DallasFood

Mast Brothers: What Lies Behind the Beards (Part 4, Confessions)

scott — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 15:30:59 +0000

Most of the information presented to this point has been publicly available, at least for those with enough interest to seek it out. As a practical matter, only some specialty retailers, chocolate makers, and serious fine chocolate consumers have been aware of it. For many observers, that circumstantial evidence is more than enough to convince [...]

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Mast Brothers: What Lies Behind the Beards (Part 3, Ingredients)

scott — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 15:19:20 +0000

The Mast Brothers have come to be known for making “two ingredient” chocolate, using cacao and sugar only, with no added cocoa butter, vanilla, or lecithin. Recalling a dinner discussion in their Williamsburg apartment before founding the company, Michael Mast writes that, “We didn’t quite realize it at the time, but…we had hit upon a [...]

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Mast Brothers: What Lies Behind the Beards (Part 2, Equipment)

scott — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 16:25:16 +0000

Skepticism about the Mast Brothers’ early bean-to-bar claims also arose from their equipment—specifically, whether it was capable of producing the variety and quantities of chocolate that they put on the market. The Mast Brothers equipment set-up can be divided into three periods over their first years in business: black box, transitional, and permanent. (After repeated [...]

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Mast Brothers: What Lies Behind the Beards (Part 1, Taste/Texture)

scott — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 15:43:59 +0000

“Chocolate Experts Hate Mast Brothers.” That stark headline from a Slate article last spring drew attention to a fact not widely known outside the fine chocolate world. Chocolate judges, authors, and specialty shop owners hold the Mast Brothers in low regard, Megan Giller reported, because the quality of their chocolate comes up short. While that [...]

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scott — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 14:24:14 +0000

Focus on Gianduia, Part 35: Premium Gianduia Spread Scorecard

scott — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:10:52 +0000

Availability of premium gianduia spreads in the United States has increased dramatically over the past several years, making it much easier to find products of acceptable quality. Because gianduia spreads are jarred, they have a longer shelf life than gianduiotti, making them more attractive for importers and retailers. Also, to the extent Americans have any [...]

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Focus on Gianduia, Part 34: Better than Nutella (a Buyer’s Guide)

scott — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:10:39 +0000

Nutella’s success spawned countless imitators, most trying to mimic Ferrero’s formula and a great many competing against the original on price. But Nutella also inspired a counter-tradition, primarily within Italy, of premium spreads that hewed more closely to the older, nobler traditions of gianduia. In the past few years, more of these premium spreads have [...]

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Focus on Gianduia, Part 33: The Soul of Nutella

scott — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:10:41 +0000

Ferrero’s transformation and international expansion of the Nutella brand over the past forty-seven years remains one of Italy’s greatest industrial success stories. But something was lost along the way. Over the past half century, Ferrero has grown from a dozen employees to nearly 21,000 in eighteen factories around the world. With annual sales of over [...]

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Focus on Gianduia, Part 32: Michele Ferrero, Supercrema, and Nutella

scott — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:10:12 +0000

Fate dealt Ferrero two blows with the flood of 1948 and, six months later, the death of its founder. The following year, the company reorganized under the direction of Ferrero’s widow Piera, his younger brother Giovanni, and his twenty-five-year-old son Michele (1). Giovanni, who apprenticed as a baker in Dogliani along with Pietro in the [...]

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Focus on Gianduia, Part 31: Ferrero and Giandujot

scott — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:10:31 +0000

No discussion of gianduia would be complete without consideration of Ferrero SpA and its flagship product, Nutella. Though a detailed examination of the company and its products is beyond the scope of this series, a brief historical sketch will suffice as background for some more specific observations to come. Pietro Ferrero was born on September [...]

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