|
Home / Food and Drink
Twenty Step Recipe For The Perfect Christmas Chocolates
By:Shaun Parker
Is it October and you already in a panic over what to get your loved ones for Christmas? Are you looking for a way of showing them you love them that doesnt involve the usual last-minute manic Christmas shopping spree? This year Im not going to employ my usual tactic of throwing a lot of money at something shiny and plastic that no-one really wants but obviously cost a lot of money.
Instead Ive decided to give them something Ive taken the time to make. Something unexpected. Something that everyone loves. Something people rarely do. This year Im going to make my friends and family chocolate.
If you are surprised that you havent come up with this genius idea yourself and want to join me, and learn about the process of making chocolate, follow my recipe:
NB - Be sure to allow four months preparation
1) Fly to South America, the home of chocolate, and find a Cocoa bean tree.
2) Pick yourself some ripe cocoa fruits. Youll know theyre ripe because theyll be orangey-red in colour and about the size of a small pineapple.
3) Hack open the fruit and you will find the cocoa beans. Scoop these out and ferment for about a week.
4) Once fermented dry in the beans in the sun for a few days and ship them to your kitchen at home.
5) Visit the ancient city of Machu Picchu in Peru, trek through the Amazon rainforest and spend a few days making merry at the Rio Carnival in Brazil before flying home.
6) As soon as you have sobered up, rub in some after sun and unpack the cocoa beans that mysteriously made it through British custom checks without hindrance.
7) Consider taking up a career as a high end drug smuggler for a Columbian drug cartel.
8) Sober up.
9) Roast the Cocoa beans. You are unlikely to own a specialist roasting machine so try sticking them in the oven for 2 hours at gas mark 5.
10) Once roasted winnow the beans. This involves removing the meat or nib of the cocoa bean from the outer shell. For this Id recommend using a small pen-knife and a lot of patience.
11) Grind the winnowed beans. This will form viscous liquid called chocolate liquor. Which is nothing to do with alcohol - its just what Chocolateers call it. This liquid is the pure form of chocolate and is the base for all types of chocolate. Baking chocolate, Cocoa powder, semisweet chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate can all be made from this base.
12) You will probably need to press this liquor in an industrial food press which will separate cocoa butter from the chocolate liquor and leave a solid disc of cocoa that can be broken down into cocoa powder. If you dont have an industrial food press you could try using a trouser press although personally Id not recommend it.
The next bit is slightly trickier.
13) Chocolate recipes are heavily guarded secrets. Remember how Willy Wonka was forced to expel his entire human workforce in favour of the Oompa Loompas? Well that was because people were stealing his recipes.
Unfortunately if you want a chocolate bar to taste exactly the same as Cadburys dairy milk you will have to don a balaclava, climb the fence on the north side of the Bourneville factory, disarm the security system, pick the lock on the door of the office marked Secret no entry, look in the third drawer of the filing cabinet and open up the file marked secret recipe for dairy milk.
Once you have procured this information return home and begin adding the ingredients to your pure chocolate.
14) Take time to add the perfect blend of cocoa butter, sugar, milk and secret ingredients to your cocoa powder base.
15) You will then have to knead the mixture for two to six days. This process is called conching and will help blend the ingredients. It is essential for making the chocolate smooth and if done well it will prevent your chocolate from having that nasty white residue that occurs when you leave a mars bar on the dashboard of your car in summer and then stick it in the fridge before eating it.
16) Taste the chocolate. Ideally this requires the services of a highly experienced chocolate master who will be able to pick out the subtle flavour changes and suggest the addition of certain ingredients to ensure the end product meets the high standards your loved ones demand. Id say that if by this point your chocolate is edible you should congratulate yourself for an admirable first effort.
17) Once happy with the taste and consistency of your chocolate you will have to administer a carefully regulated programme of tempering. This involves carefully heating and cooling the chocolate. To temper the chocolate you will need a cooking thermometer, a heat-proof bowl and saucepan of hot water.
Place the chocolate mixture in a bowl over a saucepan of hot, not boiling, water. Place the thermometer into the chocolate and heat until it reaches 43C/110F. Take off the heat and cool to 35C/95F. You are now ready to cool your chocolate.
18) Pour mixture into your carefully designed mould, place in the fridge and wait for it to cool.
19) Wrap carefully with cellophane and decorate accordingly.
20) Present the finished article to your ecstatic loved one on Christmas morning. NB be sure not to leave under the tree overnight - you will be very upset if the dog gets to it first.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: christmas chocolates, christmas chocolate, xmas, gifts
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Shaun Parker is an adept xmas gift provider who enlightens us to the appeal of xmas homemade chocolates. for more information on christmas chocolates gifts view http://www.chouchoute.co.uk/
|
|
| Top Food and Drink Articles |
- 1). Convection vs. Conventional Ovens... What's The Difference? By : Debbie Dragon
If you are in the market for a new oven and you’ve already begun shopping for one, you’ve probably noticed that there are a few different types. Two of the most popular oven types are conventional and convection, and many newer ovens have the option of cooking food in either fashion depending on the set mode. The difference in these two types of ovens is the way in which the heat in the oven is dispersed during the cooking process.
|
- 2). Fish Oil - It’s Health Benefits & Risks By : John H. Rogers
As the name implies, fish oil is oil that is removed from the tissues of oily fish and is often recommended as part of a healthy diet program. Many nutritionists recommend that individuals each fish at least once a week, but emphasis must be placed on the importance of avoiding fish that contain certain harmful contaminants. In avoiding predatory fish, such as sharks and others, individuals will prevent the consumption of unhealthy substances which can accumulate due to the fish’s predatory lifestyle.
|
|
|
- 4). Let's NOT Talk Turkey By : Kristin Johnson
The carving. The leftovers. The endless stuffing. Actually, you love the stuffing, cranberries and turkey trimmings. However, it's been se
|
|
|
- 6). Honey – Important Health Facts! By : Anita Morris
Honey is the most known apicultural product, it is a substance that the bees produce through a complicated process of elaboration, where they absorb the nectar and deposit it in their stomach, then go back to the beehive to deliver it, throwing up repeated times; this way ferments, acid and albumen are added to the nectar. It contains most of the essential mineral elements that our system needs.
|
- 7). Homemade Ice Cream - Easier Than You think! By : Scott Byers
If you are looking for some great fun and a delicious treat any time of year, you will want to know about making homemade ice cream. This is a fun thing to do alone or with someone else. No matter what you are doing or what the temperature is outside, you will want to have some homemade ice cream for a great snack or treat. You will love making it along with eating it as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| New Food and Drink Articles |
- 1). Do Aphrodisiac Foods Exist By : Kadence Buchanan
Many of us have heard that sea-food excite the human senses or that walnuts and honey are the best aphrodisiac. But do certain types of food affect the human erotic impulse?
|
|
|
|
|
- 4). How To Eat Good Quality Food While Traveling By : Gregg Hall
When you are traveling whether on the road or airport hopping finding good food to eat at a reasonable price is an important consideration. When you are traveling eating out at fancy restaurants can take you over your budget in a hurry.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 9). Cooking Tips For Outdoor Chefs By : Bob Alexander
Tips on how to light charcoal for barbeque cookouts and live to tell about it! Safety tips for the novice and experienced griller both. Delicious cooking ideas for smoking meats.
|
- 10). Fish Oil - It’s Health Benefits & Risks By : John H. Rogers
As the name implies, fish oil is oil that is removed from the tissues of oily fish and is often recommended as part of a healthy diet program. Many nutritionists recommend that individuals each fish at least once a week, but emphasis must be placed on the importance of avoiding fish that contain certain harmful contaminants. In avoiding predatory fish, such as sharks and others, individuals will prevent the consumption of unhealthy substances which can accumulate due to the fish’s predatory lifestyle.
|
|
|
