We’ve got an udder-ly (I mean come on, I had to!) important topic to discuss today on the podcast. Listen to the above interview, or dive-in first for the post below; either way thank you for your support and please share this if you enjoyed this article/audio, want to tell a friend, or swapped your milk this morning at home or at the shop!
Cocoa is very complicated, but generally speaking, milk chocolate—majority cow’s milk by design—is the paradox product of the chocolate world, the lady behind the curtain if you will. It’s almost always there, yet rarely highlighted in detail, and I surmise because we’re humans and it doesn’t involve human rights or labor issues at its core, it slips below other VERY distressing cacao and sugar debates. Although sugar certainly is quite lacking in the headlines too. There are fractional showings of powdered milks’ provenance, percentages, or breeds on websites, or bar and confectionery packaging. It seems as opaque as a full glass of milk—this metaphor would be almost laughable, if it weren’t terribly traumatic and flawed.
I sit with the ideas laid forth below and this interview conducted with Karen Waller of Tempt York, writing this newsletter to you as a :mostly: comfortable flexitarian (currently). As soon as I graduated university, the messages and ethos of Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma were sprawling across the tablecloths of farm-to-table farmers’ markets in Los Angeles, where I resided at the time. One of his mottos, “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants” impacted myself and (I think) comparable socio-economic millennials and Generation Xers; those of us perhaps raised on meat and potatoes on the good nights, and on the not so good nights or after-school-on-the-way-to-practice moments, were fed hurried solutions such as: Hot Pockets®, Cup Noodle with a soft-boiled egg or Hamburger Helper meals. Many of us that had those food experiences in our childhoods and young adulthoods, felt invigorated by the rise and sequential consequences of food media and its popularity. The prominence of celebrity chefs and improved levels of culinary proficiency of the aughts, seemed to reverberate in the eating customs and offerings around us. Dining out and purchasing food for the most part got better, more enjoyable, and we were told—more sustainable. The rise of “craft”—beer, coffee, and chocolate to an extent—could be argued to stem from an awakening of previously untrained, bored, and bland (Western) palates. The opportunity to steep ourselves in a certain foodie culture, that released us from the epicurean doldrums of our youth, was an attractive opportunity and one worth paying for. (I am not inferring that farm workers produced lesser quality products beforehand nor that particular cultures and producing countries didn’t already have strong flavor and culinary traditions long before “craft.”)
Of course, conversely to own my situation, there were people in high and upper middle-income countries who grew up with many more international influences, organic meals, from-scratch pies and local Victory Gardens. Chances are however, if you consumed dairy at home (or in restaurants) in urban settings, it would have been tough to have gathered that from your neighbor. Small(er) dairy farms have been steadily on the decline, as agribusiness has grown tremendously. Dairy has an entire supermarket section dedicated to it, with a catalogue of SKUs that come from far-removed and streamlined supply chains, then show up pristinely packaged, flavored (often sweetened), plastered with cute logos and colorful motifs (even as a child, I remember picking up blue and yellow egg crates), with no farm dirt in sight. Within these same walls, in the bakery section—where commodity wheat flour is sourced in a similar fashion to dairy—the impression of locality is on display through “fresh-baked” bread prepared onsite. (Actually, some things are simply reheated or finished off in these big-box store ovens.)
In non-producing countries particularly, chocolate has also long dealt with the complexities of “local.” It wasn’t until the boom of small-batch specialty chocolate, around the same time as the farm-to-table veterans such as Alice Waters started gaining national and international momentum, that the possibility of locally made chocolate (not to be confused with sourced) became more probable. “A chocolate maker in every city!” some proclaimed, and many do hope for to this day. And while chocolate production has sprung up in almost every (at least major) US city and many times over internationally, even today, during what I think of as a chocolate renaissance, there are very few—nearing null—examples of “craft chocolate” (bars/barks/coins*) produced with “craft milk.” The industries still don’t align, one hinders itself to scale, and the other works entirely at and because of its scale. *Chocolatiers working with local milk and cream for bonbons and fresh caramels offer an exception to this.
Why this anonymity of milk powders? Firstly, since liquids and high-moisture ingredients cannot (read: should not) be blended with cacao in the preparation of shelf-stable chocolate and couvertures, milk powders are used by chocolate and confectionery manufacturers as a substitute for fresh milk. These powders are processed to meet certain technical specifications and standards of composition that align with local and international authorities, such as the International Dairy Federation and the American Dairy Products Institute. There are essentially two ways to limit (fresh) milk’s moisture content (which should not exceed 5%) and obtain safe and shelf-stable milk powder: spray drying and roller drying. The former is more common and generally applies less heat. And you guessed it, to achieve these desired outcomes, large quantities are processed at a time on highly expensive machinery, making it nearly impossible to produce in small-batches. Needless to say, the internet includes a few examples of DIY dehydrated milk posts. Thus, if you need to source milk powder for chocolate making (of any size), you’re looking at maintaining a hold on that supply chain yourself, or relying on a small number of distributors and options (Amazon is a popular channel to give an idea). When I moved to Spain from the US, researching milk powders was more limiting and exhausting than finding purveyors of high quality cacao. In my frustration, I once splurged for a batch of dark milk chocolate featuring a freeze-dried donkey’s milk powder from Italy; but on a whole it’s interesting to investigate country-specific quotas and tariffs applied to exporting and importing these ingredients.
Milk is nearly synonymous with mammalian life. From birth as a species, we’re destined for the nutrient dense ‘white milky liquid’ and through our :modern post-industrial: food landscape, dairy has become nearly as ubiquitous as water and staple crops in our diets. On my parents’ first date night following my birth, I was left under the care of my grandmother (a retired nurse) with a bottle and tin of baby formula for our first sleepover together. Whether it was product or allergen related, or a combination of the two, my little body rejected this :strange new: milk and I stopped breathing, requiring an ambulance and paramedics to intervene. The first of my nine lives. It’s curious that something that supposed to nourish babies, nearly killed me, yet decades later powered milk products for infants continue to cause controversy and in some cases infant illnesses and death, in fact, they may have as recently as a few weeks ago. Perhaps only by consumer choice, dietary restrictions, or willpower and due diligence, does one pay close enough attention to what’s behind products’ labels—and you might be surprised (or not) by how sneaky dairy’s inclusion is in: salad dressings, pasta sauces, crackers, cereals, biscuits, breads, beverages, a litany of snack-foods and chocolates, and even unusual suspects like some brands of canned-tuna, latex items, and chewing gums which contain casein (a milk protein). No wonder making vegan choices intimidates shoppers.
Without a doubt, most chocolate lovers, love milk chocolate, and certainly marketing initiatives targeting children introduce the sweeter, milk-based chocolates and candies to this demographic long before the darker stuff. Daniel Peter and Henri Nestlé—according to the history books—are credited with the invention of milk chocolate in solid form. Interestingly, in the 1870s, before landing on the idea for adding milk to chocolate, they were developing food for children. Soon after across the pond, Milton Hershey developed a dairy farm in Pennsylvania exclusively for their chocolates—still active today on a much larger scale with the “commitment to creating a more climate-friendly supply chain.” On average, it takes 144 gallons of water to produce a gallon (3.78L) of cow’s milk in the United States. It then takes roughly 8.5 liters to produce one kilo (2.2 pounds) of milk powder (calculations not taking into account whole, skim, etc. varieties).
If you’ve taken a road trip through long stretches of agrarian landscapes, your nose has probably taken note of the areas featuring a conglomeration of animals kept for livestock and dairy. Cows on US dairy farms are now producing about seven times more per day than almost one hundred years ago. I grew up during the widely successful “got milk?” campaigns from advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Processor Board in 1993, featuring hawt athletes and celebrities. Beside wanting to “Be like Mike” on and off the proverbial court of life, I needed the calcium for strong bone development. In the 2020s, we’re getting the hint that other—more humane—foods contain the vital nutrients we need, and that daily dairy consumption isn’t necessary or sustainable—as much as we squeal that we love cheese. Yet, it’s been (in)conveniently slipped into so many of our foods. The alternatives hitting the market are vastly more interesting and varied than even 5-10 years ago. Not every non-dairy replacement is made from commodity soybeans any longer—we’re seeing drupes (including coconuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, etc.), legumes, grains and flowering plants (such as flax), and beyond milks, there are plant-based cheeses, butters, ice creams, pâtes and caramels. (And no, I’m not saying that plant-based makes something, particularly anything made using monoculture, automatically healthier or more environmentally friendly.) Oat milk is now a household name. I’ve even seen potato milk recently pop up in my newsfeed. Every month novel brands hit the shelves, and older ones launch new product lines to compete. Chocolate companies like TCHO, have recently announced they will be entirely dairy-free moving forward. Maybe potato milk chocolate will soon be a thing too? And if it is, will your mind and palate be open to try that?
Before this chat with Karen Waller, I honestly wouldn’t have questioned if vegan products should be judged by another set of judges, or if all active judges should be briefed/trained :objectively: to look for particular differences that would apply to a set of consumers that don’t share their own dietary preferences. You could apply something similarly to biases based on majority populations’ foodstuffs or flavors judged against European ideals. Both examples bring up important issues; how far are organizations that designate—to a certain degree—what’s worthy or not, adapt for a changing world? Or who will step up to the challenge?
Neither Karen nor I are claiming perfection. It’s interesting to have such a conversation considering that currently we don’t even live by the exact same diets or lifestyles. But we can agree on what isn’t working. We can start dialogues. We can make decisions that change ourselves, then maybe others. Reverse ripple effects on global systems of oppression and harm. What I’ve experienced as that sinking sensation that the shrimp on my sushi plate came from questionable labor practices across the world, or that the yogurt at the hotel buffet from bovines treated with hormones, stems from an ability to tap into a particular consciousness. And as Karen said, “a few perfect people isn’t going to change the world”—but maybe a few choices made more perfectly will? Chocolate, given that’s probably where you—reader of this newsletter—find yourself able to impart change within your business or community, is a perfect—and easy—place to start. And for an industry that prides itself on ethics, a compassionate option too.
‘Conversations in Cocoa’ guest Karen Waller:
Founder and Head Chocolatier at Tempt York in York, England
Instagram @TemptYork
She launched her business with over 15 years of experience within the chocolate industry; acknowledges chocolate is a combination of food, science, and art all-in-one.
Part of the pathway to change is through education. The other is via accessibility. How do you make marked shifts in societies when governments betting on subsidies, lobbies, and BIG agricultural systems stand in the way? One way might be through worldwide releases of documentaries, such as ‘Milked’, likely streaming to a provider near you soon. For some small business and shop owners, it will be one customer at a time, one vegan craft chocolate orange or plant-based milk chocolate lollipop at a time.
In this podcast episode we talk about:
+ Vegan recipes: busting myths. Ganache science and theory. Subbing dairy = subbing fats.
Replicating flavors without considering the audience; non-vegans are trying to copy the originals, yet it doesn’t have to be identical because vegans don’t want milk flavors or textures, e.g. they aren’t looking for non-animal steaks that bleed.
+ The City: I know York from Rowntree’s fame and Terry’s Chocolate Orange from Terry’s Chocolate Works (that made it into my stocking each year). Little did I know that York is the birthplace of Veganuary, many vegan artisanal shops, bakeries, and activists, such as Earthling Ed.
+ Judging and Awards: when we judge something, are we doing so from our own feelings, standards, or otherwise?
+ Regulation: composition standards that won’t allow plant-based white “chocolates” to be called chocolate
+ Other vegan ingredients: Cashews
I first learned about the horrid working conditions of cashew nut processors in India through Sunita de Tourreil, founder of The Chocolate Garage, now running Happy Chocolate Experiences.
You can watch this video here going into further detail. After much research, Karen chose nuts from Liberation.
+ Complexities of: paint, glues that can’t be used for packaging etc. as a plant-based company.
Karen’s quotables:
In response to if milk applies to plant-based beverages: “I don’t say I’m getting the white liquid out of the fridge.”
On the contemporary trend of colored/painted bonbons: “I love chocolate. I want it to look like chocolate. Not (be) bright yellow.”
You have just completed this newsletter and listened to an episode of Conversations in Cocoa. In this current edition and future episodes you will be invited to partake of interviews and other audio components that stem from the writings and newsletters found via this blogging platform. If you enjoyed this, please consider becoming a subscriber and sharing it with others — word of mouth and member-support is of the greatest help to solo-entrepreneurs and niche content makers. Connect with me on Twitter @wkndchocolate and Instagram @laurenonthewknd.
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