Ordering Chocolate

[Stargazer34683]

I have been lurking and reading for about a week now. This is my first post and I feel silly. I typed melting chocolate into the search to try and find my answer. However it brought up TONS of results. On to the simple question. I am going to buy my first brick of chocolate to attempt my first batch of truffles. I have settled on a 11lb block of Callebaut to start. However understandably on the website it stated that due to the time of year some melting might occur. My question which actually shouldn't have taken so long is, If the bar partially melts in transit would this in any way hurt my efforts? I will of course be melting it and tempering it anyway.

[Lisa Shock]

That may depend on where you live...

Where I live, in Phoenix, AZ, we can often see summer daytime temperatures of over 120°. This means that the inside of a delivery vehicle or car can easily exceed 170°, which is hot enough to burn chocolate. (Yep, it's common to see people here using oven mitts to get into cars in the summer!)

In general, you do not want your package to get over 120°. Depending on where you are, you may wish to wait til cooler weather appears, or pay for a cold-pack with the shipping.

[Stargazer34683]

That may depend on where you live...

Where I live, in Phoenix, AZ, we can often see summer daytime temperatures of over 120°. This means that the inside of a delivery vehicle or car can easily exceed 170°, which is hot enough to burn chocolate. (Yep, it's common to see people here using oven mitts to get into cars in the summer!)

In general, you do not want your package to get over 120°. Depending on where you are, you may wish to wait til cooler weather appears, or pay for a cold-pack with the shipping.

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Aaah Yeah I live in Tampa, FL. Never usually as hot as it is there but still pretty sweltering. I will have to see if cold pack is an option when I check out. The price of the chocolate was about 25$ cheaper than anywhere else I had seen. Surfasonline.com sure if anyone else has ordered from them.

[Lior]

Maybe search for a store near you that sells chocolate and other ingredients- there must be one. Ask a bakery, they'll know. They may even sell you some to begin with, but they must have suppliers in the vicinity. This saves on shipping costs and melting issues as well. Good luck!

[pastrygirl]

If it melts and resolidifies out of temper you can still use it, but then you don't have in-temper 'seed' chocolate to use if you usually temper by the seeding method. That can be kind of a pain. I had some chocolate get stuck in India in transit that was just completely separated and super grainy when it finally arrived, and while I have done my best to re-temper it, it's not nearly as good as if it had been handled differently in shipping - but maybe that just shows my weak tempering skills.

Its really best if they can keep the chocolate solid in transit

[devlin]

I'd also recommend looking for a local source. I live in the Louisville area and we have a fabulous, massive place locally that supplies everything imaginable to local restaurants and bakeries (and also has a small storefront for the public), including big blocks of callebaut and 1 pound bags of the stuff chopped up. Asking a local bakery or restaurant who does good desserts is a good idea, and they'll be able to direct you to a place. It'll save you a bundle on shipping, not to mention the cost may be a bit lower than the usual retail outfits.

Edited September 27, 2008 by devlin (log)

[beacheschef]

I'm in Florida and often order chocolate from Rader Foods in Miami (http://www.raderfoods.com). Since I'm in-state, chocolate ships quickly (1-2 days with regular shipping). And, I place huge orders for pick up when my husband heads to South Florida on business.

I used to order from Culinaire Specialty Foods, also out of Miami. They were also very easy to work with - call them at (305) 635-1249. They e-mailed me a current catalog, which I used to place a couple of orders with them.

It's worth the money to pay for cool-packs in chocolate shipments. The cost is negligable when there's a possibility that you could damage your shipment of chocolate.