Food News and Views 1/17/08 Chocolate

Food News and Views Radio Show – 1.17.08

 

Linda Gassenheimer (LG)

Fred Tasker (FT)

Joseph Cooper (JC)

Gabby Orehuela (GO)

Susan Kurzban (SK)

 

LG: Chocoholics, this is your day! How about diving into a dark chocolate truffle cake or a light as a cloud chocolate mousse? If chocolate is your passion you’re going to love our program today. My guests are Gabby Orehuela, the marketing assistant for Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, who is here to explain how chocolate is grown. We also have Susan Kurzban who is making delicious chocolate for the House of Chocolate at Fairchild. They are here to discuss the Chocolate Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Jan 26 and 27.  Welcome.

 GO: Thank you for having us.

 LG: We’d love to hear from our listeners. Do you have questions for our chocolate experts? Give us a call.

 Let’s start with Gabby. The aroma in here is fantastic. You’ve filled the studio with chocolates. We don’t think of chocolate as a cocoa bean. Tell us about it.

 GO: Cocoa beans are about an 8 inch cocoa pod that looks like a tiny football or sweet potato. The plant grows in the rainforest in many different countries. In Fairchild we have four of these plants. The seeds inside the pod are going to be turned into chocolate. First there is a fermentation of the seeds for about 5-7 days, then there is a drying process and finally there is the roasting process.

 FT: It’s not the same process as alcohol.

 GO: No, it’s not. Depending on the time of fermentation and drying process, that’s what gives the flavor.

 LG: Does the quality depend on where it’s grown?

 GO: Yes, it depends on the soil – if the soil is acidic or not. The most important part is the process of fermentation and drying.

 LG: Susan, you’re going to making the chocolate treats for Fairchild. What is a House of Chocolate?

 SK: It’s taken after the cafes in Europe. We have a white picket fence in the garden where people can be served. We make a wonderful Mayan hot chocolate.

 LG: This is very thick. Why is it Mayan?

 SK: We’ve added spice to give it a kick. Chocolate was originally made into a drink in South America.

 JC: This is so rich it almost makes you shudder.

 LG: So that’s one thing you can have at the House of Chocolate. What’s in that box?

 SK: Chocolate bark with mangoes and pistachios. It’s a thin layer of chocolate that has been combined with fruit and nuts. It’s 63% combined with an organic chocolate that is 73%.

 LG: What brand?

 SK: It’s called Blue and Black. It’s a new brand out on the market.

 LG: You mentioned percentages and bittersweet. What’s the difference?

 SK: Semisweet has more sugar in it. Bittersweet has a more bitter taste because of less sugar.

 LG: When a recipe calls for a certain kind of chocolate you really need to use that kind of chocolate. There’s fruit in this?

 SK: Yes, I use dried mango and pistachio nuts. I melted the chocolates together and then added the fruit and nuts. Then I laid them out on a cookie sheet so it’s a thin layer. They call that a bark.

 LG: Melting chocolate is difficult.

 SK: It’s the most difficult part.

 LG: Be careful not to burn it because it might separate. It’ll get clumpy. You have to be very cautious.

 SK:  I use a water bath which is a dish put over hot water. It’s like a double boiler. Also, don’t let any steam get into the chocolate.

 LG: And be very careful if water or steam gets into the chocolate it can cause it to seize up. I sometimes melt mine in the microwave.

 SK: I melt it in the microwave also but I wanted it to be perfect so I used the bath.

 LG: What’s the remedy for seized up chocolate? Some people think to add water.

 SK: The wrong thing to do is to put more water in. I add a little cream and that corrects the problem. You can also use oil.

 [break]

 LG: Now it’s dinner in minutes time. Since we’ve had dessert, it’s now dinner time. I’ve got a meatloaf that takes only 15 minutes. I bake it on a baking sheet in small little loaves. The heat can circulate around the meat.

 JC: Texture is great; it’s very light and moist.

 LG: This is a pesto meatloaf because I added pesto sauce to the meat, which is ground chicken. You mix that all together and it cooks for only about 15 minutes. Then I made mashed potatoes. I use waxy potatoes because you need less cream and butter for them. Cut them into small cubes and cook them for 10 minutes. Then I mash them with a potato ricer. I added scallion, a little cream, salt and pepper and that’s it. See the recipe on dinnerinminutes.com.  Gabby, what else are you doing at Fairchild?

 GO: We have many activities for kids and families. We want our guests to have a great time. There is going to be a movie also. We’re kicking off the festival next Friday – it’s Jan 26, 27 – with a series of outdoor movies. The first one is “Like Water for Chocolate.”  It’s a Mexican movie and it’s going to be $20.

 LG: So you can go to the garden and sit outside to see the movie.

 GO: Yes, you can go to our website www.fairchildgarden.org and buy tickets online.

 LG: At the beginning of the program I mentioned chocolate mousse. If you’re still dreaming about it, I have a recipe for you and it only takes a few minutes to make and it’s 190 calories. See the recipe on the website.

 SK: And we’ll be having chocolate mousse at the House of Chocolate at the Garden. We’re also going to have cakes, cookies and brownies…anything you can imagine.

 LG: My mouth is watering. We’ve come to the end of this delicious program. Thank you to Gabby and Susan for joining us. The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Chocolate Festival is Jan 26 and 27. For more information go to www.fairchildgarden.org.