make it a black and white picture.Then turn up the contrast so much that it only has two colors: Black and white.Flip it horizontally and print the result.

Original picture



Altered picture
Step II: Preparing the picture- Now tape the picture to the cutting board.Tape the parchment paper on top of it.Put some cooking spray or oil on a kitchen towel, and wipe the parchment paper with it to lightly grease it.
                                                                                 


                                                                              
                                                        
Step III:
Melt the chocolate- Break the dark chocolate into pieces and melt it in the microwave or in a double boiler.


Step IV:
Using a paintbrush or toothpicks, paint the dark areas of the picture.Put it in the fridge until it is completely hardened.

                                                                              

                                                                      

Optional: Application of mid tones


                                                                              
Step V:
Adding the white chocolate-Then melt the white chocolate and pour it over the whole design, the thicker, the better. This is the easiest step because you just have to splash it and disperse.Let this harden completely as well.





Step VI:
All done! Now you should be able to flip the chocolate piece over and peel off from the parchment paper.



TIPS:
1) If want to make a coloured chocolate picture, you can do it by mixing white chocolate with the different kinds of food colourings available in the market. I will suggest not to use liquid food colouring because it results in a rather bad chocolate texture. I guess it’s better if you work with liposoluble food colouring or powder alternatives. You can also think of other ways to colour white chocolate naturally. For example you can mix white chocolate with green tea powder to get green color.

2) Mirror the image if you have handwriting on your picture.

3) To get midtones mix dark and white chocolate together. When drawing, it’s okay to overlap the dark chocolate areas since it won’t shine through later.

4) Be careful not to use overheated chocolate or your previous work will melt away! Heating the chocolate for 1-2 minutes is sufficient.Shake the picture a bit to prevent air bubbles.

5) When you peel off the final thing dont touch it with bare hands.Use gloves or napkin.

HAPPY PAINTING AND HAPPY EATING!!!

Monday, September 27, 2010

What your favourite color says about you?

Colors are intrinsically woven in our lives.They are all around us.Interestingly what we dont know is that color and individual personality traits have a close relationship. Just as our personalities continually evolve, the colors we prefer also change through our experiences, environment, age, and sex.People have different tastes regarding the spectrum of colors, and this can actually tell us something about who they are, or how they are feeling on a particular day. In fact changes throughout your life can/will cause you to change the preferences of your likes and dislikes, which is just as well since the same old thing every day would become boring. So, as you get older and more mature, you will find that you like different shades, flavors, and even scents. This is neither good nor bad; it just means you are changing in some way.

Now think of your favourite and see what it says about you:
Black
Like: This is rarely chosen as a favorite color because it is actually the negation of color. The person who chooses black may have a number of conflicting attitudes. You may be conventional, conservative and serious, or you may like to think of yourself as rather worldly or sophisticated, a cut above everyone else or very dignified.
Dislike: Since black is the negation of color, it may be a total negative to you. It is the eternal mystery, the bottomless pit, the black hole. You are uncomfortable with the super-sophisticated and feel insecure in their company. You like real people and are not dazzled by dignitaries.

Blue
Like: The color of tranquility and peace, blue tends to be the most preferred color universally. Although cool and confident (or wishing to be), blues can be vulnerable.
Dislike: A dislike of blue may mean restlessness-a need to break away from the sameness that bores you. Perhaps you would like to change your job, or even your life, and long for more excitement.

Brown
Like: The color of Mother Earth is the hue that is associated with substance and stability. A preference for brown means you have a steady, reliable character with a keen sense of duty and responsibility. Family life is very important to you.
Dislike: You probably fantasize about a lot of things, perhaps traveling with a circus or racing cars. Novelty excites you and routine drives you crazy.

Gray
Like: People who prefer this most neutral of all shades are carefully neutral about life. You like to protect yourself from the hectic world, wrapping yourself with the security blanket of a noncommittal color. You are the middle-of-the-road type, cool, conservative, composed and reliable.
Dislike: To dislike gray is to dislike neutrality. You would rather be right or wrong, but never indifferent. Routine bores you. You look for a richer, fuller life.

Green
Like: Nature's most plentiful color promises a balance between warmth and coolness, so green people are usually stable and balanced types. This is the good citizen, concerned parent, involved neighbor and PTA member--the joiner of clubs and organizations. You are fastidious, kind and generous.
Dislike: Since lovers of green are usually very social and are joiners, dislikers of green will often put these qualities down. You may have an unfulfilled need to be recognized that causes you to pull away from people rather than join them. Yours is a no-nonsense approach to life. You don't like others to be coy with you--you would rather prefer them to be direct. Nostalgia is not your thing; you live in the present.

Orange
Like: Orange is a combination of red and yellow, so it takes on many of the characteristics of both colors. It is vibrant and warm, like the autumn leaves. Orange has the physical force of red, but it is less intense, less passionate. Lovers of this color work and play hard ,are adventurous and enthusiastic.
Dislike: Life is definitely not a dish of gumdrops for the rejecter of orange. Nothing flamboyant appeals to you. You dislike too much partying, hilarity, loud laughter, showing off and obvious intimacy. As a result, you may be difficult to get to know, if not a loner.

Pink
Like: This is a softened red, so it tempers passion with purity. It is associated with romance, sweetness, delicacy, refinement and tenderness. Pink people are interested in the world around them, but they do not throw themselves into participating with the ardor of the red person. Violence in any form is upsetting to you.
Dislike: Soft, medium tints do not evoke much emotion--many people are indifferent to pink. It is sweetness, innocence and naive--red with the passion removed.

Purple
Like: This hue has an aura of mystery and intrigue. The purple person is enigmatic and highly creative, with a quick perception of spiritual ideas. Purple is often preferred by artists. People who like to consider themselves different from the common herd or unconventional often prefer purple.
Dislike: If you dislike purple, you probably have no desire to be artistic or creative. You feel that purple represents snobbery, falseness, exaggeration and vanity. You pride yourself on your sincerity and genius, and sometimes misjudge others because you do not like them or approve of them.

Red
Like: Just as red sits on top of the rainbow, you like to stay on top of things. You have a zest for life. Remember that red can speed up the pulse, increase the respiration rate and raise blood pressure. It is associated with fire, heat, and blood, so it is impossible to ignore. And so are you (or would like to be).
The key words associated with red are winner, achiever, intense, impulsive, active, competitive, daring, aggressive and passionate. Red people are exciting, animated, optimistic, emotional and extroverted. Desire is the key word; they hunger for fullness of experience and living.
Dislike: Since red is primarily associated with a zest for life, excitement and passion, a dislike of this hue could mean that these feelings are a bit much for you to handle at this point in your life. Perhaps you are bothered by the aggressiveness and intensity that red signifies.

White
Like: White is cleanliness and purity, and those who prefer white are neat and immaculate in their clothing and homes. You are inclined to be a cautious buyer and shrewd trader, but critical and fussy.
Dislike: Since white represents cleanliness and purity, to dislike white does not exactly mean that you are a messy person, but it does mean that you have never been obsessed with order. You are not very fussy. Things that are a little off-center are much more interesting to you than those that are perfectly in line.

Yellow
Like: Yellow is luminous and warm because it is strongly associated with sunshine. It sparkles with optimistic activity. Yellow people are highly original, imaginative, idealistic, creative, artistic and often spiritual.
Dislike: If you dislike yellow, you usually dislike the qualities that this luminous color has. You are a realist--a practical, down-to-earth person and probably critical of others who are not.