Valerie Beck
How does a chocolate manufacturer get the creamy carmel into the center of the delicious solid chocolate? Excellent question, Brian!
The answer: mold. Not as in fungus, but as in the fact that the chocolate is poured into a mold to create its shape, with a hollow center. And then the caramel is poured into the center. And then we eat it and love it. Voila!
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May you enjoy a beautiful Thanksgiving filled with love, conviviality, and of course chocolate!
Yours truly was recently asked how much caffeine is in chocolate, and whether someone with a caffeine allergy had to swear off chocolate forever. Life without chocolate? Quelle horreur!
Here's what we know: chocolate is such a complex food, there's dispute as to whether it contains caffeine. If it does, it contains but a fraction of the caffeine in a cup of coffee. The average chocolate bar contains 6 milligrams of caffeine, while a 6-ounce cup of coffee contains 150 mg of caffeine. (And a venti contains 600 mg of caffeine.) So, a chocolate bar contains about as much caffeine as a cup of decaffinated coffee.
Some say that chocolate contains no caffeine at all, and that tests to measure caffeine often confuse it with theobromine, another alkaloid that is indeed contained in chocolate. Theobromine is a pharmacologically active alkaloid that gives chocolate its scientific name of Theobroma Cacao - food of the gods.
What to do? Well, if chocolate does contain caffeine, the caffeine would be in the cocoa mass, not the cocoa butter. So, if you want to avoid even traces of caffeine or other alkaloids, try white chocolate, because it contains cocoa butter but not cocoa mass.
Enjoy your chocolate journey!
A recent tour guest asked, "What is alkalized chocolate?" Jeanne, good question!
Cocoa powder, which is used in baking and in preparing most hot chocolate drinks, is either alkalized or non-alkalized. Alkalized cocoa powder - also called "Dutch process" - contains potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, or magnesium, all of which neutralize the naturally occurring acids and make the powder easier to dissolve in liquids. The Dutch process darkens the color of the cocoa powder and creates a milder flavor.
Chefs recommend using non-alkalized or "American" cocoa powder in recipes that call for baking soda, because the baking soda depends on the natural acidity of the cocoa powder to create the desired leavening effect.
This leads to the question, "What is cocoa powder?" Cocoa powder is made when chocolate liquor, the result of grinding the cocoa beans, is pressed to remove most of its cocoa butter. The solid cocoa powder "cake" that remains is then pulverized and sifted, producing cocoa powder.
Chocolate is delightfully complicated, and simply delicious.
A recent Chicago Chocolate Tours guest asked, "What's a chocolate nib?"
Nancy, I'm glad you asked! If you're a chocolate lover, the nib is the seat of paradise. The chocolate nib is the center of the cocoa bean from which chocolate is made. The nibs are pieces of peeled, ground cocoa beans, contain no sugar, and give you a pure chocolate taste. You can buy nibs in many stores or online (see my Links page), and they can be used for baking, put into smoothies, or munched as snacks - try adding honey and almonds for a tasty treat.
P.S. Happy birthday, Nancy!