Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my recent survey. What a pleasure it was to read your preferences and constructive feedback! Every time I would check the survey responses it was like opening a little gift, full of surprises. In case you're curious, here are the many ways you love chocolate: These results are not surprising to me since the data are consistent with your feedback. Truffles became an instant favorite as soon as I began making them. As one of you commented, " Truffles all day every day. I often don't share those...they are too special." I love that! And now for what REALLY surprises me: Almond is definitely a favorite of many. But ORANGE???? Who knew it was one of the fan faves! And Coffee/Mocha?! Wow! Raspberry and Peanut Butter are the two truffle flavors that are most requested by my customers. The fact that these are tied in flavor preference is no surprise. I am very surprised that hazelnut is not a stand alone preference. Based on your responses it is grouped in "Other" with herbal, cherry, ginger and caramel. And this is what you think about texture in your chocolate: Overall, it appears that most of you do like textures in your chocolate. Off the pie charts, but very valuable: Your comments were encouraging and insightful. A couple of comments provided essential feedback that is worthy of sharing. My responses to these comments allow deeper insight into what makes my chocolate unique and why I make certain ingredient choices. Comment: Is there another oil you can use in fudge sauce? I thought coconut oil got thumbs down. Not healthiest to use. This is such a great comment and deserves a blog post of its own! In fact, when I read this comment I went right to work on a blog draft to address it. My short answer is: there is not another oil I prefer to use in my fudge sauce. Why? Any other oil that I would remotely consider is less stable than coconut oil and would further reduce freshness, regardless of the fact that the fudge sauce needs to be refrigerated; other oils remain liquid even at cool room temperatures, making it more difficult to ship and transport and would change significantly the viscosity of the sauce; and finally, any other oil would alter the delicious flavor that coconut oil imparts. Addressing the "thumbs down" concern in this comment will be addressed in my long answer upcoming blog. Stay tuned. Comment: ...Your choc is good but unfortunately melts immediately so I only eat it right out of the fridge which limits use and flavor.
Another excellent comment worthy of a blog post with a longer, more scientific answer but I'm going to keep it as short and sweet as I can here. Making chocolate is both a science and an art. The culinary science behind dark, glossy chocolate that "snaps" is called tempering, a method of heating and cooling and heating the chocolate again, each time to specific a temperature, to get the cacao butter to crystalize properly. One nemesis to cacao butter crystalization is water or added moisture. The signature ingredient in my raw chocolate is pure maple syrup produced at my local sap house, Sap Hound Maple Company in Brownfield, ME. Yep, maple syrup introduces a lot of added moisture. Not only does any liquid sweetener make the tempering process a challenge, it also creates a "softer bodied" chocolate. The water content of the syrup/sweetener, atmospheric humidity, room heat or lack of it, and added flavorings are a few of the conditions that can influence "melt factor." All chocolate melts below body temperature, somewhere between 86 and 92 degrees Farenheit. Adding an emulsifier may help stabilize chocolate and slow melting. Some common commercial additives that act as emulsifiers are soy lecithin and PGPR. Most raw and/or organic chocolates will not have emulsifiers in them because the goal is to use the purest ingredients possible. It's important to me to craft artisan chocolate with purity and integrity. Maple syrup is my preferred sweetener for a number of reasons:
I will continue to do my best to create chocolate that is a delight to the senses and is in line with my values. Those values include listening to my customers and continually trying to find ways to improve what I have to offer. Your survey responses are my guide in creating chocolate that appeals to your tastes and senses. I look forward to keeping you chocolate-covered. Thanks again for your input.
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AuthorSoul Full Living is about connecting with what honors and nourishes your soul. Archives
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