Describing chocolate
Posted in: Tasting Notes
This is the "spider graph" for Felchlin Maracaibo Clasificado 65%:
Forum Activity for @Clay
Posted in: Tasting Notes
This is the "spider graph" for Felchlin Maracaibo Clasificado 65%:
Describing chocolate
Posted in: Tasting Notes
When I was in the Bay Area in late February to speak at Copia during their chocolate festival, I spent some time with TCHO (the name is properly spelled in all caps) founder Timothy Childs discussing a number of different issues. One of them was their approach to describing flavors in chocolate.
According to Timothy, TCHO plans to not market their chocolates using percentages (or maybe even origins) because they feel that the percentage conveys no meaningful information about either the taste or the quality of the chocolate (I totally agree with them on this point). They are also looking to simplify how flavors are conveyed by concentrating on a relatively small number of tastes and focusing on the dominant note. Their first bar, made from Ghanain beans is labeled simply "chocolatey." In part, this recognizes that the vast majority of chocolate lovers are not super-tasters, so lengthy lists of flavors nuances are neither useful nor helpful.
What I find frustrating about most flavor descriptions is that they tend to ignore the temporal dimension - how the chocolate changes in taste in the mouth over time - and other taste attributes such as intensity. In thinking about this, it occurred to me to look at art forms that have temporal aspects - dance, film, music - to see if there was anything in their vocabulary that might make sense.I found one in music, or more accurately, synthesizers and the concept of Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release (ADSR). This was a pretty cool analogy, I thought. How does the flavor "attack" in the mouth? Does it start off strong and weaken or does it start off quietly and pop with a bang when it warms up? Once the flavor reaches its peak, does it drop off quickly or slowly? How long does the flavor last and how does it change (the short aftertaste)? Finally, how does the flavor clear out of the mouth (the release, or long aftertaste).
I am still looking for a way to visually represent the concept of ADSR as well as another idea that reflects where the chocolate "sits" in the mouth - is it low and earthy and in the bottom of the mouth or light and airy and aromatic and in the nose?
Make sense?
I am really unhappy with the spider graphs that many chocolate manufacturers use because the shapes are meaningless. Any visual system has to be able to provide information that can be comprehended at a glance. It should be possible to tell the differences between two chocolates instantly and you just can't do that with a spider graph. In part this is because there is no standard and every manufacturer orients the axes in a different order and have different layouts for milk and dark chocolates.
Ultimately that's what it's all about - providing an instantly comprehensible visual representation of the flavor profile of a chocolate that also makes it possible to make meaningful comparisons at a glance.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 11/07/15 09:54:24
How to create hyperlinks (links to other pages) in posts
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
A number of people have expressed that they are having problems using the hyperlink function to add links to their forum and blog posts and comments.To create a hyperlink:FIRST - select the text that you want to add the link to.SECOND - click on the link icon in the toolbar above the panel where you type in the text of your post or comment. (It's to the left of the image icon and to the right of the strikethrough icon.)THIRD - in the pop-up dialog, enter the fully qualified URL (include the http://) of the page you want to link to. (Usually it's easiest to have that page open in another tab or in another browser window and copy it - then paste it in the pop-up dialog.)LAST - Click okay.The HTML code for the link will be inserted in your post. To make the link more obvious, make sure the link text is still highlighted and then click on the "B" icon to make it bold text.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/11/25 09:27:36
White Chocolate- is it really chocolate?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Believe it or not, there is an FDA standard of identity for white chocolate . What this means is that there is a substance that can legally be called white chocolate in the US. Whether or not you agree with that is another matter entirely.Much chocolate consists of a blend of beans from different growing regions. As cocoa butter has the flavor of the beans it is made from, and cocoa butter is often added during conching, much cocoa butter is deodorized, that is, has its flavor removed so the flavor does not have to be calculated in the blend.Because white chocolate is really only cocoa butter, sugar, milk/cream, and vanilla, the reason most white chocolate has no chocolate flavor is that it's made from cocoa butter that has had all the flavor removed from it.El Rey Icoa is one of the few white chocolates in the world that is made from undeodorized cocoa butter. Thus it has a mild milk chocolate flavor. El Rey can do this because all of the beans it uses to make the chocolate come from a single growing region (Carenero in Venezuela). One of the reasons why Swiss white chocolate is thought of highly is the quality of the dairy ingredients. One reason why people like white chocolate (apart from the fact that it is sweet) is the texture - because there is no powder (what the industry calls non-fat cocoa solids) there is no grainy texture - only the texture of sweet fat.It took over a decade of lobbying by the Chocolate Manufacturer's Association to get the FDA to agree to a standard of identity for white chocolate.The exact chemical makeup of the butter varies, but for the most part the components that affect cholesterol metabolism and related functions are in the butter. Virtually all of the alkaloids (caffeine, theobromine, phenyethylamine, etc) are in the powder.
Mast Brothers Chocolate- bean to bar producer out of Brooklyn, NY
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Brady:Thanks for this intro to Mast Brothers. I first heard about them a couple of months ago but I seldom make it into Brooklyn so I haven't tried any yet. Do you still have the wrappers? Maybe you can scan and post them in a Photo album?
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Julia - Michael is right, Original Hawaiian is not the only one though it is a very short list.At the moment, Dole's Waialua estate beans are being made into Chocolate by Guittard, so that counts as 100% American, though not tree to bar.There are at least two ChocolateLife members who live in Hawaii who are either actively doing commercial tree to bar or very close to going into commercial production. One of the companies is Garden Island Chocolate and the member is Koa Kahili. Check it out.But I agree that Bob and Pam are the first to get something sustainable going commercially. They've been trying to grow cacao into a commercial crop in Hawaii since the 1850s and just now starting to be successful at it.:: Clay
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Nina:There is some debate in the chocolate-making community about whether or not a company that roasts and grinds in rented facilities qualifies as a bean-to-bar chocolate maker and I have had these talks at length with Timothy (who I was first introduced to years before he started to TCHO), Jane, Louis (whom I've known since before they launched Wired), John (whom I met in Ecuador in 2003) and Rob.In the past (if you'd read all the discussions on this topic) you'd have noticed that I personally believe that a company that personally supervises every step of every batch qualifies. But that's the commitment. Every Step of Every Batch. As far as I am concerned, if TCHO does this then they qualify. But I do not make chocolate and there are some who do make chocolate who do not share my opinion.One of the challenges I have had with TCHO since the very beginning (and I wrote my first article, which at one time was included in your press materials) is that you have not done a good job of communicating what you've been doing any place other than tcho.com - and even there not so well at times. In the absence of concrete and good information, people have been drawing their own conclusions and running with them, to the detriment of TCHO.I've been in contact with Rob about meeting while I am in SF. I hope I have the chance to meet you, as well.:: Clay
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Nina:Actually, there's some question in this forum and elsewhere as to whether or not TCHO qualifies.Are you now performing all of the manufacturing steps in your factory in SF?Some people (many actually) believe that outsourcing roasting and grinding, even if they are done under supervision, doesn't count. I personally am still undecided in this matter - I am just asking to get some more clarity on what the current state of the processes being performed on-pier, so to speak, are.:: ClayBTW - I will be in SF for the Winter Fancy Food Show and have been speaking to Rob K about stuff so I hope to visit and meet.
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
I added the updated link to the Home Page. For convenience it is here too.
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
There are lots of discussions on this topic so I'd appreciate NOT getting off-topic in this discussion. I'd recommend joining the group Startup Central and asking the question there.PLEASE everyone, do not answer this question in this discussion.
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
This is the link .
updated by @Clay Gordon: 09/12/15 00:45:26
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
It all depends on what your definition of "bean to bar" is. I think most people think that in order to be bean to bar you have to be a small producer. You don't.Dove (which is sold under the Galaxy name in the UK) is a Mars brand. So somewhere there is a Mars/Dove factory (or factories) where beans are processed to produce chocolate that gets wrapped in Dove wrappers for sale to consumers. That's bean to bar.Bean to bar is a process description not a quality metric.Now, Hershey no longer processes beans, they buy liquor. So they're not bean to bar. Callebaut deposits large bars of chocolate mostly used by professionals. So they are a bean to bar company.I think that there are other process labels - "artisan" and "craft" are really applicable to smaller scale production and are more useful and usable than bean to bar has become.
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
What most people would consider a "true" bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer would physically do their own roasting and grind liquor from those beans on their own machines - not have someone else do those steps to their specs/protocols.
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
I am still working on an acceptable replacement - it's harder than it seems because while di do have some programming knowledge, I don't have a lot of database programming knowledge. The kinds of sorts and filters you're talking about will be included in what gets delivered.It will be possible to print reports directly from pages generated by the database without having to do and export/import.
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
I would not be surprised that the number is this large, and I think it's a good thing. I have long held the opinion that if a city is large enough to support a micro-brewery or brew-pub (or three) it's large enough to support a micro- to medium-batch chocolate company.It also would not surprise me that JT is selling off his chocolate-making equipment. The universal grinder/refiner/conche he bought is very noisy and probably can't be run during normal business hours without stressing out the staff and customers.
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
All:I have created a simple database that will enable us to track these companies more easily. It is located here .PLEASE DO NOT ADD ANY MORE COMPANY NAMES HERE. Please add them in the database. If you have added a company to this list, please consider making an entry in the database for it.Thanks in advance,:: Clay
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
One French term is "fondeur" - melter.I guess it depends on what you think of as a chocolatier. If a shop buys most of its stuff (truffles, bon bons) but makes chocolate-dipped pretzels are they a chocolatier?In the end, I don't really care where the line is drawn. I will continue to appreciate most those who work to express their own creative visions, not sell someone else's.
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Christopher is making chocolate from beans? That's new. Can anyone independently confirm this?
American, Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers: A Complete List
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Care to include a Canadian company? Soma in Toronto.Also, Oscar Ortega of Cioccolato in Jackson Hole, WY (he is also the captain of the Mexican team for this year's World Pastry Forum) makes small batches of chocolate that he uses in his confections. There are also branches in Mexico City and La Paz, MX, but I don't know if everything is owned by a Mexican company or a US company.Also, take a look at Kakawa . Mark Sciscenti is the proprietor. From their site: "Please note that we are a small artisanal chocolate maker. ... And, of course, we make and sell chocolate elixirs, wonderful and exotically flavored chocolate truffles, and dark molded chocolates." I think the latter counts as a "bar" in the broadest sense of the word.Also: World's Finest Chocolate .What about ADM or one of its brands? I know they're industrial, but they include Ambrosia and Merckens as well as De Zaan. Maybe they're not bars - but their chocolates are molded by others into bars.
A Gaffe of Amazonian Proportions?
Posted in: Opinion
I admit it. I buy things from Amazon. And because I gave them an e-mail address so they can send notifications about my orders, they also send me notices of books I might be interested in.I received a notice a while back about a book that Amazon thought I might be interested in because they noticed that other people who purchased some of the same books I purchases also expressed interest in a book titled Bella's Chocolate Surprise .Bella's chocolate surprise? At first I wondered why (frantic mental ransacking of everything I've ever ordered from Amazon) they were sending me recommendations for books about interracial sex. When I loaded the images in the e-mail in my mail program, I realized it was a kid's book. Cue the sigh of relief.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 06/04/15 16:05:12
My Chocolate Journal
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Patrick:Thanks for the good humor and for the posts you've made. I am a little sensitive to this issue because it's one I have run into a lot with all of my other web publishing efforts. You'll notice that one of the Golden Rules is that I don't tolerate MLM/networking marketing companies. I have had a lot of bad experiences with one company in particular where associates would register on one of my sites and within moments their first post was one selling their product and inviting people to be a part of their downline. I try very hard to create an environment where people don't think they're constantly being sold to.Regarding SeventyPercent.com. I haven't spent a lot of time there even though Martin Christy and I were corresponding around the time he officially started up. I am certainly hoping that we will be able to retain a sense of humor here. I mention that specifically in my book ... "Take a Deep Breath and Repeat After Me: It's Just Chocolate."We can have fun and take chocolate seriously - but we need to be careful not to take ourselves too seriously. After all, in the end it is just chocolate.That said, welcome again and I look forward to your continued involvement here.:: Clay
My Chocolate Journal
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Hey Patrick:Welcome to The Chocolate Life. I hope that this does not constitute your only contribution to this community and not just a way to drive traffic to yours.As you've made this a public discussion, I would appreciate it if people who do visit MyChocolateJournal post their impressions here and not (just) privately.:: Clay
Must Eats: Chocolate in SF and Vegas
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
Ian - My bad. I've edited the post to reflect that it was my fault - way past my bedtime and foggy-brained. I've sent off a request to a colleague who is in a position to know what's hot and what's not in Vegas pastry at the moment and when I hear back I will post his insights.
Must Eats: Chocolate in SF and Vegas
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
New Chocolate Life member Ian Boyd [sorry about that Ian, Donald; if I take a look at the time when this was posted it was way past my bedtime] is planning trips to Las Vegas and San Francisco in the near future and is looking for recommendations for a "sommelier guided chocororgasm experience" in both cities.Now Las Vegas is a weird kind of place, and much of the really good chocolate is going to be in the hotels, and in the form of pastries. There does appear to be the requisite Vosges, Teuscher, and such like, and of course there is home-grown Ethel M. But for over-the-top experiences, the hotels in Las Vegas are your best bet. Unlike New York where everything is walkable, there do not appear to be any chocolate tours of Las Vegas.From my research, the one place that seems to be mentioned over and over that is highly rated is the Chocolate Swan in the Mandalay Bay. Apparently the eclairs are to die for and there is mention of a $15 three-flight chocolate and wine pairing option on the menu.Other choices include:Postrio at the VenetianJean-Philippe and Michael Mina at the BellagioPayard Patisserie next door to the BellagioFrederic Robert at the WynnAnybody care to weigh in on San Francisco?
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/17/15 19:13:15
Chocolate on the 101 Between Los Angeles & Oakland
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
Head inland from 101 to catch 1 at Carmel by the Sea (a quite scenic interlude) then head north through Castroville (artichokes) along the coast and into Santa Cruz to catch Richard Donnelley. Then head east over the mountains to San Jose stopping in Los Gatos - where you could also check out Pascal Janvier's Fleur de Cocoa.
To conche or not to conche?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Casey:I like the way you think and ask really interesting questions.There is a lot of chocolate out there in the world that is not conched. In hot climes, an unconched chocolate with large cacao particles and large sugar particles is much more stable at high temperatures. It might go soft but it will not deflate into a gooey mess.When I was in Venezuela I ran across a lot of it from small producers in places like Rio Chico which is in the Barlovento region of Miranda State east of Caracas. When I was in Tapachula, which is in Chiapas state in Mexico, I also came across a lot of unconched chocolate. And, of course, in Belize all of the homemade/handmade chocolate in Mayan families is unconched. One common aspect of these three different locales is a lack of easy access to refrigeration.But then, one must not forget about the Sicilian chocolate makers Antica Dolceria Bonajuto (pronounced bow-nah-you'-toe) and Don Puglisi, among others. I don't know what it is about the town of Modica, but both these companies are making unconched chocolate.Corallo (pronounced co-ral'-oh) has long been known for playing with conching. On the Brut de Sao Tome produced by Pralus, the fermentation times were long (trying to achieve something like 90%+ fermentation levels) with short conche times. So pushing the envelope out to 6, 7, 8 days is probably right. Actual time depends on many factors, including the difference between max daytime temp and min overnight temp.While Corallo may not conche or only a very little, I would be interested in seeing their refining equipment. Although the chocolate is not as smooth as a conched chocolate it is definitely smoother than chocolate that has only been ground once.For me, I like chocolate that challenges my perception of what chocolate can be and taste like. So I really loved Corallo's bar with the raisins that had been soaked in cacao "eau de vie." I got several people to taste that bar with me including Michael Antonorsi of Chuao and Jacques Dahan of Cluizel and they were both very impressed. It's not for everyone - and it's not something I would eat exclusively or even very often - but it was really, really, good. I think the same runs true for these unconched chocolates. I like to try them when I can and do everything I can to appreciate what the chocolate maker is trying to achieve. But they're usually not something I would want to eat regularly. However, I would definitely add them to tasting classes where I thought the participants were up to it.
Pralus packaging
Posted in: Opinion
I agree with Cybele that Dolfin's tobacco pouch (and it is a real tobacco pouch by the way with a different paper insert, I asked the Poncelet brothers about this) is the most practical chocolate package in the world today. What I don't like, as a consumer, is the amount of plastic it uses.I would like Colin Gasko's packaging a lot more if the tab that closed the outer paper wrapper was easier to extract without the risk of damaging it. I like Askinosie's packaging a great deal (disclaimer: I helped a little bit on it), but I don't like the fact that I need to rip the top off the bag to get at the bar inside and there's no easy way to close the bag once opened. The mold for the Askinosie bars is brilliant.
notes on flavor
Posted in: Tasting Notes
I also added a laundry list of pyrazines and flavor chemicals that contribute to burnt sugar, caramel, and maple notes in a related post in the NerdZone group.
notes on flavor
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Here is a collection of aromas found in wines and the chemicals that contribute to the flavors - and why.
notes on flavor
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Brady:At the moment, I don't know that there is an easy way. I will take a look at the file and experiment with a few tools. I think that what needs to happen is to edit the document in an HTML/Rich Text editor, then cut and paste the code. As I say, I will experiment.:: Clay
Paris
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
Greger, Seby:Actually, I don't remember having hot chocolate at A l'Etoile d'Or - maybe you were misremembering my comments about la Charlotte du l'Isle. In any event I posted a blog article about my trip . Greger, you may find the article useful in helping plan your trip. Some of you may recognize the picture of my daughter Alex in front of Maison Steiger from the dedication page of my book.Although I have not been there, Michel Chaudun comes highly recommended. You probably also want to think about which store to go to if a company has more than one. For example, you could go to the La Maison du Chocolat store on the Rue Fauborg St Honore because it's close to Cluizel, JP Hevin, and Angelina. However, the main LMdC store is on the Boulevard Madeleine off the Place Madeleine, near Fauchon, Hediard, and Marquie de Sevigny. Rough, I know, having to make such difficult choices!Finally - Seby are you sure you have the address for A l'Etoile d'Or correct? When I visited them they were at 30, rue Fontaine near the Place Blanche metro stop. Also, so much of the store is about Ms Acabo that it's hard to believe that there could be two locations.
Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold
Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)
Jennifer:
I know several people who use the mold. Part of their success (they say) is in getting things cold enough. You can't let these sit out at room temperature. They refrigerate and/or freeze before removing the centers.
Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold
Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)
The molds you are referring to are flexible silicon. The idea is not to roll them into perfect spheres. Instead they're closer to a demi-sphere mold shape.
They are used by piping the molds full, letting the center crystallize, then freezing the entire thing, mold and centers. Once frozen, you remove the centers and box them. This way it doesn't matter if they get scuffed because they are going to be enrobed later. When you need them, you remove them from the freezer, let them thaw, and enrobe.
This is presented as an alternative to freezing finished product. In this regard they're pretty attractive in certain production situations where high volume is needed in a short period of time.
:: Clay
Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold
Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)
Duff - Please respond via private message rather than making your e-mail publicly available.
Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold
Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)
Do you have any tips for use that address any of the questions that ChocolateLIfe members have?
Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold
Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)
Annette:There are lots and lots of pages of gumpaste and fondant tools. Any ones in particular that you are recommending? Please use the actual names of the links.Thanks,:: Clay
Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold
Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)
Hey Chris:That's not how these are supposed to be used. There's no way to clamp them tight enough to fill with chocolate and then rotate to fill each cavity with a thin layer and then dump the excess. You deposit the centers and then enrobe some other way.
Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold
Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)
Yes. You can purchase the Chocoflex spherical mold (and other Chocoflex molds) at Pastry Chef Central .In addition to the spherical molds there are Chocoflex molds for rounds, squares, rectangles, and ovals . Although they are called ganache molds, you could also do pralines, gelees, fondants, and other centers. Consider also this " depositor ".
Cool Tool: Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold
Posted in: Geek Gear - Cool Tools (Read-Only)
Many chocolatiers like to make perfectly spherical truffles. (Okay, well maybe not perfectly spherical - they have to have a flat bottom so they don't roll around.) Up until now there have generally been two ways to do this:Buy a one-shot depositor (expensive)Buy pre-made shells (cheating? misleading?)Recently, the Italian company Pavoni started a line of silicon molds specifically designed to work with ganaches as an extension to their Pavoflex line of molds for cakes and pastries. They have basic shapes (square, rectangle) that can be used in many environments to replace an expensive guitar cutter, and a circle and oval that replace a "cookie" cutter. To use them, you place the mold on a flat surface (e.g., a sheet pan covered with parchment paper), pipe the ganache into the mold cavities, and with an offset spatula and bench scraper make sure the ganache completely fills the mold cavity and that the top (what will end up as the bottom) is flat.Perhaps the most interesting mold shape, however, is the spherical mold. With it, chocolatiers can make ganache spheres that they can then enrobe, either by hand or on a belt.
Using the Chocoflex Spherical Truffle Mold
updated by @Clay Gordon: 12/13/24 12:15:15
Tasting Notes: Terry's Toffee, Chicago
Posted in: Tasting Notes
It's sort of hard to know where to begin when talking about Terry's Toffee, so I guess I will start at my beginning.I grew up in Southern California, and my first and lasting childhood memories of toffee are all about black and white boxes of See's Victoria English Toffee. We bought one box a year for my Mother at Christmas. That's it - just one box a year. So it was a big deal, realllly special. Large slabs of toffee with a thin layer of chocolate generously covered with crushed almonds. I haven't eaten any in something like 30 years, mostly because until recently it hasn't been generally available outside of California or I mistakenly thought that See's was too down-market for me; but also because I know in my head, heart, and mouth that it can never, never, ever taste as good as my romanticized memory of it.For me, now, toffee is first and foremost about texture. The texture I like is grainy/crunchy, almost sandy. There's a nice tooth to it (resistance to the initial bite) but once you start chewing on the toffee it starts to disintegrate quickly. The word I use to describe the texture is sandy even though toffee is a very different beast from actual, real, sand. The other part of the textural experience is the balance between the sandy-ness of the toffee and the creaminess of the chocolate. Oh, and toffee like this never, never, ever (I don't think I've ever used that phrase twice in the same article before) sticks to your teeth.After the texture of the toffee, toffee for me is all about the balance of the cooked sugar flavor of the toffee with the chocolate with the chocolate and whatever other ingredients get added. Almonds are the most common nuts but I've also seen walnuts and pistachios used. Toasted shredded coconut, too. Proper balance of flavor and texture in toffee, as in all confections, is difficult to achieve. Sometimes the toffee is too sticky or tastes burnt or there is too much/not enough chocolate. One of my biggest peeves is people who insist on using raw nuts. Blecccccchh. I do not like raw nuts in confections. Roasting takes away the bitterness and more importantly generates roasted flavor compounds (via something called the Maillard Reaction). Cocoa beans are roasted, so roasting the nuts means that they have flavor components that complement the roasted cocoa beans.If you're looking for toe-curling toffee experiences, one of the best ones you can have in public is made by Andrew Shotts of Garrison Confections . (I've given it a Superior on the Discover Chocolate rating system.) Other popular brands include Stephany's out of Colorado and a lot of people I know swear by Enstrom's , also out of Colorado.One of the best things I like about my job is that people offer to send me their chocolates and confections. Recently, Terry Opalek, eponymous founder of Terry's Toffee in Chicago, sent me samples of three flavors to taste and write about. I've been meaning to post this for a while now, and Terry's e-mail today reminded me that I hadn't.Like many people in the business, chocolate is not Terry's first career. Late last century, Terry rediscovered his grandmother McCall's toffee recipe and in consultation with his Aunt Jenne Louise, learned the secrets to making Mrs McCall's toffee to her (and everyone else's!) satisfaction. But it wasn't until 2005 that Terry and his partner Michael opened up their first retail shop on Chicago.
McCall's Classic
Lavenilla
Cran-Orange Passion
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/18/15 22:12:12
Quotable Quotes
Posted in: Opinion
"It's Just chocolate. It's not rocket surgery or brain science, It's Just chocolate."-- Mantra penned by Clay Gordon
Quotable Quotes
Posted in: Opinion
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather a skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO-HOO, what a ride!"Anon.