Food Trends: How to Taste Chocolate
ChocolateTasting has its own Vocabulary
These days, the buzz around confectionary shops centers on "percentages"….how much actual cacao paste is in the candy?
"People are very interested in chocolate and care about what they’re putting into their mouths," Rhinebeck chocolatier Oliver Kita explains. "I’ve had people come in and tell me they won’t touch anything with less than…say…84 percent cacao in it."
Percentage of Cacau Only Part of What Makes Fine Chocolate
While these aficionados may have their sentiments in the right place – as in, usually the more actual cacao bean in a product, the better it actually tastes and the higher the quality – Kita is quick to note that the "percentage" of a piece of fine chocolate is really only part of the whole tasting equation.
As Kita explains it, like coffee, tea, wine, or single malt scotch, cacao grown in different parts of the world takes on the specific taste and "mouth feel" characteristics of the ground in which they grow. So, the cacao paste he gets from Venezuela tastes and feels slightly different from that of Madagascar and Equador’s raw product has a different taste and feel than that of the Dominican Republic. Like expert coffee blenders or blended scotch purveyors, high end suppliers, like Valrhona, from whom Kita obtains his organic chocolate pastes, most often blend these countries’ cacao beans together to create a well-balanced, recognizable base product. These are the big cacao paste blocks that Kita buys and transforms into little bits of what he likes to call, "affordable luxuries."
How to Taste Chocolate
"In this kind of economy, people might not be able to afford lots of the things they want,’ said Kita. "But they can still afford excellent chocolate. It’s a satisfying, affordable luxury. And we continue to grow each year. I see it as having one of those things that helps people just, well, feel better."
But creating these little bundles of chocolate perfection isn’t just about how much pure cacao paste you can cram into each bite, said Kita.
"People may have definite preferences for lighter chocolate or darker chocolate but, depending upon what actual paste you’re using…where it come from…percentages for the optimum taste are going to vary.
Tasting chocolate is, after all, a lot like tasting wine or whiskey. As such, it has a vocabulary all its own. In chocolate’s case, the key words to remember are "appearance," "snap," "aroma," mouthfeel," and, of course, "taste."
Appearance:
Look for an even texture and a shiny gloss, with no discoloration, pitting or fat or sugar "bloom." Color is not an indication of quality, nor is it an absolute indication of either quality or cacao content. Light chocolates (light Porcelana, a truly fine bean) will be light, even at 85 percent cacao content and, like coffee, the more darkly the bean is roasted by the producer, the darker the finished chocolate will be, so even a very dark bar with a high percentage of cacao can be made from inferior cacao.
Snap:
Professionals gauge the quality of chocolate by its "snap." That’s the clear, crisp sound made by breaking a piece off from its bar. Listen for a good, clean "snap" when you’re seeking an excellent product, says Kita.
Aroma:
The aromas of chocolate vary widely and different varieties of beans, grown in different parts of the world, have different aromas. Seek out your favorites.
Mouthfeel:
Generally, good chocolate will liquefy in the mouth without being chewed, since cocoa butter melts at 97 degrees F and body temperature is 98.6 degrees F. Break off a piece, run your tongue over the surface and let it melt on its own for a bit.
Taste:
Let the chocolate melt in your mouth, different tastes will reveal themselves as it works its way across your tongue and through your taste buds. Like good wine, there should be an initial taste, a mid-palate experience and, of course, a finish or aftertaste. Look for long and lingering.
When Valrhona began to market single origin cacao pastes. Kita saw an opportunity to create a totally new chocolate experience: The Chocolate Tasting Party. He packaged four producing countries products into small pats of 64 percent, 72 percent and 84 percent chocolates and packages them – with guiding instructions – into full "tasting" kits for four people. In a period when home entertaining is really getting hot again, Kita hopes that the kits will catch on as fun ways to end a dinner party or get together. Like the more usual wine tasting parties, they are also a great way, he explains, for chocolate lovers to really open their minds and discover new hidden depths of what is, perhaps, their favorite "food group."
Handmade chocolates
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