TheChocolateLife on Clubhouse – Week 18
Featured Topics for the Week of July 19~23. Episodes 18.01~18.05 (84-88).
Plan to start your day listening in and participating Live From Brooklyn, NY and streaming globally ... it’s the Daily Open Chocolate Chat on Clubhouse! News, views, and wide-open conversations about topics in cocoa, chocolate, and more Weekdays starting at 10am EDT.
The Chocolate Life
The Chocolate Life is THE club on Clubouse that covers the important topics in cocoa and chocolate – topics you won’t hear discussed anywhere else. Our promise? No 💩. 💬💬 Join the Daily Open #Chocolate Chat weekdays at 10am EDT to be a part of the conversation. ⚡️⚡️ Want to connect with Clay di…
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Monday – Important Inventions in Chocolate Revisited
We covered this topic back in Week 4, but the recent series on the History of Chocolate in New York City prompts another look at this topic.
- Domestication (pre-history)
- Fermenting (pre-history)
- Mixing / flavoring (Mayan/Aztec?)
- Use of sugar (late 1500s Spain)
- Use of milk to make chocolate beverage (Sir Han Sloane, Jamaica – 1680s)
- Mechanical cocoa butter press (Casparus Van Houten – 1828 patent date)
- Alkalization of cocoa (Coenraad Van Houten Dutch process cocoa)
- Melangeur/Melangers (1830s?)
- Mechanical winnower for cocoa? Wikipedia entry on winnowing.
- Milk Chocolate (1875 by Henri Nestlé and Daniel Peter)
- Adding Cocoa Butter to mass (1847 Fry Family UK)
- Conching (1879 by Rudolphe Lindt)
- Refrigeration
- Tempering machines
- Enrobers
- The Praline/Bonbon (1912 Jean Neuhaus)
- White chocolate (1936-37)
- Cocoa pod breakers (h/t Chaitanya Muppala)
- Thermometers (probe, IR)
- Cocoa butter “silk” (h/t Dallas Southcott)
- Microwave oven (h/t DGH)
Did we miss any important inventions? Do you have a favorite tool you use in your production you can’t live without? Let us know in the Comments!
Tuesday – Agricultural/Cocoa Cultivation Systems
Cabruca, open shade, open sun, agroforestal vs agropecuarial, organic, biodynamic, and more (h/t Thomas Forbes)
Wednesday – Conching: Deep Dive
When is a conche not a conche? What is conching for? And more.
AMA: Ask Me Anything (About Cocoa or Chocolate) #8: What is Conching?
The Question This is another assertion that is not usually put in the form of a question. Rather, it is the misuse of a technical term: melangers (or melangeurs, a French term for mixer) are very often referred to as conches. Technically, melangers are a form of universal, so-called because
Clay Gordon
Conching - Wikipedia
Contributors to Wikimedia projects
Conching and Refining — Chocolate Alchemy
Home
Home
Thursday – Chocolate in NYC 1930-2000s:
Decline and Rebirth
The final episode in our series on the history of chocolate in NYC by Michael Laiskonis will tally the casualties of the mid-century conquest of “big chocolate” and bring us full circle from the small-scale makers of the 18th and 19th centuries to the artisan craft chocolate scene that is redefining our relationship with chocolate today.
Episode 18.04 — Chocolate_in_NYC_1930-2000s_Decline_&_Rebirth.m4a
Michael Laiskonis - The Chocolate Life
Pastry Chef, Consultant, EducatorThe Chocolate Lab at the Institute of Culinary Education NYCJames Beard Foundation ‘Outstanding Pastry Chef’ 2007IACP ‘Culinary Professional of the Year’ 2014
Originals
Chocolate Classes Return to ICE’s Bean-to-Bar Lab | Institute of Culinary Education
The deep aroma of roasted cacao beans and the familiar hum of the chocolate machines are back. Though much of the activity in the Institute of Culinary Education bean-to-bar Chocolate Lab was idle for the past year, public-facing educational programs return in August.
Recommended Reading: Crafting the Culture and History of French Chocolate by Susan J Terrio (Amazon).
Focus on Gianduia, Part 1: Introduction | DallasFood
Friday – The Cocoa Agroforestry Library
Featuring special guest Dr Christopher.
Sweet Sustainability: Cocoa Agroforestry Advantages - Conservation Commons
This three-day conference brought together 60+ leaders in science, industry, advocacy, and policy to break down the science behind cocoa production practices that benefit forests and farmers. Review the Conference Report. Download the full detailed agenda here. View bios of our speakers here. Scroll…
Cocoa Agroforestry Library
The Cocoa Agroforestry Library brings together all available scientific literature on cocoa agroforestry to support sustainable cocoa implementation and research.
Zotero | Your personal research assistant
What We’re Working on For Future Rooms
- Monday, July 26 (tentative) – The Flavors of Venezuela w/ Claudia Franceschi (h/t Christian Tyler).
- Tuesday, July 27 – Cadmium in Chocolate with ChocolateLife Contributor Keith Ayoob.
- Wednesday, July 28 – Slavery on Trial. A look at the meaning and implication of the SCOTUS decision, the pending case in the DC Circuit Court, and the CBP suit with special guests Terry Collingsworth (International Rights Advocates) and Ayn Riggs (SlaveFreeChocolate_Org).
- Thursday, July 29 – Intentional Chocolate y mas with Special Guests Dr Christopher, Stacey Burgess, and Lyn Bishop.
- Friday, July 30 – Meet the Makers with Special Guest Damion Badalamenti, startup chocolate maker and confectioner at both Cacao Prieto and KahKow, both in Brooklyn, NY.
- Day TBD – Cottage Food Laws (h/t Thomas Forbes).
- Day TBD – A Lighter Side: Chocolate in Movies, Musicals, Comics. From Willie Wonka to Chocolat to Spiderman villains and beyond.
Shared Resource Archive
TheChocolateLife on Clubhouse Resources - Google Drive
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Continue the discussion on any of the topics for this week’s rooms in the comments. Add your opinion or ask a question!