Posted by Susan on December 08, 1997 at 23:07:00:
Posted by Gerard on December 07, 1997 at 20:35:39:
In Reply to: Retail Chocolate posted by Susan on December 07, 1997 at 12:44:12:
: Are you allergic to lethicin? Hersheys in NOT a good quality choc, I'm as far as you can get to a food snob but hershey , ach.
Heres the logic I use, if you put the labor in you want to ensure within reason that quality comes out.
I haven't worked with Lindt but any european choc is bound to have advantages over the US chocs if you're tempering.
: What exactly are you making with the choc?
"lecithin, n. Any of a group of phosphatides found in all plant and animal tissues, produced commercially from egg yolks, soybeans, and corn and used
in the processing of foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, paints and inks, and rubber and plastics." Source: American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd College edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1982) ... a little easier on the back than the OED :)
Am I allergic to the lecithin in my own tissues? I hope not, sounds too much like lupus. Am I allergic to commercial lecithin? Almost certainly, especially if it's derived from soybean or corn. Last time I went through full-blown skin testing, the allergist (a very good ear, nose, & throat doctor) scratched his head and said, "Well, it's going to be a lot easier to tell you what you're *not* allergic to. You're not allergic to freshwater fish, coffee, and buffered saline." (which means that I am allergic to all kinds of meat and grain, dairy, several vegetables, trees, flowers, chirping birds ... )
To which I could only reply, "Well, doesn't that sound delicious?"
"Don't be stupid," he huffed. "You've got to eat something, so we'll put you on a rotational diet." Which means that if I eat chicken today, I shouldn't
have it again for 2 or 3 days. Gives the reaction a chance to calm down. Sigh.
So let's talk about chocolate instead. Can I temper chocolate? Sort of. Molded some chocolates last year, did the full melt, cool, and reheat procedure.
I wasn't all that happy with them. Oh, they firmed right up and tasted great. But a good chocolate is kind of a multimedia experience and these weren't as shiny as I would have liked, not enough snap to them. Of course, it was *American* chocolate, which might explain everything. Overnight in the oven sounds interesting, but mine's electric (of course) and it doesn't go below 170 degrees. What is "tabliering"?
I'd like to dip some fondant centers, just to get back into it. Fondant's no trouble -- I even have a marble slab (courtesy of a younger brother who's an incurable junk collector) and metal candy bars (four lengths of stainless steel, 1" square stock, found buried on the shelves of an old cake decorating supply house -- the staff didn't even know what to charge me for them anymore -- since gone out of business).
Originally, I acquired this stuff for the sole purpose of recreating some amazing brownies from my childhood. Chocolate fondant icing. Not too sweet.
I loved those brownies. Unfortunately, they were made by a dashing young baker who ended up running off to Texas with a lady who wasn't his wife. (Very perplexing to a small child who only wanted one more brownie!) And that was that ... until many years later, when I tried out a new recipe for the first time and froze upon recognizing that distinctive smell. Yeah, I know that you aren't into home recipes, but someone else might like to try them.
Sunday Afternoon Brownies
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs
2/3 cup flour, stirred with fork
1-1/4 cups chopped nuts
Melt chocolate and cool to room temperature. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and/or line pan with parchment. Cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar in thirds, beating until light and creamy. Beat in salt and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time. Add chocolate. Fold in flour and nuts by hand. Pour batter into pan. Bake until top is dry and toothpick comes out barely moist when inserted 1-1/2" from center (22 to 25 minutes in metal, 17 to 20 minutes in glass for a 9" by 9" pan). Cool completely in pan on rack. Yields 20 bars.
Now my pan was 10-1/2" by 15-1/2", which resulted in a baking time of maybe 20 minutes. I have another pan just like it, which I lined in parchment, then sprinkled with granulated sugar. When the brownies were ready to come out of the first pan, I flipped them into the second pan and iced their new top (formerly the bottom) with chocolate fondant. Why? Because that's how it was done by the guy who ended up in Texas. (And I hope he's doing well, wherever he is now!) Made a lot of 1" by 3" bars with an interesting texture. And brought back a lot of nice memories.
Susan
In Reply to: Retail Chocolate posted by Susan on December 07, 1997 at 12:44:12:
: : Are you allergic to lethicin? Hersheys in NOT a good quality choc, I'm as far as you can get to a food snob but hershey , ach.
: Heres the logic I use, if you put the labor in you want to ensure within reason that quality comes out.
: I haven't worked with Lindt but any european choc is bound to have advantages over the US chocs if you're tempering.
: : What exactly are you making with the choc?
:
: "lecithin, n. Any of a group of phosphatides found in all plant and animal tissues, produced commercially from egg yolks, soybeans, and corn and used
: in the processing of foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, paints and inks, and rubber and plastics." Source: American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd College edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1982) ... a little easier on the back than the OED :)
: Am I allergic to the lecithin in my own tissues? I hope not, sounds too much like lupus. Am I allergic to commercial lecithin? Almost certainly, especially if it's derived from soybean or corn. Last time I went through full-blown skin testing, the allergist (a very good ear, nose, & throat doctor) scratched his head and said, "Well, it's going to be a lot easier to tell you what you're *not* allergic to. You're not allergic to freshwater fish, coffee, and buffered saline." (which means that I am allergic to all kinds of meat and grain, dairy, several vegetables, trees, flowers, chirping birds ... )
: To which I could only reply, "Well, doesn't that sound delicious?"
: "Don't be stupid," he huffed. "You've got to eat something, so we'll put you on a rotational diet." Which means that if I eat chicken today, I shouldn't
: have it again for 2 or 3 days. Gives the reaction a chance to calm down. Sigh.
: So let's talk about chocolate instead. Can I temper chocolate? Sort of. Molded some chocolates last year, did the full melt, cool, and reheat procedure.
: I wasn't all that happy with them. Oh, they firmed right up and tasted great. But a good chocolate is kind of a multimedia experience and these weren't as shiny as I would have liked, not enough snap to them. Of course, it was *American* chocolate, which might explain everything. Overnight in the oven sounds interesting, but mine's electric (of course) and it doesn't go below 170 degrees. What is "tabliering"?
: I'd like to dip some fondant centers, just to get back into it. Fondant's no trouble -- I even have a marble slab (courtesy of a younger brother who's an incurable junk collector) and metal candy bars (four lengths of stainless steel, 1" square stock, found buried on the shelves of an old cake decorating supply house -- the staff didn't even know what to charge me for them anymore -- since gone out of business).
: Originally, I acquired this stuff for the sole purpose of recreating some amazing brownies from my childhood. Chocolate fondant icing. Not too sweet.
: I loved those brownies. Unfortunately, they were made by a dashing young baker who ended up running off to Texas with a lady who wasn't his wife. (Very perplexing to a small child who only wanted one more brownie!) And that was that ... until many years later, when I tried out a new recipe for the first time and froze upon recognizing that distinctive smell. Yeah, I know that you aren't into home recipes, but someone else might like to try them.
: Sunday Afternoon Brownies
: 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
: 1-1/4 cups sugar
: 1/4 teaspoon salt
: 2 teaspoons vanilla
: 4 large eggs
: 2/3 cup flour, stirred with fork
: 1-1/4 cups chopped nuts
: Melt chocolate and cool to room temperature. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and/or line pan with parchment. Cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar in thirds, beating until light and creamy. Beat in salt and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time. Add chocolate. Fold in flour and nuts by hand. Pour batter into pan. Bake until top is dry and toothpick comes out barely moist when inserted 1-1/2" from center (22 to 25 minutes in metal, 17 to 20 minutes in glass for a 9" by 9" pan). Cool completely in pan on rack. Yields 20 bars.
: Now my pan was 10-1/2" by 15-1/2", which resulted in a baking time of maybe 20 minutes. I have another pan just like it, which I lined in parchment, then sprinkled with granulated sugar. When the brownies were ready to come out of the first pan, I flipped them into the second pan and iced their new top (formerly the bottom) with chocolate fondant. Why? Because that's how it was done by the guy who ended up in Texas. (And I hope he's doing well, wherever he is now!) Made a lot of 1" by 3" bars with an interesting texture. And brought back a lot of nice memories.
: Susan
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