Forum Activity for @Matt Carter

HI, from the new Guy

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

I started Carter's Chocolatesabout three years ago in a small town in Washington State.

I had gone to a pastry school back in the 90's, then worked as a pastry chef, managed a bakery, then was a restaurant server for a few years before doing Sales for 4 years. Then I decided to stop working so hard, and set out to create my own chocolate shop, where I could work for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, and make just enough money to be happy...

Three years of 12 hour days later... I know better ! I was getting part of a day off maybe once a month, although I am trying hard to take one full day off every week now. Hopefully that will keep me from being too hard on the staff.

I started out just making truffles.Customers insisted that I make Caramels, so I started doing them, and then my own pecan caramel turtles, then Crunchy Frogs, and a few more fun things like that. Peanut butter cups, Smores bars... chocolate dipped Candied Ginger flies off the shelf.

Going to Farmer's Markets in the summer and having to packthe chocolatesback into the coolers about noon when things were starting to get melty, was when I started making Ice Cream as well. That first summer was when I learned that Ice Cream and Chocolate are a great compliment to each other. My Chocolate sales are strong all winter, with one Chocolate Holiday after another. Then in the summer, all you need is a good location and a sign for Homemade Ice Cream to fill up your store with customers. And in the new location, Ice Cream customers coming in are increasing the chocolate sales as well.

I have a small staff, and very little machinery. From the little time that I have spent so far on this wonderful forum, it seems that everyone else is using tempering machines.

I don't have a budget for expensive equipment, so I can't afford a Hilliard or Selmi, and the Chocovision that I bought, well, I just don't like the results, and the attempts I have made to use it took up lots of my time. We manage to get several hundred truffles dipped in a day just going in and out of the microwave inpyrex bowls.

I have done little Tasting Nights at my old shop,using a conference room in the Mall. We would sample several single origin chocolates, (chocovic's three single bean, maybe a Pralus and always a couple of Amano) drink a glass of red wine, then pair some of my truffles with some dessert wines ~all while talking about history, growing and production of chocolate, etc. I even did that presentation in front of 200 people at a Chef's Association meeting one night. I always feel out of my depth, as I have never been to visit a cacao plantation, I have only seen maybe three pods, and the closest thing I have done to production of actual chocoalte is take the tour of Theo in fremont.

All my education other than actually making truffles, has come from books. I have as many books as I can find, but the best ones that I like are Maricel Presilla's New Taste of Chocolate and the Cohen's True History of Chocolate. Fortunately for me, 99% of the people have a very limited knowledge of chocolate, so for them it is still educational.

One day I will be able to afford a trip to some chocolate producing islands in the Caribbean. I would love to visit the genebank in Trinidad, for instance.

I will be in awe of the knowledge contained in this group of people, and plan to get lots of ideas and technical assistance here.

Now that I know this group exists, I am sure that I'll be here asking stupid questions all the time!

updated by @Matt Carter: 04/13/15 06:32:37

Chocolate going down the drain

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Like they've mentioned every county, every state, every department, is different. Count your blessings.

We have an above ground one, probably 36x36x36 or so--I'm not sure we'll have to drain it but for every few years. It does have some rancor associated with it after a day off. Rancid butters and creams I'm sure. Nothing else I know that could create real stink. It's not like we're frying in here.

We use a bio-solution that helps digest fats and keep everything running smoothly. It is recommended for those with drains that are needing to be kept clean.

http://www.newtechbio.com/greasetraptreatmentproductinfo.htm

It makes the place smell rather nice after cleaning but since we didn't have a problem I don't know of its efficiency I'm just taking steps before I might have a problem. The longer I don't have to open the hatch of doom the better. I can only imagine having to clean this unit out and the thought is rather unpleasant.

Chocolate going down the drain

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Different locals have different rules about grease traps. The size of the grease trap is an equation based on the size of your three bay sink. I have a monster three bay sink because all three bays will fit a full size sheet pan. When the inspectorfigured the size of the grease trap, it was ridiculous big. The formula is based on restaurants that process meat and other fats on a regular basis. Luckily, the plumber installing my sinknegotiated with the city inspector to downsize my grease trap to a more manageable size than what was required, because we were only doing confections. I don't know how many gallons it is, but it fits under the drain board for my sink. I would guess it is 2' X 2' X 3'.

Chocolate going down the drain

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

What kind of grease trap were you required to install? I was surprised when the city inspector said I didn't need one and that if i were to get one, the minimum size would be 110 gallons. Needless to say, I didn't argue with him further.

Chocolate going down the drain

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

We were required by code to have a grease trap at our shop and I tried to fight it, but I gave in. Anyway, we do have to clean our grease trap from time to time, so as much as I hate to admit it, having a grease trap in general is a good idea. Chocolate and cocoa butter are gooey, clingy food stuffs and tend to accumulate over time. The boiling water is a good idea IF you follow through with it.

Chocolate going down the drain

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

We just opened our shop in March of 2010 and one of the reasons why was because we needed to find a facility with a grease trap (County Code).

We have been told by another chef to run a pan of boiling hot water down the drain once every few days. Hope it helps.

Pierre

Chocolate going down the drain

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I would have thought that with all the experienced people on this forum, if this is an actual problem someone would have spoken up!
I will continue to degrease occasionally, just in case.

Chocolate going down the drain

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Great question. I am trying to figure out the best solution to this as well. I would imagine a degreaser of some sort would definitely help.

Chocolate going down the drain

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Question about potential for drainage problems:

I have been in business for three years this coming October.

I moved my location recently, and when I went back to the old Mall, someone told me that the drains had backed up, and they blamed me.

The City inspectors did not require agrease trap, and so of course I didn't spend the money on one.

Should I have?

Or should I be putting some sort of drain-degreasing liquid down the drains monthly or quartlerly to keep the pipes clean?

I certainly don't want any big expenses down the road!

updated by @Matt Carter: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Butter Ganache Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Best solution is make sure your bowl is always slightly warmer than the solidification temp of chocolate

Butter Ganache Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

With a butter ganache, which works better with the flavors I'm using, I need to begin with melted tempered chocolate.

Butter Ganache Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Most people I have ever seen make a ganache avoid the problem by not starting out with melted tempered chocolate.There's no technical requirement to use melted tempered chocolate to make a ganache.

Of course, Cathy's answer is a very good one if, for some reason, you feel it's important (or easier) to use melted tempered chocolate. A cold bowl can precipitate crystal formation on the surface of the bowl before the bowl warms up. Slightly warming the surface of the bowl (with a hairdryer, as Cathy says - there are other ways) will keep that from happening.

Technically, there's also no requirement to even use melted chocolate. The heat from the cream or whatever liquid you're using to make the ganache should be enough to melt the (solid tempered) chocolate and cool the liquid down at the same time. If you do want to use melted chocolate then you can use melted chocolate, not tempered melted chocolate.

Another way: pour the warm liquid into the bowl and allow it a few seconds to warm the bowl. Then pour the melted tempered chocolate into the liquid. No separate warming step required.

Another thing you might want to consider is the fact that the heat of the mass of the warm chocolate with the warm liquid should be enough to remelt any chocolate crystals that have formed on the cool bowl. Thoroughly scraping the bowl with a spatula to dislodge any crystals and work them into the warm mass should melt them. Just let the mass sit for a minute before starting to mix, starting in straightaway with a spoon or balloon whisk won't do it.

You might also consider using an immersion blender. I use one for all my ganaches as it significantly reduces the risk of the ganache breaking. The blender does a much better job of creating a stable emulsion than mixing by hand in my experience. The immersion blender should be able to incorporate any small seeds evenly in the ganache.

Butter Ganache Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Ah, the simple solution. Thanks, Cathy.

Butter Ganache Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

We use a hair dyer to warm the bowl slightly before adding the chocolate.

Butter Ganache Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The issue I'm running into occurs when I add pre-crystallized chocolate from the melter to a mixing bowl to make the ganache. If I use a glass or metal bowl that's just been sitting around, I do get some crystallization on the sides of the bowl. This then causes a problem as I end up with little bits of solid chocolate in the ganache.

I've considered warming the bowl slightly with a heating pad, but I'm wondering if there's some very slick method that other folks use to avoid this problem.

Butter Ganache Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Craig:

Why are you concerned? Your ganache is going to set in part because of the crystallization of the chocolate - but you're not worrying about it being "in temper" because it never will because of the other fats added.

Now, if your bowls came out of the freezer it might be a problem but at normal working temps it should not be an issue.

:: Clay

Butter Ganache Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I'm increasing production of a butter ganache, and I'm concerned about the melted chocolate crystallizing on the sides of the mixing bowl. Is there a common technique folks use to warm up their mixing bowls to avoid this?

Thanks!!

updated by @Craig Boreth: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Dale -

If you go to the Good Food Awards site and look at the entry guidelines they should provide all the information you need. If not, contact the organizers by sending e-mail to info (at) goodfoodawards (dot) org.

Please also note that the September 1st entry deadline refers to the 2011 awards. The entry date for 2012 is August 31st.

I would love to enter. I make confections and bars. I would like to know how many samples I need to make of each. I have 2 confections and one bar I would like to enter.

I'm excited for the awards. Matt Caputo told me that I should enter my product. I just registered. I use cocoa beans and make a product that you brew like coffee. I entered the chocolate section. I hope that is right. It is more like coffee in its preparation but it is 100% cacao. Did I enter the right category or should it have been coffee?
updated by @Eric Durtschi: 10/14/15 15:36:36

Looking for peanut/nut free courverture

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Winnowing is not 100% effective. In fact, in some cases, it's pretty darn ineffective. You will always have some level of shell material in your nib. And your prewinnowed stream always will have some nibs in it. Meaning that some % of the nibs would come into direct contact with any foreign material (in this case, pnuts) - so removing the shell, even if it were 100% effective, wouldn't guarantee a soln for contamination.

Of the two companies you mention, one makes chocolate, one does not. We can throw out the company that doesn't make chocolate as they really have no feel for what's involved, and are making assessments based on the information they have (incomplete). It's a bit like me selling used cars and guaranteeing the previous owner(s) never took it on a trip longer than 30 miles - i have no idea. I can provide you a statement to that effect, but it doesn't mean it's true. The other company you mention doesn't really have the technical competencies to provide an accurate assessment (sounds harsh, i know, but most companies fall into this category. not meant to be harsh).

Regarding the challenge study - what size was the sample tested? How many studies were done? On multiple lots? Over extended periods of time? What was the test used and it's minimum detection level? Are you certain that because the test didn't register above the minimum detection level that it's not present at slightly below the detection level? When a given lot does test positive, what are the appropriate clean-out and flush procedures to guarantee 100% elimination of any residual proteins? Are you confident they even can be removed 100%? And now we're back to the threshold of detection level question - if post clean-out it's not detectible by the assay, does that guarantee it's completely gone, or just that it's below the detection lvl of the assay - but still high enough to kick off the IgE cascade?

I've spent some time on the allergen issue (not just nuts, but dairy and soy as well), and know the answers to the above questions. It is my professional opinion that it is simply impossible to guarantee - with any level of validity - the absence of nuts in chocolate. A written statement by a company to that effect is simply reckless.

Looking for peanut/nut free courverture

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Alright, throw out the heat thing, I also realized nuts are often roasted, duh.

Looking for peanut/nut free courverture

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

I won't challenge the possibility of contamination in a manner in which you describe but this is prior to roasting/cracking/winnowing and even pressing or further down the line to refining/conching, right? Sacks of cacao likely post fermentation being contaminated. I believe that the heat produced during later processes (greater than 155 degrees) may actually destroy the antigen present in the protein that causes the reaction.I am the parent to a highly allergic child (6 on the RAST for peanut) and have done food challenges with both Chocoley and Belcolade prior to making truffles etc. at home and no reaction was noted in either case. Both of these companies provided a written statement as to their nut-free/peanut free policies to allow the test to go ahead.As a parent to an allergy sufferer, you can drive yourself insane wondering about this or that possibly happening. The only way to know for certain is to do your homework, ask questions and even then, test and observe, continually.

Looking for peanut/nut free courverture

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Ah, someone bites 8-) Really the only thing they can guarantee is that they're not intentionally bringing peanuts into their facility (ie they're not mfg peanut fillings or coatings). In many origins, it's quite common for a farmer, grader, middleman, dockworker, or ship-hand to eat nuts as a snack. The shells and meats of those nuts are often tossed aside, and i can't count how many times I've seen them land in piles of cocoa or in bags. In some cases the equipment used to handle the material is often shared between nuts and cocoa.

How does the mfr propose to keep that material - which they're not even aware of - out of their plants?

If they make the argument that it's too small an amount to be reactive - how do they know what the acute dosage threshold for an immuno-reaction is for each person? How do they know that even if they're testing it via ELISA or some other assay, that a given persons threshold for a reaction isn't below the threshold of the testing kit (ie absence of assay reaction doesn't guarantee it's not there, it just says it wasn't in that sample or that it wasn't enough for that particular kit to detect)?

I would be very skeptical of any non-artisinal mfr (who isn't in complete control of their supply chain) guaranteeing the absence of nuts in chocolate. I don't believe it can be done on a large scale, and would thoroughly challenge any mfr who claims they can do so.

Looking for peanut/nut free courverture

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Belcolade offers peanut/nut free chocolate and has a statement to that effect. I believe Guittard also offers peanut/nut free but that you would need to check. If you are looking for smaller quantities, a company called Chocoley sells peanut/ nut free couverture through their website.

Looking for peanut/nut free courverture

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

I'd doubt very strongly that anyone will guarantee it. I'd question them if they did.

Looking for peanut/nut free courverture

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Hi everyone,I'm looking to purchase peanut/nut-free courverture, and was wondering which brands guarantee this?
updated by @Natalie: 04/07/25 13:00:14

Chocolate & Photography

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I work with a professional photographer for our photos. He uses diffused lighting from various angles. It takes about 2-3 hours to get set-up, but once the lighting is right, the results are great. Good luck.

Chocolate & Photography

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank-you Clay!

I'm not sure how to achieve c,d and e, but will keep this in mind, I guess it all has to do with getting the right exposure ( and white balance? ). I seem to have the best luck with natural light so I'm going to stick with that for a while, then try for some more atmospheric shots... we shall see what happens.

I wonder if milk chocolate might be easier to work, I usually photograph dark but I do have contrast issues.

Have a great weekend, and thanks again for all of your help

Chocolate & Photography

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Cheebs,

Thanks for the reply,

What kind of diffuser do you use? good point about the color card. I found this website you might enjoy, she has a lot of good info on food photography for the beginner http://veganyumyum.com/category/photography/ her photos are beautiful and very inspiring. Although, she doesn't mention photographing chocolate specifically, I'm going to try some of her ideas and see how successful I am.

My first project is just getting the camera off auto! Very excited about learning all of this, who knows... maybe I'll start a blog of my progress ( or just post on this one ). I know how I want the photos to look ( drippy, sexy, provocative and delicious! ), just need to figure out the technical side. So here I go !

Chocolate & Photography

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

There are no recommended standard angles for food or for the number of light sources.

Often, there is a very large softbox (diffused light source) which is designed to mimic a natural (i.e., sun coming through a high north window) light source. Lamps/flash are preferred by many studio photographers because the color temperature and output is consistent throughout a shoot. Flash units are often used because they generate less heat - useful when photographing food. In the architectural model work we did in the studio it was almost all hot lights.

Now you have ambient overall lighting covered. The next questions are how big is what you're shooting and what to do you want to emphasize? So, there's generally at least one "key" light that is "flagged" (to keep the light off parts of the scene you don't want illuminated). Instead of another light, depending on the effect you're looking for, you might have one or more "bounce" cards that take the ambient light and reflect it into the scene to reduce contrast.

As I alluded to earlier, if you don't have a view camera so that you can really master depth of field effects, you want to stop down as far as you can and make sure that everything in the scene is tack sharp. Then you can go back into Photoshop (or similar) and add the depth-of-field focus effects after, if desirable.

I agree with you that use a standardized reference color target makes an enormous amount of sense, as is using a white card to set white balance - especially when you are shooting film. These days, however, the auto-correct feature in many programs these days is so good that it'll take care of 95% of situations. Without a recognizable iconic color in the scene (we used to shoot a Kodak box on the first frame of every roll for this purpose) then the most important things in the image (technically):

a) no motion from the camera
b) tack-sharp focus, at least on the key element(s) of the scene
c) a pure black (RGB 0,0,0) somewhere in the scene
d) a pure white (RGB 255,255,255) somewhere in the scene
e) clean whites (i.e., whites without a noticeable color cast)

Of course, any or all of these "rules" can be broken - if and when you know what you're doing and WHY you're breaking them.

Chocolate & Photography

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I don't have any samples of tabletop work - I do very little of it. Early on in my career I first-assisted for two of the best in NYC, one who specialized in architectural models. I realized that my interests in photography lay elsewhere, but I absorbed a lot about the techniques.

You can see some of my very recent work at my personal web site, www.claygordon.com .

Chocolate & Photography

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

This is an excellent topic! Funny how sometimes people are thinking the same thing? I was JUST about to post something along these exact same lines.

One item that has become indispensable in my lighting repertoire is a diffuser. It makes photographing shiny objects a lot easier by putting it between your light source and product.

Another item I now can't live without is a color card. It makes setting your white point so much easier, and from that you can make all your pictures look very similar, as far as color is concerned.

Also, for the vast majority of my pictures I use a tripod and slower shutter speeds. This lets me play around with the aperture (and therefore depth of field).

Clay, one thing I don't see mentioned much are lighting angles... what are the recommended or standard angles and how many light sources should on use or food photography (as a general and not ironclad rule?)

Chocolate & Photography

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Clay,

Wow, thank-you so much for the awesome detailed reply, the photos I have here are a few years old, I think I've gotten a little better, although it's only until recently I've decided to get more serious about this and actually learn the controls on my camera ;) In the past I mainly just wanted quick snap shots of my work ( always staying on automatic ). But now I have this chocolate book idea, and I really do enjoy photography and want my chocolate photos to look as amazing as they can.

Great tip about cold lighting the new LED lights, I try to use natural light as much as I can. I was also thinking about trying Photoshop Lightroom for editing ( I'm pretty good with Photoshop ). The iPad idea for lighting is way clever! I don't have one though, but if it's cheaper than buying a lighting kit, I might have to check into it. However, I'm really too poor to buy anything right now, so I'm stuck with what I have. Luckily I have a Canon 20D camera to fiddle with.

Do you have any examples of your photography ? I would love to see. Maybe on your choco page, I will take a gander. Thanks for the feature also, and for creating such a great platform for chocolate lovers to come and get inspired ! I always mention the site on my FB page and people who visit, love it here ( just like me ).

~katreece

Chocolate & Photography

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Kat:

Tabletop product photography is its own special art form. It used to be that special lenses were required to manipulate depth of field, but these days as long as the entire image is sharp, Photoshop and plugins can take care of most view camera type effects.

The one place where I think people tend to underestimate their needs is in lighting equipment and in understanding that literal representation is not what it's about, it's about interpretation. In looking at some of your photos, what I miss is contrast range. There are neither pure whites (what used to be called "paper white" when people actually printed negatives on paper) and pure blacks - the contrast range is compressed. Of course, to work with chocolate you need cold lighting, so the new generation of LED lights is just what you need.

If you want to go small-scale there is a cool iPad app called SoftBox you might look into. You can use it (running on an iPad) as a light table and then with two more iPads you have a small - extremely portable and surprisingly flexible - lighting studio.

But mostly it's about attitude and style, which takes practice and editing. In this day and age of essentially unlimited storage, people have gotten out of the habit of deleting photos. To improve, you have to be a relentless editor, trashing every photo that doesn't "work." That's my experience, anyway. (I have a BFA in Photo from Rhode Island School of Design and it was one discipline I learned then that I practice to this day. I ruthlessly edit my photos and delete the ones that don't measure up.)

While you personally have a "style" I don't sense that style coming through in your photographs. What is the "Kat style" and how does it translate into photos? It takes practice. Lots of it. With enough, setting things up will become instinctual.

Chocolate & Photography

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Does anyone have experience with photographing chocolate ? I photograph my own pieces and they look pretty good, but I would love to get my photos looking drop dead gorgeous so I can do a book someday, as well as offer this as a service ( since I love to photograph it so much ), any tips would be appreciated ...

Thank-you!

Katreece

updated by @Katreece Montgomery: 04/11/25 09:27:36

better pricing for better cacao

Posted in: Opinion

That's a beautiful area - I'm there fairly regularly. Perhaps we'll cross paths sometime!

better pricing for better cacao

Posted in: Opinion

I am working with an area where my wife was born named Jaya, near San Francisco de Macoris. I worked in the area up the mountain from Loma de Jaya to La Colonia in the Peace Corps in the late 80's mostly working with solar electricity. I also work with another women cooperative in Los Naranjos near Castillo which was my original Peace Corps site. Both or making chocolate paste, marmalade, cacao wine, and working toward bonbons and other products.

better pricing for better cacao

Posted in: Opinion

Joseph and Lourdes glad to hear you are doing great things in Ecuador. I look forward to learning more. It is great to be connected with folks taking on similar projects!

better pricing for better cacao

Posted in: Opinion

Thanks Thomas! Best of luck with your work in the DR. Where in the DR are you focused?

better pricing for better cacao

Posted in: Opinion

Joseph hope to meet with you soon in Mindo. I am working within an ethical and direct trade model, and there is a lot of work to be done in this area. A huge potential as well. Glad to know there are more of us around.

better pricing for better cacao

Posted in: Opinion

Very nice, working toward the same in the Dominican Republic. I like the website.