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Post by aguynamedrobert on Oct 20, 2006 9:12:46 GMT -5
Hey Aaron, Its usually around 5-7 years before a tree produces a good crop of cacao beans for chocolate making. -Robert www.chocolateguild.com
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Post by sweettooth on Oct 26, 2006 17:14:13 GMT -5
Hi Aaron, I'm also new to this site, came across it about aweek ago and haven't stopped reading sinse be getting some beans soon. So that will be interesting I'm thinking of getting Ecuador beans. Haven't got the equitment yet So i'm going to play around with the first Batch using Blenders and Spice Grinders I know that will only get me so far. But It will be a while till Ican afford a mill and the Santha Which is what i'll be going for! So until then ill be Having fun and ill try and push the boundaries with my spice grinder. What a great web site this is. I'm sorry i don't know the answer to you question about when the beans are ready off a young tree But someone will. Anyway have fun look forward to hearing how you get on
Regards
Sweetooth
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Post by chocowiz on Nov 6, 2006 20:38:30 GMT -5
Hi guys, just discovered this forum and found it interesting, at least there are some souls that have an extreme fascination with chocolates. As for my self I am not that choosy with chocolates but just appreciate it from the practical point of view. There is always a place for real and compounded chocolates in our society and having attended academic training in chocolates and sugar confectionery, plus some experience in confectionery related R&D made me look at chocolates from a broader perspective.
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josh
Novice
Posts: 56
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Post by josh on Oct 11, 2007 10:37:54 GMT -5
Aron,
Depends on the climate, region and earth but generally about 5 years.
Jungle
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Post by joyojoy on Oct 18, 2007 21:00:45 GMT -5
Hi there! I'm new, so thought I'd throw out my 2-cents' worth.
All of my favorite childhood memories are coated in chocolate, and I looked forward to creating similar memories for my daughter, but it turned out she was allergic to milk and peanuts. So I am in the process of starting an allergen-free chocolate company for kids like her and my niece who is deathly allergic to soy (finding chocolate without soy lecithin is about as easy as finding an "I Love Hillary" shirt at a Southern Baptist Convention). After years of watching my daughter (who is now 15) go through the heartbreak of being excluded from enjoying so many things (like chocolate Easter Bunnies and Santas), I decided that somebody needed to make chocolate for kids like her.
Earlier this year, Alchemist John worked with me on formulating a dairy-free white chocolate recipe (I have a batch in my Santha right now), and I have also found a source for dark chocolate free of nut and soy contamination. While the quality may not compare to Dagoba or Michel Cluizel, I think it's pretty darn tasty, and am striving for it to appeal to the mass market as well.
Of course, I'm a TOTAL rookie in the chocolate industry. I did attend a chocolate basics workshop at the Notter School, and have been picking the brains of whatever experts will give me the time (like Alchemist John and Robert Noel). The fun part has been working around traditional ingredients such as cream and butter. I've developed a pretty tasty caramel recipe, and started experimenting with pralines today. Tomorrow I'm trying a white chocolate coconut fudge recipe.
I'm also looking forward to doing more chocolate sculptures like we learned to make at the Notter School. (I'm shopping for a marble slab, if any of you are from the Southeast U.S.).
So that's my story so far...
Joy
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gap
Apprentice
Posts: 390
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Post by gap on Oct 19, 2007 0:15:25 GMT -5
Joy,
I know Tava in Australia (www.tava.com.au) are completely nut free and offer 100% chocolate for sale over the Net. If you have a Santha maybe you could incorporate sugar yourself??? (I don't know if it would work but it might be worth talking to them)
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Post by Sebastian on Oct 19, 2007 5:50:07 GMT -5
Joy, as for marble slabs, i've found the best places to go are the actual places that cut the slabs for counters - they always have a 'junk' pile of the leftover pieces from their jobs, and are usually willing to either let you just take one or sell it to you for very cheap. of course, offering them a little chocolate for their troubles does go a long way as well
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Post by joyojoy on Oct 19, 2007 23:08:11 GMT -5
Thanks for the Tava tip! I've contacted them to see if they ship to the U.S. (for some reason, I couldn't get any pricing/order information on the Tava bar to come up on their site).
I've tried my local granite/marble shops and haven't had any luck finding white marble scraps. However, I found out a nice white marble is actually quarried right here in Georgia, and I can order a slab for about $600. I may just have to bite the bullet and do that. On the other hand, does it have to be white? I could probably live with beige or grey, if it had the same properties.
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Post by Sebastian on Oct 21, 2007 7:07:08 GMT -5
My favorite piece is midnight black. The stone will be functional regardless of it's color, so go with what you like the best. White may be easier to spot leftovers on than a brown piece of stone, however.
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Post by javajerry on Oct 28, 2007 1:30:17 GMT -5
Joy, before you spend $600 for marble, you need to exhaust some other sources. Last year I visited my aunt in Miami. I got out the phone book and looked up tile and marble suppliers. In southern Florida there are many. We took a drive, went into this one place that had a huge showroom with samples of different polished marble slabs. I told the salesman that I made chocolate and needed a piece of marble to work the chocolate on. I told him I didn't care what color it was but I wanted it to be at least 2' X 2'. He said, "I have just what you need, it will be $17". I said "I'll take two"! These are very heavy, 2' X 2' X 1" polished marble slabs. They are pinkish with lots of "marbling" and I've been very happy with them.
They may be too heavy to ship reasonably, but you still shouldn't have to be paying $600 unless you are getting a HUGE slab of marble.
Just my 2¢ Jerry
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Post by jamescary on Jan 11, 2008 17:46:05 GMT -5
joy, wow! It hadn't crossed my mind about the lecithin in chocolate being an allergen! Thanks -- really opened my eyes! especially now that I am related to some little ones with soy allergies, too. Also, I just ran a search through google and found some soy-free Michel Cluizel: www.soyfreesales.com/(This is going on the list of 'to-taste' items
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Post by crystalfairy on Jan 25, 2008 10:47:31 GMT -5
Hiya everyone, I'm a newbie on this forum, iv not made any chocolate before but am getting the equipment to start soon. I'm a jewelery designer in Scotland UK, and i have always loved chocolate. i hope to get to know everyone soon. thanx
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Post by sharkman on Jan 26, 2008 2:58:32 GMT -5
Aloha to everyone! Thanks for all the input into chocolate making. I read almost everything and learn something new almost everyday. I'm in the coffee business here in Hawaii after moving here from Northern California; where I was in the wine and grape business. coffee is the easiest ,followed by chocolate and then good wine. The key to a good product is good ingredients handled properly. I started growing cacao here and they grew wonderfully. After five years; I get about 500 pods every 5 weeks. From this I get @ 45-50 lbs raw ;dried beans. Since I had the beans; I figured I better do something with them. That is where Chocolate Alchemy came in. I do a farmers mkt here in Hilo on the Big Island. I sell my coffee, macadamia nuts, roasted and raw cacao beans and some good dark chocolate. I;ve been trying to get as many people as possible to grow the cacao trees; so there will be plenty of good beans for others. It's all work and play ;but I enjoy it. Thanks and Aloha Sharkman
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Post by chavette on Jan 30, 2008 9:58:38 GMT -5
I am a big fan of the classic chocolate bars: snickers, mars, kit kat, twix, reese's.... just curious... whats the majority favorite? I created a poll to see what most people go for when thinking of a "classic" chocolate treat. Vote here: www.pollsb.com/polls/poll/5969/which-chocolate-barOh and for those of you who are interested in making your own classic bar, try this one: Cookie Bars made with SNICKERS Brand Bars. 1 pkg. Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough 5 SNICKERS bars Grease 9 x 13 inch pan. Pat in cookie dough. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Cut SNICKERS® bars in small pieces and scatter on top of hot cookie dough. Bake 8 to 10 minutes more. Spread SNICKERS® evenly. Cut into squares when cool.
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Post by jamescary on Jan 31, 2008 13:58:45 GMT -5
Hi everyone! For me, I believe it started when someone at work started bringing in more exotic chocolate than I had known. To me, chocolate had always come in 2 varieties: Hershey's or Mars (not even dark and milk Knowing people in the Bay Area, I had heard of Ghiradelli and also I had seen Godiva, but chocolate was never all that interesting. I noticed people at work were interested in the new chocolates and started talking about them and how some were their favorites. So somewhere along the lines, I got to wondering how chocolate is made and if it could be homebrewed. I've made beer (and in fact that's how I got acquainted with beer) and I thought chocolate making would be even better -- there's more people I can share it with (everyone likes chocolate . I'm finding more out about chocolate making and chocolate in general everyday. I think it's fantastic that the Alchemist has done the research for home chocolate making and even more fantastic that he has shared it with us! The bitter seed of a fruit into a delectable dessert -- what strange alchemy!
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