Forum Activity for @Andy Ciordia

How to handle my allergen paranoia

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

We deal with a lot of families with a lot of sensitivities. Peanut, soy, gluten, dairy, egg, etc, etc.

A child who has a real allergy, who can buy something, is usually at a verbal age where they can tell you they have allergies. More than likely they have gone through a few painful moments that have brought this home.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. You can't protect the world. If you are concerned you can ask them but this will over time become laborious. You've done the best you can now continue on with your business and find ways of getting more of it.

How to handle my allergen paranoia

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

If you think a child is buying something they shouldn't you can ask to speak to their parents. I won't sell direct to small children unaccompanied by a parent. An older child, say 10 or 12 should know thier allergies. Also ask the child directly if they have allergies.

Also carry insurance...

How to handle my allergen paranoia

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello All. I've asked this a few times (different verbiage), so sorry for repeating but this one keeps me up at nights. I've recently opened and I'm still concerned about allergic reactions happening (mostly to kids) when they buy from me. I have all of the required signage posted but I still get very concerned about someone (most likely a kid) buying something they shouldn't just because it looks so good. I guess I'm not asking for advice here, I'd just like some comments from anyone who has experienced this - or at least how to deal with the paranoia. Thanks, John

updated by @John Duxbury: 04/11/25 09:27:36

starting a chocolate workshop

Posted in: Opinion

Hi Shanta,

Your equipment will depend on what you plan to make. Think of it like this - which task would you like to automate most? You have to be able to save time and increase your productivity.

Regards,

Anjali

starting a chocolate workshop

Posted in: Opinion

Hello there

I live in South Africa and will be completing a chocolate course with Ecole Chocolat soon. I am really enjoying working with chocolate and have been encouraged by the knowledge I gained from the course to start my own business.

I would like to know what equipment I would need to start with that will get me up and running without me taking a second mortgage on my home. I can hand temper and am not sure whether a temepring machine is more useful than let's say a guitar.

From the numerous web sites I have seen equipment is very expensive and then to ship to SA is another costly exercise.

I would think I would need a guitar, a heating pot to hold temper, an industrial fridge (it is very warm here and humid - it's autumn and we still have temperaturs of 28 degrees Celsius. What else would i need and where would be a cost effecitve place to get these? Also what makes some equipment better than others. I have seen some posts about noisy heating pots.

Many thanks

Shanta

updated by @Shanta Reddy: 04/10/15 07:11:51

Moisture meter

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

My question was actually to Mel 8-) but glad you asked anyway!

The way the moisture meters work that are above the one you linked to essentially look at the relative humidity that a bunch of beans create in a chamber. This is useful as you're interested in the aggregate humidity of a bunch of beans - not just a single one. Now, the unit you posted uses conductivity between the poles to calculate moisture - i have no idea if it'd work for beans or not - i suspect it'd not work so well for beans with shell on, but to be honest that's just a guess. If it did work, you'd want to perform that test on a hundred beans, and then take the average of them - as noted, knowing moisture of a single bean doesn't really help much. It might work - give it a shot and report back 8-) what you'd have to do is test it with the unit, then dry out each bean individually with an oven/weight loss method to assess how accurate your unit was reading. For $10 i'd say it's worth the trial. Heck, i might even try it (i'm not sure if i've got any cocoa beans around the house or not anymore tho).

The unit Michael linked to, while i have no direct experience with it, according to the video, reports with a +/-2% range - which is a huge range if you're looking to target 6-8% moisture (the vary range itself is 2%).

The best portable one I've ever used is the dickey john miniGAC plus. it comes with 2 calibration curves that are cocoa specific (you may have to download them, i don't recall any longer), and one of them is MUCH more accurate than the other. It's very durable, portable (I've carried one all over the world in conditions you couldn't imagine), and runs, from memory, about $500 USD.

Moisture meter

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Depends on what I'm purchasing, but for this, since its a new hobby I'd say $100 or less would be my max. I would hope to eventually learn how to tell moisture content from organoleptic methods, but a way to determine a control would help.

What do you think of that cheapy thing I posted the ebay link to?

Moisture meter

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Can you define what low cost means to you?

Moisture meter

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

I was looking for a low cost solution.

I found these timber moisture meters on ebay, http://goo.gl/TlAHsX ,cheap. I was thinking I could re-position the terminals to cocoa bean size and get an idea of the level.

Anyone tried that?

Moisture meter

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

COFFEE PRO MOISTURE MAC PLUS

$300

http://www.coffeelabequipment.com/BROCHURE.html

Moisture meter

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Hi from Peru Melanie! I use a Farmex (now rebranded as Agratronix) Mt-Pro and it works well. It doesn't have a native cacao setting so i use the spanish peanuts setting and calibrate it for my beans. its small and portable, not so cheap at around $250 but has proven durable and reliable in the harsh conditions here in Peru

Saludos, brian

Moisture meter

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Anyone know where to find a portable, inexpensive moisture meter for cacao beans? When I google search it comes up with alibaba or very expensive equipment. I've seen small portable ones used at co-ops in Ecuador and Mexico.
updated by @Melanie Boudar: 04/07/25 13:00:14

Freezing Chocolate Ganache Balls

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Please help with this inquiry. I think this is the way?#1 wait til balls are slightly firm so they maintain shape #2 how long can they be frozed? #3 slowly thaw in refrig #4 slowly thaw at cold room temp.

How long can I keep them frozen? If the ganache contains wine,will the flavor remain good?

Thanks,

Cathy Locke

updated by @catherine locke: 04/11/25 09:27:36

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it, Clay.

Another point with regard to sweetness. He's probably counting shell (erroneously) as a cocoa solid. Assuming 13% shell content, that means that the actual cocoa solids from mass are about 56%. But according to the ingredient list, he's also added cocoa butter. Assuming a typical 5-8% cocoa butter pad, that would give you a bar with more or less 50% cocoa solids from mass. But the assumed 5-8% cocoa butter supplement is based on what's typical from makers working with liquor. Even more cocoa butter would be necessary with the high content of shell particles. Sweetness!

Scott

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Wow Clay.

That's the harshest I've yet tosee you write (except in private emails to me! haha!).

Thanks for keeping it real.

Brad

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

I was in London last week and picked up two bars of Paul A Young's whole bean chocolate.

I brought it back to NY and tasted one of the two bars (the 64%) with a number of friends and colleagues who are professional and semi-professional/trained chocolate tasters and the most flattering comment was,

"It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be."

Sorry, Paul.

First off, the texture is all wrong. And it's not different like the Sicilian chocolates that are crunchy or chocolate that is under-refined and gritty, it's just wrong. Chewy kind of.

The 64% is surprisingly very sweet, and this may be because the sugar can't be refined smaller than the shell fragments which means the sweetness is more present than it would be if it were refined and conched (properly) into the chocolate. A low roast may also be a part of the reason.

There is a very unpleasant aftertaste on the bar that kind of gets stuck in the back of the throat and lingers there, menacingly demanding that it be washed away by something stronger than water.

One of the reviews mentioned something about the taste of parmesan cheese, which might come partly from lactic acid. That said, if I want my chocolate to taste like parmesan I want it to taste like parmesan because someone added parmesan to the chocolate. David Briggs at Xocolatl de David in Portland, OR does this and it's quite nice, actually.

The Brits can have it as far as I am concerned, but it's a huge step backwards for the craft chocolate world in general and I hope that someone in the UK wakes up and recognizes that this emperor is not wearing any new clothes and tells Paul that while it may be a decent marketing stunt that's all it is.

It's not bloody brilliant and it's not more wholesome. It's stupid and a real potential health hazard if it's actually being made as described in the articles and reviews.

I am very glad that it's actually illegal to sell this in the US as chocolate because of the high shell content. It's a chocolate-like substance.

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Tom -

The beans are roasted. They should be free of pathogens to 99.999%. As for the possibility of heavy metal and other contamination, I would imagine that there is a certificate of analysis on each origin at least once a year to let them know about other forms of contamination.

updated by @Clay Gordon: 09/10/15 09:07:54

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Don't forget the Pralus choc coated cocoa beans, they have the shell on them. I was taken quite by surprise when i had some a few years ago, for the above stated reasons.

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

From the article in Confectionery News referenced above:

The cocoa shells need to then be washed to remove sand, off-flavor notes and undesired components such as mycotoxins or pesticides. The shell fractions may be washed by aqueous buffer solutions at a temperature between 15C and 100C for between one and 12 hours.

The washing step can be repeated up to five times and must be followed by a drying process like heat convection, head conduction, steam and vacuum or counter current heater air.

The shells then need to be alkalized, and this can be achieved by standard processes, Barry Callebaut said. After being cooled, the alkalized cocoa shell powder then needs to dry for 35-85 minutes before being ground, it added.

It's not a trivial process to make the shell safe to eat.

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Barry-Callebaut has been working this from the industrial end, apparently processing the husk separately.

There are some nutritional benefits if you are looking for things such as fiber. Apparently the husk also has abundant catechins and polyphenols which supposedly have helth benefits

http://www.confectionerynews.com/Ingredients/Cocoa-shell-powder-has-numerous-uses-in-chocolate-and-foods-says-Barry-Callebaut

I suspect that if someone wants to use the husk 'properly' it will need to be done as a separate process line from the rest of the bean.

I wonder what the implications of heavy metal contamination in the husk are for things like 'brewing chocolate'?

-Jon

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

You're more likely to get noticeably sick from raw chocolate, due to survival of microbial contaminants. But, unless you're in a fragile state, a case of salmonellosis will pass in a day or two and you'll be back to normal. Hug the toilet; ride it out.

The risks associated with shell are much more serious, though less likely to immediately manifest. Lead and OTA stay in the body a long time and do real and lasting harm--to organs (especially the brain and kidneys) and cells. (Lead has a half-life of 20 days in the body. OTA has a half-life of 35 days, making it still detectible in plasma 280 days after exposure.) Take a look Dr. William Manton's survey of the current medical literature on toxicity of "Nonnutritive Constituents in Chocolate and Cocoa" (from last year's Chocolate in Health and Nutrition) before deciding if you really want to "take one for the team" in this way.

Scott

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Hmm interesting.

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

I went by the Wardour Street store in SoHo yesterday and picked up samples of both the 64% and 73% whole bean chocolates - both made with Madagascan beans.

I have never faced the opening of a bar of chocolate with more trepidation than I feel with these two. Unusual texture, indeed.

I am flying back to NYC from London today and don't want to get sick, so I will get to these at some point this weekend. Maybe. I hope?

Oh - and 6.95 ($11.50) for a 50gr bar - that's $100/lb for those of us who keep track of such things.

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Another rave review out of the UK for Young's "whole bean chocolate," referring to it as "bloody brilliant" and "a more wholesome way" of making chocolate.

And another one ("it sits in a whole different league!").

Scott

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

This discussion has me rolling. Thanks for the chuckles. Ah.. /phew..

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

"ADDED NUTRITION"?!?!?!?!?!

I guess he means dog, cat and chicken feces, human urine, vehicle exhaust, dust, salmonella, etc.?? For his customer's sake I sincerely hope he gets his cacao from a known source with elevated / isolated drying beds like mine, or someone's going to get really sick.

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

No.

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

The Paul Young site says,

Its the most exciting project for us at paul.a.young and itssomething we have been developing for some months. The cocoa bean is soprecious and special that I didnt want to waste any part of it. Im so proud ofwhat we have produced and I hope it will pave the way for others to try thisnew way of making bean-to-bar chocolate.

Will this become a trend?

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Thanks for offering, Clay, but I'll pass. With a novice maker using a tabletop ECGC, boasting of only 7 hours of conching (in the non-conche CocoaTown), and taking a perverse pride in including shell, I feel pretty safe in assuming this product isn't for me.

Scott

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Young euphemistically describes the texture as " characterful. " In photos, it's visibly gritty .

Scott

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Natra tried to do this with a whole bean cocoa powder years ago.

Aweful, terrible idea for many of the reasons already listed. Also consider where the majority of mold resides on a bean, and thus where things like afla and ochra toxins subsequently reside...

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Not even a little 8-)

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Terrible idea for the following reasons:

1. Shells are much harder to refine than the nibs. Smooth chocolate made with as much as 20% shell will be VERY over refined.

2. Shells are incredibly bitter, and honestly don't contain a lot of flavour. (I know. I've tried to do a lot of things with them to avoid waste)

3. Shells contain a very significant amount of acetic acid. Making chocolate with the shell means conching a much longer time to oxidize the acetic acid.

4. Shells are the part of the plant that stores the heavy metals and other nasty elements (cocoa is often grown in volcanic soil full of heavy metals)

5. For strictly health reasons, it's a very bad idea.

6. I tried a few years back, and the chocolate was terrible - bitter and gritty.

If you're making chocolate WITH the shell, unzip the top of your head, insert a brain and think about this for a second: Large chocolate manufacturers make a profit of pennies on the pound for the chocolate they manufacture, and in spite of some making 100's of millions of lbs of chocolate per year,some STILL go bankrupt. (I was fortunate to buy a winnower from onebankruptcy auction just like that) They are always looking for ways to mitigate their costs. Do you actually think that in an effort to shave costs, they would WILLINGLY discard as much as 20% of their key ingredient if they didn't have to??? Remember, they are paying not only for the product, but also the shipping!

Having said all of that, not everyone can make good chocolate, and I'm glad. It helps my customers appreciate what I do even more.

Cheers.

Brad

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

I wonder if it taste good or will be smooth?

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Yeah - but think of all the fiber!

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

This is such a bad idea from a health perspective. Worse than "raw" chocolate.

Still, I will be in London in about 10 days and will stop by and buy a bar or three.

Scott- Want one?

:: Clay

"Whole Bean Chocolate"

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Paul Young is grabbing headlines in England this week with the launch of his "whole bean chocolate" (i.e., grinding all of the shell into the mass), which he sees as a notable innovation of chocolate making, rather than as a throwback to a time when lack of food safety regulations allowed the sale of such adulterated chocolate to customers unable to pay for anything better. More on it here (e.g., "No one's quite sure why the shells are removed; that's just how it's always been done"). And here (where Young is quoted as saying, "Everyone shells just because thats what theyve been told").

Adulterating chocolate with shell is, of course, far from new . And the legal, safety, and organoleptic reasons for removing shell are well and widely known.

Scott

updated by @Scott: 03/11/26 06:20:34

slab of ganache problems

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The layer of chocolate on the sheet doesn't matter what the filling is but white chocolate is usually about 2 parts chocolate to 1 part liquid. Add a concentrated flavor if necessary.

slab of ganache problems

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you Melanie Boudar

I have another problem, I make fruit ganacheratio I try but result have problem, I use cream(8%) fruit puree(18%) white chocolate(28%) this ratio has enough fruit flavor but so soft, hard to put a thin layer of chocolate, and I try raise white chocolateratio easy to firm but not enough fruit flavor, how can I do? Thank you so much

slab of ganache problems

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

You need to put a thin layer of chocolate on the sheet first, then pour in the ganache. Makes it easy to handle and cut.

slab of ganache problems

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

hi there, I use baking paper oracetate sheetswhen I slabof ganache, but whenreleaseonce the ganache sets is stick on the baking paper, why and how to get slab ganache, thanks!

updated by @him: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Why can't I keep my temper?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Probably not. I'm a novice at this. It was a guess on my part.