Crazy for Chocolate

Easter is a great excuse to talk about chocolate! Even though the Easter bunny usually brings a variety of manufactured chocolates that are certainly good enough to satisfy our chocolate cravings, it is worth while to explore the finer chocolates and discover why they truly make a difference in your confections, baked goods and of course your snacking needs!

A Brief History of Chocolate

The history of chocolate spans more than 2,000 years. It is believed that cacao (pronounced kah KOW) first grew in Central and South America. Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree. The first people known to have made chocolate are the Maya and Aztec people. They mixed ground cacao seeds along with water, chile peppers, cornmeal and other seasonings to make a spicy, frothy drink. This ancient beverage was considered a sacred brew by royalty, rulers, priests, decorated soldiers and honored civic leaders.

In the early 1800’s a Dutch chocolate maker, Conrad J. Van Houten patented an inexpensive method for pressing the fat from the roasted cacao beans. The end result from this pressing method was a fine powder known as "cocoa". The powder was treated with alkaline salts so the powder would mix more easily with water. Today, this process is known as "dutching". Dutch chocolate has a dark color and mild taste. This invention made it possible to combine chocolate with sugar and then remix it with cocoa butter to create a solid. This process paved the way for future chocolate inventors to develop milk chocolate and many other variations of chocolate that we all enjoy today.

Making Chocolate Today

We have found that the finer chocolate makers produce the most pure form of chocolate — void of any possible gluten contaminates potentially found on large commercial production lines. One of our favorite chocolates manufacturers, Scharffen Berger, makes their chocolate virtually the same way it was made back in the late 1800’s. They produce their chocolate directly from the beans and only use the purest ingredients throughout the process. The process of turning cacao into chocolate begins with the beans. This particular chocolate maker starts by carefully selecting a variety of cacao beans found from all over the world. The beans are then sorted by hand and roasted. After roasting, the beans are loaded into a machine known as the winnower, which removes the outer hulls and separates the "nibs’, or the center of the beans. The nibs are the basic product used for chocolate production. The nibs along with sugar and vanilla are then mashed into a thick paste. The result is a "chocolate liquor" which is then transferred to a "conche-refiner". At this point heat is introduced to the chocolate to allow the chocolate to thoroughly blend. After conching, the liquid chocolate is then tempered for several hours. This involves several stages of heating and cooling the liquid chocolate to stabilize the cocoa butter crystals so they are more uniform in size. It also gives the chocolate a bright luster and a sharp snap when you break it. The final step in this amazing process is molding and packaging.

Choosing the Right Kind of Chocolate

There are many different kinds of chocolate to choose from and all serve there purpose in baking and general snacking enjoyment. Couverture chocolate is the highest quality chocolate. It is very pure and contains a high percentage of coca butter giving it a superb flavor. It is usually used for handmade chocolates and normally is tempered before use. Plain chocolate is best used in desserts and baked goods, but you need to check the percentage of cocoa solids. The higher the percentage, the better the flavor. Milk chocolate is quite low in cocoa solids, only containing about 20% and is much sweeter than plain chocolate. Generally speaking, it should not be used for cooking. White chocolate gets it’s flavor from cocoa butter and contains no cocoa solids. As with all manufactured chocolates, but particularly white chocolate, make sure that you check the ingredients for additives that may contain gluten. When using white chocolate, make sure that you melt it very carefully since it burns quite easily. Cocoa is an easy and inexpensive way to add chocolate flavor to your cooking. It is made from cocoa mass after the cocoa butter has been removed.

Tempering Chocolate

Tempering chocolate gives the chocolate a glossy finish and a nice, hard and crisp consistency. To temper chocolate, break your couverture chocolate into small pieces and place it into a bowl. Stand the bowl over simmering water (not boiling) and stir the chocolate until it melts. Remove the bowl from the heat and place the bowl in cold water and continue to stir. Return the bowl to the pan of simmering water and heat until it reaches 88°F then remove the bowl from the pan. Test the chocolate by taking a spoonful and spreading it on a cool surface covered with parchment paper or preferably on a marble slab. It should set within 5 minutes. If it doesn’t, repeat the process of setting it over cool water then returning it to the heat until it reaches 88°F.

Melting Chocolate

The most important thing about melting chocolate is not to rush the process. The traditional way is to place the chocolate in a bowl (as in the tempering process above) and place the bowl over simmering water. Stir the chocolate until it melts. Another way to melt chocolate is to place the chocolate in a bowl and microwave it. To melt 4 oz. of chocolate microwave it on full power for about a minute. Remove it from the microwave and stir. If it is not completely melted, return it to the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. Stir until completely melted.

Storing Chocolate

Chocolate should be stored in a cool, dry place (68°F) and should not come in contact with water at any time (unless a recipe specifically requires it) It should not be stored in the refrigerator.

Good News for Chocolate Lovers

Chocolate has received a lot of bad press for contributing to tooth decay and acne. Actually research shows that chocolate neither causes or aggravates acne nor has it been proven to cause cavities (the sugar in the chocolate may contribute to cavities, but no more than the sugar in any other food). Obviously eating too much of any food may cause adverse health problems. Although the cocoa butter in chocolate does contain saturated fat, which can increase blood cholesterol levels, recent research has found that chocolate carries high levels of chemicals known as phenolics, some of which may help lower the risk of heart disease. Apparently phenolics prevent fat-like substances in the bloodstream from oxidizing and clogging the arteries. While phenolics have chemically been proven to reduce oxidation, it is not known if the phenolic compounds found in chocolate can actually reduce heart disease. More research is currently being done on this subject.

– Glutenfreeda