Using Fortunato Chocolate

[Jim D.]

Those of us at the eGullet workshop in Las Vegas this past May were given, among other goodies, a large block of an unidentified milk chocolate. Several of us agreed that it was among the best milks we have tasted, and my own view was that it was the best, no question. Thanks to @Chocolot I learned that the sample came from Chef Rubber and was an example of Fortunato No. 3. For those not aware of this relatively new-to-the-market product, there is a website that explains the remarkable story of its rediscovery. I definitely wanted more and learned that Chef Rubber is the sole distributor of Fortunato in the U.S. I did not want to purchase a huge amount without knowing what it is like to work with (in particular, tempering and making shells), so wrote to one of the two discoverers of the chocolate, who referred me to Chef Rubber, from which I received this information:

 

Quote

 

For the Couverture we do not add vanilla or lecithin to the product so tempering is helpful to add one tenth of one percent.

I would thin down the couverture with 3% to 5% plain cocoa butter for shell coating to make thinner shells.

 

 

This was not particularly good news to me since I don't like to tamper with the formulations of couvertures (by adding cocoa butter, for instance). On the other hand, I don't want to temper something that, within a few minutes, turns into a blob of solid chocolate. I do have some liquid lecithin, so might experiment, but with Christmas orders approaching, I don't have time to play around too much. One problem I foresee is what to do with leftover chocolate. I assume I would not add the lecithin again, probably not the cocoa butter, but I would have to keep track of how much of the chocolate is leftover (and thus has been doctored) and how much is new. This alone sounds like a pain. Any suggestions on how to approach this issue? I am puzzled as to why the usual additives would not have been included in the grinding, conching, tempering process (which, by the way, was done by Felchlin in Switzerland, though their name is not officially used on the product). Incidentally I have not tasted the dark chocolate, though Norman Love and Jin Caldwell are excited about it.

[pastrygirl]

5 hours ago, Jim D. said:

I am puzzled as to why the usual additives would not have been included in the grinding, conching, tempering process (which, by the way, was done by Felchlin in Switzerland, though their name is not officially used on the product)

 

I use Felchlin's Arriba 72% which doesn't have soy lecithin, and I also just got some of their Madagascar 64% that is also additive-free.  My understanding is these are both conched for 72 hours.  The Arriba is plenty liquid, I haven't tried molding with the 64 yet.

 

So I don't think you should assume you need to add lecithin just because it's not already in there.  If it's too thick, thin with CB as needed.  If those scraps are blended with new, adjust that to your liking.  Or if you  don't want to add anything at all and it is too viscous for shell molding, use it in ganache.

 

You may be over-thinking it

[Jim D.]

9 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

So I don't think you should assume you need to add lecithin just because it's not already in there.  If it's too thick, thin with CB as needed.  If those scraps are blended with new, adjust that to your liking.  Or if you  don't want to add anything at all and it is too viscous for shell molding, use it in ganache.

 

You may be over-thinking it

 

Me over-thinking it? Never! I think of it as a healthy OCD.

 

I'm glad you mentioned the chocolates without lecithin. I'm not keen on using it because a little too much, and it thickens the chocolate. Norman Love and Jin Caldwell (Jinju Chocolates) appear to use Fortunato for bars both plain and with additives. I have not yet found anyone who uses it for shells, which may say a lot. I was leaning toward getting some to use in ganache if not for anything else.

[pastrygirl]

Also, I'm not sure how many health nuts are in your neck of the woods, but around here there is a faction who wants soy-free chocolate because soy is one of the crops most associated with GMOs.  One natural foods co-op I was talking to said if there was soy in my chocolate I had to provide certification that it was non-GMO soy.  I believe Theo (my local large bean-to-bar maker) is completely soy free, and lots of other bean-to-bar makers are also proudly just cacao and sugar.  Some of them may still suck (I can't get behind the gritty un-conched stuff) or not be couverture, but soy lecithin is far from essential.

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, pastrygirl said:

Also, I'm not sure how many health nuts are in your neck of the woods, but around here there is a faction who wants soy-free chocolate because soy is one of the crops most associated with GMOs.  

 

I would expect nothing less from Seattle residents! 

 

In this neck of the woods, we don't allow health nuts (your words), and soybeans are a big crop--regardless of their origin.