July 2009 Blog Posts (20)

Did You Know?

Here's a historical footnote on chocolate...

In the 1600s, porcelain chocolate pots - a tall pot with a detachable cap or finial in the lid through which a wooden stirrer, or molinet could be inserted - were all the rage.

Added by My Passion 4 Chocolate on July 31, 2009 at 10:43pm — No Comments

Having Fun with Chocolate (possible SPAM)

Chocolate isn't a food but an Experience, Few words evoke the emotional enthusiasm which people feel toward chocolate. It has a treasured place in our personal collection of memories - the Easter baskets, the birthday treats, the candy displays at Christmas, the heart that told you someone loves you and many more.

During our special times, chocolate was there as an integral part of the event. Taste of one chocolate makes the mouth water and the emotional associations rush in. It… Continue

Added by Ashish Kumar Mishra on July 30, 2009 at 6:00am — 1 Comment

Wanted: Women to eat chocolate for a year

LONDON (AFP) – Scientists are looking for women willing to eat chocolate every day for a year -- all in the name of medical science.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia and a hospital in Norwich, eastern England are trying to find out whether chocolate can cut the risk of heart disease and need 40 women to step forward and help.

Most of the women will have to eat two bars of "super-strength chocolate specially formulated by… Continue

Added by My Passion 4 Chocolate on July 28, 2009 at 4:36pm — No Comments

Ahhhh! Better Than Red Wine Or Green Tea, Cocoa Froths With Cancer-preventing Compounds, Cornell Food Scientists Say

Here's an article from Cornell University dated 12-19 -2003:

ITHACA, N.Y. -- There is a new reason to enjoy hot cocoa on a cold winter's night in front of a cozy fire. Consider it a health drink.

Beyond the froth, cocoa teems with antioxidants that prevent cancer, Cornell University food scientists say. Comparing the chemical anti-cancer activity in beverages known to contain antioxidants, they have found that cocoa has nearly twice the antioxidants of red wine and up to… Continue

Added by My Passion 4 Chocolate on July 28, 2009 at 1:30pm — 1 Comment

Bit of Heaven on Earth - Pairing Chocolate with Wine

Dark chocolate and red wine…find yourself floating up to heaven just thinking about the combination?!

Keep flying and I’ll fill you in on the results of a wine and chocolate pairing I recently did at my house.

There were 11 of us – 2 sommeliers, 8 admitted chocoholics and one who ‘just isn’t into desserts’.

I made a variety of truffles including a creamy white chocolate & goat cheese dipped in dark chocolate, a dark chocolate sprinkled with rose infused sugar and a… Continue

Added by Tanji Patton on July 27, 2009 at 3:18pm — 1 Comment

Looking for private-label bar manufacturer

Hi,
I have a private label that is looking for a dark and a milk chocolate bar, 3oz, to use for our label. Would love a bean to bar manufacturer if it is possible. We will be using our bars to raise money for charitable organizations. If anyone out there is or knows of someone that would be a good fit please respond.

looking forward to your response,

Steven

Added by steven on July 23, 2009 at 4:17pm — 4 Comments

Bacon Chocolate Bar

Time Magazine reporter Joel Stein visits the restaurant Animal and cooks a very manly bacon chocolate bar with owner/chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. Part of an article set on Bacon for Dessert.

The video can be seen by clicking this link.

Added by Clay Gordon on July 22, 2009 at 4:55pm — 1 Comment

To the moon!

I’ve always loved Patrick Roger’s chocolates and his chocolate sculptures. But with the window display at his new Faubourg Saint-Honoré boutique, my appreciation is going to new heights (hardy har har).…

Continue

Added by Sweet Freak on July 20, 2009 at 5:49am — No Comments

Our salted caramels top OFM gourmet food

Check this out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/19/top-food-gadgets

Even more rewarding as every other chocolatier in UK has copied our caramels but ours still rock!

Added by Artisan on July 19, 2009 at 11:16am — No Comments

Our chocolates are in space

A couple of months ago, one of our regular transatlantic customers paid for a large order of our dark chocolate coated candied gingers. I am proud to say that they are now traveling with her in space. Apparently food tastes less in zero gravity so the intense ginger and chocolate combination seem to be a favourite with her and the rest of the crew. How cool is that?

Added by Artisan on July 18, 2009 at 10:47am — No Comments

THE MAKING OF A CHERRY CHOCOLATE

Cherry season is almost over - sniff, sniff - so now is the time for all good chocolatiers to honor this exquisite superfruit. Cherries come in sweet and sour varieties, including Bing, Morello, and Schmidt among many others. Historians suspect they are originally from China and first cultivated in Turkey by the Romans in the 1st century. They later captured the adoration of the Chinese brush painters; their blossoms became a national cultural symbol… Continue

Added by Susie Norris on July 14, 2009 at 2:30am — No Comments

SUGAR TALL AND HANDSOME

The sugar and chocolate showpiece competition at the World Pastry Championship is a place to pick favorites. I pick favorites there the way I might choose giant lollipops at the amusement park - which one speaks to my heart in color and design. But here’s the trick that sets the sugar artists of the pastry championship miles apart from the guys in the candy kitchen making giant lollipops. Sugar artists must make their sculptures tall. Not just big,… Continue

Added by Susie Norris on July 13, 2009 at 1:00am — 8 Comments

Women and Chocolate: A Natural Combination

I was fortunate enough to be asked to participate on a panel of local women chocolate experts at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club. The subject - Women and Chocolate: A Natural Combination

How did that happen? Melena, owner of The Xocolate Bar in Berkeley asked me how I felt about public speaking. I suspiciously answered that I was better at demonstrating something like truffle making rather than being perched behind a podium. When she explained the panel-style of the… Continue

Added by Christine Doerr on July 12, 2009 at 10:30pm — 1 Comment

Ecuadorian Chocolate-What You Need To Know

Arriba Chocolate

In a previous post, I discussed the definition of "Arriba" chocolate and beans-while there's no legal definition, Arriba can be used to denominate either beans of the Nacional variety from the "Arriba" or upriver area of the Guayas River Basin in the lowlands of southwestern Ecuador, or chocolate made from those beans. So is Arriba a chocolate or a type of bean? It can be both, depending on with whom you are speaking. Growers may call their beans Arriba variety, and… Continue

Added by Jeff Stern on July 10, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Why Isn't Aequare Chocolates Organic?

Aequare Chocolates gets frequent inquiries as to why we're not organic. It's not because we don't want to be, or don't support organic. It's because we simply can't, for all practical purposes, be organic.

Organic Chocolate For Bars And Organic Couverture

First off, all organic chocolate actually produced here in country is shipped abroad and almost none of it is for sale here. It's shipped abroad directly by its producers because there is a market for it abroad. Consumers… Continue

Added by Jeff Stern on July 6, 2009 at 2:30pm — 1 Comment

Food Fete NYC, June 2009

I arrived in NY Saturday evening from Ecuador-no delays and no hitches. Customs went through my chocolates in Miami but they seemed more curious than anything, and after a brief inspection let me on my way. Sunday was the behemoth Fancy Food Show, which was no less than the size of 20 supermarkets in one place, with thousands of food items being displayed. I gorged on Grana Padano Parm and Prosciutto while waiting to meet people- I was lucky enough to be able to squeeze in meetings with all the… Continue

Added by Jeff Stern on July 6, 2009 at 2:20pm — No Comments

Last days before opening

The sign painter was still working on the windows at 8 last night. I guess he didn't go to the fireworks either. Tom and I were making lists.

The soft opening date is now Wednesday. The city signed off Thursday afternoon, thank goodness. We started moving the packaging and shipping materials in Friday, the day the storage shelves were installed. More stock will be moved and organized today and tomorrow.

We were lucky with… Continue

Added by Eve on July 5, 2009 at 10:00am — 4 Comments

Are French chocolates (apart from a few) terribly overrated?

I was in the South West of France for a few days and of course paid a visit to the local chocolate shops. All of them a great disapointment selling same things as 10 years ago (mostly pralines)and regional or house specialties bought in from Francois Doucet (potatoes, quail eggs, chocolate in shape of beans, olives etc etc). Most people used Barry Callebaut which did not help. Quality of the bonbons was poor and marshmallows were like bike tyres. Makes me wonder if French chocolates (apart from… Continue

Added by Artisan on July 5, 2009 at 9:53am — 4 Comments

* TROPICAL CHOCOLATE CO. * New chocolate store in San Luis Obispo, CA

" It's indeed an art to create a handmade chocolate. The Chocolatier who creates Tropical Chocolates devotes personal attention to the design by beautifully decorating the chocolates. Impeccable ingredients originating with 100% Hawaiian grown cacao beans are paired with exotic flavors to present a fresh, new twist on chocolate. " Come visit us at our site: www.tropicalchocolateco.com

Added by P B Marshall on July 3, 2009 at 5:15pm — No Comments

AoC: The Conclussion

For those of you that have been following my dramas with the AoC (your numbers are stunning! I had no idea!)... it is time for me to wrap it all up.

After requesting once again that they forward me their alleged evaluations and once again receiving no reply... how long does it take to compile notes? I wrote them a rather less polite letter. This time I stated that I wished for my money to be returned as they had failed to fulfill their end of our agreement. I told them that I did not… Continue

Added by Robert Shea on July 3, 2009 at 4:51am — 2 Comments