Forum Activity for @Clay

Chocolates of Ecuador -- Arriba, Nacional, CCN51

Posted in: Opinion

Sam:

As always, I am struck by the care and thought you've put into your reply.

The story goes (and you are basically right), that traders coming into the port of Guayaquil looking for the famed Ecuadorian "pepe de oro" (golden seed) were told to go "arriba" up the Guayas river to find the beans they were looking for. Today we know these areas as Los Rios, Manabi, Quevedo.

It is also important to note that the bean variety has always been called Nacional. Arriba is the name given to the unique flavor, which is not a genetic characteristic as Sam has noted because rootstock transplanted in other countries does not give rise to beans with the same flavor. So there is something about the terroir - in conjunction with that specific genetics - that results in the flavor. The Nacional flavor is likened to orange blossom with jasmine mixed in. Personally, I think the best example of this flavor I have ever tasted is the first harvest and production of Felchlin's Cru Sauvage.

I also have to agree with Sam about CCN51's undeserved reputation for poor quality. I think the photo she links to was taken on the same trip in 2005 that I was on. In this case, the pods were culled early in the week before being transported to the collection center and there was a national holiday over the weekend and a soccer match against arch-rivals Peru on Monday or somesuch so the beans had been fermenting in bags for at least five days before they were picked over to remove placenta. Unfortunately, the people doing the cleaning were not tasked with removing the rotting beans.

BTW: CCN stands for Collecion Castro Naranjal. Carlos Castro was famous cacao breeder in Ecuador, and the particular hybrid - of a trinitario with the the Nacional - was number 51. It was championed by the Crespo family and it was on their farm outside Guayaquil where we saw beans like this.

Ecuador is famous (or infamous) for its lackadaisical approach to fermentation, probably because of the convoluted market system that evolved out of the destruction of the Hacienda system of the late 1800s, brought about by agrarian land reform. The farmers aren't paid to care (for the most part) so they don't.

While in Ecuador in 2005 we visited a cocoa processor (Tulicorp) where we participated in a chocolate liquor tasting. One of the revelations of the tasting was that one of the best-tasting liquors came from CCN51 beans - that had been properly fermented. Fermented properly, it's possible to make some very decent chocolate using CCN51 beans. Certainly as good as anything made with Amelonado forastero from Western Africa.

Intentional Chocolate: Fact or Hooey?

Posted in: Opinion

What is intentional chocolate? It is chocolate that has been exposed to good thoughts in the belief that when you ingest the chocolate you also ingest the good thoughts, which improves your mood even more than plain chocolate can.Fact? Fiction? Well, here's a link to the abstract of a research study in a peer reviewed journal published by a reputable publisher of said journals that says that eating intentional chocolate makes people feel better than eating un intentional chocolate.What do you think?PS. As a side note, one of the authors cited in the study is Jim Walsh, the "mastermind" behind the chocolate scam known as Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate. Just hearing that he's associated makes me skeptical. Just wanted to let you know where my bias on this is. However, that said, I see that both Drs Michael Balik and Roberta Lee (both of whom I know and respect) are contributing editors to the journal. So there may be something to it.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/20/15 04:17:51

Single Origin and Cacao varietals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

James:I don't think you're thinking wrong, but the analogy with wine goes only so far as the distinctions between bean varietals is not as well differentiated as grape varietals. Vineyards are, for the most part, monocultures of single grape varietals, so it's easy to differentiate between Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc (for example).However, because most chocolate for the past 100 years has been undifferentiated blends, and the route from farm to manufacturer is often very convoluted and blending is the norm not the exception, the value of origin chocolate is not as well established. In the wine world, a boutique vintage of 500 cases is a common occurrence, in part because there is no ceiling on the price. An established winemaker in a good year could easily charge hundreds of dollars per bottle (at the winery) for a special limited edition. Half-bottles of a good Chateau d'Yquem can cost $600. On the other hand, if there are only 1000kg (1 tonne) of rare Porcelana beans harvested from a specific farm and the bar ends up costs $21 at retail - then that's too expensive for most people, even those who don't think twice about paying $200 for a bottle of wine.I don't like to use "single-origin" because I think it is confusing. A "single origin" Ghana doesn't make much sense as it's likely a blend of beans from several places in Ghana. I prefer the word "origin" with the idea that the origin can be very broad (e.g., an entire country; Ghana) or very specific (a single plantation; Hacienda Elvesia), or somewhere in between (e.g., a growing region; Sambirano Valley, Madagascar).There are some instances where an origin and a bean type come together. One example is the Porcelana bars from Bonnat. Not only is the bean type given (the Porcelana-type criollo) but the origin of the beans is also given - Apotequil in Peru and Marfil de Blanco in Mexico. There is a third Porcelana bar whose bean origin is given only as Venezuela without mentioning a specific plantation or area within Venezuela.

Hawaiian Chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

When I was attending the Hawaii Cacao 2005 conference organized by Pam Williams of Ecole Chocolat, one of the speakers (and it may even have been Skip) mentioned that they've been trying to grow cacao commercially in Hawaii since the 1850s without much success.However, Skip is right that Hawaiian Vintage preceded Original Hawaiian by more than 2.5 years - as least as measured from the dates they started selling chocolate online (Vintage in Jan '99 and Original in Dec '01). By the same measure, Malie Kai didn't start until Dec 04.You are right that the Waialua Estate is not marketed well. Despite having consumer products, Guittar is not a consumer products company - and it shows in their marketing.

Your Top 10 Favorite Chocolate Experiences of 2008

Posted in: Opinion

As we near the end of the year, it's customary to look back and reflect on what exactly the heck happened and to try to make some sense of it. My local radio station has a Top 1043 songs of all time list that they compile each year from listener votes.Now, this is of course an unscientific sampling that may not result in anything that can be considered statistically valid. But it will be meaningful to everyone here on TheChocolateLife, so please share. The cutoff for adding your list is New Year's Eve.There will be at least one prize for the most interesting list(s) (and it has to be true!, well mostly). I am not sure that the prize(s) will be yet but it will probably have something to do with chocolate. I am going to judge the entries (my own will not be eligible for a prize).Questions? Comments? Lists? This is the place to look back on 2008 and let everyone know about your year of chocolate highlights.:: Clay
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/19/15 17:15:41

Multi-Disciplinary Art/Design Curriculum Using Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

August 8, 2009 Update: I met with President Maeda last May in New York at a RISD alumni gathering. I mentioned this proposal and was told he had no memory of receiving it. I resent it to him. Still no word.

Multi-Disciplinary Art/Design Curriculum Using Chocolate

Posted in: Opinion

Most of you probably do not know that I am a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, one of the nation's most highly respected art and design schools. Over the Columbus Day weekend in mid-October I attended a major reunion and was asked to speak on a panel about "Life After RISD." I guess parents are comforted by the fact that even though their children might not make it in the art field of their major (mine was photography), they can be successful in other areas. Excited by the experience and meeting the new president, I forwarded on the following proposal for a new program at RISD, which I think could be offered in other contexts. So far I have not heard back from them.Would YOU like to take this class? Can all this be done in six weeks or would it be better as a ten-week summer program? Any other thoughts?ABSTRACTThere are surprisingly few departments at RISD where an exploration of chocolate as medium, object, and/or subject is not relevant:Illustration, Graphic Design, Painting, and Printmaking (surface design, advertising design);Illustration, Graphic Design, and Industrial Design (packaging);Industrial Design (moldmaking);Sculpture, Painting, Illustration (as a medium);Photography, Film, Animation, Video (as object and subject);Apparel, Textiles; and Liberal Arts (history, geography, cultural anthropology, foodways, geopolitics, critical writing).Chocolate as Medium, Object, and Subject for Visual Artists is an inter/multi-disciplinary course in which students explore a broad range of 2- and 3-dimensional design challenges where chocolate is used as a medium of creative expression, the object of design challenges, and the subject of observation and serious literary and artistic critique.During the course of this program, students will be engaged in individual and team projects in 2-D surface design, three-dimensional design and construction, apparel design, user interface and user experience design, and written criticism, among other topics.Projects will include the design and production of multi-colored transfers used to decorate chocolate, designing and producing prototypes for chocolate packaging, designing and producing advertising and collateral materials for a fictional chocolate company, the design and production of prototype 3-D molds for chocolate using a number of manufacturing techniques, using chocolate as a painting medium, using chocolate as a sculptural medium, incorporating chocolate in garments, designing machines to process chocolate, designing a web presence for a fictional chocolate company, and examining the modern culture of cacao and chocolate in developed and developing countries.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/13/15 19:07:59

Roasting Cocoa Beans

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

This thread really does belong in the HomeBrew Group. I am closing this thread to further comments and cross-posting this thread in that group.

Roasting Cocoa Beans

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Bette:I offer a variety of beans in 10 pound quantities at quite reasonable prices. I chose this weight because it fits in a USPS Priority Mail flat rate box and because it's a good size to start experimenting with. When you get to the point where you want more beans - no problem. We can offer the same beans listed here in bag quantities (about 100 pounds) and I am working with a ChocolateLife member to secure several tonnes of beans, so we can meet your needs as you grow. We are offering mostly specialty beans with some "value" beans from West Africa and the Dominican Republic.I let Pam Williams know that she can refer to me as a source for beans for her students. Maybe you can check with her about that, too.While it is possible to modify a home coffee roaster in general those machines get too hot and spin too fast. So if you're serious about repeatable results a device like the Behmor - at a minimum - is a must. When your demand grows you can get a professional coffee roaster. They cost a lot more but you can roast a lot more at the same time, too and you will get far more consistent results.There is another thing to consider ... which is where your interest truly lies. Do you want to make chocolate or tinker with machinery? If you want to tinker with machinery then by all means, go ahead. But if you don't and/or aren't mechanically inclined, then don't. Focus on what you want to do and look for ways to accomplish what you want using machines that other people make. The HomeBrew group is the real place to have this discussion and there is already at least one forum thread on equipment.Until then, roasting in the oven works well as Holycacao says and his advice is good. For consistency it make sense to put some sort of ceramic object in the oven. There are liners that you can use, bricks, or the pizza stone. The requirement is to stabilize the temperature of the oven and minimize temperature changes when you open and close the door. Having a lot of ceramic reduces temperature "bounce" to a minimum. I would also recommend not depending on the thermometer in the oven. Buy a separate one with a large dial that you can keep in the oven.Finally, something that Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate said in a talk he gave in New York last year really rung true to me: become an obsessive note taker. Keep track of as many variables as you can think of - including humidity - so that from batch to batch you learn to identify aspects of the environment that affect the chocolate you're making.

Advice on packaging please

Posted in: Opinion

Georgina:It's very difficult to talk about this in the abstract. Posting a photo of the item in question, as well as pointing us to other visuals you're using would really help some of us who are struggling to visualize and grasp what you're trying to so.I studied at one of the best design schools in the country and the statements from you. "I want simple and classy..." and "I want an old fashioned font... and lots of gold" don't really help me understand what you're trying to achieve. Annette is right in the sense that you have to know who you are selling to, but there's another point there is that sometimes you get so close to the mechanics of the thing that it's difficult to step back an get a fresh perspective. I totally understand that that is what you're asking for here, but you're keeping from us important information:1) What's the retail price of the product?2) Who is the buyer?3) For themselves? A gift? Impulse item?4) If you don't want to share a picture, can you describe the mold motif?5) Where is the product found (what other kinds of products surround it)?6) How are other products you make packaged?When I work with some of my consulting clients these are all questions that have to get answered before we focus on transparent plastic versus box versus tissue versus crinkle, etc.:: ClayMake sense?:: Clay

Which pieces of equipment do/can you use for small productions?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

This discussion belongs in the Home Brew Chocolate Group .It has been moved and this discussion is closed to further comments. In order to reply to the post you need to join the Group first.:: Clay

Cocoa beans at great prices

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Anthony:It makes very little sense, economically or timewise, to get beans shipped here to the US and then ship them to South Africa. I think you're better off sourcing them from a grower in Africa.

Cocoa beans at great prices

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Adriana:Eric classified the flavors.:: Clay

Cocoa beans at great prices

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Steve:I read what you are saying but I don't understand it. The standard fermentation range for all cacao beans is about 3-7 days with Criollos being on the short end and Forasteros on the long end.Asking for 14-day fermentation for Criollos does not make any sense at all as they would be putrid. 14-days for Forastero/Trinitario? Ditto.Zero I can understand because if they are not fermented you can guarantee that they will be raw.

Top 10 Questions You'd Like to ... Ask Norman Love

Posted in: Opinion

Yes, it's just taking a lot longer than I thought to get 10 questions! I just extended the deadline to Valentine's Day.:: Clay

Top 10 Questions You'd Like to ... Ask Norman Love

Posted in: Opinion

Most people have seen the influence that Norman Love has had on chocolatiers all over the world, without really knowing much about the person behind the techniques. Since even before founding Norman Love Confections in 2001 with his wife Mary, he was known for innovative and intricate surface decorations on his molded chocolates using colored cocoa butters applied using various techniques.

Today, almost every chocolatier who makes shell-molded chocolates has at least one piece that uses one of the techniques that Norman has perfected.

Now is your chance to ask Norman questions: About his techniques, his inspirations, what it's really like to produce millions of pieces a year (he's a creative force behind Godiva's G collection as well as doing the production), what he looks for in chocolate and how he chooses the ones he uses, business advice, anything you like.

You can ask your questions by replying to this Forum post. You have until Valentine's Day to post your questions. Then, he and I will look over all of the questions that have been submitted and he will answer the 10 of them that we find most interesting. I'll give him a week or so to compose responses, then he'll send those answers to me, I'll format them, and then post them for you to read and comment on. I hope to convince Norman to join TheChocolateLife so he can respond to your comments.

Some backstory

Norman contacted me a couple of weeks ago to let me know he was about to launch a new collection, BLACK, in time for this holiday gifting season. BLACK not only takes the surface decoration techniques he is known for to an entirely new level, it is a collection of five origin bonbons. Anyone who knows chocolates well will immediately recognize the chocolates he chose for the collection: Felchlin's Grand Cru line. Norman has been using Felchlin chocolates for a long time but this is his first collection that features the Grand Cru collection - 74% Cru Hacienda (Dominican Republic), 72% Ecuador, 68% Cru Sauvage (Bolivia), 65% Maracaibo Clasificado (Venezuela), and 64% Madagascar.

When I first tasted them I found them to be not only recognizable from the outside as a Norman Love product, but inside the silky, buttery texture and flavor that are his signatures were immediately evident while complementing and not overpowering the unique characteristics of each chocolate, a delicate balancing act. So, I thought it would be interesting to "interview" him in this fashion rather than talking to him myself on the phone and writing my impressions up.

Here's what the box and the bon bons look like (click to see a larger version in a new tab/window):

And for those of you who've never seen a photo, here's an official one:

Here are the answers to Norman's top 10.

updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/12/15 10:00:54

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

Steve: Apparently we have reached another Ning inanity - the limit of nesting. So I have to reply to my reply not to yours.The analysis you refer to indicates .011 grams (11 thousandths of a gram) per 100 grams of chocolate and .0051 grams (51 ten-thousandths of a gram) per approximately 45 gram serving (calculated, not stated). I am sorry here, but I don't see a 1% increase in 51 ten-thousandths of a gram as either clinically meaningful or statistically significant - especially when this report does not indicaate that the cacao was the source of the trans-fats (because the chocolate sample you reference was flavored, not pure chocolate).This is one sample of one recipe and I am going to assume that it's not representative of all bean types worldwide because they are not all present in this sample. I have been told that the chemical structure of cocoa butter varies widely from region to region (I know this empirically from personal experience), so do you have a way of knowing if the trans-fats level in this one sample is reflective of anything other than this one sample? I don't think you just can't generalize to all chocolates from this one sample.

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

Steve:Sorry, this article is about frying, not roasting. To quote:

" ... trans fatty acids can be "formed by the high temperatures of frying, so you may be making them yourself." High heat can cause the formation of minuscule amounts of trans fatty acids over extended lengths of time. But temperatures for traditional frying (300 to 350 degrees) and relatively short cooking times (5 to 10 minutes) would have a negligible effect on the formation of trans fat in cooking oil.

"... a recent [nb: the article was published in 2003] study conducted to determine the levels of trans fat isomers formed by heat found that in canola oil heated to 500 degrees for 30 minutes, trans fat levels were increased by only 1 percent. Traditional frying at lower temperatures for shorter lengths of time would produce significantly fewer trans fats."

If as the article states, ""Trans fatty acids don't occur naturally, except for small amounts in a few plants such as pomegranates, cabbage and peas ..." we can assume that there are no trans fats in cocoa butter - and an increase of 1% of zero is zero.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 09/08/15 20:09:36

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

Steve: Residual moisture levels in beans after drying is typically 6.5-7%. Below that and they are too fragile for shipping and further handling - they break too easily. Are you saying that because of the difference in fermentation the beans aren't as fragile at such a low moisture level because they have a different texture?

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

Steve:Interesting cross reference to the "foods to avoid if you are on MAOI (mono amine oxidase inhibitor) medications" post. I am reminded that there are many examples of incidental heterodyne effects when combining two or more foods.One example is ayahuasca itself. It is made from two different plants - one of which is a vine - neither of which have psychoactive properties. It is only when the two are combined that hallucinations occur.From personal experience I can tell you that ayahuasca is poisonous as the first reaction your body has to ingesting it is a sincere desire to vomit. It is the practice to collect the body's "offerings" and dispose of them ritually. The hallucinations themselves (or at least the ones I experienced) have a quality I can only call crystalline. Very sharp edged and well defined, radiating with a bright internal light. The images I saw were based in North American Indian symbology (which I know much better than South American).I have been told (a family member of a close friend relayed this information to me and I have no reason to doubt it - I have no personal experience and I have done no research on this) that people who are on blood thinning medications such as coumadin and who supplement those medications with a low-dose aspirin regimen should exercise caution in the amount of chocolate they eat because cacao also has blood thinning properties. (BTW, chocolate is not alone here. People on blood thinning medications are advised to avoid many foods that can further thin the blood, perhaps to dangerous levels. Kale is among them. If I ever have to take coumadin or another of its ilk avoiding kale presents no real problem for me. Whew.)

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

Sam:None of Nison's opinions appear to be his own. The are all references from other authors. Ty Stanley (for the book cited) and Jeremy Saffaron.You left out my favorite factoid from Saffaron's list: "No animal in nature will eat it unless tricked into it with milk or sugar." I am not sure what the 'it' is he is referring to, as Saffaron conveniently confuses cacao seeds, cocoa beans, 'raw' chocolate, and finished chocolate. But, does he even consider that it might be the bitterness of the seeds that keeps animals from eating cacao - and that the bitterness comes from the antioxidant compounds in the cacao seeds, and that bitterness is a common tactic employed by plants to keep from being eaten?You may remember that when we were in Ecuador in 2005 that some of us attended a shamanistic ritual that included consuming ayahuasca . (Jeez, the guy can't even spell it right.) The shaman said they added ground cacao to the ayahuasca to make it more palatable. I have done a fair amount of research on this subject since and have come to the conclusion that this (adding cacao to ayahuasca) is a relatively modern practice. For two reasons. The first is that historically, the use of cacao in South American cultures was limited to making beverages from cacao pulp, not eating the seeds. The second is that if you take a look at all the textiles produced in Ecuador (for example) by indigenous peoples, there are literally no examples of cacao in the agricultural iconography they weave into their textiles. If cacao were important to them - as it was to Mesoamerican cultures - I would expect to see images of cacao pods on ceramic objects, in woven items, etc.Similarly, I took a quick look in Google for "Jeremy Saffaron" (in quotes) to see if I could find anything about him. Five results. If there was anything to this guy there would be many more than five results. There are almost 70,000 for '"David Wolfe" raw' in Google.Cocoa beans are not the only nut/cereal monitored by the FDA for which there are "allowable" levels of insect parts and droppings. This is a reflection of the near impossibility of being 100% clean - getting to that level would increase the cost of food production astronomically. I also believe that as animals we have evolved to be able to tolerate rather large quantities of these kinds of substances and it it my belief that it is the absence of these substances, especially early in life, that results in lowered stimulation of the immune system which has led to an increase in many diseases, including asthma, some allergies, and etc.We also need to remember that in some cultures insects are a delicacy! And we're not just talking parts here we're talking the entire alimentary system. The aversion to insect parts is modern, western, and maybe peculiarly British, British Commonwealth, (where the first food purity laws since Kosher were enacted) and American. If you are hungry enough you will eat grasshoppers and even grubs (an Aussie Aboriginal treat for sure) and aren't locusts and honey a Biblical staple?Saffaron says, "At mega does of 40 plus beans it acts as a hallucinogen and can cause many effects attributed to LSD or Hashish." To this I can only say that smoking dried banana peels, nutmeg, and dozens of otherwise okay foods are thought to deliver the same results. 40 beans is a lot of beans and anybody who is stupid enough to try eat that many ... hey - maybe it could be a stunt on the TV show Jackass!Nison notes, "His (Saffaron's) personal study of him (it took 1.5 years of him eating it to see extreme negative effects) and his friends showed him clearly the negative effects of cacao." At what levels of intake? This is not science and, as everyone else here has noted, there is no credible supporting peer-reviewed research to back up these claims. It's all anecdotal and therefore suspect.As one person on David Wolfe's blog TheBestDayEver opines: Water can be toxic if drank [sic] too fast in too large a quantity. If you research anything enough online, you'll find somebody claiming it's totally toxic or hallucinatory, because everything, in some quantity, will be one of the two.

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

Is it worth the price? Over at rawguru.com they are advertising a .32 ounce (9 gram) bar of chocolate for $7.97 - or the equivalent of over $180 per pound (or over $400/kg). Can this possibly be correct?Sacred Chocolate's hearts are $9.45 (quantity 1) for a 2 ounce portion, or about $75/lb ($166/kg).To put it in perspective the price of the two new Bonnat Porcelanas (Peru and Mexican origins) is $21/100gr bar - or $95/lb.

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

Chocovore - Scores will also vary widely based on the variety. For example, one of the reasons criollos are pale is that they have lower concentrations of polyphenols. So they will have lower ORAC scores right out of the pod. To really generalize: The darker the bean, the higher the concentration of polyphenols, and the higher the ORAC score. But not always.

updated by @Clay Gordon: 07/01/17 10:37:01

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

Sarah:What you might consider taking away from this discussion is that there is a group of people who are dedicated to eating "raw" foods because they consider them to be healthier than cooked foods. Not necessarily better tasting, but healthier. There are other groups of people who don't think it's necessary to be so strict about the temperatures at which their food is processed.As near as I have been able to discover, there is no legal scientifically-accepted temperature below which foods are raw and above which foods are no longer raw. The raw food "movement" has settled around a temperature of 115F as the threshold.As several people have pointed out, the temperature of fermentation piles routinely exceeds 120F, at which point the beans should no longer be considered raw. So, to be truly raw, the beans must be either unfermented or only partially fermented. Steve says he uses only partially fermented beans and I can empirically accept that partial fermentation is possible, though there is a difference between farming and fermentation so his explanation on this point is a little unclear, but I think not deliberately misleading.Steve is right, roasting temperatures always exceed 115F, so raw cacao is never roasted. Also, it is technically possible to grind beans and keep the temperature below 115F as cocoa butter is liquid around 96F so if Steve says he has built special grinders then we should be able to accept him at his word.There is some ambiguity in the raw food and organic food world about "purity" in its most literal sense. Legally in the US, manufacturers of organic foods can call them organic even if they contain small quantities (I think the max is 5%) of not-organic ingredients. Steve appears to be saying that the same thing is true in the raw food world - there are just some ingredients that somewhere in the process the temperature has to rise above 115F. He cites vanilla: "we use things like organic maple sugar, essential oils, and vanilla beans, which are all not technically raw (Vanilla Bean has to be "cured" at non-raw temperatures to bring out any vanilla flavor.)" Steve very clearly states that "only our 100% cacao bar is technically truly 100% raw." The maple sugar Steve says he uses is also not raw but has the "best vibe." However, a 57% cacao bar contains over 40% sugar which is way over the 5% max for organic foods so I personally think that calling a bar "raw" when it contains such a high percentage of "not-raw" ingredients - no matter what the vibe is - a stretch.In the case of cacao, cocoa, and chocolate, it is pretty easy to demonstrate that the more you process it, the lower the residual levels of the chemicals that contribute to wellness. However, in one of Nature's perversely common surprises, the more you process cacao the better it tastes - at least to most people.The point that I keep coming back to is, how far do you have to go to get the benefits of cacao into your diet? For me, and for many people, it is not necessary to go to extreme of raw chocolate in order to do so. For others, it is. In the end, it is really a matter of lifestyle choice as well as a matter of taste - even if the definition is a little hazy.In the end, the FDA/USDA are not likely to get involved and regulate the meaning of the word "raw" unless a lot of people start dying because they ate raw food that wasn't safe, or unless there's a huge amount of money in it for someone.Personally, there are very few raw chocolate "products" that I have liked well enough to want to eat every day. But that's me. I find that a combination of "natural" cocoa powder, nibs, and really good processed chocolate each day provides me with all the wellness benefits of cacao as well as providing me with the sensual pleasures I find lacking in most raw chocolate products.

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

Steve:Sorry if it seems like I am belaboring the point, but while some of us may know what "micromole of trolox equivalents per gram" means, other members of TheChocolateLife probably do not.:: Clay

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ... (Read-Only)

In the article you reference on agave nectar, you start out talking about maple sugar and mention that you use "Criollo Aromica Ecuadorian" beans to make your chocolate. I have never heard of this kind of bean. Can you let us know more?

Also, could you please explain for everyone what "600 umoleTE/g" means, not just spell out the technical terms.

ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity but people may not know what that means.

Thanks,
:: Clay

updated by @Clay Gordon: 07/01/17 10:34:50

Wholesale Fair Trade Organic chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Bruce, you make some very good points here. One thing that most people don't know about "Fair" Trade is that they don't certify farmers, they only certify co-ops. I think the reasons are financial - it's not cost-effective for them to work farm-by-farm and individual farmers don't generate enough income from their cacao to pay the certification fees. Organic certification is also beyond the reach of most individual cacao farmers.There are some instances where a business corporation (as opposed to a co-operative corporation) owns enough farms to be able to afford to pay for certification and in this case it's possible for a single plantation, if large enough, to be certified or to attain multiple certifications. In which case it is up to the owners to decide if the cost of certifications is balanced by the increase in markets they serve not the increase in the price they can charge. Bruce is right that farmers can earn well more than the minimums offered by "Fair" Trade and other certifications simply by focusing on quality and that all of the truly good cacao in the world commands substantial premiums over the price of commodity cacao.I have long contented that "Fair" Trade can, in some situations, exert negative (downward) pricing pressure, creating a de-facto ceiling for the price of cacao. Several people have argued that the Fair Trade price sets a de-facto floor, but I believe that it depends on the motivations and intentions of the buyer/broker. Very large companies will tend to look at it as a ceiling, smaller and artisan companies who are interested in the welfare of the farmers and who prefer to buy interesting and unusual beans tend to see it as a floor.I know that when I was with Shawn Askinosie on his first bean-buying trips we used the Fair Trade pricing model as the starting point for negotiations. On top of that Shawn added profit sharing as well as paying for options contracts on future crops and investing in necessary improvements to infrastructure (e.g., paying to improve fermentation and facilities) in advance of the harvest. In hte latter case, even though Shawn was not buying 100% of their crop the farmers were able to improve the quality of everything they harvested which meant that they could charge more for all of their beans.

Guitar

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Edward:Please post a photo of your home-made cutting wheel for us to admire!:: Clay

Guitar

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

One of the challenges that many chocolatiers face is scaling up production. Maybe you started by hand and you're looking to grow but you're really not big enough yet to shell out $3000 or so (including shipping, etc) to purchase a guitar.On another thread I posted a link to a two-part silicon truffle mold. You put the two parts together, pipe in the center (e.g., ganache) scrape off the excess and let harden. Remove the centers and dip/enrobe.The same company offers a set of four molds to make centers in four other shapes. For some people this might be a comparatively inexpensive way to bridge the gap between cutting by hand and purchasing a guitar.

chocolate tempering machines

Posted in: Opinion

Both of the small Chocovision machines (Rev1 and 2) are noisy. The ACMC machine is quieter because it doesn't have a fan. However, I don't see how they can charge so much for something that uses the same technological approach as an Easy-Bake oven.Unfortunately, there really isn't anything else in the under 10-pound range or for under $1500.

chocolate tempering machines

Posted in: Opinion

Debra:There is nothing special about the chocolate that Lake Champlain uses. It's standard stuff from Barry Callebaut, and made in the St Albans, VT factory. You can get many Callebaut chocolates in bulk from Chocosphere.com and ChocolateSource.comThe Sinsation is the same thing as a Chocovision Rev1 or 2 - it's just an old name.:: Clay

chocolate tempering machines

Posted in: Opinion

Debra:To help set the stage for this discussion can you let everyone know something about what your requirements are?Are you a hobbyist so that you only need to work with a few pounds at a time, or are you producing hundreds of pounds of chocolate a day in a mix of dark, milk, and white and need something that can handle those demands? Or are you somewhere in between?This will help us know what kinds of machines to talk about.

Chocolate Silk Screen Supplies

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Christina:Actually, in speaking with Paul Edwards about this, I do believe that Chef Rubber makes the screens. By this I mean they buy the frames stretched with the mesh from someone else but then apply the emulsion, expose and develop the image, and then do the actual screening. Also from that conversation, I got the impression that the emulsion they use (they have it made for them) IS FDA approved - they just don't sell it.If the company advertises as non-toxic when dry you can count on it. Their lawyers would not let them say it if it weren't true because of insurance liability issues.You do want to check into the material many of the transfer companies are using for their "ink" - many (if not most) of them use partially-hydrogenated fats as the carrier for the pigments. Chef Rubber uses cocoa butter.The semi-automatic machines from decotechgroup.com you refer to in your blog - RokuPrint? Systematic Automation - systauto.com - Model F1?Also - take a look at the stencils like the ones used for cake decorating - e.g., designerstencils.com. There is a lot of stuff you can do with those, including getting some very interesting textures. There is a simple way to make a jig for each stencil set to ensure precise registration. Laser-cutting thin sheets of rigid acetate makes this very easy.In the end, I agree. If you are using lots of multi-color transfers then having them made is the way to go. If you want to experiment with single-color short run then finding an inexpensive way to make them offers lots of flexibility. Cost saving is another issue - they're less expensive only if you don't pay yourself to do the work.There is wallpaper out there that can cost hundreds of dollars per roll so I think there is an interesting opportunity for someone willing to push the envelope on transfer sheet aesthetics.

Chocolate Silk Screen Supplies

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Christina:There are several companies that will make custom transfers for you, but I know of no company that sells the supplies necessary to make screens for custom screening. The challenge as you note is finding materials that are food safe - most notably the emulsion. There is one, I think, and it is GRAS (generally recognized as safe) NOT certified food safe by the FDA. So, there is a food safety/liability issue to consider.Even if you order custom transfers from Chef Rubber I don't think they will sell you the screens. I know Paul Edwards, the owner and can ask if you like.Even though the $180 sounds like a lot, it's not when compared with the cost of doing it yourself because you can't do this in a screen printing shop because of all the nasty chemicals everywhere.You need to balance the cost against the cost of all of the equipment to do it - screens, a darkroom, the equipment to process everything, the light source for exposure, and the jigs to hold the screens - very important if you are doing multi-color designs that need any sort of precise register. You also need a way to keep the ink (the colored cocoa butter) at the correct temperature/consistency throughout the printing process.If you are still interested in doing it yourself, here is the only reasonably in-depth article I have been able to find on the process in the five or six years I have been searching: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=105238 :: Clay

Next Generation Chocolatier competition finalists announced today

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Photo album with details here . Thanks to ChocolateLife member Brady for the pix.

Next Generation Chocolatier competition finalists announced today

Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)

Judging for the 2008 Next Generation Chocolatier competition happened last week, on Wednesday October 8th to be exact. The six judges (Kee Ling Tong and Fritz Knipschildt - chocolatiers; Rose Potts (Blommer) and Laura Tornichio-Vidal (Guittard) - chocolate makers; Steven Millard (Dean & Deluca) and Linda Sturges (Bloomingdales) - retail) gathered in New York City to judge the entries. In all, 25 bonbons and 7 bars entered into the judging.

The scoring system developed by me consisted of two major sections: Technical and Taste/Mouthfeel. Within each section, the judges awarded a set of scores to each piece. All 32 pieces were tasted in a firstround and the order the pieces were tasted in was random. During the first round, each judge had background sheets that listed only the name of each piece plus a marketing description and an explanation of what salt was used and why. During the first round the judges were able to ask me questions but were discouraged from talking among themselves.

Once the first round was over, the judges were asked to review their scores and cast their votes - each judge was asked to choose their top 3 bonbon recommendations and their top 2 bar recommendations PLUS indicate a choice for Rising Star. During this process they were able to discuss among themselves the pieces, re-taste, etc. Once the scoring was completed I tabulated both the raw scores as well as the recommendations using a spreadsheet. The votes were preferentially counted and the raw scores were there in case there was a need to break a tie.

Finally, as Head Judge, I was not involved in the actual judging and did not cast votes. Furthermore I refrained from making comments and remarks that might influence the judges until after the scoring sheets were collected. My role was to be there to answer questions and interpret the rules as well as keep the judging on track and onschedule. Technical considerations for the judges included visual appeal, temper, etc., parameters that spoke to the work skills and habits of the chocolatiers whose work was being judged. The Taste part of Taste/Mouthfeel had two major components; a) how well the flavors of the piece worked together, and b) how well the flavors reflected the theme. Mouthfeel covered the "bite" of the piece as well as the texture of the center and how the piece melted/chewed.

There were several things about the entries, taken as a whole, that impressed the judges. One that I was really surprised by is that there was no duplication of molds for the shell-molded pieces. I know that there are hundreds of polycarbonate molds that are commonly used - and we saw many of them - but no two molds used were alike. Another aspect of the entries that impressed the judges was the willingness of many of the chocolatiers to take flavor risks. When the organizer of the competition, Curtis Vreeland, and I first discussed the theme flavor several months ago we were worried that we might get only caramels with fleur de sel. While we did get several of these - and they were well received by the judges - pieces that really explored the competition's theme of SaltySweets received slightly higher marks and ended up being selected as finalists.

Finally, we were impressed by the number of entries in the initial application pool that qualified for the Rising Star award. In past years, the ratio of established chocolatiers to new chocolatiers was the reverse of this year. This fact gives me great hope for the future of artisan chocolatiers in this country.

Overall, the technical execution of the pieces was very high. We saw elaborate and beautiful surface decorations on the insides of molds and exquisite transfers as well as several different ways - often unusual - of incorporating salt into the pieces, including several that focused delivering the texture of the salt not just the flavor. Furthermore there were a number of multi-layer pieces - and not just ganache/pate-de-fruit pairings - that provided not only unusual texture combinations but also new and wonderful taste sensations.

In the end, the judges made their decisions and it was not obvious to me from a quick glance at the scores who the winners would be.

From the 20 chocolatiers invited to submit entries for judging, the SIX finalists are (in alphabetical order by the name of the piece):

• Dark Chocolate, Dried Blueberry, and Salty Almond Bar Maria Valente, Chocolations, Mamaroneck, NY
• Mayan Chile Verde Ganache w/ Sweet Corn Bonbon Joanne Hansen, Bon Bon Bakery & Chocolates, San Diego, CA
• Mexican Mango Bonbon Bill Brown, William Dean Chocolates, Largo, FL
• Molasses Shoo-Fly Caramel Stephanie Marcon, Coco-Luxe Confections, Sausalito, CA
• Salty Nutty Toffee Bar Sarah Hart, Alma Chocolate, Portland, OR
• Three Hot Nuts Bar Gail Ambrosius, Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier, Madison, WI

updated by @Clay Gordon: 12/13/24 12:16:07

Halloween's Upon Us. Your Faves?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I have admitted elsewhere that Halloween is the one time of the year where I break down and eat candy. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Almond Joy. Butterfingers. I don't go out and Trick or Treat, I poach from the bowl of what we've bought to give away and from the kids' bags when they're not looking.This year I didn't put a lot of thought into what we're giving ... I was at Costco and bought two big bags of mixed candy bars and sugar candies. I am thinking of making some adult hot chocolate (nudge, nudge) for the parents out their dutifully doing their, ah, duty.What about you? What are your Halloween candy favorites and what do you plan to distribute this Halloween?:: Clay
updated by @Clay Gordon: 05/05/15 10:44:24

Why is Felchlin so cheap?

Posted in: Opinion

OB -

Best answer for this question is "brand inflation." Of all the chocolate makers, Valrhona has done the best job of positioning itself as "the" premium brand for confectionery and pastry.

And you pay for that.

Is it the best? Matter of personal taste. But you pay for it, nonetheless.

Why is Felchlin so cheap?

Posted in: Opinion

Robert:There are a lot of chocolate companies represented on TheChocolateLife. I am not averse to their answering questions and mentioning their product - as long as the mention is appropriate and contextually relevant. As well as accurate.So - I don't mind Rob mentioning Tcho, but I do have to ask if the factory is up and running and they are finishing the chocolate there. Last I heard (at the Summer Fancy Food Show) roasting and liquor grinding were still (mostly?) being done in-country of the bean origin and the liquor turned into finished chocolate in SF. Is this still the state of things, Rob?Thanks,:: ClayBTW - I am on record as saying that I do like much of the marketing approach the company is taking and simplifying tasting descriptions is a big - and good - thing.

Why is Felchlin so cheap?

Posted in: Opinion

Maybe the question to ask is why Manjari is so expensive - not why Felchlin is not as expensive.FWIW, I've used a lot of the Maracaibo 65% (and sold a lot of it, too) and have found it a great chocolate to work with.:: Clay

Why is Felchlin so cheap?

Posted in: Opinion

Katie:First off, chocolateman is selling several varieties of Felchlin chocolate that are NOT a part of its Grand Cru line (e.g., the Ambra (milk) and the Edelweiss (white)). These varieties are made using less expensive beans but are made using exactly the same machinery as the Grand Cru chocolates (such as the Maracaibo 65%) with one exception: the Grand Cru chocolates are conched using old style longitudinal conches, the other chocolates are conched in modern vertical conches. Otherwise, the cleaning, roasting, cracking/winnowing, grinding, and refining are all done on the same machines. The price (and quality) difference is in the beans. The non Grand Cru chocolates are all blends and include beans from Ghana.The Maracaibo 65% is being sold for a good price - Chocolate Man is just not taking as large a markup as other vendors. CM also might be working from slightly older (but still good) inventory purchased at a better exchange rate.:: Clay

My Favorite Kitchen Confectionery tool(s)

Posted in: Opinion

This is a picture of my copper sugar boiler. It is beautiful and does a beautiful job cooking sugar for caramels and the like.What's your favorite kitchen confectionery gear? Let us know and post a picture.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/22/15 05:06:27