Forum Activity for @ChocoFiles

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

"friend's notes: wood from a coffin that's had a corpse in it for a year, final note of cockroach"About the flavor of Chocolove Sao Tome 2005by Casey at The Chocolate Note

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I recently came across this image that was designed to make references to wine descriptors and I find it interesting for describing chocolate, too. It's definitely more visually (rather than metaphorically) vivid, but I thought I'd share.

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

"The chocolate will literally make you cringe in pain as the bitterness rails through your spine, rendering nerves and shattering bone along the way."by Hans-Peter Rot, on Slitti Gran Cacao 100% in his article " The Worlds Worst Chocolate Bars, Part 2 "How yummy! I can't wait to try this experience!

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

"Ever wondered what a chocolate-covered steel girder would taste like? Heres your answer."by Hans-Peter Rot describing Venchi Cuor di Cacao 85% in his article at "Cocoa Content", The Worlds Worst Chocolate Bars, Part 1 That question cracked me up! I have to admit that I've never wondered that.

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Here's one of my own, from my database, on the taste of Amedei Porcelana-"Elegant and sophisticated, yet delicate and gentle, like a Duchess of 1800s British royalty."

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I think that Rachel Rifat is being modest. She should've posted her review of Hershey's Bliss on her blog Chocolate Snob . It's longer, but one of the most creative and entertaining that I've read:"dear hershey,last night, when you came back into my life, i was unsure about letting you in... but you tempted me. you just had to wear that flashy pink outfit with sparkles and tell me that you have changed...having grown up together, our history has been long, fun, and complex. i still remember the good times when we made s'mores at camp; the funny times when you bumped into that guy's peanut butter; and the scary times when i snuck you into china.last night's moment we shared on the sofa was full of suspense. when i started opening your package, i knew i should have stopped - - - but i had to keep going...as we started kissing, i noticed that you did not have any distinctive flavor. you were just too sweet and you left a weird sugary taste in my throat. by the way, what was with that nut residue? it felt like you slipped me a peanut m&m.sorry hershey, but i am still not ready for us to get back together... you pretended to be something you are not or maybe it is the other's in my life who take me on adventures and find ways to indulge me.i hope we can still be friends,hugs and kisses,rachel "

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I read this today about Amedei's I-Cru Madagascar ...Madagascar is truly a beautiful young virgin bride in her wedding dress. - by Alex Rast at seventypercent.com

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Here's a classic from Cybele at Candy Blog . She writes about the Bonnat 100% Cacao bar-"this is like Phillip Glass & Stephen Sondheim collaborating on some sort of atonal opera about database programmers performed by deaf alley cats in a poorly ventilated auditorium with squeaky chairs that pinch. Its probably a wonderful intellectual experiment, but its not an enjoyable physical one."

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

While tasting Amedei's I-Cru Trinidad I just read this:"That's not what you'll remember. Instead it will be that sensation of diving into a field of raspberries, like a sunny July day with all the berries at their peak of freshness and screaming to be eaten right off the bush."by Alex Rast at seventypercent.com

Vivid metaphors

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I love vivid and moving descriptions of chocolate! They can conjure up images that really capture what you're experiencing. Vivid metaphors enhance pleasure by intensifying the experience through the imagination. Have you read (or written) any good ones lately? I've got several to share.
updated by @ChocoFiles: 04/09/15 11:54:03

Changing Chocolate from unsweet to bittersweet

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Staci:I can think of two ways.1) If you have some sort of refiner/conche setup you could melt the unsweetened chocolate, add sugar, and grind away until it was smooth. How much sugar to add would be something you'd have to experiment with. (You can also pre-refine the sugar to reduce the particle size before you begin - a food processor works for this.) Whatever you do, do NOT add regular confectioner's sugar which has cornstarch added to it to prevent it from caking. You will ruin the chocolate that way.2) Melt the unsweetened chocolate and add melted semi-sweet chocolate to it. Again, the amount of semi-sweet you'd add depends on the level of sweetness of the semi-sweet chocolate and how much you want to sweeten the unsweetened chocolate.Also, depending on what chocolates you're using, you might need to add some cocoa butter (or alternatively lecithin) to thin the chocolate out to the correct working consistency.Then, temper if you're going to mold or enrobe.

Changing Chocolate from unsweet to bittersweet

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am new to the site and would like to ask a question. Does anyone know how to change unsweet chocolate to bittersweet chocolate? Thanks
updated by @Staci: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The solid to solid transformation of Form V to Form VI crystals is responsible for the untempered appearance of chocolate that has been in the package too long.What I wonder - if you use the beta 6 crystals, I assume you grow Form VI crystals rather than Form V - so will your chocolate change over time or will it remain tempered forever in the package?

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

1% Mycryo per 1000g couverture = 10g Mycryo.You're right: Mycryo is not a substitute for cocoa butter. If I only need to thin couverture, I use bulk cocoa butter; however, for tempering I sometimes use the Mycryo esp. if I don't have a lot of seed chocolate on hand.I wasn't always a big fan of Mycryo. In pastry school, we used it once and I thought the results were not as good as using one of the more traditional methods of tempering. Since I've started using it more in a professional environment, I think it's an excellent product and definitely has its place.

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Is there a taste difference? Can you tell a difference in the product with the beta crystals? Sounds interesting. Nothing more has been developed in this vein, has there? It's been years since some of the articles I have read online. Any more input?

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

One of the best uses of Mycryo is dredging chicken breasts that need to be held for some time before they are baked or fried off for service. The crystals are real stable and because it is solid, it doesn't run all over the place like an oil would. Plus it's real stable at high temperatures (doesn't burn all that easily) and imparts a slightly nutty taste.

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Meh, I have Mycro and use it, but it is very expensive compared to bulk cocoa butter. There's no magic to Mycro, all it is, is cocoa buter heated to around 48 C and then sprayed on to a frozen roller, then scraped off. The extremes between the two temperatures "shocks" mycro into pure beta 6 crystals.I think the prescribed amount is 1%, (1 gram auf every kilogram) melted couveture, but the couveture must be around 35 C.I still get in the (cheaper) Kessko cocoa butter in the 5 kg pails, but of course it is like cement in a bucket. What I do is throw the whole bucket into a warm oven overnight (around 30-35 C) and then pour the melted butter into cling-film lined trays about 1/2" (2-3 cm) thick. When cold I coarsely chop this in the food processor and use it to thin out couveture or to mix with fat-soluble colours for molding chocolates. This is NOT a substirute for Mycryo as it has no beta 6 crystals, but it is in an easily dispensable form.

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I've used Mycryo a few times for tempering chocolate, and it does work, but I think that it is harder to use than seeding using either chunks or callets because the seed has the thermal mass to help cool the chocolate down. That said, I find it incredibly useful as a substitute for solid cocoa butter since it is a powder and is therefore easier to mix with other ingredients. I use it to mix with powdered colors to make "Paint". I can use it as a binder and mix it with other dry ingredients and then melt everything together. And when I first started using it, Mycryo was actually cheaper then bulk cocoa butter (that may not be true anymore).

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

According to Stephen Beckett in The Science of Chocolate , there are six crystal structures that cocoa butter can take. There are various labels used to describe these forms and Beta 6 is actually a combination of two of them - Beta 1 and Form VI.Forms V and VI are the most stable, however, Form V is the one that is achievable by the normal tempering process: Form VI is in fact more stable, but under normal conditions is only formed by a solid to solid transformation and not directly from liquod cocoa butter. This means that chocolate with fat in Form V will, after a period of months or sometimes even years, start to bloom. This is because some of the cocoa butter is still liquid, even at room temperature, and energy is given out as the fat is transforming to the lower energy state. This combination of effects pushes some of the fat between the solid particles on on to the surface. The Science of Chocolate is a great book. I can't recommend it more highly as a solid reference to the technical aspects of chocolate making and working with chocolate. Click on the image below to order the book from Amazon.

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I am very intrested in this topic as well... No members have tried the beta 6 crystals?Here is a couple links to get the discussiong going: http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/professional-pastry-chefs-forum/19949-beta-6-crystals.html http://www.auiswiss.com/culin_whatsnew.cfm?catid=1237

Tempering with Beta 6 crystals

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Has anybody used Beta 6 crystals for tempering? I just wanted to know how the results compare to other tempering methods (machine, seeding, etc.). What are the advantages/disadvantages?
updated by @Irma Wiese: 04/11/25 09:27:36

The BEST candy thermometer? Help!

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Sarah,I work for Tel-Tru Manufacturing Company and we manufacture quality thermometers that are used in all sorts of applications including candy making. We offer a wide variety of configurations. Our model LT225R is a good place to start, it has a 2" dial, a 5" or 8" stem with a pan clip. We offer this model in various ranges such as 50/500F. You can visit our website teltru.com or contact me if you would like more information.Take care,Yvonne

The BEST candy thermometer? Help!

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

We are thermometer impaired at Alma chocolate. And I need recomendations for the very best candy thermometer money can buy. I don't care what it costs-- well I do care-- but figure I've already invested a small fortune in crappy ones. I need it primarily for caramel making which we do a lot of-- so it needs to go higher than 305 degrees. Hilliards has a couple but I don't want to spend the money unless I've had a good report. THANKS!!!
updated by @Sarah Hart: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Hi Everyone

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Hi all,Thanks for all your kind words..I must pay particular homage to Cybele who really helped me when I first started my site..she really pointed me in the right direction with my site and has been instrumental in is ever continuing development.As regards to the whole chocolate bar/candy bar issue its really just a clashof cultural classification...I can see 100% what you guys are all saying however what we classify here in the UK as a 'chocolate bar' is not entirely aligned with what you guys classify as a 'chocolate bar' in the states.You see in the UK we are far more lassiez faire....a 'chocolate bar' could be anything...a minimal chocolate containing Snickers or a 100% cocoa solids fancy bar from Venezula could both come under that terminology...I know in the States you would classify something like a Snickers as a 'candy bar' but this terminiology just is very rarely used here for whatever reason...as I said its just a clash of cultural definitions.As regards to changing my website name...this wont be happening as I a) dont have enough money to buy the domans or b) feel like rebranding my website at present with it just starting to take off readerwise.Cybele - As I say in my profile nothing is off limits at ChocolateMission... its a light hearted website which takes bars /products at face value....I will review anything I want regardless of price/size/colour/content .... I dont like rigid rules you see.Thanks again for the input everyone! Nice to see some intresting debate risen already :DJim www.chocolatemission.net

Hi Everyone

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Hi Jim! Nice to see you on the forum.I bet folks here will be able to recommend some chocolate that will blow your mind.(But I also like "candy bars" too and find no fault with that.)The big question, I guess, is what fits into your mission ... can it be a bar that costs $8 (I don't know what that is in pounds these days) or does it need to be more accessible. I'm rather fond of the Chocovic from Spain as a really good quality, affordable chocolate brand (I can get a 100 gram bar for $2 at Trader Joe's).

Hi Everyone

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Jim- A sincere welcome to The Chocolate Life. I've seen your site before and just went through it again. It's well done and fun to go through. I liked reading the reviews. My feedback is in relation to your search for the best "chocolate" bar. Great mission, but there is very little chocolate in the 12 bars on your top five list. Even if you extracted the chocolate from all 12 and combined it. I know there are members of TCL who share your enjoyment of these bars. I also read your profile. You're mission is light hearted. I just prefer we give them another label. "The Best Candy Bar in the World!" Keep up the great site though. Brady

Hi Everyone

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

I couldnt see the relevant place to post this so I thought Uncategorised would do for the min.As you can guess im rather new to this chocolate life world but from what I have seen so far it contains a great choccy mad community :D :D great stuff. I look forward to further discussion with you all.As a means on introducing myself my name is Jim and im currently studying for my degree in the UK... I run a website called 'Chocolate Mission' which the main focus is with finding 'The best chocolate bar in the world' if you guys have the time it would be great for you to come check it out and give me any feedback. www.chocolatemission.net Im very glad I have joined and look forward to talking to you all.ThanksJim
updated by @Jim: 04/12/15 03:44:58

Pralus le 100% ... different flavor?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Sabrina:There are many things that contribute to the flavor of a chocolate. The differences you attest to sugar could come from a different bean blend, different roasting, and several other factors.Also, Cluizel's le Noir Inifini 99% contains a small amount of bergamot. Next time you taste it, have a cup of earl grey tea or a tea bag and smell the chocolate bar and the tea. You should be able to detect the citrusy aroma of the bergamot in the chocolate. That is one way to alter your perception of the flavor of the chocolate without adding sugar - and it's not on the label as I remember. So (maybe?) there is some sort of essential oil in the new Pralus 100% bar that is affecting your perception of the taste.:: ClayPS. It's okay to mention where you work! (FEEI (for everyone else's info) it's Alma in Portland, OR).

Pralus le 100% ... different flavor?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

At the lovely shop I work at, we just got a couple of boxes of Pralus le 100%. The packaging is new to us, with mostly beige and only a couple stripes of grey (although the glue still doesn't keep the wrappers sealed!)...I think the flavor is new also! (maybe this is already a known fact??) (Sarah..fyi to you on vacation!)The 100 bar that was in the full grey wrapper was amazing--no sugar, and yet one could SWEAR it had sugar. It was hard for me to believe there was no sugar. I was not fully convinced it had no sugar...Maybe my tongue was off yesterday, and I only had a quick bite of each, but the newly packaged 100 tastes very different to me. As though there really is no sugar or sweetener in it, as the label suggests. It tasted more like Cluizel's 99%, the more bitter chocolate that one would expect from the le 100%.SO..thoughts? Are the bars different? Was there really a sweetener in the grey wrapped Pralus le 100% bar? Should I not delve into this?
updated by @sabrina hicks: 04/15/15 06:52:39

Dutched Valrhona?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Oh, ye of little flavanoid faith!! The gods have given us another reason to rejoice in chocolate (health possibilities) in addition to the ones you so rightly mention (flavor/texture/pleasure). For a conversion possibility, check out this video link from a professor who conducted studies at UC Davis on how cacao flavanoids work and call me in the morning! http://stream.ucanr.org/Nutrition/nutrition_flavanols.html

Dutched Valrhona?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

One of the things that people forget is that every single one of us has a different metabolism. Our genes are unique and because of that, generalizations are just that: generalizations. Some people are sensitive to aspirin which can irritate the stomach and others aren't. Some people are sensitive to caffeine and others aren't. So it's not surprising that a research study finds that some people react negatively to substances in cocoa, including contributing to hypertension as the study you reference above states - where most people have the opposite reaction.The question is not (as Herb alludes to below) whether or not the health benefits of cacao are overhyped, the question is, "Why are we so consumed with turning chocolate into a health food?" As far as I am concerned, chocolate is something that should be consumed in moderation. So - when I want to enjoy chocolate I find the best chocolate I can and simply enjoy it. I don't worry about the fat and the calories so much, and I don't worry whether or not whoever made the chocolate went out of their way to maximize the polyphenol and flavanol content.For me, the health aspect is a little added bonus - it is not a reason to eat chocolate. If I were truly concerned with the health aspects I would find a way to consume lightly fermented raw cacao, probably by drinking it. Several cups made with water every day.

Dutched Valrhona?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

TSOR doesn't show up a Valrhona unprocessed cocoa.Don't dismiss dutch-processed cocoa though -it certainly has its place; it's better for hot cocoa since it dissolves better in water, and has a milder taste - good for coating truffles when you don't want your eaters to go into a coughing fit.I agree with Clay though - flavanols in chocolate are overhyped. Sorry folks, chocolate, while always good for you, will never be a health food, IMO./H.

Dutched Valrhona?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I just sent you the article from Confectionery News that describes a study on alkalising cocoa from Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry. A lot of conflicting data in the chocolate world, so I know what you mean about the loose terminology of "dark chocolate" and "cocoa". Here's another good one - same publication reports a recent study from Virginia on seniors, sponsored by Hershey, that found chocolate actually contributes to hypertension. How can it be both good for the heart and bad??

Dutched Valrhona?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Susie:I did a quick Google search on 'valrhona cocoa powder' and followed this link to Chocosphere.There it says that the powder is Dutch processed. I would not be surprised to find, however, given that Valrhona is a big company, that they make a "natural" cocoa powder.As for Scharffen Berger and Hershey. Neither of them actually make their own cocoa powder. On the Scharffen Berger factory tour in Berkeley (at least the one I took) they freely admit that they buy their cocoa powder. They just won't tell you who from. Also, Hershey is no longer a cocoa processor. They farmed the last of those jobs off in 2006 to a number of companies who deliver finished chocolate that Hershey makes into finished candy.I don't know the application you're thinking about for the cocoa powder but, IMO, the concern is misplaced because the way antioxidant capacity in cocoa and chocolate is characterized is bad science. The simplest example is to note that antioxidant levels (expressed as ORAC) are baselined against "dark chocolate" yet no one knows what dark chocolate means in this context. 70% total cocoa? 65%? 75% What ratio of butter:powder? What bean variety? In what soil were the beans grown? What level of fermentation? What level of roast?Without knowing all of that, it makes no sense to worry about the loss of ORAC for a specific chocolate product through alkalization, which can run to 50% or more.It's okay to use something just because it tastes good and not worry about not getting the antioxidants you need (and there is no RDA for flavanols) from fractions of a gram of cocoa powder.:: Clay

Dutched Valrhona?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Does anybody know whether the Valrhona's sublime cocoa powder is dutch-process? I know Scharffen Berger & Hershey make natural cocoa powder, but in light of new reports that dutch-process decreases cocoa's flavanols...I need to know about my Valrhona!
updated by @Susie Norris: 04/13/15 14:29:14

Annoying delay

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Clay,It's fixed! Thanks SO for the fast response! It's so much faster to use this now!

Annoying delay

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

It already seems way faster to me too. I only have waits of a few seconds at most. Thanks so much for your fast attention to this issue!!

Annoying delay

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I just removed pretty much all of the code for external dependencies I could. It seems faster to me.The next step is to remove the Google ads. I probably will not get around to this until the end of the month.

Annoying delay

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

In this day and age of social networking, sites often depend on resources from many other sites.As pages on TheChocolateLife load they look for content and resources from the hosting services provider (api.ning.com), from Google (pagead2.googlesyndication.com, google-analytics.com), Digg (digg.com), and ChipIn (widget.chipin.com) - as well as my own server at discoverchocolate.com which is where I host some graphics and other high-bandwidth files to reduce the load on thechocolatelife.com server.api.ning.com - images and other site contentpagead2.googlesyndication.com - the ads in the column on the rightgoogle-analytics.com - keeping track of page viewsdigg.com - viral marketing through social bookmarkingchipin. com - "lend a hand" adOf these, the two Google services are usually the worst because of the way they are integrated into the site - as javascript calls that get loaded after all the rest of the content of the page is loaded. That's one of the reasons why, when they're slow, you can't do anything else until they're done loading. You'll notice widget.chipin.com and digg.com sometimes takes a long time to load but because of the way they're integrated into the page they should not keep you from working while they're loading.I am really surprised that it takes 3-5 minutes for all of these resources to download all of the information the page requires; at the worst, they take about 15-20 seconds for me [which is way too long and as I spend more time on this site than most people it' can be a drag]. However, some of the slowness could be from the firewall you're using. And I am sure Ning gets slammed at times, too.I do know that pages take longer to load on my old pre-Intel Mac Mini (using Firefox) because I don't have a lot of memory in the Mac and Firefox on the Mac is notoriously slow under low memory situations. On my Windows XP box, there's a lot more memory and everything is routinely much, much, faster. It sounds like you're on a PC but there may be some configuration issue with your computer that affects things but you'd probably see it across the board and not just here.SO, everything is dependent on how busy things are all over the Internet. If a lot of people are slamming Google (and they always are) things can slow down if there are network bottlenecks. Many of the things that can be done to improve the site's performance are beyond my control because I didn't write the software. Even though I do have source code access the kind of changes that need to be made are way beyond my skill level.I have always planned to remove the Google ads from the site. That's the major cause of the slowdown. However, I planned to wait until the site was generating a little income because I have to pay to remove them. So far there's been very little interest (like one order) for any of the offers on the site. I'm looking for ways to reduce costs in other areas so I can do it sooner. (Is a PayPal "Donate" button too crass?)I can remove the google analytics. They're the second-worst culprit. It means I have to rely on the site's traffic metrics but at the moment, maybe having both is belt and suspenders and all I need is the belt. I will do that when I get done writing this reply.If any of you have any idea how to help market and promote the site so I can remove the Digg link (technorati never seems to be slow) by all means let me know.If I get absolutely no response on the ChipIn campaign I will remove that at the end of May even though the campaign is nominally not closed until the end of August.Please be assured, however, that no personal data of any kind is being transferred or transmitted from the site to anywhere else through any of these processes. Hope this helps and belays any concerns you might have.:: Clay

Annoying delay

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Clay,Something is happening that is annoying me because it's wasting time. Usually, when I change pages there is a long delay while something is loading. My "waiting" icon is going. At the bottom left corner it says things like "Read pagead2.googlesyndication.com", or "Waiting for digg", "transferring data from pagead2.googlesyndication.com". These things are really bogging things down and take 3-5 minutes to stop. For instance, I can't log out until it's stopped. Not to mention that I wonder if something personal is getting sent from my computer somewhere, to Google maybe?. I also can't use the formatting tools for bold, italics, hyperlinks, etc until it stops. Do the Google ads have anything to do with this?So I wonder if this is just on my computer or if others have this problem. I have various internet filtering software, Norton Internet Security, and Zone Alarm firewall, so it may just be me.Anyone else have the same problem?
updated by @ChocoFiles: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Domori- are they bean to bar?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

They seem to have streamlined some of their product, repackaged etc same concept thoughFrom what i gleaned at a tasting guided by Gianluca, they do pretty minimal processing. not a lot of conch time, the idea is to start with really great beans and then let them do the talking.sometimes this produces chocolate that is less than stellar but sometimes the results are great ie their organic series was almost unpalatable but the madagascar and porcelana are mindblowingThey also produce the best Gianduja i have tasted so far...if i remember they said that they use Nacional beansvery different from all the other Gianduja i have triedD

Domori- are they bean to bar?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Domori produced a video of their factory that was sold with some of their bars which shows all aspects of their process. Roasting Winnowing etc. Very nice modern equipment including Ball mills.