Copyright © 2004 Telling Words Co. All rights reserved.
Chocolate
As Easter is early this year (earlier still in supermarkets, who have been promoting it since late January) let’s talk chocolate, an indulgence dear to most people, and legitimised during April.
Fine chocolate should feel smooth and velvety on the palate with subtle tiers of taste, with complex flavours emanating as it moves through the mouth. Good dark chocolate is made from 50-77 per cent cocoa, which varies depending on the degree of bitter and sweet flavours desired, with cocoa butter being the only source of fat included in fine chocolate.
Because premium chocolates are hand made using only the finest ingredients, they range in price from $70-110 a kilo, thus for most of us they really are a ‘sweet treat’.
Chocolate is an arcane subject lovingly mulled over by specialists and since its inception it has been incorporated into dietetics. For instance, soon after its introduction into France the medical profession considered chocolate to be a panacea for fevers and chest or stomach illnesses and during the 18th and 19th centuries confectioners became apothecaries. Chocolate was believed to have medicinal properties so various types of medicinal chocolates were sold for purgatives, cough mixtures, aids to digestion and aids to put on weight!
And of course, we have all heard of the claims that chocolate is an aphrodisiac, ummm…
Some contemporary innovations with chocolate are interesting. For instance, my February foray to the Chilli Festival in Jindivick found a stall promoting chilli chocolates. It may surprise readers to know that bitter chocolate is a good background to spicy flavours: hot choc!
For special occasions, events or corporate gigs, the innovative Australian company ‘Chocolate Graphics’ will put a message, logo or photo onto individual chocolates.
‘Koko Black’ in Royal Arcade, Melbourne, makes its chocolates in-house for all to see the laborious tempering sequence required to get the texture of fine chocolate just right, which will help chocolate devotees understand just why the cost of first class chocolate is so high.
Alternatively, for a really indulgent weekend, Sheraton Towers provide a chocoholic package, which includes Haighs, chocolates and liqueur, a ‘Chocolate Cocktail’ and a chocoholic guide book.
Suzie Wharton is the author of ‘Spoil Yourself: A chocoholics guide to Melbourne’. She leads walking tours of chocolate spots of interest around the city and will educate you in the wonders of top-shelf chocolate eats around town.
Anyone with a microwave will be delighted to know how liberating it is to work with chocolate, which becomes hassle free to melt in this oven because it operates with power, not heat.
Melting chocolate in the microwave is best done in an ovenproof glass jug, with chocolate broken into pieces. Chocolate melted on HIGH will not lose its ‘temper’ providing it is not over cooked. It should always retain its shine, although it will not change its shape (as there is no direct heat) until it is stirred through. Traditionally, tempering chocolate means it is put through a time consuming, complex series of controlled heatings and coolings so it stays shiny and smooth, an intimidating process for many cooks.
So if you have some time and a microwave oven, try zapping these easy Chocolate Truffles which won’t cost you $89 a kilo, but will taste like a million dollars:
CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
375g Plaistowe cooking chocolate broken into pieces
4 egg yolks
120mls Kahlua or coffee liqueur
160g unsalted butter, softened
cocoa powder
ground hazelnuts or other nuts to garnish
Melt the chocolate in an ovenable glass jug for 2 minutes on HIGH, stir until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then blend in liqueur. Cook on HIGH for 30 seconds. Add the softened butter to the chocolate mixture and blend well. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill 4-5 hours. Roll the mixture into 2cm balls and coat with cocoa and nuts. Refrigerate in a tightly sealed container.
Makes approximately 35-40.
Choctip
When adding chocolate to a hot mixture chop or grate first for efficient melting. Remember chocolate absorbs other flavours in the fridge, so must always be kept in a sealed container.
• Contact Virginia Hill at her Cooking Centre, 10c Cromwell Road, South Yarra, 3141, telephone 9804 7235, email: virginiahill@i.net.au Use the same contact details for copies of 'Zap to the Max' $19.95 plus $5 delivery charge. Virginia also presents a radio show on 3RPH every Tuesday morning, beginning on 6 April, 2004.
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