Hi there,
i did have a look into it, it seems a easy to use thing. you just need to type a recipe and it will calculate the whole NV. unfortunately Cocoa bean, mass/liquor/butter are not on the preloaded list!
Thanks!
I'll be checking it out
I haven't used it myself, so i can't comment on how good it is or anything, but i know people who have used this:
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandards/nutritionpanelcalculator/
Might be worth checking out
Hi there,
this is an interesting one, hope someone can help! having a software that can calculate standard value could be very interesting!
Best of luck!
One of my customers wants nutritional information on all the packaging of our bars (12 varities).
I do not bode well with computer programs in general, but have an old "mastercook6" program. It is, alas the last "mastercook" that came with an actual instruction manual, and I will not purchase nor down load any program that does not come with an actual, paper, instruction manual. I do not bode well with computer programs.....................
The M6 gives me all of the nutritional information EXCEPT "sugars" or grams of sugar in a serving, and this is one of the criteria the customer wants.
Does anyone know of a program that will give me this information?
I have some basic questions about cacao production and pricing for organic beans. Please see below, any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hello. Did you get any information on this topic??
Cheers
Andre
Hi
I am looking at purchasing custom made polycarbonate bar moulds. Has anyone purchased these from China and if so, what experiences have you had?
The moulds are to go on a moulding plant, so they need to be fairly tough.
I would appreciate any information.
Many thanks
Natan
So Tom, suppose you had some beans that were too fruity, which has sometimes happened to me. They probably weren't fermented well. In your experience would a light wash get rid of a little bit of the acidity?
That's a little bit more than a patent for simply washing, it's an alkali treatment, claiming to reduce FFA's. Of course treating high acid materials with alkali reduces the acid 8-)
Ha ha yeah, I would recommend it in that case, but as you say why would you.
Interestingly ADM received a patent in 2011 for washing cocoa beans to improve their "quality". Perusing the patent, it appears no small amount of effort was directed in this endeavour so it fairly represents the state of the art. But the beans subjected to this treatment were full of mould, toxins, contaminants, etc. I don't know why they would be considered for use in chocolate production in the first place.
Since it has come up again, I have had the opportunity now to work with beans washed and unwashed from the same stock. Washing is bad for flavour, very bad, it removes all the fruitiness and volatile acidity and you just end up with a very basic chocolate. BAD! Do not wash beans after ferment.....EVER!
There is little technical advantage to washing post fermentation, and as jim notes, there are logistical reasons as to why it'd actually be dis-advantageous. You can certainly do this, however you'll get the same result as you would had you not done it, from a finished product standpoint. Depends if you want to create more work for yourself or not.
I've followed this discussion with some interest. To date, there seems to be no compelling reason to "wash" beans after fermentation is completed. However....a very real reason for notmaking this effort is WATER. Our operations are conducted far..far...from the "city main" andwater supplies have to be created by filtering and treating water that is taken from a river that flows through our farm. This commodity is costly and bean baths would surely create a waste stream that would have to be managed.Seems like we are adding costs to a product that currently borderlines on negative profit. Unless it enhances the quality i would givea thumbs down!
From a theoretical point of view washing the beans with water after fermentation is complete shouldn't effect the taste. When the fermentation is complete, the pulp has no more functional use. If, however, the beans are washed before fermentation is complete, the taste could definitely be effected (perhaps more bitter, and the taste would be less complex).
Hi Tom, I've seen a setup to do this in Piura here in Peru but haven't seen any results. It was basically a large upright rectangular wood chamber that they would fill with beans and pressure wash with water from a tank. they said that it makes the beans more attractive and easier to dry, but no beans were in process when i visited.
unless you wanted to do rawunroastedchocolate, then i'm not sure i see the benefit. is winnowing a problem after roasting? I'm more of a bean guy and less of of a chocolate maker but when i have made chocolate the winnowing is not a problem after roasting. I can definitely see where shells that separate easily could be a problem in shipping. After my beans go from campo to city to port to boat to port to city to factory they need to be tough to get there unbroken. I have to be real careful about not letting them get too dry on the dryer bed or they can crumble in transit. my understanding is that the processors want whole beans to roast and not raw nibs.
as for flavor or aroma loss, i don't know. maybe taking away any part of the natural organic material results in a lessened flavor potential? No experience on that front.
Hi Tom,
Historical sources offer mixed opinions about washing fermented beans; there does not seem to be a good/bad consensus. The benefits of washing are a cleaner break (which you have seen), and faster drying which is good for limiting mould. The disadvantages are a more fragile shell which can be more easily damaged during handling, and deterioration of aroma although this influence may vary with cacao variety. Also in some cases growers may find no economic benefit to washing if they are not compensated likewise for their efforts. See Cocoa (Hall, 1914) p. 212 for a discussion.
http://archive.org/details/cocoacons00hallrich
Also, see Cocoa: cultivation, processing, analysis (Chatt, 1953) p. 95 for a specific reference to Samoan beans as having good results with washing.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?u=1&num=95&seq=115&view=image&size=100&id=mdp.39015002015454
Here is another technique I see a little of in cacao processing, mainly in cacao I get from Samoa and Fiji. So what they do is wash the beans with water after ferment has compeleted to get the pulp off, then they dry. This results in a shell that is super easy to winnow away. Does anyone know how this practice influences the flavour of the resultant cacao. Is this a bad practice or good practice. Anyone had any experience or care to comment?
Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. Great input with good perspectives. While I love the look of the granite top display, after reading all the posts--pros/cons--I have decided to go with a candy case for more controlled storage/display purposes. (I am a "control freak" by nature, so maybe that is it!) I have used a case in my small shop in my former business 9 years ago (relocated, now retired from Education and reprising the business in the Adirondacks of NY State),so it is a known factor to me. (No one was doing the granite top displays back then that I was aware of).
I just want to say that since I joined this site, I have gained so much more knowledge about chocolates and the business itself, which I am applying this time around. I really enjoy reading what others--business people and just lover's of chocolate--have to say about the world of chocolate. I believe that chocolate just may be the "universal" language! (P.S.--a big thanks to Clay for developing and running this site)
Cheers,
Kate MM
Couple of fators to consider:.................
Shopping centers have central a/c, very few flies, and no direct sunlight. You can get away with no cases in this scenerio.
My store, for instance, has windows facing due south, halogen lighting, spotty a/c and a lot of cutomers who like to "look" with their hands. In this scenerio, a display case is best. I ended up making trays for my bon-bons, with a plexi-glass bottom and wood sides, about 1" high, these fit nicely into my display case
hi Kate,
I am also considering doing that with my little shop : on little plates and on a marble counter with air conditionned non stop, seriously, it works well since i saw it working at others. As you someone else here said the refrigerated desktops are so expensive ! and since my shop is a real tiny one i can without problem pop my truffles and pralines in wine refrigerators in boxes though if air conditonned is working no problems! But in case there is problem with the air conditionned machine...
We're opening our first shop this fall and I will be using the granite top display with glass barriers. I think it makes the display classier, that along with the crazy cost of refrigerated cases just made the decision easy.
Most I've seen who do this, beneath the granite top is your fridge, same temp ranges as a normal chocolate case but built like a lowboy. So you have a few for show and the rest tucked away. Some have a top to the case and then you can get airflow and keep that part of your display cool as well. Then you don't need to transfer for night storage. Those like Frans who just have a plexi shield up are constantly restocking the little trays and I'm sure they put things up at night.
I haven't understood how you do volume sales like that. We have a rather standard built AA Fixtures case and when the season is hopping we are tearing through that case like chocolate fiends. If I had to duck down and pull out product my back would be broken.
We also run our shop rather cool, 67-69', the cold case is holding at 65' so really we can hold truffles in our kitchen for quite some time and end up doing so for a few days as we finish bulk runs.
It's really all in how you want to be perceived. I like the idea of having just a few of something out, it gives a little more focus and for some reason seems high end(?) but on an efficiency side I just can't see operationally how you rock through a peak sales period. Each of our trays in the case can get stacked I think 64+ units, easy and fast to draw from and multiple people can be in the case at the same time.
AA Fixtures will make that kind of case for you, I think Federal will too, but since it's not standard it's going to have some custom fee associated I'm sure.
Chris, Thanks so much for the reply.
Hi Kate,
I have kind of a combination of these, I have the case but I put everything on to Oneida Sushi plates, With the smaller plates I can fit more in the case and I like the way it looks. Also while researching our shop we looked at other shops here in CT and a guy in a nearby town had that setup and had flies and fruit flies all over his stuff ( we didn't purchase anything from him) I don't know how the bugs are in upstate NY but the refrigeration really controls this issue.
Best wishes,
Chris
The new trend in some chocolate shops appears to be forgoing the traditional temp controlled candy case and using a granite countertop (with glass or plexiglass barriers) and small plates for displaying truffles and chocolates.
Can anyone give some info on this from their own experience? I am assuming that the truffles, especially ones without preservatives, would have to be removed and stored every night. Or maybe not? If so, what kind of storage is used?
I am considering going the granite top route rather than a traditional case, but would like to hear some pros and cons from others. Thanks. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Kate M.
Hi everybody how much i appreciate all these discussion on the forum it is just awsome to see that there are simple solution sometines. My question today is about shelf life of ganache filled pralines;Do i have to add sucre inverti (sorry i am french and i don'tknow how to say it in english and to look for it now will just take me out of focus!)and glucose ? At what stage do i have to add them, is there a limit proportion ? Is the proportion relatve to chocolate qunatity, cream quantity, both ? I am not talking about months of course but a little bit more than " weeks in order to be able to have a little stock. Anyway i like everything to be fresh and i just want to be sure i won't spoil the taste of my pralines and truffles. Thank you all for your enlighting help !
Hi Mark and Krebs,
I am curious to find out if anyone has had great success spraying colored cocoa butter from the Krebs Hot Choc sprayer? I am looking to replace my airbrush. The only thing I use a sprayer for is using colored cocoa butter on bon bon molds. I don't use any 50/50 mixtures to spray cakes or other finished products. Can you let me know of your experience with using colored cocoa butter wit this sprayer? If it is good, I would be very inclined to invest in this tool. Thanks very much!
Daniel
The Krebs solutions look very interesting but I'm getting confused on the best model for a small shop, so my volume of spraying isn't that great. I use colored cocoa butter, colored compound and thinned down chocolate, all at different times. If I understand correctly the LM25 works best for thinner spraying materials used on light-weight and above pieces; the LM45 works better with heavier weight sprays (compound coatings and colored chocolate) but isn't really recommended for light-weight pieces (the pressure is too high); while the HotCHOC works best with 50 - 50 mixes and keeps the temperature for an hour.
My first question is: which model works best when using a variety of spraying materials - melted compound, thinned chocolate, or colored cocoa butter. And secondly, if I'm using 7oz bottles of colored cocoa butter, won't there be a lot of waste every time I change colors and have to clean out the spray bottle? Like I say, the solutions look very interesting but at a price range of $320 - $398, I really don't want to make a mistake by ordering the wrong model. Thanks for the help, John
Thanks Christian. I have ordered through Walsh Direct.
Cheers,
-Mark
I follow Ruth Hinks from Cocoa Black on Twitter and she tweeted some pics last week showing what she had created with this Krebschocolate sprayer....nice 
https://twitter.com/Ruth_Hinks/status/518003583284162560/photo/1
Mark, check out the Krebs-facebook-page ( https://www.facebook.com/KrebsSwitzerland ). There you can see & read how professionals use it. Ella for example, a chocolatier from Sweden, ecentlycame in rd place in the Swedish nationals (pralines).You will see a picture of the award winning praline for which she used the hotCHOC sprayer to create the white and the yellow. And there are other application examples, such as the velvet effect.
Hi Kerry, I`ll send info you about the heated chocolate spray gun.
What's the cost of the unit?
Hi Mark
A couple of years on and I just want to formally share the news that we have a new KREBS food gun model out- a heated chocolate sprayer that keeps the nozzle warm so there is no clogging and it is great for 50/50 for moulds, finishing, speckling, velvet etc (to answer your question Kerry). It`s called the hotCHOC and there are some videosavailable.
KREBS Food Sprayers
After reading all of the above, I have the answer to all your chocolate sprayingprayers!
The company mentioned may timesin this thread, Krebs have just launched a new spray gun specifically for chocolate, the'hotchoc'.It's a heated and insulated electric spray gun specifically designed for use with chocolate. Ruth Hinks ofCocoa Blackwas using it last week on a live web link via The Staff Canteen and its going to be used at the Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Banbury. It lands in theUK next week
Someone also mentioned 'over spray'. There is minimal overspray with this gun. It's far more accurate than the other models, is lighter and quieter too.Have a look at the You Tube video link that Krebshave been sending out all over the net... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqCSMi_faRQ
For anyone wanting to contain mess they have also got a spraybox which compliments the hotchoc. It's a collapsible and washable spray box.
Have a look at the Krebs websiteto seethe details for yourself.
Love my Krebs45 Spray Gun
used it for butter this weekend for a big job, croissants for 300 for Sunday brunch
fast, no waste and perfect results
