Chocolography

What is chocolography?

Chocolography is a unique and new industry of personalized confectionary products. An image is scanned, and manipulated with software. Then the image is printed using food dye on royal icing over chocolate. Only 140 businesses, in 37 countries are licensed to use the Chocolography Food Imaging System.

This food imaging system does not use transfer sheets, or edible paper. The image is printed directly onto any product. Anything you can print on paper, can be printed onto chocolate,(within reason.) As usual, copyright restrictions must be kept in mind. All Chocolography products are FDA approved and are Kosher certified.

Use favorite portraits, logos, or special words. Chocolate, everyone loves it, and now another way to enjoy this sweet melt in your mouth goodness.

Printing is limited only by ones imagination! Printing could be on chocolate bars, cookies, coins, hard candy, truffles, bakery goods, lollipops, greeting cards, ornaments or even a business card.

The World’s Largest Truffle

Two sister are making these sizeable truffles that are slightly larger than a golf ball. They have a chocolate shell with a creamy filling in assorted flavors. They make them that size so they will hold more filling.

The sisters are from Brazil, but now reside in Michigan, where they make the truffles. They hope to sell them to area stores, and are developing a website.

Watch for these, I can only think about that much chocolate in one truffle. WOW!!

Hydrox Cookies - Back for a Limited Time

Kellogg is bringing back the cream-filled chocolate cookie. But only for a limited time. So if you love them, then get them while you can. The Hydrox cookie was first available in 1908.

Mars $1 Million Halloween Sweepstakes

People who buy a bag or the individual sizes of M&M's, Snickers, 3Musteteers, Twix, Milky Way, Skittles, or Starburst products, can enter UPC codes for the "Halloween Million" promotion at HalloweenMillion.com through October 31. Players will be directed to that brand’s "room," in the Million Dollar Mansion.

The rooms will contain clickable items, which may reveal an instant-win message. Prizes include coupons for free candy, and $1,000 M&M's branded Visa cards. People who play will be entered into the sweepstakes, for the $1 million grand prize. In all, there will be 20,000 instant-win prizes awarded. To extend the experience, each brand’s room, also features online games.

New items will be offered as part of the promotion, including a Halloween M&M’s blend called Cool Ghoul's Mix, and Snickers Rockin' Nut Road candy.

Chocolate and prizes, who could ask for anything more? Good Luck!!

Chocolate and Digestive Health

Adults and kids seem to always be on the go, especially more so now as the kids return to school. Everyone’s life becomes frantic and busier, and that means eating in a hurry or on the run. We should all try to slow down and eat right as a family.

But if this just can not be done, then eating chocolate granola bars can help with daily well-ness, when they contain probiotics that support the digestive health and boost immunity. With 70% of the immune system residing in the digestive tract, digestive health is an increasingly important part of daily health. If you can not slow down, eat chocolate, or a chocolate granola bar.

Know About Chocolates

Hedonics of chocolate - the pleasure, a pleasant state of mind.
Hedonistic sensation of eating chocolate - how it melts in the mouth, the sheer joy, delight, the pleasure of the senses and pleasant consequences when it starts to break apart and the way the rich flavors and sugars are released.
Couverture - cocoa beans transformed into bars of chocolate, or the quality coating used for making chocolate covered confections.
Chocolatier - one who creates confections from chocolate. Different from chocolate makers who create fancy chocolates, such as bonbons and truffles from cocoa beans and other ingredients.
Ganache - cream and chocolate, melted slowly and lovingly together.
Roasting the beans - this needs to be done at the right temperature for the right amount of time.
Winnowing - breaking the cocoa beans into small pieces called nibs and removing the shells.
Conching - in large vats called conchs, with very forceful kneading the cocoa beans are ground into nibs, usually with sugar, to form a chocolate paste, to the desired smoothness and to develop the flavors. The conching process reduces the moistness of cocoa mass and removes the volatile acids; in other words raw unprocessed chocolate is not ready to eat, because it is to gritty. To make it smooth, liquid and rich it is rolled and kneaded, at the right temperature. The process was invented in 1879.
Additives - depending on the final desired outcome certain ingredients might be added; vanilla, more cocoa butter and or soy lecithin.
Tempered - the process of heating the chocolate and then cooling it to a certain temperature, so that it has beautiful sheen and suitable snap.

Enjoy!!

Rising Candy Prices

Rising costs of the ingredients such as cocoa, sugar, corn sweetener, and nuts is making candy prices go to new heights. Some chocolate manufacturers are raising prices by 10%; and say that they could go higher.

Candy makers profits are low, and could be even lower that they expect. Raising the price for candy will help offset some of the rising costs of the commodities, which candy makers expect will more than double from 2008 to 2009. Consumers have seen prices rise, even on everyday food items, in the grocery stores by nearly 6%.

Look for fewer special price promotions and higher everyday prices. And of course the cost of transportation of these candy items before and after it is made, also enters into the picture.

New Fudge or the Old Time Favorite?

Some fudge makers are making a different types of fudges. They have a low fat fudge, a bake stable fudge, brownie fudge, and clotted cream fudge. They state that it gives the consumer the versatility of using the fudge in different ways.

For my tastes, I like the kind of fudge you eat, just the "Old Time Favorite Fudge." An undeniably scrumptious sweet treat. Fresh made, luxurious fudge brings to mind thoughts of home, my childhood and happy times. The richest of ingredients, that are slow cooked in hammered copper kettles, cooled on marble slabs and then hand paddled for super creaminess. Stir-ins could be added to make the fudge even more tempting. Some different ones could be chocolate chips, generous amounts of nuts, fruits, caramel, or a unique flavoring blended into the fresh made fudge. But still my tastes are only for eating and enjoying, not using the fudge for anything else.

Is It Really Belgian Chocolate?

There is a new code to protect the image of Belgian Chocolate. The "Belgian Chocolate Code" provides guidelines for labeling chocolate coming from Belgium. Starting on September 1st, it will be directed at protecting the reputation of manufacturers of Belgian chocolate and their products.

Belgian chocolates are widely considered to be of high quality; and they do not want the Belgian Chocolate to become a generic term, such as "coke." The code is also intended to prevent any consumers from being mislead into buying "Belgian" chocolates that are not completely Belgian.

The code of "Belgian Chocolate" is defined as ingredients that are refined and molded in Belgium. This means the grinding of the beans does not have to take place in Belgium. However, the code draws on the differences between end products; and finished products. For example pralines, the product needs to be made entirely in Belgium to be called Belgian chocolate.

In some cases, if only some of the chocolate was made in Belgium, then the code recommends the use of the phrase "Made with Belgian Chocolate," so consumers are not misled into believing that the product is 100% Belgian. The code is also intended to crack down on companies labeling products with phrases like "Belgian Style" or "Belgian recipe." The code is a code of practice and, as such, is not compulsory. Therefore no code police, but it is expected that companies will abide by the code. Whether Belgian or not enjoy the chocolate!!