INDULGENCES eating in by david vera Haus of Cacao Chocolate. Is there anything that’s more decadent, sensual AND legal in all 50 states and outly-
ing territories? I think not—especially when you’re indulging in a particularly high-end chunk of the good stuff. I know…if you’re just making smores or taking a “spoonless dip” in the peanut butter jar, you don’t necessarily need top-quality chocolate. Therein lies the question: What is high-quality chocolate?
“YOU MEAN, WHAT WE BUY AT THE STORE ISN’T HIGH QUALITY?” *SHOCKED FACE* Yes and no. The average candy bar won’t kill you, but that doesn’t mean it’s REAL chocolate! There’s a
product called “couverture” chocolate that is widely regarded in the culinary world as the best quality you can find because of its pure cocoa butter content. And guess what? It’s almost certain that you won’t find it in the impulse purchase shelf at the supermarket. Why? Because the pure cocoa butter used in couverture is notoriously more expensive than the vegetable oil used in most every store-bought “chocolate.” But fret not, we can find great brands of couverture here in our own community! Huge bricks of them!
Whole Foods is famous for bringing us great quality ingredients, and chocolate is no exception. Popular brands of couverture include Valrhona, Lindt & Sprüngli, Cacao Barry, Callebaut and Guittard among others.
“OKAY, I BOUGHT GOOD QUALITY CHOCOLATE. NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH IT?” Depending on your habits and mood, you may be contented to simply hack away
at it and gorge on the shavings. But if this chocolate has an intended purpose beyond nourishing you through TV hour, the following tutorial will demonstrate how easy, if a little involved, creating a customized choco-masterpiece can be! Still, you may ask yourself, “why choose couverture over…say…a Hershey’s bar?”
Because couverture is pure, untainted chocolate. As far as fat goes, there are no zit- provoking vegetable oils added—just cocoa butter. It’s loaded with all those elusive antioxidants you’ve heard about. And if tempered properly, it will have the shiniest finish and the silkiest texture you’ve ever experienced.
“WAIT…WHAT THE %&#@ IS TEMPERING?” Tempering means gentle temperature manipulation to re-create beta-V (pro-
nounced “beta-five”, not “beta-vee”) crystals in the chocolate. These crystals determine things like gloss and mouth-feel. Well-tempered chocolate will remain resistant to greater temperatures and its pleasant aroma will disperse. It will have firm, crisp texture (you will notice a clearly audible snap when it is broken) and you can look forward to a longer shelf life. Best of all, you can mold this confection into most any shape and even use a piping bag to write messages in chocolate! Oh, the sheer possibility…
“LET’S. DO. THIS.” First of all, chocolate has four major enemies: moisture, dust and pungent flavor or
aromas. And you DON’T want any of the following: Fat bloom – whitish marbling or streaks of poorly incorporated fat. (More common in milk chocolate). Sugar bloom – a distorted surface where moisture has collected, dissolved the sur-
rounding chocolate and then evaporated. Onion chocolate! Chocolate very easily absorbs strong flavors and smells. Not that
you’d ever store sweets anywhere near sharp, overpowering odors like onions or garlic, right?
NOW THAT WE’VE GOTTEN THAT OUT OF THE WAY, LET’S GET DOWN TO IT, SHALL WE? 1. Make sure your kitchen is relatively cool and free of breezes. Chop the bricks of
couverture as finely as you can. Place it into a clean metal bowl. 2. Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering (not boiling) water, making sure the water does not touch the base of the bowl. Also, no steam should be escaping the sides of the water bath. Water causes liquid chocolate to “seize” to a tacky frosting consistency. 3. MELTING TIME! Use an instant-read thermometer and be precise! Stir melting choco- late with a heat-resistant spatula, heat set to a gentle medium low. Dark chocolate: MELT to 104 to 113 degrees F. Milk chocolate: MELT to 90 degrees F. White chocolate: MELT to 87 degrees F. 4. Remove bowl from heat a few degrees under desired temp. Place on a folded dry kitchen cloth. This prevents the bowl from sitting directly on a cold work surface. You don’t want it to cool it too quickly. Plus, it keeps the bottom of the bowl dry. 5. Add a tablespoon of finely chopped, room-temp chocolate and stir until it has melted. Continue to stir gently. This process is called seeding. Keep adding chopped morsels a tablespoon at a time and stir gently until completely melted. When the chocolate no longer melts, stop seeding. Pre-crystallization has begun. Keep stirring gently until cooled to the following: Dark and Milk chocolate: COOL to 80-82 degrees F. White chocolate: COOL to 80 degrees F. Once these temperatures are reached, chocolate will be stable and tempered, but not warm enough to work with. 6. Place the bowl back over the pan of simmering water and bring it up to the melting temperature. Because it’s only a few degrees warmer, be very careful to avoid warming the chocolate past this ideal temp. If you do, just restart the cooling process. To avoid this, place the bowl over the simmer for only five seconds at a time while stirring until the ideal temperature is reached. 7. It is now ready to pour into molds or pipe through a fine tip. The amount of time you have until chocolate overcools and becomes unworkable again depends on the ambient temperature of your kitchen. 8. Once your molded/piped chocolate has cooled completely and set solid, test the chocolate for all the desirable qualities. Glossy? Free of white marbling? “Snappy?” If not, simply temper again. Believe me, it’s worth the effort.
Congratulations, you have the tools for the canvas, now feel free to mix some daring flavors and textures together . Sea salt crystals? Orange peel? Toasted almonds? Cayenne pepper? Cherry and red wine reduction sauce? The only limit is in your imagination. Enjoy.
72 RAGE monthly | FEBRUARY 2011
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