GOD'S RECIPE FOR CHOCOLATE.

You can believe it or not. I must confess, I don't know whether I am being facetious or not. Let me tell it my way. anyway.

In the Bible(I am referring to the New International Version) it say that approximately six weeks after departing from Egypt, the Israelites were literally wandering in the desert somewhere around the plains of Jeri co. They were tired and hungry. They complained to Moses.

In answer to their complaints and having much sympathy for their hunger, God rained MANNA down from heaven for the Israelites to eat.

The Bible describes MANNA as, "It was like white coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey."(Exodus 16,Lies 30-31). Remember the writers of the Exodus, nor the Israelites had any points of reference. So you can draw your own conclusions.

I being an passionate chocoholic for all my life concluded that it was chocolate. It could have been white, having fallen through the the stratosphere, from it journey from heaven. Coriander is also brown. There is of course some similarity in taste between chocolate, white or milk chocolate, to what is described as wafers made with honey. Another translations describes the taste as"like flour with honey".

This happened in 1200BC. Just about the time that Anthropologist Michael D. Coe estimates that chocolate in a pot was buried alongside an Olmec notable in Mexico. It was recently unearthed.

It made eminent sense for God to give chocolate to the Israelites. They did need energy. They did need some uplifting in spirits from their severe depression. They needed vitamins and minerals and no doubt some stabilisation in their blood pressures. Chocolate of course does all these things particularly if it was processed by God.

In verse 31 of the same chapter, Moses urges the Israelites, to "keep it for generations."Apparently they obeyed. MANNA was not their only diet during their subsequent 40 years of wandering, but it was their chief diet. Michael Levine, nutritionist and researcher is quoted(in "The Emperors of Chocolate") as saying, "Chemically speaking chocolate really is the world's perfect food."

So appropriately last Sunday after Church we decided to try out God's recipe in a very simple way. We made some flour(mixed with egg white, sugar, salt,) strips, dipped it into warm liquid milk chocolate, brushed it lightly with honey and dropped it into liquid nitrogen(I found another place where you can get liquid nitrogen. Obviously at the benkel). When the pieces were rock solid we pulled them out with wooden spoons and placed it on a dish to thaw. A tap with the back of a spoon breaks it up.

You might ask why we used liquid nitrogen? Perhaps to be more authentic after all God passed his chocolate,or manna, from Heaven, through the mesosphere, stratosphere, troposphere and atmosphere to freeze it. Also because it has become an adventure with us. We tried it with dark chocolate and white too. We also put some in the frig overnight instead of using nitrogen. We tried it out with some Penabur school kids and moms the next day. They loved it.

Indeed it was very good. We can still work on refinements. We also tried mixing the flour strips with powdered coriander.The coriander with it's nutty, spicy and citrus flavour combined with Tulip chocolate's characteristic sharp spicy flavour rather nicely and contrasted well with the taste of honey.

Thank you God.

NITROGEN COOKED CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

Over 30 years ago at Oakhill College New South Wales, we made instant ice cream in our Science lab, using liquid nitrogen. On August 26, this year Chefs Alexander Talbot and Aki Kamozawa will teahing chefs and others about the use of liquid nitrogen in cooking. What took them so long?

The big problem of using liquid nitrogen in cookin in Indonesia is its availability exactly for this purpose. Try your hospital and a friendly pediatrician. Or welders. School science labs did not have it. At least those i have checked with.

The are also safety issues you must be aware of. Contact with liquid nitrogen is dangerous. Safety clothing, gloves and safety glasses should be worn.

Now the recipe. You need:

1 quart of heavy cream.
1 pint milk
3 tablespoons Vanilla
Half cup sugar
Chocolate chips or crush dark courverture Tulip chocolate.
And you need 5 litres of liquid nitrogen.

For cokking tools you need:
Large stainless stell mixing bowl
Wooden mixing spoons

The Method:
Mix the cream, milk,vanilla and sugar in the steel bowl, Stir until the sugar is
dissolved.Add the chocolate chips or/and crushed dark chocolate.

Now the liquid nitrogen

Place the steel bowl in the sink. Be warned it will overflow.
Pour an estimate of one litre of liquid nitrogen into the bowl.It is impossible to measure liquid nitrogen. So you must estimate.
There will be lots of cool fog. Do not stir.
Let the nitrogen do the job of freezing the mixture.
Stir cautiously. Some parts of the mixture will be frozen. Other parts will be liquid. Stir with the wooden spoon and mix till you have a consistant mixture. Then add more nitrogen. Let it freeze for a few seconds and then stir. The trick now is to stir and stir till you have a consistant mixture. Keep adding small amounts of liquid nitrogen as you stir. Finally you have a nice consistant mixture.

Why you end up with a wonderful creamy ice cream is due to the rapid freezing. The nitrogen makes the fat and water particles to stay ver small. This gives the ice cream extra smoothness. Scientists say that rapid freezing also preserves the nutrients in food.

Keep reading this newsletter for more information and recipes on MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY
using chocolate.