Chocolate Makers Extraordinare
Modern Art
In October I attended the Les Dames d'Escoffier International (www.ldei.org) meeting in Los Angeles. At the Gala Grand Dame Award dinner honoring Madeleine Kamman, we were treated to a fabulous 7-course meal, which included, of course, a spectacular dessert by Michel Richard. This got me thinking about how chocolate has been used to augment, decorate and embellish spectacular desserts over the years. In this era of "architectural" food, chocolate decorations have been taken to new heights.
This has spawned a whole industry in chocolate decorations and containers. I just got a brochure from a Spanish chocolate manufacturer, Choco Vic, which has an extensive line of molded chocolate as well as couvertures and compound chocolates. The company started in 1872 as Chocolates Arumi and specialized in "artisanal" chocolate, individually made for each of the important families in the region. It now targets small-sized users such as confectioners, restaurant pastry chefs, and patissiers. They also have developed a line of very fine couvertures called Origen Unico with dual applications: using them individually; or creating a unique chocolate by combining two or three couvertures in various proportions. This allows the chef to offer a signature chocolate flavor. For more information on distributors of their products call 215.482.5232.
Another company that specializes in chocolate decorations is Chocolates Ala Carte. You can visit their website to get a feel for what is happening commercially at http://www.chocolates-ala-carte.com. All this leads me to this article on what I call "Modern Art." That is -- the art of making chocolate decorations. We will discuss the techniques used and then you can experiment. Remember that mistakes can just be melted and reused so try a technique or two until you master your favorites.
Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate
Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate is the brain child of Jim Walsh, a former advertising executive who moved to Hawaii in 1986. He realized that Hawaii's climate was perfect for growing cocoa and proceeded in the founding of Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate. Jim found that the fertile black lava slopes of the world's largest volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii provide an ideal environment for cocoa growing. The chocolate is produced from cocoa grown on Hawaiian Vintage Estates in Kona and Keaau, Hawaii, by estate owners dedicated to producing the worlds finest cocoa. Besides producing chocolate for professional chefs and providing mail orders for home cooks, Jim is also opening a visitor's center in south Kona and retail shops across the Islands. For information call 1(800) 735-8494.
The challenge of producing Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate is to perfect a process that will highlight the inherent and unique flavour qualities of the Hawaiian varietal cocoa beans. The process begins with genetics and a growing environment unequaled in the world. Then proper fermentation and warm sun drying bring out the cocoa beans' unique flavours and aromas. Once properly aged -- a critical part of the Vintage process, the beans are carefully roasted to sharpen and heighten the beans' remarkable flavour. The nibs are then milled, couched and formed into pistoles for shipment. Each harvest produces a slightly to very different chocolate, therefore the chocolate is sold by vintage, much like grape varietals.
Popular Products
Kea'au 64 percent Couverture:
dark colour, strong and
appealing, with a velvet texture and unique character
Snows of Mauna Kea:
creamy white chocolate, a one-of-a-kind experience
Hodges 1994
Vintage:
the world's first Estate Vintage Chocolate -- in limited quantities
only.
Cadbury Chocolate
The Cadbury family had a profound impact on chocolate production as well as establishing a model working environment originally based on Quaker principals. See their web site at www.cadbury.co.uk for more information on this fascinating company.
Hershey's Chocolate
I thought it was about time that you took a look at one of the US biggies. So here we go, please point your browser to:www.hersheys.com
Give their site a good peruse and have fun.
Ambrosia Chocolate
On May 9, 1894, the Ambrosia Chocolate Company opened for business in Milwaukee. The founder, Otto J. Scholenleber agreed that "Ambrosia" would be a truely appropriate name, for the Swedish scientist, Lineaus, had identified the cocoa tree as theobroma cacao -- "Food of the Gods." Throughout the early years, the little company struggled. A firm believer in axiom, "There is no such word as failure," Otto Schoenleber and his employees worked together so that at the end of the first two years, the business was established. Concentrating on consumer items: penny goods and solid chocolate confectionery in these startup years, the variety then expanded into chocolate bars for the first vending machines. The company also did a thriving business on items for the homemaker -- baking chocolate and breakfast cocoa.
The company became a major producer in the US chocolate industry with the start of World War I. The company survived the Depression under the leadership of Mr. Schoenleber's daughter Gretchen and established a market for its distinctive Dutch Processed Cocoas. Service to customers has always been the constant companion to quality and products are now being shipped in the company fleet of trailer trucks and stainless steel tankwagons. In 1964, Amborsia merged with W.R. Grace & Co., forming the basis for Chocolate Americas Division whose product concentration is in chocolate and compound baking chips and coatings supplied to the bakery, confectionery, dairy and food service industries. In 1994, Ambrosia celebrated its 100th year of business. Look for Ambrosia chocolate products at your local bakery supply source.
Guittard Chocolate Company
We're back to the San Francisco Bay Area for a look at Guittard Chocolate Company. In the mid-1800's during the California gold rush, Frenchman Etienne Guittard journeyed to the Barbary Coast in hopes of discovering gold. Although he never found it, San Francisco discovered him for the delicious chocolate he had brought from his uncle's factory in France. Already skilled as a chocolate maker, Etienne established the Guittard Chocolate Factory in San Francisco in 1868. Since then, the Guittard family has continued, as the oldest family owned and operated chocolate company in the US, to manufacture a great variety of chocolate and chocolate products for chocolatiers and chefs. The facility has moved from along the San Francisco waterfront where Guittard Chocolates opened for business on prestigious Commercial Street in 1868 to Burlingame, California about 1/2 hour south.
Guittard produces a variety of premium chocolate coatings from the richest dark and milk chocolate to the smooth and super creamy, white couverture coating made with real cocoa butter. Their Gourmet Bittersweet Chocolate, High Sierra White Chocolate and French Vanilla were each awarded 1992 Gold medals by the Chefs in America Awards Foundation. Other food service products include: pastel coatings in 5 colors, chocolate flavored syrups containing real sweet ground chocolate, sweet ground chocolate, and ganache. For the retail market, Guittard products include: Melt 'n Mold confectioner's coating in eight colors, Semisweet Chocolate Chips, Super Cookie Chips, Milk Chocolate Chips, Butterscotch Chips, Choc-au-lait Vanilla Milk Chips, and specialty confections such as Smooth 'N Melty Mint Wafers.
For more information:
Guittard Chocolate Company
Burlingame, California
Ghirardelli Chocolate
San Francisco visitors invariably stop at the famous Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory flanking Fisherman's Wharf. Now a beautiful brick structure with shops, the location was once a working chocolate factory founded by Domingo Ghirardelli. Ghirardelli came to San Francisco to try his luck at gold prospecting. He quickly returned to the trade in which he had apprenticed while in Italy - that of candymaking. Demand for his craft was brisk, and by 1852, he opened his first coffee and confectionery factory in San Francisco.
It was a discovery made at the Ghirardelli factory that revolutionized chocolate making in the United States. In 1865, a worker put a batch of ground cocoa beans in a cloth bag and hung the bag from a hook overnight. By morning, a pool of cocoa butter had collected on the floor. The ground chocolate left in the bag was almost fat free, creating a dry powder that combined with liquids more smoothly. This powder became the essential ingredient in Ghirardelli's popular Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa. The dripping bags were soon replaced by presses previously invented by an Amsterdam chocolatier, Conrad van Houten, which accomplished the same result in a more controlled way. Today, Ghirardelli is only one of ten chocolate companies in the US to make chocolate from bean to finished product.
Popular Products:
Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bar:
Pure unsweetened chocolate
used for cooking and baking.
Bittersweet, Semi-sweet and Sweet Chocolate
Baking bars and Semi-sweet Chocolate chips:
made with unsweetened chocolate
(55 , 45, 35 and 45 percent respectively) combined with cocoa butter, chocolate
liquor, sugar, and vanilla in varying quantities.
Milk Chocolate Baking
Bar and Milk Chocolate Chips:
a blend of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter,
sugar, vanilla and milk powder.
Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa:
an exclusive product, containing unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, sugar, and vanilla.
Used for baking and in milk for hot chocolate drinks.
Premium Unsweetened
Cocoa:
Pure chocolate powder, make by removing most of the cocoa butter.
It contains 22 -24 percent cocoa butter. This is a natural process (non-Dutched)
cocoa. Used for baking and hot drinks.
Classic White Confection Baking Bar
and Classic White Chips:
contains cocoa butter, sugar, and vanilla. The
cocoa butter retains a subtle chocolate flavoring, which gives these products
their distinctive taste.
For more information:
Ghirardelli Chocolate
Co.
(415) 483-6970
Newman's Own Organics
Newman's Own Organics, a division of Newman's Own, has just introduced organic chocolate bars in four favorite varieties: Sweet Dark chocolate, Milk chocolate, Milk chocolate with rice crisps and Expresso sweet dark chocolate. Nell Newman and her partner Peter Meehan spend time at trade shows and watch the trends before deciding on what their new products will be. In this case, Nell's passion for chocolate and an unexpected meeting at the 1994 Winter Fancy Food Show with a retired chocolate expert started the process. Joe Whinney, President of the Organic Commodity Project, made Nell's dream a reality. Through his contacts, he sourced the raw ingredients that would comply with organic certification standards and produce an outstanding chocolate bar from different parts of the world.
The organic cacao comes from the Talamanca region on the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica. All the cacao used has been raised in a natural, rainforest setting by people whose history with the cacao tree goes back over 3,000 years. "Besides my love for chocolate, I was drawn to this project because it meant supporting sustainable agriculture in Costa Rica. Growing the cacao in this ancient way meant that no rainforests would need to be destroyed. We want to encourage this method by supporting the farmers economically," states Nell. All the other ingredients come from organic sources. The vanilla is from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Veracruz, Mexico. The organic sugar is from various sources including golden organic sugar from the small African country of Mauritius. The organic milk powder is from Organic Valley, a milk cooperative in Wisconsin.
Following in the tradition of Newman's Own, all after-tax profits from Newman's Own Organics will be given to charity. Since 1982, Paul Newman, founder and president of Newman's Own, has donated more than $68 million (100% of his after-tax profits) to a wide variety of educational and charitable causes.
For more information:
Newman's Own
Organics
(408) 685-2866
fax (408) 685-2261
Chocolates El Rey, Venezuela
In the early stages of the South American conquest, the Spaniards discovered a particularly fragrant strain of the cacao bean growing wild in the region south of Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo and throughout the tropical lowlands bordering the Caribbean on Venezuela's northern coast. Delicate and aromatic, this cacao tree traveled poorly. Attempts to transplant, what became known as the Criollo varietal, to plantations in the more populated regions of the country or abroad, invariably met with failure. So, Venezuela became the only source for this special cacao.
By the 17th century, Venezuela was making a name for itself. Its uniquely fragrant cacao bean was sweeping the world. Venezuela was displacing Mexico as the principal exporter of cacao to the Old World. Enormous fortunes were made in cacao during the colonial era. But with Venezuela's war with Spain, competition from new cacao beans coming on the market and the boom in coffee in Europe, the cacao trade began to decline.
When Jose Rafael Zozaya and his father-in-law, Carmelo Tuozzo founded Tuozzo Zozaya & Cia in Caracas in 1929, it was the second chocolate company to be established in Venezuela. There they turned out perhaps the finest chocolate made in Venezuela, which they proudly named "El Rey" -- the King. Pride in their work, a solid reputation for quality and a faithful, expanding clientele helped them prosper and grow. In 1973, the principals went public and began to orient the new company toward processing cocoa and exporting its high quality derivatives (liqueur, butter and powder) to the United States, Europe and Japan.
The world's best chocolates have always depended on Venezuelan cacao beans to impart that extra touch of fragrance and aroma. So, in 1989, Chocolates El Rey decided to enter the global chocolate market by producing a chocolate using 100% Venezuelan cacao beans. El Rey's premium quality chocolate couvertures are manufactured with the famed Carenero bean, a single variety cacao grown in the north central region of Venezuela and exported for use by chefs and chocolatiers around the world.
For more information:
El Rey America, Inc.
PO Box 853
Fredericksburg, TX 78624
(210) 997-2200
Valrhona
Valrhona has been producing fine chocolate couvertures since 1922. Valrhona is a small, French manufacturer who produces 10 tons of product per day as compared to 100 - 150 tons for a large, European manufacturer. Their buyer searches the cocoa-cultivating nations for special cocoa beans. If a country grows 500,000 tons of beans in a year but only 50 tons are good, it is Valrhona's mission to find those 50 tons and leave the rest behind. Thus securing an exclusive supply of cocoa "Grand Crus," the great growths from South America, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean. The beans are harvested, fermented and sundried following Valrhona's recommendations, then shipped rapidly after harvest.
When these special beans arrive at the factory, they are tested for condition, meticulously roasted to develop essential flavors and aromatic strength, cracked, shelled and blended. Blending is an art that uses secret formulas. Next comes the addition of sugar, vanilla, cocoa butter and in some cases, dehydrated milk. The ingredients are then refined and counched up to four days. After counching, the chocolate is formed and solidified into bars or squares. The finished chocolate is then matured for two or three months before sale to the world's most discerning chefs and chocolatiers.
Valrhona's guide to identification of a great chocolate
Take
a good look
there is a large difference between ordinary and really great
chocolate. Just as wines and coffees have their degrees of excellence, so do cocoa
beans. Great chocolate is a skillful blend of different types of cocoa beans,
from various continents.
Facts and Figures
carefully read the list
of ingredients. The lighter the cocoa content the less sugar it contains and the
tastier it is. Pay attention to insidious after-tastes: an excessive roasting
or the use of vanillin instead of vanilla are common attempts at hiding the mediocre
quality of the cocoa beans used.
The color itself is important
perfectly even, brilliant and mouth-watering. Dark or bitter chocolate has a deep
warm color; milk chocolate is ore of a light ochre, browner if it is rich in cocoa
liquor.
The captive aroma
just smell it! Its aroma tickles your
nose deliciously and stimulates your taste buds! From the initial drying of the
cocoa beans until the final stage in the production process (the conchin) painstaking
care and patience are the two main concerns. To conclude with : a light touch
of natural vanilla gives a perfect harmony.
Try some
bite it: it
cracks with a clean break. Bite again, once more it shatters cleanly and the texture,
which is neither too heavy nor too light, begins to emerge, and slowly starts
to melt gently in your mouth.
A long-lasting taste
eat it slowly
to appreciate the flavor: the strong taste of the "Forasteros" of Africa
which gently fades; the subtle and rich "Criollos" and the other exquisite
Trinitarios which linger deliciously on your tongue.
Popular products:
Guanaja
70% cocoa South American Grand Cru. The most intense chocolate
available today, a legendary, long-lasting taste (a reference since its creation
in 1986). A taste further enhanced by a low sugar content.
Pur Caraibe
66% cocoa Caribbean Grand Cru, Pure Trinitario. A fruity and harmonious couverture
with a round and full bodied taste.
Manjari
64% cocoa Indian Ocean
Grand Cru. The unique and refreshing flavour of Criollos, reminiscent of flowers
and red berries on a background of sweet almonds. All in the originality of a
rare cocoa variety.
Guanaja Lactee
41% cocoa. A sophisticated couverture
whose high fine cocoas content is matched by a very low sugar proportion.
Jivara
Lactee
40% cocoa. A unique and genuine taste, based on fine cocoas and
a touch of natural vanilla, wholesome brown sugar and malt.
Equatoriale
Lactee
35% cocoa. A clear and milky couverture very versatile and easy
to use.
For more information:
Valrhona
26600 Tain-LHermitage
France
telephone 11.33.75.07.90.90
fax 11.33.75.08.05.17
Peter's Chocolate
Daniel Peter was a Swiss candle maker until the use of kerosene made candle making a dying business. Following the example of his brother-in-law, Auguste Cailler, he started to manufacture chocolate in 1867. Daniel wanted something new to differentiate his product from his competitors. He had the idea of including milk into his chocolate, but found it almost impossible to do. Finally after much experimentation he was successful. However the mixture turned sour in less than a week. He described the situation to a neighbor, Henri Nestle, who was encountering a similar stability problem with his baby food manufacturing process. By pooling their efforts, the solution was found. Nearly all the water content was extracted form the milk before mixing it with cocoa to make chocolate. Hence, the world's most popular confection -- milk chocolate -- was created in 1875 by using Henri Nestle's "condensed" milk. Since 1907 Nestle Chocolate & Confections has manufactured chocolate in the United States to the highest standard of quality. Today, Peter's Chocolate, a division of Nestle Food Company, continues the tradition, offering an extensive line of products known for their quality and consistency. It is a fitting tribute to Daniel Peter, the inventor of milk chocolate.
Product and Processing Information:
As with most chocolate manufacturers, Peter's Chocolate makes a variety of products. Peter's Milk Chocolates have always carried the distinct flavour characteristics of the original Swiss inventors. The Semi-sweet chocolates are formulated with special flavour beans to provide a unique taste. Made with a more costly blend of chocolate liquor and cocoa butter, Heritage chocolates provide a distinctively different profile -- very smooth, somewhat less sweet and a bit more subtle, in an elegant European style. Nestle Snowcap, a white chocolate that is cocoa butter based (most so-called white chocolate is palm kernel oil based), is more flavorful and less sweet with a distinct chocolate flavour and aroma. Other products include Nestle Real Chocolate Morsels, Nestle Ice Cap confectionery coatings, chocolate confections, caramel, cocoa and Carnation products -- evaporated milk and malted milk products.
Popular Products:
Broc
the original Swill formula has
a predominant milk flavor and is less sweet
Burgundy
has a reddish
cast and a fruity, winey flavor note
Snowcap
less sweet with a
distinct chocolate flavour and aroma
Westchester
milk chocolate
flavoured compound confectionery coating
Callebaut
In North America, most luxury chocolate consumers know the Callebaut name and equate it with top of the line Belgian chocolate. This remarkable company is almost 150 years old. In 1850, shortly after the invention of solid chocolate, the Callebaut family founded a diversified company. It consisted of a mill, a dairy, a brewery and a mineral water bottling plant. In 1911 the company started to concentrate on manufacturing chocolate bars and tablets. In 1925, Callebaut began producing its own chocolate. The company later developed specialized skills in the manufacture of chocolate coating, and sold its products to fellow chocolate producers. In 1981, the Callebaut family sold its own shares to the Swiss group Interfood, which later took over or merged with other large European chocolate companies such as Suchard, Van Houten and S&A Lesme.
In 1988, Callebaut ceased production of its consumer products and concentrated exclusively on coating chocolate. Their product development department is constantly working on new recipes. The applications laboratory is actually a mini-factory where virtually all the processing possibilities of chocolate are tested by a team of experts. Callebaut works closely with its customers to develop new types of chocolate and compound coatings. The quality image of Callebaut and the strength of its international distribution network have enabled the company to increase export volumes significantly. Because of this, Callebaut is known all around the world.
Product and Processing Information:
The company produces an extensive range of chocolate liquor, dark, milk and white chocolates and compound coatings (cocoa butter is replaced with palm kernel oil so no tempering is required) in 5 kg blocks. Viscosity, cocoa butter or oil content, and cocoa bean blend are all varied to produce a wide range of products. Callebaut also produces a variety of specialty chocolate products including: drops, sticks, chips, vermicelli and flakes. Nut products are also very popular, including: hazelnut paste, praline products and Gianduja (emulsified hazelnuts in milk or dark chocolate). Products just released, Callets, are dark, milk and white chocolate buttons. These buttons make it easier to temper quickly and efficiently and they help to solve some of the problems which may arise when processing.
Popular Products:
Dark Couverture
11, bitter
chocolate -- a pithy full flavoured taste and rich aroma
835, extra bitter
a very fine chocolate with a noble taste
Milk Couverture
823, dark milk chocolate with full cream taste
White Chocolate
W, absolute top quality with an extremely refined and creamy taste
Gianduja
Gia, milk chocolate with emulsified hazelnuts
For more information:
call (800) 985-4009.
Pam Williams is an educator and business strategist specializing in marketing and communications. Her culinary accomplishments include: founder Ecole Chocolat Professional Chocolatier School, founder of the specialty chocolatier, au Chocolat; author and publisher of three cookbooks including the Canadian best selling chocolate cookbook, Oh Truffles.