Archive for May, 2018

Latest Post

Heat and the effects on Chocolate

Filed in No Category by on 23rd May 2018 0 Comments • views: 1449

So … today I should really be in the Chocolate Room making shot glasses for La Finca Elvissa, La Finca Bodega and Tapas Tapas.

Its a hot sunny day and as I am not yet in a temperature controlled industrial unit I am stuck! It is too warm to work with chocolate today. I do have a small air conditioning unit but it really is not enough to control the temperature on very warm days.

Chocolate needs to be heated and cooled and moved around in order to be tempered. Tempered, in lay terms, means that the crystals that are in the chocolate work together properly and will set beautifully. So when cooled the chocolate will shrink away from the mould. It will look nice and shiny and have a clear crisp snap.

On warm days it is tricky to cool it enough and sometimes this causes the chocolate to have a “bloom” or a cloudy look on it. This often makes it looks like the chocolate has gone off and many people I know would bin the chocolate! All that has happened is that the chocolate has lost its temper! So it is not as strong as it was and will be softe when eating it.It won’t be amazing but it is still chocolate and it does still taste lovely!

 

To learn more you can book on to our chocolate making workshops – the next one is 16th June!

 

So, instead of struggling to fight with temperatures, I will enjoy the weather, take time to tend to our herbs and enjoy the garden and possibly work the night shift!

Hope you are enjoying the sunshine!

 

A New Festival in Port Sunlight! views: 28

We are really excited to have been working with Port Sunlight Village Trust to put on a little festival over Good Friday and Easter Saturday. The village is so beautiful and is a fantastic setting for a magical gathering for makers to come together and for families to come in and have a brilliant day […]

2024 is here! views: 106

A fabulous time for reflection, planning ahead and new beginnings? Or maybe just time to rest, reflect and refresh? We have had a very interesting 2023 – as we look to keep up with challenging times and keep our business running we have been a little bit behind with keeping up with the blog and […]

Is it summer yet? views: 302

It feels like it has been a long wait for summer and I am still wearing several layers when venturing out. I am hoping for bright skies and long evenings very soon! As we head into summer we are very much looking forward to being out and about. In May 23 we see the King’s […]

Earth Day 2022 views: 480

It is Earth Day today! What is Earth Day? Earth Day, first celebrated in 1970, is a celebration of the Earth and a reminder to protect the environment and to make more sustainable life choices. The first earth day was celebrated after a senator in Wisconsin, USA decided to organise a national demonstration to raise […]