What is everyone's favorite website/catalog for ordering bulk
chocolate? So far Chocosphere looks to be pretty good, but I am sure
there are plenty I don't even know about.

Also, just a poll....what is everyone's favorite dark, milk, and white
chocolate? And what do you think is the worst?

Sorry for all the questions, I am just trying to get as much info as I
can before diving into this.

Stef

"SC" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> What is everyone's favorite website/catalog for ordering bulk
> chocolate? So far Chocosphere looks to be pretty good, but I am sure
> there are plenty I don't even know about.
>
> Also, just a poll....what is everyone's favorite dark, milk, and white
> chocolate? And what do you think is the worst?
>
> Sorry for all the questions, I am just trying to get as much info as I
> can before diving into this.
>
> Stef
>
I use Chocolate by Sparrow in Massachusetts, because they carry the brand I
use in discos and are relatively close by (the next state).

Note that your favorite chocolates for eating plain may not necessarily be
the ones you want to use in truffles and chocolates, for a variety of
reasons (flavor, price, etc). Unless you make nothing but plain chocolate
truffles, you'll be adding other flavors and ingredients, and you'll want a
chocolate that works with them. Also, don't overlook the possibility of
mixing several chocolates to get the balance of flavors you want.

Chocosphere is indeed very good, and is probably the most comprehensive
North American source for chocolate. Their selection is second to none in
the world, that I'm aware of. [Disclaimer: I may be a little biased
because I'm so spoiled, living a few miles from their HQ in Tualatin, Oregon
and being able to drop by the warehouse for my chocolate doses!]

Chefshop is good, and there are a few other similar sources of chocolate -
but none have the breadth of selection of Chocosphere. Chocosphere's prices
aren't as low as some other sources, but the minus of the other sources is
that you have to pay shipping for each order! With Chocosphere you can at
least order a broad selection in one fell swoop and minimize the shipping
costs.

Geoff

"SC" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> What is everyone's favorite website/catalog for ordering bulk
> chocolate? So far Chocosphere looks to be pretty good, but I am sure
> there are plenty I don't even know about.
>
> Also, just a poll....what is everyone's favorite dark, milk, and white
> chocolate? And what do you think is the worst?
>
> Sorry for all the questions, I am just trying to get as much info as I
> can before diving into this.
>
> Stef

Chocosphere is indeed very good, and is probably the most comprehensive
North American source for chocolate. Their selection is second to none in
the world, that I'm aware of. [Disclaimer: I may be a little biased
because I'm so spoiled, living a few miles from their HQ in Tualatin, Oregon
and being able to drop by the warehouse for my chocolate doses!]

Chefshop is good, and there are a few other similar sources of chocolate -
but none have the breadth of selection of Chocosphere. Chocosphere's prices
aren't as low as some other sources, but the minus of the other sources is
that you have to pay shipping for each order! With Chocosphere you can at
least order a broad selection in one fell swoop and minimize the shipping
costs.

Geoff

"SC" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> What is everyone's favorite website/catalog for ordering bulk
> chocolate? So far Chocosphere looks to be pretty good, but I am sure
> there are plenty I don't even know about.
>
> Also, just a poll....what is everyone's favorite dark, milk, and white
> chocolate? And what do you think is the worst?
>
> Sorry for all the questions, I am just trying to get as much info as I
> can before diving into this.
>
> Stef

at Mon, 27 Dec 2004 19:12:08 GMT in <1104174728.657369.159570
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>, (SC) wrote :

>What is everyone's favorite website/catalog for ordering bulk
>chocolate? So far Chocosphere looks to be pretty good, but I am sure
>there are plenty I don't even know about.

Chocosphere is indeed the best. It's hard to justify going anywhere else.
With selection that is second to none and ordering that sets the standard
for convenience, ease, and freedom from bugs, I can't imagine a better
source.

>
>Also, just a poll....what is everyone's favorite dark,

A bit too broad. Dark includes extra-bittersweet, bittersweet, semisweet,
and sweet dark.

However, there are 2 that really stand out anyway, IMHO: Amedei Chuao and
Guittard Gourmet Bittersweet.

> milk,

Much easier. Michel Cluizel Plantation Mangaro Lait.

> and white chocolate?

This one is truly a no-brainer: El Rey Icoa, the *only* white chocolate
IMHO.

And what do you think is the worst?

Baker's Bittersweet. In fact, avoid in general all "baking" chocolate -
stuff that comes packed in paper squares in boxes. Virtually all of it is
appalling.

--
Alex Rast

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

Baker's chocolate is truly vile, I agree.

I am planning on doing some price comparisons with my local Central
Market (they sell chocolates at decent prices and I don't have to worry
about shipping costs b/c I take it home myself).

Sorry about the broad dark chocolate question...I realized after I sent
it that it would be too broad. You still answered it and gave me the
info (opinion) I was looking for.

I am glad you picked an inexpensive chocolate for one category
(Guittard..which I have never tried before).

We agree on the white chocolate. El Rey's Icoa is sold at my Central
Market at a really good price and after sampling it, I was in love. I
also liked Callebaut's white although it is much milder in flavor.
Thanks for your info again, Alex!

Stef :-)

Thank you very much Geoffrey. Unfortunately, I don't live in OR. I
live far away in Texas (hot weather is a pain when it comes to
chocolate delivery too).

I will try Chefshop too since I am doing a little comparison shopping
right now.

Stef

Indeed, hot weather is a pain for all the mail-order chocolate companies,
but they have solved the problem using hot-weather packaging. My last order
from Chefshop (when they were the only source for Pralus) came with an
inexpensive coldpack, and via 2-day UPS it was still cold when I opened it.

If you want to be sure it doesn't get left on your hot porch, having it
delivered to your workplace is a good idea!

The hot-weather packaging isn't too much added cost; it helps if you make a
larger order and then store your chocolate properly.

Geoff

"SC" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Thank you very much Geoffrey. Unfortunately, I don't live in OR. I
> live far away in Texas (hot weather is a pain when it comes to
> chocolate delivery too).
>
> I will try Chefshop too since I am doing a little comparison shopping
> right now.
>
> Stef

Indeed, hot weather is a pain for all the mail-order chocolate companies,
but they have solved the problem using hot-weather packaging. My last order
from Chefshop (when they were the only source for Pralus) came with an
inexpensive coldpack, and via 2-day UPS it was still cold when I opened it.

If you want to be sure it doesn't get left on your hot porch, having it
delivered to your workplace is a good idea!

The hot-weather packaging isn't too much added cost; it helps if you make a
larger order and then store your chocolate properly.

Geoff

"SC" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Thank you very much Geoffrey. Unfortunately, I don't live in OR. I
> live far away in Texas (hot weather is a pain when it comes to
> chocolate delivery too).
>
> I will try Chefshop too since I am doing a little comparison shopping
> right now.
>
> Stef

On that subject, what is the best way to store high quality chocolate
(as opposed to low quality chocolate which goes in the trash :-) ).

I assume cool and dark before tempering and after room temperature???
Maybe the dark part doesn't matter.

Stef

at Wed, 29 Dec 2004 01:40:06 GMT in <1104284406.519091.208590
@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>, (SC) wrote :

>On that subject, what is the best way to store high quality chocolate
>(as opposed to low quality chocolate which goes in the trash :-) ).
>
>I assume cool and dark before tempering and after room temperature???
>Maybe the dark part doesn't matter.
>
Best is in the stomach. :-9

Next best is cool and relatively dry, but not bone-dry. *Very* dry
conditions tend to hasten flavour loss and can actually dessicate the
chocolate. But moist conditions are even worse because they cause sugar
bloom, which ruins the chocolate.

It goes without saying that you don't want the temperature to go high
because the chocolate will melt, but well before that it will get cocoa
butter bloom, another way to ruin chocolate. Despite the claims of some
companies, cocoa butter bloom does NOT leave the quality of chocolate
unaffected. Any kind of temperature cycling where it gets above 80F risks
blooming. Ideal temperature is about 60-65F.

Don't let the temperature go too low, either, because if it then cycles
high, the chocolate may sweat and then get sugar bloom, an effect of
condensation. Of course this is particularly pronounced if the relative
humidity is high.

Finally, keep it away from odours. Chocolate absorbs odours like crazy, and
this means that you *must* isolate it from cigarette smoke, perfume, musty
smells, strong-smelling foods like cheeses, onions, or fish, out-gassing
plastics (vinyl is particularly offensive), and most unfinished woods
(freshly made wooden cabinets can often be bad news).

--
Alex Rast

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

Thanks Alex. Storing may be hard in Texas. We use the air
conditioning, but we normally have the room temp at about 74F. What do
you think about a special cool storage (like the ones they have for
wines)?

On the odors...not a prob. No one smokes, or wears perfumes in my
house. We do somtimes have smelly types of food in the fridge though
(like turkey from Boxing Day).

Where do you put your chocolates?

S

"SC" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Thanks Alex. Storing may be hard in Texas. We use the air
> conditioning, but we normally have the room temp at about 74F. What do
> you think about a special cool storage (like the ones they have for
> wines)?
>

It depends how long you plan to store it. And whether you are talking about
storing plain chocolate or prepared chocolates. In both cases, ten degrees
cooler would be desirable, but it is crucial with prepared items. Obviously,
the shelf life of plain chocolate is longer than that of chocolates or
truffles. And the shelf life of the latter decreases as the temperature goes
up. Humidity is a major factor, also.

> On the odors...not a prob. No one smokes, or wears perfumes in my
> house. We do somtimes have smelly types of food in the fridge though
> (like turkey from Boxing Day).
>

The only thing you would be keeping in the fridge are extra fillings for
molded chocolates, which you should be able to store for a while without
problem in airtight containers. As always, fresher is better, and the degree
of assertiveness of the flavor in question--and the nature of the flavoring
material--matters also.

"SC" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Thanks Alex. Storing may be hard in Texas. We use the air
> conditioning, but we normally have the room temp at about 74F. What do
> you think about a special cool storage (like the ones they have for
> wines)?
>

It depends how long you plan to store it. And whether you are talking about
storing plain chocolate or prepared chocolates. In both cases, ten degrees
cooler would be desirable, but it is crucial with prepared items. Obviously,
the shelf life of plain chocolate is longer than that of chocolates or
truffles. And the shelf life of the latter decreases as the temperature goes
up. Humidity is a major factor, also.

> On the odors...not a prob. No one smokes, or wears perfumes in my
> house. We do somtimes have smelly types of food in the fridge though
> (like turkey from Boxing Day).
>

The only thing you would be keeping in the fridge are extra fillings for
molded chocolates, which you should be able to store for a while without
problem in airtight containers. As always, fresher is better, and the degree
of assertiveness of the flavor in question--and the nature of the flavoring
material--matters also.

at Wed, 29 Dec 2004 14:48:47 GMT in <1104331727.557122.227650
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>, (SC) wrote :

>Thanks Alex. Storing may be hard in Texas. We use the air
>conditioning, but we normally have the room temp at about 74F. What do
>you think about a special cool storage (like the ones they have for
>wines)?

I haven't seen one yet where the interior didn't smell *strongly* of some
ghastly plastic. The idea is sound, but the available implementations seem
to be poorly conceived. What's needed is a unit made of stainless steel,
inside and out. Unfortunately, most such equipment tends to be commercial
stuff, which means the capacity will usually be far, far more than what you
need. A less expensive and awkward method may be to get a separate small
air conditioner for one room and run it at a cooler temperature.

>On the odors...not a prob. No one smokes, or wears perfumes in my
>house. We do somtimes have smelly types of food in the fridge though
>(like turkey from Boxing Day).

The fridge is usually a bad place to keep chocolate anyway. It's too cold,
and it's rare that there won't be at least one item smelling up the inside.
And the interior is usually of the same kind of stinky plastic you find in
wine coolers.

>Where do you put your chocolates?

In the wintertime I keep them in a sealed, double-insulated box in my
bedroom. During the summer, they're in the same boxes, but now in an air-
conditioned basement.

--
Alex Rast

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

at Wed, 29 Dec 2004 14:48:47 GMT in <1104331727.557122.227650
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>, (SC) wrote :

>Thanks Alex. Storing may be hard in Texas. We use the air
>conditioning, but we normally have the room temp at about 74F. What do
>you think about a special cool storage (like the ones they have for
>wines)?

I haven't seen one yet where the interior didn't smell *strongly* of some
ghastly plastic. The idea is sound, but the available implementations seem
to be poorly conceived. What's needed is a unit made of stainless steel,
inside and out. Unfortunately, most such equipment tends to be commercial
stuff, which means the capacity will usually be far, far more than what you
need. A less expensive and awkward method may be to get a separate small
air conditioner for one room and run it at a cooler temperature.

>On the odors...not a prob. No one smokes, or wears perfumes in my
>house. We do somtimes have smelly types of food in the fridge though
>(like turkey from Boxing Day).

The fridge is usually a bad place to keep chocolate anyway. It's too cold,
and it's rare that there won't be at least one item smelling up the inside.
And the interior is usually of the same kind of stinky plastic you find in
wine coolers.

>Where do you put your chocolates?

In the wintertime I keep them in a sealed, double-insulated box in my
bedroom. During the summer, they're in the same boxes, but now in an air-
conditioned basement.

--
Alex Rast

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

That's easy. I keep my chocolate in a metal drawer in my desk at work. I
bring home just enough to keep my wife and kids supplied, but in Oregon I
don't need much precaution other than (in the summer) keeping it in the one
room with an air conditioner. But I do most of my chocolate ingestion at
work, since eating it in the evening may affect my sleep from the small
amount of caffeine.

Chocosphere has a fairly elaborate, large cold-storage unit in their
warehouse, so I let them do my long-term storage. I order about every other
month, so I don't have to worry about bloom or odor contamination because I
neither store long-term nor keep it in a bad place.

Geoff

"SC" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Thanks Alex. Storing may be hard in Texas. We use the air
> conditioning, but we normally have the room temp at about 74F. What do
> you think about a special cool storage (like the ones they have for
> wines)?
>
> On the odors...not a prob. No one smokes, or wears perfumes in my
> house. We do somtimes have smelly types of food in the fridge though
> (like turkey from Boxing Day).
>
> Where do you put your chocolates?
>
> S

What sort of insulation do you use in the box (or is the box itself
insulated). I used to have a large box that some injectable medicine
came in and it was made of the Styrofoam type material. Is this the
sort you are talking about?

The strange thing is that winter is the worst time for chocolate in my
house, b/c during the summer we have the air conditioning blaring
anyway. We don't always use the heat in our house but when we do it
can be really warm in here and that's the most worrying.

S

Thanks again. It must be nice to live so close to the
warehouse....lucky!

Stef

In article .com>, SC wrote:
> Where do you put your chocolates?

I ended up buying a mini-fridge for my chocolate. Alex said that they
all smell like some "ghastly plastic" (I assume he was referring to
fridges), but in practice any smell that mine might have had went away
very quickly once I loaded it with chocolate. I made sure to get one
without a freezer compartment, since that would throw off the heat
distribution inside the fridge, not to mention taking up valuable space.

I also got an external thermostat for the fridge. This has a
temperature bulb which I leave inside the fridge, and a control box to
set the desired temperature which stays outside. The temperature bulb
is connected to the control box by a flexible, thin copper pipe, which
has no problem sneaking through the rubber around the fridge door. The
fridge plugs in to the thermostat, which plugs in to the wall, and the
thermostat controls when the compressor can run. With the thermostat
set at 62 degrees, and the fridge sitting in a cool spot packed to the
gills with chocolate, the compressor hardly ever has to run.

In practice, this setup has worked extremely well for me. I haven't had
any trouble with fat bloom, sugar bloom, or external odors, and it
doesn't take much electricity to run. My main complaint is that I
should've bought a bigger fridge.

Blake

--
The listed "From:" address is valid for one week past the message date.

at Thu, 30 Dec 2004 19:55:15 GMT in <1104436515.143828.63360
@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>, (SC) wrote :

>What sort of insulation do you use in the box (or is the box itself
>insulated). I used to have a large box that some injectable medicine
>came in and it was made of the Styrofoam type material. Is this the
>sort you are talking about?

That's a pretty good type. I have one that features a closed-cell-foam core
and a reflective layer on both sides. This is good for critical uses. I
also have a couple of used Chocosphere boxes, with the 2-part clamshell
style foam enclosures. Finally, there are a couple of boxes that have loose
insulation - I like wool sweaters - coupled with bubble wrap.

>The strange thing is that winter is the worst time for chocolate in my
>house, b/c during the summer we have the air conditioning blaring
>anyway. We don't always use the heat in our house but when we do it
>can be really warm in here and that's the most worrying.

Yeah, I don't have that problem because the heat at my place is set to 60F
(I prefer a cool environment). But if you're a cold person, I suppose the
colder months could be a risk with heating set to a higher setting. Keep
your chocolate away from heat vents under these conditions.

--
Alex Rast

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

But what about mold in the summer? I once stored chocolate in a cooler in
the basement but it went totally moldy even though I did not open the
container all summer.


>
>>What sort of insulation do you use in the box (or is the box itself
>>insulated). I used to have a large box that some injectable medicine
>>came in and it was made of the Styrofoam type material. Is this the
>>sort you are talking about?

at Fri, 31 Dec 2004 13:28:12 GMT in >,
(marian) wrote :

>But what about mold in the summer? I once stored chocolate in a cooler
>in the basement but it went totally moldy even though I did not open the
>container all summer.
>

If the area you are storing it in is sufficiently musty to cause moulding,
it's a bad place to store chocolate anyway because even if the chocolate
itself doesn't become mouldy, the flavour will absorb the odours from the
air. I always pay very close attention to even the slightest hint of mould,
which is one reason I don't store it in my basement. In general, basements
are risky because they often have mould spores floating around.

OTOH, I have to wonder about what importance level chocolate holds in your
life if you didn't open the container all summer... ;-)

--
Alex Rast

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

> OTOH, I have to wonder about what importance level chocolate holds in your
> life if you didn't open the container all summer... ;-)
>

Yes, my reaction was "Why didn't someone just EAT it??!!"

> OTOH, I have to wonder about what importance level chocolate holds in your
> life if you didn't open the container all summer... ;-)
>

Yes, my reaction was "Why didn't someone just EAT it??!!"

That sounds perfect for us. I am going to have to get my husband to
read it and see if he can make something similar for me. We already
have a small fridge in our sunroom/bar for drinks but it has the
freezer compartment and I completely agree with you on the fact that it
throws the temp off (and takes up space).

I am sure you could absorb some of the "new fridge" plastic smell with
some baking soda (before loading it with chocolate).
I think we'll give it a try.

Thanks for the great idea Blake!

Stef

I'll have to keep the chocosphere boxes when I order from them.
Thanks Alex.

S

I'll have to keep the chocosphere boxes when I order from them.
Thanks Alex.

S

In article .com>, SC wrote:
> Thanks for the great idea Blake!

Glad you like it. I did put a box of baking soda in the fridge when I
got it, and it's still there. I don't know if the baking soda helped
with the odor, or if it was just having an overwhelming amount of
chocolate in there that made the difference.

For what it's worth, here are the details of what I have:

- An Avanti 249SYW fridge, 2.5 cu. ft. capacity with no freezer.
Mine stores three 3kg boxes of Valrhona fèves, plus a few slabs of
couverture and random other bars on top, and is nearly full.
There are lots of places online that sell these - mine was around
$160 delivered when I ordered it in August.

- An analog temperature controller, part# FE600 from morebeer.com
(a homebrew supply site). This ended up being some part from
Johnson Controls. It cost $50 through morebeer.com.

I considered getting a small wine fridge instead. Even the low-end wine
fridges seem to have some sort of temperature control, though I don't
know how accurate they are or what their ranges are. Wine fridges would
have also given more efficient storage, since they don't have a hump in
the back where the compressor is and they don't have molded plastic crap
on the door. But they're notably pricier, and if you found yourself
wanting to get a larger one (as I do now), the upgrade path would be
extra-pricy.

Hope this is helpful!

Blake

--
The listed "From:" address is valid for one week past the message date.

In article .com>, SC wrote:
> Thanks for the great idea Blake!

Glad you like it. I did put a box of baking soda in the fridge when I
got it, and it's still there. I don't know if the baking soda helped
with the odor, or if it was just having an overwhelming amount of
chocolate in there that made the difference.

For what it's worth, here are the details of what I have:

- An Avanti 249SYW fridge, 2.5 cu. ft. capacity with no freezer.
Mine stores three 3kg boxes of Valrhona fèves, plus a few slabs of
couverture and random other bars on top, and is nearly full.
There are lots of places online that sell these - mine was around
$160 delivered when I ordered it in August.

- An analog temperature controller, part# FE600 from morebeer.com
(a homebrew supply site). This ended up being some part from
Johnson Controls. It cost $50 through morebeer.com.

I considered getting a small wine fridge instead. Even the low-end wine
fridges seem to have some sort of temperature control, though I don't
know how accurate they are or what their ranges are. Wine fridges would
have also given more efficient storage, since they don't have a hump in
the back where the compressor is and they don't have molded plastic crap
on the door. But they're notably pricier, and if you found yourself
wanting to get a larger one (as I do now), the upgrade path would be
extra-pricy.

Hope this is helpful!

Blake

--
The listed "From:" address is valid for one week past the message date.

In article .com>, SC wrote:
> Thanks for the great idea Blake!

Glad you like it. I did put a box of baking soda in the fridge when I
got it, and it's still there. I don't know if the baking soda helped
with the odor, or if it was just having an overwhelming amount of
chocolate in there that made the difference.

For what it's worth, here are the details of what I have:

- An Avanti 249SYW fridge, 2.5 cu. ft. capacity with no freezer.
Mine stores three 3kg boxes of Valrhona fèves, plus a few slabs of
couverture and random other bars on top, and is nearly full.
There are lots of places online that sell these - mine was around
$160 delivered when I ordered it in August.

- An analog temperature controller, part# FE600 from morebeer.com
(a homebrew supply site). This ended up being some part from
Johnson Controls. It cost $50 through morebeer.com.

I considered getting a small wine fridge instead. Even the low-end wine
fridges seem to have some sort of temperature control, though I don't
know how accurate they are or what their ranges are. Wine fridges would
have also given more efficient storage, since they don't have a hump in
the back where the compressor is and they don't have molded plastic crap
on the door. But they're notably pricier, and if you found yourself
wanting to get a larger one (as I do now), the upgrade path would be
extra-pricy.

Hope this is helpful!

Blake

--
The listed "From:" address is valid for one week past the message date.

"Blake Jones" > wrote in message
...
> In article .com>, SC
> wrote:
>> Thanks for the great idea Blake!
>
> Glad you like it. I did put a box of baking soda in the fridge when I
> got it, and it's still there. I don't know if the baking soda helped
> with the odor, or if it was just having an overwhelming amount of
> chocolate in there that made the difference.
>
> For what it's worth, here are the details of what I have:
>
> - An Avanti 249SYW fridge, 2.5 cu. ft. capacity with no freezer.
> Mine stores three 3kg boxes of Valrhona fèves, plus a few slabs of
> couverture and random other bars on top, and is nearly full.
> There are lots of places online that sell these - mine was around
> $160 delivered when I ordered it in August.
>
> - An analog temperature controller, part# FE600 from morebeer.com
> (a homebrew supply site). This ended up being some part from
> Johnson Controls. It cost $50 through morebeer.com.
>
> I considered getting a small wine fridge instead. Even the low-end wine
> fridges seem to have some sort of temperature control, though I don't
> know how accurate they are or what their ranges are. Wine fridges would
> have also given more efficient storage, since they don't have a hump in
> the back where the compressor is and they don't have molded plastic crap
> on the door. But they're notably pricier, and if you found yourself
> wanting to get a larger one (as I do now), the upgrade path would be
> extra-pricy.
>
> Hope this is helpful!
>
> Blake
>
> --
> The listed "From:" address is valid for one week past the message date.

This sounds very ingenious, but the capacity is going to be WAY too small if
you plan to produce chocolates for sale even in a small way, Steph.

As far as storing untempered chocolate, etc. I am sure I can find
another place to put them (I do have cool, dark food closets) or I
could simply use what Alex does (insulated boxes).

I would probably limit the "fridge" space for completed chocolates.
When I start really making my chocolates, if I find that I have way
more than would fit into a fridge, I can always use more cold storage
boxes.

That's all down the road.

Stef

Thanks for the details on the fridge system, Blake.

S

"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
...
> at Wed, 29 Dec 2004 14:48:47 GMT in <1104331727.557122.227650
> @f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>, (SC) wrote :
>
>>Thanks Alex. Storing may be hard in Texas. We use the air
>>conditioning, but we normally have the room temp at about 74F. What do
>>you think about a special cool storage (like the ones they have for
>>wines)?
>
> I haven't seen one yet where the interior didn't smell *strongly* of some
> ghastly plastic. The idea is sound, but the available implementations seem
> to be poorly conceived. What's needed is a unit made of stainless steel,
> inside and out. Unfortunately, most such equipment tends to be commercial
> stuff, which means the capacity will usually be far, far more than what
> you
> need. A less expensive and awkward method may be to get a separate small
> air conditioner for one room and run it at a cooler temperature.
>
>>On the odors...not a prob. No one smokes, or wears perfumes in my
>>house. We do somtimes have smelly types of food in the fridge though
>>(like turkey from Boxing Day).
>
> The fridge is usually a bad place to keep chocolate anyway. It's too cold,
> and it's rare that there won't be at least one item smelling up the
> inside.
> And the interior is usually of the same kind of stinky plastic you find in
> wine coolers.
>
>>Where do you put your chocolates?
>
> In the wintertime I keep them in a sealed, double-insulated box in my
> bedroom. During the summer, they're in the same boxes, but now in an air-
> conditioned basement.
>

I move my chocolate as above, but I keep them in half-gallon Ball jars with
lids (plastic or otherwise).
Dee

"Alex Rast" > wrote in message
...
> at Wed, 29 Dec 2004 14:48:47 GMT in <1104331727.557122.227650
> @f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>, (SC) wrote :
>
>>Thanks Alex. Storing may be hard in Texas. We use the air
>>conditioning, but we normally have the room temp at about 74F. What do
>>you think about a special cool storage (like the ones they have for
>>wines)?
>
> I haven't seen one yet where the interior didn't smell *strongly* of some
> ghastly plastic. The idea is sound, but the available implementations seem
> to be poorly conceived. What's needed is a unit made of stainless steel,
> inside and out. Unfortunately, most such equipment tends to be commercial
> stuff, which means the capacity will usually be far, far more than what
> you
> need. A less expensive and awkward method may be to get a separate small
> air conditioner for one room and run it at a cooler temperature.
>
>>On the odors...not a prob. No one smokes, or wears perfumes in my
>>house. We do somtimes have smelly types of food in the fridge though
>>(like turkey from Boxing Day).
>
> The fridge is usually a bad place to keep chocolate anyway. It's too cold,
> and it's rare that there won't be at least one item smelling up the
> inside.
> And the interior is usually of the same kind of stinky plastic you find in
> wine coolers.
>
>>Where do you put your chocolates?
>
> In the wintertime I keep them in a sealed, double-insulated box in my
> bedroom. During the summer, they're in the same boxes, but now in an air-
> conditioned basement.
>

I move my chocolate as above, but I keep them in half-gallon Ball jars with
lids (plastic or otherwise).
Dee

"SC" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> As far as storing untempered chocolate, etc. I am sure I can find
> another place to put them (I do have cool, dark food closets) or I
> could simply use what Alex does (insulated boxes).
>
> I would probably limit the "fridge" space for completed chocolates.
> When I start really making my chocolates, if I find that I have way
> more than would fit into a fridge, I can always use more cold storage
> boxes.
>
> That's all down the road.
>
> Stef
>
Also, I didn't mention that refrigerators are WAY too humid. And if you do
use one for storage, and take things out of it in hot, humid weather, you
will find that they sweat and ruin the finish. If you are serious about
making chocolates to sell, plan on setting aside one room to air condition.
And of course, it must be a room that will pass your state licensing
process.

And we haven't even gotten into the fact that the upper 70s is touch and go
for tempering... it's a complicated undertaking, I'm afraid.

"SC" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> As far as storing untempered chocolate, etc. I am sure I can find
> another place to put them (I do have cool, dark food closets) or I
> could simply use what Alex does (insulated boxes).
>
> I would probably limit the "fridge" space for completed chocolates.
> When I start really making my chocolates, if I find that I have way
> more than would fit into a fridge, I can always use more cold storage
> boxes.
>
> That's all down the road.
>
> Stef
>
Also, I didn't mention that refrigerators are WAY too humid. And if you do
use one for storage, and take things out of it in hot, humid weather, you
will find that they sweat and ruin the finish. If you are serious about
making chocolates to sell, plan on setting aside one room to air condition.
And of course, it must be a room that will pass your state licensing
process.

And we haven't even gotten into the fact that the upper 70s is touch and go
for tempering... it's a complicated undertaking, I'm afraid.

I don't plan on worrying about it that much. I just plan to make some
and sell what I can for fun. If it all ends up being really popular,
etc. then I'll worry about all of the other stuff.

Quite frankly this is part hobby, part frustration at having no good
chocolate store for miles around, and part "possibly" extra money. I
just noticed that people really took interested when I said I was going
to start making my own, so why not try to get something extra out of
it.

S

I don't plan on worrying about it that much. I just plan to make some
and sell what I can for fun. If it all ends up being really popular,
etc. then I'll worry about all of the other stuff.

Quite frankly this is part hobby, part frustration at having no good
chocolate store for miles around, and part "possibly" extra money. I
just noticed that people really took interested when I said I was going
to start making my own, so why not try to get something extra out of
it.

S