Category: Pastry

What about George Washington Carver?

Reader Wendi asks, given that peanut butter was central to last week’s project, where’s my tip of the hat to George Washington Carver?

Now Wendy, don’t get me wrong, I love George Washington Carver. He’s one of my all-time favorite food scientists, synonymous with peanuts and for many, peanut butter. But the truth is that he didn’t invent peanut butter. That was the brainchild of the Incas. They were the first people to cultivate peanuts, and were mashing them into butters and molés thousands of years before Carver ever came on the scene.

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On Chocolate Conching

Reader Katie asks:

Do you know anything about conching chocolate? I’d love to hear more of the science behind that process.

I know w a little bit, Katie, but not terribly much. For while conching is a very well-known step in chocolate processing, it’s something chocolate manufacturers don’t say much about. That’s partly because some believe that conching is the step in which the magic happens. Others, interestingly, think the supposed “mystery” of conching is just a bunch of baloney. I’ll leave that to you to decide.

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Stupid Chocolate Tricks I: “Balloon” Cups

Here are a few things that don’t go together: impossibly delicate chocolate molds, outdoor photography and July. Fortunately I made a lot of cups and garnishes. Edible “balloon” cups are nothing new, but still a great way to wow guests at a dinner party. You can make them ahead and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to fill and present them.

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Is all tempered chocolate shiny?

Nope, sorry reader Jean. It’s glossier than chocolate that’s simply been melted and allowed to firm, but really shiny chocolate is a consequence of two things: good tempering and contact with a smooth surface. If you think about a chocolate bar, the shiny side is the top, the part that’s been in contact with the mold. The bottom is dull side, the part that was exposed to air as the bar cooled.

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How much chocolate is in milk chocolate?

Interesting question, reader Leeza. It depends on the manufacturer. A bar of Hershey’s milk chocolate (which I’ll confess is still my favorite milk chocolate to simply eat) is about 11% cocoa solids (their dark chocolate is 15% if you were wondering). More expensive milk chocolates can contain up to 38% cocoa solids.

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That was then, this is now.

I received lots of protests overnight from people saying, in effect: whaddya mean chocolate without milk in it is harsh? I eat dark chocolate all the time and I think it’s perfectly smooth and delicious!

I get that, for sure. But consider that back in Daniel Peter’s day chocolate was pretty rough stuff. To make a bar you pretty much just took some fermented and roasted cocoa nibs, ground them, pressed out the cocoa butter, ground them some more, added sugar, put back the cocoa butter and let the mixture set up in a mold. Bing, bang, boom, you’ve got your basic “eating” chocolate.

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