Forum Activity for @Mark Heim

Chocolate VS couverture

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

Couverture is chocolate but with more cocoa butter, to make it more fluid when tempered, making it easier to enrobe pieces with a thinner coating. You can compensate with adding cocoa powder but you will lose some of the smoothness. Another trick you can try is to temper the ganache, by mixing or tabling it down to room or cooler temperatures to the consistency you want before using. This is common for gianduja.

Searching for quotes/anecdotes/myths/poems about chocolate

Posted in: Uncategorized

Save the earth, it's the only planet with chocolate.

Questions on American Chocolate Mould Table Top Tempering Machine

Posted in: Opinion

I also own and use the ACMC machine. It works very well. But as Cheebs mentions, though it holds temperature very well, if left alone you will over temper the chocolate. Not a problem if you keep an eye on it.

Best Female Chocolatier?

Posted in: Opinion

Andre, Yes, Kee from Kee's chocolates.

Best Female Chocolatier?

Posted in: Opinion

Keys Chocolates in NYC.

Chocolate Stores in San Francisco

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Try www.chocomap.com It's a good place to start.

How do I have better bases?

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

With a round shape, you have all the weight of the piece at one pont, which pushes the chocolate away and to the sides, which already gives you a "foot". You have a few options if you need to keep them round:- As Clive noted, you can pre bottom, but this will extend the foot.- If firm enough, you can pan them- Once dipped in chocolate, roll in cocoa , coconut, chopped nuts, etc and keep rolling until firm enough- Also once dipped, you can roll on a screen until firm enough, giving a different but nice appearance

Has anyone heard of xocai the healthy chocolate

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

The cocoa beans freshly harvested have the highest antioxidant levels. Once the beans are fermented they lose much of their antioxidants, and alkali treatment reduces it even further. Many dark chocolates are alkalized to reduce harshness. Some companies have used more unfermented beans, either for the higher AOX levels or because the beans are cheaper, but they don't taste much like chocolate.

Best chocolate school

Posted in: Opinion

I've taken some courses at the Notter School in Orlando. Very good. He also has several others teaching there as well. Check out his web site. Also some good classes at ICE in NYC.Good luck and enjoy

Making a hard Chocolate topping for brownies

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

If you do not temper the chocolate, it will crystalize in it's more unstable forms, and be soft, and have a poor appearance. Also do not cool chocolate in a freezer. Chocolate should be cooled more slowly so all crystals forming after temper will crystalize off the stable seed from the temper. Cool too quickly and you will develop unwanted crystals, even with a good temper. Compound coating do better if cooled quickly, not cocoa butter.

custom made chocolate

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques

Make your own silicon molds. I make the shape, design, etc, of what I want out of something like marzipan, spray the surface with confectioners glaze/laquer, then use it to make the mold. Works well.

I thought I knew chocolate and cacao but after visiting your website...

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Criollo and Forastero are the two basic types. Trinatario is a hybrid of the two. Today they have been so cross bred and with the unique contributions from the environment you hear of over a dozen new types, many named by where they are grown. 3 good resources for information are from Minifie, Beckett, and for more on the farm information, Cook. There is also a book with nothing but pictures of beans.

xylitol in chocolate?

Posted in: Recipes

Xylitol will work but has a cooling effect when it dissolves in the mouth, due to negative heat of solution. There are other sugar replacers that do not have as strong a cooling, such as maltitol. I would not depend on fat eutectics as the cooling is only while eating, not storage, and adding another fat to soften, it will stay softened in storage, handling, etc, and you need to watch for bloom.

chocolate tempering machines

Posted in: Opinion

I use the ACMC for personal use, holds a nice charge of chocolate. Oh, it does have a fan for the cooling stage. And 2 100w bulbs for heat. Simple, and stands up to a good bit of abuse.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Yes, anhydrous milk fat, or butter oil. The only other fat source allowed in chocolate standard of identity. Except for oil migration from nuts or nutpastes.

Cocoa butter and cocoa solids

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Not all the fat in a chocolate bar, even dark chocolate, is always cocoa butter. Many makers use some added milk fat in the form of AMF. Although this will soften the snap a bit, it helps prevent fat bloom.

What Makes an Artisan Chocolate Artisan?

Posted in: Opinion

Artisan lable would be the same for any art form. Anyone can draw a picture, but not everyone is an artist. The artisan is someone who makes something that will evoke a feeling. Be it a painting, a book, a sculpture that makes you feel happiness, pride, empathy.... The same thing is for chocolate or confections. But with confections being a culinary art, it has to evoke the emotions with all 5 senses. Miss the effect on any of the 5 senses and it is not artisan.