CHOCOLATE RAISE THE BAR
Move over,
generic bar of chocolate. Pick from organic, vegan, single-origin, or ones
infused with bhut jolokia chillies: home-grown companies are looking to bite
into the artisanal chocolate industry
From page
1 Bite into Barcode’s black cardamom- and Dalle
chillies(from Sikkim) infused chocolate, and the smokiness of the spices hits
you first. The soothing tones of Sao Tome Dark (a variety of chocolate) are
comforting on the palate. But don’t stop here. Travel further down, and savour
chocolates infused with Kanchan amlas (grown in Jharkhand) blended with Ghana
milk chocolate and Kesar mangoes (from Gujarat) with Java milk chocolate.
Six of 29 Indian states
find representation in the recently launched first edition of Barcode,
artisanal chocolates by Mumbaibased chef Varun Inamdar. “When I was at the
Cocoa Revolution in Vietnam, I realised that the world looks at India as big
consumers of chocolate, but not as producers,” says Inamdar, who researched for
six years before launching the brand.
It’s true. India is not a
major chocolate producer, but certain pockets of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala produce cocoa that is used by the big guys like Mondelez (which now owns
Cadbury), and some smaller companies. But after experimenting with local and
international cuisines, chefs and chocolatiers are now looking at chocolates
made locally. This trend is in line with our growing appetite for gourmet food
products. Pegged as a $2,800 million (`18,897 crore) industry in 2015 by
Technopak (a Gurgaon-based consultancy firm), India’s gourmet segment — which
includes chocolates, cheese, cold cuts, sauces, among others — is gearing for
big growth.
The chocolate industry
can be divided into two segments: those who make chocolates from cocoa beans,
and those who use this chocolate to create variations like pralines, ganache,
flavoured bars, among others.
Though the bean-to-bar
segment is relatively new, it brings together all the different segments of
chocolate-making under one roof.
GOING LOCAL
Puducherry-based Mason
& Co is one such company. Started by husband-wife duo Jane and Fabien Mason
two years ago, it makes organic and vegan chocolates from locally sourced cocoa
beans. “Making chocolates was more of a personal hobby. But I got interested in
setting up Mason & Co, when I met the local farmers and started working
with them,” says Jane. The journey was not an easy one. The duo had to train
the farmers in producing high-quality cocoa with stringent quality checks. “For
instance, the beans found here had about 20 per cent mold, compared to 4 per
cent acceptable internationally,” says Jane, who worked with the local farmers
to make them understand the technicalities of cocoa production. When mold
attacks a well-fermented bean, it takes away the aroma leaving it with a foul smell.
Once the beans are ready
to be turned into bars, they are cleaned and sorted, roasted and cracked and
finally winnowed (to remove the shells). “At this stage, organic sugar is added
to the nibs. This process also releases cocoa butter, turning cocoa into a
paste,” adds Jane. Most mass-produced chocolates have emulsifiers that give it
the melt-in-the-mouth feel. But at Mason & Co, pure cacao butter is added
to give the chocolates extra richness. Even during an off season, the company
produces about 5,000 bars a month.
Similarly, when
chocolatiers David Belo and Angelica Anagnostou moved to Mysore, they launched
Earth Loaf, an artisanal chocolate company. The duo sources its entire cacao
requirement from farms in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.
SOURCING GLOBAL
Unlike Earth Loaf and
Mason & Co, Gurgaon-based All Things sources beans from Ghana, San Domingo,
Ecuador and Madagascar — some of the best cocoa-producing regions in the world
— through an agency. “The region where the bean is grown, the climate, and the
soil play a large role in determining its value,” says Kuhu Kochar, co-founder,
All Things about their sourcing plans.
Similarly, Anuja and
Ankita Jain of Mumbai-based Harsh Chocolates import raw ingredients for their
hot chocolate stir-ins (dip in milk to turn it into hot chocolate) and
chocolate rocks from local importers.
What sets these companies
apart from the mass-produced chocolates is the fact that these are made in
small batches, mostly manually, and have quirky packaging. For instance, All
Things packages its nuts and maple syrup chocolate called All Things Monday in
pinstriped covers. At Earth Loaf, the wrappers and boxes are silk-screen
printed by hand, making it a truly artisanal product. “We hope with the new
Make-in-India enthusiasm, we match the international raw material standards and
go completely local,” says Anuja.
BOX OF CHOCOLATES
1. MASON & CO
Try: Peanut butter dark
chocolate, roasted sesame chocolate bars and espresso dark chocolate (made with
coffee from Blue Tokai)
Buy: masonchocolate.com/
shop, or Nature’s Basket outlets across the country. Price: ` 300 onward
2. EARTH LOAF
Try: Gondhoraj and
apricot chocolate bar, smoked salt and almond chocolate bar Buy:
earthloaf.co.in/shop Price: ` 270 onward
3. BARCODE
Try: Amla, lemon,
coriander salt with 54% Ghana milk, figs and cloves with 54% Belgium dark Buy:
email on mail@varuninamdar.com Price: ` 499 (for Volume 1, containing six
flavours)
4. HARSH CHOCOLATES:
Try: Cinnamon chocolate
stir-In and masala milk stir-In Buy: to place an order, call 9867080093 Price:
` 150 for a box of chocolates
5. ALL THINGS
Try: All Things Summer
which infuses Ratnagiri mangoes and All Things Water - 54.6% Belgian dark
chocolate paired with Fleur de Sel Buy: theallthingsshop.com Price: ` 330
onward
·
Meenakshi Iyer
HT1JUL16
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