Chocolate is available in a myriad of forms, from classic bars to powdered cocoa to crunchy nibs.

Chocolate
Origins • Types • Quality • Flavor

Chocolate’s appeal as an indulgence is rivaled by few other comestibles—Champagne, caviar, foie gras and truffles, perhaps. Like these, and like wine in general, chocolate has singular texture and flavor. The lingering attraction has much to do with this food’s deep, dark color, a texture that snaps if you bite it but melts immediately in your mouth, and inherent flavor accents that run the gamut from coffee to tropical fruit.

Origins

Chocolate is broadly available at many levels of quality and in pure form or with lots of other ingredients mixed in. But today more than ever, fine chocolate can be found pretty easily. While some producers handcraft pieces of single-origin varietal chocolate, others work the more novel angle of filled and flavored chocolates using the best raw materials available. In any case, origin and processing contribute to the quality of the final product.

Chocolate starts with the cacao tree, native to South and Central America but cultivated from the Caribbean to Africa and beyond. The fruit of the tree is contained in bright yellow, orange and red pods that look like elongated melons or squashes. The pods contain beans, which are actually the seeds, similar in shape to almonds.

The three varieties of beans most important for chocolate-making are criollo, forastero and trinitario. The criollo is the most sought-after, valued for its fruity flavor and fine acidity. Yields of criollo are low, however, and it is more susceptible to disease than is the forastero bean. The forastero, which is the source of about 90 percent of the world’s chocolate, produces higher yields but has a less refined flavor. The trinitario bean is a hybrid of the forastero and the criollo. Named for its place of origin, Trinidad, the trinitario combines many of the flavor characteristics of criollo with the heartiness of forastero. Some trinitario species are as prized as the finest criollos.

The harvested pods are allowed to ferment, developing flavor, aroma and color. Grayish-white in color when harvested, the fermented light brown cocoa beans are dried, sorted and shipped to chocolate factories, mostly in the United States and Europe.

The beans from which chocolate is made are taken from cacao pods, which grow in various sizes and colors.

The cocoa beans are then roasted in large rotary cylinders, very much like coffee beans, to bring out maximum chocolate flavor. This is a crucial step. Over roasting can turn good beans bitter. Conversely (and again like coffee), the flavor of inferior beans might be masked by a heavier roast.

Roasting cracks the shell and reveals the nib, which is the meat of the cocoa bean. The nibs are ground by a series of large stones or heavy steel disks. The heat from grinding causes the nibs to liquefy into a cocoa mass called chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor is composed of the liquid component cocoa butter and the solid component cocoa powder.

The chocolate is further refined by being put through huge rollers that reduce the size of the particles. Then the chocolate is conched. In conching, so named for the shell-like shape of the containers originally used, large blades whip through the heated chocolate liquor for anywhere from 12 hours to several days (the longer the conching, the better the chocolate). This process not only smoothes the texture of the chocolate, it allows volatile acids and moisture to evaporate. It is during this process that more cocoa butter may be added, as well as emulsifiers, such as lecithin, for an even smoother texture.

Types

Chocolate can be divided into several categories, depending on the amount of chocolate liquor, sugar and milk solids it contains.

Unsweetened, bitter or baking chocolate is the essence of chocolate: just the chocolate liquor with no sugar added, though it may contain some vanilla. Not sweet enough for eating, it is usually used for baking.

Bittersweet and semisweet together form the most important category for the serious chocolate consumer. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolate are undifferentiated by definition; whether called bittersweet or semisweet, the chocolate must be made up of at least 35 percent chocolate liquor. The darkest of the eating chocolates, they have the richest chocolate flavor. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolate do double duty in this country; they are eaten out of hand as well as utilized in desserts and confections.

There are tangible differences, however. Chocolate labeled bittersweet generally will have a more pronounced chocolate flavor than chocolate labeled semisweet, because of bittersweet’s usually higher concentration of chocolate liquor and lower sugar content. With quality bittersweet chocolate, you can taste the fruitiness more because there is less sugar to mask it.

Milk chocolate is the kind of chocolate typically seen in candy bars and other chocolate candies. It has at least 12 percent milk solids and 10 percent chocolate liquor. The chocolate flavor is mellow and somewhat caramelized, tempered by dairy products.

White chocolate is not considered “chocolate” by the FDA because it has no chocolate solids other than cocoa butter, the fat in chocolate liquor (hence its color). In addition to cocoa butter, it contains sugar, butterfat, milk solids, lecithin and flavorings.

Cocoa powder is made by grinding the “cake” that remains after most of the cocoa butter has been removed from the chocolate liquor via hydraulic pressure. Cocoa powder, or “breakfast cocoa,” contains at least 22 percent butterfat. Despite this definition, cocoa with this butterfat level is rare on the market. Most cocoa is between 10 percent and 22 percent butterfat and simply labeled “cocoa” (not “breakfast cocoa”) or “medium-fat cocoa.” Dutched, or Dutch-process, cocoa powder has been treated with an alkalizing agent to make it darker and easier to dissolve in liquid.

Quality

The quality of chocolate varies dramatically, depending on the quality of the beans, how they are handled and which, if any, additives are mixed in. Cocoa butter, sugar and vanilla may be added, as can a host of other ingredients that decrease quality.

In recent years, quality chocolate makers and chocolatiers (confectioners and bakers) have made an issue of the percentage of cocoa or chocolate liquor in their products. The higher the percentage, the less sugar and the more intense the chocolate flavor. Higher levels will also reveal any shortcomings in quality. Some 99 percent and 100 percent chocolates exist, although at that level the flavor is overpowering–these chocolates are primarily study pieces and a venue for chocolatiers to show off the quality of their beans. As with wine, balance is key to great chocolate.

A chocolate’s geographic origin is influential (think of wine and terroir). Many believe the best cocoa beans come from Venezuela. But that’s a little like saying the best wine grapes come from France. The idea to grasp is that while regions do have individual flavor profiles, the best producers tend to be on equal footing quality-wise from one region to another. For example, Central and South American chocolates tend to be intensely fruity. West African chocolate from places like Ghana, much of which goes primarily into mass-produced confections, is much less fruity and often has an earthy or smoky quality. Indonesian chocolate from Sumatra or Java is somewhere in between. Several leading chocolatiers showcase the quality of their selection and craftsmanship by boxing collections of samples from different regions produced at varying cocoa percentages.

And, as with grape growingterroir, the focus is narrowing, with chocolates designated as being from specific regions within countries and even single estates within regions. Some single-estate chocolates are even vintage-dated.

Despite the increased emphasis on single-origin (and single-bean variety) chocolate, many manufacturers see chocolate more as Champagne than as Burgundy–some of the best chocolates still comprise a blend of cocoa beans from several different regions.

The bottom line is that, much like wine, not all chocolate is created equal. The best chocolate begins with top-quality plantations, and beans from these protected sources are well-paid for by chocolate makers.

Flavor Pairings

Chocolate is supremely pleasurable in its purest form, but it also has affinities with any number of flavors. As a confection and in cooking, it can be married to other ingredients and textures to elevate the whole.

Traditionally, chocolate has been linked to nuts, fruit, caramel, coffee, herbs (particularly mint) and liqueurs. The approach to such matches today is to find the best sources (Piedmontese hazelnuts or herbaceous Provençal honey, for example) for old favorites. Using the best Breton butter and fleur de sel to make caramel makes a profound difference in the finished chocolate item. Some chocolatiers have even substituted olive oil for the traditional cream in ganache–the soft, often flavored chocolate filling–because it is a less obtrusive medium for the flavors of certain ingredients, particularly herbs.

Tried-and-true combinations still dominate, but the chocolate vanguard has been following the rest of the food world in pursuing more exotic, even surprising, ingredients. From chile powder, which has a historical precedent in Central America, to Taleggio cheese and ylang-ylang, it seems that almost anything can be worked into chocolate. The only guide is your palate, and the only rule is to stick to the best producers, who are less likely to market something for novelty’s sake.

Chocolate is most often found in sweet preparations such as cakes, cookies, mousses and candies. The use of chocolate in savory dishes has a long history as well–mole, for example, has deep roots in Mexico–and is enjoying a resurgence today. These dishes bring the rich, earthy qualities of chocolate into dishes such as braised short ribs or polenta with chocolate stirred in, topped with a piece of game. Cacao nibs–the crunchy, bitter pieces of unrefined chocolate–can stand in for nuts in a salad or in bread served with cheese. Chocolate even goes well with smoky, fatty bacon, crumbled and tossed with pasta.

In some cases, cooking with chocolate involves the simple addition of cocoa powder or chocolate pieces to a recipe. But more often than not, cooking chocolate presents a challenge to the home cook. With its high fat content and aversion to direct heat, it can easily burn if not handled correctly.

If a recipe calls for melted chocolate, it should be heated in a double boiler or a stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water. The bowl should have a lip around the edge to deflect steam and moisture and should never touch the water. Melt the chocolate until there are just a few chunks remaining, and then stir it off the heat with a clean, dry spatula until it melts completely. Keep the temperature below 120° F; a higher temp will diminish flavor. Tempering strictly controls the temperature of melted chocolate by heating, cooling and slightly heating it again to produce a glossy, crisp finish that is often seen as the outer layer of chocolate candies.

Chocolate & Wine

Chocolate fills the mouth and nostrils with its dark, distinctive flavor, overwhelming all but the headiest of wines. Look to dessert wines: specifically those made from dried grapes, fortification or solera systems. Solera-aged wines such as liqueur Tokays and Muscats from Australia, as well as sweet Sherries from Spain, tend to be the most versatile. The nuttiness of those wines is especially appropriate for the nutty and earthy flavors of chocolate.

For chocolates that have herb or tropical flavors, try Sauternes from Bordeaux, Tokaji from Hungary or Vin Santo and Recioto della Valpolicella from Italy. And for fruity chocolates, serve late-bottled Vintage and tawny Port, Madeira or Banyuls.

Classic Hot Chocolate

• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup loosely packed cocoa powder

Place the milk, water and sugar in a saucepan set over medium heat, and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil, then add the chocolate and cocoa, and bring just to a boil again, whisking continuously. Turn the heat to the lowest setting after the chocolate and cocoa are dissolved.
Blend hot chocolate with an immersion blender until thick and aerated, about 5 minutes. Pour into mugs and serve hot.

Serves 4.

OR

• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup half & half
• 2 oz chocolate (dark or white)
• 1 Tlbs brown sugar ("Sugar In The Raw")
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Place the milk, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan set over medium heat, and stir well. Heat mixture to just prior to a boil, then reduce heat and add the chocolate stirring continuously until chocolate melts. Turn the heat to the lowest setting after the chocolate is dissolved and simmer fro 10 minutes, whisk until smooth.
Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
Reheat and whisk as necessary.

Serves 1.

Peppermint Topping

• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 6 hard peppermint candies, crushed fine
• 2/3 cup whipping cream

Beat chilled cream with crushed mints until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate for about an hour.

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