Forum Activity for @Thomas Snyder

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Brad, maybe it wasn't so much of a lie as it was just misinformation? It seems that maybe IceBlocks is of about the same knowledge level as I am (that is, having read up on most things readily available, but doesn't have the working knowledge of the industry that a veteran chocolatier would have?), and took a supplier's terms that he used at face value. I think you're really upset at his supplier for labeling something as "cold-pressed" that obviously (to someone who knows what the process of separating cocoa butter from the powder truly entails) could never have undergone such a process.

I do understand where you're coming from, since as a professional it irks to hear someone use terms like that so improperly. There needs to be a standard that everyone is held to, and deceptive labeling should be punished appropriately. BUT, that doesn't mean that an entrepreneur who is ignorant of certain parts of the process should be derided and chastised for a simple mistake.

How about educating him on the reasons as to why it's impossible for him to have "cold-pressed, raw cocoa butter" instead of berating him for not having this knowledge beforehand? I mean, that's the point of these forums, right? For people to come together and share knowledge of cocoa and chocolate?

Peace and Love!

~Tom

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I wasn't overbearing or condescending.

I simply caught a liar in a lie. After all Clay, it wasn't like the words just "slipped" off of IceBlocks' keyboard! He consciously typed them, and even made sure they were spelled right. In fact they were even used in correct context, which can only lead a person to believe that IceBlocks KNOWS what the words mean, and the impact they have.

SOMEBODY needs to step up and call to task those who purposely misrepresent themselves and/or their products. If nobody did this, what value would forums like this have?

"language used..."??? I didn't know "shame on you" was swearing.

If you want to chastize someone in your "house of business" chastize the guy who misleads people, and not the guy who points out obvious marketing BS designed to mislead others.

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Brad:

The language and attitude is totally uncalled for. We've had these discussions privately. You can make the points you want to make without being either overbearing or condescending.

Please.

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

1) I have a copy of the organic certification certificates for the cacao powder...

2) Fair trade products come with a FLO ID...

3) I assume if a reputable supplier describes it as cold pressed that it is...

4) We legally have to pasteurize it, so it's not raw, so don't care if it was...

5) Whats the problem with people wanting a vegan product? It's their choice.

6) What is your problem with organics? We choose to stimulate demand for something we believe in. Ours and our customers choice.

7) If you cant meet a demand don't whine to me

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I just got home from a great weekend in the mountains to read this trash!

IceBlocks, you throw around buzzwords like you know what you're talking about (...ourfair trade, organic cold pressed... blah blah) , and then when pressed by someone who REALLY DOES know what he's talking about you confess PUBLICLY nonethelessthat you don't even know if it is "cold pressed".

It's people like you that I got into this industry in the first place - people who use words because they sound good, and without concern of the ramifications that they have when a consumer reads them and then goes into a LEGIT business and says "I'm raw vegan and I want to purchase chocolate made with cold pressed cocoa butter." Then my staff have to undo the damage YOU have caused.

Personally I'm dumbfounded that you haven't even thoroughly researched your ingredients in the first place, and given what you've written here, it's highly doubtful that you even have a clue if it's fair trade or organic!

Shame on you.

Brad.

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Flick me an email at info@iceblocks.name to discuss powder.JohnThe cold pressed thing is not a big deal to us, so we have never fully investigated 'cold' claims.We have to pasteurize the powder ourselves anyhow to meet Australian legal food safety / HACCP requirements.Organic is a differentiator though.Fair trade we like to support if appropriate.Would be great to make a truly fantastic chocolate ice block.

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I'm afraid there is no such thing as a cold pressed cocoa powder - at least i've never seen one. it may be an expeller process, but it's still going to be a hot process. The purpose of pressing is to get the cocoa butter out, and if the cocoa butter is solid, it won't come out. If you use a supercritical solvent extraction process, you can keep the temperature down, but it wont be organic then.

Really the only benefit of keeping the temp low might be to keep some of the heart healthy components around longer - which are bitter.

Sounds like whomever is making it isn't giving you quite the right process description, and from what you're indicating, however they're grinding it is simply insufficient. there's plenty of cocoa processors in your neck of the woods who will be capapble of doing a typical grind cocoa powder. i think i might know the answer - but out of curiosity who's supplying your current powder?

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Well we have been concerned about graininess for some time with one of our fair trade, organic cold pressed powders. The settled larger particles also seem more bitter. We have had some chocolate experts test the ice blocks and they agree about the grainyness.

Ill contact the CSIRO and the Symbio lab on Tuesday to see if they can do particle size and distribution. My guess is that the powder is quite coarse (i can see particles on sifting) and a bit of milling in something like a Buhler powder mill would turn it into a less bitter more smooth iced confection offering.

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I think you'd need to determine what it is you need, why you need it - and then determine how to get there. my guess is there's quite a bit of cocoa out there already that suits your needs... but then again you may have very unique needs!

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

That's interesting machinery. Thinking about it I really need to quantify the problem first. I suppose getting a particle size distribution test done is the way to go?

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Most cocoa powder is 8-10 um in particle size - if you require finer, try something like a jet mill.

I'd be surprised if you required finer than that. It's probably easier simply to find an alternate cocoa powder - perhaps the one you're using is of poor quality. Jet milling can give you sub micron particle size, but it will be very, very expensive.

Cacao Powder Grinding

Posted in: Tasting Notes

We use a great cacao powder but its grind is not fine enough.We use about 20 kg over a week period.Can anyone recommend machinery to correct the grind of the cacao powder.
updated by @Ice Blocks!: 04/13/15 08:32:35

Honey and Chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Russ:

Without actually trying it, I can't see why there would be any particular benefit to using a grinder like the ECGC12SL as a mixer, which is what you're really looking to do - mix all the ingredients together and create a more stable suspension.

How long were you thinking you'd need to leave everything in to mix? I am thinking 10-15 minutes tops, which would mean that there would be little chance for any evaporation to happen - which you do want, actually, water in the suspension increases viscosity significantly.

Most dried honey powder is a little honey and a lot of filler - usually maltodextrin. Good luck in finding something that is pure honey. I and others have been looking and we haven't found anything yet.

Honey and Chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks for pointing me to that Clay! Is there a benefit to running everything through a melanger before dropping it into a tempering machine?

Honey and Chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Russ:

Colin Green in Australia started a related discussion on honey and chocolatea couple of months ago - you might want to check to see if some of the answers you seek are there.

Honey and Chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

This is my first post and I'm just starting out working with chocolate. I've beenexperimentingwith honey (liquid, creamed and raw). I've gotten some decent results but the texture of my chocolate always seems to start getting gritty and crumbly after about a week. I'm trying to figure out if this is due to not being tempered properly, because of the moisture content of the honey or possibly both and some other reasons?

Long story short, I have a tempering machine on the way. I've been using blocks of cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and a small amount of honey to make my chocolate. I'm considering buying a melanger (looking at the cocoatown ECCG-12sl). Does anyone know if it would be worthwhile to use one to get the honey and cocoaliquorbutter more evenly mixed before going into the tempering machine? I was also thinking that the heat generated from the melanger might evaporate some of the moisture out of the honey/cocoa mix? I was also considering trying to find dehydrated honey to mix in, would a melanger still be useful in the process regardless?

updated by @Russ Apotheker: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Looking for machines for the whole BEAN TO BAR process

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Lieven:

Your production target very wide - 45-90kg chocolate per day (assuming 220 working days/year) soSebastian is right in asking what your budget is. There are several different ways to get there, and many more ways NOT to get there.

Looking for machines for the whole BEAN TO BAR process

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Budget?

Looking for machines for the whole BEAN TO BAR process

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Hi,

We own a chocolate shop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We import the chocolate from Belgium and make the pralines and bars for the local market, upscale.

We will now set up a small 'chocolate factory' in-town for export and tourists. So we are looking to procure all machines (roasters, willowing, conching, tempering, etc.) to produce between 10-20 tons per year.

All suggestions on where to procure are very highly appreciated ! Best would be a former small chocolate factory which is closing and selling its machinery.

Brgds, Lieven

updated by @Lieven Geerinck: 04/07/25 13:00:14

Storage of Chocolate Transfer sheets

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

If the weather has been warm, I put them in the fridge when I first get them to firm up. After that, I keep in dark, dry room.

Storage of Chocolate Transfer sheets

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I'm going to second Kerry's suggestion. Ultimately, I am sure you will be fine if the package is sealed and you let the transfer sheets come to room temperature prior to using.

Storage of Chocolate Transfer sheets

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I'm for the dry, dark and cool storage area. I would worry about condensation with the fridge.

Storage of Chocolate Transfer sheets

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I just received my first order of custom transfers. The directions said to keep them in the refrigerator. I was surprised as I thought that would cause condensation. I have kept my other transfer sheets in a dry and dark storage area. What do you all suggest?

updated by @Valerie Herskowitz: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Buttercream Recipe Needed

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Valerie.........I'll give it a try this weekend.

Karen

Buttercream Recipe Needed

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I use this one: http://www.yankeemagazine.com/recipe/for/buttercream-centers/12572#

Buttercream Recipe Needed

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello Everyone,

I'm looking for a good buttercream recipe to use as centers in chocolates. Does anyone have any suggestions.

I already have a receipe with powdered sugar, corn syrup, butter etc. but would like something a bit smoother. I've never tried a cooked recipe before, would that do the trick and if so, does anyone have one they would share?

Thanks,

Karen Blueberry

updated by @Karen Blueberry: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Ganache???

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Thanks Gordon!! do you konw of any food historians that can solve the ganache question?

Ganache???

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Gustaf:

On this last question: it depends on the recipe. What is the percentage of cocoa? Dark chocolate could be in the range 35% cocoa to 100% cocoa.

Also, if cocoa butter is added to the recipe you need to know the extraction ratio of non-fat cocoa solids to fat in order to know how many beans were used to generate a specific amount of cocoa butter.

And then - you need to know the fat ratio of the beans themselves. 47% fat? 53% fat?

And then - what variety of beans are you talking about? Industry is more or less standardized around 100 beans == 100 grams. However, some varieties, like the wild beans from Bolivia, are upwards of 140-160 beans per 100 grams. It takes many more Bolivian wild beans to make a kilo of chocolate than CCN51, which are much larger.

Not sure why you want to know the answer, but the question is only answerable within a narrow range, and only after you have values for the variables involved.

Ganache???

Posted in: Chocolate Education

BTW...How many cocoa beans does it take to make 1 kilo of dark chocolate?

Ganache???

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Daniela...yeah I heard that story too but I need true facts!! I saw that the word came from the French language, where it means literally, jowl, from Italian ganascia, modification of Greek gnathos jaw more at -gnathousFirst Known Use: 1977...I found this in the Merriam Webster site.

The name also refers to the lower jowl of a horse...

But I need true facts...ANYONE!!!

Ganache???

Posted in: Chocolate Education

It's a french word. It's supposed to mean "fool", there's was a helper in a pastry shop who spilled hot cream over chocolate by mistake and the chef called him "ganache" but the cream was a complete success. they don't use the word in its original context anymore though

Ganache???

Posted in: Chocolate Education

Hi,

I have question in regards to the word ganache...where does it come from (origin) and what does it mean?

Help!!!

G

updated by @Gustaf Mabrouk: 04/20/15 23:22:42

ACMC Help!

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

It was a loose connection on the circuit board and it's up and running. Whew.

ACMC Help!

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

At the worst possible time, the motor on my ACMC isnt working. The machine turns on, the bulbs light up and the temp display is working.

How can I be sure it's the motor before I order one?

How hard is it to install a new motor?

updated by @Greg Gould: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Deoderized or natural?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Awesome answer, Clay! I think I'll end up just using the cocoa butter for my coveurture (it's needed to make it thinner and easier to dip with, right?), truffles and white chocolate.

BTW, LOVE this forum! It's great to have a place I can go to read the musings and thoughts of so many experienced and passionate chocolatiers.

Deoderized or natural?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

One of the reasons small bean-to-bar chocolate makers don't use added cocoa butter in their recipes is because, in order to be truly single-origin, the cocoa butter should come from the same beans used to make the chocolate.

Another reason often cited is that adding deodorized cocoa butter "dilutes" the flavor of the chocolate. Undeodorized cocoa butter has a flavor so it doesn't have the problem of diluting the flavor it has the problem of altering the flavor of the chocolate. Adding undeodorized Ghana butter to a chocolate made from Madagascar beans and what's the result?

Which way to go? It's up to you as the chocolate maker to decide. If you are going to be marketing single-origin chocolates then I think you've got a problem using cocoa butter that's not from the same origin, irrespective of whether it's deodorized or un-. If you don't have that issue, then un- is the way to go.

And - BTW - here in the US, white chocolate is legally chocolate, as long as the recipe conforms to the Standard of Identity (if it doesn't you can't call it white chocolate). FYI, perhaps the best white chocolate in the world is made with undeodorized cocoa butter: El Rey's Icoa. I tad heavily roasted for taste, but it does taste like cocoa and not sweet dairy.

Deoderized or natural?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

There aren't many things in life that have definitive, black and white answers i'm afraid 8-) certainly not chocolate!

Deoderized or natural?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hrmm... Well, not as definitive an answer as I was hoping for, but that works. lol. Thanks for the help, Sebastian!

Deoderized or natural?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Deodorized should have less color and less residual flavor than natural (should - if they're deodorizing correctly...). Which should you use? depends on if you'd like that extra flavor/color in your product or not. color won't matter for your dark or milk - it may for your white. flavor always matters. depends on what type of flavor you're after.

Deoderized or natural?

Posted in: Tasting Notes

So, I'm looking into the first purchases I'll need for bean-to-bar production, and I'm not sure which kind of cocoa butter I should get... The deodorized is only $15 more than the un-deodorized (for a 55 lb brick), but that's not what matters to me. I don't want to purchase that much and have it end up something I don't want to be using...

Anyone have some advice for this problem? I'm only looking at making dark and milk to start with, but I'll want to make white eventually too (I know, it's not "real" chocolate).

Thanks in advance for the advice, guys and gals!!

~Tom

Also, when buying equipment for the fist time, who bought a roaster, and who made due with an oven to start with?

updated by @Thomas Snyder: 05/05/15 00:18:21

Can anyone help me with how to use this metal egg mold?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you so much, Kerry. Now I know. I will follow the instructions which Gap gave above for hollow molded eggs. It will be fun trying.

Can anyone help me with how to use this metal egg mold?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Yup - that would be traditionally hollow. You could put some little eggs inside and glue the two sides together.