Ethical Chocolate
You probably haven’t given it any thought before. In our chocolate classes, two important lessons include “Responsible Cacao Farming” and “Preventing Exploitation in the Chocolate Industry.”
However, answering such tricky question is… tricky. Chocolates have always been associated with many different cultures, holidays, and certain celebrations.
There are chocolate birthday cakes, chocolate eggs for Easter, chocolates for Valentine’s Day, and even chocolate bars for Halloween. These are just some of those occasions tied to chocolate.
It all boils down to the fact chocolate is really fun, a highlight in any occasion, so fun that we pack on pounds of it every year.
Like presented above, with reference to the question being asked as we our own classes, chocolate is usually linked to several environmental and human rights matters. In some cases these subjects are deemed taboo, “don’t tell me that, I just want to enjoy my chocolate.”
Of course there are different degrees of quality. It’s a big factor to considered to some people. While with others, any chocolate is chocolate, and chocolate is always delish.
How about the ingredient list? Some people would like to dodge certain products for allergy or sensitivity reasons. Others zero in on the percentages of chocolate versus sugar.
There are also other factors on the label, such as fair trade or organic. While these may have acquired a less than optimal flavor reputation some years back, today it’s no big deal.
Then there’s the price. Are you willing to try that $7.00 chocolate bar, or is is $1.00 your limit? Or somewhere in between? Your price tolerance will be your guiding light in your tasting experience.
Of course, we have to be aware of the production practices. Farming methods and the impact on the environment are things that could have remarkable impact on the future of cacao production. Labor practices question the involvement of children in the potentially dangerous harvesting of cacao pods. Can you stomach the thought of children being exploited just so you could enjoy your bar of chocolate?
These are all issues that need some questioning since chocolate is part of the food industry that sustains the world through production and employment. We all want our chocolate forever, don’t we?
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: always, cacao production, classes, ethical chocolate, Ethics, price, production
Grand Finales: A Neoclassic View of Plated Desserts
Grand Finales: A Neoclassic View of Plated Desserts
“A Neoclassic View of Plated Desserts demonstrates both the subtle and theatrical pizzazz of a talented collective of visionaries.” -Andrew MacLauchlan Executive Pastry Chef, Coyote Cafe “A brilliant addition to Tish Boyle’s and Timothy Moriarty’s series of cookbooks. This dynamic duo has thoroughly translated the recipes of some of our country’s leading pastry chefs with immense ease and perfection. It is with enormous admiration that I recommend this cookbook to anyone searching for a greater knowledge of desserts.” -Fran?ois Payard Owner, Payard Patisserie & Bistro Author, Simply Sensational Desserts “It is the purpose of a neoclassic dessert to isolate the integral elements of a time-honored classic and transform its components to produce a dessert with the grandeur demanded by today’s consumer. The pastry chefs who contributed to this book have provided recipes that do just that-and they do it magnificently!” -Bo Friberg Chef/Instructor, The Culinary Institute of America at GreystonePlated desserts–artfully arranged confections prepared from multiple components–are a modern restaurant mainstay. In Grand Finales, authors Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty present 53 such creations, the work of 23 leading American pastry chefs who have been challenged to make “neoclassic” versions of traditional desserts. Thus, for example, tart tatin, the venerable French apple galette, is reconfigured by chef Lincoln Carson as Pear Tatin with Vanilla Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce. Like the other recipes in the book, the pear tatin requires multiple subpreparations (in this case 5, though 7 to 10 elsewhere is not unusual); frequently large recipe yields (72, in one case), ingredient quantities given by weight, and restaurant-ingredient “call-fors” (like isomalt and trimoline) further alert us to the fact–unstated–that the book is for professionals. This said, general readers may well be intrigued by the talent and technique on display in 105 color photos of the unquestionably gorgeous desserts, and by the useful, often fascinating information on pastry history and production that the book provides.
Organized by classic dessert categories or fare, the book offers a wide range of “reinterpretations,” including White Chocolate Key Lime Tart, Passion Fruit Baked Alaska with Coconut Marshmallows, and Ginger and Quince Napoleons. A preliminary chapter introduces readers to the chefs–among them (in addition to Lincoln Carson) teacher and baking-book author Nick Malgieri, Jacquy Pfeiffer and Sebastien Cannone of the French Pastry School, and Chris Broberg of Manhattan restaurant Lespinasse. Offering insights and personal vignettes, the chefs help spin the historical and pastry-career investigation that follows. An illustrated chapter on sugar work concludes the book, along with a glossary of classic dessert types. These latter sections are valuable resources in themselves, and should engross all dessert makers, from the home-based to those who produce, or want to produce, stellar restaurant sweets. –Arthur Boehm
List Price: $ 60.00
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Categories: chocolate products Tags: chapter, Desserts, Finales, Grand, Grand Finales, Lincoln Carson, Neoclassic, Plated, produce, view
Chocolate Melting & Tempering Machine 1.58 Gal
Chocolate Melting & Tempering Machine 1.58 Gal
- 15.74 in. x 12.99 in.
- h 5.31 in. 110V. Capacity 1.58 Gal – Basin 12.59 in. x 1.04 in. h 3.93 in.
- Manual Thermostat to control the temperature desired.
- Removable Stainless Steel basin and lid.
- Thermoresistant plastic material.
Available capacity 0.92 Gal item # MC01110V, 2.37 Gal item # MC03110V, 3.61 Gal item # MC04110V
Melt 70% of your chocolate setting the Melting Machine at 40 – 45°C;
Wait until the chocolate will be melt completely while checking the thermometer. This operation is necessary to have the butter crystals melt;
Add the rest 30% of your chocolate to the mixture already melt. This procedure represents the insemination of cocoa butter present in the chocolate;
Mix strongly the chocolate in order to lower its temperature: The ideal temperature is different depending on the type of chocolate that we are working
Dark chocolate 32° – Milk chocolate 30° – White chocolate 29°. By lowering the temperature of the chocolate we have the stabilization of the cocoa butter crystals;
Once reached the right temperature, you need only to keep this temperature for the required time to work it.
Advantages of the well temperated chocolate:
The removal of the praline will be easier and it will look shinier because the sugars and the cocoa butter will not appear on the surface causing that unpleasant white coating;
The praline or the chocolate bar will have that crunchy effect when you break it or bite it;
The praline will not melt in your hands.
In case the surface of the chocolate in the basin should start hardening, because of the room temperature, just use the hair-dryer to melt it. Do not increase the temperature!!!
The same technique can be used if the temperature of the chocolate starts going down. In this way you catch up the temperature. If the temperature increased, act on the thermostat and lower 2 – 3 degrees, mixing the chocolate.
KEEP the chocolate always stirred to have the butter crystal stable.
DO NOT PUT pieces of chocolate left from molding into the tempering machine!!!!
Keep them for next time while starting the whole procedure from the beginning. The reason is due to the cocoa butter stabilization.
List Price: $ 1,120.00
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