When I graduated from college, I was fortunate to land a position re-typing press releases and managing circulation for a banking magazine in the Twin Cities. With an entry-level salary in the very low five figures, I thought I had hit the jackpot! Eventually I wrote stories, covered conventions and became state news editor. Because my degree was in writing and not strictly journalism, my poor editor had to drill into me the fact that it was a “lede,” not a thesis statement; that it was a headline, not a title; and that it needed a byline, not my name in the upper right hand corner. And that chewing watermelon-flavored Bubble Yum in the office was not acceptable.
One other thing I’ve learned in almost 20 years in journalism—it’s best to stick with what you know.
There are literally thousands of magazines out there in circulation. There are magazines for topics you’ve never even heard of and jobs you didn’t know existed. One of those magazines is Professional Candy Buyer, a trade publication for people who buy candy for a living. These are the people who decide in April what candies they’ll be ordering for Christmas to stock the shelves at gift stores, boutiques and the big box stores. I get to write for them.
While I chew a lot of gum and eat a lot of chocolate, I really had no idea how much science, technology, engineering and math went into these products! I’ve received quite an education on polymers, supply and demand, and sustainable growing methods. So I am an expert end-user, and I’m learning more on how it gets to the consumer.
One of the huge benefits of the interviews I do is sampling some of the products I’m writing about. Some of my favorites over the years have been chocolate-covered potato chips from out east, dark chocolates fromout west and a spearmint gum from overseas whose flavor lasts longer than my jaw does.
But one of the most unique kits I’ve seen is the do-it-yourself gum kit from Verve, Inc. I came across this company as I worked on a story on gum trends and decided I wanted to do this with my kids.
Verve began in 1995 with these make-your-own kits after Deborah Schimberg made a trip to Guatemala and saw how gum was originally made before synthetic resins came onto the scene. She was very interested in sustainable development for that area through using chicle, the sap from the sapodilla tree, to support the chicleros (those who gather the sap).
“When I brought back a block of chicle, my kids (ages 7 and 9) had such a fun time making gum,” Schimberg said. So the company began marketing these novelty kits and eventually started production of Glee Gum, based on the same recipe as their make-your-own gum kit, which is available at the Olive Leaf Pantry in Fairmont and at Lakewinds Natural Foods in Chanhassen.
There are three make-your-own kits—one for gummies, one for gum and one for chocolate. We had all three. The kids voted on making the chocolate one first. Great choice!
Annika, age 8, helped me take inventory to make sure we had everything in our kit. Then four-year-old Emily helped me melt the cocoa butter in the double boiler (a glass mixing bowl placed on top of a small sauce pan with boiling water in it). Once we combined that with the cocoa powder and powdered sugar, the other girls helped me mix them together. We then re-heated the mixture with three-year-old Megan doing the stirring this time. Then came the hard part—waiting. Once we took the mixture off the stove, we had to wait until the concoction came down to 94 degrees. A tough feat in a hot kitchen. But the kit comes with a really cool little thermometer sticker that you place on the bottom part of the bowl. The 94 degrees glows green when it’s ready for the next step.
While it cooled down, we got the paper candy liners ready—some we filled with a mini-marshmallow, some with almonds and some with a dried cherry, while a few were left empty.
While we waited for the chocolate to cool, we had a chance to try the two cacao (pronounced kuh-kah-oh) beans that were included in the kit. They were horrible. It was like eating coffee beans. There’s a reason I add two ounces of chocolate and 12 ounces of milk to my espresso. I don’t much care for the taste of unadulterated coffee.
When the chocolate got to the proper temperature, I had Megan help stir in the chocolate crystals which would help our new chocolate crystallize as well. This probably wasn’t the best plan; I think we missed our crystallizing window. A three-year-old doesn’t exactly mix fast; however, the chocolate still tasted really yummy.
While we were eating one of our treats, we read some of the information in the kit that told us the history of chocolate, including mention of Montezuma, who was said to drink 50 pitchers a day of xocolatl (pronounced ho-ko-la-tol), a predecessor to our drinking chocolate. As chocolate is a diuretic, I can see why Montezuma’s Revenge was so named.
After chilling the chocolate for 15 minutes, we then filled the candy liners about two-thirds full and ended up with 21 chocolates. They didn’t last 24 hours. The kids’ favorite was the marshmallow which worked out well as Dan and I thoroughly enjoyed the plain, almond and chocolate-cherry ones.
The kits retail for about $13. A discount for educators is available directly from Verve. There’s even a sample lesson plan at http://bit.ly/sentinel11.
Two cautions for doing this project in the evening: 1) Chocolate has caffeine; think about the ramifications of this when allowing your children to taste-test the end product, and 2) make sure the children are well-rested. Mine weren’t. I know, novice mistakes—I’m sure I’ll make them again!
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