How To Eat Chocolate

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, isn't itaccessible to casual chocolate lovers.Tasting
about time that your treated your significant other to(Finally!)Take a bite of the chocolate, and let it slowly
some chocolate? For a change, try a really respectedmelt on your tongue. The texture should be perfectly
brand, take your time, and concentrate on the wholesmooth with no hint of graininess. The flavor should
chocolate experience.So here are some guidelines forlast long on the tongue and be pleasant all the way
what to look for in chocolate, but be forewarned,down. This long "hangtime" allows you to search for
eating *really* good chocolate trains your taste budsother secondary tastes. Is it nutty? Is it fruity? Is it
to identify mediocre chocolate. Once you've tastedwoody? Tasting great chocolate is similar to wine
the good stuff, there's no goingtasting in a way.With cheaper chocolates, I find that
back...AppearanceThe chocolate should be smooththat their lower cocoa butter content makes for a
and shiny. If there are white blemishes on it (knownless smooth texture and a shorter lasting flavor.
as bloom), it could be a sign that the chocolate wasWorse, preservatives often lend an unpleasant
not properly stored. It could be that the chocolateaftertaste.With a little practice, you'll be able to spot
was warmed to the point where it melted or it wasbad chocolate instantly. It's both a blessing and a
stored in a moist refrigerator. A little bit of bloomcurse; you might not see supermarket chocolate bars
shouldn't affect taste much but the texture won't bequite the same way anymore, but you'll be in nirvana
as smooth. If you're paying for good qualitywhen you get a piece of high-quality
chocolate, you should make sure that it's beingchocolate.Recommended BrandsThis is not an
treated right.SnapTry bending the chocolate. It shouldexhaustive list of good chocolate makers, but they all
break off with a clean snap. If it bends, it probablymake premium chocolate and are not too hard to
means that the chocolate maker is substitutingfind in the US.Callebaut
vegetable oil for cocoa butter, which lends chocolateCote d'Or
its magically smooth texture.The PercentageDagoba
DarknessThe main ingredient in chocolate is derivedDomori
from the cacao bean. A lot of the time you'll see aEl Rey
percentage sign on the chocolate package that tellsGhirardelli
you how much cacao is in the chocolate. The higherGreen & Black's
the percentage, the more bitter the chocolate will be.Lindt
Darker chocolates usually have a higher cacaoMichel Cluizel
percentage.The percentage to choose is largely aScharfen Berger
matter of taste, but to taste the complex flavors ofValrhonaHowie Wang is creator of the FoodieView
good chocolate, I would aim for above 60% cacao.Recipe Search Engine, where you can find thousands
This level is often called semi-sweet.Chocolates thatof chocolate recipes.
are above 80% are pretty bitter and not as