(from which chocolate is derived from)Since 3000 years, chocolate has come an incredible long way. Imagine an Olmec, holding a cocoa pod, scratching his head and saying to his wife, "Can we eat this?" As it turns out his wife, like most wives, was right when she answered, "Honey what you have there, in 3000 years, is destined to be better than sex." It was likely that the wife was subsequently sacrificed to a ferocious Deity. The grieving husband got drunk from the alcohol made from the white mucus that covered the beans inside the pod and was buried with the remains of the drink.
The Aztecs learned to crack the bean, extract the nibs, crush them to paste and make a bitter drink which they believed kept them in excellent vigor.In time the learned to mix it with maize gruel and honey. Montezuma, the great Emperor of the Aztecs, drank it dyed red.And beaten to a froth. In fact, whatever the experts may say, the word "choicolat" means "beaten drink."
Later they experimented with extracts of vanilla, chili and annatto.
The Dominican Friars introduced it to Spain.The ancestors of El Bulli and Chocovic then took over and Chocolate began the first step towards an incredibly wonderful future.
But the chocolate of today bears little resemblance to its origins. It is being sissified so that we, who don't quite measure up in spunk to the Aztecs, Mayans an Olmecs can find it palatable. And pleasureable. Are we missing out in the real pleasure of chocolate?
French pastries are concoctions with chocolate. They do not offer the unique pleasure that chocolate is meant to offer. They use chocolate for sensational gimmickry.The mass manufactured chocolates,rich with alpine milks and cane sugar, laden with nuts, are say what you may are not the stuff that braced up the Aztecs. In some of the mass produced chocolate, you can still taste a trace of palm oil. These manufacturers, would have promptly beheaded by Montezuma. Justly so.
The chocolate revolution led by the Artisans, Amano, De Vries, Tim Childs, Bonnat, Cocoa Farm of Australia(though this one is a bit too civilised) to name a few, that restored some of the mystic and adventure of chocolate. They have brought back the passion and romance and their chocolate can justly be gifts of love on Valentine's Day. Then there are others who have come up with a "new idea" chocolate revolution.
The chocolate experience I took immense pleasure from was a moist,rich velvety, utterly sinful "cake" from "awfully chocolate".It's really not a cake, but a gloriously round of superb chocolate.There a bit of fudginess in it somewhere. This one you dream about.It is not a return to the origins but it has reinvented the chocolate experience.
The company "awfully chocolate" is, I am told was founded by Singapore lawyers. Which explains the exactitude of the definition of chocolate, in 2008, or what it legally should be. The "awfully chocolate" shop in Jakarta, is almost sterile.It's bare. There is no display nor evidence of chocolate at all. You walk up to the counter and ask for the chocolate. There is one ONE kind. Customers keep coming back!I must say, lawyers are far smarter than we usually credit them for.
It is the right time to go back a 1000 years or so and look at recipes that seemed to have worked well with chocolate,and ingredients like honey, vanilla, cinnamon. annatto and chili. And giving it a good beating in-between.Bring back the boldness and the savage romance!
Showing posts with label chocovic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chocovic. Show all posts
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Monday, 29 September 2008
MOCTEZUMA'S WIFE'S CHOCOLATE RECIPE.
Kidzania is a city built for kids, occupying two floors of a top notch shoppingcomplex in the middle of Jakarta.The original exists in Mexico City.
On the ground floor are the city-type outlets, hair salons,departmental stores, supermarkets,theatres, institutes, driving schools, hospitals and so on. On the top floor is the industrial complex. Here kids are shown how ice cream, biscuits and indeed chocolates are manufactured.
A few weekends ago our community group took the kids through the "Silver Queen Chocolate Factory". They goggled at the massive processes of roasting, winnowing, grinding, conching, refining, tempering and moulding in huge gleaming machines(though the ones in Kidszania were kindly, kidsize). Then one wise guy piped, "Did Moctezuma have all these machines to make his chocolate?". The day before we has taken them through a briefing which included brief history of chocolate.
Last weekend we gathered at the slickest and largest kitchen in the neighbourhood to make chocolate as Moctezuma would have made it. Or at least by some of his many many wives assisted dutifully by his 8 daughters and 11 sons.
We brought a kilo of fermented beans from a plantation near Bandung. They were nice and dry and good-looking as far as beans go. We laid them out in single layers on baking trays and roasted them in a 300 degree preheated house oven for 30 minutes.
By this time a nice aroma,filled the kitchen. We then let the beans cool. Then one by one a group of six started to crack the beans and collect the nibs. The rest of the group watched a soap on television.
It is tough work separating about the nibs from the husk. Now we know why Moctezuma had many wives and 19 children. He probably yelled to them, "Come guys faster! You know that grouchy Spaniard Cortes is going to pop in any moment now!I want to cool him down with some chocolate." Moctezuma incidentally had warehouses of cocoa beans. Some he used for making chocolate and the rest for currency to buy stocks and shares.Or whatever they had those days.
After we collected the nibs, we ground a batch(8 spoons of nibs) with two spoons of sugar, in a coffee grinder. The other batch, simply ground the same in a motor and pestle. We ground and ground and ground. The coffee grinder gets over-heated so we had to stop from time to time.
What we had now,was varietal chocolate, that is to say" Moctezuma chocolate". To some purists, primitive. But I wouldn't tell old Moctezuma that. He was skilled at severing heads at the slightest provocation.
It was gritty but most of the group agreed that it "startling". We never tasted chocolate this mysterious, rich and flavoursome before. Moctezuma's wives probably beat it up while warming with honey and cinnamon, making it froth. There is a picture found on the walls of the ruins that showed a statuesque brunette, presumably one of Moctezuma's wives, pouring a cup of prepared from above her head to a vessel on the ground. Rather like the Malaysian Indians make "Teh Tareh". This obviously gave the drink a good head of foam.
We used a batch to flavour brownies. It was unique and great to taste. The recipe, along with other Moctezuma type recipes(or recipes his wives should have tried) will be featured in the Java Chocolate Newsletter.
HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE.
Eventually one day Herman Cortes dropped in to visit. Moctezuma welcomed him with a cup of cocoa."It's ******* bitter!" said Cortes and threw up. Not really, I made that up. In fact he liked it so much that he took sacks of beans home. He also invited one of Moctezuma" daughters to Spain(absolutely true) where most probably, she taught ChocoVic to split beans and extract nibs(pure conjecture).
On the ground floor are the city-type outlets, hair salons,departmental stores, supermarkets,theatres, institutes, driving schools, hospitals and so on. On the top floor is the industrial complex. Here kids are shown how ice cream, biscuits and indeed chocolates are manufactured.
A few weekends ago our community group took the kids through the "Silver Queen Chocolate Factory". They goggled at the massive processes of roasting, winnowing, grinding, conching, refining, tempering and moulding in huge gleaming machines(though the ones in Kidszania were kindly, kidsize). Then one wise guy piped, "Did Moctezuma have all these machines to make his chocolate?". The day before we has taken them through a briefing which included brief history of chocolate.
Last weekend we gathered at the slickest and largest kitchen in the neighbourhood to make chocolate as Moctezuma would have made it. Or at least by some of his many many wives assisted dutifully by his 8 daughters and 11 sons.
We brought a kilo of fermented beans from a plantation near Bandung. They were nice and dry and good-looking as far as beans go. We laid them out in single layers on baking trays and roasted them in a 300 degree preheated house oven for 30 minutes.
By this time a nice aroma,filled the kitchen. We then let the beans cool. Then one by one a group of six started to crack the beans and collect the nibs. The rest of the group watched a soap on television.
It is tough work separating about the nibs from the husk. Now we know why Moctezuma had many wives and 19 children. He probably yelled to them, "Come guys faster! You know that grouchy Spaniard Cortes is going to pop in any moment now!I want to cool him down with some chocolate." Moctezuma incidentally had warehouses of cocoa beans. Some he used for making chocolate and the rest for currency to buy stocks and shares.Or whatever they had those days.
After we collected the nibs, we ground a batch(8 spoons of nibs) with two spoons of sugar, in a coffee grinder. The other batch, simply ground the same in a motor and pestle. We ground and ground and ground. The coffee grinder gets over-heated so we had to stop from time to time.
What we had now,was varietal chocolate, that is to say" Moctezuma chocolate". To some purists, primitive. But I wouldn't tell old Moctezuma that. He was skilled at severing heads at the slightest provocation.
It was gritty but most of the group agreed that it "startling". We never tasted chocolate this mysterious, rich and flavoursome before. Moctezuma's wives probably beat it up while warming with honey and cinnamon, making it froth. There is a picture found on the walls of the ruins that showed a statuesque brunette, presumably one of Moctezuma's wives, pouring a cup of prepared from above her head to a vessel on the ground. Rather like the Malaysian Indians make "Teh Tareh". This obviously gave the drink a good head of foam.
We used a batch to flavour brownies. It was unique and great to taste. The recipe, along with other Moctezuma type recipes(or recipes his wives should have tried) will be featured in the Java Chocolate Newsletter.
HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE.
Eventually one day Herman Cortes dropped in to visit. Moctezuma welcomed him with a cup of cocoa."It's ******* bitter!" said Cortes and threw up. Not really, I made that up. In fact he liked it so much that he took sacks of beans home. He also invited one of Moctezuma" daughters to Spain(absolutely true) where most probably, she taught ChocoVic to split beans and extract nibs(pure conjecture).
Monday, 22 September 2008
ARE YOU ADVENTEROUS ENOUGH TO BE AN CHOCOLATE ARTISAN?
To be an chocolate artisan is to be an adventurer. Or you simply wont make it. You must head for Ternate. Which is not on the Old Silk Route, as I once thought.You must land at airports such as Ba Ullah, which is not in Mongolia.You must take a boat Kalumata to Cobo and hike to Rum. For these are the last frontiers of cocoa and they just happen to be in my backyard,in the archipelago of Indonesia. In short you must do what the great chocolate artisan adventurers like Tim Childs and D'Vries did in their backyards(here I am including Peru as being in the backyard, for instance, Tim's San Francisco factory).
It is very desirable, if you want to go into the chocolate business and make a name for yourself, to be an artisan chocolatier.The mass markets are already amply covered very competently by the big boys. If they had time I would advise they develop a small artisan chocolate division. But they wont of course, because they have to focus and also they think I am stupid. Artisan chocolate will fill the substantial niche markets that have a desire to savour different superb chocolates.
Many comparisons are made between chocolate and wine. But in reality for wine, all you need is a nice plot of land. You plant grapes, harvest and jump on them and you make your own wine. To be an chocolatier you pack your rucksack and go. You may never return if you step on a Komodo Dragon.
There are three steps in being a Artisan Chocolatier.Let me capitalise these words, to give the profession more dignity.
STEP ONE
1)Discover a promising farmer, plantation, cooperative, in some out-of-the-way place that has the interesting soil and conditions to produce, or in fact is already producing, good cocoa. It takes much looking around as professional artisans will tell you.
2)Then start to work directly with the farmer either by yourself or if you have the capital, through an agronomist.
3)Use your know-how to give direction to the farmer on growing through to harvesting the cocoa.
4)Provide guidance and tools for better fermentation boxes, drying floors or solar drying.
5)Then pay more for the cocoa to reward the farmer. More than market prices or more than Fair Trade prices.
STEP TWO
1)Don't attempt to follow Valrohono. Or any of the others. They will bury you. Do your own thing. Coax your own flavour, texture stealthily out of the beans. Make it a very personal thing.
2)This makes the artisan chocolate market as creative as the wine market. So welcome and encourage other artisans. The more the merrier. The bigger the love for gourmet chocolate.
3)The choice of equipment is going to be critical. A modern turbo-tamperer will put you out the business straight-off. Read, go to the library, talk to Chocovic. Don't be afraid to take chocolate making back a hundred years. Do not be afraid to do it by hand. In fact separating the nibs from shells is best done by hand. There will be no risk of getting husk bits into your chocolate.
4)Tell the story of your unique chocolate to your customers.
STEP THREE
1)Be open. Go to art galleries, the cinema, the orchestra, read profusely,enjoy wine and cheese,pray, expand your mind. A person with a narrow focus can never be an artisan. He is just a clot.
2)Embrace new ingredients, techniques, information, ideas and be obsessed.Share.
3)Be aware that much resources for being a chocolate artisan are there for you to excitingly discover, in Indonesia. Besides patience, industry, innovation is inbuilt in our genetic code.
4)Indonesia also has far reaching, extremely wide and embracing cooking values, resources tradition. Which is an important element in the evolution of an cooking craft.Collaborate with people of other traditions to make progress.
It is very desirable, if you want to go into the chocolate business and make a name for yourself, to be an artisan chocolatier.The mass markets are already amply covered very competently by the big boys. If they had time I would advise they develop a small artisan chocolate division. But they wont of course, because they have to focus and also they think I am stupid. Artisan chocolate will fill the substantial niche markets that have a desire to savour different superb chocolates.
Many comparisons are made between chocolate and wine. But in reality for wine, all you need is a nice plot of land. You plant grapes, harvest and jump on them and you make your own wine. To be an chocolatier you pack your rucksack and go. You may never return if you step on a Komodo Dragon.
There are three steps in being a Artisan Chocolatier.Let me capitalise these words, to give the profession more dignity.
STEP ONE
1)Discover a promising farmer, plantation, cooperative, in some out-of-the-way place that has the interesting soil and conditions to produce, or in fact is already producing, good cocoa. It takes much looking around as professional artisans will tell you.
2)Then start to work directly with the farmer either by yourself or if you have the capital, through an agronomist.
3)Use your know-how to give direction to the farmer on growing through to harvesting the cocoa.
4)Provide guidance and tools for better fermentation boxes, drying floors or solar drying.
5)Then pay more for the cocoa to reward the farmer. More than market prices or more than Fair Trade prices.
STEP TWO
1)Don't attempt to follow Valrohono. Or any of the others. They will bury you. Do your own thing. Coax your own flavour, texture stealthily out of the beans. Make it a very personal thing.
2)This makes the artisan chocolate market as creative as the wine market. So welcome and encourage other artisans. The more the merrier. The bigger the love for gourmet chocolate.
3)The choice of equipment is going to be critical. A modern turbo-tamperer will put you out the business straight-off. Read, go to the library, talk to Chocovic. Don't be afraid to take chocolate making back a hundred years. Do not be afraid to do it by hand. In fact separating the nibs from shells is best done by hand. There will be no risk of getting husk bits into your chocolate.
4)Tell the story of your unique chocolate to your customers.
STEP THREE
1)Be open. Go to art galleries, the cinema, the orchestra, read profusely,enjoy wine and cheese,pray, expand your mind. A person with a narrow focus can never be an artisan. He is just a clot.
2)Embrace new ingredients, techniques, information, ideas and be obsessed.Share.
3)Be aware that much resources for being a chocolate artisan are there for you to excitingly discover, in Indonesia. Besides patience, industry, innovation is inbuilt in our genetic code.
4)Indonesia also has far reaching, extremely wide and embracing cooking values, resources tradition. Which is an important element in the evolution of an cooking craft.Collaborate with people of other traditions to make progress.
Friday, 12 September 2008
THE BEST CHOCOLATE BOOK IN THE WORLD.
It arrived a day early from its place of origin, Barcelona:"Ramon Morato Chocolate". judged the best Chocolate Book in the World, by the Gourmand Cookbook Awards, in London last year. A wonderful birthday present. Thank you Jose!I feel very guilty considering for your birthday, I only send you a card.
The writer is in charge of the AULA CHOCOVIC School of Chocolate. On the cover, with his rimless glasses, he looks rather like the kind of heart surgeon you might prefer to be tinkering with yours. But reality his career is enhanced with a list of accolades One that rings really great is:Artisan Confectioner, "Master of Spain".
The book is of 600 pages with 230 step-by-step recipes. Ramon Morato though top at his profession is very much academically inclined. He has a tremendous interest in research and technology. Occasionally lectures at the University of Girona.
He works closely with the Research and Development Laboratory of Chocovic. Which incidentally is headed by graduates in Chemistry, Agriculture and Biology and more relevant second degrees.
Chocovic,also has in its archives a collection chocolates recipies dating back to the eighteenth century. Many of these belonged to the noble families of Spain and are recipes that call for preparations of their own particular preferences. Ramon Morato, given his studious background, must have been inspired by them.
I am delighted to own this book. I am sure I am the only one on this archipelago.
The writer is in charge of the AULA CHOCOVIC School of Chocolate. On the cover, with his rimless glasses, he looks rather like the kind of heart surgeon you might prefer to be tinkering with yours. But reality his career is enhanced with a list of accolades One that rings really great is:Artisan Confectioner, "Master of Spain".
The book is of 600 pages with 230 step-by-step recipes. Ramon Morato though top at his profession is very much academically inclined. He has a tremendous interest in research and technology. Occasionally lectures at the University of Girona.
He works closely with the Research and Development Laboratory of Chocovic. Which incidentally is headed by graduates in Chemistry, Agriculture and Biology and more relevant second degrees.
Chocovic,also has in its archives a collection chocolates recipies dating back to the eighteenth century. Many of these belonged to the noble families of Spain and are recipes that call for preparations of their own particular preferences. Ramon Morato, given his studious background, must have been inspired by them.
I am delighted to own this book. I am sure I am the only one on this archipelago.
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