Memoirs of a Chocolate

Have you ever had a piece of chocolate and the memories and taste of that chocolate still lingers until today? As I can remember, the best ever chocolate experience I had was masa kecik2. My dad came home with a hamper full of chocolates and biscuits given to him during CNY by one of his Chinese friend. Masa dulu-dulu, time raya cina memang seronok. Coz we got lots of hampers. Nowadays, the only thing we always get are lokam and lokam ( at the office of coz... ha ha ha)

Back to the choc story tadi. I picked up a chocolate bar, with strawberry filling in it. Hrmm.. never tasted that before. During my time, the only chocolate yang kitorang slalu makan was Kandos ha ha ha.. Anyone remembered that? yer la coklat murahan...When I chew into that chocolate with the strawberry filling tu... errrmmmm..... the outer bar was a bit snappy.When it gets into my tongue, it melts.. Then came a slimy, creamy strawberry filing rushes into my mouth,it is liquid but not so liquid..( alaaa.. just like susu pekat like that) And its strawberry flavored... huhuhu.... arrrghhhh... sedapnyer... That was the only one time I had that chocolate. The chocolate is not sold anywhere in JB , KL or anywhere in Malaysia. My father's friend must have gotten that from overseas.

Until now, I remembered that experience. I do find some chocolates by Cadbury yang ada cream centers ni.. But too bad, the ingredients always had some bahan2 yang mencurigakan coz they aren't manufactured in Malaysia and of course no halal logo. Terketar gak bila pegang those chocolates... so tempting. Tapi tak apa la... Now I have found my own cream center recipes. Soon when I perfected my recipe, maybe I'll make it as one of my own HALAL cream centered chocolate.... But I'm afraid that even before I managed to sell it off, I might have chomped it all in my mouth. And another pest for my chocolate would be my kids. Geram bila tengok tetiba ada jer coklat yang kita buat tu hilang.. But then again... that's the joy. I hope they remembered and cherish every moment lavishing on my chocolates when they grow up....

How to taste your chocolate ?

Are you a chocoholic? How do you measure the degree at which you enjoyed your chocolate. According to the experts, in order to become an expert chocolate taster, you need to use all five senses.

Touch The point is to observe the speed of melting. The quicker - the better. The quick melt indicates a high cocoa butter content. Chocolate should start to melt if held in the hands for a few seconds. Cocoa butter melts because it is solid up to 91.4F degrees temperature and melts at 93.2F degrees.

**note : These are the reason why some chocolates just simply melts in your mouth and some don’t. ( especially the cheap ones… duhhh) . One good indication differentiating good chocolates from the lower quality is the price. But not all expensive chocolates are of good quality. But for sure those cheap ones are of course of lower quality. No “tokey” coklat would want to sell a good chocolate cheap.

Sound The crystaline structiure of the cocoa butter is what gives chocolate its distinct crisp snap. You can definitely hear the snap of a fine chocolate.

This is if you’re snapping the chocolate in a moderate room temp like in an air conditioned room. If you’re trying to snap your chocolate under the hot and humid sun in KLCC for example, you’ll surely get a good mush of chocolates in your hands. (Chocolate in its liquid state actually even taste better. Urggg hhh… )

Sight Gloss and condition of chocolate can quickly be assessed just by looking. When a bloom is observed it is generally caused either by heat or moisture.

A good chocolate normally shines. This would applies for molded chocolates and the like excluding those which are already wrapped in some foils or something.

Heat bloom indicates the chocolate was not tempered correctly or that it has been allowed to get too warm, then cold. The cocoa butter crystals rise to the surface and recrystalize. This does not affect the flavor of the chocolate but should be seen as a warning that the chocolate was not stored correctly. It can be rectified by tempering the chocolate again, thereby realigning the crystal structure.

Moisture bloom known as sugar bloom is caused by the moisture settling on the surface of the chocolate which happens if the chocolate is stored in a damp atmosphere. It draws the sugar crystals to the surface, the sugar dissolves in the water, and later recrystalizes on the surface - destroying the texture of the chocolate. The whole appearance of the texture will be grey and gritty. This chocolate must be thrown out.

The redder and the lighter in color the cocoa, the finer the flavor.

Smell It is the nose which is the most highly tuned instrument to detect the greatness of food. Too much sugar interfered with the smelling process, just like in wine tasting. Too much salt can overwhelm the palate. Smoking dulls smelling and strong flavors, such as peppermint and chili, affect smell.

Taste Although we do not spit out chocolate as do wine buffs, neither do we eat it. A small piece of chocolate should be placed on the tongue and allowed to melt of its own accord. Try three or four different chocolates with a water sip between each taste session.