Blogs

After trying SOMA's Roasted White Chocolate Rabbit last week, and discovering that fired-up white chocolate is delicious and tastes like campfire marshshmallows, I was inspired to try this technique in my commercial kitchen. Now SOMA needs not worry about me competing with them anytime soon, but it was certainly fun to pull out the culinary torch and tinge my chocolate eggs. Here are the results: http://ultimatechocolateblog.blogspot.ca/2015/03/roasted-white-chocolate-eggs-treat.html .

Chia seeds have been taking off lately as the next big thing in health food trends, and just a few weeks ago a story about Taylor Swift hit the celebrity-news circuit, attributing a recent weight loss to munching on these little seeds.  So here are the details on the seeds and a recipe to give your dark chocolate a fun crunch and a healthy kick: http://ultimatechocolateblog.blogspot.ca/2015/03/chia-chocolate-bars-perhaps-chocolate.html .

One of our favorite moments on  Oahu  took place in a traditional Hawaiian establishment in Kailua called  Hale Kealoha , with slack key players on stage, hula dancers called up from the crowd, many bowls of delicious and traditional Hawaiian food on the table, and surrounded on all sides by locals. Two of those locals, Dylan and Tammy, sat across from us and shared both a piece of birthday cake and a lot of knowledge. Dylan is the chocolate-maker and founder of  Manoa Chocolate Hawaii , and Tammy, his fiance, manages the front of the house, the wholesale accounts, and much in between!

Read more here: http://rootchocolate.com/2015/03/16/visiting-manoa-chocolate-hawaii/

Learn to make beautiful truffle-filled eggs for Easter with inexpensive and simple candy & chocolate molds, plus find the recipe for melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter meltaway truffles to fill the eggs. Get the recipe and instructions here: http://ultimatechocolateblog.blogspot.ca/2015/03/white-chocolate-peanut-butter-truffle.html .

Sure you could learn to temper chocolate without a thermometer by doing the lip test (kinda gross) or the back of your hand test (still gross), but it isn't always accurate when you are learning.  What I've learned is to just jump to a digital thermometer to get an accurate reading every time and ensure your chocolate really is in temper.  So here is a little advice on choosing a thermometer for tempering chocolate: http://ultimatechocolateblog.blogspot.ca/2015/03/digital-thermometers-must-have-when.html .

While on Oahu , Richard and I visited two and a half farms growing cacao. Why the half? Let me explain…

The first farm we visited was Kahuku Farms , on the North Shore. Dr. Nat of Madre recommended we stop by here. Kahuku provides farm tours or, as they call them, smoothie tours. We rode around on a wheeled bench, pulled by a trailer through the rows of beautiful crops in the demonstration portion of the farm and received a delicious homemade smoothie made from the ingredients we had seen just moments before. Our tour guide is married to Kylie, a fourth generation Kahuku farmer and has taken on the education part of the business. We learned a lot about the history of the farm and their attempts to share such fresh and delicious vegetables with the local population. Hawaiian food traditionally includes a lot of meat, but the Kahuku food truck serves only vegetarian foods made from their farm’s produce. Surprisingly to the farming family (but not to us Californian hippies), it’s a huge hit!

Read more about Kahuku Farms and our visits to Lonohana and Waialua Estates, here: http://rootchocolate.com/2015/03/12/cacao-farming-on-oahu/

From weddings to baby showers and from corporate events to milestone anniversaries, party favors have become increasingly popular. They are used to express appreciation to the guests as well as promoting brand visibility and loyalty. According to Chocolate Favors World, "Choosing chocolates as return gifts has become the best way to make a lasting impact. This is on account of the universal fondness of chocolate." Did you know that the worldwide consumption of chocolate was as high as 7.2 million tons in 2009? It is expected to skyrocket to 8.2 million tons by 2020, according to the Statistics Portal Statista . Once you have decided on chocolate as a great option, there are several things you may wish to consider to arrive at the final decision.

Making the Right Decision with Chocolate Favors

Shape:  Chocolates are available in a large variety of shapes and sizes. You can make the choice depending on the occasion. For instance, if it's a Christmas party, you could get favors in shapes of Santa, a star or even a reindeer. For weddings, heart shaped chocolates or ones with wedding bells could be ideal. The decision could depend on the gathering. If it's a corporate setting and guests would comprise of employees or clients, you may wish to opt for simpler designs like squares and bars, as this will showcase your logo better. In case you wish to have a theme party, the shape could be chosen accordingly. For instance, if you are having a casino themed partly, you could opt for chocolate poker chips, which are easily available online. In fact, you would be surprised at the array of shapes available, including different fruits, puzzle pieces, champagne bottles and even bandages!

Taste: You would want your guests to savor the chocolates and remember you fondly. Since taste is such a critical part of your favor, opt for Belgian chocolate. If you wish to add an exquisite touch, you could choose dark chocolate, although milk chocolate is more popular, especially among kids.

Customization: The wrapper as well as the chocolate can have some artwork. For instance, if it is a corporate event, you could have the company logo and tagline on the wrapper and the chocolate.

Packaging: Often ignored, packaging can add to the novelty of your return gift. Apart from the chocolate wrapper having some artwork to depict the theme of the party, you could opt for the favors to be placed in colorful organza bags with matching ribbons or a transparent box. If you have chosen a unique shape, ensure that it can be seen through the packaging.

One of our most decadent evenings on Oahu was spent at Madre Chocolate  in Kailua. We were the last ones to arrive for a whiskey & chocolate tasting, taking place in their tiny retail storefront. We squeezed into our chairs at one of the two tables of 8 people each. In front of each person was a placemat with two sets of flavor wheels on one side and a colorful list of all the available chocolates and whiskeys on the other. We also each had a line of whiskeys in shot glasses and the table was laid with about 15 different cocoa pod-shaped dishes, piled with small tastes of various chocolate bars made by Madre.

Read more here:  http://rootchocolate.com/2015/03/09/learning-from-dr-nat/ 

Since Marou started making waves among chocolate lovers worldwide, there are telltale signs that Vietnamese cacao is becoming the trendy thing to do in bean-to-bar chocolate. Here is my list of single-origin chocolate bars that I've found made from Vietnamese beans: http://ultimatechocolateblog.blogspot.ca/2015/02/vietnam-trending-chocolate-origin.html  Do you know of any others? I'd love to learn about them!

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