Small, Cheap Shaker Table
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
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Forum Activity for @Frank Schmidt
Small, Cheap Shaker Table
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Here are some photos of a cheap and functional counter-top shaking table. Thats probably the socially correct term for this equipment. When pouring up molds, if I spill some on the screen, then I call the unit a chocolate covered vibrator.This is just the lowest priced, smallest, dental laboratory counter-top, multi-power vibrating machine. You can see that it has a small top with rubberized surface, maybe 5 inches in diameter. It probably doesnt matter that it has power adjust; I use the lowest setting. Maybe if you pour real thick liquids you need more power.This unit cost me $89 new a month or two ago. You maybe can find one cheaper on e-bay; I got mine from the retail dental supplier. There are also larger dental lab units that are square surface and perhaps 6 by 8 inches and these run hundreds of dollars; so ok, you need something like that for larger molds. The key is to have hands-free when pouring.What I did was bought a wire-mesh frying spatter screen for one buck at the dollar store; WalMart has them for $7 with an attached handle off the side. . This one had a plastic handle in the middle which I unscrewed and tossed away. At Ace Hardware you can buy what they call duct strapping or plumbers strapping. This is a galvanized soft steel band which can be cut to length with tin snips. I think you can see that I bent each strip so as to go under the units rubberized table. One of these strips must be easily detached at one end to disassemble the system so I used a wing-nut for that purpose. You want the other nuts cinched on pretty tight as the vibration will loosen them otherwise.There is a short tab also in the photo and that is a longer screw attachment which will secure the poly plastic mold form. I punched a hole in every mold form so they can be secured to the screen ; as you can see. Any paper hole- punch will work for that. The long end of the strapping is bent up and over the screen rim so as to secure the other end of the mold tray. This way the mold can be quickly placed, filled and removed without a lot of effort or fuss. If the screw is too long then the mold must be raised very high at one end when filled to remove it from the screen. That causes the liquid chocolate to pour out of the molds. Use a screw long enough but not too long. They are so cheap that I would buy half dozen of different lengths at the hardware store and experiment to get the correct one. Deeper molds will stand higher off the screen and therefore require a longer securing screw. I have two nuts on this long screw, one on each side of the screen to prevent it from vibrating loose.If you want to make this system look professional, I guess the strapping could be painted with a one dollar can of spray paint from WalMart. Be sure to first wipe the galvanized strapping with vinegar so as to cut through any surface oils on the metal before painting.This machine is nice because you can take it apart and store it in a drawer when not needed. It is very quiet compared to some counter-top machines.I hope these notes explain the photos.I put an extra plastic shopping bag over the vibrator so spilt chocolate is easier to clean up. For bar molds of this size this system works well and is about as cheap as you can get. It is nice to be able to pour without having to hold the mold tray in place and without having to jiggle or bang it on the countertop.If you have questions or if I didnt explain something clearly enough, feel free to post questions.Happy Holidays !
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 04/16/15 14:54:49
Closer Connection: Chocolate buyer to Farmer??
Posted in: News & New Product Press
Yes, Jeff,If , by "how they implement the model" you mean the Askinosie model, that has already been implemented and Shawn does travel to the country of origin, seeks out the grower and buys beans from him. I have never heard of a coop being involved in his business transaction.From the photos on Askinosie web site, he then delivers a check to the grower representing a percent of profits from the sale of chocolate bars made from the grower's beans.Is it profitable to the manufacturer ? I have never looked at Askinosie's books to see if in the long run the company is making money. It does seem like a lot of work and travel for very small scale production.You're right, post harvest pre-shipment treatment of the farm product is crucial to the relationship.Quality control, especially fermenting must be difficult to ensure. I think this is what the students are now evaluating in the African project.I also will be watching this story as I have an interest in Panama beans for my own plan.
Closer Connection: Chocolate buyer to Farmer??
Posted in: News & New Product Press
Now were talkinYoung people in the Midwest, U.S. are asked to research cocoa production in Africa for a new project by Askinosie Chocolate Company.In todays issue (Nov 23rd, 2009) http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009911230361 of the Springfield, Missouri News Leader, there is a discussion about the Cocoa Honors project sponsored by Shawn Askinosie asking high school and college students to assist him in selecting an African nation to be the source of cocoa beans for a new Askinosie bar. He expects it will take about a year and a half for the vetting process.A very important point in this article IMHO (besides the great idea of involving U.S. students in the research) is the attempt to ensure that the farmer (cacao grower) actually receives some of the profits directly from Askinosies sales of the new bar. How this is actually accomplished is a major thrust of the chocolate companys research and business model.Ive heard that at the Net Impact conference held recently at Cornell Univ. a speaker from Sustainable Harvest Coffee ( http://sustainableharvest.com/our_model ) said that they are also looking into chocolate as a commodity to which they can apply their relationship marketing.Should we expect to see more small chocolate manufacturers and importers connecting the end consumer with the grower : more or less face-to-face?
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 05/09/15 15:06:04
Best Female Chocolatier?
Posted in: Opinion
April Heaton !!Branson Missouri, beautiful new shop, excellent chocolates. Pure artistry. http://www.handcraftedchocolat.com/chocolatier.html
Is Chocolate Healthy? II
Posted in: Opinion
Is Chocolate Healthy? IILets try this again, assuming it wont be spammed.Here are two links with research to support the health benefits of chocolate and the authors opinions as to why. or what is the active ingredient conferring the health benefits.The San Blas Kuna refers to the Kuna indigenous people living on islands off the eastern (northern) coast of Panama. Actually their homeland is a group of islands sub-nation on the Gulf or Caribbean coast of Panama.Compared to the mainland refers to poorer health of the Kuna when they migrate to Panama City and other parts of the country and settle there to live.From the abstract on med. science:Despite the other possible explanations for the large differences in deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer with an array of possible confounding factors, it is improbable that these could abolish the cardiovascular and cancer protective effect observed among the San Blas Kuna as compared to the mainland. http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7599 http://www.medsci.org/v04p0053.htm cardiovascular and cancer protective effect observed Correct me if Im wrong , but my understanding is that these American and German university researchers, early on, expected to find a genetic component in these Kuna Peoples which gave them extremely healthy hearts, very low blood pressure and prevented hardening of the arteries. But that didnt make sense when later, some of their friends and relatives from the San Blas islands moved inland and developed cardiovascular problems (at the same rate as the Hispanic Panamanians).My Question: If all of the above is scientifically sound, and if it is epicatechin , a flavaol, which is the active ingredient in chocolate which is believed to cause increased cardiovascular health; if this chemical is present and active in Kuna cocoa, can we then say that our chocolate is also heart healthy? Has anybody seen any research to that effect?Just wondering.
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 05/05/15 03:39:15
The Craft Chocolate-Maker's Handbook. Call for Submissions.
Posted in: News & New Product Press
I'd be happy to make my little contribrution to your book, Clay. I have recently written about a 6 page (in Word for Windows) description of the process of home cocoa roasting and processing through to finished chocolate using the Chocolate Alchemy machines. I've included photos and a dozen hyper-links to reference sites supporting the process. In exchange, I'd like to get someone to help post this to Wikipedia. There is such a description for home coffee roasting but none as yet for home chocolate roasting. My "tome" is finished but the Wikipedia posting process is a maze to me. I don't have time to put the pages up; the hard work is done, just posting it is all that's left.The Best to YouGood Luck on your next Book
xylitol in chocolate?
Posted in: Recipes
Does anyone here have experience with xylitol as a sweetener in chocolate? I'm wondering if your results were acceptable either with xylitol as the main sweetener or when it was added to make a confection to the base chocolate?Thanks
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 05/01/15 17:12:11
Maltitol ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Has anyone used maltitol (Maltisorb, Maltisweet) to sweeten confections? This is an artifical sweetener and I'm wondering if it acts like sugar in chocolate confections in the hands of anyone on this site.Thanks
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 05/07/15 12:09:48
Ghana Roasting?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
OK Guys,Thanks for the suggestions. I'm using a standard kitchen oven, electric, not convection to roast. Haven't gone to a drum roaster as yet. That, plus a tempering machine are my next upgrades.My usual roast on other beans has been 300 F (149 C) for about 20-25 min. so it sounds like I'm in line with your suggestions. Hope to start on this tomorrow. Weather here is expected rain (poss. snow) this weekend (southern Missouri). Therefore, no grape vine pruning in the vineyards for me this weekend. Will stay in the workshop with chocolate, someone's got to do it !I'll report back on my progress.
Ghana Roasting?
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Hi All,I just got a shipment of Ghana beans from John Nanci and will start roasting them in a couple of days. My first attempt with this origin.Any of you have a suggestion on roast levels or roasting times?Thanks
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 05/06/15 19:53:13
Chocolatiers = Re-melters?
Posted in: Opinion
I agree with you Tom. As a home chocolate maker, from the bean, it is not easy to then learn all necessary to make a good truffle. But check this out:Jeff Stern has an interesting concept; single origin confections and appears to be involved in bean to bonbon process. http://www.aequarechocolates.com/content.php?cms_id=2 "Aequare participates in almost the entire process from bean to final product in the country of origin."I think more people will be trying this but they have a tough road ahead. I'm putting an order in for some of Jeff's confections as soon as he gets an order site up and running.
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Do you normally "treat" your sugar when adding it to the liquor, Tom? Like by blending it with cocoa butter or something to make it less dry in the conching machine?Here are my notes:Mexican Tabasco Three level chocolate: Beginning January 30th, 2009Roasted 5 pounds of beans in a standard electric oven (not convection) at 300 degrees F. for about 25 minutes. This was in 5 layers of pierced pizza pans on a circular pizza stone with one inch tall metal supports between pans for air circulation. The beans in the top pan were over-roasted but still useable . (the metal supports are actually paint roller metal grates, with short feet that set in a paint roller pan; cost about $1.95 each at WalMart.Jan. 31st 2009 Began processing by running roasted beans through Crankenstein and winnowing. Ended up with 3.5 lbs of nibs; cleanest so far.Processed nibs through Champion Juicer and ended up with 3.33 lbs of liquor. Added vanilla bean through juicer then put liquor, one Tbs. lethicin, 4 oz of melted cocoa butter and 1.64 lbs sugar into Ultra wet grinder to begin conching. This will be about 5 lbs of 66% dark chocolate when finished. Machine ran from 12 noon Jan 31st to 5:30 PM Feb 1st 2009. About 29.5 hrs. Stopped conching then at temperature of 122degrees F.Pulled off 2 pounds of 66% dark and added:At 5:30 pm Feb 1st 2009, 4oz. dry goat milk dissolved in 2 oz. cocoa butter and added 8 oz of sugar. This works out to about 43% dark milk chocolate. Conched until 5:30 pm Feb 2nd 2009. 24 hours.Pulled off one pound of dark milk chocolate (43%). Wrapped in saran wrap to store.5: 30 PM Feb 2nd 2009 added 8 oz. of sugar, 4 oz of dried milk to make 3 pounds of light milk chocolate at about 29%. Conched until 6 pm Feb 3rd, 2009. About 24 hours.Comments from friends and thoughts:Dark chocolate did seem to have a slightly burnt taste but seems to have lost that over a period of days following processing. Dark milk has a very nice flavor, strong chocolate, but more acidic than usually expected, this acidity seems also to be fading with time. (but then again, maybe we are just getting used to it)The light milk chocolate gets good reviews from people who prefer milk chocolate; but this is to be expected as this is the lightest milk chocolate that I have made so far. These people were somewhat dissatisfied with my earlier milk chocolates which were in the 50- 60 % range. The light milk chocolate is useful to me in making spirits based ganaches. It does not overpower a sherry or brandy or port ingredient.The down side of this light milk chocolate is the length of additional time needed to run the Ultra machine and stress on its motor due to dry milk added and resultant thickening of chocolate. May just need to add several more ounces of cocoa butter and heat the metal conching drum full of chocolate in the oven for several hours during every 8 hour period.Next up: Ghana. When I get back from a vacation trip. Will try date sugar with that one. Any advice from anyone?
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Will respond in full soon, Tom. I'm wanting to get feedback from tasters on the "lighter Mexican Tabasco milk chocolate" before I answer you back. I may have over-roasted one tray (20 %) of the beans. Dark is very nice. 66%. Will try the Date Sugar on the next batch of beans when I can buy another pound of it. Health food store is out of it now.
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Thanks for the reference to Madagascar, Tom. Thats the one I just finished working with so it will be fresh in my memory. After this Mexican Ill have one more, the Ghana, which will finish out my experiences with the offerings by John Nanci over at Chocolate Alchemy. Then Ill start with the beans that Clay Gordon has to offer on this site. Will begin roasting the Mexican beans tonight and start processing tomorrow morning.By the way, I built a winnower like the one you pictured here under winnowing, the photo with the little girl on the table, your daughter? We have Ace Hardware here and I bought a vent fan at Ace which I hope is powerful enough to float the shells off the nibs after running them through the Crankenstien. Have to play with pvc pipe lengths to get the proper heights.So far, all my equipment from John N. is working well. Im using the Ultra wet grinder and giving it a work out. Seems to be holding up ok.Your suggestion on added cocoa butter is more than Ive added in the past for either milk or dark chocolate. I have usually added 4-6 oz of butter to the initial batch of about 4.5 lbs of liquor at the beginning of conching. (Some of that I may have added during liquification in the Champion Juicer ) And then try not to add any more except to lubricate the batch if/when it begins to stiffen up during refinement. (I now know that heating the stiff chocolate in the oven for a few hours does a better job to get the rollers moving again. Better than just adding melted cocoa butter. My room temp is about 64 F in the workshop in winter).The way Im figuring your numbers, I might be adding another 4 oz of butter to a remaining 3 pound batch of milk chocolate (after taking off 3 pounds of dark from a 6 lb mass). I might just try this but Im remembering the butter I bought is not de-oderized. That could add some flavor of its own but that may not be bad.Ill document my roast times and conching times as accurately as I can and let you know the details. I limit ingredients to about a table spoon of soy lethacin and a half, raw vanilla bean per 4.5 lbs of liquor. Thats been pretty standard for my process.The only other twist that Ive been thinking about is using some date sugar from a local health food store instead of cane sugar. Just to see what flavors might develop from that. It runs about $6.00 a pound here; Id be looking at $20-$30 per batch for sugar alone if using date sugar. It might add some interesting flavors and I guess it would need to be dried in an oven prior to mixing in with liquor.Thanks again for the information.FrankPS we have a local guy starting up a micro-distillery and Ill be working with him to feature his spirits as fillings for my molded chocolates. So far Im practicing with store bought bourbon , brandy and wines as fillers. The bourbon in a Panama dark milk chocolate ganache used to fill a dark (66%) Panama shell has come out really nice. I used 4 Tbs spirits in about one cup of ganache and then added another 1.5 oz of 55% milk chocolate to thicken the ganache back up to a near solid.
Mexican Tabasco ??
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Anybody have experience and/or hints on roasting and processing Mexican Tabasco? I have a new shipment of 5 lbs of beans and would like some input on roast levels and duration if anybody has experience.Also, I have not tried a split roast blend with any of my beans as yet. Like a 50 % medium and 50% dark roast blended at the winnowing stage. Anyone tried this?Also, I usually do a base process of 66% for the dark chocolate and then draw off 3 lbs of that from the wet grinder and add milk and more sugar for a 45%-50% milk chocolate on the remainder. Any suggestions on these additive levels? (I dont like higher cocoa because Im filling the chocolate mold shells with wine jelly and spirits creamsnot to be overpowered by bitter chocolate )Thanks
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 05/09/15 11:49:55
Mixed News From Hershey: Recession is Good - Closing Plants
Posted in: News & New Product Press
I agree with John; good shot, Susie.Heres some more information on the industry, the recession troubles and the perspective from a small bean-to-bar manufacturer. http://www.news-leader.com/article/20090130/BUSINESS04/901300335/1003/ARCHIVES There are still discretionary dollars to be spent but artesian chocolate makers in their retail shops and small bean-to-bar manufacturers will have to be ever more creative in order to capture their share of those dollars. And to stay in business, watch your overhead at every turn.In a local newspaper article yesterday (1-30-09) on the release of Shawn Askinosies new chocolate bar made with cacao from the Philippines the question was asked: How do you sell an $8.00 bar of chocolate in a recession?In the current economy, how does a small chocolate factory sell $8 bars?(Askinosie Chocolate) Sales had plunged in October -- a reflection of the lack of consumer confidence, he said. Then in December, sales rose 8.8 percent over December 2007, and overall fourth quarter sales were up 40 percent from the same period in 2007.However, sales were under his target and he had to make difficult changes. He laid off three employees; others who left the factory were not replaced.He and the staff more tightly control inventory, making only what they need, when they need it."We feel people still love chocolate and will splurge to buy the little pleasures ... But we have to be careful not to take that for granted, regardless of what the statistics say."Heres another opinion from me . (not that its worth anything): Ill bet that in 5 years there will be dozens of small bean-to-bar manufacturers of very, very good chocolate. Some will supply high end pastry chefs, some will sell retail over the internet and from their specialty shops and some will process their country of origin chocolates into artesian confections for sale over the counter in their store front shops. How could there be such a radical change in a stodgy old industry as bulk chocolate processing?Heres how. As always: Economics and Demographics. The Boomers (demographics: largest population segment) are entering their retirement years but cant; due to the financial meltdown (economics). Were going to be looking to change careers; not retire. Cant afford to now.Artisanal food and beverage are very attractive. Examples: More wineries opening every day in the U.S. Now wineries in every state in the Union. Micro breweries in every medium-sized town in America. There used to be only 4 or 5 big breweries in the U.S.Coffee shops. Tens of thousands of them where beans are roasted on-site. There never used to be small , bean-roasting coffee shops when I was kid, where you can see fresh roasted beans by country of origin displayed in showcases in the store. Now, a town of 100,000 people will have several such shops. How did this happen? Well, people figured out that its not that difficult to buy small equipment and supplies and process the farm product: wine grapes, coffee, hops for beer, just a step above home hobby level; and then sell retail.Dozens of web sites sell green coffee beans to home hobby roasters http://www.sweetmarias.com/ or http://www.coffeestorehouse.com/ .For $20 you can buy a hot air popcorn popper at WalMart (trust meyou dont need a link. If you dont have one in your town, youre going to get one in about 15 minutes) and order a pound of green coffee beans off the net to roast at home. If several thousand people do this as a hobby, then some percentage of them will have the thought to scale it up and start a business selling coffee retail or wholesale.This has just in the past couple of years started in the home chocolate roasting arena. Clay Gordon would know about this better than I but Ill be there are maybe only 50 of us bean heads roasting at home. He offers some fermented beans for sale at( http://www.thechocolatelife.com/page/cocoa-beans ) as does Chocolate Alchemy .John Nanci over at Chocolate Alchemy has developed a system of small counter top machines that you can use to process home roasted cocoa beans into finished dark or milk chocolate and he also has a few countries of origin beans for sale. I predict that as more people pick up this hobby, as happened in coffee, some will get the idea to make a business of it. Not just in the U.S. but in all the consuming countries.As to travelling world-wide buying direct from farmers and giving back to them, that takes some money and dedication. There may also be more of this in my hypothetical future as these imagined small American roasters become successful and can afford to search out new countries of origin.Lets look forward to it. Im not trying to make this financial mess look good, my retirement portfolio gets smaller by the day. But I think there will be more people with good taste looking to pursue artisanal dreams. We should expect a great future for really good chocolate.Forgive me for wasting your time here, these are just some half-roasted thoughts from a neophyte bean head. All the best tasting to you.
Mixed News From Hershey: Recession is Good - Closing Plants
Posted in: News & New Product Press
If you Google : Robinson , Ill. Hershey; you'll find that Heath Confections was established in Robinson years ago and you may suspect that it makes business sense to consolidate small divisions of a large manufacturing company.That's what Hershey is, a large company with several smaller divisions.We once had a Zenith T.V. plant in a nearby town, now all televisions are made overseas. Maybe we should be happy Hershey is not moving it's small divisions overseas but to the Midwest at least for now. Just a thought.
Askinosie 'n Frozen Custard ?
Posted in: News & New Product Press
Actually,Askinosie IN Frozen CustardI see in one of our local magazines that a frozen custard maker, Andy Kuntz of Andys Frozen Custard in Springfield, Missouri, also home of Askinosie Chocolates, has been experimenting with putting chocolate and nibs in his vanilla custard.According to the February, 2009 issue of 417 Magazine (our local area code) the choice is Askinosies Soconusco Mexican dark and the treat will have been named by students attending Boyd Elementary School who take part in Askinosies Chocolate University; this after extensive tasting and discussion. It is supposed to be released to the public at Andys custard shops beginning February, 2009.Any suggestions on names?
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 04/11/15 08:43:27
wine pairing
Posted in: Tasting Notes
A personal perspective on the subject of pairing wine with chocolate. Not a point of view supported by research or established thinking on wine pairing just from my own bench-top research and experimenting during the past few months.In the winter of 2007-8 I enrolled in a winemaking course through VESTA , an on-line college level program which was taught by a winemaker who was employed in quality control at a major Napa wine company. We students and instructor met Tuesday evenings on-line and I would recommend this course for anyone wanting to learn more about the basics of wine. The students each made a batch of wine from kit and mailed a bottle of finished beverage to the instructor for evaluation. I say all this because it was a good use of free time in the winter months as our commercial wine grape vines are dormant then; not much work going on in our vineyards.This winter my project is home roasting cocoa beans and processing the nibs through to finished chocolate using the Chocolate Alchemy system and appliances recommended. Then pairing the finished chocolate with adult beverages such as wine, sherry, brandy or brandied fruit puree or liquor infused ganache ---actually inside the molded chocolates.I know this is not the wine pairing with chocolate asked about in this thread but there are some interesting discoveries coming forth from this effort. Bearing in mind that the object of the experiments is to carry through the confections the truest flavors of the wines/liquors inside. And with the understanding that the target customer is not the general public; from my perspective my customer would be the wine maker or distiller whose beverage is featured in the chocolates. And these are chocolates made from beans of a single country of origin so their flavors are not a blend of high and low notes but quite strong flavor profiles in one direction or another.Having said all this, heres what Ive found thus far. I dont get a clash of chocolate against wine in any combinations. Unless the chocolate is held to a minimum by making the shell especially thin, strong chocolate flavors will overpower the wines inside except for very strong fruit wines (blackberry or cherry) and with one grape wine exception so far; a Frontenac barrel aged red which is one of the grapes we grow here in southern Missouri. ie, the wine is generally not strong enough to stand up to the chocolate coating especially if it is a dark chocolate (by this I mean 66 % cocoa..any more than that and the filling wouldnt have a chance of being identified as a particular varietal wine.) Remember this is a strong single origin shell against a wine jelly or puree of brandied fruit or chocolate crme bourbon ganache.For this reason Im now testing dark milk chocolate as the container shell. Again, one origin chocolate but in a 40-50 % cocoa level with only about 4 oz of dry goats milk per 5 pounds of chocolate. The hope is to allow more distinctive wine flavors to come through and Im really not getting conflict between the chocolate and dark red wine. Maybe this isnt conventional milk chocolate hence no milk/wine clash.I know this is not really the subject of this thread but just thought I throw out some experimental results thus far. It seems if you paired a semi-sweet fruit wine or a sweet ice wine then you may get some really nice combinations for friends to sample. I have done a blackberry wine jelly from blackberries we grow which pairs well inside dark chocolate.We also have a home made sherry from home grown Chardonnel grape wine which was deliberately oxidized, sweetened, fortified and oak aged which Ill soon try as a sherry jelly in a Panama dark molded chocolate. The richness of the Panama may work well with the sherry flavors but the key is to tone down the chocolate by keeping the shell thin and let the filling flavor notes come through. Will report back on this if anyone is interested.All the Best Tasting,Frank SchmidtMr.WineCandy
need help with jelly fillings
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Rob,I continue working on this conundrum. The sprinkling of gelatin has helped a lot!Already I've been able to thin the molded shells and thus increase the jelly, or fruit piece which has been brandied so that the size of interior flavor is huge. I need to know more about the concentrations of components which you discuss. Please e_mail me if you wish to discuss this: fhsdds@tri-lakes.net . I'd like to pursue it.ThanksFrank (Mr. WineCandy)
need help with jelly fillings
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Thank you guys for such quick and thoughtful feed back on my jelly problems. It is wonderful to have found this Chocolate Life site where there is such serious interest and helpfulness ; this is a rather knotty and perplexing issue for me.You see, Im not just asking how to make a solid jell or crusted filling inside a chocolate confection. My perspective is that of a commercial grape grower and hobbyist winemaker. The issue really is wine flavor carry- through. The flavor notes of the grape variety in question will get locked up in a solid jell. The jelly, if set, I mean well set, will not release those flavors that identify the wine to my customer, the winemaker who bought my grapes; it is his wine after all which I wish him to taste and recognize in the chocolate piece. The chocolate is a container.Now that you perhaps have a better understanding of my objectives, Ill respond to the questions posed. As to the thickness of my jelly: it is not a runny soup. It certainly is lumpy. If set so hard that it could be picked up off a plate with a fork then the object of my effort is lost as per above reasons. Jells like those that are of fruit puree and encrusted with sugar just will not do.Yes, Jean-Francois, my jelly does have glucose and I have worked with several recipes of sugar concentration in combination with pectin to minimize the amount of sugar so as not to alter the wine flavor notes excessively. Lowering sugar prevents set altogether.Creating a crust and allowing the jelly to fully set (if that means set hard) may not get me closer to the flavor preservation I am after. But I will continue to experiment with recipes.The seal is the deal. Im trying to have a semi-liquid jelly ; not so runny that a customer squirts wine on his shirt when biting into the chocolate but liquid enough that it does taste like a specific wine when eaten. To seal that in without leakage is the issue. Will it stay sealed, even then? Will the jelly dissolve the chocolate in time? That is yet to be determined. Im trying to solve the first problem first.without creating condensation I dont know to what this refers. Is condensation a result of chilling the mold or is it a problem of some other sort? It looks as though this sentence suggests that an objective is for the chocolate to stick to the filling but I am not sure why this would be a goal. At least not in my case.Tonight Ill start conching a new batch of Papua New Guinea beans which I roasted last evening and then begin again with molding and filling. Will report if I find success with the jelly seal.Thanks again,And Merry Christmas to you allFrank
need help with jelly fillings
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Thanks John,I tried this in a way upon recommendation by Gloria Rogers at Baker's Rack in Old Lenexa, Ks near Kansas City.Problem: The jelly is not fluid such that it settles flat in the mold. ie, it is lumpy. Hence the cocoa butter pools in low places and is therefore thick enough that one can taste it. This interferes with both the mouth feel but more importantly the flavor carrythrough of the jelly which has specific varietal wine flavor notes. Hum.....Still searching. There will be an answer, I've just not found it yet.Thanks again for your input.Frank
need help with jelly fillings
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Does anyone have tips for effectively sealing a molded chocolate piece when being filled with semi-liquid jelly?After making the top shell of a chocolate mold, and after filling it with a semi-liquid jelly, the liquid part of the jell will float through a liquid layer of chocolate piped onto the top of the jelly filling. This perforates what will become the bottom of the shell when it is de-molded. If my explanation is clear, does anyone have a trick to properly seal the jelly into the mold? The problem is not the thinness of the chocolate layers but that the watery part of the jelly is lighter than the liquid chocolate covering it and therefore floats through the final chocolate layer to perforate its surface.
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 05/07/15 19:24:58
Drain Frame for wet grinder.
Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
A simple angle steel frame bolted together to hold the grinding stones above an Ultra wet grinder. This can help when cleaning the finished chocolate off the grinder stones. You might think of it as being a third hand.
updated by @Frank Schmidt: 04/17/15 22:26:32
dark choc
Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Hello Marcus and DEFOE,You should be able to get some good feedback on the subject of single origin dark chocolate at this site from the chocophiles here. Clay Gordon has a listing of flavor profiles of the beans for sale listed by country of origin at: http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/cocoa-beans-at-great-prices The above is on another page on this site.Ive seen some dispute regarding the term single origin as it is really a single country of origin from which the beans are sourced. It looks like there would be many farms and estates in each growing region in each producing country so some say that single origin is not really accurate and doesnt tell you much if it is just referring to a country. Maybe the term grand cru is a way of more specifically locating the source within country. Would that refer to an estate farm which the chocolate maker regards more highly than others within the country?I see at the Histoire Sucree site you refer to that some of the chocolate for sale is identified by source country of the beans. Most consumers in the developed countries dont have a chance to taste chocolate from a single source country because finished chocolate is so often made up of blends of beans. I guess for that reason, there arent established flavor profiles which are common knowledge in chocolate such as exists in the wine trade. The flavor descriptions listed for Clays un-roasted beans are pretty near the same as John Nancis descriptors over at the Chocolate Alchemy of beans which he has for sale. The various beans which Ive roasted and processed at home follow the described profiles pretty well when I roasted them each to the suggested level. Its important not to add unnecessary ingredients when processing so that you can really taste the flavors of the bean not the additives.The best example I have is the Madagascar chocolate. This is profoundly different (I get less chocolate notes up front and very strong fruity notes (raspberry as described by others) with an extremely long finish. I roasted my Madagascar batch light as suggested; and processed with half vanilla bean per 4 pounds of chocolate liquor with 2 pounds of white cane sugar and 2 oz of added cocoa butter. The bean flavor carries through very nicely and is really remarkable ; absolutely unique as compared to the other beans listed on the C.Alchemy site. I hope to try some of Clays beans for comparison in future roasts.The only way I could understand flavor profiles of chocolate by country of origin is by home roasting. I know there are single origin bars available but not so many that you could compare them at different roast levels and as blends of various roast levels (if you do this in the same processed batch.) Problem for some people with home roasting is that it does take a fair amount of equipment; may produce more finished chocolate than you want; doesnt give you any baking cocoa for pastry purposes and does take some time to process (if I roast on Friday evening I ought to have finished chocolate by Tuesday or Wednesday following- unless Im taking part of the batch to dark milk chocolate which will take another day or two.)It looks like the French chocolate bars you noted available are for the most part from countries which are also offered on the home roasting bean offering sites. It also looks like youd have to pay $30 per pound not including shipping. If you just want several ounces of a particular chocolate in 66% dark (thats usually what I do) let me know and Ill send you some of mine to sample. Its just a hobby for me but might be a good way for you to taste some unique chocolate. Im not to the point of selling anything as yet. Send me a note to: fhsdds at tri-lakes.net Also, see Shawn Askinosies web site at Askinosie.com; he has several single country of origin bars for sale and does a good web-based retail business.All the Best Tasting....Frank SchmidtMr. WineCandy
What Makes an Artisan Chocolate Artisan?
Posted in: Opinion
Heres my two cents worth.What is Artisan Chocolate? What does the word artisan mean in this usage?I think it is possible to clarify the current meaning of this word, as used in the early 21st Century, by looking at the subject from a new angle. By asking questions of what is not artisan.Because I live in a rural area of the country there are producers all around me who I dont think of as artisans. Because this is also an area attractive to crafts-people, there are many other neighbors who do think of themselves as artisan crafters. For example: Contrast a local herb farmer versus a local clay potter.Perhaps the herb farmer would like to be thought of as growing artisan herbs, he maybe could get a higher price for them if so called. Perhaps you could stretch the definition of artisan to cover herb growing but I think that few people would understand or accept that. No artisan herb farmer.The potter on the other hand has been thought of as an artisan crafter making wall sconce lamps, decorated sink bowls and place settings of dishes and mugs. Yes, artisan potter.A third example, something in-between: A local dairy farmer who bought land here, moved his special breed of dairy cattle here (southern Missouri) from Wisconsin. He grazes the cows in his manicured pastures, feeds them his special feeds, milks them and makes their milk into cheese curds for sale at his dairy and also at local grocery stores: So what say you? Is he an artisan dairyman or not?I think so. I think he has introduced the idea of design into his produce, his finished product. Correct, in my opinion: artisan cheese curds. Whats the difference? Well, there are things, efforts, which he has done to translate an idea (s),his ideas, some personal thoughts, into a finished product. With his elements of design this makes these finished products different/better (at least in his mind) than they would be if just made by formula by a farm hand or mechanic/tradesman. It is the introduction of design from the mind of the artisan which makes the product an artisan product.Also, it strikes me, does it you?, that there must be a close connection between the artisan and the finished product in fact. By the hand of the artisan this was made. Not to say that machines cant be used. A Swiss clockmaker working in his shop in the Alps may be an artisan and still use an electric lathe to make clock parts. But he is connected directly to the finished product. So now it is design plus personal connection to make a superior article. You can buy a factory made clock but not an artisan factory made clock. It may have been designed by an artisan but not artisan made.An artisan fishing lure? Sure! Designed and crafted by hand by a wood carver and painted by him. Yes, artisan fishing lure. Artisan fisherman? I think not. He didnt make anything. Even if he uses artisan lures? No.So what about chocolates? Does using artisan-made chocolate make the finished pieces artisan? Not if they are machine made without seeing the hand of the chocolatier and with no design input from the maker. No, just factory made chocolates; maybe very good tasting but not artisan. By this logic, all pastries made by hand in the restaurant kitchen with a little creative flair on top are artisan. I really dont have any problem with that. So few good things are handmade now days, adding design elements to a product above and beyond a cook-book recipe deserves being called artisan. But, Im sure some may not agree with this and the disagreement could be valid.Usually there is a factor of training or apprenticeship of the crafter under a master to become an artisan. Is this necessary? Maybe in some gilded trades. Not for chocolate making, I think. In the small, privately owned chocolate shops, there arent enough masters to train the artisans below them. You can be self taught in my opinion, in chocolate making. I think the chocolate is still artisan made if designed by and made by the hand of the chocolatier. Does this mean that a trainee filling molds at Christopher Elbows shop cannot by definition make artisan chocolates? Therefore the chocolates in the showcase are not artisan?Hummmm? Good Point.Are we any closer to defining artisan chocolate ? Maybe, maybe not..just my two cents worth.