Forum Activity for @Clay

Deconstructing Cocoa Content

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Sam is making a good point here.If you go into a store and buy cocoa powder you will never find a totally fat-free powder. Typical ranges for cocoa butter content in cocoa powders used by professionals are 10-12% (low-fat) and 22-24% (high-fat). In some chocolate products that say "Fat Free" FDA regs allow there to be some fat - up to, I think, 1 gm per serving - and still allow manufacturers to claim that it is fat free on the label.However, when we're talking in the abstract, technically, about the composition of cocoa content, it is possible to be quite precise about how much of the cocoa content is fat and how much is not fat. This is why the not-fat component of a chocolate can technically referred to as non-fat cocoa solids.It makes sense in the lab and factory but is confusing on the supermarket shelf.

Deconstructing Cocoa Content

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Ilana:Yes, it is confusing.1) Cocoa content (in percent) is the total amount of cocoa butter and cocoa powder by weight in a chocolate.2) Cocoa mass = chocolate liquor = ground cocoa beans with nothing added. 100% cocoa content. What is not known (to most consumers) is the ratio of fat (cocoa butter) to non-fat cocoa solids (see my response to Sam's comment for more on this).3) Added cocoa butter is 25% of the weight of the finished chocolate.4) The math here is more difficult because we're dealing with a milk chocolate, not a dark chocolate.Total cocoa content is 41% - minimum. It can be more. Total fat content is +/- 1% so with rounding errors and fudging you should see these numbers as averages, not absolutes. FDA regs say that manufacturers have to be within a certain percentage +/- of the published numbers, recognizing that because manufacturers are dealing with agricultural products, the exact composition of the ingredients used is subject to change.

Deconstructing Cocoa Content

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

This is what I do know, however, where it gets confusing is the on the tech spec sheet:1. cocoa content- this is what we call cocoa powder and cocoa butter - right?2. cocoa mass - can you define this for me? (18%) I think itis the cocoa powder?3. added cocoa butter - 25% of the cocoa content, right? So this means it is above 50% of total cocoa content?4. equation -41% = ? 25 +16?? but it should be 18?I am so sorry I don't get it right away!! I understand all about the benefits of different percentages and the gimmicks and all but the specs confuse my awful math abilities.I completely appreciate your devotion to chocolate and this site as well as you immediate help-you have no idea! Thank you so very very much.

Deconstructing Cocoa Content

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

The term "cocoa content" refers to the combined total percentage, by weight, of all the ingredients in a particular chocolate that come from the cocoa bean. In most cases it is the combination of the quantity of cocoa mass (or cocoa liquor or chocolate liquor, etc.) plus any added cocoa butter.Cocoa beans naturally vary between 45-55% cocoa butter content depending on the type of bean and where the bean is grown.Technically, cocoa butter is referred to as cocoa solids and cocoa powder is referred to as non-fat cocoa solids. Most people find it easier to think in terms of cocoa butter and cocoa powder, but when you come across a reference to non-fat cocoa solids it's referring to the brown stuff that gives chocolate its color.Cocoa butter is added to the base quantity of cocoa mass to influence mouth feel and make the chocolate less viscous. Lecithin - which is an emulsifier - is also used to reduce the viscosity of chocolate and so reduces the amount of extra cocoa butter that must be added (lecithin is a lot cheaper than cocoa butter).The exact ratio of cocoa mass to added cocoa butter to total fat content is usually not included in the information you'll find on the package. However if you get a chance to look at the technical spec sheet for a chocolate it will usually list out the percentage of cocoa mass, percentage of added cocoa butter, and total cocoa butter content.For Guittard's Orinoco (a 41% milk) the ingredients list is:Pure cane sugar, cocoa butter, full cream milk, cocoa beans, soy lecithin, vanilla beansThe technical spec is:Total cocoa content: 41% minimumCocoa mass: 18%Added cocoa butter: 25%Total fat content (including milk fat): 39% =/- 1%Sugar: 38%Lecithin and vanilla together typically total about 1%. The rest is non-fat milk solids.It is important to keep in mind that there is no correlation between cocoa content and chocolate quality. Cocoa content is a quantitative measure, not a qualitative measure.In this respect it's more like the proof (percentage) of a spirit such as gin or vodka. Knowing that a gin is 40 proof tells you nothing about the quality of the ingredients used to make the gin or the care and attention that went into its manufacture. Similarly, about the only thing you can confidently infer from the cocoa content of a dark chocolate (i.e., a chocolate with no dairy ingredients) is the percentage of sugar in the chocolate. There is no magic percentage amount that separates semi-sweet from bittersweet chocolate.Cocoa content tells you nothing about the beans used, how the beans were fermented and dried, nor does it say anything about any of the steps in the manufacturing process (all of them) that affect flavor.There is no consistent correlation across the board between cocoa content and any sensory aspect of chocolate: not texture (mouth feel), aroma, or taste. Even the perception of sweetness between two bars of chocolate with exactly the same sugar content will be different (this is one of the first things I noticed back in 1994 tasting six different Bonnat bars all with the same cocoa content; the difference in sweetness was startling) depending on the beans, the roast, and the presence (or absence) of vanilla and the kind and form of vanilla used.70% is a marketing hook - or gimmick, if you prefer. A 70% chocolate is not necessarily better than a 68% chocolate or a 65% or a 64% just because it has a couple of more percent cocoa.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/11/25 09:27:36

need help with jelly fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Rob,I continue working on this conundrum. The sprinkling of gelatin has helped a lot!Already I've been able to thin the molded shells and thus increase the jelly, or fruit piece which has been brandied so that the size of interior flavor is huge. I need to know more about the concentrations of components which you discuss. Please e_mail me if you wish to discuss this: fhsdds@tri-lakes.net . I'd like to pursue it.ThanksFrank (Mr. WineCandy)

need help with jelly fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

it is a little difficult to really understand what type of filling you are talking about but just to clarify...i know that glucose avoids crystals; what i meant was to let the filling dry longer to have a skin (if you prefer that term from a crust).

need help with jelly fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you guys for such quick and thoughtful feed back on my jelly problems. It is wonderful to have found this Chocolate Life site where there is such serious interest and helpfulness ; this is a rather knotty and perplexing issue for me.You see, Im not just asking how to make a solid jell or crusted filling inside a chocolate confection. My perspective is that of a commercial grape grower and hobbyist winemaker. The issue really is wine flavor carry- through. The flavor notes of the grape variety in question will get locked up in a solid jell. The jelly, if set, I mean well set, will not release those flavors that identify the wine to my customer, the winemaker who bought my grapes; it is his wine after all which I wish him to taste and recognize in the chocolate piece. The chocolate is a container.Now that you perhaps have a better understanding of my objectives, Ill respond to the questions posed. As to the thickness of my jelly: it is not a runny soup. It certainly is lumpy. If set so hard that it could be picked up off a plate with a fork then the object of my effort is lost as per above reasons. Jells like those that are of fruit puree and encrusted with sugar just will not do.Yes, Jean-Francois, my jelly does have glucose and I have worked with several recipes of sugar concentration in combination with pectin to minimize the amount of sugar so as not to alter the wine flavor notes excessively. Lowering sugar prevents set altogether.Creating a crust and allowing the jelly to fully set (if that means set hard) may not get me closer to the flavor preservation I am after. But I will continue to experiment with recipes.The seal is the deal. Im trying to have a semi-liquid jelly ; not so runny that a customer squirts wine on his shirt when biting into the chocolate but liquid enough that it does taste like a specific wine when eaten. To seal that in without leakage is the issue. Will it stay sealed, even then? Will the jelly dissolve the chocolate in time? That is yet to be determined. Im trying to solve the first problem first.without creating condensation I dont know to what this refers. Is condensation a result of chilling the mold or is it a problem of some other sort? It looks as though this sentence suggests that an objective is for the chocolate to stick to the filling but I am not sure why this would be a goal. At least not in my case.Tonight Ill start conching a new batch of Papua New Guinea beans which I roasted last evening and then begin again with molding and filling. Will report if I find success with the jelly seal.Thanks again,And Merry Christmas to you allFrank

need help with jelly fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

OK a per Clay's request I'll try to help...first NEVER try to accelerate the process by chilling your molds, all you'll do is, make it colder! you filling needs to "crust in order for the chocolate to stick to it without creating condensation. how liquid is your filling? if it is very thin the only way is to make your shell thicker. if it is semi-liquid then, make sure that you recipe contains glucose in order to create a "crust", allow your filling to fully set also (overnight is always good).you should not encounter a problem this way.don't hesitate to reply if you have more questions or problems.Merry ChristmasJF

need help with jelly fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

This is why I recommended that the tray be well chilled before spraying the cocoa butter - it will instantly harden when it hits the filling - so no pooling or sinking. However, if the filling is too high, then you'll be out of luck.With fillings that are too stiff, you can sometimes lay plastic film across the top of the mold and gently flatten each bonbon; afterwards, you can gently peel back the film for sealing.

need help with jelly fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks John,I tried this in a way upon recommendation by Gloria Rogers at Baker's Rack in Old Lenexa, Ks near Kansas City.Problem: The jelly is not fluid such that it settles flat in the mold. ie, it is lumpy. Hence the cocoa butter pools in low places and is therefore thick enough that one can taste it. This interferes with both the mouth feel but more importantly the flavor carrythrough of the jelly which has specific varietal wine flavor notes. Hum.....Still searching. There will be an answer, I've just not found it yet.Thanks again for your input.Frank

need help with jelly fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

That's difficult... With the caveat that I haven't done this myself, you could try this: chill the backless filled bonbons and spray a thin layer of cocoa butter. This will "pre-seal" the chocolate so that you can then seal them in the normal way once the mold has returned to room-temperature.

need help with jelly fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Does anyone have tips for effectively sealing a molded chocolate piece when being filled with semi-liquid jelly?After making the top shell of a chocolate mold, and after filling it with a semi-liquid jelly, the liquid part of the jell will float through a liquid layer of chocolate piped onto the top of the jelly filling. This perforates what will become the bottom of the shell when it is de-molded. If my explanation is clear, does anyone have a trick to properly seal the jelly into the mold? The problem is not the thinness of the chocolate layers but that the watery part of the jelly is lighter than the liquid chocolate covering it and therefore floats through the final chocolate layer to perforate its surface.
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Drain Frame for wet grinder.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Yeah thanks too

Drain Frame for wet grinder.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Nice! A clever idea to get the last bit of chocolate from the stones. I usually remove the stones and put them on the marble slab as the there may be some slightly rough, unground nib pieces in the top that will drop when scratching.

Drain Frame for wet grinder.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks for the tip.

Drain Frame for wet grinder.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

There is a small delrin piece known as batter cleaning system (because it was developed for the batter). You place this piece on top of the grinder vessel. Place the roller stone on top of it, use one hand to hold the top of the roller holder and with the other hand manually rotate the conical stones. The batter cleaner cleans the chocolate stuck to the stones and the chocolate falls into the vessel. This simple device reduces the wastage of chocolate. Batter cleaning system is included with the CocoaT melangers. If you need to order just the batter cleaner, you can order it from http://www.innoconcepts.com/grind+parts.htm

Drain Frame for wet grinder.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

A simple angle steel frame bolted together to hold the grinding stones above an Ultra wet grinder. This can help when cleaning the finished chocolate off the grinder stones. You might think of it as being a third hand.
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 04/11/25 09:27:36

New York

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Greger:The SoHo area where Kee's is located (and I heartily second Carol's recommendation, btw) is one of the neighborhoods in the city where it is possible to hit a number of different chocolate shops on foot in close order.On Broadway (corner of Spring or Prince) is Dean and Deluca's where you'll find one of the better selections of bars in the city. Not far from there is Vosges. Kee's is on Thompson just south of Spring (#80) and if you head down Thompson away from Spring and turn left on Broome in a block or two you'll find Marie Belle's.From there, it's a 10-15 minute walk to Jacques Torres on the corner of Varick/King.Down in the financial district you'll find Christopher Norman and further uptown (on 49th I believe) is a Food Emporium that boasts a wide selection, including being the only place to purchase Coppeneur bars at retail in NYC.In Rockefeller center there is a Teuscher store and a La Maison du Chocolat boutique.On the Upper West Side it sometimes pays to wander in Fairway and Zabar's. I once saw bars from Oriol Balaguer in Fairway. They were under a checkout counter, not in the aisle where the chocolate was displayed so it really does make sense to explore.Please let us know what you find out on your trip and post photos and make a photo album.Thanks!

New York

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Thank you very much for your replay. I will let you know if I like them as soon as I have tasted them.Merry Christmas,Greger

New York

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

http://www.keeschocolates.com/ Above is a link to Kee's Chocolates which I think are the best in NYC.She makes them fresh daily.let me know if you go and let me know if you like them.Carol

New York

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

My name is Greg and I am going to New York. I would like to know where I can buy some good handmade chocolate. I have read about vasges.chocolate are they any good?Marry christmas,Greger
updated by @Greger N: 04/11/15 01:36:04

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

I've been told by some sellers of bicolor seeds (unfermented) that they are also used in tejate, though I have yet to find a tejate vendor who admits to using it - cacao blanco they call it here.

A few weeks ago, I had occasion to "discover" this cacao blanco when I asked about at the Sunday Tlacolula market. I bought some and roasted it, then bought more later at the central de abastos. They make a wonderful nutty tasting roasted snack, that, if roasted right, you can sometimes peel by hand. They require more roasting than theobroma cacao, and the skin is thicker.

I also ground some up using my champion juicer. This works great with cacao, actually turning out a decent liqueur through the fine screen, and pushing what remains of the skins/husks (I'm still not very good at winnowing) through. With the bicolor, the fat seems to be denser and with a higher melting point. Running it through the champion juicer was much harder than with cacao. It would not go through the fine screen. Maybe I needed to run it through a couple more times, I don't know. Anyway, I've been making a delicious hot chocolate with some fine "almendra blanca" criollo beans from Tabasco, and in my latest pot, I included about 15% bicolor. It's delicious! Very buttery and creamy, and mildly nutty. I've also tried making a "hot chocolate" with only bicolor, and that's also delicious, though it tastes not at all of chocolate.

So much fun experimenting!...

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Hi! I am a fellow chocolate lover traveling to Oaxaca in a few weeks. I read that you stayed with a host family while you were there....I would like to do the same thing, but I am having difficulty locating one over the internet. How did you locate a family? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

The raw beans would be the ones that they skewer. Once they turn chalky they pulverize if you squeeze them and they would not be suitable for eating. I will send you the recipe for making chocolate atole if you write to me.The raw beans are easy to spot in the market. They resemble regular cacao beans but they are flatter and wider, similar to lima beans. The ones for sale are washed, not fermented per se. The fermented ones are the chalky ones. I do not know of a source for purchasing them outside of Mexico.

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

I have heard of bicolour seeds sold as macambo, the seeds are skewered on sticks and roasted then served salted.I would probably have no chance of getting to the places you mention as I am in Australia. Know anyone that would ship? My interest would be in making the drink, I make a lot of chocolate drinks from the bean using a Spectra 10 to grind the beans.

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

The bi-color cacao beans are buried in a deep hole in the ground. This is done under certain astrological conditions by a few chosen women who, for six months, daily pour water into a hole alongside the covered beans. The beans ferment during that time, the shells turn black and crack open to reveal the chalk white transformation of the meat of the bean. The beans are then dried in the shade for several days. These beans are traditionally used to make the enormous head of foam that is placed on top of a cup filled with atole. Making the base for the foam on a metate is a laborious task but the results are amazing--a large bowl heaped with foam capable of staying "alive" for 7 or 8 hours. It is the most revered ceremonial drink in Oaxaca.You can sometimes find pataxtle (spelled many different ways) for sale in the Benito Juarez market as well as at the abastos market in Oaxaca city. You'll also find them in the village markets of Tlacolula, Teotitlan del Valle and others throughout the state of Oaxaca. I don't know of any purpose for using them other than for making foam for chocolate atole. Sometimes this drink is sold in the markets but I would not recommend drinking it there. The queen of chocolate atole making is Abigail Mendoza in Teotitlan del Valle.

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Please tell more about the 'white cacao' drink I am very interested. Are the beans from bicolor washed or fermented? Where could I get some to try?

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

I have conducted chocolate tours to Mexico (including Oaxaca) since 1990. Unfortunately, my last tour was a year ago. Oaxaca is a hot bed of chocolate in Mexico, one of the few areas that still practice many of the chocolate traditions handed down to them by their ancestors. To get a real feel for the place, do as the locals do and have breakfast at Fonda Abuelita, one of the oldest stalls in the 20 de noviembre market. We traditionally order chocolate de agua and pan de yema. Then we cross the street to the Mercado San Benito Juarez to shop for chocolate pots, molinillos, traditional metal chocolate molds (used tor shape patties), jicaras (gourd drinking cups), and cacao beans--lavados (washed), beneficiados (partially fermented), and fermentados (fermented). If you're lucky, you may see someone selling pataxtle,"white cacao" which comes from the Theobroma Bi-Color trees. These beans are really special and are used to make perhaps the most revered chocolate drink of all--chocolate atole.

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

That's great to hear, thanks for letting us know, we're really looking forward to going back again someday.

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

The usual. Almost always cinnamon and almonds are there. Sometimes, nuez (pecans) are there also. No chiles in Mayordomo chocolate.I had both the hot and the cold. I wouldn't say the taste was incredible, but it was pretty good. But the experience was unforgettable.If anyone is interested, there's some really cool places in Escondido (north San Diego) which I recently found which have Oaxacan food, bread, and chocolate. I was going to post earlier, but slipped my mind.

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Any unusual spice mixes, or just the usual like cinnamon, chilli, vanilla, almonds etc? Did you have one?

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Yes, they have several stores throughout Oaxaca. While I was there, I saw that they were selling hot chocolate (water or milk based with slightly different spiced chocolate mixes) and a cold chocolate slushie (I think it was a frozen milk slush that they used).Their hot chocolate was served with sweet bread.

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

So is Mayordomo a cafe chain? If so do they sell chocolate drinks - what sort?

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

It was quite safe. I stayed by myself with a host family (I was actually taking some classes there) close to Llano park and mainly walked around the historical district. I was there during the holidays and whole families were out in the parks and the Zocalo late at night.While I did get some odd stares and maybe the odd gringo comment or two (pale and 6'3" really sticks out), most everybody was very friendly.

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Hi James, we are very interested to hear that you were just in Oaxaca and obviously had a good time. We were there in 2002 and loved it, and then had planned to go back in 2007, but were warned by a friend who had lived there that because of the social unrest it was too dangerous for tourists to visit. It broke our hearts, both for us not to be able to go and also to think about the people there who depended upon tourism for their livelihood. But it sounds like things may have gotten better. Did you ever feel uncomfortable walking around the city? Were you on your own or there as part of a tour group? Did you feel free to stroll around places like the central square in the evenings?

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Yep, champurrado. Have you had it, also? I can still taste it. Yum. Oh and always con pan.I also had Tejate in the mercado. It was an experience. I'll just leave it at that. If the cacao is fermented it is washed of any fermentation byproduct, because I picked up a handful and smelled it and there was no smell but cacao shell/husk. Oh and in Mayordomo there appears to be 2 ways to get your ground chocolate: with shell and without. And of the couple times I saw the chocolate being ground the bean was put in whole.

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Really they use only unfermented cacao?Is the drink you made the champurrado?

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Sure, Clay. I'll give it a try soon.It's really amazing how pervasive chocolate is here. I had a cooking class in which we made a drink from corn and chocolate (atole con chocolate) and I went to a house where the mother served hot chocolate and was sure to let everyone know her "secret" recipe for the ground spices (almonds and less sugar - i think 1kilo cacao to 1kilo sugar).I highly recommend anyone to travel here.

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

James:Thanks for the notes. Any pictures to go with them? Post them in Photos - don't forget to geotag them - and if you don't want to create an album for them I will.:: Clay

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

I've visited La Soledad and Chocolate Mayordomo on Mina st as well as a number of stalls in the market. They all sell the Oaxacan coarse ground chocolate and mole paste from the chocolate. Interestingly, those vendors that sell raw cacao (La Soledad) or have it displayed (Mayordomo) use unfermented cacao. Also interesting is the cacao is always ground with something. The "100%" (no sugar) at Mayordomo is actually ground with almonds. The other Mayordomo recipes contain either cinnamon, pecans, and/or vanilla. And the sugar content is always greater than cacao content. Mayordomo is very big down here. Always busy and several stores all within walking distance of each other (seems similar to Starbucks back home).

Oaxaca

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

I'll be travelling to Oaxaca. Does anyone have any recommendations for places to see, food (chocolate!) to try, or things to do? Thanks!
updated by @James Cary: 04/13/15 12:04:19

Any Chocolatier lifetime subscribers reading?

Posted in: News & New Products Press

I, too, must echo Debbie's comments as she just reminded me I haven't seen any new Chocolatier's in a while. Perhaps as a group we can encourage the new publication to extend a subscription to their magazine.Bob