It takes all of your senses to taste chocolate.  So no more gobbling it down and licking your fingers. Slow down.   Like a fine wine, enjoy all it  has to offer.  Impress your friends with your ability to discern fine chocolates from the cheap ones.

Before we taste the chocolate we must first find real chocolate.  Real chocolate?  Real versus the cheap, full of sugar, on every shelf everywhere chocolate.  The first test is distinguishing between fine chocolates and cheap sugared for the masses chocolates.

Real chocolate is good for you.  It is one of the most nutritious and easily digested foods known to man.  It contains a multitude of vitamins, minerals and complex alkaloids all of which enchance health and well- being.  The iron in chocolate also comes in a form 93 percent useable by the body.

Real chocolate is low in sugar and has a low glycemic index – 49.  There is a naturally occurring anti-depressant in chocolate called phenylethylamine (PEA) which increases the serotonin levels in the brain.  They can induce a euphoric state, as well as boosting energy levels and mental alertness.  High PEA levels are found in “love-addicted” women (pay attention guys!).  Low levels are found in people who are depressed.

The benefits of real chocolate are too many to continue here, so now we will look into how to find it.  Read the wrappings!  Look for a high cocoa content of 35 to 70 percent cocoa solids.  Look to see if it has natural vanilla in it or the cheap substitute vanillin (made from pine trees).  The best way, however, is to find out about the origin and variety of the cocoa beans.   The bean info can sometimes be found on the chocolatiers website, book or possibly the wrappings.

The first sense is sight.  The chocolate should have a silky matte sheen and even texture.  Break a bar of chocolate and look at the texture in the break.  It should resemble, slightly, the bark of a tree.  No bloom should be seen.  Bloom is the white/grayish coating that develops when the chocolate has been exposed to moisture/condensation (like going from refridgerator to kitchen counter).  It is caused by the sugar in the chocolate.

The second is touch.  It should have a smooth and silky surface.  It should melt when held in the hand for a few seconds.  The reason for this is that cocoa butter is solid and crystalline at 92 degrees, but melts at 94 degrees.  The speed of melting is an indicator of what proportion of cocoa butter the chocolate contains.

Third is sound.  Yes I  said sound.  A clean distinctive snap is a sign of good quality.  Cheap chocolate has no sound or a dull thud.

Fourth is smell.  There can be up to 400 pleasant and intense aromas.  Yes, up to 400.  How many can you detect?  Give it a try the next time you eat fine chocolate, stop to smell the aromas.  It should have a well-balanced pleasing smell.

And fifth, but most important, the taste.  Didn’t think I’d get to that did you.  The taste should be a intensely satisfying flavor.  Savor the moment, let your taste buds revel in delight as the taste should linger deliciously in your mouth.    If there is a greasy residue it means the chocolate contain fats other than cocoa butter (think cheap).  The chocolate should feel smooth, very fine on your tongue.  And while it’s melting in your mouth it should be releasing more aromas…aahhh.

Suffice to say that eating chocolate is an experience, not something to stop hunger pains before your next meal.  But, if you must control the hunger, indulge in fine chocolates and practice the art of ‘Tasting Chocolate’.

Here is one way to practice (and a good excuse to eat lots of chocolate).  Buy 4 or 5 chocolate bars with varying degrees of cocoa solid content from 35 – 70 percent.  Starting with the highest content and working your way down try to taste test each and see if you can tell the differences in each.  Make sure your mouth is clean before tasting the next bar (like in wine tasting).

Technorati Tags: chocolate tasting, fine chocolate, luxury chocolate

Valrhona is a French chocolate manufacturer based in the small town of Tain L’Hermitage in Hermitage, a wine growing district near Lyon. Valrhona  produces 10 tons of product per day as compared to 100 – 150 tons for a large, European manufacturer.

Known in the industry as a supplier of high quality raw chocolate for chocolatiers they took the name Valrhona (from valley and Rhone) in the early 1950s. Valrhona has been producing fine chocolate couvertures since 1922.

Couverture is easiest to understand as a coating, shell or covering.  But in reality the topic is as complex as making chocolate is.

Famous with chefs the world over, Valrhona formerly known as La Chocolaterie de Vivarais – was founded by Monsieur Guironnet, a pastry chef from the Rhone valley in 1924.

Valrhona focuses mainly on top-quality luxury chocolate marketed for professional as well as for private consumption.  Though considered one of the finest chocolate makers in the world, it is roughly in line price wise with Godiva and Neuhaus.

To maintain their top quality chocolates their buyer searches the cocoa-cultivating nations for special cocoa beans.  If a country grows 500,000 tons of beans in a year but only 50 tons are good, it is Valrhona’s mission to find those 50 tons and leave the rest behind.

Valrhona pioneered the production of high quality chocolate from carefully controlled sources and started the trend of featuring the percentage of the cocoa solids in chocolate.

With the introduction of their ‘grand cru’ chocolates in the eighties they led the way towards chocolate from known origins and quality beans.

The company also maintains the Ecole du Grand Chocolat.  This is a school for professional chefs with a focus on chocolate-based dishes and pastries.

Technorati Tags: cocoa beans, couvertures, fine chocolate, gourmet chocolate, luxury chocolate

Leonidas Kesdekidis, nothing more than an ordinary Greek citizen, was the founder of Leonidas Belgian Chocolates. His company  makes wonderful delights like pralines, truffles and other heavenly chocolate assortments.

Mr. Kesdekidis arrived at Brussels in the year 1910 and short while later married a local and decide to settle there. He made a large array of pralines in his place situated close to Rempart de Moines.

Mr. Kesdikidis and his descendants’ goal was to get his home-made wonderful delights of pralines as close as possible to as many consumers, not to mention every creator’s dream to let the rest of the world know of their chocolate concoctions. His strategy of combining world-class quality and the best price is still unbeatable today.

Leonidas’ products are far different from the chocolates of other brands.  Leonidas  concern for the freshness of its chocolates makes it unique and unbeatable.   While most other brands’ practiced the  strategy to make their products appear fresh by repackaging the chocolate in a different box daily to make them look fresh.  Yes, the package is fresh but the content is still the same…yesterday’s chocolate. Whereas at Leonidas, the chocolates will only be boxed on the day that the customer’s order is received.

Other chocolate makers quality of freshness may be risked for the necessity of longevity.   They do this so that the chocolate can be pre-packed with the intention for it to be on a shelf in department stores or supermarkets.

Because of Leonidas’s very high standards they were able to obtain an ISO 9001 certificate for the produce’s quality.   Which, by the way, is very much over the needed requirement for the production of chocolates.

Leonidas delivers only where there are Leonidas outlets.  Places like Hollywood, the United Kingdom and Belgium.  They do not export for the reason that they do not want to risk the freshness of the chocolate that goes out of their stores.

To date there is only a small number of sellers of Leonidas chocolates because of the high standard requirement that every seller has to comply with for the very cautious storing and freshness concerns.

The chocolates are wrapped in 500grams, 750grams, and one kilogram boxes.

Upon order you will not be experiencing the hassle of putting it in gift or presentation boxes for the box alone that Leonidas use will suffice for they are already gift wrapped and they also offer different sorts of gift wrapping, luxury and or seasonal choices.

These chocolates need to be consumed within 21 days after it is purchased.   Otherwise the freshness and or the quality will not be the same of what is expected of it, although keeping it refrigerated will prolong the shelf life.

When storing in the refrigerator, you have to keep it away from other foods that have a very prominent smell or odor, otherwise the chocolate will be ruined because it will absorb the odor and it will affect the taste and quality.

Technorati Tags: belgian chocolates, chocolate, fine chocolate, gourmet chocolate, luxury chocolate