No More Artificial Colors

Three years ago, I did not pay much attention to artificial food dyes as my focus was the chocolate business which is not as impacted by this issue as the candy business. As many of you may know, a few years ago I found a high end gourmet hard candy lollipop that was selling for $6.50 in a Jacksonville retail shop and it changed my career drastically. The ingredients were not items I would want to feed my child and it was made in China. It was this finding that pushed me start paying closer attention to labels and to eventually open an all natural sweet shoppe.

As I began to focus on creating all natural sweets I quickly realized that using all natural colors, which are typically plant based in high heat hard candy, is tricky. It took some time but I conquered this challenge and as a result the tastes of the sweets are much better. Anyone who has ever eaten a cupcake covered with bright blue or red icing is aware that you can taste the chemical filled artificial dye. My costs are higher but I find my customers are okay with paying a little more for the quality and appreciate the extra effort taken to provide healthier ingredients.

There are many problems with artificial colors, one being that they are petroleum based, another is the fact that there is much research to support that they are triggers for children with autism, ADHD and ADD and last but not least, they are in everything.

While most consumers are aware that food with bright or unnatural colors likely contain food coloring, far fewer people know that seemingly "natural" foods such as oranges and salmon are sometimes also dyed to mask natural variations in color. At Sweet Pete’s we sell all natural ice cream. Our mint chocolate chunk ice cream is white and our strawberry is very light pink, consider this when you order your child a scoop of bright pink strawberry ice cream or deep blue Superman ice cream. Where are the fresh fruits that give the white cream only a hint of sweet color?

After long stating that no scientific evidence conclusively links the petroleum-based colorants to hyperactivity and other ills, last month the FDA agreed to reassess them. A panel of experts reviewed studies to suggest any policy changes. The FDA concluded its two day deliberation and has unfortunately voted 8 to 6 in favor of synthetic food dyes. It stated that, while dyes may cause allergic reactions in certain individuals, they do not pose a health risk to the general population.

Whatever the case may be, almost all expert nutritionists agree that it’s best to limit, if not completely avoid, chemically processed foods. In my sweet shoppe, I prohibit any artificial colors or flavors. I am proud to serve all natural sweets to my customers and their children.


Next week is Easter and many of you will dye eggs and make delicious sugar cookies. It is easy to make these items with all natural dyes!

•Sugar cookies- Follow your regular icing recipe and use drops of food coloring from India Tree or Nature’s Flavors instead of artificial. The natural color dye can be dropped into sugar and stirred to create all natural sanding sugar.

•Easter Egg Dyes- All natural dying kits are available at Whole Foods and other small natural food shops. If you are really hard core you can go to the following link to make your own dyes.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/holidayhowtos/a/eastereggdyes.htm

Savannah Bee Company

Sweet Pete's is very excited to carry our new line of honey from Savannah Bee Company. All of the honey is delicious and it has been exciting to learn all about Nature's best sweetener from the Savannah Bee Company. I am so excited about our new partnership with Savannah Bee Company that I have asked them to guest blog this week.

Savannah Bee Company is a specialty honey company located in Savannah, Georgia. One of our missions is to show others the variety of ways our honeys can be enjoyed. Many people love honey in their tea and on toast, but what about honey on a pork tenderloin or in vinaigrette salad dressings?
One our favorite times to show off honey and its versatility is when entertaining friends. On our website (www.savannahbee.com) we have a number of recipes that use honey in many different ways. Gorgonzola cheese stuffed figs with Cheese Honey drizzled over the top, Butternut Squash Soup, Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Honey, Glazed Salmon, and our version of the mojito, a Tupelojito, are just a few of the ideas we’ve put on our website.
One of the most unique, popular, and easy appetizers we recommend is the Savannah Bee Honeycomb Platter. The ingredients are fresh and simple: Savannah Bee honeycomb, green apple slices and other fruits; our favorites are strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, fresh baguette slices, and one or two fresh local cheeses. Our Flagship Store on Broughton Street in Savannah purchases cheese to sample on our honeycomb platter from two very excellent and local cheesemakers. Any fine cheese will pair well with the tart apples and sweet honeycomb. We love a sharp blue, Gouda, cheddar, goat, or Brie cheese. Feel free to sprinkle chopped rosemary, walnuts, or almonds over the top of the honeycomb.
Next time you are entertaining, try a little honey. Put together your own honeycomb platter, try your hand at cheese stuffed figs, or play bartender with our delicious Tupelojito! Honey is great, simple, healthy ingredient that is sure to impress.


To learn more about honey and the Savannah Bee Company join us at our March honey events:

3/24 5:00-8:00 pm
Free Honey, Cheese and Wine Tasting
Meet Savannah Bee Company's honey experts
Honey Recipes
Paint a ceramic honey pot with Morning Glory Fire Arts ($15.00)

3/26 Free Beepalooza 6:00-9:00
6:00 The 2011 Florida Honey Queen Jayla Gillespie
The Jax Beekeepers
Honey Tasting
7:00 Free outdoor showing of Jerry Seinfeld's, "The Bee Movie"
Paint a ceramic bee plate with Morning Glory Fire Arts
(Reservations required for pottery only. $10.00)

Looking for the Perfect Valentine's Day Dessert?

In my twenty years as a chocolatier and candy maker, I have made hundreds of truffle recipes. I have found that the classic truffle recipe is still the best. This simple recipe can be made by anyone capable of mixing three ingredients together. People who want to challenge themselves may want to experiment with some of the advanced techniques offered at the bottom of the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsps. Karo syrup
8 oz. finely ground dark chocolate (I recommend Barry Callebaut)
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Directions:
• Boil Karo and cream. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil remove from the heat.
• Whisk in chocolate and unsalted butter, stir until smooth.
• Pour into a cooling pan lined with waxed paper.
• Refrigerate 10 minutes.
• Put in a kitchen aid with the paddle attachment and beat on medium for 30 seconds (this process can be done by hand).
Beginners: Roll into balls and roll in cocoa powder, chocolate chips, shavings, roasted and chopped nuts or sprinkles.
Intermediate: Roll into balls and dip into tempered dark chocolate.
Advanced: Shell mold in dark chocolate to create an elegant presentation.
Store truffles in the refrigerator, the truffles will last a couple weeks if kept refrigerated.
Tips:
• Add your favorite liquor to the mixture. 2 Tbsp. to taste can be added with the butter and chocolate step. I recommend Chambord, Grand Marnier or Rum.
• To add dry spices, tie the spices into cheesecloth and boil with the cream and Karo.
• Most grocery stores have an all natural section where all natural chocolates and sprinkles can be purchased. I recommend India Tree brand all natural sprinkles.
• Pair with a nice red wine, I recently tried Ferrari-Carano Cabernet Sauvignon and really enjoyed the combination.
This recipe is very easy but if you would like to expand your chocolate knowledge, I am teaching truffle classes throughout February. The classes cover tempering and shell molding and each student leaves with a ½ pound of decadent dark chocolate truffles.

Going Green-All Natural Green Food Coloring

Today I had a major breakthrough with my hard candy line. Natural flavors and colors are usually less forgiving than their artificial counterparts. When making hard candy with natural ingredients, it often requires patience and skill. This is especially true of colors. If color is added at the wrong time or temperature, it can burn off or turn color. In addition, too much stirring to incorporate into a batch can cause crystallization –a fudge like consistency as opposed to that of clear glass. Artificial colors and flavors are far more heat resistant and require less work when folding into a batch.
I have found that green is especially tough to work into hard candy. The colors we experimented with tended to burn off or turn to a strange looking teal or a murky sea-blue. Although, many natural flavors are heat resistant, they do not work well at a heat in excess of 200 degrees. I was able to overcome this obstacle by creating a method of bringing down the temperature while still incorporating the color. The result was a consistent, pretty green piece that retained its clarity. The first green batch I made into sour apple, which I consider to be my second best flavor to date (second to cinnamon-ancho). Tomorrow, I will test a kiwi with a pretty lime green color. Wish me luck!
There are a lot of great flavors that can be used in a green lollipop, make sure to comment if you have any ideas.

Decadent & Affordable Chocolate Martinis

Just read this article on the joys of chocolate liqours on Fox News. I am a big fan of chocolate drinks and chocolate martinis are loved by the loyal 3rd Thursday artwalk fans of Peterbrooke Chocolatier Atlantic Beach. I Thought I would make sure my followers know that good old fashioned Creme De Cocoa will work great in any chocolate drink at a better price. Make sure to invest in really good chocolate to rim the glass.

Perfect Chocolate Martini Recipe
Mix together and pour over ice
2 parts cold vodka
1 part dark Creme De Cacoa
squirt chocolate syurp


Dip martini glass in chocolate syurp and then in dark chocolate shavings
shake liqour mixture and strain into glass.

Thanks John Wilson for the tweet helping me find the article and thanks to Brooke and Seth in Atlantic Beach for all the help testing Chocolate Martinis

Wild Turkey Balls

Turkey balls
My sister Brooke and her husband own the Atlantic Beach Peterbrooke. Though the store is tiny, it has a huge following. The store enjoys support from locals who often have special requests for custom pieces.
This past week, I was working in my sister’s store when she heard from a customer who had one of the most interesting and fun special requests ever. The customer’s daughter is getting married and the groom is from Kentucky. For wedding favors, they have decided to give each guest a chocolate seashell representing the beach and a bourbon ball representing Kentucky. The customer sent us a basic recipe along with some general information on bourbon balls or “Kentucky Colonels.” She asked if we could make some samples for the groom before they order. After all, Kentuckians are serious about their bourbon and balls.
The bourbon balls were made using all fresh, natural ingredients such as butter, confectioner’s sugar, chopped pecans, dark chocolate, and my favorite ingredient: Wild Turkey 101. We soaked the pecans in Wild Turkey overnight, allowing them to soak up the bourbon. The next morning, we thoroughly mixed the nuts, sugar and butter. The mixture went into the freezer to firm up. Due to the bourbon, the mixture never became completely firm. We then used a small scooper to make approximately ½ inch balls. We then dipped the balls into semi sweet dark chocolate. After coating in chocolate, some of the balls were left plain; some were coated in chopped pecans, while others received a half pecan decorating the top of the candy.
The result of our efforts was a flavorful chocolate piece that packed a serious punch. Eat a few of these and you will have more than a sugar buzz. When the groom came in to sample, he said they were the best bourbon balls he ever tasted. He decided to order the bourbon ball coated in chopped pecans.
Over the weekend, I decided to experiment with the recipe. The basic formula could be altered in a number of interesting ways by using other types of spirits, liquors, etc. In this case, I added more bourbon and used a bittersweet coating made by Barry Callebaut. I took the finished pieces to a party where they were a hit.

Turkey Ball Recipe:
12 oz. pecans
½ cup Wild Turkey
1 lb confectioners sugar
1 stick butter
Dark chocolate to coat
Day 1
Chop 8 oz of nuts and soak overnight in Wild Turkey.
Day 2
Mix together butter, confectioners sugar and soaked nuts. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Using a melon ball scoop out the mixture and form round balls. Place the balls on a sheet of waxed paper.
Dip in tempered chocolate & either place a whole nut on top or coat the entire ball in chopped nuts.
Presentation: Place all of the balls on a platter. The platter looks best when some balls have no nuts, some are entirely coated and some have only a single nut on the top.

Enjoy and do not serve to children!

Caramel

Today I have been experimenting with caramel. My goal is to create 2 different kinds of caramels –one to cover in chocolate and the other a caramel chew. The caramel chew needs to be firmer then the chocolate dipped caramel. The firmness of caramel is largely determined by the temperature the batch is allowed to reach. For each recipe, I use all fresh, natural ingredients. Butter, heavy cream, and sugar were the basic components.
Generally speaking, caramels are variations of boiled sugar enriched with cream. As the solution cooks, the protein in the dairy reacts with the sugar, creating a rich golden brown color. Caramels often call for what is known as an “interfering agent” or syrup solution to prevent graining. Most call for corn syrup. Today I used honey from local bee keeper, Bee Pa on Lem Turner Road. The honey imparts a complex and interesting flavor. It is especially good when it is paired with sea salt.
I’ve had a lot of input from family and friends and none of them seem to agree on what they like the best. Some people like soft caramel, some like it very chewy. Some like sea salt, some like it with a hint of rum or espresso. It looks like I have a lot more caramel making and tasting to do. Please let me know about your favorite caramel so I can incorporate it into our Sweet Pete’s caramel.
I look forward to hearing from you…my son loves all the tasting, his teeth not so much.