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Food in focus |  |
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Chocolate
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One of the greatest discoveries (led by Columbus) made on the American continent was the bean of the cacao tree, the source of chocolate. From there Columbus took it to Spain where Hernando Cortez, the great Spanish explorer, realised the dark brown beans' commercial value. During his conquest of Mexico, Cortez found the Aztec Indians using cocoa beans to prepare a drink called "chocolatl", meaning warm liquid. The Emperor Montezuma immediately took to it, drinking 50 or more portions daily and serving it to his guests in golden goblets. But many protested that the Emperor's drink was too bitter, so Cortez and friends decided to sweeten it with cane sugar. Ultimately, someone decided the drink would taste better if served hot.
The Spanish kept the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly a hundred years until some Spanish monks, who were responsible for processing the beans, finally let the secret out. In 1876 solid 'eating chocolate' was introduced by an English company, until Daniel Peter of Switzerland devised a way of adding milk to the chocolate, creating what is known today as milk chocolate.
Chocolate is an essential ingredient in many delicious cakes, biscuits, dessserts, truffles, sweets and ice creams and is often combined with brandy, rum, coffee, nuts or orange. There are many types and flavours of chocolate, each with a different amount of cocoa butter. The higher the cocoa-butter content, the easier the chocolate melts. Golden rule of thumb: always use the best chocolate you can afford.
Plain chocolate is also known as bittersweet, semi-sweet or dark chocolate. It contains little sugar, has a high cocoa liquor and cocoa butter content, plus flavourings. It's often referred to in recipes as couveture. It's the main chocolate used in cooking because it melts easily. It gives a smooth and rich result with a stronger chocolate flavour.
Milk chocolate contains the same ingredients, but contains milk solids. It's sensitive to heat and difficult to work with, so it's unsuitable for cooking but excellent for decorating.
White chocolate is a mixture of sugar, full-cream milk, cocoa butter and flavourings. It doesn't contain cocoa solids, so isn't real chocolate at all. Try to avoid white chocolate made from vegetable oil or fat. Take care when cooking with white chocolate, though, as it is more sensitive to heat than the dark variety.
Compound chocolate contains all the ingredients of chocolate, plus vegetable fats that allow it to set more quickly, at room temperature.
Chocolate should be stored, well wrapped, in a dark, cool and dry place. Changes in humidity or temperature may cause surface streaks or a grey film, but it can still be used for cooking and baking. Dark chocolate can be kept for up to a year, and white or milk chocolate can be kept for six months, but always check white chocolate before using it because it can turn rancid.
Chocolate should be melted in a bowl over a pot of gently boiling water. The bowl and saucepan must fit snugly and the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water. Melt milk and white chocolate at a low temperature (37 degrees C) and dark chocolate at a slightly higher temperature (48 degrees C).
Overheating chocolate will cause the cocoa butter and solids to separate, which cannot be corrected. Chop or grate chocolate before melting to ensure that it melts evenly.
Chocolate should not be stirred initially. Allow the warmth to penetrate the chocolate and when it has lost its shape start stirring every 20 seconds until smooth.
For chocolate to be successfully melted over direct heat, it is best combined with a liquid, such as cream or milk, to prevent burning. If melting in a microwave, place the chopped chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on 50 % or medium power at one-minute intervals. It's important to stir chocolate after each minute until it's melted and mooth, because it does not lose its shape in a microwave.
When melting chocolate, take care to prevent it from 'seizing', a term used to describe how chocolate can suddenly stiffen and become grainy. This happens when the chocolate comes into contact with water, either from a damp bowl or steam.
To rectify seized chocolate, take it off the heat and dry off any beads of steam, either on or in the bowl. Stir in five to 10ml vegetable oil or white vegetable fat, adding a little at a time, and stirring until the chocolate becomes smooth again. The seized chocolate will not set properly, but it can be used in cooking or baking.
There's nothing quite as disappointing as opening a box of chocolates only to find they've discoloured. The culprit for this is bloom, caused by surface moisture. The moisture causes the sugar in the chocolate to dissolve, and as the moisture evaporates, sugar crystals remain on the surface. If this process is repeated, the surface can become sticky and even more discoloured. Although bloom is most often the result of overly humid storage, it can happen when the chocolate has been stored at a relatively cool temperature and is then moved too quickly into much warmer surroundings. When this happens, the chocolate sweats, producing surface moisture. Although it might look a little less appetising than the rich chocolate brown you're used to, chocolate that has suffered bloom is still good to eat. To prevent bloom, make sure you store chocolate at between 18 and 20 degrees C.
The latest choc trend in SA is to use it in savoury dishes, such as the Mexican mole poblano (turkey baked in a sauce made with chocolate, nuts, chilli peppers and other spices) or poulet au cacao (chicken with cocoa-flavoured sauce), created by legendary French chef, Paul Bocuse. French cooks also occasionally use a touch of chocolate to balance their red wine sauces. A couple of Spanish dishes, including one with calf's tongue and another with spiny lobster, also contain chocolate. In Italy cocoa-flavoured pasta is sometimes served with chocolate-flavoured sweet-and-sour sauce, and the Sicilians enjoy a rabbit stew with chocolate. In South Africa chocolate is often used in game dishes (pigeon and guinea fowl too) or in a sauce over beef fillet , see our recipe for Fillet coated in chocolate sauce. Another excellent, if adventurous recipe to try is Sea and Mountain Chicken and Crayfish Recipe.
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Tip of the day | |
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Chocolate tip
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