It’s been a while since my last post, I’ve been busy trying to get a new car. I heard from a guy that runs a site all about Chocolate beer. It’s really cool, he not only reviews beer but he also has a ton of recipes on how make your very own chocolate beer. Check it out and if you brew any, don’t forget your pal Jenna.
Tag Archive for 'chocolate'
I found a link to this chocolate company in Santa Fe, Kakawa Chocolates, which specializes in making old school recipes of chocolates. I’m talking ancient school. I think it’s a cool idea and the website has a ton of chocofacts.
My aunt, Beans, got me some chocolate from a recent trip to New Hampshire/Maine and I finally tried it. It’s called Coastline Confections and it’s really quite good. I have tried the River Mill with Maine Sea Salt and Morning Loon with Espresso, both are good, but I prefer River Mill. I’m sure it’s just made out of some guy’s basement with its generic “May contain any of the following” label (with every type of chocolate and inclusion the company makes listed) on the back of each bar, but good is good. I won’t question it. (It is also labeled “all natural,” goodie!!)
My Poppy and Fran just got back from a German vacation and they brought me back some chocolate (I love that people see chocolate and think of me!!) They chose a milk chocolate by Feodora, which is fatty and European and heavenly. They add butterfat to it, which makes it smooth, soft and luxurious in the mouth and the flavor is that sort of cheesy dairy note typical of European chocolates (I also detect a hint of hazelnut, but that could be they way it was stored). Nice work, ‘rentals!
My last new love is Yogi Tea, I know I wrote about it before with the “Uplift St. John’s Wort” flavor. I’ve now tried about 4 other kinds (4 of about 85 million) and they are all delicious. My favorite so far is Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut, which I have been brewing at night and dipping ginger snaps in as a bedtime snack. To be more accurate, I’ve been dipping Sweetzels Spiced Wafers into my Yogi Tea, which can only mean one thing; it’s fall in the greater Philadelphia area. Go Eagles!
Well, they are finally taking approved to be an organic facility and if you want to read all about how Vosges (and you) are helping the environment, click to read all about their green initiative.
I wanted to add onto my post from yesterday because I forgot to mention that I don’t for a minute believe that the appearance of kissables changed from the old recipe to veggie oil chocolate. They would still employ the exact same panning techniques, polishing methods and use the same ingredients to coat it. I think Matt and the gang lied to us about that. The fact that they pan those little guys is pretty amazing, just as a side note.
So, it seems that people are in a real tizzy over this video from Good Morning America. Even my aunt asked me about it. I’ll give you the long and short of the video so you don’t have to watch it. Basically, Hershey got called out on replacing cocoa butter with vegetable oil, a cheaper fat. I’m a) not shocked and b) not offended. The FDA has very strict guidelines about chocolate standards of identity, so you can’t just go throwing anything into chocolate and still call it “Chocolate.” Once vegetable oil is added to chocolate, it is no longer considered to be chocolate and the product label must be changed. Hershey did in fact change the labels for their products right on the front of the packaging and if you just read the ingredients, it said veggie oil right there, plain as day. Everyone feels tricked and betrayed by their beloved Hershey. And to that I say, it’s f*cking hershey, get over it. It’s not a high quality product to begin with (still love it, though).
It’s hard right now for chocolate makers. Milk prices are soaring and so is the cost of cocoa beans. The most expensive product right now is cocoa butter, so of course in times of financial difficulty companies are going to try to figure out ways to save money without passing the cost onto their consumers. Hershey’s just trying to be profitable and it’s not like they used vegetable oil in their standard chocolate bars, they just used it in candies (kissables, almond joys, etc), which really shouldn’t have affected overall flavor a great amount. It would have changed the way it melts and the mouthfeel more than flavor. I just think this is a dumb thing to get worked up about, especially when so much food right now is making people sick. Can we focus on making and growing food that won’t give us E. Coli and forgive a little vegetable oil?
About a month ago, I got dumped at the Trappe Tavern. A note: Fellas, don’t bring someone to a place that serves a menu of mostly fried foods to dump them, especially when said place is where most of the podunk retards from your high school go to rub against one another. It’s just disrespectful. Let’s just call the guy XX, because he’s obviously a turd for letting go of someone so amazing. Anywho, since XX dumped me, I’ve embarked on a wonderful albeit painful path in terms of dealing with all the crappy things in my life that I have tried to ignore for over 10 years. Therapy, yoga (which is so amazingly wonderful I can’t even begin to express it) and of course chocolate!!!
Since I work at a chocolate factory, I am surrounded by chocolate all the time. I’ve always loved eating chocolate and the more I learn about it, the more I like it. There’s a rumor going around that chocolate makes you happy. Totally true. There’s a chemical naturally found in chocolate called phenylethylamine or PEA that is also found in the brain, which releases dopamine and peaks during orgasm. It also contains a cannabinoid compound called anandamine, but you can’t actually get high from eating chocolate (unfortunately). It has many other compounds that studies show are “feel-good” components. So, eating chocolate actually does lift your spirits. And don’t feel bad about the fat, it actually lowers bad cholesterol while raising good cholesterol. Of course, the darker the chocolate, the better for you it is. There are so many other health benefits, which I will divulge some other time. For now, eat chocolate, do yoga, and be merry!
I can’t stop snacking on our 54% organic chocolate! It’s soooo good. We make it with a blend of Hispaniola and Arriba liquors. Hispaniola comes from the Dominican Republic and is a fermented bean, which gives it its characteristic flavor notes of brown fruits, fresh fruit and even sweet tobacco. The DR also has an unfermented bean called Sanchez, which lacks any distinguishing flavor notes. Arriba comes from Equador and tastes floral, almost honey-like, and sometimes has fruity notes. I literally need to walk away from my desk to stop eating this chocolate. Which I intend to do right……….now
What is this new obsession with products containing things that help you poop? Are we all bound up from the fried foods and McDonald’s? Not only have live cultures recently been touted in yogurt (where they belong) and even cheese, but now it can be found in chocolate.
So, this company added in probiotic cultures, which I actually really like the concept of, and these cultures probably would not have affected flavor, especially in a 68% cocoa mass. But it didn’t stop with the probiotics; they also threw in some inulin (a dietary fiber often found in sugar frees) and calcium carbonate (also found in milk chocolate sugar frees, which adds calcium). In my humble opinion, the addition of those ingredients negatively affects the flavor. Some things just shouldn’t be fooled with; get your fiber the old fashioned way.
Over the weekend, an employee at Blommer Chocolate died allegedly from “ammonia-like gas.” This is really such a tragedy, I just hate hearing about people in my industry getting injured or killed. The Chicago Sun-Times article reporting about it is rife with statements bordering libel. It’s either intentionally misleading or a stupid person wrote it.
Says the article:
“About 11 a.m., fire personnel initiated a Level 2 hazardous materials response in the factory, at 600 W. Kinzie St., after fumes overcame employees working in the factory when a powdery substance used in the chocolate gave off an “ammonia-like gas,” Fire Media Affairs spokesman Rich Rosado said.”
The “powdery substance” they refer to is also known as cocoa powder. It’s true that certain cocoa powders do need processing agents in order to make them alkalized, which are typically ammonium bicarbonate and potassium carbonate. Are these substances potentially harmful if used improperly? Yes. This is why safety measures required to handle them, which I can tell you are in place.
Many chocolatiers use these processing agents and sell products that are made with “liquor* processed with alkali,” such as Godiva, Hershey and Mars. Oreo cookies are made with alkalized cocoa powder. The use of alkalized liquor or powder does not mean that a product is bad or harmful for you to eat, but it does make it less health-beneficial by decreasing antioxidants naturally occurring in chocolate to virtually nil.
So why use alkali at all? Chocolate is naturally acidic so in order to make it close to neutral, alkalizing agents used. This gives it a different flavor and color ranging from dark brown to red to black. This process in cocoa powders is also known as dutching, so named after its inventor, Coenraad Johannes van Houten, a Dutch man. Dutched cocoa powder will react differently than natural cocoa powder when used in recipes, so make sure you follow the recipe or feel free to experiment for a different flavor and adjust the leavening agent levels.
*Liquor here means the thick liquid that you get from grinding cocoa beans, not booze. It is very bitter for people unaccustomed to tasting it
