Spring Has Sprung

"Local" is the new theme for my Spring Collection this year. Here's how local it gets. It didn't take a lot of searching to find just the right tangerines for my tangerine gel which is featured in the brand new Spring Collection. I just looked across the aisle at the College of San Mateo Farmers' Market on Wednesday morning. There I saw my fellow vendor at R. Schletewitz Family Farm, his stall loaded with crates of bright orange tangerines. I left the market with an entire crate. I spent an hour juicing the fresh fruit, tasting as I went. Then I made a reduction of the juice. This took 6 hours over very low heat. This was to concentrate the natural sugars to preserve the tangy fresh taste. The naturally thickened, concentrated juice was then filled into 55% dark chocolate shell molds, each holding about 10 grams of the precious gem-colored fruit gel. The experience of eating this pieces is surprising and almost alarming. If the snap of the chocolate opening and the appearance of the bright orange color don't startle you, the tangy, spring taste ending with a lively chocolate finish will. Go for the thrill and buy my 2009 Spring Collection

What Are You Waiting For?

Ask yourself, "Is it the touch, or is it the vision, or is it the passionate taste that I've been waiting to experience?". With the Go To Chocolate Velvet Heart, all three come together in a pleasurable instant. Don't think that the nostalgic appearance belongs just to days gone by. Sieze the moment. Select this completly satisfying gift to give or to get. The chocolates are smooth, sleek and above all passionatly delicious.

Is Chocolate the Reason for the Season?

Yes! And here's why. A lot of love goes into my gorgeous-looking and fabulous-tasting chocolate works of art. And when I see, face-to-face, the love that my customers put into the selection of their chocolate gifts, it is clear, that chocolate will be making many people merry. Chocolate will be the vehicle for expressing so many of love's facets: gratitude; friendship; generosity; affection; commitment; etc. So, now that we find ourselves deep into the season of the longest nights, I agree, it is the love that flows through the chocolates I make, to your hands, to the hands of the receiver, and finally flows through every delightful bite of chocolate, that is the reason for the season. Remember, chocolate is to food, what song is to speech, and what dance is to movement. It is greater than itself. It is a taste of something divine.

Winter on the Web

It wasn't easy but all the items I make and typically sell at the Farmers' Market are now on the Chocolates page of the website. With a little patience you can scroll through all the types of chocolate I make. Looking at the great pictures by Barak Yedidia will make the browsing worthwhile. Use the PayPal shopping cart if you want me to ship out your order. On the other hand, if you shop at one of my five weekly Farmers' Markets, send me an email with your order at michael@gotochocolate.com. Then I will bring it for you to pick up when you come to the market: College of San Mateo Saturday or Wednesday 9am-1pm; Pacifica Wednesday 2pm - 6 pm; Belmont Sunday 9am - 1pm; Half Moon Bay Saturday 9am - 1pm. Hope that makes sense. Call me if you have questions. My cell is 650-339-1900. I really want to make it easy for you to get my fabulous chocolates anyway you'd like to. That's why I make them after all!

The Chocolate Caramel Apples Have Arrived

Many of you have already been buying these treats. I've been selling them at the Farmers' Market since October 1st. This is a delicious confection that starts with fruit and ends with nuts, and in between are layers of creamy caramel and dark chocolate. There is a certain excitement in the air when the caramel apples are available. Everyone knows the season won't last for long, only about 2 months. And it is just so exciting and satisfying to actually eat something so beautiful and big, knowing it is made out of really good stuff. Just so you know, making these wonderful apples is a three day process. The first day, the apples are hand washed and allowed to dry. The next day, the sticks are inserted right before the caramel is cooked. It takes about 90 minutes to boil a kettle of caramel. It is done when the color is right and the boiling temperature is 240F. The hot, bubbly caramel is taken off the heat, then it cools to 200F. Now the apples can be dipped in the golden liquid. The apples must be rotated by hand in a twirling motion, in mid-air, to set the caramel so it doesn't all slump off. Then it gets to rest overnight. The next day, pure dark chocolate is melted and tempered. When it is ready, the apples are dunked into the warm chocolate, being careful to leave some of the surface of the lovely caramel exposed. Before the chocolate is completely set, the apples are rolled through a bed of roasted, chopped almonds. These almonds add color and nutrient-dense crunch to the eating experience. These Chocolate-Almond-Caramel Apples are truly something special. I'm happy to have some customers who ask me to slice into them right when they buy them at the Market. The perfect snack.

Get Outside, Go To The Farmers' Market

I looked back on my blog entries and I realized how much I talk about the weather. Actually it's about how chocolate and the weather go together. When I'm outside for so many hours a week talking to customers at the various Farmers' Markets, it is easy to see how people's appetites and moods go with the temperature. So that explains why my hot chocolate only lasted a few minutes at the cool, foggy, Wednesday morning market at College of San Mateo. I'm offering 72% Dark Chocolate, made first into a water infusion, then blended with hot milk. It resembles a traditional cup of hot cocoa. But if you try it you'll quickly see how rich and exciting it is. Of course, I sell the 72% Dark Chocolate wafers so that you can also make it at home. At my house, however, the favorite drink is to have the 72% Dark Chocolate/hot water infusion straight. There is no other chocolate experience quite like it. The flavor is all right there, no hiding behind milk or other ingredients. It is liquefied, warm chocolate. It delivers the full force of the chocolate flavor sip after sip. The recipe for this is on the bag of 72% Dark Chocolate when you pick it up at the market.

Fall Is In The Air, Gathering Nuts

This Thursday evening will be the season closer for San Carlos Hot Harvest Nights. And we certainly have had some very hot nights, many in excess of 90F. In a couple weeks, my Chocolate Marshmallow Gelato Pops and Chocolate Sodas will be just a memory. I am now designing my Winter Collection of chocolates. For this chocolate artist, the creative juices really only get flowing when the weather actually changes. And I need to see the seasonal produce in front of me, unlike the big companies who create their "Holiday Assortments" in, maybe, May. So for now I only know that I will be continuing to provide the Mediterranean Fusion Collection. But I can tell you that I'm thinking about using some premium Oregon Hazelnuts. I'm taking some time to get better acquainted with this nut. Many of you have asked about it. I've found out that the most "local" source is Oregon. And the flavor quality is outstanding. When combined with my chocolate, it is not sharp and piercing like some European versions. But rather it is mellow and fascinating. This works for me because I like my palate to be so intrigued by a flavor that I just can't get enough. I hope this will appeal to you, too.