Vanessa Barg of Gnosis Chocolate taught a chocolate-making class last night here at High Vibe. Again the house was full! Vanessa brought plenty of samples, which we passed around as she started with a short history of how she got into raw chocolate and the beginnings of Gnosis. Vanessa has been interested in health and healing for several years, and trained to be a holistic health counselor at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She used to make chocolate for friends, many of whom encouraged her to go into business. Last November, Vanessa started offering her chocolates for sale, and just a year later Gnosis is available in 12 stores in New York City as well as online!
Vanessa then demonstrated the creation of her Simplicity bar, explaining the ingredients, equipment and techniques used (recipe below). We talked about the amazing cacao bean, its history of use dating back to 1100 B.C. and the properties that make it a superfood, including its antioxidant properties and benefits as a source of magnesium. Vanessa explained how to moderate the proportions of low-temperature melted cacao butter to cacao powder to create a darker, richer bar (more powder) or a smoother, more melting bar (more butter). She then added the vanilla, demonstrating how to scrape out vanilla beans (keeping the pods for tea) and sharing the exciting, glittery effect of crystal manna, an amazing superfood in its own right! Then she added some agave nectar and asked a few students sample the mixture to help decide how sweet to make it. Then it was time to pour the chocolates into the molds and chill while we had a question and answer session, and more chocolate samples.
There was a lot of discussion about the effects and benefits of cacao; we also talked about the use of carob, which can be used with or instead of cacao, and is rich in calcium (which interacts synergistically with magnesium). Vanessa talked about the pros and cons and different effects of different sweeteners, explaining that her choice of agave was a combination of flavor and texture preference over yacon syrup, although yacon is another good option, as well as a healthier and more sustainable choice than corn syrup (which is rarely raw and organic anyway). Vanessa also chooses to use honey but is always conscious of her choice of honey supplier, ensuring that the bees are treated well - which goes for all her ingredients. She emphasized the importance of ascertaining the purity and ethics of all her sources, a philosophy that we follow at High Vibe as well. Finally, and also in accordance with High Vibe's mission, she talked about the importance of the love that goes into the chocolate and how the desire to bring something beautiful, delightful and healthful into the world using wildcrafted ingredients is fundamental to the creation of Gnosis Chocolate.
It was a fun, fascinating, helpful, inspiring, and empowering evening! Thanks so much to Vanessa for sharing her love and expertise with us!
We are also excited to announce our plan for another chocolate-based evening the second Wednesday in December! This one will focus on smoothies, puddings and treats, and will be based on the idea of bringing more raw love into our lives throughout the holidays. Call now to reserve a space!
Vanessa's Basic Gnosis Chocolate Recipe:
- Chop raw, organic cacao butter into small pieces/shavings
- Melt cacao butter at a low temperature in a double boiler using a bowl of a substance other than metal
- When most of the cacao butter is melted, turn of heat and cover. The heat already in the bowl will slowly melt the rest of the butter at a low temperature to maintain the integrity of hte butter and ingredients added. It takes a lot of heat to raise the temperature of the butter over 100 degrees, but you can use a food grade thermometer to be sure
- Add raw, organic cacao powder - more powder makes a richer bar, less powder makes a smoother bar
- Sweeten to taste with raw, organic agave nectar, honey, or any other raw, organic sweetener
- Add organic vanilla (not cured in bourbon) and any other organic herbs or spices to cacao mixture to taste and let marinate
- If desired, chop raw, organic nuts and dried fruits by by hand or in food processor and add to cacao mixture (beware of using fresh fruits - only do so if you are planning to eat the same day)
- Pour into molds - if you don't have "official chocolate molds" you can sue ice cube trays, small muffin mold, etc. It is best to use flexible molds so the bars can be popped out with ease
- Chill in refrigerator or freezer until hardened (10-20 minutes depending on depth of mold)
- Remove from refrigerator and enjoy with love an appreciation of all the forces - farmers and distributors, yourself, and Mother Nature - that made your chocolatey experience possible!
- Give as a gift to yourself, those you love, and even those you want to forgive... chocolate is a powerful healer!
