TCHO Chocolate, part 2: machines + molecules
Chocolate: Machines + Molecules
Today on Boing Boing tv, Xeni and Pesco dive deeper into the magical chocolate factory founded by a NASA software developer.
In this installment of BBtv’s 3-part series on TCHO Chocolate, we learn more about the hacked-together, home-tinkered machines and high-tech wizardry that keep the factory running. The philosophy is “scrappy, not crappy,” as founder Timothy Childs explains.
TCHO’s R&D lab contains such diverse components as Space Shuttle tape, a modded RONCO turkey oven, stone grinders used in Indian restaurants, and deconstructed space heater parts from the local hardware store.
Next, we zoom in to the molecular-level science behind this most delicious confection. Science buffs, rejoice! This episode is as fun for your eyes and brain as the “obsessively good” chocolate is for your mouth — Polymorph fun for the whole family. Warning: this episode is NSFC (not safe for chocoholics).
Categories: chocolate videos Tags: Boing Boing, NASA, part, RONCO
How to Make Chocolate Coffee Pudding
Chocolate Coffee Pudding is a treat for chocolate and coffee lovers alike. This recipe uses agar-agar powder instead of gelatin to make this lovely dessert healthier, because agar-agar is high in fiber. Everyone can make this simple dessert, even for those who do not like cooking. Just follow these steps to make your own fantastic chocolate and coffee dessert.
Ingredients:
For the pudding, prepare:
60g sugar
½ cup of espresso or 1 cup coffee
1 packet of non-colored agar-agar (7g)
650ml milk
50g dark cooking chocolate, chopped.
Sauce:
3 egg yolks
600 ml milk
90g sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla essence/ vanilla pod.
1 tsp rum or other sweet desserts liquor (optional)
Method:
Make the pudding:
1. Prepare the mold. Coat the sides of the mold with warm water.
2. Mix all the pudding ingredients in a pan, except the cooking chocolate. Stir over medium heat until boiled. Turn down the heat.
3. Put in the chopped chocolate and stir until melted. Simmer on low heat for about 1 more minutes while stirring. Pour into a pudding mold and let it cool and set.
4. Decorate with whipped cream and cherries if you like.
Make the sauce:
Boil the milk over low heat. If you use a vanilla pod, split the pod and let the pod infuse in the milk covered, for 10 minutes.
Take a tbsp of hot milk and use it to dissolve the cornstarch.
Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy. Pour the yolk mixture and the cornstarch to the milk. Continue to stir under very low heat until the mixture is thicken. Add vanilla essence and rum.
Stir until mixed. Remove from heat. Let it cool. Put a film plastic over the container to prevent the sauce from forming a crusty layer.
Written by Lidya Sin
Categories: chocolate articles, chocolate recipes Tags: CHOCOLATE, Coffee, pudding
TCHO Chocolate, part 1: chocolate origins
Chocolate: Origins
Xeni and Pesco visit TCHO, a homebrew chocolate technology startup hacked together by a space shuttle technologist, Timothy Childs, and the founder of Wired, Louis Rosetto.
In part one of BBtv’s multi-part exploration of Tcho, we begin in the lab, and learn about the origins of chocolate: it’s a weird looking fruit with biological roots in faraway tropical lands.
How this fruit is cultivated, harvested, and cured determines the flavor of the final product, and we learn about the hedonics — the sensual nuances — of this exotic and temperamental element.
The Great Chocolate Pyramid Reviews
The Great Chocolate Pyramid
In The Great Chocolate Pyramid book, you will find more than eighty simple, fun and irresistible chocolate recipes to drive your taste buds wild! For each of the food groups on the USDA food pyramid, there are ten or more wickedly delightful recipes which include chocolate as a key ingredient. And, if you are one of those chocoholics who must have their chocolate now, a “Quick Fix” section is included with twenty fast and easy recipes just for you. As you read and indulge your deserving sweet tooth, you will: 1. Laugh at cartoons and quotes about the world’s most perfect food, 2. Enjoy fascinating trivia and test your chocolate IQ with challenging quizzes, and 3. Learn clever ways to exercise while preparing and consuming your favorite food. Anything tastes better when you add chocolate! Have you ever tried chocolate tenderloin con queso or chocolate chili? How about white chocolate cranberry scones, chocolate chip pancakes or chocolate pear cake? Each year you consume about 1,000 meals, and each time you eat you are faced with choices about what to eat. Surveys show that people crave chocolate more than any other food. And it follows, that if you are going to eat anyway, you might as well enjoy it and eat chocolate! So get some friends and family members together to laugh and eat what you’ve secretly been craving all day long!
List Price: $ 14.95
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Chocolate: Webster’s Quotations, Facts and Phrases
Ever need a fact or quotation on chocolate? Designed for speechwriters, journalists, writers, researchers, students, professors, teachers, historians, academics, scrapbookers, trivia buffs and word lovers, this is the largest book ever created for this single word. It represents a compilation from a variety of sources with a linguistic emphasis on anything relating to the term “chocolate,” including non-conventional usage and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities. The entries cover all parts of speech (noun, verb, adverb or adjective usage) as well as use in modern slang, pop culture, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This “data dump” results in many unexpected examples for chocolate, since the editorial decision to include or exclude terms is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under “fair use” conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. Proceeds from this book are used to expand the content and coverage of Webster’s Online Dictionary (www.websters-online-dictionary.org).
List Price: $ 28.95
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Related Chocolate Trivia Products
Categories: chocolate products Tags: CHOCOLATE, Great, Pyramid, Reviews
How to Make Chocolate Milk Using Cocoa Powder
Who doesn’t love chocolate milk? A refreshing drink to cool you off in the summer. Whether it’s after school or after dinner. Everyone knows that milk is a good way to get your nutrients, but what about those fussy children? How about chocolate milk? Pre made chocolate milk and and chocolate syrup can be unhealthy and full of empty calories. How about using cocoa powder to make your chocolate milk instead? Cocoa powder is all natural and has been around for a long time. So instead of using syrup to make your chocolate milk, try cocoa powder instead.
The most common way to make chocolate milk is with syrup. .
What You Will Need:
1 tbsp. Cocoa powder
2 tbsp. Sugar
Milk
Glass
Spoon
Step 1: For the best results use a tall glass. Once you have your glass picked out, add 2 tbsp. sugar into the glass.
Step 2: Add 1 tbsp. all natural cocoa powder into the glass (I like to add the sugar first so that no cocoa powder gets into the sugar bag).
Step 3: Add just enough milk to wet the ingredients. Using a spoon, mix the contents into a paste.
Step 4: Fill the cup the rest of the way with milk. Stir thoroughly, making sure to scrape the bottom and the sides of the glass. There will be some left over cocoa floating on the surface the chocolate milk (don’t worry, this is supposed to happen), scrape it off.
Photo Credit: Joey Mullins
Written by poyomi
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How to Choose Chocolate that’s High Quality and Tastes Good
Chocolate seems to be everywhere—in supermarkets, bookstores, convenience stores, hotels, at the airport, in salons and spas. You can find milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate with nuts, chocolate with fruit, and gourmet chocolate with superfoods such as acai, goji berries, and cacao nibs. Science has established that chocolate is full of antioxidants, flavonoids that can lower cholesterol levels and may prevent cell damage, and tannins which prevent tooth decay. Raw organic cacao (unsweetened chocolate) is the best way to consume chocolate, but many people have yet to incorporate this into their diets. Candy bars are much more appealing.
Before you rush to the store for a chocolate fix, there are certain things to know and look for. The drawback with buying prepackaged products is that you can’t see what you’re getting. Start with the ingredient list, then try out several different brands. In time you’ll find the right one.
Ingredients – The better the chocolate, the higher the chocolate content. Look for 50-70 percent cocoa solids in the ingredient list. Avoid vegetable fat and artificial flavors. Look for cocoa butter instead. A high percentage of sugar is an indicator of lower quality. The preferred sugars are unprocessed crystallized cane sugar, fructose, and agave syrup.
Appearance – Good chocolate should have an even color. Look for a dark or mahogany brown without streaks, blemishes, cracks, or air holes.
Touch – If you hold a piece of chocolate between your fingers, it should begin to melt in a few seconds. The more cocoa butter (fat content) the chocolate contains, the faster it will melt.
Aroma – The smell of good chocolate is amazing. Ask any woman (you can ignore those few who don’t drool over chocolate). Good chocolate has a wonderful aroma that’s well-balanced. You don’t want it to be overly sweet and there should be nothing that smells sour or off. Look for rich, heady, something that feels extravagant. These are signs of good quality.
Feel – You can tell a lot about chocolate by the way it feels when you break off a piece. A clean snap shows a high quantity of cocoa butter. If vegetable fats or other fats have been used, the chocolate will tend to crumble or splinter.
Texture – How chocolate feels in your mouth is one of the keys to its success in the food industry. People love that melting experience which is due to the fact that cocoa butter has the same melting point as our own body temperature. What you’re looking for is a smooth melting along with an explosion of flavor. Avoid anything that’s grainy, waxy, or powdery. Look for rich creamy chocolate with a buttery feel and complex flavors.
Finding good chocolate takes trial and error. Two bars with the same percentage of cocoa may taste worlds apart. Be patient and have fun. Help support small farmers and the ecology by buying organic and fair trade chocolate. Look for these words on the label. Remember that dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate. The amount of cocoa (or chocolate liquor) in these bars can range from 50-85 percent. The higher the number, the more bittersweet the chocolate.
Written by Nanette
More Learn About Chocolate Articles
What are some recommended chocolatier forums?
Question by Eva Kasumi: What are some recommended chocolatier forums?
I’m just starting out in the chocolatier/truffle-making business, and I’m looking for some good forums or other communities in which to discuss and ask questions. I’ve found a couple but they’re mostly pretty old and have become rather inactive. Does anyone have any recommendations for forums that are still going strong?
Best answer:
Answer by Liz K
It’s not specifically for chocolatiers, but the forums at Chef Talk are excellent for any advanced food questions. The forums are frequented by professional chefs, pastry chefs, restaurateurs, etc.
I’m sure your questions could be answered there, and I’ll bet there are some chocolate makers, too.
http://www.cheftalk.com/
Also be sure to take a look at the chocolate professional coaching program at Chocolate University Online.
Give your answer to this question below!
Categories: chocolate questions Tags: Chocolatier, forums, recommended, some
