Where can I find a Guillotine?
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Samuel:
Would love to see photos of what you've produced. I've been looking into ways to make the less expensively, too.
:: Clay
Forum Activity for @Clay
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Chocolate boxes in Europe?
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Annika:Going into the holiday season, ordering only 500 boxes may be a mistake. It may seem like a lot now, but if you are successful and it takes weeks to get the boxes once your order them ... what do you do? While 500 may seem like a huge number now, ordering 500 and running out on December 1st is far worse than buying 1000 having 100 left over on December 1st.I know it's also a cash flow issue - does it make sense to have that much money tied up in boxes? But running out of boxes in the middle of the busiest time of year makes no sense to me. It may make more sense to find a slightly less expensive box.
Looking for recommendations for a portable display case
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Carol - Nice recco. There are several quite nice ones here.
Zokoko Australia weighs in!
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Michelle:Are the Bolivian beans you are using the wild beans from the Beni? If not - can you tell me what region (generally) you are getting them from? I am going to Bolivia next month at the request of Volker Lehmann) and it would be nice to be able to add this into my presentation.:: Clay
Rival Projects Both Parse Cocoa’s DNA
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Scientists say they have determined the complete DNA sequence of the tree that produces cocoa beans, an accomplishment that is expected to vastly accelerate efforts to assure a stable supply of chocolate and to make it better-tasting and healthier.But there are two separate groups vying for credit in what some might consider the research arm of a chocolate factory war.
The candy maker Mars is expected to announce on Wednesday that a project it financed has essentially completed the raw sequence of the genome of the cacao tree, and that it would make the data freely available to researchers.
The announcement upstages a consortium involving French government laboratories and Pennsylvania State University that is backed in part by a competitor of Mars, Hershey. This group says it has also completed the sequence, but cannot discuss it until its paper analyzing the genome is published in a scientific journal.
The rivalry between the two big chocolate companies projects in some ways mirrors what occurred in the race to sequence the human genome, between Celera Genomics and the publicly financed Human Genome Project. That battle was officially declared a tie.
Still, scientists in both groups say that cocoa farmers, candy companies and chocolate lovers will benefit from having two sequences, of different varieties of cacao, that can be compared.
This will help guarantee a sustainable future for cocoa for the farmers, the consumers and Mars Inc., Howard-Yana Shapiro, the head of plant research at Mars, said in an interview.
Having the DNA information, he said, could help in breeding trees that have higher yields and are more resistant to diseases. The cocoa crop in Brazil, for instance, was decimated some years ago by a fungal disease called witches broom.
The full text of the article on NYTimes.com is here .
updated by @Clay Gordon: 12/13/24 12:16:07
The WORST "Article" About Chocolate - EVER
Posted in: Opinion
I tried to write a response over on the Natural News site, but the software won't allow me write a post longer than a certain length. I posted the intro on Natural News with a link back to this comment.
Following is my entire response:
===================================================================
Over on my web site, TheChocolateLife.com, I called the original version of this article The Worst Article on Chocolate Ever Written. I suppose, in response to a private message I sent to Mr Adams, he felt compelled to make some changes that took hours of additional research and discussions with cacao experts. I would like to know which "experts" Mr Adams spoke with - and if any of them were NOT identified with the raw foods community. He certainly did not consult me, or acknowledge my message to him.
My bona fides. I have been researching cacao and chocolate since 1994 and I've been writing about chocolate professionally since 2001. My critically acclaimed book, Discover Chocolate, was published in 2007. I have been to Ecuador twice (and also visited cacao plantations Bolivia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Belize among other places). I am a friend of Santiago, the founder of Pacari, and have many friends and acquaintances in the raw chocolate world. None of what follows is to in any way be perceived as casting any aspersions on the quality of the products Pacari produces. Santiago is a very nice guy and I believe he is highly ethical and to be believed in his claims for his products.
That said, the updated version of the article is no better and in some ways worse than the original
The following quote is breathtakingly wrong: "... virtually all the chocolate used in candy bars, chocolate chips, chocolate cakes, breads and so on is derived from a new, genetically divergent plant called CCN-51 -- a pale shadow of the original cacao tree it was supposed to replace." The world annual harvest of cacao beans is roughly 3 million metric tonnes. Ecuador's contribution to that harvest is approximately 3-5% and only a portion of that is CCN-51, which is not grown widely in many other countries. So there is simply no way that "virtually all of the chocolate used ... is from a new, genetically divergent plant called CCN-51."
What is "genetically divergent" supposed to mean? Genetically modified? In fact CCN-51 was created through conventional cross breeding techniques and was not genetically engineered in a lab. Like many cross-breeding programs in cacao, the purpose of this program was to create a variety with improved yield and disease resistance, with no attempt to select for flavor characteristics. There is no laboratory evidence (that I am aware of) that suggests, let alone proves, that CCN-51 is nutritionally inferior to Nacional in any way - assuming that the two varieties were grown and processed the same way. One might taste better, but better taste does not infer better nutrition.
Nacional is the preferred name for the variety among professionals. Arriba is a colloquial term that means "upriver" because cacao traders needed to go upriver (the Guayas) from the port of Guayaquil to get the beans. In more than 15 years, I have never heard the beans referred to as "Arriba Nacional complex by trinitari." The name Arriba came to be associated over time with the flavor of Nacional, which Mr Adams refers to as lychee but has been historically more commonly described as a combination of orange blossom and jasmine.
Another claim: "Once you eat the fruit, you're left with cacao seed pods." Actually, you don't eat the fruit. If you are lucky enough to open a fresh cacao pod, you get the great pleasure of being able to eat the pulp that surrounds the seeds. You do need to leave some of the pulp behind, because it is the fermentation of the pulp that is responsible for developing flavor compounds in the seeds. Once the seeds have been fermented they are dried and it is the dried cacao seeds (now called cocoa beans) that are turned into chocolate.
The seed pods are not, as Mr Adams writes, "dried and fermented." Only the seeds (the pods are normally composted in the cacao orchard), and it is necessary to ferment before drying. It is physically impossible to ferment a dried cacao seed.
In a conventional chocolate, the cocoa beans are roasted to develop flavor and to make it easier to remove the shell. Obviously, the beans used to make raw chocolate are not roasted. The "meat" of a cocoa bean (roasted or unroasted) is called nib. Nib is ground into a thick paste (most commonly called cocoa liquor (which is not alcoholic). Cocoa liquor can either be pressed to separate the fat (cocoa butter) from the non-fat solids. If the separation is done in a hydraulic press (the most common method), the non-fat solids form a compressed cake (called press cake) that is kibbled (broken into bits) and then ground into cocoa powder, contrary to Mr Adams assertion that, "The resulting fine powder is a cacao 'cake.'"
It is also important to note that the name, theobroma cacao, is Latin. It was given to cacao by Europeans. There is no evidence - anywhere in South America - that cacao seeds were ever consumed until after cacao was domesticated by the Olmecs and Toltecs in Central America. In Ecuador specifically there is no cultural iconography of cacao. You will find corn and many other plants depicted in art and textiles, but not cacao. It is the Aztecs, thousands of miles away in what is now Mexico, who believed that cacao was a gift from the gods.
Finally, Mr Adams writes, "When you get some of this, consider it a treasure. I recommend not feeding it to anyone who isn't enlightened enough to appreciate what they are consuming. Most children, in particular, are expecting sweet "junk" chocolate and will likely not appreciate "Arriba" cacao."
In fact, virtually all raw chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate in any form, is an acquired taste. Unsweetened raw chocolate is doubly so, irrespective of the type of bean it's made from - they wouldn't appreciate chocolate made from raw Arriba cacao or raw Porcelana cacao, or any other varietal. One of the main reasons that children will not like unsweetened chocolate in any form (junk or no) is that they do not possess receptors on their tongues to process bitter flavors (most young children don't like anything bitter, not just chocolate), we grow into our ability to enjoy bitter flavors.
The WORST "Article" About Chocolate - EVER
Posted in: Opinion
I made a screenshot of the updated article for all to see. Even heavily JPGd it's almost a meg.If the article continues to be updated, let me know and I'll track its progress.
The WORST "Article" About Chocolate - EVER
Posted in: Opinion
A lot gets written about chocolate every day.
Some of it is very good, a lot of it is pretty good, some of it is so-so, and every once in while you run across something that is so badly researched and written that it just takes your breath away. It's probably the Worst "Article" on Chocolate Ever Written .
It's hard to know where to start pointing out what's wrong with this article, written by Mike Adams, the self-proclaimed Health Ranger and editor of NaturalNews.com. He may be an expert on what makes news natural, but he is no authority on chocolate. And, actually, it's not really an article - it's a very long-winded sell sheet for Pacari chocolate.
Here's just one of the howlers the author tries to pass off on his readers, " virtually all the chocolate used in candy bars, chocolate chips, chocolate cakes, breads and so on is derived from the hybridized plant calledCCN-51-- a pale shadow of the heirloom "Arribe Nacional" cacao it was supposed to replace. " Huh? Ecuador is responsible for only a small percentage (3-5% depending on source cited) of the world harvest of cacao so how can virtually all of the chocolate used in virtually everything made with chocolate be derived of the demonized CCN-51?
It can't of course. But, Mr Adams is less concerned with facts than fear-mongering.Just for fun, have a look to see if you can spot where else Mike goes wrong (spoiler - the first inaccuracy is in the second sentence), and share your thoughts with the rest of us.
And, while you're at it ... if you have other nominations for really bad (as in inaccurate, and/or misleading) writing about chocolate - please share it with the rest of us and when there are enough responses I'll create a "Top 10 Worst ..."
[ Why would I want to do this? Almost every day someone asks me a question about chocolate where I wonder - where did they ever get the idea to ask that question? The answer is articles like the one cited above. By identifying the sources we can hope to bring the light of truth(ful research and writing) to bear. ]
:: Clay
PS. I've met Santiago of Pacari (whose chocolate is being promoted in this "article") and spoken with him at length - at the Salon du Chocolat last year, and at Fancy Food Shows and various events over the past several years. I don't think that much, if any, of what's in this article is actually attributable to Santiago.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/10/15 15:16:37
Unsweetened (or stevia sweetened) milk chocolate?
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
Richard:
I have a colleague (the buyer at a local chocolate store) who is going to ISM (international confectionery show) in a couple of weeks and I have asked him to see if he can locate it, try it, and see if it's worth bringing in. They already bring in product from Germany so they should be able to combine shipping.
In the meantime, it's available on Amazon.de and other on-line shopping outlets in the EU - the company, Tiroler Edle, is Austrian.
:: Clay
Help needed finding cake cutter wire in bulk!
Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE
I have never heard of anyone using serrated wire on a guitar. It would be very difficult to clean. Kerekes (bakedeco.com) sells guitar wire in 30m rolls on their site. Design et Realisation ( www.dr.ca ) sells guitars but does not advertise wire, but I would have to believe that an e-mail would reveal a source (or the fact that they sell it); in fact a post on the eGullet forum referenced below mentions that they do sell guitar wire. TCF Sales sells guitars - they probably also have wire.But you do want stainless steel. In fact, you could probably source the wire locally as long as it's food grade stainless and the right gauge it doesn't need to be packaged specifically for ganache cutter. Here's an article on eGulle t that includes plans for building a frame.
Can you store finished chocolates in a "cooling cabinet"?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Yes, the Johnson Controls device should work with most refrigerators to get the temp up to 55F or so, which is usually above their range. You may want some sort of commercial fridge because it will have the wire shelves you need - home fridges are not set up for this.
If humidity is still a problem, try one of the PolarFresh units, and you might even consider a very small computer fan on a dimmer to increase air flow.
Can you store finished chocolates in a "cooling cabinet"?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Chest freezers are available through many retail outlets and tend to be very inexpensive compared with specialty refrigeration made for working with chocolate.
They do need to be modified to work for the purpose of storing chocolate:
a) You need to get a thermostat override device like the one from Johnson Controls. While you might get a 7 cu/ft chest freezer for $300 (here in NY), the controller might cost another $70. This is still inexpensive compared with $5,000 to $10,000 or more for specialty refrigeration. You wouldn't use the chest freezer for crystallization, only for storage.
b) You need to add something into the chest freezer compartment to control humidity. One option is PolarFresh; it works like a box of baking soda but it's specifically designed to help control humidity; baking soda is only about controlling odors. There are other options - but as you say, obtainability is the issue.
When putting things into the chest for storage, you'll want to pack them in a way that protects them from exposure to air and humidity. You don't want any humidity to condense on the items when cooling down or warming up. SO ... the best way is not to use huge tubs that need to be opened and closed, exposing all of the contents to the air each time the tub is opened. You could do that for organization purposes, but then I'd wrap "serving size" portions individually and put those into the larger tubs. Opening up the tub would then not expose unwrapped pieces to the air.
When taking items out of storage, you have to let them warm up to ambient temperature before unwrapping them to keep moisture from condensing on the chocolate ... it will condense (if present) on the outer wrapping.
Can you store finished chocolates in a "cooling cabinet"?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Linda:
There are a couple of different questions here.
Johnson Controls makes a line of "thermostat override" devices that can be used to modify the maximum temperature a unit can go to. Most refrigerators want to work in the range of 28-46F or thereabouts. Using one of these override devices you can set the max temp to 55F. By the way, one of the least expensive storage units you can buy is a chest freezer. These temp controls work perfectly for that application
That doesn't solve the humidity issue. One way to do that would be to use a product like PolarFresh or panels from Avive, which are placed in the compartment and reduce humidity.
The streaking you're seeing is probably because the chocolate you're using is unevenly tempered. For example, in a Chocovision machine, you need to wait a few minutes after the machine says you're in temper to evenly distribute the desirable crystals to influence even crystallization. Without knowing more, I'd say you need to mix/agitate your chocolate more than you're doing once it's "in temper."
Small-scale Chocolate Storage?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Take a look at page 22 of this catalog: http://www.alexanderindustries.net/catalog.html It's a "speed rack" on casters enclosed on all six sides. You can place you work on sheet pans and place it inside this enclosure. As it will be in a climate-controlled space, issues with respect to temperature and humidity inside the cabinet are really taken care of by the ambient environment. If you needed to, you could add a little assist in a DIY project grafting on a little thermo-electric cooler unit.Another possible alternative is these: http://www.restaurantequipment.com/CAMCARRIERS.html Again, as the environment these are in is climate-controlled, the temperature and humidity issues are taken care of outside these portable units. These are nice in the sense that you can take them to and from the kitchen and the pieces are protected in transport. You can get a dolly so they are easily movable, and they stack. They even have optional removable gel-packs (camchillers). You can get ones that hold standard-sized sheet pans.Also consider this: http://www.coolerking.com/polarfresh_filter/polar-fresh.php
Small-scale Chocolate Storage?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
There is NO room for any sort of storage in the workspace? Where do you plan to put chocolates being stored? In a space that is climate-controlled? Outside?
Small-scale Chocolate Storage?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Jennifer:One of the key pieces of information missing here is how much storage space you need. I am going to assume that you don't need to worry about temperature and humidity control in the work space itself, and that you're not having problems with crystallization of your chocolates.From the sound of it - the answer is not much, but please give me a better idea. The chocolate "storage" cabinet you refer to at aafixtures.com is really display cabinet and is really not meant for storage. Your reaction to the price makes me think you really are looking for a low-cost DIY solution. The approach to take will depend on how much chocolate you need to store at any particular time.
Canadian Chocolate Company Bernard Callebaut Forced into Bankruptcy
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
After 27 years and a fixture of the Canadian chocolate landscape, Bernard Callebaut, scion of the Callebaut family, has been forced into receivership. Cause of the move is reportedly an ill-timed real estate deal - a property the company purchased in 2007 for $5 million recently received an offer of just $2 million.
Ouch.
Any thoughts?
updated by @Clay Gordon: 12/13/24 12:16:07
"Trouble in Candyland" - Cocao bean price fixing underway?
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Here's another news story on the purchase.
compressed air?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Yes, a bitterant will negatively affect the taste of the chocolate.Interestingly, David Funaro of Godiva d emonstrated just such a technique at the recent World Pastry Forum in Phoenix. Although it's not a part of this video he did discuss his experiences using compressed air with a bitterant added and says to stay away.There are several places where you can get cans of compressed air that do not have added bitterant. One of them is Chef Rubber.
Caputo's Chocolate Program featured in Specialty Food Magazine
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Matt -Thanks for sharing this. I am interested in what others think.:: Clay
CSI - It's not Just for Crime Scene Investigator Anymore
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Lana -I heard back from Sarah yesterday after I posted this -- she's already sold more than 75% of the shares!Woo Hooo!- Clay
CSI - It's not Just for Crime Scene Investigator Anymore
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Willamette Week announced today that ChocolateLife member Sarah Hart of Alma Chocolate in Portland, OR has started a sweet alternative to a CSA (community supported agriculture program) - CSI, or Community Support Ice cream.
Read the full article in Willamette Week online to learn more about this innovative new program.
I personally think it's a great idea. Good Luck, Sarah!
updated by @Clay Gordon: 12/13/24 12:16:07
Under-counter heating instead of refrigeration?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Many people know that I advocate using under-counter refrigeration in chocolate kitchens whenever possible because work space always seems to be at a premium. If you are using smaller, counter-top tempering machines it even makes sense to consider using a low-boy chocolate crystallization cabinet like one from Irinox so you can put your molds in for cooling without having to move from the work counter.
I just learned about an option that may make more sense for many kitchens, which is to have a heated cabinet that's large enough to hold a countertop tempering machine (or machines, depending on whose you use). You could use the cabinet to melt chocolate overnight and to keep it melted (makes tempering a lot faster if you start from melted) or you could use it to keep the molds you're using for that day's production at exactly the right temperature. This is especially valuable for people that are using colored cocoa butter as the temperature of the mold can make a huge difference.
Here's a photo of a low-boy heating cabinet from Bakon:
If something like this sounds interesting to you let me know and I can contact Bakon and see if I can arrange special pricing for ChocolateLife members.
If you're right-handed, it would make sense to have a crystallization fridge to the right of a cabinet like this so you can open up the door and slide in the finished mold/piece(s).
Bakon also makes and sells tempering machines and melters, and sells the Koma line of chocolate holding cabinets. Contact me if interested in any of these.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/11/25 09:27:36
Tips for clearing a chocolate-clogged drain?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
The trick is to warm the pipe itself.You could use wire tape that you wrap around pipes to keep them freezing in winter. Another solution is to use a heat gun directly on the pipe.
jet black cocoa seed extract
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Barbara:There is only one species of cacao used to make chocolate - theobroma cacao cacao, also t. cacao cacao. What we call criollo, forastero, trinitario, etc., are varieties of t. cacao. The phrase "jet black cocoa seed extract" probably refers to the color of the extract, not the color of the cacao seeds (I tend to use cacao for fresh/wet and cocoa when referring to dry) from which the extract is made.Doing a simple bit of research on Google (where this conversation is #1 already - even above the site(s) from the manufacturer, salespeople) for the phrase "jet black cocoa seed extract" we can see that it is a proprietary ingredient in a nutritional supplement marketed by the network marketing (e.g., MLM) company Xyngular. It turns out that "cocoa extract" is an ingredient in several herbal vitamin supplement products.It is possible to extract the antioxidants from ground cocoa beans and it makes some sense that this is what they're talking about. But - the only place that "jet black cocoa seed extract" exists is in this one supplement. I won't say outright that it is a scam, but I would be skeptical of the claims made for the product. MSRP for a one-month supply is $44.95.
long shelf life fillings
Posted in: Recipes
Cocoa butter is a saturated fat that oxidizes slowly. Depending on the application, you could use either deodorized or undeodorized cocoa butter. Eastbluff Trading (look up ChocolateLife member Patrick Pineda) sells some very aromatic undeodorized cocoa butter made from Venezuelan beans.Anhydrous ("no water") butter fat is another option.
tempering machine for lemon curd????
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
The simpler way to fix this would be to add a fan w/heater to blow into the Santha/Ultra. A device with a thermostat and variable fan speed would be very easy to make and use and not require moving chocolate back and forth between two devices.
tempering machine for lemon curd????
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Lana: You say:
"For any chocolate makers out there, it might serve asareasonably pricedconche if the temp. can be controlled somewhat accurately."
Do you think you can reasonably run this for 8-24 hours or longer without stopping?
tempering machine for lemon curd????
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
DeRhonda - unless the "stir" speed is very low on the Cuisinart machine (and I did not see it in the video), I don't see how it can work ... well.
I use an immersion blender for ganaches with great resultsand they cost $50 or less. Just make sure to get one that has infinitely variable speed control, not just set speeds.
tempering machine for lemon curd????
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Tempering machines are not designed to reach the temperatures required for lemon curd.The Thermomix is an interesting option - and it appears that there is a large support community for it. It is only sold direct (though you may be able to find used ones on eBay) and the cost is not insubstantial - at least $1700 new.One drawback is the size of the container - two liters - so if you need to make lots of anything this may not be for you. However it does appear to be a very versatile machine that would have many uses in a pastry/chocolate kitchen (you could use it to make ganaches, for example, heating the cream and melting the chocolate at the same time to the exact same temp).A much larger alternative is the Pastochef from Carpigiani. Much more expensive but much higher capacity and designed from the outset for use in pastry kitchens. And - which may be another issue, is NSF approved.
Mold decorating with colored cocoa butter
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Erica -
Have you taken a look at Chef Rubber?
Small-scale (under 100kg) chocolate making equipment
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
Many of the new generation of craft chocolate makers start out using a 5-liter stone grinder sourced from India. They're great when you're in a startup mode, but issues start arising when you want to scale production - without having to get investors or mortgage your house.
One alternative is to buy larger versions of the 5-liter grinders. Ones adapted for the continuous duty cycles of chocolate making are available in sizes from 30-65 liters that cost under $5000 each.
One challenge, however, is appropriate scaling. For example, using a roaster modeled on a toaster oven with a rotisserie basket might be capable of roasting 5lbs of beans at a time. If a batch of chocolate takes 48 hours in the grinder then it's possible to roast enough batches (and then crack and winnow enough nibs) to start a new batch every 48 hours.
It's questionable if you can have a successful business at that scale. So you get a couple of grinders - because you can't afford $25K for a 50kg universal - and now the question is what equipment for roasting, cracking and winnowing because now you need 30kg of nibs every 8 hours. You can't do that if you're winnowing with a hair dryer (though you might be able to do it with a Crankandstein bean cracker and something more elegant than an electric drill as a motor).
My personal feeling has long been that it will be necessary to get the cost of equipment (bean cleaner, roaster, cracker, winnower, nib grinder, refiner/conche - not including tempering/depositing/molding/wrapping) down to about $1000/kg/batch/24hrs in order to really jumpstart the growth of the small batch craft chocolate "industry" here in the US. Furthermore, I think that at that price point it will be necessary to produce at least 1 ton per month of finished chocolate in order to be able to break even.
SO - what are the challenges you are having with finding equipment ... and what approaches have you discovered that work well for you? For example, one of the things the industry really needs is a small-scale butter press than can get down to 22-24% residual fat in the press cake cost-effectively.
This question also extends to tempering, depositing/molding, cooling/crystallizing, and wrapping.
What are your challenges in sourcing equipment? What wins have you made in discovering/engineering solutions to these challenges?
Thanks in advance for sharing.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/11/25 09:27:36
where to buy polycarbonate Chocolate molds in Miami ? any adress ?
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
You are not likely to find a source of professional-grade molds in Miami where you can just go and walk into a store and expect to find a wide variety and a large number in stock.Molds can be shipped (assuming they are in stock) and order processing at Tomric is prompt and arrive in Miami in 3-5 days via ground shipping, less if you want to pay for shipping by air. Molds are not all that heavy, so a "2-Day SuperSaver" rate might be affordable.Again, the keys are: are the molds you want in stock, how many of each mold is in stock, and how long it takes from the time the supplier gets your order until it ships.(BTW - I just went searching Google for "polycarbonate chocolate molds miami" and this thread is the number one search result - about 12 hours after it was initially posted. Thanks to all you ChocolateLife members - you rock. It's your support that makes this happen. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a source of polycarbonate chocolate molds in Miami.)
Hotel Chocolat floats Chocolate Bond Issue
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Hotel Chocolat, the UK-based chocolate company (with a US presence in Boston) is floating 5 million pound bond issue repayable in chocolate.Rather than standard cash coupons that bonds usually pay, chocolate lovers will be paid out in their favourite indulgence: monthly Tasting Club chocolate boxes.
For an initial layout of 2,000 or 4,000 pounds, the prospective "bondholders" can expect an annual yield of 6.72 percent or 7.29 percent respectively on the three-year bonds based on the value of the boxes of confectionery.
The proceeds of the sales will be used to expand the company's factory in Cambridgeshire, helping to create up to 250 new jobs, as well as adding to its retail store portfolio, with the further creation of up to 150 jobs.
The company also plans to expand further overseas and to create an eco chocolate factory at its cocoa plantation in St Lucia.
More information is here in this article at uk.reuters.com.
What do you think of the idea? If you had the money and were already a fan of the brand would you consider this to be a good investment opportunity?
updated by @Clay Gordon: 12/13/24 12:16:07
"Cocoa and Chocolate Their History from Plantation to Consumer"
Posted in: Chocolate Education
I have to agree with Alan here. I purchased a reprint of this book off of Amazon several years ago after finding it on Project Gutenberg. A really worthwhile addition to my reference library.
What relationship do high quality, non-artisanal chocolate makers have with the cacao farmers/plantations?
Posted in: Chocolate Education
I can talk about this from personal experience from my trip to Bolivia a few months ago where I saw examples of the wild Bolivian cacao trees covered with brooms. According to Volker Lehmann, the brooms proliferated when the trees were under stress (e.g., very dry conditions) and when the conditions causing the stress eased, the brooms just withered and died without, apparently, negatively affecting the trees.This is just one example, but one that supports Samantha's assertion that wild cacaos are typically more resistant than their deliberately-bred relatives.From what I understand going on in Brazil, they are discovering broom resistant trees - growing "wild" that have adapted without human intervention over the past 20 years.I can also say, again from personal experience with the wild cacao in Bolivia that it's only necessary for the trees to get their start under shade. Once they've grown large enough to be productive they are hardy enough to withstand full sun. This work is being done, again, by Volker Lehmann, using seedlings grown from wild cacao harvested on the Hacienda Tranquilidad. Because Volker is not "breeding" the trees (just planting random seeds) he still considers them "wild" even though they're being deliberately planted. Just looking at them, the pods appears to be identical with untended trees growing in the chocolatale a couple of kilometers away.
What relationship do high quality, non-artisanal chocolate makers have with the cacao farmers/plantations?
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Sebastian:The only times I have personally seen certification programs work as intended is when some one or company takes responsibility for making it work. One of the programs you are probably referring to is the Utz certification program, and Cargill, for one, has been working closely with their co-ops to see that the benefits get delivered. One of the ways they take care of things is that they pay for the cost of the certification so that those costs don't cut into the premiums that are paid.I was recently in Belize and was talking to workers at the Toledo Cacao Growers Association. The TCGA is both organic and Fair Trade certified - and I believe was the first co-op in the world to achieve both certifications. They have been lucky in that Green & Black's has provided a guaranteed market for the beans, has created a very short supply chain in the country, and has been paying the maximum Fair Trade premium of US$150/tonne irrespective of the commodity market price.However, the total production of the co-op is low, about 40 tonnes per year, so the combined gross premium for organic and FT is about US$12000 on that 40 tonnes. There are over 900 active farmers delivering cocoa to the co-op, and by the time the certification fees and other overhead get's taken care of, the average premium to the farmers in the co-op is about US$6/year.But that's not the entire story. Green and Black's has a rolling 5-year pricing agreement that smooths pricing volatility - protecting G&B from market highs and the farmer from market lows. What this means is that when cocoa was selling for historic highs on the spot market G&B was actually paying less for cocoa than they had been over the previous year.I am sure that there are successes - but the average reality of Fair Trade is very, very different from the way it is marketed to consumers. For example, TransFair USA spends US$500,000 per year on rent alone for their Oakland offices. I am sure that it should be possible to spend less on rent and other non-essentials to make sure that more money makes it to the people who are supposed to be benefiting from these programs - the "producers" and "producer organizations." I have personally witnessed child labor violations in Rainforest Alliance "certified" co-ops in Ecuador. In my opinion, certification "fees" are the moral equivalent of kickbacks - and organizations like TransFair USA should be using the money they get to make the cost of participating in the program free to the farmers - and not spend it on fancy office space.You have asked a penetrating question when you asked Jim about yield. One of the tragic flaws of most certification programs is that they don't even attempt to focus on improving the quality of the product/crop being certified or improving yields. While a focus on social issues (child labor, education, sustainability, wildlife preservation, etc.) is important, it has to be accompanied by training in improving yields and quality in order to have a hope of delivering lasting, meaningful, change.
What relationship do high quality, non-artisanal chocolate makers have with the cacao farmers/plantations?
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Jim:I support your position here entirely.Having been on farms in Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Belize, Grenada, Hawaii, and Bolivia and having taken part in harvesting and post-harvest processing I know how hard the work is.The whole commodity market mechanism is tilted in favor of large buyers and processors and the challenge is to find ways to generate upward pricing pressure that moves the price of beans FOB the farm so that they accurately represent the cost of production and deliver enough profits so that farmers can earn a living.One thing I know for certain is that the way most certification programs are currently organized, the "premiums" paid do not provide the economic lift that is either intended or that most consumers believe they do when they purchase certified products. Many times profit is made by the manufacturer and seller than is returned to the farmer.One of the main things that I can do is provide a forum where the issues can be brought out into the open and discussed and a search for solutions begun. Your line item list of costs is quite illuminating.I know that there are growers from several countries who are members of TheChocolateLife and I would be interested in hearing from them about how their cost structures compare to yours.There are countries where the output commands prices well above spot market - Grenada routinely contracts to sell the bulk of their 500 tonne annual harvest at $5000/tonne or more - however, from personal experience I can tell you that it is the government of Grenada and the government cocoa association who profits most from this price as they control the (dishearteningly low) prices they pay to farmers and contract fermentaries.
What relationship do high quality, non-artisanal chocolate makers have with the cacao farmers/plantations?
Posted in: Chocolate Education
Cacao may be a valuable global commodity - but it is not massive compared with other commodities.At US$2,900/tonne (today's price) and a harvest of ~3,000,000 tonnes, the entire market for cacao as a commodity is only US$8.7 billion. Commodity coffee is about 2.5x that and at retail is estimated to be $90 billion for a total of over US$100 billion. The US chocolate market is about US$15 billion and represents about 40% of the total world market. The US wine industry (at retail only) was about US$45 billion in 2009.It is estimated that cacao farming provides income to over 15 million people worldwide while there are roughly that many people involved in farming coffee in Ethiopia alone.One other difference between coffee and chocolate is the price that is paid for premium beans. In the coffee world, superior beans at auction at the Cup of Excellence awards routinely fetch prices in excess of US$20 per pound. One lot of Bolivian beans fetched over US$35/lb for a total cost of US$63 million dollars in 2009. People are astonished when specialty cocoa bean prices exceed $8/lb.People (Americans especially, I think) have come to believe that cheap food is a birthright. This is the attitude that needs to change if we are to marshall the monetary resources to have the opportunity to have a significant impact on the lives of cacao farmers worldwide. There is a lot of good work that is being done in the specialty cocoa area but the total impact, in terms of the number of farm families involved, is small.I am open and interested to all promoting and getting involved in all sorts of educational programs that can improve the situation.:: Clay[ For comparison purposes, the annual value of the petroleum industry is over US$1 trillion. ]
Shipping Chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques
This topic is currently being covered in this discussion , and I notice that you've asked the question of ice/gel packs in that discussion. Therefore I am closing this discussion and asking that all replies be directed to this discussion.
Lana:You might want to contact ChocolateLife member Patrick Pineda. His company, East Bluff Trading imports into the US cocoa products from Venezuela including beans, nibs, butter, powder, and more. I have a bag of samples of what are labeled "Porcelana" beans. Can't wait to start playing with them. You should be able to order small amounts and then grow your volume and get better prices as your volume grows.USDA regulations allow up to 1.75% of residual shell in nibs. It's not cost-effective for manufacturers to try for 100% clean. That said, you could do some additional winnowing on your own. A couple of extra minutes per kilo is all it should take to get most of what remains out. The shell of a cocoa bean is papery, not like the shell of a nut, so you don't have to worry about someone breaking a tooth on a bit of shell left in the nibs.The thing you have to be careful of when roasting is that the nibs are small -- and so they can go from perfect to burnt very quickly. Your best bet is a probably a convection oven set to the max temp you want to roast at.
Irony of Ironies - Healthier Chocolate MAY Require MORE Sugar ...
Posted in: News & New Product Press (Read-Only)
Matt:There was no mention of how much sugar is "ideal" and, in the end, my gut feeling is that the optimum amount will be in a range that is squarely in the semi-sweet / bittersweet range; the optimum amount will depend on the cacao itself and how it is processed.Most importantly, in my opinion, this research sounds the death-knell for the notion that "if it's not at least 70% cocoa - it's not healthy for you." In other research quoted by Sam Madell, the actual amount of chocolate that needs to be eaten every day in order to deliver clinically meaningful benefits is rather small, so dietary the impact of the amount of sugar relative to the amount of fat should be quite small.One thing the research did not say (and I would be interested in knowing) is if there is a way to determine whether the fructose or the glucose in the sugar contribute equally to the perceived benefits. However, the research also suggests that the way to get the maximum benefit from eating cacao is to consume it in a beverage made from powder - made with water or milk makes little difference in efficacy.