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at Fri, 23 Apr 2004 00:06:25 GMT in >,
(Blake Jones) wrote :

>In article >, Alex Rast wrote:
>>> I finally had the opportunity to try Amedei's Chuao chocolate a
>>> couple months ago, and discovered what an amazing thing it is.
>>
>> Unbelievable stuff isn't it? Amedei really hit the chocolate bulls-eye
>> with this one. Bonnat's and Valrhona's Chuaos are but pale imitations.
>
>To the point (at least with Valrhona's) where it's hard to believe that
>they're made from the same beans. But that's a separate discussion...

It really does seem as though Valrhona's isn't the real deal. The Chuaos
from Bonnat, Amedei, and Pralus are sufficiently similar, and have
sufficient amount of the Chuao "signature" for me to believe they're
genuine. But Valrhona's is entirely different, so much so that I'm not
entirely confident they're giving us the whole truth with their "Chuao"
moniker.

....
>> Actually, Chuao is a superb chocolate for baking because its power,
>> very rare for a Criollo chocolate which tend to be far more delicate,
>> will withstand considerable dilution without suffering from intensity
>> loss.
>
>Good to know. So it sounds like a pure Chuao cake or brownie would work
>too.

Yes, it will work very, very well indeed. Brownies, especially, will be
dynamite.

> But it still seems to me that deliberately adding other flavors to
>it, in any form, would only cause the result to be worse.

Flavours that complement Chuao can actually enhance the overall effect.
Things with molasses, strawberries, and blueberries, especially, are good
partners. Stay away from most nuts, like walnuts or hazelnuts - these will
clash. Spices are also dangerous: things like cinnamon or cloves could make
the overall effect very harsh.

>> The cocoa powder has another, critical function - it takes up the milk
>> and the water. Chocolate won't emulsify in water or milk [...]
>
>Interesting, I don't think I've tried this. Why doesn't it emulsify?
>Is the non-fat part of the cocoa powder hydrophilic?

Not really - even low-fat cocoas take a fair amount of time to absorb
water, but at least they're not hydrophobic, like chocolate. Chocolate has
so much fat in it that water and milk just pool around, leaving the
chocolate in little bits, or worse, causing it to seize. Adding cocoa
reduces the proportion of water below the threshold where at least the
mixture can successfully integrate.

....
>
>If, as you say, the Chuao will overwhelm most cocoa powders, my question
>about a Criollo cocoa powder is somewhat academic. But "for academia's
>sake", do you know what type of beans Cluizel (or Valrhona, or others)
>make their cocoa powder from?

Not specifically, but Cluizel uses all high-quality beans, certainly with a
lot of Criollos. I wouldn't recommend Valrhona because it's Dutch-process.
Now, Chuao will utterly overpower *any* Dutch cocoa, so I suppose that
isn't really a big problem, but why use Dutch cocoa if you're looking for
the best?

> And, again just out of curiosity, are
>there any part- or pure-Criollo cocoa powders on the market?
>
Cluizel's is almost certainly at least part Criollo. Are there any pure
Criollos? Not particularly likely. There are only a very few Criollo bean
types in fairly wide-scale production: Porcelana, Chuao, Carenero Superior
and Ocumare being the major ones. I've listed them in order of purity of
genestock, first to last. Nobody makes pure Porcelana cocoa, and indeed it
would be a poor choice for cocoa - Porcelana is too mild for that
application. Amedei might be able to be convinced to make a small Chuao
cocoa output, but it would be minuscule. El Rey is the obvious source for
Carenero Superior. I've never seen them market a cocoa, but it might be an
idea they'd be willing to consider. Ocumare is actually a common
hybridising variety - there are several variants. Mostly the original stock
is cultivated in the Ocumare research station in Venezuela - hence the
name. Ocumare might also not be as suitable as Carenero or Chuao for cocoa,
but for different reasons than Porcelana - most of the hybrids taste a bit
earthy, which is magnified in cocoa, leading to a very one-dimensional
flavour. I'd give it a shot at running the idea past El Rey. Perhaps they
might want to give it a go.

--
Alex Rast

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