In My Kitchen - Strictly Food for Thought

“Always fresh, always delicious and made with a love forthe honest, pure taste of chocolate.” —Cortland Forrence and Joe Doughertyitems as T-shirts, gourmet spaghetti sauce,maple syrup, jams, jellies, preserves, dressings,locally-roasted coffee and much more,all made in the Adirondacks.Cortland said he is especially proudof the expanded kitchen in Wilmingtonand the large window that allows visitorsto view the entire candy-making process.Joe explained that they buy high qualitychocolate bricks in bulk and purchaseabout 40,000 pounds of raw ingredientsper year. They buy top quality almonds,cashews and other nuts in large quantities.His partner said, “We make all ourown jellies and creams from scratch forour candy and it’s always done in a big copperkettle.” Joe added, “Our fudge is alsocooked in the copper kettle that came tous with the store and we still use it overan open flame.”Watching the process of candy makingis fascinating. The chocolate bricksare melted. Then the liquid is tempered inlarge machines. Cortland explained, “Wehave a huge enrobing machine about fifteenfeet long. Enrobing simply means tocoat the product both on top and on thebottom. For example, we might load pretzelson a conveyor belt that travels into themachine. It goes through a wall of chocolateand what is called a bottomer that putschocolate underneath. Once the product iscoated, we might decorate it by hand withwhite chocolate. Then it goes into a coolingtunnel for a few minutes. When it comesout the other end, it’s ready to put on theshelf for sale.”Before investing in the new and muchlarger enrobing machine, the partners saidthey had to move the finished candy intoa special cooling room where it sat for upto 90-minutes before it could be boxed andput on the shelves.Wholesale is a growing part of theAdirondack Chocolates business. Currentlythey distribute to Boston, New York Cityand many metropolitan centers up anddown the East Coast. Joe emphasized,“We sell to gourmet shops in numerousareas, but only to a couple places inthe Adirondack region. Our items aresold at the General Trading Company inPlattsburgh and Apple Blossom Floristin Peru.”Production and sale of chocolatescontinued to be brisk during the recenteconomic downturn. Joe observed, “Peoplegive up lots of things when times get tough,but not their treats.” He joked, “I always say,alcohol and chocolates are recession proof.”Adirondack Chocolates does a lot of corporatebusiness in gift baskets as well asother gifts, especially at holiday time. Bothmen agreed that they expect the gift basketpart of their business to expand in thecoming year. As for their very busy Internetbusiness, Joe explained they usually havethree people working just to fill ordersduring the holidays.Adirondack Chocolates areshipped all over the world.Corporate gifts make up a goodshare of the business. “A numberof local companies comein here and ship 100, onepoundboxes of chocolates.One local company sendsout hundreds and hundredsof our boxes of chocolateseach year,” Joe said, “Wehave a customer inNew Jersey whoorders up to22 Strictly Food for Thought | February 2013