Image courtesy of Eric Parkes/Somerville Chocolate
I used to think healthy food has to be bland. But then again, if chocolate, wine and spices are healthy and good for you, we live in a pretty incredible world. This always reminds me how lucky we are to have chocolate in our lives. I have been sharing my love for chocolate with students, but few years back realized that I live in a city with some interesting chocolate culture. I want to tell you more about this.
My today’s guest is Eric Parkes. He is an architect with a lifelong passion for chocolate. In 2010 Eric stumbled on the art of chocolate making during a trip to Costa Rica. This discovery lead to the next several years of nearly-continuous and obsessive chocolate making and creation of his company, Somerville Chocolate.
Longing for both an excuse to make a lot more chocolate and the camaraderie of a small group of local chocolate enthusiasts interested in sharing the thrill of chocolate making, the Somerville Chocolate CSA (a bean to bar chocolate program) was formed in the spring of 2012.
The central mission of the CSA is to involve people with the process of chocolate making by preparing multiple bar deliveries that showcase variations on a particular aspect of the chocolate making process.
By the end of this episode, we’ll discuss the basics of chocolate making, explore some of chocolate health benefits, share thoughts on Eric’s bean to bar chocolate CSA and help you to grow your fascination with chocolate.
Topics:
- How Eric discovered his chocolate obsession as well as chocolate history, roots, chocolate making
- What is the difference between 3 main subgroups of Cacao
- What does chocolate maker and consumers need to know about sourcing the chocolate
- What is Community Supported Agriculture and 3 reasons why Eric applies it to his chocolate making
- How health benefits of chocolate are in some ways dependent on the types of chocolate (dark, milk and white) and what do you need to know about them
- How to taste chocolate and why we should have a science of chocolate tasting
- What are some of Eric’s favorite chocolate resources
Web resources:
- Eric’s website Somerville Chocolate, his Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts
- Taza Chocolate
- John Nanci’s Chocolate Alchemy
- Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute
- Formaggio Kitchen
- Fastachi
- The Chocolate Life
Brought to you by:
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