at Fri, 30 Jan 2004 16:57:19 GMT in <bve2db$2fe$1
@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>, (Stuart S. Berr) wrote :

>I am interested in making my own chocolate from scratch. Can anyone
>recommend good books, web sites for instruction and supplies for getting
>started?
>

This is a question that comes up cyclically. I've answered it several
times. Perhaps the best summary, if you're interested, is my post " How
do you make milk chocolate" under . A DejaNews search should
find it quickly. The instructions apply equally to making dark chocolate -
simply delete the milk from the ingredients.

Before you start, I'd like to ask a few questions for you to consider.

How much effort are you prepared to make? (It will require a LOT)

How much time do you have available? (Plan on at least 3 days)

How good of a chocolate are you hoping to make? (Even decent chocolate will
require multiple attempts)

How much up-front money can you spend? (Depending on what you have in-
house, it may cost $500)

What's your goal? (In other words, why are you trying to do this?
Generally, the only reason that proves fruitful is simply to learn how it's
done. Other goals are usually more easily achieved by buying one of the
commercially available chocolates)

There's more information I can impart than what's in the post, if you're
*really* interested and want details on blending, ratios, bean types, etc.
--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)