Cream, butter and sugar are also key ingredients in chocolate making. We suggest using whipping (pouring) cream in virtually all of our recipes, but if you can’t get hold of it, you can replace it with double (heavy) cream (the result will be slightly heavier). We use invert sugar in many recipes to stabilize the chocolate – if you can’t get hold of this you can replace it with soft brown sugar.
Tasting Chocolate
I would recommend you take your time choosing chocolate to cook with. Buy small amounts of lots of varieties for tasting. Important flavours can often be very subtle and ultimately you will be able to enjoy eating chocolate more as you learn to identify different nuances of regions and blends and discover what aromas and qualities you love.
It has been said that there can be up to 400 aromas in one piece of chocolate, and these come from at least 300 chemical compounds. These can be wide and varied, from tobacco and malt to grass and fruits. Common aromas to detect are berries, honey, caramel, spices, citrus, vanilla, wine and mint.
Manufacturers who take pride in their blends will often include tasting notes on the bars as a reference for the consumer, but here is a guide to help you make the most of your senses in your tasting adventures:
Look The chocolate should be a deep mahogany brown. If it is near black then this is a sign of over-roasting. There shouldn’t be any streaks from the chocolate blooming – this is either caused by fat bloom or sugar bloom, both of which are usually caused by quick changes in temperature or incorrect storage.
Listen A sure sign of good-quality chocolate is in the clean ‘snap’ when it is broken – it should not be crumbly at all.
Smell Good chocolate should have a complex fragrance, but it should not be over powering. It could smell sweet, fruity or nutty but not burnt, like chemicals or have no smell at all.
Taste When you first taste a chocolate you should place a piece on your tongue and allow it to melt slowly, letting the aromas fill your mouth. You will be able to taste natural elements, but also secondary elements that come with the roasting and blending of the beans. It is also important to acknowledge the aftertaste as a sign of good chocolate – it should linger, develop and have length.
Feel The chocolate should feel smooth in your mouth. Grainy chocolate is the sign of it being briefly conched or tempered badly, and sticky, claggy chocolate probably has had fats added to it instead of cocoa butter.
