Volume 12, Issue 027 - February 6, 2007 |
Good Day Friend,
Cocoa beans come from cocoa trees The trees can grow in the wild up to sixty
feet, but when cultivated, they are trimmed to around twenty feet to facilitate
harvesting. The trees are delicate and the pod-like beans are harvested with
long poles equipped with a sharp knife or machetes for the lower growing beans.
The beans are picked year round, so experience is needed in harvesting to know
when the beans are fully ripened. Once the beans are harvested they are cut open
to reveal the beans, usually there are between 25 to 50 per pod.
The beans are then fermented in a process much like mulching. The beans are
covered in a pulp that heats up and actually converts the sugars in the beans to
lactic or acetic acid. The process lasts from three to nine days and generates
temperatures up to 125 degrees thus killing the germ of the bean and activating
enzymes which produce the chocolate flavor we know when they are roasted. They
are then dried in the sun or drying rooms, losing more than half their weight. They are then ready for shipping.
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 Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, medium
3/4 teaspoon orange juice
3/4 cup pistachio nuts, chopped
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and blend.
Cream the butter and sugar in your mixer on medium speed. Slow the mixer and add
eggs and orange juice.
With the mixer still on slow, add the dry ingredients, then the nuts and
chocolate chips.
Shape into one log, one inch high and four to five inches wide. Bake for 30
minutes, until firm. Let cool and slice into twelve 1 inch thick pieces. Lay the
slices on their side and bake an additional 15 minutes, until crisp. Store up to
1 week in an airtight container.
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Culinary Institute of America
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have the most Certified Master Chefs of any culinary college on our
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than 37,000 graduates, many of them leaders in the food industry. We don't
just offer hands-on experience; students spend over 1,300 hours in the
kitchen or bakeshop, more than at almost any other culinary school.
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arts is an unmatched credential that will open doors to an endless number
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How to Melt Chocolate
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Melt chocolate in a dry environment. Humidity can cause the
chocolate to tighten up and get grainy or stiff. This is a condition known as
"Seizing."
-
Make sure that the utensils you use are dry.
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Break up your chocolate in smaller even sized pieces for a quicker melt.
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Stir chocolate often during the melting process to avoid burning.
Microwave: Place unwrapped broken pieces of chocolate in a
microwave-safe dish. Heat for about 30 seconds, then remove the dish and stir
the chocolate. It may not have changed shape, but it is softening. Stir to
determine how melted it is. Return to microwave and repeat until just melted.
Double Boiler: Place unwrapped chocolate in top pan. Melt over hot, not
boiling water. Do not let the top pot come in contact with the water or steam
from the bottom pot. Stir with a dry utensil for 6 to 8 minutes or until melted.
Saucepan: Not recommended but if you must, place unwrapped chocolate in
pan. Melt over very low heat. Stir constantly.
How to Temper Chocolate
The experts at Ghirardelli explain tempering as follows:
"Tempering is a method of heating and cooling chocolate for coating or dipping
with chocolate. Proper tempering results in chocolate that has a smooth and
glossy finish. The tempered chocolate will have a crisp snap and won't melt on
your fingers as easily as improperly tempered chocolate. Properly tempered
chocolate is also great for molding candies because the candies will release out
of the molds more easily and still retain a glossy finish".
And they have come up with two easy methods to do it:
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Method 1:
Grate or chop desired amount of chocolate. Place two-thirds of the chocolate
in the top pan of a double boiler. Heat over hot, not boiling, water, stirring
constantly, until chocolate reaches 110 to 115 degrees F. Place the top pan of
the double boiler on a towel. Cool to 95 to 100 degrees F. Add the remaining
one-third of chocolate to that top pan, stirring until melted. The chocolate
is now ready to be used for molding candies, coating or dipping.
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Method 2:
Starting with a pound of broken chocolate, melt two-thirds of the chocolate
over indirect heat, such as in the top pan of a double boiler. Melt just until
the chocolate is liquid and smooth (at 110 to 115 degrees F). When it is
smooth, add the remaining one-third of broken chocolate and heat again until
the entire chocolate becomes smooth. Pour the chocolate onto a marble or
laminate surface. Using a spatula, scrape and stir the chocolate across the
surface to smooth and cool it. When the chocolate is cooled to 80 to 82
degrees F return the chocolate to the top pan of the double boiler. Place over
hot, not boiling, water. Heat and stir constantly, until it reaches 87 to 91
degrees F. Remove the top pan of the double boiler. The chocolate is now ready
to be used for molding candies, coating or dipping.
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 Godiva Chocolate Rum Smoothie
This smoothie recipe features GodivaŽ chocolate liqueur, a
rich chocolate liqueur based on Godiva chocolates. Available as white chocolate
or dark chocolate liqueurs. We call them "Montezuma's Revenge."
Ingredients:
2 ounces Godiva liqueur
1/2 ounces Goslings Black Seal Rum, or your favorite brand
1/2 banana, peeled and sliced, other half for garnish
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
Preparation:
Pour Godiva into blender. Add rum, banana and ice cream. Blend
until smooth. Pour into chilled serving glass. Garnish with banana slice. Makes
2 drinks.
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