This will be my second Valentine's Day season, and I know to devote much production time to hearts small and large. I have also been busy replenishing stocks, left largely empty after the holidays. And thinking up a new Valentine format for our small boxes, a heart-adorned sibling to our ever-popular 9 Domes. Here it is above, four lovely hearts flanking five domes. It will be available in a red or bronze window box with a silver or red ribbon. But I have also decided to abide by the wishes of many of our customers who have been clamoring for...
Yesterday, at the Salem Holiday market, I was taken to task by a market goer who asked if my chocolates are gluten free. I told her that yes, they are, in spite of using a wheat-based glucose syrup. (Glucose syrup, a liquid sugar, is used in small amounts in ganaches to make them more stable.) She came back a few minutes later to tell me she had checked with a Celiac organization and that I was wrong, that there was gluten in my chocolates. So I decided to go back to my initial research, and provide the following information that...
Our chocolate kitchen is in high gear putting together beautiful gift boxes for the #sowaholidaymarket in just a few days. It will be held at the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in the South End at 41 Berkeley Street on Dec. 12th and 13th in Boston. With more than 70 juried artists, it is the best place to buy local and one of a kind gifts. I am so pleased to be part of it for the second year! You will find us in the Breezeway, booth #5
http://www.sowaholidaymarket.net/
The question I am asked by almost everyone who sees our chocolates for the first time is " how do you get them to be so shiny/colorful?". I provide the quick answer that I use a very thin layer of cocoa butter color before casting the mold, but I thought it would be useful to illustrate with this entry how the Pistachio Raspberry Big Hearts, shown above right, came to be. The first frame shows the mold with the three cocoa butter colors just sprayed. If you were to hold the mold to the light, it would be semi-transparent, because...
We have now done three markets at the South End Farmers Market, and what a thrilling experience it has been! My platform is really online, but the few farmers markets I have lined up give us such a great opportunity to share our chocolates with market visitors. They come from all over the world, showing what a vibrant destination Boston is, particularly at this time of year when the temperatures are crisp and the air perfect. My darling mother is visiting from Toulouse, France and has been a fantastic helper, participating in every market as the sample giver. See the...
