Chocolate!

Recently I had the chance to join another Explorer group to take a class in making chocolates. My own group had done this class last spring so I was glad to have the chance to join another group.

On arrival we were served dark chocolates and room temperature "hot chocolate." After the snacking, we had a lecture about the history of chocolate. The speaker informed us that a lot of what we knew about chocolate has changed as recently as the last few years.  I can't confirm all of the information but this is what we were told. Maybe you've already heard some of it?

• Cortes did not bring cacao beans back to Spain. He brought only gold. (Silly guy. Bet he eventually regretted his decision.)
• At first chocolate was just mixed with water or broth.
• The Aztecs discovered that chocolate tasted better when beaten or frothed. As a result, tall women were highly prized: they could pour chocolate from great heights into a cup forming a "beaten" chocolate drink. ( I'm not sure why they didn't just put short women on stools.)
• Eventually someone thought to add something sweet- probably honey.
• The first book about cacao was published in 1644.
• Once Spain got cacao, it kept it secret for 100 years in that part of the world.
• Cacao was believed to be a cure for everything.
• In Europe, chocolate was only available to the rich, but in England, the common man could have it. Chocolate shops opened in England in the 1600s.
• The first cacao plantation is believed to date to 1714. Cacao was being grown on Java by 1714. This was the first cacao being grown outside of South America.
• At one point all plantations on Java were wiped out by an insect—the cocoa pod borer. This insect lays eggs in the cacao pods and the pods are destroyed.
• In 1758, scientists gave cacao a scientific name.
• In 1816, someone in government  here left his post for a position in Africa. He is said to have started cacao plantations there.
• Indonesia is the 3rd largest producer of cacao in the world, though consumption of chocolate in Indonesia is low. Britain is the largest consumer of chocolate.
• Worldwide there are 5-6 million cacao farmers and 55-66 million people depend on cacao for their livelihoods.

There is some sad news. There is a shortage of midges in Indonesia. A specific midge is largely responsible for pollination of cacao flowers. Without the midge, no chocolate.  ( We need to mount a very large campaign to please save this midge!)There is a lot of hand pollination being done.

Good news? The lecturer listed these benefits of DARK chocolate:
lowers blood pressure, prevents liver disease, good for the heart, makes you happy, keeps you slim, may make you smarter, renovates blood vessels, protects skin. To make it work, you need to eat 30 grams  (1.06 oz) of dark chocolate daily. This I can happily do!

Once the presentation was over, we got into the actual chocolate making. We learned 3 different ways to temper chocolate and how important tempering is in creating chocolates. The properly tempered chocolate on the right comes out of the molds cleanly and will have the proper snap when bitten. Plus, it just looks better!

Many years ago I made chocolates, but that was before chocolates became works of art. I learned during this class how to mix melted cocoa butter with powdered food coloring and how to use a brush to lightly create art inside each chocolate mold. Once that hardens, you can also dust the molds with a little food save "silver dust" or "gold dust" to finish the effect. So easy, but the final result is gorgeous! After that hardens you do the initial outer chocolate shell, firm that up, fill (in our case with an espresso chocolate ganache), allow that to firm up, then top off with tempered liquid chocolate. Refrigerate briefly again and then the chocolates pop right out of the molds.

There is one issue that I should mention about creating chocolates here. The kitchens were severely air-conditioned. Brrrrr. I had to keep moving about the room to avoid being in the blast of one of the air conditioners. My particular work station was located directly in the blast line of one air-conditioner and it was so cold they had to use heat guns to remelt the chocolate in our tempering pot.

I gave away a good part of the chocolates to our staff, but B and I had our share. Yummy! Hungry yet?