Cherry Anise Chocolate- An Attempt To Revive Old-World Chocolate!

Today I decided to experiment with annatto. The more I learn about the history of chocolate, the more intrigued I am with its roots. Chocolate is famous for its legendary status as “food of the gods” literally the food that, according to legend, the Aztec gods consumed. The cacao bean was also the national currency, an idea that I wouldn’t mind re-introducing today (just look at the collapsing value of the dollar!).

There were strong symbolic associations between cacao and human blood. The Aztecs gave human sacrifice victims cacao pods, which closely resembled the appearance of a human heart. Aztecs often brewed cacao with annatto, which they called anchiote, and it turned their mouths red as if they had been drinking blood.

Determined to revive a raw taste of cacao, Central American style, I bought a packet of annatto whole seeds. Then I ground them with a stone, and wet the pile with drops of cherry extract, setting it in the sun, so the flavor could fully saturate. They sat in the sun for about 4 hours, and I added more cherry extract periodically, when the last drops had fully dried into the powder. For the last half an hour, I set the chocolate base in a bowl to also melt in the sun. (I figured it would be an easier method for even distribution of heat, and eliminated the risk of burning it). It really only took 15 minutes. I used the only chocolate I had- about 75% of a 77% cacao Chocolove bar, and the last two squares of a 90% Lindt. 

Last step: mix the cherry soaked annatto in the chocolate base, harden the chocolate. 

End result: Eh :/

Things I’ll do differently next time:

The annatto was not crushed finely enough, giving the chocolate a coarse texture. The chocolate base was too strong, and the Lindt gave it a buttery feel. The sheen was perfect- I couldn’t say the same about the taste. These are two dark chocolates that I don’t even like much, (but all I had to work with today) and together, they created incongruous flavors, hardly the balance of a fine chocolate. I do like the cherry annatto idea, but it will require more experimentation. I can’t wait to get some good Amano chocolate base! The rough, earthy flavors will be fantastic with the Mexican tradition of annatto! I would also like to try crushing fresh locally grown cherries, and use a finer textured annatto. 

P.S. This was not based on experience or study. I decided to set the annatto in the sun because it seemed the best way for the flavors in the extract to saturate the spice. I'm not sure if chocolatiers use annatto in chocolate today, though I wouldn't be surprised if they did (and did it a lot better than me). The only two flavors in my apartment were annatto and cherry, which is why I created this combination. 

Chocolate Moments

Whether spicy, sweet, lemony, or even bacony, chocolate is a wonder of the natural world.

Chocolate warms our souls and fills our senses with deep luxurious joy. It takes us all over the world and through the bodies and spirits of a million places.

I unwrap a lavender infused chocolate bar from its golden wrapper. It breaks and melts on my tongue. Now I am in a bed of lavender and everything is filmy with sleep. The flowers are sending their wafts of laughter into the air, and my mother is kissing me goodnight. I am a girl again, lingering between sleep and alertness, but fully awake in imagination. This is a chocolate moment.

Now I melt into a Dove dark chocolate bar and this deep richness is malleable enough to take me anywhere, but today it is Italy. I am standing in a honey grove with sunlight as old as blood- now on a veranda drippping with flowers and chippped sandstone that overlooks a marketplace of peddlers, or deep in the corner of a dusty restaraunt sharing a truffle with my best friend.

So live today with all the depth and life of dark chocolate, like a silky red dress or rain on a window pane. Instead of bingeing on a bar of chocolate, put a single luscious truffle to your lips and savor each sensation.

One moment at a time.

-Sondra

P.S. I wrote this when I was a kid, so the writing style isn't that great! But it still expresses my love for chocolate :)

Tasting #2 Lindt and Hershey's

Today I decided to test some of America's most gourmet commercial chocolate- Lindt, and immediately afterwards, taste what some people deem the worst chocolate ever made- Hershey's. 

Lindt is technically a Swiss company, but the production country doesn't ensure the quality of chocolate. Besides, many chocolate companies claiming to be Swiss, or claiming a Swiss as a founding father, are now produced almost solely in other countries and have no claims to such "illustrious" Swiss chocolate heritage.

For America, this is about as good as supermarket chocolate bars get, but it definitely doesn't give Valrhona, or any other high-class chocolatiers, a run for their money.

I bought the 90%, mostly because it was about 20 cents cheaper, and it would create greater contrast with the Hershey's bar.

I think we all know the packaging of a Lindt bar- elegant enough, wrapped in thin silver foil. The chocolate is thin and gleaming, a very deep ebony color. Scents don't assault until a nose is pressed to the chocolate. The smell is strong enough, but not bursting with tantalizing bouquets. I was actually a bit disappointed. The smell is of strong chocolate, and almost equally strong vanilla- too much vanilla in my opinion.

If scents presage taste, I could tell this would not be a taste journey expressing complex flavors so much as comforting quality. My prediction was justified.

The bar snapped, but with only average crispness and strength.

Tasting 

The texture is surprisingly smooth, melting easily in the mouth, which may account for the unimpressive snap.


I definitely didn’t get a rush of flavors at first bite. I had to wait for it to settle on my tongue. After that, the taste is uniform. Maybe this is what they call, “balanced” (the description on the back of the bar).

There is almost no progression of flavor. I could distinguish only one stage. I caught notes of just vanilla and cacoa- a cacoa too cultivated and processed to retain its primal pungency, replete with the flavors of its soil and climate, as unique and complex as a vintage wine. None of that here. The beans are drained of their rough character by a company obsessed with uniformity.

But I was impressed that there is no taste of bitterness- a difficult feat for a 90%. Maybe the heavy vanilla was added to temper the bitterness. Once swallowed, the flavors quickly leave the palate desolate, with just some powdery cocoa on the tongue. I'm not sure if the cocoa residue is standard for a 90%.

I could taste nothing wrong with this chocolate- it is clearly high quality, smooth, rich, with the undeniable taste of vanilla. But it isn't interesting enough to allure me in my dreams and draw me to the fridge with promises of sensory excitement.

Thank you, Lindt.

P.S. Another reviewer caught notes of wood, vanilla, and a bit of salt, notes my untrained palate didn't catch. It was nonetheless described, as "mellow" with, "nothing there to hold my interest."

Now to your anti-thesis, the chocolate of the masses, the quintessential all-american treat:


Hershey's.

Chocolatiers and connoisseurs are brutal in their treatment of this bar. It has been called, "waxy," "sour," "gritty," "chalky," and "cheesy." Some don't deem it worthy of the name, "chocolate."

As an American, I am well accustomed to the Hershey's empire and products. But I have all but forgotten the taste, and even in childhood, raised by two very health-conscious parents, Hershey’s were saved for the rare campout when smores were a necessity.

After all this fine chocolate, I wonder what I'll think of it.


There is not much to say for the packaging, and you are probably familiar with it anyway- it’s practically a banner of American heritage. A brown plastic wrapper, printed with giant silver letters, “Hershey.”

Well, the chocolate doesn’t snap. It's more of a tear, like, er, wax.

It exudes a strong scent of vanilla and sugar. In fact, that’s all I smell. If I didn’t know there was some cocoa in this bar, I would believe you if you told me if was brown food dye. Its namesake has very little place here.

Tasting:

Sugar. Vanilla. Once again, I taste only a subtle note of chocolate, mostly masked by sugar. The aftertaste is slightly acidic, the unnatural waft of chemicals.

At first I thought, "Well, it's not SO bad. I would never buy a bar, but would probably accept it if it were offered." After my second square, I wasn't so sure....

After tasting what chocolate COULD be, or rather, what is SHOULD be, and eating that second square of Hershey’s- really concentrating on the flavors and not the sugar high that many consume it for, I can’t finish the bit I have left. And I’d really rather not. Now I’m wondering if I would take it if it was offered to me, even if I was really, really hungry. If I was starving, yes. But I would probably eat unsweetened wax if I was starving too.

But thanks anyway, Hershey's. At least your mediocrity is widely appreciated.

Robert Linxe's Truffles

Robert Linxe’s Chocolate Truffles
Gourmet, February 2001
Makes about 60 truffles (Linxe says not to double the recipe).

11 ounces Valrhona chocolate (56% cacao)
2/3 cup heavy cream
Valrhona cocoa powder for dusting

Finely chop 8 ounces of the chocolate and put in a bowl. Bring heavy cream to a boil in a small heavy saucepan. Make sure your pan is small, so you’ll lose the least amount of cream to evaporation, and heavy, which will keep the cream from scorching. Linxe boils his cream three times — he believes that makes the ganache last longer. If you do this, compensate for the extra evaporation by starting with a little more cream.

Pour the cream over the chocolate, mashing any big pieces with a wooden spoon.

Then stir with a whisk in concentric circles (don’t beat or you’ll incorporate air), starting in the center and working your way to the edge, until the ganache is smooth.

Let stand at room temperature until thick enough to hold a shape, about 1 hour, then, using a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch opening or tip, pipe into mounds (about 3/4 inch high and 1 inch wide) on parchment-lined baking sheets. When piping, finish off each mound with a flick of the wrist to soften and angle the point tip. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt 3 more ounces of the same Valrhona and smear some on a gloved hand. Gently rub each chilled truffle to coat lightly with chocolate. (The secret to a delicate coating of chocolate is to roll each truffle in a smear of melted chocolate in your hand. Linxe always uses gloves.)

Toss the truffles in unsweetened Valrhona cocoa powder so they look like their namesakes, freshly dug from the earth. A fork is the best tool for tossing truffles in cacao. Shake truffles in a sieve to eliminate excess cacao.

And VOILA! You have created these beautiful balls of chocolaty indulgence: 

Store truffles in the refrigerator.

My first (ecstatic) taste of artisan chocolate :) :) :)

I am a chocolate amateur. Chocolate is a life-long love, but one of those passionate affairs in which a beauty and sensuality allures and excites without revealing its history, complex personality, or depth. In the past few weeks, I have been reading book after book about this beautiful food, its history, its journey from lowly cacoa bean to decadent truffle or shining dark chocolate bar, the methods of taste and appreciation, and the production  of chocolate products. You, readers, will accompany me on this journey of discovery, from gleaming foil to ribbon wrapped truffle collections, and share in my impressions and ideas. 

At 20 years old, until today, I had yet to taste an artisan chocolate bar, or anything higher quality than Lindt or Ghiradelli (which are both good for American standards, but certainly not in a high percentile range for world class chocolate). I had a small box of Vosges Exotic truffles a few years ago, which was quite the sensual affair, but I have all but forgotten the taste, and didn't have the knowledge or experience at the time to pick out quality or nuanced flavor notes.

But today I decided: today is the day. 

After weeks of chocolate study, I am ready.

All the (Pre-Tasting) Dirty Details: 

I went to my university's bookstore, which sells Amano Chocolate. Amano claims to be "America's most highly acclaimed chocolate."

"We pride ourselves on creating some of the world's finest artisanal chocolate. All of our chocolate is made in small batches, in traditional machinery with careful attention to flavor development. We use only the world's finest cocoa beans and gently develop and coax their flavors until they reach their full potential. Each of our bars are absolutely incredible in flavor and are sure to delight even the most demanding connoisseur. "


Amano Chocolate has won many awards, including "Top Artisan Chocolatier," "Best Dark Chocolate," "Most Luxurious Chocolate Experience," and many, many more (all of which can be viewed here : https://www.amanochocolate.com/awards)

Amano uses old machinery and equipment, and produces each bar with cacao beans from single plantations.
One thing that very much impressed me is that each chocolate bar consists of only 4 ingredients: cocoa beans, pure cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole vanilla beans. 

I bought the "Ocumare" 70% Cacoa, made with Criollo beans from Venezuela. (see page here for cover design and product description: https://www.amanochocolate.com/retail/bars/ocumare)

The Glorious Gasp! (Tasting)

My first taste of artisan chocolate, and I am terrified. What if I taste nothing but a one-dimensional sweet and smooth flavor, the equivalent of a Hershey's bar? What if the chocolate doesn't speak to me? Or what if it does, but I don't understand? There goes my dreams of becoming an exotic chocolatier...I took the my newly purchased "Ocumare" from the bookstore with nearly trembling hands.

Next step: Where to eat it? Somewhere quiet and reflective... I strode to the university library, on a basement floor among some old fraying bound medical books. Here I carefully unwrapped the packaging, peeling back a gold foil only to be accosted with a strong bouquet of scents, before I could even bring it to my nose. My fears dissolved with the blast of earth, bitterness, berry- and flowers?- yes, I thought, this chocolate speaks already- loud and clear. 

I continued to sniff it, releasing aromas by rubbing it with my thumb. The chocolate snapped loudly, a sign of fine chocolate, I am told.

After smelling and capturing scents, typing up impressions on word processor, I finally mustered the courage to place a small square on my tongue, and bite.

At first, bitterness.

Then a beautiful rush of deep plum, as the packaging suggested, and wild floral notes unfolding rapidly. Strong, rough scents, the green of a broken stalk.

Mostly, the impression of earth, a deep, full-bodied, robust flavor. Coffee notes? Plum yes, but a plum unburied in rich, black earth, dirt still clinging to its purple skin. 

The sensation of blue. And a dark night all alight with stars.

After carefully wrapping the remaining chocolate, I walked outside, where summer breeze carried wafts of flower notes and the light distillation of grass, a complex bouquet, the smell of a summer day- like fine chocolate at its roughest, purest state- a complexity and beauty that only nature can create. 


Love,


Sondra

Follow up:

A month later of almost daily chocolate tasting, and I have yet to find a chocolate to rival Amano. This chocolate is officially the stuff of my dreams. If I had a million dollars, do you know what I'd buy? You guessed it. Enough Amano chocolate for me, my family, and all the starving victims of Somalia's famine.

Hello World! And welcome to Chocolat for the Soul

The purpose of this blog:

*To taste, rate, review, and rhapsodize theobroma cacao, the "food of the gods."

*To take readers on chocolate journeys, describing chocolate history and news, culture, and politics.

*To share ideas for my own chocolate company someday, and share my successful recipes.

This blog will be full of photos, quotes, poetry, and chocolate passion.

Please comment and share! I want to better know and understand all my readers!