Forum Activity for @Clay

Introduction

I first started attending high tech industry trade shows in 1983, and in the intervening 30+ years I have probably attended - or been a presenter and/or exhibitor at - well over 200 trade shows and festivals of all kinds in the US and Europe, ranging from small local and regional chocolate festivals such as the NW Chocolate Festival to the NCGA (National Computer Graphics Association,, SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group for Graphics of the Association for Computing Machinery), Photokina, MILIA (International Multimedia Market), NAB (National Association of Broadcasters), Salons du Chocolat, CHOCOA, FFS (Fancy Food Show), FCIA (Fine Chocolate Industry Association), the National and World Pastry Team Chamionships/World Pastry Forum, Expo East, NY Restaurant Association, IBIE (International Baking Industry Exhibition), and many more.

Although there are several different industries involved in the list of festivals and shows above, as a participant in these shows and events one of my primary goals in taking part has always been to gain perspective by seeing changes over time. There’s always something new and noteworthy to find at each show, but is it a fad or a genuine trend that needs to be taken seriously? It gets easier, I find, to make these kinds of evaluations the more experience I have. I get to see different aspects of the same industry, so I can look at new product introductions from different points of view.

However, it is possible to over-attend. When this happens, all you ever end up seeing is incremental change, if even that. “New” and “noteworthy” end of being tied to minor “innovations” such as new packaging, and really anything substantive.

All that introduction aside, I have been attending FFSs since the summer of 2001. I vividly remember meeting Frederick Schilling at that show - also the first FFS for Dagoba. While I believe I have been to maybe all but one or two Summer FFS since 2001, I only started attending the Winter FFS regularly since 2010 or so. Over that time I have seen flavor fads and trends and companies come and go.

Follwing is a sampling of what stood out at this year’s Winter FFS. As a chocolate professional who is making chocolate or confections, some of my observations and fads, trends, and flavors may spark new product ideas for you to explore. I hope so!

Diversity: The Winter FFS in San Francisco has a different mix of exhibitors than does the Summer FFS in New York. While there are large country pavilions at both shows, there are more and they are bigger at the Summer Show, which also includes many more US state-sponsored areas.

Cheese: While cheese has always been a large part of both FFSs, it’s always seemed to me to occupy more space at the Winter FFS and this year there was so much cheese you could have called it the FCS+ (Fancy Cheese Show plus other stuff) and not been far off. Cheese offerings ranged from very small producers to very large ones and encompassed so many different varieties and examples of each that I found it to be literally overwhelming (as well as very tasty).

Influence: This does lead into a very interesting fact about the center of gravity that both the Winter and Summer FFS have become. Because of the sheer number of people who attend, the FFS has accumulated a number of satellite festivals deliberately scheduled to coincide with the FFS. At the Winter FFS these include the Good Food Awards, the Fine Chocolate Industry Association, and the Cheese Monger Invitational. Two of these three are also scheduled around the Summer FFS.

Superfoods: As a category, superfoods are less important at the FFS than they are at Expos East and West. Exhibitors in this category seemed to me to be down from prior shows, but there were a couple of entries for a “new” (at least to this show) superfood: morninga. As this was my first sighting, and the number of exhibitors was small, it remains to be seen if this was just a blip or if it’s the start of a fad that could turn into a sustainable trend. This sector of the market relies on the introduction of new products to keep it interesting so I will be on the lookout for moringa at the Summer FFS.

Confections: A number of entries in the gourmet marshmallow category made themselves immediately visible. I firmly believe that the standard grocery store marshmallow only has a place for campfire s’mores and as a binder for crisped rice treats. A well-made marshmallow is a real treat, and the ones I tasted were all well made. But marshmallows always seem to me to be an afterthought and a category that seems like it would be price sensitive. If gourmet marshmallows survive and thrive I think it will be because of the following trend:

Not as bad for you: There is a growing number of companies that are selling sugar candy with advertising and marketing that includes “all natural” and “organic”. But it’s still mostly sugar and therefore not good for you  … but you can feel good giving it to your kids or eating it yourself because it’s not as bad for you. No HFCS, no GMOs, vegan (or suitable for vegetarians) gluten free, no artificial flavors or preservatives, only they are still 100% empty calories with very little to no actual nutritional value. This is an actual trend.

Another health-related claim that caught my eye was probiotics. Normally associated with fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and others, there is now a move to add probiotics and prebiotics to foods that normally don’t have them. This includes chocolate. One company markets theirs added-probiotic chocolate as “The Planet’s Best Chocolate” and the phrase is not trademarked. A bold claim and as someone who has eaten a lot of chocolate - professionally - over the past 20 years, I can say that these do not come close to being the best on the planet. Maybe it depends on what they mean by best: what the meaning of “is, is.” Best tasting? Healthiest? Most environmentally sustainable? All? A hyperbolic claim that is mostly objectively unprovable. They also claim that their 72% cocoa, which is “always smooth, never bitter” to 28 years to develop. They will likely be successful, despite the fact that it’s objectively not the best chocolate on the planet.

Finally, on this topic, there were a lot fewer stands promoting raw products. At least within the specialty foods markets served by the FFS, raw is past its prime. Likely those companies are now congregating over at Expos East and West.

Reimagining maple:  Maple is a very highly regarded sweetener. So highly regarded that Canada maintains a strategic reserve to help manage price volatility. It is also highly regarded among those who are concerned about the types of sugars they consume and has a reputation for being “better” and  “cleaner” than other sweeteners. Plus, it is vegan. However, maple is also, apparently, boring. There were many maple companies offering up flavored maple syrups, some of which sounded quite un-tasty, thank you very much. I don’t know what to make of this, expect to speculate at the root cause, which is slowing sales. Flavored maples, which are easy to make at home (I have been infusing fresh ginger into maple syrup for years), are a way to add SKUs and attract new consumers. This is an adoption of a common strategy in other areas: flavored oils and vinegars – a strategy that is being enthusiastically adopted in …

Jerky: The jerky category has been growing wildly (at least in terms of the number of companies in the category) for years. At first, it was okay to have three varieties: plain, peppered, and teriyaki. When growth started flatlining, there were two areas of extension; adding in meats other than beef, and downsizing and claiming to be “craft” - whatever that means when you’re processing tons and tons of product a week. A couple of years ago we saw the first moves into ethnic jerky, specifically biltong from South Africa, and Winter FFS saw the introduction of others, including Singaporean street jerky. Attendees at Winter FFS were also subjected to an explosion of new flavors, including fruit-flavored jerkies, new types of peppers - if I recall correctly even a scorpion pepper-flavored jerky - and more. My guess is that we are going to see a lot more “innovation” in this space over the next six months. Chocolate-flavored jerky, anyone?

Kombucha and cold brew: Lots more kombucha and cold brew coffee concentrates, and also the introduction of new ways to serve them: taps such as those used for beers. For several years it’s been possible to self-fill growlers of kombucha and my guess is that this is about to go mainstream. Self-serve cold-brew is not far behind. (Though, I gotta admit, I don’t see how self-serve cold brew can compete with a barista-assembled Draft Latte from La Colombe.)

Bone broth: The science behind the benefits and efficacy of consuming bone broth is shaky. So, while the companies offering it seemed to appear from nowhere, I don’t see this as anything more than a fad. Of course, being faddish never stopped anything from being wildly successful so I could be entirely wrong here - and shaky science behind a food claim has never deterred anybody, ever, as near as I can tell.

Artisan: The word artisan has been so overused it’s become virtually meaningless. While there are some formal definitions for artisan (fin France, in order for a boulangerie to advertise its bread as “artisan” the dough must be mixed, proofed, and baked on premises), there is no guidance here in the US for its use. Even though the term has lost currency, companies are not abandoning it, and are even doubling-down with compound phrases such as “fine artisan” and “high-end artisan” and even “elevated artisan.” These are nonsensical to me and do not solve the problem. Part of my issue with these is that no one would claim to make the inverse claim: my product is low-end artisan, or my product is so-so artisan. No one ever claims to use the world’s second-best chocolate. Only the best. World’s finest/freshest - insert adjective here - no one ever claims to use or make anything but the best. Even when the ingredients list is rife with industrially-made replacement ingredients, the maker will try to search for some “best’ adjective.

But, what about chocolate? Nothing new and interesting? Not much, actually. Part of this is that it’s hard to really innovate in chocolate, and I don’t think that adding probiotics to chocolate is interesting, at least not to me. Still yet another raw or semi-raw chocolate is not new or interesting. Another from-the-bean company offering still yet another two-ingredient chocolate is not going to move the needle. There was a lot of beautiful new branding and packaging to admire, and the examples I saw will no doubt help sales, but I don’t know that that as newsworthy in this context.

At the FCIA meeting on Saturday, it was revealed that - at least among consumers who identify as fine chocolate lovers - that health was not a strong motivating factor in their purchasing decisions. More recently, however, research firm Euromonitor announced that health-related claims are going to be a major factor in growth - at least in the mass market. It remains to be seen what the lasting impact will be in the specialty market.

But I did run across two products with chocolate that caught my eye.

The first was a result of some out of the box thinking and involved using nori (the pressed, dried, seaweed paper that is used for sushi and has recently caught fire as a snack), as the crunchy element in confection. A thin layer of (flavored) chocolate is sandwiched between two sheets of nori. The nori not only provides the crunch, it imparts a salty/umami character to the product that is really quite interesting. I have no idea if this will take off, but I liked the products I tasted - a lot - and I think it’s a great example of what innovation can and should look like in chocolate.

The second was a straight-up, no apologies asked for appeal to childhood: Bond Bar’s Bond Bites Caramel S’Mores. If these were available by the tray, uncut, I would order one. And maybe not share with anyone. The only possible way to make them better would be to add bacon to the caramel.

The next show I am planning to attend is the New York Restaurant Show in March, so expect another report on what I saw on the show floor.

I found a company that will custom print them minimum order is 50,000 pcs.  Not sure I want to spend that much right now. The perfect order would be 10,000 pcs.

I don't think i'm going to go into the science behind it, but suffice it to say that an Aw meter will give a reading of the overall Aw of the food system being tested, and will be agnostic of individual ingredients. It considers the system as a whole, and if that system contains alcohol, that will be considered as well as part of that system.  As Clay notes, port, while relatively high alcohol for a wine, is still relatively low in overall alcohol content, and as such the contribution of alcohol to the overall formula will be nominal at your likely use level.  While it may be measurable, it's not likely to be meaningful in terms of it's ability to provide extended microbiology shelf life.

Edit: as longa as the Aw meter was made after 1999, that is, after which point they began including compensation to correct for the fact that volatiles such as ethanol impact the humidity and the humidity sensor.

You don't say how many you need and I couldn't find any either, but have you considered having them custom printed?

Today we made a first test batch of Cinnapepper with dark chocolat at #Alluvia Chocolate Laboratory in Mekong vietnam a leading chocolate bean to bar maker in Vietnam . It taste realy good ! It is a sweet and strong pepper fron Phu Huoc Island with a maceration process in Cinnamon. I will be very pleased if other chocolate maker interested about Cinnapepper for their own blend  recipe. contact me !

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Sebastian,

Thanks for those ideas. In regard to "The impact of the alcohol you add will be factored into any Aw reading you take," could you say more about that? Does that mean that the alcohol somehow decreases the available water? How does this happen, given the water that is part of whatever liquor is being used?

The impact of the alcohol you add will be factored into any Aw reading you take.

Perhaps consider grating the cheese, putting it in a sous vide bag, and then into a pressure cooker - sort of a DIY HPP process to reduce the micro load of the cheese? I've no data on it, but theoretically it should work pretty well.  Better yet, grate the cheese, add it AND the port to the bag and pressure treat them both - that way you get the impact heat, pressure, and alcohol working on micro load reduction.

Good point about mold in the cheese. I think the upshot of this is that it will not be possible to predict the shelf life of this ganache with any degree of certainty. I'll go ahead and make it to see what I think of the taste and keep it for a while to determine what happens over time. Perhaps it will go in the same category as the famous crème brûlée chocolate at Kee's in NYC--eat it within two day or....

Jim -

Thanks for the clarification.

Intuitively, I think that the Aw would only take into account the water in the spirit you're adding.

Ports are around 20% ABV, so if your recipe calls for 50gr of port in a 1kg recipe, that's 10gr of alcohol in 1000gr or 1% alcohol by weight. You've also added 40ml of water, but given the extended contact with alcohol, it should be free of live microorganisms.

However, given the Stilton (which is infected with mold spores) and cream in the recipe, the comparatively small amount of alcohol from the port is probably not going to affect shelf life significantly.

I would look to other techniques to reduce Aw and look to pasteurize the cream and cheese to kill as many live microorganisms as possible.

I have Greweling's book. I am not talking about a huge alcohol content, just a routine adding of dark rum or Grand Marnier or kirschwasser, etc. Perhaps I was not clear, but my basic question is whether the measured Aw takes into account the alcohol or not. I suspect it does not, but I've never seen a definitive statement on that. Wybauw writes about adding alcohol at 15% of the weight of the ganache to affect shelf life--that's a lot of alcohol and most recipes I've seen don't approach that level.

This question is brought on by my intention to try a chocolate filling using Stilton cheese, cream, dark chocolate, and port, and I said on another forum that I would make this ganache and report back on the water activity. The port is the unknown factor.

I strongly recommend that you get a copy of Peter Greweling's book Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique if you don't already have it.

What kind of alcohol are you using, and at what proof? You can buy Everclear at 190 proof (95% alcohol, 5% water). An 80 proof spirit is 60% water. Then there is the question of how much alcohol is in your recipe.

Many states regulate the maximum alcohol content - in Massachusetts it was 1% last I looked. Some states require that buyers be 21+.

Even with a lot more info, I don't see a simple way to arrive at an answer.

I know that the addition of alcohol to a ganache increases shelf life, but I would like to improve my understanding of the relation of this fact to the measured activity of water. In other words, when I take a reading of the Aw of a ganache that contains alcohol, does the resulting figure include the impact of the alcohol or not? It would seem at a quick glance that alcohol, containing water, might actually increase the reading. If the Aw figure does not take into account the effect of alcohol, is one reduced to guessing what difference it makes in shelf life or is there a way to calculate it? Any clarification would be appreciated.

Deal!

Sebastian:

If you are willing to share your Russian Imperial Stout I am there with chocolates to pair and share!

You should really identify a tasting partner when doing these things, for, uh, safety reasons.  Sort of the buddy system.  Let me know when the next one is and i'll watch your 6...  I just bottled a Russian Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels with vanilla...should be prime just about this time next year...

Whoa: barrel-aged sour paired with a white/matcha/lemon?!

Box officially annihilated. Well played, sir. Thanks for sharing.

I am looking for confectionery foils with a soccer ball design on them. Would like a silver background with black imprint. Does anybody know who carries these. Have looked and called all over and can't find them!

Looking for a Peppy Pump Jr for Hilliards Jumbo Coater Seattle WA

Reporting back after my Valentine's Day chocolate/beer pairing at Burp Castle, NYC.

It is always fun to work up chocolate and beer pairings. I find it a lot easier to create happy marriages between chocolate and beers than with wines. Some of it is due to the fact that I find beer has a much wider variety of textures and structures than are found in wine - there is something comfortingly compatible in the combination of the soft creamy bubble structure of a classic British Pale Ale and a milk chocolate that, in my experience, has no counterpart in still and sparkling wine, with the possible exception of the sparkling wine offerings from Rumball (Australia).

Beers and chocolates are both made with ingredients that are roasted, and I definitely believe that that is one of the reasons for the harmony between the two.

Still - there is huge variability in beer and I purchased the chocolate without knowing exactly that the beer lineup was going to be. So my approach in the store ( 2Beans  at 100 Park Ave) was to think about styles of beers that might be on tap and make generalized selections. Knowing that Burp Castle is a Belgian beer bar I could be pretty confident that there would be no big American-style over the top hoppy IPAs. Ales, sweet lambics, sours, ciders, tripels, quads, and other styles. A lot of territory to cover — but I am up to the task! Because I had not tried all of the chocolates and was not familiar with all of the beers I showed up about an hour early to taste everything.

Here’s where things settled out:

Liefman Fruitesse (4.2% ABV - alcohol by volume)
Köstritzer Black Lager (5% ABV)
TCHO 53% milk

These two beers are about as far apart as it’s possible to get and yet the TCHO 53% milk goes well with both.

I’ve paired milk chocolate with fruity lambics before (Lindeman’s Faro might well be my all-time fave in this category) and the result is strongly reminiscent of a chocolate-covered whatever the fruit is. With the Lindeman Faro - which is made with Belgian candy sugar and finishes with tart Granny Smith apple, the result is just like a milk chocolate-covered caramel apple. With the Fruitesse what you get is a mix of chocolate-covered cherry/strawberry yummmm.

The Köstritzer Black Lager is dark as a stout but is not heavy with the fragrance of chocolate malt. Instead it comes across more like a soft English Pale (think Brooklyn Brewery’s Pennant Ale) with a very soft, creamy, bubble structure. The fudgy character of the chocolate plays with the yeasty notes of the lager very nicely.

Wells Bombardier ESB (5.2% ABV)
TCHO 39% milk

Staying with milk chocolate for a moment. I picked the two TCHOs because of the difference in percentage. 2Beans had many other milk chocolates but I was curious how these two different offerings from the same company would fare. The 39% was not bold enough to hold its own against either the Liefman or Köstritzer but presented a nice balance with the ESB, which despite the initials (ESB = Extra Special Bitter) is not at all bitter, with an official IBU (International Bitterness Units) rating of 0. It’s thinner-bodied than the Köstritzer, too, and there is a yeasty breadiness that balances nicely with the distinct caramel notes of the chocolate.

Radeberger Pils (4.5% ABV)
La Guillotine Belgian Blonde (8.5% ABV)
Milk Boy 60% dark w/ pine essence
Pump Street Bakery 60% Rye Crumb/Milk/Sea Salt (Ecuador, Hacienda Limon)

I selected these two chocolates on the off chance that there might be beers with a bitter edge to them, as well as to see how they worked with some higher–alcohol choices I knew would be on tap. I also chose Pump Street because. Chris Brennan. And - rye bread crumbs as an inclusion, though I could have gone with the sourdough which I am definitely going to try soon - with a sour. The Radeberger, though it is a Pilsener, is a little on the strong side for a Pilsener (to me) and does have a bitter edge to it. The resinous quality of the pine and the rye crumbs brought out that aspect of the Radeberger in a nice way, and both stood up to - and complemented - the alcohol content of the La Guillotine.

Allagash White (5.1% ABV)
Bonnat 75% Mexique Grijalva

In addition to what I bought at 2Beans I brought some bars from my personal stash - and one of those was this *very* limited edition bar made from beans from a grower I worked with on my #CacaoMEX project down in Tabasco, MX, last year. One bag was shipped to Bonnat in Voiron to turn into chocolate that we then debuted at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris last October. While there is room for improvement in the fermentation of the beans, the chocolate has a depth and richness of flavors, including some soft spice and raisin that are not typical of the region. The Allagash is a hefeweizen made in Maine, and its soft structure complemented the buttery texture that is classic Bonnat. And, because hefeweizens are strongly associated with orange (slices are often used for garnish), the spice and raisin aspect of the chocolate made the combination quite tasty.

Tripel Karmeliet (8.5% ABV)
Southern Tier Creme Brulée Stout (10% ABV)
Harper Macaw 73% bourbon barrel aged (Brasil, vale do Juliana)

Both of these are big beers and while I don’t generally believe that going big with big is the best approach, in this case the bourbon notes in the chocolate are what made these combinations work - the chocolate simply became a natural extension of the beers.

Ommegang 3 Philosophers Quad (9.7% ABV)
Pralus 80% Fortissima

This is another case where pitting big against big really worked - assuming, of course, that you like that sort of thing. The Fortissima is a blend and comes across as more intense than a lot of 80%s in part because of the heavy roasts that Pralus is known for.

Rodenbach Grand Cru Barrel-Aged Sour (6% ABV)
Aspall Dry Cider (6.8% ABV)
Cacao Sampaka white w/matcha and lemon

This is an example of just going for it - not just thinking outside of the box, but forgetting what boxes look like. Not many people I know would think of bringing a white chocolate to a beer pairing but as far as I am concerned nothing is off limits and I was sorely tempted to also bring the Rococo white/cardamom bar. In this case the sweetness of the chocolate is a foil to the sourness of the Rodenbach and the dryness of the Aspall (apple) cider. The beers make the chocolate less sweet and the chocolate reduces the dryness of the cider and the sourness of the Rodenbach, which is a one-third/two-thirds mix of new and old Flanders Red ales - there is no fruit used but there is a fruity tang to the beer. And that’s where the matcha and lemon kick in for both the sour and the cider … the vegetal/floral character of the matcha and the citric tartness of the lemon add dimension and complexity all the way around.

And that, my friends, is how I spent my Valentine’s Day, exploring my love for beer and chocolate, and sharing it with beer and chocolate lovers. My thanks to 2Beans for supporting me in this tasting.

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Clay,

Thanks.  I will do what you suggest.  I am in Providence, Rhode Island.

Mitch

Mitch -  

Chocosphere is a great recommendation. Ask them for the closest equivalent as start.

Because I have worked with a Guittard distributor I can tell you that make maybe two dozen different darks and a dozen milks. Many are packaged for food service applications that you won't find generally available.

Where are you located? I would contact Guittard and ask for their local sales rep. You can tell them what you want and they can recommend something and they will provide samples. If your needs are large enough you may be able to lower your costs.

:: Clay

Thanks.  That looks like a good selection that I missed.

Have you tried searching the Guittard inventory at Chocosphere?  It seems rather robust to me. In wafers alone, they have 31 different listings for dark, 11 for milk, and 7 for white.  Keep in mind that there are duplicate counts due to different quantities for each flavor, e.g., buying 1Kg, 3Kg, or 25 lbs packages.  Still, it's a solid list to choose from, and I find that Chocosphere organizes quite well.

https://www.chocosphere.com/

Hi! You may get in contact with the guys from Dandelion. They seem to be quite open with their processes. They must have it figured out I think. Also, if you have a chance to visit the Northwest Chocolate Festival UnConference you can personally get input from many chocolate makers, small, medium and large.

Regards,

José

I have been molding some chocolates using Callebaut Belgian Semi-Sweet Callets 811NV-595 and Belgian Intense Bittersweet Callets 60-40-38NV.  I would now like to try a Guittard chocolate similar to what See's uses.  They apparently use a custom mixture.  Aside from Guittard's vintage chocolate, I don't see a wide variety of Guittard online.  I bought the Callebaut from Gygi and they have Guittard French Vanilla Dark Chocolate Block.  I will try this, but would prefer to find a better starting point.  I am focusing on chocolate in the $8-$13 per kg range (in ~50 kg quantity).

Hello,

I'm using the 3/8'' round belt to my Premier Grinder and Santha 11. 

I did not understand if I need the V or the round belt or it doesn't really matter? The round belt was relatively reliable and bare hundreds of hours of operation. As I recall the poly is more rounded than V shape.

Thank's!

Was your colored cocoa butter properly tempered when you added it to the mold?  That could cause it to stay in the mold and not adhere to the chcolate even if the chcolate was properly tempered.

As for cleaning them, I'd run hot water from the tap and fill the molds allowing them to sit.  You can probably get most of the cocoa butter out this way or by using the sprayer.  You will probably need to clean them with cotton balls really well to remove any stubborn bits.

tHello!, thank you for your post about #Cinnapepper.

It is a very new taste created by #Spice Valley in Vietnam. As a specialist in Pepper & Spices ingredients.  If you have any ideas of recipes with chocolat can be a good match with this special #Cinnapepper  please share with us! 

NB: the taste of Cinnapepper is a white pepper got infusion of Cinnamon by a process developed by Spice Valley Distribution. 

Hello this is Leona a newbie to this forum. I believe in the quote by Jo Brand "Anything is good if it's made of chocolate"

Exactly my question. I have also never heard any chocolate recipe having CinnaPepper in it.

Someone has some extra that I can buy (2-3 meters). Shipping to England.

Thank's

Looks perhaps like your chocolate was over crystallized and relatively cool when you put it behind the colours. Having it as warm as possible will aid it in it's bonding with the coloured layer and when it is over crystallized it doesn't contract as well and pull away from the mold.

I'd clean the molds with very hot water and a soft cotton mop like a vase brush.

any math geeks here that could discuss how they organised production planning for a growing craft chocolate maker?

*I've researched a few MRP and ERP systems (from basic to industrial-size complexity) and want to move beyond manual excel sheet work for determining production goals.*

Takk fyrir!

Digital scale for weighing boxes of chocolate or any type of candy. Asking $75

 IMG_4005.JPG.jpg - 1.3MB

Used ACMC Table Top Tempering Unit. $600 (+shipping)

Works great, all original parts.

Includes extra 5 -Quart stainless steel bowl

If interested contact jenniferjoanneyoung@gmail.com

Features

• Molded ABS Housing
• Injection moulded polyethylene scraper (dishwasher safe)
• Removable 5-Quart stainless steel bowl
• Uses 2-100 watt lamps as heat source
• Cooling fan is rated for continous use
• Clear Lexan night/dust cover (has a crack, but does not effect function)
• Front panel with controls & digital display

• Minimum Capacity: 1 lb.
• Maximum Capacity: 6 lbs.
• Dimensions: 12 1/2"H x 14 1/4"W
• Electrics: 110/120v, standard US plug

For more info:

https://www.chocolatetemperingmachines.com/products/acmc-tabletop-temperer-acme-chocolate-tempering-machine

Sounds like you're doing a lot of the right things.  If you've not already done so, i'd encourage you to undertake a validation program to assess the kill rate of salmonella surrogate organisms (you don't *actually* want to do the test with real salmonella...), as the energies required to kill salmonella to a 5 log kill can look different than those required to reduce yeast by 5 log.  Don't forget your environmental swabs (things like floor drains, for example, become excellent harborage points for salmonella that can be tracked through the facility on one's shoes)..

True sterilization is very difficult - usually due to environmental factors.  Cobalt-60 irradiation is effective, as are some gasses.  Both those options come with serious considerations.

I may be interested in 2-4 tons.  Please email me privately at Brad@Choklat.com

Thanks.

I will agree with you on the fact that total plate counts, yeast and mold are not indicators of coliforms or salmonella presence. 

Guusb above asked about sterilising nibs.

I have been looking at options for sterilisation on the bean processing line we are building. Suppliers strongly suggest installing a sterilisation step in the process as this is very common practice in industrial applications, especially where the the product is sold on to other industrial customers and requires very low TPC results.

In whole bean roasting this is achieved by injection of steam into steriliser before roaster and requires quite large steam generation capacity.

I have looked at results of our micro testing over last few years, and TPC on beans range from 3x10^2 to 4-5x10^6, in cocoa liquor we have never gone over 8x10^3 and most results are below 1x10^3. Australian standards for finished chocolate require less than 1x10^4 and we have never had finished product at more than half of this level.

We are not selling any product to other industrial customers and looking at low probability of large salmonella contamination on beans and even lower chance of this contamination surviving roasting and grinding process we have decided not to install any additional sterilisation steps in our process.

I have left a space for this just in case things change.

Compatible Technology is a non-profit organization I have wanted to support since I first learned of them and I think their grinder could be a real good option for many startup makers. It's inexpensive - closer to a Corona mill than an Old Tyme peanut butter grinder even when motorized - and there is an option to buy one and donate one.

If you try this grinder ... please let us know how it works out!

Peter - Good tip as a way to perform the kill step after winnowing.

David:

Where are you located? (Please update your profile to include your two-letter country code to make it easier for us to find out - helpful when answering questions.)

Tonka beans (and extracts) are not allowed  as a food ingredient in the US since 1954 because they contain coumarin.

There are many other common foods that contain coumarin whose consumption is not prohibited, but if you were to list tonka beans as an ingredient you would be breaking the law.

That said, they appear to be easily available on Amazon.

I will add on tangent.

In the beer brewing world, roasted cocoa nibs are used as an flavour additive in several different beer recipes. Roasted to develop flavour and than soaked in neutral alcohol to sanitise. Introduction of live microorganisms present on nib into brewing systems brings very unpleasant results.