at Sun, 25 Apr 2004 18:59:05 GMT in
>,
(Steve D.) wrote :

(Alex Rast) wrote in message
>.. .
>> at Sat, 24 Apr 2004 23:48:31 GMT in <3d253be0.0404241548.521ed2c6
>> @posting.google.com>, (Steve D.) wrote :
>>
>> >Is it possible to use sweetened chocolate instead of unsweetened, if
>> >you decrease the sugar? ...
>>
>> You can substitute, but it's not as straightforward as you might
>> think. You have to account for several factors.
>>
>
>WOW!! Haha I was just thinking about replacing a few squares but
>you're right, it's a science. I'll just go pick up some unsweetened
>chocolate, thank you very much ;-)

Actually, there's not much effort involved. I explained the process very
step-by-step, resulting in a long description, but if you've got basic math
skills, calculating the substitutions shouldn't take more than 15 minutes,
worst-case. It looks overwhelming when it's described like that, but it's
really pretty elementary.

> Also, where can I buy Ghirardelli
>in boxes? I only see the bags of chips/chunks.

Ghirardelli isn't sold in boxes. It's sold in bars, generally 4 oz in size,
suitable for straight eating as well as for baking (this should be a clue.
Any chocolate sold in a box, so that there's no convenient way to eat it
straight, is pretty worthless. If they're trying to discourage you from
eating it straight, there's usually a good reason...) The bars are wide and
flat. In their current form, they have wrappers with a broad gold band in
the middle, and the sides are colour-coded for the type : black sides =
unsweetened, dark brown = bittersweet, dark gold = semi-sweet, red = sweet
dark, blue = milk. Supermarkets aren't consistent about where they put it -
some put it on the candy aisle, some in the baking aisle, some next to the
checkout stand.

> I've always thought
>Baker's chocolate was the only way to go (but I agree, it's not as
>good as I'd like it to be).

I'm curious. A lot of people seem to imagine this. Why do people think that
they have to use Baker's brand? It's not as if the baked goods are going to
explode. Chocolate is, after all, chocolate. The differences are in
quality, not in what it does in baked goods. (at least, in the main)

Other people have commented that most quality chocolate is sweetened at
least to some extent. Undoubtedly, there are more quality semi-sweet and
bittersweet chocolates than there are unsweetened, but a few companies do
make unsweetened chocolate that is the equal of the very finest
bittersweet. Of unsweetened chocolates worth buying at all, you find 3
segments: the "premium" - cheap but still excellent, the "high-end" -
somewhat more expensive, but still affordable, sometimes with more
distinctive flavour signatures, and the "elite" - very expensive, but if
you want the absolute best, this is where to go.

The "premium" brands include Ghirardelli, Guittard, and Callebaut.
"High-end" brands include Scharffen Berger, Valrhona and Dagoba.
"Elite" brands include Slitti, Domori, and Michel Cluizel.

I find Ghirardelli and Callebaut to be about the same, and better than
Guittard. None of the high-end brands immediately above them seem to offer
significant improvement, so for general baking these 2 brands work fine. If
you are ready to splurge, the Domori and Cluizel chocolates are *much*
better than the others - worth every penny you spend, at least for special
occasions. I have to give the nod to Cluizel - Noir Infini is IMHO perhaps
the ultimate baking chocolate.

Most of these can be ordered from Chocosphere (http://www.chocosphere.com)
if you have difficulty finding them locally.

--
Alex Rast

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