Not roasting will eventually lead to you either making someone very sick, or killing them. The topic has been been discussed quite thoroughly here and on the alchemy board.
I simply can not figure out where this notion of not roasting = healthier comes from, and why it's so persistent.
Hi everyone,
I've recently been doing research on how to properly process cocoa beans. I use to think that truly raw was the way to go, but then I've read that truly raw would not produce that chocolate flavor. My main concern is which process would be healthiest and tasty. I've became very curious in this when I've noticed that regular cacao powder that I would buy would give me headaches(I'm sensitive to a lot of foods) . I currently live in the Philippines, and noticed all the local cacao products also give me a headache and the flavor was a little too strong where I would eventually get sick of the taste too. When I tried labeled "raw" cacao powder from companies like earth circle organics and Andean treasures when i lived in the states, I've noticed less of a potent chocolate smell and less of a strong dark chocolate flavor, but it seemed like just the right balance in flavor for me. Plus I felt good on it and I didn't notice any headaches. l also noticed that the cacao powder of these products were also lighter in color compared to the regular cocao powder. Whether they are considered truly raw or not, It doesn't matter to me. All I know is the taste was more pleasant to me and I felt good on it, so I figured they must be doing something right. Being in the Philippines, I have access to heirloom cacao beans which would be much cheaper for me and would like to know if anyone would be able to give me an idea of how these cacao products that I've mentioned may have been processed, so I can try making some healthy delicious snacks for my family and I. A friend of mine in the states believes they were made by fermenting the beans and then grinding them which produces most of the heat, but they were not roasted. Any input would be much appreciated! Thanks!
You're the best for giving me this information. I will use it on my next attempt. Thank you so much. And you, too Brad, for your help.
Susan,
I'm no expert but I'll tell you what helped me... first, much more aggressive stirring. After every 6-10 candies were dipped I'd give it a quick but aggressive stir with the dipping fork, and I didn't turn my back on it for a second. In the past, I've often run out of prepared centers before I run out of chocolate, then I turn away from the machine to scoop more truffles, and when I turn back I've got chocolate the consistency of taffy... but I'm realizing the turning motor on the temperer is not enough agitation, it takes regular stirring and if you aren't actively dipping you need to stir very frequently, if not constantly! So this time before I started I made sure I had more centers prepped than I could possibly need, and had my mom hold the baby and made sure my bladder was empty so there was no reason to neglect my chocolate!
Also, today I was getting a lot of "feet" so I dipped at a lower temp of 89, which meant I had lots of room to ease up the temp as Brad suggested as it thickened. I did not wait for it to be too thick to dip and then try to recover, this doesn't work for me either. But this time I watched like a hawk as I dipped, and as soon as I noticed the consistency was the slightest bit thicker than ideal, I scooted up one degree and stirred like a madwoman. I only got as high as 92 and was still in business when I finished my chocolate, but see above - Brad thinks we can get away with 95 depending on thermometer accuracy.
Good luck!
Amy
Brad -
I've read all these facts before, but this is the clearest explanation I've seen and I think I'm finally wrapping my mind around it - THANK YOU!
Amy
Wow. I have a Chocovision Delta and the same thing happens to me. It ends up in a ball in an hour. After checking with a thermometer, I increased temp to 93-96 but it is no help. I have no idea what to do. Did I not wait long enough? 10-20 minutes.And can I add melted, untempered chocolate to the otehr side to help? If so, how much when it is at this point? I was using Callebaut: 3/4 811NV and 1/4 823NV on this try.
Amy;
Chocolate is a suspension of particles in a fat that crystalizes, and is crystalizing 100% of the time it is being agitated in the ACMC. If you were to stop the motor from turning, it would go solid at it's working temperature. The fluidity of chocolate can be controlled by agitation and very tiny adjustments in temperature throughout the day as you work with it. Combine that with the fact that the ACMC thermocouples aren't that accurate (I own 8 of those machines), and you have chocolate that is going solid on you while you work with it.
As it thickens, bring the temperature of your machine up one degree at a time and stir it lots. It won't happen instantly, but the chocolate will thin out without coming out of temper.
Verify your chocolate temperature with a properly calibrated thermometer, and you will most likely find that while your machine reads 91, the temperature of the chocolate at the thermocouple is probably only 88 or 89. This means you can easily go as high as 95 on that machine.
Note that controlling viscosity of your chocolate is a two way street. Once you learn to control the fluidity as you work with it, you can ALSO thicken it the same way by going in the opposite direction, and that has uses too!
Cheers.
Brad
Hi
I've been a hobbyist chocolatier for a few years. I have an ACMC table top temperer.
Two frustrations - when dipping with 65 percent Tcho, I fully temper (up to 119,
added seed, back up to 91 for dipping), it works great for about an hour, then it gets too thick to continue dipping. I heated up to 94 but it was still too thick. I understand I could add cocoa butter, but I love the flavor of the superdark stuff, and it works so well for the first hour. For now my plan is to do smalleramounts so I use it up before it thickens, any other suggestions? I don't understand what's happening from a chemistry perspective.
Also, I've often tried not tempering since new chocolate is already in temper, right?
My understanding is that I should be able to melt it and dip at 92ish. But I find
that it won't melt unless I get it much warmer than this, and if I understand
correctly, once I get it above 94 I have to go through the whole temper process
to avoid bloom. Can you correct any of these assumptions?
Any advice appreciated.
-Amy
Too little for my uses and way too rich for my blood... too bad!
This stuff is hard to get...
Formore than a year a go I open my first Chocolate "Boutique & Caf" I am looking for a consultant to help me to develop the business further.
to know more about my shop you may visit:Facebook.com/chocolat.ksa
thanks. i had googled it, but only used one "p" and got lots of weird stuff 
http://www.super-tube.com/bopp.html
If you google it, there is a lot of information on it.
Cheers.
What is BOP tube?
A roll of BOP tube and a heat sealer is super easy, and a better seal than foil. You can also put your own sticker on it. A lot of bars are being sealed thatway today. While it's done by machine on a huge assembly line, the premise is the same if you want to do it at home.
you could try cello sheets. Nashville Wraps sells them. you can "wrap" the chocolate pretty quickly and they don't wrinkle like foil, and you can use a label to seal them up.
I've seen people do it with just food-safe paper (straight onto the chocolate). Also vacuum pack the bar (expensive though, and not great for filled bars where pressure of vacuum can cause problems).
I make bars at home for friends. I'm not sufficiently motivated to wrap them in foil. What are some alternatives? They don't need much shelf life as they get eaten pretty quickly. I'm mostly looking for something a bit nicer than the cellophane bags I started with, or possibly use the bag inside a box. I'd like something for 1.5 and 3oz bars.
I thought I would take a page from Lana's book and get a group together to buy Tempering/Enrobing machines at a discount. http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/tempering-machine-group-buy?commentId=1978963%3AComment%3A128064
I would be looking at the same machines. So I'll just copy it from her post.
Perfect Air 2 and Enro 2 (tempering and enrobing): http://www.perfectinc.com/products.html
$11,225 for the enrobing line & the tempering machine ($3275 for just the tempering machine on it's own)
Options:
Vibrating table 860$
Warming cabinet for 40kg chocolate 2,750$
Bottom coating only 350$
Transport to Northern CA $415
Customs $175
35% deposit when ordered, the rest before shipping.
Bakon Choco TT with Mini Enrober : http://www.bakonusa.com/
Choco TT is $3,900. FOB Torrance CA.
Optional cart. $340.- no charge if purchased w/ enrober
Mini Enrober $8,000
So what does everyone think?
Swiss Chalet Fine Foods sells Felchlin but the cheapest I saw on their website was Cru Hacienda Elvesia 74%Rondo in 6 kg bags for$6.75/lb. Others are $8+to over $11/lb. Sounds like it's too expensive for what you want.
Thanks. I live an hour from any size town...2 hrs from Raleigh....
so maybe there.
Guittard has a range of chocolates with 70%+ cocoa content. Many of them are available in bar form and you might be able to find them at a local retailer. This will be cheaper than buying samples in either 1k or 5kg boxes.
Just called Peters and they do have a 70% bittersweet.
I'll go back to their brochures before I order Monday.
I have tried the Guittard samples before. No my customers are not sophicated enough to know the difference & $8/lb would not fly I am sure. So I guess Guittard it will be...
if I have difficulties obtaining trial amount, I'll let you know. Thanks so much!
I have always used Peters, but need a higher cocoa content product for a few clients.
Do want to test before I go crazy ordering. Maybe they can help me with this.
What's your budget? And is your customer sophisticated enough to tell the difference and be willing to pay for it?
Valrhona is a good chocolate but it's at the upper end of the range, price wise. Even in 100lb quantities you're looking at $8+/pound plus shipping.
Callebaut/Cacao Barry, Belcolade, Guittard - you should be able to get those for between $3-5/lb. Domori would be about the same price as Valrhona.
If you're remelting and molding, unless the customer has specified a gourmet European brand, perhaps a US-made product might be nice. Guittard is made in California. There are some Callebaut-branded chocolates that are made in Vermont.
I may be able to help you out on the Guittard and/or Valrhona if you can't find a local supplier.
In your opinion, would you start with Valrhona?
To test for solid molds..... 70%
I usually purchase about 1000 lbs at the time & have it delivered by truck.
I wanted to try out a dark chocolate before buying in bulk. 100 lbs would probably
do my customers for Christmas. Could not remember the different brands, so you have really helped me. Thanks!
Jackie:
Online - 100 lbs is a lot to ship, but there are on-line stores you can order from. Chocosphere has one of the broadest selections, but it's in Oregon so shipping to you is going to be most expensive. So going ...
Local -
There should be a bakery supply company in your area. They will usually carry a number of different chocolate brands, most likely the more commercial brands. They may or may not require you to set up an account, but the ones in my area will sell to just about anyone.
If you have a friend in a restaurant (or bakery) who orders through Sysco, UNFI, or another major distributor they also carry major brands and you might be able to get them to include the chocolate you want in their next order. You'll get good prices and shipping should be free.
If you're looking for a particular brand, e.g., Valrhona, Domori, Callebaut, Guittard, look up the company web site for their local distributor or call the 800# to find out who sells it locally.
I have a client that wants solid chocolate in a very high cocoa content (he is an ironman participant) for Christmas Gifts. Where could I order not a huge volumeof really good dark dark chocolate? Like 100 lbs to start...
I'm a chocolate lover who has tried many types, and decided that I like chocolate made from
criollo beans best. But most manufacturers don't list the bean type on their packages. Can
anyone tell me the names of small dark chocolate bars made from criolla, that I can buy at
places like Trader Joe's? -- Arnold Ismach
Dorothy:
Yes, I was referring to Fran's Chocolates in Seattle in my response.
I don't know where Fran's got their molds, I suspect that they were custom made. Contact Truffly Made to see what they have in stock - one might work for you.
I don't know if there is still a ChocolateLife member offer, but you can ask.
:: Clay
Hi Clay,
Would this have been at Fran's Chocolates in Seattle? I have been reviewing severalof their Youtube videos and it show them pouring their caramels into molds.
Do you know where I could get those kinds of molds?
Thanks,
Dorothy
You can rework them even when too firm. You just cooked out too much water, so add water and recook. It takes a while to get the caramel back in solution. I found the easiest way is to put in the oven. In a few hours, it is in solution and ready to cook again. My mantra has always been "There are no mistakes in candy making---just rename it". I use that when all else fails:-)
I'm all with you on not wasting, believe me - I live off-grid and milk the goats on cold winter mornings to get the dairy for my candies so I treasure every ingredient and every watt! But my caramels have never come out too soft - three times too hard. The first time I tried to suffer through them and my husband broke a tooth! This was a very expensive effort at thrift. Rework is valuable, but knowing when to quit is as well 
Christopher -
A great observation. "Rework" is an overlooked skill.
This is just my opinion & I don't know about everyone else, but I've never thrown out a batch of caramel, if it's too soft try cooking it again, it works. Mix some nuts in it to make it firmer, then dip it, give it out as samples, but don't throw it out or you'll never make any money in this business. Everybody makes mistakes but what you do with the mistakes could be the difference between making it and not making it.
Like I said just my opinion.
Andrea:
Temperatures are relative. You want the center at about the temperature of the work room. If the center is very soft at this temp it may need to be colder so that it will hold its shape. Will that affect the temper of the chocolate? It could. You'll have to work within your own situation to find out.
Won't cooling the caramels before dipping throw the chocolate out of temper? I dipped my last batch at room temp and they turned out very well.
I 2nd Brad regarding altitude. I had been having issues with my caramels being too hard and I dropped the temperature I remove them from the heat to 240F and they are a nice soft texture. When removed at 245F they could be used as weapons. BTW, I am at about 5200 feet above sea level.
Andrea
Walt:
ChocolateLife sponsor Truffly Made molds can be used for caramel - the square may work for you. Right now they are offering a "buy five get one free" offer plus they are offering free shipping on orders of three or more.
If you don't want to make this sort of investment without first trying them out, just search for
" silicone caramel molds "
on Google. There are any number of suppliers offering many different shapes, sizes, and configurations. You do have to make sure that the mold is convex (wider at the opening or the caramel won't come out of the mold) and that there's not too much fine detail (the caramel will release cleanly and the detail that is there will be visible, when making harder caramels).
