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at Sat, 31 Jan 2004 22:19:13 GMT in >,
(Mark Thorson) wrote :

>Alex Rast wrote:
>
>> Finally, don't forget that some varietals clash, and others
>> will simply overwhelm any other beans in your blend.
>> For instance, if you take Domori's Porcelana and blend it
>> with Amedei's Chuao, the Chuao will *completely*
>> overwhelm the Porcelana, because its flavour is so much
>> more powerful.
>
>How about if only a little Chuao were used in the Porcelana?
>Isn't it a question of proportion?

In part. If you're going to combine Chuao with Porcelana, you'll need to
use *much* less Chuao. But the other problem with this combination it that
the flavours clash, so you'll have to blend other chocolates in with these
2 in order to create a successful mix. Such a combination would almost
inevitably be very heavy on the Porcelana, and then you'd have to get
chocolates that balanced out the clashing elements of the Chuao. But IMHO a
straight Chuao/Porcelana blend is a good way to waste 2 very expensive
chocolates. Again, it won't be terrible, but the results won't be worth the
exorbitant expense, not when you expect something better rather than
something worse, and especially not when both of the chocolates I talked
about there are so superb on their own.

>
>I guess the equipment I'd need would be:
>
>hotplate to melt the chocolate (double boiler produces too much steam)

Risky. Simply melting chocolate directly on a burner is incredibly
sensitive to scorching. I use a saucepan with a stainless steel bowl set in
it. The bowl exactly fits the saucepan rim, creating a tight seal (in fact,
if you leave the bowl in the assembly and let the water cool down, it
creates a *vacuum* seal - you literally can't pry the bowl out. The best
kinds of saucepans for this are the Pyrex ones because you can monitor the
state of the water. You want it to simmer, not boil. Probably your steam
problem is from allowing the water to come to a rolling boil, which is
undesirable.

>thermometer

Unnecessary. The problem with a thermometer is, it usually takes too long
to insert the thermometer and get a reading, especially during the
tempering phase, which is when you really need it. Furthermore, during the
tempering phase, the chocolate is spread thinly, making it almost
impossible to get an accurate reading. If you want one, be sure to get an
instant-read variety, with the quickest possible response. In any case,
tempering is something you can judge just as accurately by its appearance
and consistency, so using a thermometer adds nice accuracy if you have the
time and volume of chocolate, but adds little otherwise.

>marble slab and scraper for tempering

Get a nice big one of both. My marble slab is 18" on a side, the largest
that will fit on my available workspace. With scrapers, the best I've found
are the metal spatulas with thin, but not paper-thin blades, the kind that
you can easily bend with your fingers but that will hold, for instance, a
1-lb steak without buckling. I have an el-cheapo brand - most of the
premium spatula brands are either too thick or too thin at the blade. A
large palette knife will also work pretty well, although I do like the
spatula better because you can spade with your arm in a more vertical
position. Spading with a palette knife is a bit awkward. A 10" blade
palette knife would be best, if you can find it. Metal, btw, is infinitely
superiour to plastic, which has too much friction against the slab, to
which chocolate sticks to too readily, and which can make the chocolate
taste plasticky.

>chocolate mold

What I've found works best is siliconed parchment stuffed into small pastry
pans. A small breadpan might also work well. As to pans, I like ones from
Chicago Metallic but it's not critical. The parchment I prefer is If You
Care brand - which also works best for general parchment.

>
>Any recommendations on the best ones to get?
>
>I imagine I'd have to get some practice on the technique
>of tempering. Is there a good chocolate to use for
>practice?

Guittard Gourmet Bittersweet is a great choice because it's real
couverture, it's very good (great eaten straight), and it's dirt cheap
($3.99/lb where I live). You can get it in large 10-lb blocs, great if you
want to do LOTS of practice. Indeed, practice is necessary. Also practice
with different types of chocolate - the entire Guittard classic range is
the ideal choice.

--
Alex Rast

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