chocolate education
Lecithin in Chocolate
August 22, 2010
Take a look at an ingredient label on a bar of chocolate. 9 times out of 10 you will see soy lecithin listed there.
Is using lecithin as an ingredient in chocolate important, and what is the benefit of using it?
Look! It’s a Bean to Bar Chocolate
August 19, 2010
Every now and again you will come across an article, a chocolate bar, or a chocolate company that will draw attention to Bean To Bar processing.
Bean to bar means quite literally that the product was manufactured from the roasting and grinding of the bean to the tempering and packaging of the chocolate.
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How Much Caffeine is in Chocolate?
August 15, 2010
I can’t talk about caffeine without mentioning another similar chemical called theobromine. So, I’ll discuss both and even compare some things between them.
There are two chemicals present in chocolate that qualify as stimulants (alkaloid molecules known as methylxanthines), caffeine and theobromine. Theobromine affects people in a similar way to caffeine but is much weaker. Although there is significantly more theobromine in chocolate than caffeine, it triggers these “caffeine affects” on a much smaller scale.
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Working With Chocolate and Caramel Filling
August 8, 2010
One of my email subscribers was wondering how chocolate candies made with high water content fillings, like caramel, can seemingly withstand blooming or other adverse effects?
It is true that even the smallest amount of water and chocolate don’t get along. The combination often leads to problems like seizing and sugar bloom. Yet, you can buy chocolate-covered caramels and see for yourself that they look good and tastes good. They have a fairly decent shelf life, too.
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Categories of Cocoa Beans
August 5, 2010
The chocolate world divides cocoa beans into two general categories: Flavor Beans (varieties Criollo or Trinitario) and Bulk Beans (variety Forestero).
There are some exceptions to this system, but general speaking this is how the cocoa market categorizes cocoa beans.
The percentage of flavor beans in the total world production of cocoa beans is only around 5% per year. Virtually all the cocoa harvested is classified as bulk cocoa.
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Chocolate and Beer Pairing – Pale Ales
August 1, 2010
In the opening post of this series I mentioned that there are three categories of beer that pair well with chocolates.
The third group of beers include pale, bitter beers, such as India Pale Ales. These also tend to do well when paired with chocolate…
India Pale Ale was created in the 1820’s for the voyages between England and India. The three month voyage would have to cross the equator twice. So not only was the journey long, but it was also quite warm. Since time and high temperatures are bad for beer preservation, typical beers sent to India arrived in very poor condition.
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The Spread of Cacao Around the World
July 29, 2010
I was recently asked about the spread of Cocoa or Cacao trees around the world.
Cacao is believed to have originated in South America. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that the ancient Maya in Central America were the first to domesticate Theobroma cacao as a crop.
The Aztecs ground cacao into Xocoatl, a chocolate drink used mostly for spiritual and ceremonial rituals.
Hernan Cortés is credited with bringing cacao to Spain where it spread throughout Europe in the 1500’s and 1600’s.
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Chocolate and Beer Pairing – Belgian Ales
July 25, 2010
In the opening post of this series I mentioned that there are three categories of beer that pair well with chocolates.
A second group of beers are the Belgian-style ales...
These beers are typically amber to brown in color, with high alcohol content (often greater than 8%) and are usually quite fruity in their aroma. Candy sugar (like a hard rock candy) may be added to the barley malt to increase the alcohol level without darkening the color or making it too malty.
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Orange Zest Seized My Chocolate
July 22, 2010
Recently, I was asked this question: “I love the taste of chocolate and orange but when I add orange zest to my coating it curdles. Why?”
This presents an excellent technical lesson in working with chocolate.
The issue is moisture.
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Defining “Quality” Chocolate
July 14, 2010
Every chocolate shop I visit insists that their chocolate is the best quality, gourmet, premium. So, when talking about chocolate, what does “quality” mean exactly?
The U.S. FDA has produced formal standards of identity that legally define chocolate and all its related ingredients and by-products. But, read through all that and you will discover there is nothing that defines the “quality” of chocolate.
Of course there are standards of “Quality Assurance” within each processing step of making chocolate. These control standards start with the cocoa bean and follow through to the finished product. But following these rules means that pretty much any final chocolate available for purchase could be defined as being a “quality” chocolate.
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