essays & effluvia: Chocolate (User's Manual Enclosed)

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Chocolate (User's Manual Enclosed)

Just in time for Valentines Day: 2 Chocolate recipes, and a guide to Chocolate 101

CHOCOLATE, HOT AND COLD

Here are two simple recipes that show off the flavor of high-end chocolate: a hot chocolate drink that's rich enough to serve as dessert and a sorbet with only three ingredients.

Green & Black's Chocolate Sorbet

Yield: 1 pint
Active preparation time: 15 minutes
Freezing time: 3 to 4 hours

2/3 cup sugar
3½ ounces dark chocolate, minimum 60% cacao, broken into pieces
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• Make the sugar syrup: Put the sugar and 1 cup water into a saucepan and bring to a boil without stirring. Let it bubble for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.

• While the sugar syrup is bubbling, melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water.

• Once the chocolate has melted, add ½ cup water to the sugar syrup and reheat until warm. Whisk in the cocoa powder, then add the melted chocolate, whisking together until smooth.

• Place the pan of sorbet mix over a bowl of water filled with ice cubes. Stir occasionally, being very careful not to let any water get into the sorbet.

• Churn the cooled mixture in an ice-cream maker, following the manufacturer's directions, until smooth. Freeze.

Adapted from "Green & Black's Chocolate Recipes," Kyle Books

***

Scharffen Berger's Drinking Chocolate

Yield: 3 1/2 cups
Active preparation time: 8 minutes

2½ cups whole milk
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, 99% cacao, finely chopped
1/3 cup sugar
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until it is hot to the touch. Whisk in the chocolate and sugar, and continue whisking for 1 to 2 minutes until the chocolate has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Whisk in the vanilla and the cinnamon and cayenne, if using.

Serve in demitasse cups as dessert.

Note: For a lighter consistency, remove the hot chocolate from the heat and mix it with a hand blender at low speed before serving.

Adapted from "The Essence of Chocolate," Hyperion

CHOCOLATE 101

This Valentine's Day, chocolate companies are giving tutorials with the bonbons and bars. Here's a sampling of the gifts -- and the homework.

COMPANY	GIFT/PRICE	COMMENT
GODIVA	Dark Desire box includes dark hearts and bonbons/$32 for 27 pieces	The company now includes cacao percentage in describing some candies. Best for: Bonbon lovers who don't care about buzzwords like flavanols.
GREEN & BLACK'S	Individual 3.5-ounce bars of organic chocolate/About $3.60	Web site explains organic production and Fair Trade, which guarantees growers minimum prices. Best for: Politically correct Valentines.
HERSHEY'S	Cacao Reserve truffles and bars/$35 for one pound, 11 ounces	In March, Hershey is launching Antioxidant Milk Chocolate. Best for: Newcomers to region-specific chocolate who aren't up for pricier brands.
LA MAISON DU CHOCOLAT	Bonbons printed with "I love you" in various languages/$12 to $112	At New York stores, a PowerPoint presentation explains how cacao is processed. Best for: Romantic partners who like fruity flavors.
MARS	Mars Cocoavia Milk Chocolate Bars/$1.25 per ounce	Cocoavia packaging discusses the benefits of flavanols. Best for: Health-conscious snackers -- bars weigh less than an ounce apiece.
MICHEL RICHART	Zentitude, 75 bonbons with "calming" botanical fillings/$133.50	Many boxes include 12 pages of instructions. Best for: Small appetites. "Our chocolates are for tasting, not eating," says a spokesman.
VALRHONA	Six dark chocolate bars, each from beans from a single plantation/$50	Comes in a wooden box with a 24-page study guide. Best for: Serious tasters who want to compare chocolate from different areas.
VOSGES HAUT-CHOCOLAT	Yoga + Chocolate Chakra Gift Box, seven truffles and a yoga book/$39	The Web site offers a live chat with a "chocolate expert." Best for: Yoga devotees and fashion-conscious foodies interested in trendy ingredients.

Source:
Chocolate (User's Manual Enclosed)
To add mystique to premium bonbons, makers add study guides; a 24-page insert
By KATY MCLAUGHLIN
February 10, 2007; Page P1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117105955600404121.html

Posted at 06:06 AM in Food and Drink | Permalink