Wednesday, July 16, 2008

After Seattle

by Scott Lund

Thank to everyone that came out to visit our table at the Seattle Chocolate Salon. It was a great time and met some wonderful people.

At the table we had contact cards that I said we would be doing a drawing from. The lucky winner would receive a $100 gift certificate, and that winner is Carla D.! We will be contacting her in the next week to inform her of the prize.

Again, thanks for coming to the salon and hope that you loved Lula's as much as we enjoyed meeting you.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Seattle's International Chocolate Salon!

by Scott Lund

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in the Chocolate Salon this Sunday (July 13) at the Bell Harbor Center, in Seattle, Washington from 11a.m. to 5p.m. Admission is $17.50 presale and $20 at the door (while supplies last). This is an incredible event that features some of the best chocolatiers and confectioners in the US, and it is the first major chocolate show in the Pacific Northwest!

To have the chance to stand beside not only some of Seattle’s finest, but to introduce ourselves to a new area is unbelievable. If you have any friends or family up in the Seattle area make sure to let them know about it! Their website is www.seattlechocolatesalon.com. Come and experience what Lula’s is all about! Some of the other companies featured include: Theo Chocolate, Dilettante Chocolates, Oh! Chocolate and Blissful Brownies, among a collection of others.

If you came to this blog after falling in love with Lula’s at the salon, we would love to hear from you! Write a comment for the blog and then send us an e-mail to blog@lulas.com and we will give you add an additional 10% off your online purchase, making your discount 25% off! We look forward to hearing your feedback, and thanks again for visiting our blog!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Why We Cook With Copper Pots

by Aaron Davidson

One of the distinct and tasty advantages to working in a gourmet chocolate factory is the opportunity to give tours to great people who love great chocolate. I wasn't raised making chocolate confections, so almost everything I've learned is new to me. I came on board at Lula's as the business end of things but have found that I have a great interest in the production process. I learned the basics in order to conduct tours when nobody else was available but have taken it upon myself to learn the details of chocolate making. One of the questions I always get asked is why we cook our lush centers in huge, copper pots. This is one of those savory details I have loved investigating.

In my search for the answer, I first went to the source--"the master chocolatier", Scott Lund. He explained that copper pots transfer the heat better so that the centers cook more evenly and the chances of their burning is reduced. That was a perfectly accurate answer, and one that would probably suffice for the average person coming through the factory for a tour, but the answer only fueled my curiosity. I wanted to know more.

These days it's easy to find out anything if you're willing to Google a topic and do some reading, so that is exactly what I did. I am now convinced that cooking in copper is the only way to go. Two of the most informative and easy-to-read articles are "Cooking with Copper" at www.rameria.com and "Understanding Pan Structure" at www.cookswares.com. Naturally these two websites are interested in selling copper pots, and they would like everybody to cook in copper so that their copper pots will sell. Yet sometimes the goal of selling becomes a great motivation for producing useful and even fascinating information.

So that you don't have to read all of the information given on these two sites, I will give you the lowdown on copper pot cooking in laymen's terms. Other than silver, copper is the best metal you can use if you want to conduct heat. For example, you can use a lower heat than you would with a stainless steel pot, and you can get a more consistent result. In addition, the copper disperses the heat better across the entire pot instead of just concentrating it where the heat is applied to the pot. This gives you more control over the cooking process. Finally, when you remove the pot from the heat, the heat disperses faster, allowing you to exercise more control over how long your items cook in the pot.

According to some websites, one of the down sides of using copper is what happens when you cook acidic foods. Acidic foods can actually leech some of the copper out of the pot, which is obviously poisonous. Fortunately for Lula's, the only substances being cooked are the candy centers--which means perfectly created cremes, caramels, and ganaches. Every single time.