I want to try out some nice milk chocolate and dark chocolate with some flavor, looking for the best or special flavor to add in. please advise!
Tips when using chocolate! Make sure NO water gets in pure chocolate!! Even the smallest amount will cause it to thicken and go hard and gross, or "seize". For this reason, if you’re flavouring pure chocolate use oils, not essences.
Lots of flavours go well with chocolate, you would be amazed. Most fruits do. These include citrus (lemon, lime, orange and you can use the rind, and the pulp and juice can be used if you’re not putting them into pure chocolate). Also try berries (strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry and black berry), and be sure to try out passionfruit and cherry. Amazing! Make sure that the fruits you use have strong flavours. Stuff like bananas, apples and pears don’t work well in chocolate.
Nut go well, particularly hazelnut and almonds. Caramels also work well, and they themselves can be combined with nuts or even mint. Yum!
Also try mint, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, coconut, glace cherry or coffee. I’ve also made some amazing but different chocolates using vodka (or any kind of alcohol, especially cream-based ones like Baileys, although Kahlua and Cointreau work well), chilli or basil.
What are you actually making? A lot of recipes would work well with anything I’ve mentioned, but pure chocolate is more limited. My advice would be to make a ganache. Melt the chocolate and stir in unsalted butted and cream. This way you won’t spoil the chocolate if it gets water in it! Add anything from the pulp of the fruit to the juice, grind nuts, chop cherries, stir in coconut. Endless possibilities! Consider soaking dried strawberries or coffee beans in cream, boil, and use the flavoured cream in the ganache. And when you use the ganache let it cool, whip it and then pipe it.
One last tip, if your ganache curdles, whisk in skim milk.
Enjoy!!!
Edit:
Milk chocolate mixed in with lemon and sea salt (just a little) is simply amazing. It sounds strange (I’ve heard stranger – anchovies in chocolate =S ) but the salt brings out the sweetness of the chocolate.
February 12th, 2010 at 3:53 am
Strawberry! OR mint
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February 12th, 2010 at 4:23 am
Orange!! Have u ever tried a chocolate orange, they are awesome
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February 12th, 2010 at 5:01 am
maybe nuts like almonds or hazelnuts…you could also use caramel etc.
you could also use dried fruit
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February 12th, 2010 at 5:20 am
If you’re interested in a more exotic flavor, mangoes go amazing with both dark and milk chocolate. Raspberries are also a really complex, wonderful combination with both chocolates.
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February 12th, 2010 at 5:42 am
In my opinion, raspberries are the best fruits going with milk.
For the dark chocolate, I highly recommend oranges or bananas, because it’s very easy to cook, and it’s delicious. You might add some vanilla ice cream with the chocolate
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February 12th, 2010 at 6:09 am
yeah mint’s good. how about caramel?
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February 12th, 2010 at 6:29 am
coffee, orange, mint. Look for items that make an oil. They are easier to incorporate into chocolate for flavor. (Orange oil, Spearmint or Peppermint oil, etc.)
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February 12th, 2010 at 7:16 am
cacao dark chocolate
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http://www.preparefoods.info – chef Michael Barry
February 12th, 2010 at 7:53 am
ginger or sea salt
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February 12th, 2010 at 8:30 am
Toasted Almonds and dried Cranberries with dark, or Cherry
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Kitchen=Lab
February 12th, 2010 at 9:08 am
definately PEANUTBUTTER!!! i even put it in my hot cocoa!!
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