Decadent Chocolate Recipes

Different people have different preferences and tastes when it comes to chocolates. Some like their chocolate sweet and milky, while others like theirs dark, rich and bitter. Chocolate is made in different places around the world and each country or place has its own distinctly unique chocolate product. U.S. chocolates tend to taste distinctly different from French chocolates, as well as from Belgian or Swiss chocolates. The best kind of chocolate depends on the taster or eater.

In general, Belgian and Swiss chocolates tend to be lighter and sweeter than French chocolate and have a shell-shaped outer mold, while French chocolates are commonly enrobed, such as the famous dark chocolate bonbons. French chocolates in general have subtler flavors and have a darker and richer chocolate taste, and are also consequently less sweet than Belgian and Swiss chocolates. Traditional American chocolates are even lighter and sweeter than Belgian and Swiss chocolates, and have more pronounced and identifiable flavors.

Americans have a sweeter and lighter palate than most Europeans when it comes to their chocolate, but in recent years the American palate has been changing. The nouvelle American chocolate is French-inspired and is thus darker and less sweet. It also has less pronounced flavor, being more subtle and harder to identify. Most nouvelle American chocolates are shell-molded rather than enrobed.

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The U.S. is one of the biggest chocolate distributors in the world with two of the top leading international chocolate manufactures: Hershey’s and Mars. The American chocolate business is big business and has considerably grown at a fast rate more than any other country in the world. The U.S. chocolate industry started to grow during the American Revolutionary war, beginning 1765 when the firs chocolate factory was established. Thomas Jefferson, former U.S. president, became a chocolate lover and even wrote to John Adams that “The superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the same preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain.”

France produces some of the finest gourmet chocolates in the world. It has long been popular among the royal family and was even considered a luxury. During the reign of Louis XIII, his wife, Anne of Austria, declared chocolate as the official drink of the French court. Wife of Louis XIV, Maria Theresa or Austria, shared her love of chocolate with the French people.

Swiss chocolate is one of the top exports of Switzerland together with watches. Nestle, one of the biggest chocolate brands in the world, originates from Switzerland. It was first established in 1819 by François-Louis Cailler. Other top Swiss chocolate products include Suchard and Lindt. Swiss chocolate is equated with high quality, made with the finest ingredients using pure cocoa butter, and with high manufacturing standards.

Belgian chocolate is famous for its wide variety of flavors and fillings, presented in the famous confectionary gift, the “praline.” One box of chocolates can contain several flavors and fillings using a variety of fruits and nuts, and an assortment of chocolate types, usually dark and milk chocolate.
Chris loves writing about all kinds of food especially chocolates. For more information on where to get the finest Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate visit www.ultimatechocolateshoppe.com
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Nothing beats the taste of a truly divine chocolate that is made with the finest and purest ingredients. For the chocolate connoisseur, only gourmet chocolate will do; chocolate that is surely no 50-cent treat but a luscious indulgence that is meant to be savored and cherished like good wine and good food. In recent years, more and more chocolatiers are putting up chocolate shops, creating hand-made chocolate and confections that contain higher cacao levels than those mass-produced chocolates you can buy at the grocery store. These master chocolate makers use natural flavors and some unusual ingredients like chili peppers and grated lime to make your chocolate experience even more interesting. But because they make custom and gourmet chocolates, you can also expect gourmet prices, as much as seventy dollars for a pound of chocolate! But don’t worry. There are also gourmet chocolates sold for less than ten dollars-fairly affordable and a good investment for the true chocolate lover. Below are some of the best gourmet chocolates in town.

Ganache Chocolates

Former corporate pastry chef of the Ritz Carlton, Norman Love, together with partner Judy Limekiller founded Ganache, a chocolate store that serves visually stunning and delicious chocolate. Their chocolate molds are air brushed or hand-painted with a candy-coating and filled with imported chocolate from France, Belgium, and Switzerland. They also add various fresh ingredients to their chocolates such as hazelnuts, bananas, raspberries, and even ginger.

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La Maison du Chocolat

When it comes to luxuriousness, nothing can beat La Maison du Chocolat. La Maison chocolates come in an exquisite presentation of colored leather boxes that is elegant enough to hold jewelry. They offer decadent delights such as mendicants (chocolate lavishly sprinkled with nuts, dried fruits, or orange peel), marrons glaces, and dark and milk chocolate truffles. Their ganache fillings are not made of milk fat but of pure cocoa butter.

Dagoba Organic Chocolate

Organic chocolate used to be boring and tasteless and left chocoholics gravely disappointed, but thanks to inventive chocolatiers such as former chef Frederick Schilling, owner of Dagoba Organic Chocolate, organic chocolate will never be the same again. This time, you can drown in decadence with the exciting varieties and flavors Dagoba has to offer such as chocolate roseberry (raspberry and rosehips), hazelnut, chocolate mint and rosemary, chai (milk chocolate with anise, cardamom, black pepper, clover, and cinnamon) lime and macadamia nut, and the conventional milk and dark chocolate. Schilling buys only handpicked, organic cacao beans from co-ops in Central America and the Dominican Republic, and pays the farmers full price getting Dagoba a Fair Trade certification.

Garrison Confections

Former pastry chef of the upscale La Cote Basque in New York made a line of colorful and elaborately designed chocolates to serve the restaurant’s patrons after their meals and continued on to create Garrison confections, his very own chocolate company. His signature chocolate is couveture, chocolate for making truffles and pastries such as molten chocolate. It is very popular among pastry chefs across the country. Other specialties include chocolates flavored with honey and fresh herbs; almond, macadamia and hazelnut praline; and mint-flavored mojito.
Chris Alleny writes about various subjects including food. For more information on fine homemade gourmet chocolates visit www.ultimatechocolateshoppe.com
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