Chocolate week: Recipes and discussion

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

Well, I've seen lots of things people do on the telly that I wouldn't want or dare to repeat, but I suppose it could be possible. In glass? Wouldn't like to do it in plastic. It is easy enough in water, and not that time consuming, but maybe there are other benefits

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

But let's take the discussion further again. We have had some chocolate-ish recipes, so let's get back to the cerebral part. 

 

Fairtrade chocolate. 

 

In my opinion, it is a scam. 

 

Now, let me qualify that. Fair trade is, in general, a good thing. Indeed if we claim to live in a capitalist society then a free market is needed and what happens when the first world is trading with the third world is not a free market. Purchasing agreements that safe guard and develop the environment, sustainable production, education, local communities, etc, all fantastic, but that should be the norm, not some special deal. Things like Tony's Chocolonely that make fair trading, and fair employment practices the norm and a large scale are good. 

 

But. 

 

Where does the cost of Fair trade go? It costs many times the price of normal chocolate. And the majority of that money is not invested in the farming communities. From what I have seen a bag of cocoa that is enough for 500 bars costs about 50 cents. Fairtrade pays 55 cents. Hopefully that situation has improved. 

 

Most money that you pay for the chocolate of course goes to the marketing and to the high class outlets that are making more profit on each bar than a normal bar costs. But Fairtrade chocolate does cost more, a lot more, as a raw ingredient. And not because the farmers get paid more, but because of how it is transported. It must be transported separately from all the other cocoa. So while normal cocoa beans are being transported in huge quantities at the lowest scale cost, Fairtrade chocolate is being kept apart and not getting any where near the benefits of scale but instead incurs extra costs to keep the transport chain traceable and transparent. And why? So that people eating the chocolate can know that more money was spent on making sure they were feeling smug about eating Fairtrade chocolate than was invested in the laudable goals of the chocolate. Because that is the added value of the chocolate, the soothing of first world guilt, not the benefit to the third world. A better system should possible, where the purchase of the product directly helps the producers without needing to be tied to a separate and inefficient transport chain, and more should be done at an international level to make the need for specifically slave free chocolate, or environmentally friendly chocolate a thing of the past. 

 

This is my unpopular opinion #453. 

[Jeannaisais]

On 2/12/2024 at 8:05 PM, Cross said:

and @Jeannaisais share that recipe!

 

FOUND IT!!!

 

https://wholesomecrumbs.com/vegan-dark-chocolate-peanut-butter-fudge-oil-free/#recipe

[Cross]

oo maple and coconut? interesting

 

 

@HeavyHalfMoonBlade

 

i honestly dont know enough about the fair trade stuff to accurately comment. but given what you said i dunno if its a scam so much as more a victim of the manner in which our society is set up. no more a scam than any other capitalistic endeavor. which, yes, i know they all are to a degree. 

 

for me, yeah someone somewhere is gonna get the short end of the fair trade stick. on the other hand, the IDEA behind it is laudable, it just hasnt found a truly viable means of accomplishing it. 

[sandlesadam]

On 2/16/2024 at 8:27 PM, HeavyHalfMoonBlade said:

But let's take the discussion further again. We have had some chocolate-ish recipes, so let's get back to the cerebral part. 

 

Fairtrade chocolate. 

 

In my opinion, it is a scam. 

 

Now, let me qualify that. Fair trade is, in general, a good thing. Indeed if we claim to live in a capitalist society then a free market is needed and what happens when the first world is trading with the third world is not a free market. Purchasing agreements that safe guard and develop the environment, sustainable production, education, local communities, etc, all fantastic, but that should be the norm, not some special deal. Things like Tony's Chocolonely that make fair trading, and fair employment practices the norm and a large scale are good. 

 

But. 

 

Where does the cost of Fair trade go? It costs many times the price of normal chocolate. And the majority of that money is not invested in the farming communities. From what I have seen a bag of cocoa that is enough for 500 bars costs about 50 cents. Fairtrade pays 55 cents. Hopefully that situation has improved. 

 

Most money that you pay for the chocolate of course goes to the marketing and to the high class outlets that are making more profit on each bar than a normal bar costs. But Fairtrade chocolate does cost more, a lot more, as a raw ingredient. And not because the farmers get paid more, but because of how it is transported. It must be transported separately from all the other cocoa. So while normal cocoa beans are being transported in huge quantities at the lowest scale cost, Fairtrade chocolate is being kept apart and not getting any where near the benefits of scale but instead incurs extra costs to keep the transport chain traceable and transparent. And why? So that people eating the chocolate can know that more money was spent on making sure they were feeling smug about eating Fairtrade chocolate than was invested in the laudable goals of the chocolate. Because that is the added value of the chocolate, the soothing of first world guilt, not the benefit to the third world. A better system should possible, where the purchase of the product directly helps the producers without needing to be tied to a separate and inefficient transport chain, and more should be done at an international level to make the need for specifically slave free chocolate, or environmentally friendly chocolate a thing of the past. Chocolate Week sounds like such a fun excuse to experiment in the kitchen! Whether it’s baking a rich cake or trying out new dessert recipes, having the right tools can really make a difference. I’ve learned the hard way that not all cookware is up to the task, especially when working with delicate ingredients like melted chocolate. That’s why I started looking into quality pans and found Hexclad reviews super useful. They helped me decide on cookware that works well for everything from tempering chocolate to whipping up sauces. If you’re into cooking, it’s worth checking out—it made my kitchen experiments way easier

 

This is my unpopular opinion #453. 

Chocolate Week sounds like such a fun excuse to experiment in the kitchen! Whether it’s baking a rich cake or trying out new dessert recipes, having the right tools can really make a difference. I’ve learned the hard way that not all cookware is up to the task, especially when working with delicate ingredients like melted chocolate. 

Edited Monday at 08:36 AM by sandlesadam