The Olympics and Cheesecake!
December 15, 2009
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games begin February 12, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. But what, you may ask, does this have to do with cheesecake?
Well, thanks for asking. Cheesecake is believed to have originated in ancient Greece and was served to the athletes during the first Olympic Games held in 776 B.C.
In 1872, America dairyman William Lawrence, is credited with inventing modern day cream cheese. He accidentally created it when he tried to reproduce a French cheese called Neufchatel.
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Dipping Pretzels in White Confectionery
December 11, 2009
A couple days ago my children had a "snow day" off of school. There was a good, old fashioned, Midwestern winter storm and school was cancelled. We found our selves homebound and looking for something fun to do.
Days like this usually drive us to the kitchen where we bake our favorites; cookies or chocolate cake. Sadly, I did not have all the ingredients on hand for cookies or cake. (Mental note: keep the shelves stocked with these items!)
My daughter really wanted something sweet so we looked in every cupboard and took inventory of what we had. Then we put on our thinking caps!
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Oh, Fudge!
December 9, 2009
Every year around Christmas time I attend at least one holiday cookie exchange party or dessert buffet event. Among the many traditional cookies there is always fudge.
As a child, I remember my mother and grandmother walking around the house stirring, and stirring, and stirring that bowl of fudge. Sometime they would pause to watch TV, I suppose to prevent boredom, stirring all the while.
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Truffles – Unique Chocolate Gifts
December 2, 2009
Survey after survey shows chocolate as the number one flavor preferred by American adults. I admit to being one of those chocolate loving adults!
I’m a chocolate lover that never tires of chocolate as a gift, chocolate as a treat, and chocolate as part of my everyday diet. At the present, though, I am particularly fond of seeking out unique chocolate.
What do I mean by unique?
Unique can mean different things to different people but for me, unique chocolate is handcrafted, creative in design/presentation, and exotic in flavor. The chocolate truffle embodies all these characteristics for me. In my book, the chocolate truffle is the Queen of unique.
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Is White Chocolate Really Chocolate?
November 18, 2009
Yes and No.
White chocolate is a blend of cocoa butter, milk, sugar, and vanilla. There is no chocolate liquor (chocolate solids) present, so, can you really call it chocolate? Perhaps not.
However, there is a legal definition for white chocolate to separate it from other “white stuff,” so perhaps yes.
According to U.S. regulations, white chocolate needs to be at least 20% cocoa butter and at least 14% total milk solids.
Beware - there are white chocolate look-a-likes out there!
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Avoid Mistakes While Tempering Chocolate
November 12, 2009
As a follow-up to a few recent posts about tempering chocolate, I thought it might be useful to discuss some common mistakes you might make when tempering.
The most common mistakes I see are the lack of temperature control, lack of proper stirring, not choosing the right chocolate for the job, improper storage, and letting moisture contact the chocolate.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these situations...
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Devil’s Food Cake Recipe
November 5, 2009
Why is the cake called Devil’s Food?
Folk lore says that a group of Pilgrims that lived next door to a Chocolate House in Amsterdam in the late 1600’s, witnessed chocolate house patrons cavorting and making merry while they consumed chocolate. The Pilgrims were convinced that chocolate was made from the devil. They named chocolate “Devil's Food.” Later on, when dark chocolate cake gained in popularity, it was named Devil’s Food Cake for its sinfully delicious nature.
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Chocolate as a Cure For Everything
November 3, 2009
Before modern science began discovering the much talked about health benefits of chocolate, the Mayans (central America) and Aztecs (ancient Mexico) considered it a powerful remedy to many ailments.
Theobroma cacao, or the “chocolate tree,” has been used in folk medicine as an anticeptic, diurectic, and parasiticide. It has been used to heal burns, cough, dry lips, fever, listlessness, malaria, nephrosis, rheumatism, snakebites, and small wounds.
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Chocolate Definitions
October 29, 2009
Confusion in the world of chocolate?
You might think, "there’s nothing confusing about chocolate -- you buy it, you eat it!" The reality is, the chocolate world has its own lingo, with terms and definitions that apply to the tasting of chocolate, the baking and cooking of chocolate, and the making of chocolate confections.
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