# Where's the chocolate?



## amcardon (Sep 1, 2005)

I'm confused, there is a sub-forum for brownies but none for chocolate?!?  Am I alone in my opinion or should there be a special, very special, section for chocolate?  Help people discover the joys of _good_ chocolate, not just Hershey's...  Discuss brands, methods, recipes, basic principles, etc. about chocolate?  I would love to see everybody's input on this!


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## Haggis (Sep 1, 2005)

Lint. 70% chocolate.

'Nuff said. I hate milk chocolate, too sweet and clammy in the mouth. Love the slight bitterness of the 70%, I have tried 85% but that was a little too much for me.

Supposedly Lindt have a concept store in Sydney somewhere that sells a 99% bar.


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## amcardon (Sep 1, 2005)

I love dark chocolate, but 99%?!?  What would you even do with that?  My personal favorite brand is Callebaut and I prefer a nice dark 73%.  My wife thinks anything more than about 40% is too dark...  Weird.


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## mrsmac (Sep 1, 2005)

Haggis, 53 Martin Place Sydney. Let me know what its like.


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## Haggis (Sep 1, 2005)

I'll check it out next time I go back home and I'm in the city.


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## PA Baker (Sep 1, 2005)

amcardon said:
			
		

> I'm confused, there is a sub-forum for brownies but none for chocolate?!? Am I alone in my opinion or should there be a special, very special, section for chocolate? Help people discover the joys of _good_ chocolate, not just Hershey's... Discuss brands, methods, recipes, basic principles, etc. about chocolate? I would love to see everybody's input on this!


 
Amcardon, since chocolate can fit in so many subforums depending on how your using it, it doesn' t have a forum of its own.  If you want to discuss chocolate and chocolate only, you're welcome to place the thread where you did or in the candy subforum.  Either should work and be noticed.

And I agree, chocolate is a wonderful thing to talk about and very special--and delicious!


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## pdswife (Sep 1, 2005)

Yep!! Please post all chocolate recipes!!  

Milk chocolate! Yummy.  I love the way it melts in my fingers.  
I always let some melt so I can lick it off.  Any one else think
melted chocolate is better then unmelted?


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Sep 1, 2005)

I like milk chocolate, especially Cadburry milk chocolate.  It has a rich-dairy flavor that I just love.  But I also love french silk chocolate, and Dove dark chocolate.  I love the deep chocolate flavor and creamy texture.  I like Hershey's, and Nestle's, and Mars chocolate, not to mention Brach's.  I'm not a picky guy.  But I have my favorites.  See's Chocolates, out of Southern California are great, not so much for their chocolate (they use Ghiradelli) whitch is pretty good, but for the fillings inside.

Let's face it.  I have a sweet tooth, and chocolate satisfies it in most of its various forms, even the waxy Easter candy chocolate.  But I do know the distiction between fine chocolates and their lesser cousins.  And even though isn't classified as the best of the best, I still love a good Cadbury Caramello as my all time favorite. 

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## kadesma (Sep 1, 2005)

pdswife said:
			
		

> Yep!! Please post all chocolate recipes!!
> 
> Milk chocolate! Yummy. I love the way it melts in my fingers.
> I always let some melt so I can lick it off. Any one else think
> melted chocolate is better then unmelted?


Ah ha, something else we have in common...I thought I was the only one to lick chocolate off my fingers..Wash my hands instead, what and waste that chocolate  I love to hold a small piece in my mouth and just let it melt...emmmm 
kadesma


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## Alix (Sep 1, 2005)

CHOCOLATE!!! Mmmmmmmmmm! Callebaut is my favourite too. I just love the stuff.


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## wannabake (Sep 1, 2005)

Chocolates come in percentages????? Where do you find out what the percent is? 

I like Symphony bars. I think thats what they are called. I don't like Hershey bars though, Accept for their Mr. Goodbar and special dark


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## Alix (Sep 1, 2005)

Wannabake, the % should be listed on the back of the package of the chocolate bar. It has to be chocolate only though.


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## amcardon (Sep 1, 2005)

Wannabake -

The milk chocolate you are used to is probably around 24% cocoa solids (the higher the percentage the darker the chocolate; white chocolate has no cocoa solids, only cocoa butters) and is, sorry, inferior in quality.  Most of the mass produced chocolate (pretty much anything you find in the grocery store in the candy isle) uses vanillin or other artificial vanilla, flavor enhancers to mask the inferior product.  Don't get me wrong, if I need a quick fix I will grab a Hershey bar, but when I want to indulge I like something a little better.  

This is why I wanted to start this post, to educate more people about chocolate!  Wannabake, I hope this encourages you to try some good high quality chocolate, you won't be dissapointed!


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## Alix (Sep 1, 2005)

Lindt chocolate is delish. Do y'all have Purdy's there? Mmmmmmmmmm!


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## AllenOK (Sep 1, 2005)

CHOCOHOLICS UNITE!

I have several "chocoholic" recipes.  I guess I'll post some, but most of them I haven't tried.

I like Lindt, Callebaut, and Ghiradelli.  I'm also the only person in my family likes dark chocolate.  My parents and my sister don't like the stuff.  My MIL doesn't, and PeppA only likes dark chocolate if it has almonds in it.

I am fortunate enough to be the person in charge of the two chocolate fountains at the country club I work at.  Granted, these aren't the big commercial models, just little home units.  But, I do have at least one 5 Kg block of dark chocolate at work, but it's Sysco brand (major food vendor).  I'll have to look at the package for the %.  I happen to have a little under 5# of Callebaut dark chocolate, rough-chopped, that was supposed to be melted for a "to go" function a couple weeks ago.  The party cancelled the chocolate.  Now, I get a little chunk of it every few days, just to "qual-check" it, and make sure it's still good


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## mrsmac (Sep 2, 2005)

Allen, do you think you could post a picture of a chocolate fountain for me please? My class is studying Charlie and the Chocolate factory and one boy is making a chocolate waterfall with a pump for his project and I know the kids would love to see a real one.

My favourite is Cadbury Hazelnut but I love Caramello too. I love LIndt but hate dark chocolate and really love white so I guess I'm not a purist!


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## PA Baker (Sep 2, 2005)

Mrs Mac, I just found these pictures on the web by searching under chocolate fountain. Hopefully Allen posts his, too, at some point. He does some great looking work!


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## marmalady (Sep 2, 2005)

mrsmac, try this site for a chocolate fountain pic - 


http://www.homechocolatefountains.com/ - LOL, PA, we posted at the same time!

I'm a Callebaut fan, too, especially their milk chocolate; and it melts superbly, not as 'finicky' as some other milk chocolates.

I know Scharffenberger is the big rage right now, but I have to say I'm not a fan of it. It seems 'dry' to me, even when melted, and I've noticed recipes I've used it in come out drier.

Here's a great site for learning about the wonderful history of chocolate - http://www.fieldmuseum.org/chocolate/history.html


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## AllenOK (Sep 2, 2005)

It may be a couple of days before I can do that.  One of my step-sons got ahold of my digicam a few days ago, and now the color is messed up.  I'll have to see if I can adjust the color settings, if that's even possible.

Basically, the pictures already posted show what it looks like when it's running.  There is a central shaft that runs from the pan on the bottom to the very top.  Inside is an auger (giant spiral), that when it rotates, forces the molten chocolate up and over the top.  It then runs down the sides and the scalloped surfaces.  Usually, you have to add some oil to the chocolate to get it to flow smoothly.  The bottom resevoir is heated electrically just enough to keep the chocolate molten, probably around 100°F.

The pictures already posted are commercial units, costing between $3,000 and $4,000.  They're huge, an average of 2 1/2 - 3 feet tall.  They take on average 5 - 10 lbs of molten chocolate just to operate smoothly, with more chocolate, melted, stored in a hot box as people eat it (this is for LARGE parties, around a couple hundred folks).  The two units I maintain at work are "Becky Home-Ecky" type units for home entertaining.  They stand about 18" tall, and only take about 2 - 3 lbs of molten chocolate to operate.  These units cost about $60.


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## ronjohn55 (Sep 2, 2005)

All the choloate is gone! It's all in Vegas! (2 TONS of it in that fountain!)






John


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## Alix (Sep 2, 2005)

Well who do we know that was in Vegas recently and likes chocolate....

jkath??? You have anything you want to SHARE!!! *and wipe off the chocolate mustache before you answer*


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## htc (Sep 2, 2005)

I am not a chocolate connoisseur like many here. I just love to bake w/ chocolate, even though I don't like to eat chocolate that much.  Go figure. 

One thing that I found surprising, I recently made a chocolate mousse using nothing but melted Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate and silken tofu. This is probably the first time I have had semi-sweet chocolate in  non cookie/cake form. I was really surprised that it wasn't that sweet but had a little bitterness to the taste. I thought it was pretty rich. It wasn't too strong like dark choc., but it's definitely noticeable compared to milk chocolate.  I can see now why so many European desserts you see are very small delicate portions. I scooped out a small ramekin for myself and found that it was so rich I only ate about 3 spoons, then was satisfied. (Though maybe it's cuz I'm not a chocaholic)


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## Floridagirl (Sep 2, 2005)

I like Lindt, Cailler, Tobler & Milka best. I also prefer dark chocolate.


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## amcardon (Sep 2, 2005)

A new thread about chocolate has started that is more dedicated to recipes here.  So, if you want to post recipes, post them there, if you want to talk about God's nectar, um, I mean chocolate, here would be an acceptable place I believe...   

BTW - I work with chocolate a lot but I do the same things (I use chocolate for chocolate/caramel covered pretzels rolled in nuts that I sell) and honestly don't know many techniques for working with chocolate.  So, all you experienced chocolatiers, any tips you would like to share with us novices?


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## impish1 (Sep 2, 2005)

*Chocolate*

Now you did it.... All of you!! - I just read all these posts and found myself with KADESMA!  There is something about chocolate just melting in your mouth that, well, I can't describe due to web site rules.  And yes, must get each and every little morsel off those finger tips!

Now I just need to live in one of those fountians (just as in the Charle and the Chocolate Factory Movie).  Now THAT my friends - Would be Heaven!


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## PA Baker (Sep 2, 2005)

Those fountains are fun, but messy if you hold your fruit (or cookie or whatever you're dipping) at the wrong angle.  We were at a wedding last fall where the bride ended up with chocolate down the front of her gown because she tried to stick her finger in the fountain to enjoy the melted chocolate!


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## ronjohn55 (Sep 2, 2005)

PA Baker said:
			
		

> Those fountains are fun, but messy if you hold your fruit (or cookie or whatever you're dipping) at the wrong angle. We were at a wedding last fall where the bride ended up with chocolate down the front of her gown because she tried to stick her finger in the fountain to enjoy the melted chocolate!


 
 I work for an auto company at a tech center - a supplier was doing a tech expo, and I kid you not, they had a chocolate fountain, and the line was HUGE (it was also mostly women...)!

I upset everybody when I mentioned that they use vegetable oil in those things...  

John


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## wannabake (Sep 2, 2005)

Actually, It did peak my curiosity. I went and checked out a couple websites that were mentioned, but as of yet I haven't purchased anything, But I might.

You know I did have chocolate's made by a local place once. All homemade stuff, It was a gift and I can tell you, it didn't last long. Yummy~! 

Oh and I Love white chocolate!!! but it's really the non-chocolate, huh. Still love it!!!


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## KAYLINDA (Sep 2, 2005)

If I'd been that bride...I'd have finished off with a bath in it! lol


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## mrsmac (Sep 3, 2005)

Thankyou so much guys for all the pictures and links. On Monday we will log into DC in class and look at the pics. The kids are desperate to do some chocolate cooking too so we might look at the recipes.


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## AllenOK (Sep 6, 2005)

PA Baker said:
			
		

> Those fountains are fun, but messy if you hold your fruit (or cookie or whatever you're dipping) at the wrong angle.  We were at a wedding last fall where the bride ended up with chocolate down the front of her gown because she tried to stick her finger in the fountain to enjoy the melted chocolate!



I was watching some show on The Food Network, probably "The Best Of", and it mentioned chocolate fountains.  The host asked the chocolatier what he did if someone couldn't resist and stuck their finger into the molten chocolate.  The chocolatier said he immediately turned the unit off, poured the chocolate out, and charged whoever did it for 10 lbs of chocolate, as it was now unfit for commercial service, as that person just contaminated the chocolate.


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## amcardon (Sep 8, 2005)

AllenMI said:
			
		

> I was watching some show on The Food Network, probably "The Best Of", and it mentioned chocolate fountains. The host asked the chocolatier what he did if someone couldn't resist and stuck their finger into the molten chocolate. The chocolatier said he immediately turned the unit off, poured the chocolate out, and charged whoever did it for 10 lbs of chocolate, as it was now unfit for commercial service, as that person just contaminated the chocolate.


 
I would have made darn sure that I got that 10 lbs of chocolate if I was getting charged for it!  Kindof silly to put your finger in it, but don't waste the chocolate!!!


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