Any More Sugar? Chocolate Question. (Hilo: how much, new home, move)

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by PacificFlights

You would do better starting another Hawaii sea salt company over attempting a chocolate factory. At least you would have minimum overhead compared to a manufacturing plant and nature provides all that is needed in the form of raw material and drying means.

You've overlooked what might be the most compelling reason to make chocolate over salt... it's a lot more fun!!!

Anyhoosits, I seem to have botched a previous comment. It appears that grinding the chocolate to eliminate the grittyness and make it smoother by reducing the size of the chocolate particles is a distinct process from conching, which seems to be about coating those particles with fat, which affects the flavor and the mouth-feel of the chocolate. Mea culpa, mea culpa.

On the other hand, I did run across some interesting info about using auger type juicing machines to process chocolate at home, which makes successful small batch processing at home seem more likely.

But cowabunga, the process sure is complicated, and precision is necessary to ensure repeatability.

I'm thinking my original plan might be simpler... rum!

[HiloDiver]

Hmmm, rum...well I sure am going to miss the $11.99 big bottles of Cruzan Dark we can buy here...what rums do Big Islanders like best? Does HI produce any rum or is it all imported?

Mmmm, rum and chocolate...mmmmmm

[whtviper1]

Hawaii produces and bottles a few different rums - none of which I've thought taste very good compared to Caribbean rum.

[newUHprof]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Hawaii produces and bottles a few different rums - none of which I've thought taste very good compared to Caribbean rum.

Have you tried Koloa? I'm a fan of the spiced and the dark for sipping rum, and the golden for mixing. It's no Mount Gay Extra Old, but it's pretty darn good.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by newUHprof

Have you tried Koloa? I'm a fan of the spiced and the dark for sipping rum, and the golden for mixing. It's no Mount Gay Extra Old, but it's pretty darn good.

I'm not sure I've tried that particular one - I'll check it out. The Hawaiian rums I've tried in the past just don't seem as smooth as the Caribbean counterparts and have a sharper bite to them - at least for me.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by HiloDiver

Hmmm, rum...well I sure am going to miss the $11.99 big bottles of Cruzan Dark we can buy here...what rums do Big Islanders like best? Does HI produce any rum or is it all imported?

You must be tired... I already answered this question for you a month ago in our previous discussion about Cruzan, at and around: https://www.city-data.com/forum/25172733-post29.html

Ennaway, as my friend on Cape Cod says, here's the nugget:

"Once you're settled, you might enjoy trying some fine Hawiian rums, of which there are a few, such as Koloa rum, a premium single batch rum made from Hawaiian cane sugar on Kaua`i; and Okolehao Hawaiian Rum single barrel rum from Maui.

Hana Bay and Lahaina and Malibu, not so much. They're made elsewhere and just marketed as Hawaiian. "

http://www.haleakaladistillers.com/5052.html - Maui Rum & Okolehao*

http://www.koloarum.com/history.htm


*Okolehao - which some say is Hawaiian for "iron butt," is Hawaiian moonshine. Originally made from fermented ti roots, then with various additions, such as pineapple, rice, sugar cane, then distilled to high alcohol content (90-120 proof), okolehao was popular during and after WWII, at one time gaining recognition as a liquor category distinct from rum or vodka, and some old timers say it was more like tequila. For a while production was even promoted by the state, which put a lower tax rate on it than "imported" spirits, until the feds made them stop. Several previous attempts to revive the okolehao trade in Hawai'i have failed. My impression is that Haleakala Distillers currently only produces enough okolehao to supply the curiosity trade.

[HiloDiver]

Oh yah, I recalled the negative review of Cruzan (which spouse and I both laughed at...riiiight, as if some arrogant person's silly write up is going to make us love it any less) and totally forgot your mentions of the Hawaiian rums. Your post would have been more useful (and I'd remembered the references to HI rums) if you'd simply answered the question about HI rums instead of posting that negative link. I had absolutely zero recall of your mention of local rums. And then you reminded me of the negativity again!

[OpenD]

You're welcome!

[MyrrMade]

Originally Posted by HiloDiver

18 BELOW???????? Please tell me you are kidding!!! Where?

And I thought S. Florida was too cold. Ah well, I suppose I won't regret packing my two electric room heaters and my electric blanket.

Welcome to the high desert! 4,500'... 100 degrees for 3 months in the summer, and below zero with snow in the winter. Fall and spring are nice. Nonetheless, much success with vineyards with that exception.

As to chocolate, one of my favorite movies was of that name, with Johnny Depp and Lena Olin (?). Got me wondering how she was able to make such gourmet chocolate almost single-handedly with minimal equipment. It was depicted as ALOT of work, but still. Was the process at all realistic?

Pistachios, yumm. I had a friend from Iran who gave me excellent pistachios grown on his family's land there. Turkey, too, I think has pistachios.

[HiloDiver]

High desert where?