Many also contain potassium sorbate as a preservative. I know that Mandelin doesn't use synthetic flavoring, and they will make itcustom for you without the preservative. I don't remember what the minimum quantity is for a custom batch without preservative. It may be way more than you want. They have a number of styles of paste and almond products. I like their blanched sliced almonds.It might be worth checking out.
With regard to the high fructose corn syrup issue, just switch to honey as a sweetener. I believe you can get unscented honey, and it has roughly the same glucose/fructose ratio as HFCS, and the best part is it's all natural.
I could be wrong, but from what I've read, HFSC and Honey are both synthesized using enzymes. Bees synthesize invertase naturally while making honey to convert some of the glucose to fructose, and "big" industry uses other enzymes such as Glucose isomerase, which produced through fermentation with microorganisms. A variety of bacteria cultures are used to create Glucose isomerase.
Regardless, fructose is a sweetener that exists naturally. The fact that you use a little more fructose in your chocolates to preserve the shelf life isn't a big deal. Ask your client if they are going to stop eating fruit and honey too....
I'm all for making ingredients when possible, but I have tried to make almond paste, and I can never get it as smooth as the stuff made with industrial equipment.
Maybe someone out there has an answer to this challenge?
Failing that, there are lots of other things to make which don't use almond paste. I've resigned myself to that.
So, I'm looking at some recipes using Almond Paste, and I'm not sure which would be better, making my own or buying it.
How about you guys? What do you do for your almond paste? Do you go ALL hand-made and do it yourself, or do you purchase already made?
The main reason I ask is because the storefront I have my chocolates in is VERY health conscious. There was an issue a couple months back when they realized the corn syrup I was using had high fructose corn syrup in it, and they forced me to take all the candies and chocolates with it off the shelved. I lost over $500 in product from that bullcrap, and I don't want to deal with it again. Every container of almond paste I find online with ingredients listed lists a "synthetic bitter almond oil", and I don't want that on my ingredient lists if it's worth it to make my own...
Mine squeaked SO loud when I first got it aswell, I figured I would post so you know what I did and so you know you are not alone.
Honestly I didnt do anything different, I just dealt with the squeak and about 2 days later of grinding chocolate it went away and I havn't heard it since. It just needs to grind itself out essentially!
Steven
Clay,
To make it easier on backs and rotating inventory, we are looking at upright freezers. If the temp is going to be between 55-65, would a refrigerator be ok also using the same thermostat override device and humidity absorbers? If getting a freezer, do we want one specifically that doesn't self defrost? I appreciate all the advice. Do you have links to where to buy those as well as the chocolate making machines?
Corey (Sara's husband)
For going to markets I use a Cambro carrier with slots for half sheet pans and a freezer pack. Be sure to wrap each tray of Chocolates in plastic wrap so they don't spill inside the carrier. I use clear hotel pans filled with ice to display product on my table, but most of my stock is in the Cambro. This setup will work up to about 95F with a shade canopy. Above that its officially To Hot For Chocolate.
Thank you for the advice. Now just have to figure out what size freezer we need. What do people do that sell at outdoor markets? How do you keep everything from melting?
Sara:
In the discussion Larry links to, I point out that the least expensive storage solution is a chest freezer with a thermostat override. You can set the temp of the freezer to be in the 55-65F range, which is perfect for storage. Because the top opens, less cold air leaks out than when using a front-opening fridge.
Sara,
I hear you and share the pain of meltage. You can override your refrigerator's thermostat with some add on equipment. You can also control the humidity with additional stuff. Check out this discussion.
http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/can-you-store-finished?commentId=1978963%3AComment%3A53471
Have a great day!
Larry
We need some help. We produce our chocolate in NY. We had a heat wave, for April at least, and it went to 81 degrees. When I went to package some chocolates, they were soft and starting to melt. We turned on the air conditioners in the house but need a real solution. Someone suggested buying a refrigerator but I am pretty sure we would need a commercial one that can be set to between 60-70 degrees. I know people use wine fridges because they go to those temperatures for red wine. Any one have this dilemma and have a solution?
Hi Jeff,
Thank you for these guidelines. That's exactly what I've been looking for. I'll start by increasing the corn syrup slightly, with a corresponding decrease in caster sugar and see how this affects crystallization and flow.
Cheers,
Alan
I would appreciate any suggestions on how to prevent delayed crystallization of my caramels. I have been using Recchiuti's Fleur de Sel recipe from his 'Chocolate Obsession' book which uses the dry technique for making caramels. I've noticed that my caramels start graining up about a week out, despite enrobing them in chocolate and storing them in a sealed container to hopefully limit moisture attraction. I'm wondering if there isn't enough 'doctoring agent' in this recipe? Here is my current recipe:
5 drops Lemon Juice
298 g Sugar
1/2 Vanilla Bean
232 g (1 cup) whipping cream
38 g light corn syrup
14 g 82% Butter
1/2 tsp fleur de sel
Are there any general guidelines for the ratio of corn syrup to sugar? If I do increase the corn syrup and decrease the sugar by equal amounts, will this affect the texture of the caramels.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Alan
No. However, the warmer you keep them, or the higher humidity they are stored in, the higher the potential for infestation - just as with any raw agricultural commodity.
Wait, I'm confused. I was under the impression that PHF's are foods that need to be refrigerated for storage. Do un-roasted beans need to be refrigerated?
if unroasted, yes. they are likely to contain harmful bacteria. also, if you throw them really, really hard at someone, it can be hurtful.
If you mean nut paste praline then the book "The Praline" by Leroux is good
http://www.amazon.com/The-Praline-St%C3%A9phane-Leroux/dp/287386804X
Goorane !sad sam pronasao tvoj razgovor o ovim pitanjima,Mislim da ti to nije potrebno.Evo ti podataka.Najbolja knjiga za tebe je Belgijan chocolates koju je napisao Rogers Geerts.Od te knjige netrebas nista dalje.Cod nas imas chocolates confictions Od Peter P.Greweling,cmb.The culinaryI instituteof Amerika.Ako procitas odClya replike ne treba ti ni to.U hrvatskoj ima intresantne tri knjige na hrvatskom a ti to mozes dobr razumeti.Cholada cokolada slatki ukusi recepti.Joanna Farrow.Cokolada Naklada ulikus.Evo jos jedna na hrvatskomchocolate Karen Rowe.Ona je Canadska spisateljica.Pre dugo godina sam u toj knjizi pronasao Claya.Ove neke su knjige o proizvodnji a neke su I o interesantnim stvarima.Ja ti ne mogu bas sve iz moje biblioteke poslati O historiji cokolade mozes procitati A passion for chocolateJa slabo govorim engleski I ako sam 15 godina .Moj favoriit je mala knizica Chocolate unwrapedod Rowan Jacobsen.Ove a I druge knjge.Evo za malo razmisljanja.Sto se tice storidja za cokoladu.To je jednostabno.nizak humidity 18stepeni celzius malo gore malo dole nije problematicno.Cooling je 10 celzius sa malim hiumidity .Radna temperature je 20-22celzius stepeni.Odi na pretrazivanje u The chocolate life.I ne trebas nista pitati.Pozdrav Predrag
Can you recomended some book about chocolate praline?
Get as much oxygen out of your packaging as possible, keep it as cold as possible, and away from as much light as possible.
Hi,
I made praline pastetoday for a specific recipe and have some extra. How do I store it? Room temperature? Fridge? Freezer?
Thanks,
Andrea
Hey Fin;
There is only one species, and it's calledTheobroma Cocoa. There are "varieties" though, and those varieties are primarily "Criollo" and "Forastero". There has been a lot of talk about a "Trinitario" variety, but I think these days claims of it existing are somewhat nebulous at best.
Typically Forastero pods are smooth and shaped like a footbal with rounded ends, while Criollohas a rough exterior, sometimes distinct ridges in the shell, and a fairly pronounced pointy tip. Color is a bit all over the board, but Criollo is often a very pale green(but can also be yellow), while Forastero is usually yellow or red when ripe.
Like I said though.... Color is less of an indicator than the shape and texture of the pods.
Hope that helps.
Brad
it will clump, it'll become "untemperable" haha I dont think it has something to do with moisture, I live in a very humid area (mostly 70-90% ) but I temper different kinds of chocolate and not all of them develop this kind of bubbles, but who knows? haha I always thought it was the way I temper that incorporates the air into the chocolate
Hmm I think I know what you are describing there because my chocolate reacts the same way, as if there's too many bubbles inside the chocolate, I've never had grainy though. I'll try to take a picture of it just to make sure we're talking about the same thing. But I don't know why some chocolates like to keep the air bubbles, a lot of them, maybe it's the way you're tempering the chocolate?
Can you post a photo of what you are describing?
Hi,
My wife has recently enrolled in a chocolate making course being taught online, and now in the tempering (table method) stage.
While tempering the we are noticing some bubble (or grainy look) in the chocolate. But it seem todisappearwhen we bring the chocolate together, but shows up when we start tempering again. Is this normal. Please advise.
I have seen in Youtube videos that they use a Pastry scraper (attached). Is that what its is called. Because I am having a difficulty finding one in my place. Please advise
Thanks
There are no formal industry standards as to what "single-origin" means. It's probably not a bad idea because of the widespread use of the term and the potential for misleading buyers.
I stopped using the phrase "single-origin" when talking about chocolate a long time ago because, for me, it's no longer either meaningful nor helpful. I now just use the single word "origin." An origin chocolate is one where the place where the beans come from is indicated on the label.
The origin may be big - an entire country: Venzuela. It could be a region: Carenero, Sur del Lago (by Lake Maracaibo), Ocumare. It could be small: a village/community (Chuao) or a farm (Hacienda Concepcion, Hacienda San Jose).
Is a chocolate a single-origin chocolate if it is a blend of beans from two different growing areas of the same country?It might be if your definition of the origin is an entire country. Otherwise not.
Another nuance to consider for companies adding cocoa butter to their chocolate: To be a "true" single origin the cocoa butter has to come from the same place that the beans come from. It's not single-origin if the beans are grown in Venezuela and the cocoa butter is Ghanaian deodorized.
If you really wanted to be picky about it, a "true" single origin would have ALL of the ingredients come from the same origin. Should a "single-origin" from the Dominican Republicbe made with Dominican sugar?
Finally,a varietal name is not an originand can be confusing. Ocumare is also a varietal - and they grow in other places besides Ocumare. (I've seen them in a gene bank in Bolivia - at least they were identified as Ocumare, but that's another story.)
In the end, you have to trust everyone in the supply chain to be telling the truth. Traceability is supposed to be part of agri- and social certifications. Does that mean that accidents and fraud don't happen? Of course not.
Sebastian is totally right about genetic variability within a pod. It depends, from what I have been told, on how many times the flower has been successfully fertilized. This more times, the greater the genetic diversity within the pod. From what I have been told, cacao is nearly unique, if not unique in this respect.
Hi Anne,
I can only agree with the previous comments, single origin is a marketing tool. I doubt any chocolate maker will go through a genetic testing session before using this "single origin" term to scientifically validate the premise.
In the end, I feel nowadays it comes to trusting the chocolate makers you deal with. I have moved to Chile and I work with various chocolate makers from South America that I believe trustworthy. If you want some names, just send me a private message asking what chocolate "origins" you're looking for and I'll send you what I have.
In addition, if you don't know it yet, you'll find some rich information around chocolate strains on Mark's website: www.c-spot.com
Cheers
Olivier
