Forum Activity for @Andy Ciordia

I'm going to assume this is a cold bakery case in which case..

Too cold, too much humidity.

Salt will absorb moisture and turn into little wet droplets.

Caramels exposed will absorb moisture and get very soft and wet.

We have a bakery case and a chocolate case, the bakery case runs at 42' the chocolate case runs at 64' that's a huge temperature variation.

Keeping them protected and sealed from the elements is your best bet from longevity. If you can keep them well protected the truffles should last 3 weeks or more. Keep an eye out for blooming that may occur.

Barks don't need to be in the case. If they are like ours they are by nature rather shelf stable. Package them up in 2/4/8/12oz (pick a few) and set them around the shop.

I am looking for advice regarding displaying my chocolates (truffles, caramels, salted caramels and assorted "barks") in a bakery display case. I share space with a bakery, and have been offered space in the display case. Does anyone have any suggestions for how best to use this type of display, and how long truffles would last in a case like that. also, should i "cover" them with dome or similar type of cover.

thanks.

Darri -

I have to ask the same question about the sea salt - crispy flake says a little about the texture but nothing about the saltiness and other flavors that might be in the salt.

There are hundreds of different kinds of dark chocolate and many, many different flavors and texture of salt to consider.

Your challenge, I think, is to balance the saltiness of the salt with the chocolates you are using. Some chocolates can "stand up" to more salt, some chocolates can't, and need less salt. I would first start experimenting with a very limited number of chocolates and then play with the amounts of salt being used and how the salt is used (sprinkled on the surface, mixed in).

One thing to consider is that salt can reduce the sensation of bitterness. You may find that more bitter chocolates can take more salt, and that when the bitterness is reduced, that other flavors will come out.

I've been trying out a bunch of chocolate varieties and trying to figure out which textures, flavors and aromas pair best with crispy flake sea salt, and I'm curious to find out what others think.

Sorry I don't know any but would be interested to visit a place as I don't have experience in it. It would be great to develop a fair trade organic bar Europe with an emphasis on healthy toppings like seeds, nuts, etc... I believe on whole foods.It probably exist but I'd like to see it on an artisan scale.

Good day Herve,

Thanks for taking time to get in touch,

Well, I was actually wondering what bean to bar workshops are available, or that you could recommend ? preferably in the uk however a little trip to France wouldn't be out of the question.

Ants

Hi Anthony,

I'm consulting in Ireland every now and again for a start up chocolate business. I am a qualified French chocolatier and planning to move to London for November. Let me know if you are interested in knowing more about my career, views and ideas.

Best regards,

Herve Leber

Hi guys,

I'd like to start a conversation with the hope of establishing if the small private chocolate industry in the UK is growing as much as I have heard it is, would love to hear from any new start up operations as well as the more experienced UK based chocolate makers,

I recently visited a customer of mine who had the entire operation running from his conservatory and it looked very interesting and his chocolate was amazing. I supply cocoa beans from various origins and find the following "bean to bar" operation very interesting indeed. Anyone got any experiences they would like to share ? Please feel free to introduce yourself.

Rgds

Anthony

Anthony -

You are a new member here, and I just sent you a private message on this. Direct commercial solicitation for business is restricted to the Classifieds section of this site. For businesses providing products and services, there is a small fee to post Classifieds.

I rely on the support of businesses like yours to help cover the operating costs of the site.

:: Clay

Hi guys,

If anyone is looking to source South American cocoa beans, harvested from Criollo dominated farming regions then please look no further, through a rather complexe maze of contacts I acquired whilst living in South America I now have a reliable steady supply coming into the UK, ittook me long enough to sort out, I've beenat it for the last 4 years,sending emails back and forth along with a few visits.

[ EDITED to remove direct contact information.]

Speak soon and as a new member of this website I would like to say "HELLO" to all.

Best Regards
Anthony Aaron

no i am doing a website for the sale of my chocolates .i am not very good at marketing and sales so i think having a webportal will help me and also considering other options too let see how it all works.

We want start with selling it to hotels, sweet shops, and those that are importing chocolates..Maybe at later stage, we will open a shop. Do you plan on opening a shop?

I have looked up for aramex i think they have their office in mumbai so thanks .good to know that u too are setting up a bussiness so r u planning to have a physical shop or a selling point or using a webportal . i am doing a website for my chocolates since havent received a formal name as yet from indian micro industries registrar so yet to upload anything on web.so all the best and stay in touch

nadia

I am from India, based in Muscat, Oman. We are at the very early stages of starting our business. Still experimenting on confections. We have difficulty sourcing equipment and ingredients, but doing so mainly from Dubai and US.

Regarding the shipping to India. If there is a local Aramex office in Mumbai, you can sign up for a Shop and Ship account, which will provide you US, UK, China forwarding address, and they will forward whatever you order online to your local Mumbai address. You will need to pay one time fee for the membership and shipping fees. I have been using this service for more than 3 years now. Thats the only way I can really bring stuff from US and UK.

I am based in mumbai.A web designer by profession and a chocolate enthusiast i have been making chocolates for quite some years for family and friends but yes would love to venture out and become a professional chocolatier . I use to make pralines up till now but say a year back i started to make hand rolled truffles which were a big hit in my friends so think of making maybe a micro bussiness by creating personalised chocolates and truffles.I joined this website to know from others experience as to how to go about setting a small chocolate bussiness.any words on how to and what to are welcomed.

thanks

Hi Nadia,

Where exactly in India are you based? Are you a chocolatier ?

hi

I went on this site but i dont think they will deliver in india.

but thanks

nadia

http://www.homechocolatefactory.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CTSYSTEM&Category_Code=CTS&Product_Count=5

Hi i am in India and i want to setup a transfer sheets printing setup.Anybody kind enough to help me with what type of printer ? what type of colors should i get and where in india can i find them.

yes, the cost was my concern, and my graphic designer is acting as if she needs to search around for someone who can do it, which raised my suspicion that it may or may not be important, because she does work for other confectionery companies, so why would it seem to be some big, special request? Unfortunately she is on a non-cell-phone vacation right now.I come from a regular culinary background (not packaged foods) so there is an awareness-raising hurdle for me (a nice was of saying I have some ignorance about it).

Patricia:

Is the reason you are hesitant cost? Why wouldn't you want to use food-safe inks?

Who knows the reg's on printed matter that goes inside a box of chocolates? For example, a tiny brochure or a sheet thatprovides a 'map' ofthe contents. Does it have to be food safe ink if it is separated from the confectionsby a glassine pad? My graphic designer is saying yes, but she seemed to hesitate a bit, so I'd like another info source.

Thanks!

Patricia in Denver

Thanks Ruth, I'm thinking that is my best option too, for now, for the scale we are operating at. I do have funnels that I use to dispense ganache, they work well. Appreciate your time Karen

Thanks for that idea, I'm hoping we will soon have need of that kind of machinery!! Very cool. I'm looking at about 10 sheet pans at a time for now. I appreciate your time and input. Karen

Just use a funnel with a stick. Lift the stick to allow the caramel to run out. Stop the flow by pushing the stick down. You can also just use a spoon, but that takes a very long time.

I'm guessing that more than one person might point out that you didn't give nearly enough info about what you're doing to answer that question. But on a small scale, here's an idea:Caramel Depositor By Savage Bros

Can somebody give me the best way to dispense caramel onto a bed of pecans? Appreciate it. Karen

My wife had taken the Ecole Chocolate course (almost finished). The courses teaches you a ton of stuff, there is a lot of reading to be done. You are supposed to use all this information into pratical use by making chocolate on your own. For a beginner, who has very little knowledge, this is a good course. Its well structured and there are tons of case study.

Thank you Tom! I will contact him about it. I really appreciate the help.

I believe Nick from Nick's Chocolate out of Brisbane took that course and I have tried his chocolate and it is pretty nice stuff, if that is any recommendation. You could try contacting him to see what he thought of the coursethrough his website. www.nickschocolate.com.au

I know this has been covered before but I don't see anything recent. I am looking to get into bean to bar. I know Ecole Chocolat offers online classes. Does anyone know of an in-person class? If not, has anyone taken Ecole Chocolat course and how was it? Thank you!

Larry,

Thank you so much for uncovering this for me. It is a great demonstration as to what information is on this website without asking questions. I didn't research well enough.

There is much to digest so at this stage I will just say "thank you" most sincerely.

Kind regards

Colin

Colin,

Here is a link to a previous discussion about custom molds. http://www.thechocolatelife.com/group/startupcentral/forum/topics/custom-chocolate-molds

Polycarbonate is the standard mold material because of the excellent results it provides. However custom polycarbonate molds are pricy and may be best suited to long run projects.

When well cared for, polycarbonate molds should last a very LONG time. There are many previous discussions about how to care for them. (washing temp, soap to use or not use, whether or not to use distilled water, polishing them...) The list goes on and on. http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/cleaning-polycarbonate-molds?commentId=1978963%3AComment%3A23380

A tempering machine would certainly increase your volume and ease although it is not required. You could simply temper on a slab, & fill the mold from a bowl.

Also be sure to search the forum for discussions about mold temperatures, temperatures for crystallization, and so forth. There are a lot of useful discussions on that as well. i.e http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/dealing-with-mold-release?commentId=1978963%3AComment%3A38835

I hope this helps.

Larry

All of my work involves panning. However I may have an opportunity to work with someone interesting on a new project that involves molds. In essence it is to make company logos out of chocolate by use of molding. But this is virgin territory to me!

I'm OK with tempering etc. But as regards the molds I know little.

Are polycarbonate molds the ones to use? And how do I get molds made? How many items (about an inch across) would I get from a sheet of molds? I am thinking that I'd need to make around say, 1,000 pieces a week (that may be inaccurate but at least it's a number). Do molds have a "life"? How many times can the be used?

Any idea as to prices? I would need to have these molds created for me.

I think that the molds could be emptied and reused in about an hour after the chocolate has set. Sounds right?

Finally, I shall need a tempering machine and a depositor (I guess...) I am thinking that FBM would be the way to go?

ANY advice would be so welcome.

Thanks!

Colin

I know it well, i've spent a great deal of time there. But, for those who haven't, perhaps you could describe the differences in your cocoa (ie hispanola or sanchez), and if hispanola - what the fermentation looks like and what the flavor profile of the beans that result from them look like?

Emilio -

I have to agree that the first step is to let people know where your farm is located and some information about the beans (variety, fermentation, grade), and the quantities you have to ship. Without that information it's almost impossible to know where to start.

I would be interested if I could get some origin info and some pricing

I might have some interest, it really depends on your location

You may want to start by indicating where your beans are from, what type they are (hispanola or sanchez - it may not be obvious to everyone), the quantities you've got available, etc...