| Sunday, April 1, 2007 |
| All about chocolate |
FOOD NETWORK KITCHENS
Chocolate comes from the cacao tree - the bitter fruits are fermented, then dried, roasted and crushed. The bits that emerge are called cocoa nibs, which are then pureed with sugar and cocoa butter (the fat that emerges) and liquefied. At that point, it's tempered - the temperature is raised and lowered so the cocoa butter is perfectly emulsified and the chocolate is stable.
Milk chocolate has powdered or condensed milk added, in different proportions depending on whether it's being made in the United States or Europe. Unsweetened chocolate is just that. White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, with no cocoa solids, so it's technically not chocolate at all.
If your chocolate has white dots or streaks on the outside, that's called "bloom". It means the cocoa butter has become un-emulsified. It's perfectly safe to eat, but might be tricky to bake with. When you're baking with chocolate, always melt it over the gentlest possible heat - in a double boiler, or carefully in the microwave, and make sure that it stays far away from water - water will cause the chocolate to "seize," becoming lumpy and unusable.
from http://www.saukvalley.comLabels: chocolate info |
posted by All About Home @ 5:24 PM  |
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