Global Threat to Fine Chocolate Revealed:

Scientists have discovered a molecule that some believe may lead to the destruction of fine chocolate. The molecule (left), known as 4-Hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, and with the empirical formula C₈H₈O₃ is white and needle-like in appearance, and has been found, often in large quantities, in cheap chocolate, though it is also to be found in fine chocolate in varying quantities. When this molecule is present in small numbers it poses little risk to the destruction of fine chocolate, but in much larger quantities can lead to the constriction of muscles in the throat and nausea in some individuals.

Alright, enough kidding around, the molecule above is simply vanillin, the major constituent of vanilla, which, as most people know, is quite common in chocolate. What spurred this satire was a combination of a few conversations that I have recently had that have gotten me thinking about vanilla in relation to chocolate even more than I had in the past. So, I decided to explicitly state my position on vanilla, which is as follows:

I don't put vanilla in Patric Chocolate. My philosophy is to choose cacao that is of such quality that it tastes delicious with only small amounts of pure cane sugar. Sugar, while certainly adding a component of sweetness to chocolate that is not present in the source cacao, is not aromatic, and therefore does not interfere with the aroma of the cacao as do aromatic substances. Aroma, as we know from the post about chocolate appreciation a few weeks ago, is the largest component of the perception of flavor of any food, and so makes quite an impact on the overall flavor of chocolate. With this in mind, small quantities of sugar, by helping to balance bitter and acid tastes in the cacao, actually allow the full bouquet of the cacao to shine in all of its delicious glory. Vanilla, on the other hand, which adds its own set of aromatic notes to the mix, based mostly on vanillin, but also upon a number of other compounds--some of which can seem minty or citrusy-- muddies the waters of the chocolate as the aroma of the cacao itself becomes confused and hard to decipher.

Of course, this is the opinion of only one chocolate maker in a field of many who do use vanilla. So it is fair to wonder if I have wandered too far off the beaten track in my rejection of vanilla. All that I can say is to trust your own mouth and your own nose. Next time you taste a fine chocolate bar without vanilla (they are rare, but do exist), pay attention to the clarity of the tastes and aromas. Note the beauty of the experience. Then, taste some chocolate with vanilla in it and ask yourself if the experience of the chocolate has been helped or hampered by the addition of the vanilla. You might just surprise yourself with your own answer.

Fine chocolate lovers of the world unite; In cacao we trust!

Alan McClure
Patric Chocolate

Note: I realize that there will always be chocolate makers and chocolate lovers who prefer vanilla in their chocolate, that this is a subjective preference, and that quantity of vanilla certainly does matter; I respect all of this. My goal in this post is really to make the case that though historically we have added vanilla to our chocolate in the West, making it normal and accepted, it is not necessarily the case that it actually enhances the flavor of fine chocolate made with excellent quality cacao, and that its addition to such products may, to some extent, be a cultural holdover.

Chocolate Birthday Cake Recipe

If you are looking for a fantastic birthday cake recipe, you may want to consider something a little different. Not only will your guests be impressed, but your party will be special!

The following recipe is different, although not too off the wall. It's still classified as "chocolate cake" perfect for any cake lover. It's absolutely fantastic for a change from normal, often dry birthday cake. Making your birthday party and cake extra special!

Chocolate Cake Recipe: SOUR CREAM CHOCOLATE CAKE & FROSTING

--CAKE:--


2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 c. water
3/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. shortening
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

--FROSTING:--


1/3 c. butter
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 c. sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla

Cake Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch oblong pan. Measure all cake ingredients into large mixing bowl. Mix 1/2 minute on low speed, scraping bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes at high speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan and bake 40 to 45 minutes.

Frosting Directions: Mix butter and chocolate thoroughly. Blend in sugar. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Enjoy the cake and the birthday party!

About the Author: Kara Kelso is the mother of two, and owner of http://www.Idea-Queen.com. For more birthday party ideas and tips, visit: http://www.idea-queen.com/birthday-party-idea.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kara_Kelso

Chocolate World Chocolate Cake

There’s an old saying that says that ‘you will not know whats heaven like until you have not tasted chocolate’. For a chocolate lover like me, I couldn’t agree more. My heartfelt sympathy goes to those who are allergic to this heavenly gift. For the rest of us, then I'm sure that you’re already aware the chocolate cake (or anything that has chocolate in it for that matter) is the best ever and most popular dessert ever created.

There’s just something magical about a piece of dark, moist, rich piece of chocolate cake with a layer of sinful looking creamy chocolate frosting on it, Smiles appear, happy moods return, grumbles turn into giggles.

I'm convinced that anyone can find a type of chocolate cake that he or she loves. Here’s a lit for the still uninitiated. The list is endless :-

Here goes:

Chocolate chip cheese cake, German chocolate cake, jelly roll chocolate cake, chocolate kraut bundt cake, chocolate fudge cake, chocolate mud cake, chocolate crème cake, chocolate eruption cake, best ever chocolate cake, chocolate caramel cake, rich chocolate cake, flourless chocolate cake, chocolate and orange cake, sour cream cake with chocolate, chocolate lava cake, chocolate banana cake, royal chocolate cake, molten chocolate cake, chocolate cherry cake, chocolate chip cookie cake, chocolate walnut cake, chocolate pudding cake, sinless chocolate cake, chocolate mousse cake, chocolate mayonnaise cake, chocolate chip pound cake, double chocolate chocolate cake, chocolate rum cake, low fat chocolate cake, chocolate zucchini cake etc etc ...........

If you still can’t find something you like, you don’ know what you’re missing. It doesnt matter what you put in , just make sure its moist and taste good. It will bound to put a smile even on the most grumpy of all grouches.

Ainee has had training and years of experience managing small cafes as well as bakeries of Europe's number one hypermarket. Started baking 'commercially' from the age of nine and has not stopped since. Her passion for baking has also allowed her to cross into the cooking world as well as the romantic arena of weddings.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nur_Ainee_Muhammad

A Patric Chocolate Review: Chocolate Bytes

Well, I haven't been sharing all the reviews of the micro-batch 70% Madagascar bar with you as they come in, as I am trying to keep the blog content-rich in order to avoid turning it into a big online billboard for Patric Chocolate. However, it's nice to share a review every now and then. Here is the latest review at Chocolate Bytes:
http://www.chocolatebytes.com/

Very Best,

Alan McClure
Patric Chocolate

The Chemistry of Chocolate: An Introduction

Photo: A cacao fruit containing white, pulp-covered cacao seeds. Though the pulp is sweet and tart, the inner seed itself-- there is a blown up inset of one of them cut in half-- which is what is eventually ground into chocolate, is quite bitter and un-chocolate-like. (click the photo to enlarge)

Chocolate has perhaps the most complex flavor of any food in the world. This is due to the chemical makeup of the cacao (or cocoa beans) with which the chocolate is made, but also to the very complicated processes to which the cacao is subjected, including harvest, fermentation, drying, roasting, refining, conching, aging and tempering. These processes ultimately lead to a food with a flavor that is so chemically complex�with the running count now numbering over 600 possible volatile compounds--that scientists cannot even tell us exactly which compounds give chocolate its magnificent, delectable and unmistakable �chocolateness.� Researchers think that this quintessential chocolate note is probably due to a multiplicity of chemicals, or maybe that it is due only to a handful of chemicals that are present in very small quantities--but since they have very low odor thresholds, are nevertheless quite important--or maybe that it is due to both; how�s that for clarity? And so it is, that at the start of the 21^st century, as we find ourselves capable of regularly flying into space, cloning plants and animals, and building supercomputers the size of wristwatches, we still don�t yet understand the essence of chocolate.

However, even though there is so much we don�t yet know about chocolate, we do know one thing: Chocolate is delicious, and many people, if asked to choose between their favorite chocolate and any other beloved food, would not hesitate to choose the item made from the fruit of a plant that Carolus Linnaeus deemed Theobroma, or �Food of the gods��yes, chocolate (Theobroma cacao in full). Yet despite the fact that cacao has such a delicious sounding name, in reality, cacao just off the tree tastes quite bitter, astringent, otherwise harsh and not chocolaty in the least. How can this little seed that initially tastes quite awful be chocolate�s number one ingredient?

The answer is to be found above in the title of this series. Indeed, every step of the chocolate-making process involves quite complex chemical changes within the cacao, and it is our control over the processes that cause these changes that eventually reveals to us a flavor of beauty: that of finished chocolate of course!

Over the next several months we will be looking in some detail at the various steps of chocolate making, starting with the cacao tree itself, as we discuss the chemistry involved in each step, and where applicable, the history of developments in cacao processing that have led to changes in the chemistry of the finished product. We will answer many chocolate-related chemistry questions along the way, and our answers will raise new questions, but in any case, by the end of this series readers will have a very good idea of the types of changes undergone by our friend cacao during its metamorphosis into chocolate. Let the fun begin...

Calling All Commenters:

Since the Patric Chocolate blog began last year, the "commenting" feature has been inactivated. However, it just doesn't seem like nearly as much fun to write post after post without people being able to put in their two cents. So, commenting is now activated, both for future posts, and retroactively. If there are any posts that you found to be particularly interesting or perhaps you wanted to add a side note to something, then please do so. Hopefully this blog will become more of a living dialogue on chocolate in the process.

Best,

Alan McClure

What Is Fine Chocolate? An Essay

Recently Pam Williams, of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA), asked me if I would repurpose some of the information from an interview on Cacaolab into an essay dealing with fine chocolate, or more specifically, responding to the question of just what fine chocolate is. After a few drafts and revisions I have come up with a brief essay that deals with the subject. You will notice that I am not talking about bonbons or truffles here, but of chocolate per se, as a food in and of itself, or as an ingredient to be used by chocolatiers or confectioners. However, this does not mean that I deny that chocolate bonbons can fit into the category of "fine chocolate," but simply that I don't deal with the issue in any way, as I believe that it will be better served by a skilled, talented and knowledgeable chocolatier. A final point is that I don't specify that what I am talking about as pure fine chocolate includes only couverture or molded chocolate bars, squares, etc., as I feel that the term fine chocolate should be more expansive than that. Of course chocolate has commonly come in bar or other molded form, but I see hints that the concept of fine chocolate within the minds of various chocolate makers is undergoing an evolution that may lead to different expressions of this delicious item. What these various forms may be is anybody's guess, but I think that we would do well to keep an open mind, and a willing palate.

Very Best,

Alan McClure
Chocolate Maker
Patric Chocolate

What is Fine Chocolate? An Essay

The term �fine chocolate� gets thrown around quite a bit, both online and in print, but what does it really mean? If we take the word �fine� to literally refer to the fineness of the cacao and sugar particles within the chocolate, which is a reasonable thought given the importance usually placed upon texture in fine chocolate products, then we must expect that any manufacturer of fine chocolate should have the necessary machine(s) available to refine and conche said chocolate until it has a very smooth texture�something that we can objectively refer to as �fine.� However, there are many mass producers that also manufacture chocolate with fine particle sizes, so there must be more to fine chocolate than that. Additionally, there are companies with products on the market that have taken a different approach to fine chocolate, feeling that cacao has, up to this point, been too processed, and have, therefore, created products with varying amounts of refining and conching, using processes that seem to fly in the face of traditional ideas--based primarily on French practices--concerning fine chocolate. This being the case, though texture is usually still quite important to fine chocolate makers, it seems that the definition of fine chocolate must move beyond the issue of texture. I suggest the following three-part definition:

Fine chocolate is produced by a chocolate maker, relatively small in size, who:

• Makes every effort to source the best quality cacao

• Has a vision for how to get the best out of such cacao, and carefully and consistently applies that vision using specialized machinery, chosen specifically for the task, in order to create an intriguing and delicious product

• Effectively conveys to the chocolate-loving public, both through delicious flavor of the product and the philosophy underlying it, the relevance of said product

It will be useful to briefly look at each of these three points.

Quality Cacao:

Various fine chocolate makers will certainly have differing views on many aspects of fine chocolate manufacture, but quality cacao is one issue that many makers can generally agree upon. For example, when looking at the difference between a mass-producer of chocolate and a small or micro-producer of fine chocolate, the fine chocolate maker�s relative focus on quality cacao, as opposed to bulk cacao, is apparent. However, not all companies handle this issue in the same way. Some source directly from farmers, estates, or co-operatives, some work even more closely with the farmers, either directly, or through a hired agent or agronomist, some buy cacao from brokers who specialize in �flavor� cacao, and some use a mixture of all of these practices. Though there is not full agreement between chocolate makers on just how far one must go in sourcing cacao to get the best quality chocolate, it is generally believed that the more direction the chocolate maker can give to the farmers or co-ops that are growing, harvesting, fermenting, and drying her cacao, the better and more consistent the end product will be. Additionally, since happy farmers will undoubtedly care more about the product with which they are working, it also is fair to posit that paying more for each pound of cacao than market rate, or even Fair Trade rate, and rewarding farmers for excellent cacao with investment in tools, such as better fermentation boxes and drying floors or solar dryers, to help them create still better quality cacao, might be a path that fine chocolate makers should consider. In fact, many fine chocolate makers claim that this is the only path towards consistently increasing product quality, and so are attempting to work toward this often difficult goal. Whatever the cacao-sourcing decision, however, what we do with such cacao, as directed by our personal visions for quality products, is equally important.

Vision and Follow-Through:

Each manufacturer of fine chocolate takes this aforementioned cacao, and uses processing methods, which stem from the unique vision or philosophy of what fine chocolate should be, to create interesting, flavorful, and sometimes surprising products. These differences add to the beauty of the fine chocolate market, and in fact are necessary to keep fine chocolate consumers from growing bored with copy-cat products. Though many people may enjoy Valrhona, for example, would such people really want to find that every new bar released by another company was created in the same style of this French chocolate maker? Where would the art and the vision be in such chocolate? Rather, it is better when new companies each focus on what is personally important to them in terms of flavor and texture, adding a distinct and fresh vision to the field. This variation in vision is what creates excitement in the fine chocolate market when each new bar is released. It allows us to look forward to seeing what happens over the next 5-10 years, as we hope to taste, and of course enjoy, interesting products from new and relevant companies. We can call such growth in the fine chocolate market �creative growth,� and so long as such growth is occurring, then we need not worry about the palates of fine chocolate lovers becoming tired and bored, and we need not worry about saturating the market with fine products, as people will continue to clamor for more!

This is why, following the pattern of the Napa Valley revolution in terms of fine American wine, it is not necessary for micro-producers of fine chocolate to worry that serious new companies will put those of us already in existence out of business. The more excellent-quality chocolate that is made worldwide and the more people who have access to such chocolate, the better off all of the small chocolate makers will be. This is because the increase in exposure of people to fine chocolate will result in an inevitable education regarding appreciation of fine chocolate, and a larger percentage of chocolate lovers will be able to distinguish between the quality products of such small and micro-producers and those of the mass-producers that simply pretend. Speaking of education, this leads us to our next point.

Conveying the Fine Chocolate Vision: Education

Since our products, which are hopefully interesting and exciting, do not conform, in terms of flavor and texture, to those currently being manufactured by chocolate mass producers, or to those of each other, which due to different visions is bound to be the case, then it is up to us to educate the consumer about the merits of such products. This education extends far beyond simple marketing, and must include substantial detail about how our processes result in exciting and delicious products. This education will allow the realm of fine chocolate to expand into new and interesting frontiers as long as we are open and honest with the public about our actions. A great deal of transparency in this education is equally important, as this is what will differentiate the true chocolate artisans from those companies that are simply looking to make a quick buck off of a growing trend in fine chocolate. As much as we would like to believe that consumers will immediately know the difference between a lower quality, single-origin bar in pretty packaging, manufactured by a large, publicly-traded company, and a bar of the same origin manufactured by a creative and conscientious chocolate maker, that does not necessarily make it so. Thus, we must work both single-handedly and as a group, for example through organizations such as the FCIA and other related organizations yet to be formed, in order to bring such important information to the public. Cordoning ourselves off in our own separate corners will not only negatively impact our own companies, but will also negatively impact the fine chocolate market in general. Through cooperation in education, we can make a difference that will impact us all: farmers, chocolate makers, chocolatiers, and fine chocolate consumers.

If you would like to learn more about the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA), the organization that was a catalyst for the above essay, please visit them here.