July 28, 2015
Lots of discussion and conversation swirls around our booth at the Farmer’s Market each weekend. The most popular topics however seem to veer towards three main themes. White Chocolate, Chocolate Pairings and The Art of Tasting Chocolate. Since a lot of our readers live too far to make it out to our Farmer’s Market weekends, we thought we’d bring the conversation to you! For the next couple of weeks we’ll be writing Farmer’s Market Chitchat. So what do we talk about around the Chocology stand each week? Well, read on to join our Farmer’s Market chitchat!
Every weekend Chocology offers a tasting of our mouthwatering Fat Ass Fudge to the public at our Farmer’s Markets. Inevitably each week, when we offer our White Chocolate we get at least one, “Eww. . .I don’t like white chocolate!”
With some coaxing and cajoling however, many times we can convince them that Chocology Couverture pure white chocolate isn’t your ordinary white chocolate. Often times, after our customers taste our white chocolate they’re in line the next week with white chocolate at the top of their shopping list.
All white chocolate contains at least twenty percent cocoa butter—our contains 28% cocoa butter. Other ingredients might include sugar, milk and vanilla. Since white chocolate does not contain chocolate paste or cocoa liquor, it isn’t considered a chocolate product. White chocolate can vary greatly depending on the chocolate (Compound vs. Couverture) and ingredients used and the methods with which they are prepared.
Our white chocolate contains all natural ingredients. Since we use more cocoa butter and less sugar, our white chocolate isn’t as sweet as your typical run of the mill white chocolate, making it smooth and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness. Our mixing and tempering practices enhance the flavor and texture of our white chocolate making even the most finicky chocolate connoisseur fall in love at first bite.
“Wow! This tastes super amazing, it’s so creamy and not too sweet.”
“I’ve never been a fan of white chocolate, but I”m starting to think differently, thank you for the tasting!”
“This is VERY good and it tastes incredible. Hands down the best white chocolate I’ve ever had.”
Our Farmer’s Markets are great fun and so informal. Conversations abound as people gather around to taste, pair and join in the chocolate extravaganza! Do you like white chocolate? Have you tried Chocology White Fudge? We invite you to join the conversation via the comments section, Facebook or Twitter. You don’t have to be at our Farmer’s Markets to be in on the fun Farmer’s Market chitchat!
Next week we’ll be writing about: Chocolate Pairings. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever paired with chocolate? Join us next week and find out what we pair with at our Farmer’s Market.
July 21, 2015
Our little company was a rocking chocolate machine this past weekend. With all hands on deck we managed to be in several places – all at the same time.
With three farmers markets plus a four-day weekend music festival, Chocology wielded chocolate like the pros! What fun we had making connections with people and introducing the art of tasting chocolate.
Our weekend actually started the week before in our commercial kitchen, producing three hundred pounds of our Fat Ass Fudge. Madeline and Grandma worked tirelessly around the clock assembling boxes for the fudge, while Linda performed her magic with sweets. By Wednesday, twelve hundred boxes of fudge were ready to go along with boxes of our decadent truffles.
With six workers in tow, our weekend started Thursday at the Whole Foods Lake Grove Farmers Market where we reunited with old customers and met some new ones. David took off from his corporate job to assist his family in the business of chocolate for the long weekend.
Immediately following the Farmer’s Market, we headed out to our tent for the opening of the Great South Bay Music Festival. We were surrounded by three stages while people young and old flocked out to hear emerging artists and their favorite bands. This was Madeline’s first outdoor concert and while setting up she got to hear Colbie Caillat and Rachael Platten soundcheck before their concerts—tough job but someone’s got to do it!
Our Fat Ass Fudge signs made people smile (and even laugh out loud) and our “Don’t Chew, Don’t Swallow” banners peeked their interest. Lines of people crowded around for our Art of Tasting presentations. Pairing our chocolates with wine, many of the Blue Point Brewery’s award winning creations and even CIGARS made our offerings interesting and unique, and helped us to sell out of all of our wares throughout the weekend!
Meanwhile on Friday, David tended to our customers at the East Setauket Farmers Market before closing up and joining Linda and team at the festival. Saturday, Linda, David and team worked the festival together. On Sunday, David served the customers at our Port Jefferson Farmers Market and then joined Linda for the close of the festival.
To sweeten the pot even further, we were honored to raise money for charities in our Chocology Cares campaign. We look forward to continuing to give back to these organizations with each fudge sale we complete.
We learned so much about running an event of this magnitude and plan to implement what we’ve learned at future events. For instance, instead of giving all of the fudge choices at once, we learned to have people choose dark, white or cappuccino. Then we would offer the varieties in those categories, making it easier for our lines to move fluidly and providing an overall easier experience for our customers. It’s all about education and while we are educating the public we are also educating ourselves
It was an exhilarating weekend for us all. Starting our days at 5 a.m. throughout the weekend was a challenge and manning our various events felt like a whirlwind, but in the end we felt that we had fulfilled our mission ~ to educate and share our love of chocolate with the world. What fun it was to be in an atmosphere of celebration for four straight days. By Sunday evening we were all tired but so proud to have been a part of sharing a weekend with so many beautiful people, wonderful music and of course chocolate.
If you were at any of our events this weekend, we would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter. Here’s to people, fun, chocolate and long weekends!
October 13, 2014
1 sweet potato 3 eggs, whisked ¼ cup Coconut Oil, melted ⅓ cup raw honey ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 3 tablespoons Coconut Flour 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder ¼ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon cinnamon pinch of salt ½ cup Chocolate Chips
Instructions:
Bake the sweet potato. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, use a fork to puncture holes all around it, then throw in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
Once your sweet potato is soft and cooked through, peel off the skin and mash it up in a bowl. Turn your oven down to 350 degrees.
Add your wet ingredients: eggs, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla to the bowl and mix together.
Then add your dry ingredients: coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and chocolate chips.
Mix well.
Pour into an 8×8 glass baking dish.
Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Let rest to cool a bit.
If you’re looking for a decadent, super easy recipe for brownies, our favorite is right off the back of the Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate box. One-bowl brownies are so simple to make; you can be eating this sweet treat within 40 minutes, start to finish! We substitute chocolate chips in place of nuts (of course we do, we LOVE chocolate). So, if you’re feeling a bit wicked, whip out your ONE bowl and make a batch of these. They’re sure to please all those chocoholics in your family! [caption id="attachment_496" align="alignleft" width="224"] ONE BOWL BROWNIES[/caption]1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate ¾ cup butter or margarine 2 cups sugar 3 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup flour 1 Cup Chocolate Chips
Instructions:
HEAT oven to 350°F.
LINE 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Spray foil with cooking spray.
MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and chocolate chips; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.
BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool completely. Use foil handles to remove brownies from pan before cutting to serve.
If you try one of these recipes, please tell us about it. Did you make them both? Which was your favorite? Please share with us in the comments section here or on our Facebook Page or take a picture and send it to us on Instagram! We'd love to hear all about it. Thanks again to everyone who participated in our Happy Birthday to Me Give Away! Stay tuned for more contests in the near future. We appreciate your support!July 29, 2014
July 21, 2014
Chocolates with lower cacao contents pair well with lighter wines such as a chardonnay, sherry or dessert wine.
Dark or bittersweet chocolates pair well with a fuller body wine. Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir or Merlot are good selections when your chocolate of choice has a higher cacao content.
A good rule of thumb is to choose wines that are a bit sweeter than the chocolate you are going to taste.
Select quality chocolate, with impeccable origins and superb manufacturing practices.
In a wine tasting, it is customary to start with the lightest wines first and work your way up to the more robust reds. When pairing chocolate and wine, start with the lighter cacao content and work your way to the denser dark chocolates.
Cream and filled chocolates will have a delectable impact on the wine you are drinking. A boutique box of chocolates will pair well with wines that enhance the same flavors in the wine.
Match your wines and chocolates by color for a fun pairing experience.
Have fun and experiment! There’s no wrong way to pair. If you like it, then it’s right!
With those guidelines in mind, let’s have a sneak peak at the Chocology chocolates we feel will pair well with that bottle of red wine you’ve been saving in your pantry.Ingredients
2/3 cup (160 ml) Fresh Cream
150 Gram Dark Chocolate Bar
3 Medium Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 TBL Sugar
Unsweetened dark Cocoa Powder (for dusting)
Directions Heat the cream in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer through for a few minutes. Do not allow overheating or boiling. Break up the chocolate bar and add to the cream. Stir a few times until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat. Allow the mixture to cool. Separate the eggs. Whisk the whites with the sugar until soft peaks form. When the chocolate mixture has cooled, in a small bowl, beat the egg yolks. Add very small amounts of the chocolate mixture to the yolks, beating constantly so the egg yolks don’t scramble. Add enough chocolate to the yolks to make it look chocolaty. Add the egg yolk mixture back into the chocolate mixture and stir. Fold in the egg whites. Continue folding until all is mixed well. Pour into ramekins. Place in the refrigerator for about an hour to set. Dust with dark cocoa powder right before serving. Serves 5