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Dark secrets
November 22 2005
(Dallas Morning News)
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The new chips, bars and chunks are dark and delicious
Dark-chocolate lovers, pick your number. The trend of labeling cocoa percentages on gourmet chocolate packaging has reached the baking aisle, with time to spare for the holidays.
Dark-chocolate truffles
Upscale chocolatiers have designated percentages on their packages for a while, but the trend is just hitting supermarket brands.
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Schokinag and Valrhona, all artisan chocolate makers with products available in the Dallas area, designate cocoa content on their products, even when it's not that high. Schokinag, for instance, lists 72 percent on its bittersweet bar, but its Semi-sweet Chocolate Baking Chunks also bear a 50 percent cocoa label and the Milk Chocolate Chunks are labeled 32 percent cocoa.
Hershey's makes Special Dark Chips but doesn't list a cocoa percentage.
What does a cocoa percentage mean? In a nutshell, the higher the number, the more true chocolate flavor and the less sugar.
For unsweetened chocolate, that really means nothing has changed. It's just that now it's wrapped in a new, trendy package that's stamped "100% cocoa." And that rates a 10 on the foodies' gotta-have-it scale.
Ghirardelli Chocolate now has both bars and chips labeled with cocoa percentages. The bars range from 60 percent cocoa (bittersweet) up to 100 percent. The Ghirardelli chips are 60 percent cocoa.
Baker's Chocolate has just introduced Baker's Reserve 225th Anniversary Bar, which is labeled with 70 percent cocoa. The 4-ounce bar is a limited edition.
Chocolate expert Alice Medrich, in her new book Chocolate Holidays cautions against substituting high-percentage chocolates in recipes not written specifically for that style.
"People are appreciating the complex properties that darker chocolate offers: subtle taste differences; deeper, richer flavors; and to a lesser degree, possible health benefits," says Lisa Henry, a spokeswoman for Ghirardelli. "They enjoy experimenting, and dark chocolate, with its varied intensities, is the perfect way – whether enjoyed with other foods in fondue, substituting in recipes or simply indulging in alone as a wonderful end to a meal."
DARK-CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
2 cups 60 percent cocoa bittersweet baking chips
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa or 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add butter and stir until melted. Add chocolate to saucepan. Stir until completely melted and smooth.
Remove from heat and pour the chocolate mixture into a shallow bowl. Cool, cover and refrigerate until firm, at least two hours.
Roll mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in cocoa or nuts. Makes 30 truffles.
PER SERVING: Calories 86 (61% fat) Fat 6 g (4 g sat) Cholesterol 10 mg Sodium 4 mg Carbohydrates 8 g
SOURCE: Ghirardelli Chocolate Co.
DARK-CHOCOLATE CHUNK AND DRIED CHERRY OATMEAL DROP COOKIES
½ cup margarine
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
1 cup dried cherries
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate baking chunks (50% cocoa)
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cream margarine, butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix until almost completely incorporated – don't overmix.
Add oats, cherries and chocolate chunks and mix until evenly distributed. Drop by ¼ -cupfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheets and bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
These can also be made into bars by baking the dough in a 9x13-inch pan for approximately 30 minutes. Makes 3 dozen large cookies.
PER COOKIE: Calories 159 (43% fat) Fat 8 g (3 g sat) Cholesterol 17 mg Sodium 117 mg Fiber 1 g Carbohydrates 21 g
SOURCE: Schokinag
WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN
It says "70 percent cacao" on the chocolate package. What does that mean for your chocolate pots de crème?
It means that the chocolate product you're using has 70 percent cocoa – cacao is just another name for it – which means more chocolate flavor. The higher the concentration of cocoa, the less sugar that chocolate product has in it.
NOT READY TO CROSS OVER?
Maybe the darkest chocolates aren't to your taste.s. Check out these new or seasonal chocolate options:
1. Nestlé milk chocolate and peanut butter swirl chips
2. Reese's tiny peanut butter cup baking pieces encased in chocolate
3. Nestlé semi-sweet and white chocolate swirl chips
4. Unwrapped Hershey's Kisses for baking
5. Nestlé milk chocolate and caramel swirl chips
And although mint chips are not new, they are usually only available around the holidays. Now is the time to stockpile Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips and Hershey's Mint Chocolate Chips.
Shopping for flavored chips can be maddening; availability varies widely from store to store, even within a chain, and some flavors are limited editions. If you find a flavor you like, stock up.
CHOCOLATE TIPS
Be aware that not all chocolate is created equal. The same holds true for chips. That said:
You can generally substitute one type of chip — and even some bars that you've chunked up — for another in your favourite recipe. Chips are formulated to hold their shape during baking; bars aren't.
Taste the chocolate before adding it to the dough or batter to make sure the flavors are compatible, especially if you're adding a new flavor component such as mint or peanut butter or going from milk chocolate to bittersweet.
If one brand has both a semi-sweet and a bittersweet, semi-sweet is sweeter. Both are still dark chocolate.
Store chocolate in its original wrapping or in foil somewhere cool, dark and dry, not in the refrigerator or freezer. Stored like this, dark chocolate will keep for several years. Milk and white chocolates will keep for several months.
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