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Cadbury

Ever had a Hansel and Gretel inspired fantasy that an entire room was made out of chocolate and you were free to nibble at it?  It may sound far-fetched but you’ll be amazed by what some very clever people are able to do with chocolate.  Discover more in Chocolate art and sculpture. Click here to find out more.

If you love chocolate visit the Chocolate Garden or book yourself in for a chocolate spa treatment and indulge your passion for chocolate without feeling guilty! Click here to find out more.

Or if you need a little cheering up and are resisting the desire to reach for the nearest chocolate bar, take a look at some of the things people have said about chocolate through history and enjoy a bit of a giggle.

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We couldn’t get enough of Hotel Chocolats Chocolate Dipping Adventure here at Daily Grommet. It’s a chic, delicious treat for gourmet chocolate lovers. bit.ly

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Part 2 of 3

Between 20 and 50 cream-colored seeds is the usual yield of a typical pod. The seeds, called beans, are strung in five chains or rows around a single placenta within the pod. Bean size varies with the species. The beans are embedded in a white mucilaginous flesh whose harsh, yet sweet taste is highly appreciated by many animals. In some regions, natives use it for preparing a refreshing drink, as well as a sort of jam. The husk and inner membrane are discarded.

The cacao bean consists of a leathery seed coat, rich in tannin, which envelopes each seed, and itself consists of two halves. It contains cocoa butter, proteins, starch, alkaloids, essential oils and various substances, which will release their aroma at the roasting stage of chocolate making. In fact, the pleasant chocolate aroma is not at all apparent in the fresh seed.

Harvested cacao seeds are placed in piles and covered with banana leaves. This starts the fermentation process, lasting three to nine days, and generating temperatures up to 125° F. The cacao beans themselves do not ferment; the pulp sugars outside the bean are converted into acids, primarily lactic and acetic. At the same time, within the bean, the germ is killed, and hydrolyzing and oxidizing reactions occur which give the cacao bean its characteristic flavor after roasting. After fermenting, the beans are spread on racks to dry in the sun. For protection from the rain, the racks can be slid under roofs, or roofs moved out over the beans.

In some countries beans are dried mechanically in driers of various sizes and types, depending on the size of the operation. Hot air is forced through the beans, which are stirred regularly during the drying period. The process reduces the moisture content of the fermented beans from 60 percent to 5 to 7 percent, and the beans from an average pod weigh less than two ounces; and approximately 400 beans are required to make one pound of chocolate.

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Chocolatiers arrive at their art from a variety of origins.  Some are “born” into a family business and learn the trade from their predecessors.  Others arrive from other artistic endeavors such as chef, painter or sculptor.  Still others make a step change in their career path as a nurse, attorney, or other non-food profession.  Each Chocolatier brings with her/him all of their past experiences, professional and personal, which in some way color their choices as a Chocolatier.  Regardless their starting points, however, Chocolatiers all share a passion for the chocolate arts.

Training is vital to the Chocolatier and encompasses not only the basics of chocolate tempering, recipe development and artistic design, but also of safe food handling, packaging and business acumen.  As with any vital area, new concepts are constantly emerging in the chocolate arts, and the Chocolatier must stay abreast of these developments.

The constant companion to training is experience; it is not enough to have only “book knowledge” in the chocolate arts.  The Chocolatier must invest hours upon hours of  practice, experimentation, trial-and-error, and refinement in order to consistently produce fine chocolate confections.

This combination of passion, training and experience enable the Chocolatier to make the proper technical and artistic decisions that produce fine chocolate.  How well has the Chocolatier selected her core chocolates and non-chocolate ingredients?  How well has the Chocolatier blended his chocolates and ingredients into a finished product?  As you bring the chocolate to your nose do you detect a pleasant aroma?  When you close your eyes and savor the first bite does the chocolate meet your expectations of what its description and presentation promised?  That moment of exquisite pleasure that chocolate lovers experience begins with the Chocolatier.

ARTISTRY AND PRESENTATION

Fine chocolate products such as bonbons, pralines and bars benefit from their presentation, from the shape and finish of the chocolate, to the packaging that contains the chocolate.  Molds may be used with fine hand detail work to present pieces that are like small pieces of sculpture.  Hand-crafted chocolates with irregular surfaces and a more rustic look also meet the presentation requirement of fine chocolate, especially if such products elicit childhood memories or reflect back to simpler time and place.

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