best international chocolate?

[benf]

Hey Walter, out of curiosity did you ever do much tempering of chocolate? I have tried a variety of methods and have never found a consistent method that worked for my home kitchen. But I feel kind of lame making cocoa powder dusted truffles without a little tempered exterior.

Dmitri, I love the Lindt with whole hazelnuts. Have you tried the rittersport? it's not as good, but it's a little easier to find somewhat cheaply.

[Dmitri]

Dmitri, I love the Lindt with whole hazelnuts. Have you tried the rittersport? it's not as good, but it's a little easier to find somewhat cheaply.

Yeah, I was gonna mention RitterSport variety too... White one specifically, but it's not really "chocolate" so I didn't mention it. There used to be white chocolate with whole hazelnuts from Lindt too (the same big bar) - I got to taste (a lot! ) of that in Vienna in 1992-93 - but it appears they stopped making a few years ago it...

[Walter Joyce]

Hey Walter, out of curiosity did you ever do much tempering of chocolate? I have tried a variety of methods and have never found a consistent method that worked for my home kitchen. But I feel kind of lame making cocoa powder dusted truffles without a little tempered exterior.

Dmitri, I love the Lindt with whole hazelnuts. Have you tried the rittersport? it's not as good, but it's a little easier to find somewhat cheaply.

Tempering chocolate was the skill in chocolate work that I was referring to. While the general principle, warming the chocolate, then cooling it to the appropriate temperature before applying so that it will set before the cocoa butter separates from the solids and the proper crystallization takes place, is the same, the ideal method varies from one premium chocolate to another to varying degrees.

I was taught to melt the chocolate over a double boiler, then gentle stir in some grated or chopped chocolate periodically testing the temperature on your lower lip until it cools to between 86 and 88 degrees, then applying by dipping or hand rolling your truffles. One really cool method was to place the freshly coated truffles on an icing screen, and just before the chocolate sets gently roll the truffles across the screen. This will cause some of the semi-solid chocolate to pull away and set in a thistle like fashion.

You could also use a good thermometer to temper the chocolate. The key is to NEVER overheat it. Bring the water to a boild, remove it from the heat and place your chopped chocolate in a separate stainless steel bowl that fits snugly into your pot of hot water, then gently stir the chocolate until it melts, the temper as described above. You can also just remove the melted chocolate from the double boiler and gently stir to cool as well.

And you're right Dimitri, white chocolate is actually a confectionery coating (according to FDA regs)as there are no cocoa solids in it, just cocoa butter, For the good brands), milk solids and sugar. Lecithin is often used as an emulsifier in a lot of chocolates.

[MikeC]

Wow, you guys make your own truffles...?

My hats off to you gents, sounds like a lot of work, but probably worth it in the end.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

belgian.

[kreese]

Vosges from Chicago is pretty damn good. I always ate it while drinking good wine, however, so that may have altered my perception.

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/

[Steve James]

[Bär]

Uh, what's happenin' C.C.?