Thought of the Day

“Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not!” The Lorax – Dr. Seuss Chocolate Morsel of the Day Refining is probably the most mysterious yet simplest of the chocolate making steps. Place your ingredients (cocoa liquer, sugar and any optional ingredients like cocoa butter and lecithin) and refing with the Alchemist’s Stone Chocolate Melanger until the “grit” is gone. That’s it. Probably 12 hours at a minimum, up to 72 hours if you feel like it. Oh, and how do you tell?... Read more...
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney Chocolate Morsel of the Day Refining and conching are two different things. The confusion is that they often occur at the same time. In home chocolate making, don’t fret about conching. Just refine and 95% of the time, conching will take care of itself. Read more...
“Idealism increases in direct proportion to one’s distance from the problem.” – John Galsworthy Chocolate Morsel of the Day Refining is the next step after turning your nibs into liqueur (either by the Champion or the Melanger. The ONLY product I have found that will do this is the Santha Stone Melanger (formering known as the Santha Wet Grinder). Read more...
“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” – Aldous Huxley Chocolate Morsel of the DayThere are two ways to grind your nibs into liqueur. You will have to decide which is best for you….continued 1) Champion Juicer. I find I prefer the 1/2 – 1 hour or so it takes to grind and clean up a few pounds of nibs 2) Santha Stone Melanger. You can grind the nibs into liqueur with the Melanger, but you have to do... Read more...
“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.” – Will Rogers Chocolate Morsel of the DayThere are two ways to grind your nibs into liqueur. You will have to decide which is best for you. 1) With the Champion Juicer. The benefit here is the screen in the Juicer will remove any residual husk from your winnowing. The drawback is you have another piece of equipement (which you many already have if you use it for cracking instead of the Cocoa mill) 2)... Read more...
“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.” – Will Rogers Chocolate Morsel of the DayThere are two ways to grind your nibs into liqueur. You will have to decide which is best for you. 1) With the Champion Juicer. The benefit here is the screen in the Juicer will remove any residual husk from your winnowing. The drawback is you have another piece of equipement (which you many already have if you use it for cracking instead of the Cocoa mill) 2)... Read more...
“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.” – Will Rogers Chocolate Morsel of the DayThere are two ways to grind your nibs into liqueur. You will have to decide which is best for you. 1) With the Champion Juicer. The benefit here is the screen in the Juicer will remove any residual husk from your winnowing. The drawback is you have another piece of equipement (which you many already have if you use it for cracking instead of the Cocoa mill) 2)... Read more...
“What if you have a cure for apathy, and nobody cares? “ Chocolate Morsel of the DayWinnowing: OK, you have cracked your cocoa beans. Now you have to separate them from the husk. The only good way I know of is a blow dryer, a large bowl (12-18”) and stirring by hand. The husk is lighter and with a little practice and technique, you can remove 95% of the husk in 1-2 minutes for a couple pounds. we are working on a table top winnower but work is slow Read more...
“Don’t get seduced by complexity.” The Ruzz Chocolate Morsel of the DayGetting rid of that husk. After roasting your cocoa beans, you need to remove the husk. You have basically 3 options. 1) Hand peel. I STRONGLY don’t recommend this. A lot of work and sore fingers. 2) The Champion Juicer with the bottom plate removed will crack beans nicely. 3) The Crankandstein Cocoa Mill was built to do this job. You choice then is between 2 & 3. The Champion lets you use one less piece of equipment, but... Read more...
“A person is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” Chocolate Morsel of the Day“How do I roast my cocoa beans?”. Well, I can fill pages and pages, make it sound very complicated, technical and impossilbe. In reality, 20-30 minutes at 300 F for a pound or two of beans in an oven will do quite nicely. That simple. Only experience will tell you what a under roasted, properly roasted or over roasted bean smell like. Read more...
“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.”—Theophrastus Chocolate Morsel of the Day“Which cocoa bean should I buy or start with? Don’t I want the best Criollo?” If you are just getting into home chocolate making, frankly, don’t sweat your choice. All the beans I carry will make a fine chocolate. That is my job. Criollo has a big name, but many people don’t seem to like the delicate nature. Forastero will give a great deep chocolate flavor, but may be a little one dimensional. If in doubt,... Read more...
“Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is.”—Erich Fromm Chocolate Morsel of the DayThe first step in making your own chocolate is deciding what you want it to taste like. It sounds obvious, but if you don’t know where you want to go, it’s much harder to get there. “Well, I want CHOCOLATE!” you say. Fine. There is a varieties of flavors. In other things you eat, do you like smooth and delicate or bold and aggresive. Think along those lines.... Read more...