Chocolate Using Maca Root and Cacao

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Thanks very much. I would like solid chocolate.

It will take a lot of practice and to be honest, will be quite expensive because the ingredients are not cheap and you'll have more failures than successes at first.

I suggest you read up on it. A lot depends on the humidity and the ambient temperature at the time you are making the chocolates. Especially so in the final stages. The wearer changing from sunny to raining whimsy they are coming can cause an unsightly bloom on the chocolates. Also you'll need some equipment. A thermometer is essential, and a marble slab makes life much easier for tempering. The molds are optional it you're happy with 'blobs' initially. A proper double boiler will make life much easier than trying to find the right sized bowl to balance on a saucepan and ensure that you've got the gap for air to escape from under the bowl. Chocolate making is a skill all by itself. I only took it up because 15 years ago the vegan chocolate options were awful and I used to live off chocolate.

 

[Amateur1]

Thanks. Maybe I'll stick with my chocolate quinoa with which everyone is now familiar

 

[karadekoolaid]

I´ll add my 2 cents for what it´s worth.
Venezuela has some of the finest, most aromatic cacao in the world. Until the end of the 19th century, it was the most prized in the world.
In the last 20 years there has been a huge revival of chocolate production in Venezuela, and local chocolatiers have made huge inroads into the international markets: look for Maria Fernanda di Giaccobe, Franceschi Chocolates, Willy Harcourt-Cooze and Sander Chocolatier. I´ve personally witnessed the hard work, meticulous dedication to detail and downright bloody-mindedness of these people (I´ve never seen Willy, unfortunately, but all the others can be counted as colleagues and friends) to making their chocolate world class .
Making really great chocolate is an art and is extremely laborious. As Einstein said: "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new".
So WELL DONE for making an effort to make chocolates; the road is long and full of pitfalls. However, if you are passionate about it, then don´t even DREAM of not giving it a go. Follow your instincts, don´t be afraid of making mistakes, and keep going until you are happy with the results.

 

[Amateur1]

I put some water into a pan with a lip. I put my pyrex bowl on top of it and melted the cacao butter in the pyrex bowl. It was great. Thanks for all your advice everyone.