chocolate education
Chocolate Dipped Spoons
December 18, 2010
If you are creative and crafty (as in talented in making crafts, not as in clever with intent to do evil) this may be the project for you. Spoons dipped in chocolate can make an impressive gift!
Before I get into the project, I would like to define some terminology for you.
couverture coating - this is a professional-quality chocolate coating that contains a high percentage of cocoa butter, allowing the chocolate to form a thinner coating shell than other chocolate.
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Chocolate in the Freezer?
December 17, 2010
A question I hear somewhat frequently is, "Should I store chocolate in the freezer?"
A friend once told me that the best place to store chocolate is in your mouth. 🙂
Now for a more serious answer, the best place to store chocolate is in an odor-free, air-tight container surrounded by a 65 to 68 F air temperature with no more than 50% relative humidity. How’s that for precise?
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Chocolate to Clear Your Head
December 16, 2010
'Tis the season – to be tired!
I know the holidays can be stressful and exhausting. Even if you aren’t in charge of preparing for the parties and family gatherings, you may find yourself having to do something unexpected that requires a tremendous amount of your time and energy.
One of two things usually happens to me in times of stress as it pertains to food; overeat or forget to eat. Neither extreme is healthy, and neither condition will do anything to keep a body going.
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Roasting Cocoa Beans
December 2, 2010
Here is a dose of chocolate science. You know you need it from time to time!
Roasting cocoa beans serve two purposes. First, it dries the beans, and second, it develops flavor.
Driving off as much moisture in the bean is important from a food safety perspective. The lower the water content, the more difficult it is for bacteria to grow and pose a health threat.
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The Fineness of Grind
November 18, 2010
Why does one brand of chocolate bar feel so velvety smooth in your mouth but the next one feel so rough?
Let’s get down to the nitty gritty, shall we? (pun intended!) It all depends on particle size, or the fineness of grind.
When cocoa beans are shelled and roasted, the nibs are ground up and heated to form fluid chocolate called chocolate liquor, cocoa mass, or unsweetened chocolate. When chocolate liquor is then blended with other ingredients like sugar and milk powder, the resulting paste is ground up even further. This process is called “refining.”
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Mint Chocolate and Chocolate Mint
November 8, 2010
You say tah-may-toe, I say tah-mah-toe. Some say mint chocolate, and some say chocolate mint. Although often used interchangeably, there is a difference, technically speaking.
Mint chocolate is a variety of flavored chocolate, in this case, infused with mint flavoring. It can be used as a coating or as a stand alone chocolate bar. Since mint is added to dark, milk, and white chocolate, mint chocolate does not denote just one type of coating. Mint can be peppermint or spearmint or crème de menthe.
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Terrific Tannins, Terrible Tannins
November 4, 2010
Tannins are astringent, bitter compounds found in plants. Tannins cause your mouth to feel dry and pucker up. The manipulation of tannin concentration plays an important role in aging of wine and ripening fruit.
Tannins are also important to the flavor development and health benefits in chocolate...
Chocolate liquor contains about 6% tannins, significantly contributing to the bitterness of chocolate. “Bitter” as a flavor descriptor is not always a bad thing. It is true that sometimes bitter can refer to negative characteristic coming from improper fermenting or roasting. But normal amounts of tannins intensify chocolate flavor, especially at the finish.
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It’s All About the Crystals
November 2, 2010
As many of you chocolate lovers already know, the fat in chocolate is called cocoa butter. What you might not know is that cocoa butter has special characteristics that make chocolate a very unique food.
One of those characteristics is that cocoa butter can crystallize in six different forms.
I've written before about tempering chocolate. What tempering does for chocolate is ensure that the cocoa butter solidifies into the best form of crystal.
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Raw Chocolate
October 21, 2010
Raw foodists believe in eating uncooked, unprocessed, and often organic foods as a large percentage of their diet. Sometimes called superfoods, raw foods are often vegetables and plant derived products, but not always (raw milk, for example).
Raw cacao, cocoa powder, and chocolate are considered superfoods because they deliver great amounts of antioxidants and other essentials like calcium, iron, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, and magnesium. In general, superfoods are rich in phytochemicals which are known for their disease fighting properties.
Raw cacao nibs are not roasted but still have a good crunch. Raw chocolate is going to be a very different experience compared to a typical chocolate bar. Texturally, raw chocolate tends to be grainy and fudgy and usually there is no snap. Raw chocolate does not contain sugar (sucrose) or milk so the flavor is remarkably intense and fairly bitter.
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