What's the best dark chocolate you tasted in 2011?
Posted in: Opinion
A chocolate THAT good and you think there are still leftovers to sample?? HA!
8-)
Forum Activity for @Sebastian
Posted in: Opinion
What's the best dark chocolate you tasted in 2011?
Posted in: Opinion
Made a test batch from some beans out of papua that aren't commercially available, that was amazing. Best I'd ever tasted.
What is the best flooring for a Chocolate Factory?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Depends a bit on your factory, i suppose. Generally speaking I like acid brick for floors and dairy tile for walls. It's very easy to clean, can support a lot of pressure if you've got heavy equipment, and is pretty durable should you drop something on it.
Sleeping near Cacao Trees
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
grow them all the time here - keep it in a bright (indirect sunlight seems to work the best), very warm (85+ F), very humid place. Unfortunately, where I live, there's winter, and the only place in the house that meets those requirements is the bathroom usually. Water every 2-3 days (watering frequency/amount is the trickiest part for me, as it's very easy to overwater). In the summers, the trees thrive outside, but watch the night time drops in temperature. Japanese beetles also see cocoa as a special treat.
If you manage to keep it alive for a few years, you can hand pollinate. The largest one i've managed to eek out has been about 6' tall (and i've got a very, very black thumb..)
West African cocoa and Gourmet chocolate
Posted in: Opinion
Scarcity and uniqueness can also drive premiums. There are plenty of absolutely wonderful fine flavor cocoas out there that have amazing flavor profiles that people would (and do) pay premiums for. One of the Asian submissions this year to the aforementioned competition tasted like caramalized pears - now, i've been in cocoa for a long time, and this is the first time I've seen a cocoa that tasted like that. It's one of the reasons I've stayed in it, no matter how much one knows, it seems in cocoa there's always something new to experience and learn!
Most regions are heterozygous collections of multiple clonal varieties to begin with, primarily a function of their disease resistance, productivity, or just dumb blind happenstance with not much thought given to why that particular tree was planted. There are many, many clones to choose from, and numerous ways to approach planting materials - you can plant a new tree, you can side graft, you can shoot graft, etc. Your planting material absolutely, unequivocally influences the flavors you can get from your cocoa. Where it's grown and the agronomics at play also can have a huge impact on your flavors (soil nutrition, composition, elevation, climactics, etc). As I'm sure you're aware, by altering the fermentation and drying conditions, you can get a 100 different flavors from the same beans, so obviously there's much that can be done here as well.
Oftentimes, cocoa buyers are buying from 4000 miles away, and may rarely have 'boots on the ground' to know exactly what's occurring, regardless of what they think they're buying and what they think is happening 8-) Hence I'm guessing why you reference your experience in Papua. There are lots of reasons a corporation may have for identifying specific locations, of which flavor may be only one element.
Interestingly, on the wine - I enjoy wine. I'd say given my work in chocolate, my taster is a bit more developed than your average person. Last year, I had the experience of having a $25,000 bottle of wine. Now, it was good, to be sure, but I'm not sure it was that much better than a $50 bottle - I've had some pretty darn good $50 bottles. It could be that for me, in wine, my taster isn't sufficiently developed to appreciate that level of sophistication; if that's the case, the wine is $24,950 too expensive for me - there may be those out there who experience the same wine very, very differently than i do, and appreciate it much more - for them, the price may be justified. I find that to be the case for me with cocoa quite often - i 'see' things in cocoa that others simply don't pick up on, just because I've been doing it for so long and I'm so familiar with it. Generally speaking, those cocoa's that I love the most, I find that the general population has very little interest in, as they're too different from what they've come to expect as 'chocolate' as defined by their mainstream experiences.
However, it could also be that the wine's really meant to be a $50 bottle, and what we're seeing here is the power of marketing. Either way, the fact someone bought it reflects there's a value proposition there, be it on the merits of the intrinsic properties of the wine (it's flavor), or the extrinsics (marketing panache)
West African cocoa and Gourmet chocolate
Posted in: Opinion
In this years Cocoa of Excellence competition in Paris, 14 of the 50 cocoa's that were judged were from W. Africa. Now, many, many more were submitted, but only 50 get entered. Most of them were trying to deliver something other than conventional West African flavor profile, and many did just that. I tasted each and every one of them - some were better than others. However, there's currently a very vivid fine flavor profile that exists in many W. African countries already, predominately appealing to consumers in Europe and Japan - I'd hate to see the entirety of W. African flavors shift to something else (not that I think there's any danger of that happening, however the breadth of flavors across the world i think is quite marvelous, and to see them shrink would be less than ideal).
"Gourmet" means different things to different people. For some, "gourmet" is nothing than fancy packaging. For others, it has more to do with *absence* of flavors to give them a blank pallet to work from to allow their other ingredients room to shine. Yet others, it's defined more by the physical handling characteristics of the the chocolate (low viscosity). For some - it's very much defined by a unique flavor. W. African cocoas can deliver on all of these. The last one is probably the hardest to break into, as for many who are peripherally involved with cocoa/chocolate (even for those who believe they are experts, often times), there may be a perception gap equating W. African with bulk commodity and nothing special. Of course, that may be true 90% of the time depending on how you define your parameters; however it's also quite possible to make quite a range of products by manipulating your growing materials, the post harvest practices, and of course the chocolate production process/formulation itself.
Edit - sorry, i miscounted - i'd originally indicated 10/50 cocoa submissions were from W. African countries - upon recounting, it's 14. Time for new glasses.
Dominican Republic
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
You may be able to spend some time at Esmereldas by contacting the Rizek's in Santo Domingo. They'll be in the book (web).
Bitterness
Posted in: Tasting Notes
I'm a huge advocate of letting your chocolate age 3-4 weeks before finalizing a recipe; however in my experience bitterness is not one of the elements that changes significantly over age. The components that result in bitter attributes are not volatile.
Bitterness
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Is the broker telling you that the whole beans you are receiving are, in effect, sterilized? If so, I would absolutely, unequivocally, insist that they demonstrate proof of that if you do not have a kill step of your own, and I'd challenge their results by having them validated yourself with a 3rd party. A piece of paper saying they're clean is meaningless.
Research and Development
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Absolutely. Two particle size methods can be correlated - i've done it - keep in mind there are many, many variables you'll need to control. For the ball mill - how do you control the mass temperature and what is it? how many passes are you using? size and type of media? does it degrade into your product and change it's physical characteristics? do you have a way of measuring the particle size distribution that the ball mill results in, and a way to correlate that to what you get off the refiner(s)? What about residual moisture differences between the mills and it's impact? Are flavor differences important to you?
For the refiners - state of the crown, are you using the 2 roll as a pre-refiner followed by the 5 roll, or independently of one another? Are they hydraulics the same across the different adjustment points?
Does any of the above matter? Depending on what your goals are, they may not. Or they may be incredibly important.
What Price, Cocoa?
Posted in: Opinion
Believe me, i know 8-) i'm quite familiar with Vietnamese cocoa, and if properly processed, can make a very nice chocolate. That said, the total output of Vietnam today is < 100,000 T, almost none of which is commercially usable; but it is improving. Educating the farmers or creating the fermentary infrastructure, in addition to managing the water table and the damp, cool nights, are key to propagating the quality necessary for growing Vietnam into a commercially viable, sustainable origin.
What Price, Cocoa?
Posted in: Opinion
One of the challenges with Vietnam and cocoa is that the extension agency networks to teach farmers how to handle cocoa don't really exist. as such, while cocoa is being planted to a very small extent, it's not uncommon to see farmers trying to sell pods along the roadside as if they were apples or rambuton, simply because they don't know what to do with them. Nong Lam University (luong le cao) is working to change this (as is Grand Place, and Cargill a bit), but it's a very slow road. So, the net/net of it is - there's simply not export quantities of appropriate material to be had out of Vietnam as of yet. Dak Lak is a nice growing area and holds promise, but it's wetter and colder than would be preferred (meaning the beans may be nice and large and high in fat, but also that they are likely to dry slowly and may have higher mold issues as a result).
Legal Jargon: Alcohol in Confectionery
Posted in: Tasting Notes
it effectively means that you can't add alcohol if you plan to sell your product.
Torte Glaze
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Here's a good place to start 8-)
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/86115-demo-mirror-glazing-technique/page__view__findpost__p__1171507__hl__glaze__fromsearch__1
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/98136-pastry-ganache-fillings-and-glazes/page__view__findpost__p__1344169__hl__glaze__fromsearch__1
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/92168-pastry-glaze-tips-techniques/page__view__findpost__p__1248946__hl__glaze__fromsearch__1
Re: Cacao Beans for Testing!
Posted in: Self Promotion / Spam
Ernesto - can you elaborate a bit on how you ferment (mass size, box configuration, duration, # of turns, etc), as well as how you dry (what does improved drying mean - how is it done)? Are you doing the post harvest work yourself, or is the fermentation and drying being done by multiple farmers?
Chocolate Liquor
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
I would use a refrigerated container, and you'll need to keep an eye on relative humidity as well. You're shipping from a warm, high moisture environment to one that will soon be much colder, so you'll need to give thought as to how you're going to prevent it from 'raining' inside your shipping container. Or growing mold.
Chocolate Liquor
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
it' unlikely that it will go rancid at those temperatures. it will, however, begin to separate out and 'oil off'. general rule of thumb - don't keep it hot longer than you need to, don't expose it to light longer than you need to, and keep it moving (or at least intermittent agitation).
Looking for peanut/nut free courverture
Posted in: Classifieds F/S or Wanted
Winnowing is not 100% effective. In fact, in some cases, it's pretty darn ineffective. You will always have some level of shell material in your nib. And your prewinnowed stream always will have some nibs in it. Meaning that some % of the nibs would come into direct contact with any foreign material (in this case, pnuts) - so removing the shell, even if it were 100% effective, wouldn't guarantee a soln for contamination.
Of the two companies you mention, one makes chocolate, one does not. We can throw out the company that doesn't make chocolate as they really have no feel for what's involved, and are making assessments based on the information they have (incomplete). It's a bit like me selling used cars and guaranteeing the previous owner(s) never took it on a trip longer than 30 miles - i have no idea. I can provide you a statement to that effect, but it doesn't mean it's true. The other company you mention doesn't really have the technical competencies to provide an accurate assessment (sounds harsh, i know, but most companies fall into this category. not meant to be harsh).
Regarding the challenge study - what size was the sample tested? How many studies were done? On multiple lots? Over extended periods of time? What was the test used and it's minimum detection level? Are you certain that because the test didn't register above the minimum detection level that it's not present at slightly below the detection level? When a given lot does test positive, what are the appropriate clean-out and flush procedures to guarantee 100% elimination of any residual proteins? Are you confident they even can be removed 100%? And now we're back to the threshold of detection level question - if post clean-out it's not detectible by the assay, does that guarantee it's completely gone, or just that it's below the detection lvl of the assay - but still high enough to kick off the IgE cascade?
I've spent some time on the allergen issue (not just nuts, but dairy and soy as well), and know the answers to the above questions. It is my professional opinion that it is simply impossible to guarantee - with any level of validity - the absence of nuts in chocolate. A written statement by a company to that effect is simply reckless.
Looking for peanut/nut free courverture
Posted in: Classifieds F/S or Wanted
Ah, someone bites 8-) Really the only thing they can guarantee is that they're not intentionally bringing peanuts into their facility (ie they're not mfg peanut fillings or coatings). In many origins, it's quite common for a farmer, grader, middleman, dockworker, or ship-hand to eat nuts as a snack. The shells and meats of those nuts are often tossed aside, and i can't count how many times I've seen them land in piles of cocoa or in bags. In some cases the equipment used to handle the material is often shared between nuts and cocoa.
How does the mfr propose to keep that material - which they're not even aware of - out of their plants?
If they make the argument that it's too small an amount to be reactive - how do they know what the acute dosage threshold for an immuno-reaction is for each person? How do they know that even if they're testing it via ELISA or some other assay, that a given persons threshold for a reaction isn't below the threshold of the testing kit (ie absence of assay reaction doesn't guarantee it's not there, it just says it wasn't in that sample or that it wasn't enough for that particular kit to detect)?
I would be very skeptical of any non-artisinal mfr (who isn't in complete control of their supply chain) guaranteeing the absence of nuts in chocolate. I don't believe it can be done on a large scale, and would thoroughly challenge any mfr who claims they can do so.
Looking for peanut/nut free courverture
Posted in: Classifieds F/S or Wanted
I'd doubt very strongly that anyone will guarantee it. I'd question them if they did.
better pricing for better cacao
Posted in: Opinion
That's a beautiful area - I'm there fairly regularly. Perhaps we'll cross paths sometime!
better pricing for better cacao
Posted in: Opinion
Repeat business. If you don't deliver what you agreed to, there won't be a 2nd order. The trade model used today by large folks wouldn't work for this, as i'd previously noted it would require a partnership (education on quality, how to get there, etc) which means working closely with a fixed group, and having mutually beneficial terms. Does it guarantee there will never be problems? Absolutely not - i guarantee there will. However, it certainly will be better than how 80% approach it today 8-) The other 20% already have figured this out.
better pricing for better cacao
Posted in: Opinion
I'm not going to get into any financials, but think about what can be done from a marketing perspective to drive value. If the codex regulations set mold levels at 5%, differentiate your product by setting yours at 3% (you are purporting to deliver on flavor, right? if so, perhaps 1% mold by cut test should be the goal. or 0). Flavor is a tough thing to specify - how will you address that? Perhaps create a new class of beans - instead of ASE, you create a 'select' grading, using separate export bags with a unique logo to set it apart from the rest. The demand is there, the supply is there. It's just fragmented. People will pay for quality. Most people simply don't know what quality is.
better pricing for better cacao
Posted in: Opinion
I think you will find most resistance in the DR coming from a single large entity, who also has deep ties to banking and shipping. Overcome that, consolidate a large enough purchasing base, and teach the farmers how to ferment (and dry...) appropriate to that purchasing base, and i think you've got upside there.
better pricing for better cacao
Posted in: Opinion
To be clear, there are huge advantages for the growers to cooperate as well, although it also brings another level of challenges. It is not a prerequisite to the OP's question; however demand volume is (well, synchronous demand volume is).
As I was driving back from the mtns today, I was looking for non-confidential examples that would be useful in helping illustrate the idea. Domori, Valhrona, Amedei, etc all are able to secure appropriate quality cocoa and keep their suppliers happy. How do you think that's done? In addition to working closely with them to maximize quality (ie minimize the defect stream), there's a captive volume at a mutually beneficial price. This approach could run into a number of potential issues - ie most chocolate mfrs don't know step 1 about cocoa quality or maximizing it; if they do have something they think is unique, there's likely to be a protectionist approach to guard their secret; there's a tendency to similarly guard your supply chain for fear of someone else 'stealing' your flavor.
Consolidating your purchasing power will require that these hurdles be cleared. A very frank assessment of which is more important will be needed.
better pricing for better cacao
Posted in: Opinion
Having done this professionally for over 20 years, I have a fair bit of insight into what works and what doesn't, and have learned a thing or two about how systems work (or don't) in almost every origin. I'm familiar with the entire supply chain and the dynamics that are important at each of the steps - and they often are in conflict with one another. I know what motivates breeders, NGO's, farmers, middlemen, exporters, warehousers, the trade, and manufacturers.
I'm trying to say that I understand it better than most.
Hence the reason I stand by my statement that the only way to address what the original poster asked, is either
1) by creating sufficient supply demand as to 'pull' the specific requirements forward while simultaneously generating the volumes to allow product differentiation to provide an outlet for that material which does not meet the highest of standards (because it will always be there). Unfortunately, the small chocolate maker is not sufficiently coordinated to work closely with his/her peers to consolidate their demand, or they're more interested in flavor differentiation, thereby fragmenting the market and subsequently allowing for a continuation of the problem (now you have 100 buyers buying from 100 regions/farmers vs the 100 of them consolidating their purchases into a single farm, clearly identifying the post harvest parameters and handling requirements that will yield their requirements).
2) controlling the supply. buy your own farm and run it. very few can/want to do this. And you still must have product differentiation or accept low yields due to destruction of non-conforming product.
Jim's solution requires a minimum volume threshold to make it viable, both from the farmers perspective as well as logistically. Sure a chocolate producer can buy out a small farms volume, but the costs involved in getting the beans to the use will will result in a $20 chocolate bar. It works, and is the basis behind my #1 above. Prerequisite = volume. Form a purchasing co-op of sufficient volume to fill half containers minimum at a time, and provide a fiscal incentive for quality. Now you've reached critical mass.
better pricing for better cacao
Posted in: Opinion
There's a disconnect with the breeders, the growers, and the buyers. Breeders are propagating for yield and disease resistance, and it's rare to meet a farmer who has even ever tasted chocolate. Breeders often don't understand that there are multi-dimensional variables that are important - although for some parts of industry, yield may be the most important (ie, if you're simply pressing it into cocoa powder for the powder - a high yield, low fat bean may be very important to you. flavor is less so if you're going to alkalize it anyway and create your own flavor). His experience is likely with Transmar, who - while they shouldn't be purchasing fungally infested beans - are not going to be overly discriminating from a quality standpoint. They're a volume player.
Create the demand or control the supply - it's really the only way it will happen.
melting/tempering white chocolate
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
The reason it's doing that is because it's absorbed moisture. You're likely not buying in bulk, but from either a distributor or other 3rd party where the mfr has lost control of it's storage and age. White chocolate is more sensitive to moisture absorption than other types. And given that it often doesn't 'turn' stock as quickly as other chocolates, as it sits it absorbs more moisture. And forms the lumps you see.
How to fix? Tough one. You can melt it and add 0.1-0.2% fluid lecithin and mix - that might help but no guarantees. Better answer is to call the mfr and get the decipher code for their lot system so you can determine when it was manufactured. use that to help assist which material you purchase - try to only get that which is 3 months old or fresher, and only that in a factory sealed, poly lined container (bag or otherwise). I would also not microwave it 8-)
Benoît Nihant Chocolatier goes "Bean to Bar"
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
Very exciting. Look forward to stopping in and tasting your creations!
Salon du Chocolat Paris, oktober 20th - 24th
Posted in: Travels & Adventures
possibly, haven't decided yet. it's smack in the midst of mid / main crop flow (depending on where in the world you are) - so need to keep that in mind..
Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
i can pretty confidently say that the scenario you suggest isn't what happened, at least prior to the acquisition 8-) Post acquisition, absolutely Cargill personnel spent time there to ensure things were smooth. In fact, the US based president of the company temporarily moved there during that time.
Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
I'd developed fountain chocolates before 2003 - i'd say sephra was the first to really embrace it on a larger scale however.
Also, OCG (old callebaut guys...) has been owned by Cargill for a number of years 8-)
Where does Sephra Chocolate come from?
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Yes, but I'm not going to tell you 8-) That's for the company to decide if they want to release or not.
Keep in mind that with an outfit the size of callebaut (any of the large industrial chocolate suppliers actually), a technical person may have no idea whom all the commercial contracts are. It's quite unusual for a single person to have complete knowledge of the entire company's customer list...
Barry Callebaut hard coatings
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
well, that can be true, but it isn't a de-facto difference between ccb and non-ccb fats. many non-ccb fat systems benefit greatly from tempering (although the tempering used may be different than that which you'd use for ccb). cooling can be very important - for example, a fractionated palm kernal base needs to be cooled at a moderate rate - too slow and it'll go massive (massive as in the technical term used in classical crystal formation), too fast and it'll case harden. Cooling faster is often times the worst thing you can do to a coating - but it depends greatly on the fat system being used, and the type and quantity of cooling you have available. Additionally, many non ccb fat systems benefit from the use of structuring lipids (cote hi or stearine are often used in the states) to provide the backbone against which the rest of the fat scan structure itself around.
Barry Callebaut hard coatings
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
W/o knowing the oil used (you didn't answer if it said fractionated or not - only that it had the hydrogenated), it's difficult to say for certain. My strong suspicion is that it's a modified palm kernel oil with a structuring fat (that's the hydrogenated bit) - which is good. I also think, based on what i know thus far, that you've got a cooling problem - you centers are likely too cold, and you should be providing cooling to the dipped pieces after they've been dipped, if this is indeed the fat system i think it is. I'd try using warmer centers (your room temp is still pretty cool!). Melt your coating to 120F (sorry, i don't think well in C), and cool it down to 95 or so, then dip your centers that are no longer frozen, and then put them into the refrigerator. If RH is as low as you say it is, condensation won't be an issue.
I hope that helps - again, very difficult to trouble shoot from afar with limited details...if the matte appearance doesn't go away, does your product design allow you to roll them in cocoa powder to mask the dullness while maintaining aesthetics?
Barry Callebaut hard coatings
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
What fat is in the coating? if it's a fractionated palm kernel, does it have a separate ingredient listing of 'partially hydrogenated xxx' or 'hydrogenated xxx'?
What temperature are your centers, your shop, and what are you doing with them immediately after you dip them? Do you have any idea what the RH is in your shop?
Very difficult to do trouble shooting from afar 8-) FYI, i'll be leaving for a couple of weeks very, very shortly, but will try to help until then.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
You'll find that your raw materials will affect your finished rheology a great deal - consistency is key. How you treat your chocolate post particle size reduction will also be very, very important if controlling rheology is important to you as well. Order of addition of ingredients is important. Don't forget the environment can be very influential.
Ball Mill refiners vs Roller Refiners
Posted in: Chocolate Education
I think, in the realm of information that is likely to be publicly shared with you or freely available, what you find is going to be heavily influenced by the type of mfr you speak to (ie the refiner guys will tell you that their product is the best, ball milling guys the same). It will be heavily influenced by tradition and unproven beliefs (you will find folks in every camp that believe their way is the best simply because that's what they've always done, or that's what their predecessor or admired teacher told them - chefs are notorious for this). You yourself are already predisposed towards roll refiners; however in the above text you're only comparing it to one other production method (i can think of at least 8 particle size reduction technologies that are used commonly), and chances are very high that at least some of the chocolates you've consumed, you have no idea what process was used to convert it. Additionally, you will find that those who have spent the time and resources to do a scientific study to determine and quantify the differences in the various production methods will guard their results closely, as there are distinct competitive advantages that can be leveraged if one understands the options at a detailed level.
I will tell you that it is quite possible to make very similar (read: indistinguishable via the consumer) chocolate via multiple production methods (for example, i can make a dark chocolate on a refiner as well as another type (or types) of production kit that you will not be able to distinguish from one another. There are also chocolates that require a very specific type of kit to make, and that you simply can not make via another method. It is very dependent upon the type of chocolate you are making, and the specifics of that chocolate's physical and sensory components become very important. There is no single answer to the question you seek.
Generally speaking, each approach will have thematic pros and cons associated with it. Some are more heavily weighted towards product (ie how it handles raw materials and converts to finished product) while others are more heavily weighted towards throughput and energy utilization. Chocolate processing has far more science behind it than most admit to, as quite frankly most don't understand it, and the industry abounds with myth and misperception. Many companies continue to do things 'because that's the way it's always worked' and have, over time, created hypothesis as to why something does or doesn't work - but by and large, those theories haven't really been tested or challenged in a valid fashion. There are exceptions, of course, and those exceptions will, for the most part, be treated as trade secrets due to the advantage the understanding offers.
Terra CaCao
Posted in: Tasting Notes
Some companies have been doing controlled fermentation for many years. Not much here to see, other than BC's a masterful marketing company and good at getting folks to part with their money for the perception of uniqueness 8-)