Chocolate - What does Cyndi Recommend?

[Shayla]

I quite agree - Lindt 70% is the  best and I can also stop at a few squares. 80% I find didn't make a good chocolate mousse - more like a large truffle

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

I quite agree - Lindt 70% is the  best and I can also stop at a few squares. 0% I find didn't make a good chocolate mousse - more like a large truffle

Lindt chocolate is just beautiful I agree.  I looked at it today in the supermarket but couldn't quite bring myself to buy it.  After our time spent in rural Ethiopia (the greatly exploited home of coffee), I really struggle to buy non-fair trade brands if there is a fair trade one available.  If only they would all go fair trade and I could remove that criteria.  I eventually decided on the Black and Greens Butterscotch - 34%.  Very nice!

Chelsea 

[Nay-nay]

I quite agree - Lindt 70% is the  best and I can also stop at a few squares. 0% I find didn't make a good chocolate mousse - more like a large truffle

Lindt chocolate is just beautiful I agree.  I looked at it today in the supermarket but couldn't quite bring myself to buy it.  After our time spent in rural Ethiopia (the greatly exploited home of coffee), I really struggle to buy non-fair trade brands if there is a fair trade one available.  If only they would all go fair trade and I could remove that criteria.  I eventually decided on the Black and Greens Butterscotch - 34%.  Very nice!

Chelsea 

Pretty sure Black & Greens have a real yummy Dark Chocky (70%). I used to buy that all the time and our local stopped getting it in.......
Yes they do, i just looked it up. They even have 85%!!!
1994 – Green & Black’s Maya Gold chocolate was the first product to receive the Fair Trade symbol for meeting the standards set by the Fairtrade Foundation.
http://www.greenandblacks.com/anz/

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

[Pretty sure Black & Greens have a real yummy Dark Chocky (70%). I used to buy that all the time and our local stopped getting it in.......
Yes they do, i just looked it up. They even have 85%

I have certainly tried the 85% one - that inspired my original post.  I think I will have to work up to those ones very slowly!
Chelsea 

[I Love Bimby!]

I absolutely love dark chocolate, and was buying 70% cocoa chocolate sweetened with Rapadura, but after talking to Cyndi, decided that I shouldn't be eating soy lecithin.  (This is why: http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/lecithin.html)  Of course, soy lecithin is in just about every chocolate there is - I haven't seen any without it.  So I tweaked a recipe in 'Nourishing Traditions' for making your own carob buds, and now I can make my own dark chocolate!!!  I can't have dairy, so it's dairy-free, and I use Rapadura for sweetening it.  The recipe is here if you'd like to try it: http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/2009/07/make-your-own-chocolate.html.  Next time I make it, I'm going to grind up some orange peel with the Rapadura (I love orange chocolate!) for half the batch, and roast some almonds to add to the other half.  Let me know if you come up with some good variations!

Thanks so much for the recipe and the links!  Your blog looks really interesting and I hope to spend some more time on there.
Will have a go at the homemade chocolate tomorrow.  I had great visions drifting off to sleep last night of homemade chocolates for Christmas presents along with all the other homemad goodies....

[quirkycooking]

I absolutely love dark chocolate, and was buying 70% cocoa chocolate sweetened with Rapadura, but after talking to Cyndi, decided that I shouldn't be eating soy lecithin.  (This is why: http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/lecithin.html)  Of course, soy lecithin is in just about every chocolate there is - I haven't seen any without it.  So I tweaked a recipe in 'Nourishing Traditions' for making your own carob buds, and now I can make my own dark chocolate!!!  I can't have dairy, so it's dairy-free, and I use Rapadura for sweetening it.  The recipe is here if you'd like to try it: http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/2009/07/make-your-own-chocolate.html.  Next time I make it, I'm going to grind up some orange peel with the Rapadura (I love orange chocolate!) for half the batch, and roast some almonds to add to the other half.  Let me know if you come up with some good variations!

Thanks so much for the recipe and the links!  Your blog looks really interesting and I hope to spend some more time on there.
Will have a go at the homemade chocolate tomorrow.  I had great visions drifting off to sleep last night of homemade chocolates for Christmas presents along with all the other homemad goodies....

Hope you like it! Jo.

[I Love Bimby!]

Thanks Jo. I got a bit excited this morning and was going to make it with ground cacoa beans... but then thought I should stick to the cocoa powder. Have you tried the ground beans before?

[quirkycooking]

No I haven't - that sounds ambitious!  I would like to try cocoa butter instead of coconut oil/butter, but not sure where to get it.  Must be out there somewhere...

[I Love Bimby!]

Hi Jo,

I tried your recipe tonight, however after cooking it for 4 min on 50c I noticed quiet a bit of 'sludge' at the bottom, which I presume is the rapadura sugar.  So I gradually tried increasing the temp so the sugar could dissolve but then found that the mixture became more granular.  Before pouring it out, I tried smoothing the mixture on speed 9 for about 40 seconds, however the sugar settled pretty quickly again.

Have you found this?  Do you have any alterations you would recommend (I was aware of the high melting point of the coconut oil so didn't go above 90C).

[Thermomixer]

Sorry, haven't seen the recipe, but it might pay to blitz the sugar to icing standard first?

Best not to heat the chocolate up to too high a temp - 70 might be the max ?  Can't remember and don't have the books nearby.

[quirkycooking]

Hi Jo,

I tried your recipe tonight, however after cooking it for 4 min on 50c I noticed quiet a bit of 'sludge' at the bottom, which I presume is the rapadura sugar.  So I gradually tried increasing the temp so the sugar could dissolve but then found that the mixture became more granular.  Before pouring it out, I tried smoothing the mixture on speed 9 for about 40 seconds, however the sugar settled pretty quickly again.

Have you found this?  Do you have any alterations you would recommend (I was aware of the high melting point of the coconut oil so didn't go above 90C).

Yes, you definately have to grind the Rapadura to icing sugar first, or it doesn't mix well.  (Although we still ate it like that the first time and enjoyed it!)  Rapadura just doesn't melt like regular sugar.  Did you grind it?

[I Love Bimby!]

Yes I did grind it (inhaled some of the fine dust when the lid came off...  )

I'll try again sometime next week and report back.

[Paul]

I am a chocolate lover and am trying to replace my evening pleasure (a couple of squares of Cadbury's when the kids are in bed) with something that is a little better for me.  Cyndi O'Meara talks about chocolate on her website, but doesn't go into detail.  I'm saving for her books, but in the meantime I'm just wondering what type of chocolate she recommends?  I bought Green&Black's organic 85% cocoa this week with my groceries - but haven't got past the first square because of the bitter taste.

85% is too bitter.  70% at most.  I buy Valrhona 70% Guanaja buttons in a 3kg bag from a wholesale food place.  Very expensive, but one or two are so intense you don't need to gorge yourself.  Buy the best you can source, and you'll find you need only a tiny bit.  I'm off to London in a month and I'm going to bring some back with me because it's cheaper over there.

[quirkycooking]

Hi Jo,

I tried your recipe tonight, however after cooking it for 4 min on 50c I noticed quiet a bit of 'sludge' at the bottom, which I presume is the rapadura sugar.  So I gradually tried increasing the temp so the sugar could dissolve but then found that the mixture became more granular.  Before pouring it out, I tried smoothing the mixture on speed 9 for about 40 seconds, however the sugar settled pretty quickly again.

Have you found this?  Do you have any alterations you would recommend (I was aware of the high melting point of the coconut oil so didn't go above 90C).

Yes, you definately have to grind the Rapadura to icing sugar first, or it doesn't mix well.  (Although we still ate it like that the first time and enjoyed it!)  Rapadura just doesn't melt like regular sugar.  Did you grind it?

Just wanted to add that Rapadura won't dissolve like you're used to as it is not crystallised, being unrefined.  When you pour it out into the tin, just give it a stir with a spatula as you pour it, and try to make sure the 'dregs' are evenly distributed... it will set in two layers, the darker sugary part at the bottom and the lighter stuff at the top - but it still tastes really good!  Last time I made it I cooked it at 70 degrees for 5 mins, and it was a bit better.  But re-pulverizing it at the end won't really do anything, and isn't necessary.  Of course, if you ground up soy lecithin granules with the Rapadura and made it with that, it would be more creamy and go together better, but I think it's best to avoid such a refined product.

Jo.

[I Love Bimby!]

Thanks Jo.