Your right. I even explained to people not to think of them as candy. Of course, if I had sprinkled salt on top or added bacon, they'd have gobbled them up.
People have expectations that chocolate will always be sweet. I've eaten unsweetened chocolate bars (or pieces of them, and only if it's REALLY good stuff) by choice, because I wanted something less sweet. No one eats a potato chip and complains that it's not sweet because the expectation is that it will be savory, but with chocolate, they always expect it to be sweet. Takes a more open-minded chocolate eater to be receptive to chocolate as an ingredient in more savory stuff.
I made some mole truffles once. They had cinnamon, clove, chilies, cumin, sesame, tomato paste. I was going for a savory hors d'oeuvre kind of thing, only slightly sweet. I tried them out at work but nobody liked them. maybe it was the onion and garlic. I loved them though. I also did coconut and green curry paste white chocolate ganache. Again, they hated it, I loved it. Go figure
Hi Everyone,
This is a really amazing thread I am glad I have found it. I have just set up a chocolate company and I thought my flavours were brave, how wrong I was. Some of these flavours sound truly amazing, the olive in white chocolate sounds really good. It makes my flavours such as dulse seem a bit boring! I will go back to the drawing board and re double my efforts. Has anyone tried or heard of a smocked chocolate before? I wounder if that would work...
Melbourne's Chocdiva Dr hanna Frederick Famed for her innovative chocolate creations, Dr Hanna Frederick of Mmor Chocolates & High Tea Szaln is back to her creative best, this time creating chocolates infused with red wine from McLaren Vale, South Australia.
Mmor's Red Onion Confit and Poached Pear Chocolate Truffles Hanna isnt your average chocolatier. A food chemist by profession, she loves a culinary challenge and has already brought the world Kangaroo salami chocolate, beer infused chocolate, garlic chocolate, and even aphrodisiac chocolate to rave reviews.
Now she turns her attention to the produce of her adopted country along with the flavours of red wines from the greatest wine region in the world along with spicy and delicious local ingredients.
The wines of Australia are just extraordinary, says Hanna. Weve done chocolate wine-matching before, but never with wine-flavoured chocolate, so we thought, lets do it!
She partnered with a local wine distributor Re-Find Wines for the project, eventually opting for a Way Wood Shiraz 2009 (McLaren Vale) as the perfect ingredient for her chocolate creations.
And after a month of experimentation, the result is two outstanding examples of chocolate couture that would inspire any dedicated foodie.
Hannas Mmor Red Onion Comfit Chocolate Truffle has glorious Way Wood Shiraz, balsamic vinegar, and orange marmalade tastes.
And her finale, the Mmor Poached Pear Chocolate combines Shiraz with lemon, cinnamon, Victorian Pepperberry, and well-ripened, locally grown Corelli pears.
Hanna said that the ingredients certainly presented their challenges, but likewise inspired surprising results.
We had so much fun creating these chocolates, making sure that there were many delicious flavours, but ensuring that the rich tones of the Shiraz shone through, says Hanna.
We couldnt add cream to some of the ingredients, so experimented with spring water instead, which resulted in a wonderfully tasty, yet low-fat chocolate in fact both chocolates are able to be labeled Vegan, something we intend to do a lot more!
They may be the first of many Vegan truffles in Melbourne?! said Hanna.
Andrew Wood, wine maker for Way Wood and sommelier, praised the complementary wine and chocolate making philosophy and noted the subtleties of the Mmor wine match.
We were just delighted by the chocolate creations Hanna developed from our Way Wood Shiraz, says James Atkinson of Re-Find Wines.
Hannas abilities with chocolate are un-matched and it is an honour to see her in action with our Shiraz.
We often say that there are chocolate notes in our Shiraz, but now we can say there is Shiraz in our chocolate! he said.
For more information or high resolution photos, contact:
Dr Hanna Frederick; Mmor Chocolates & High Tea Szaln ; Ph: +61-3-9419-3869 or Mobile +61-435-622-446 , email: hanna@mamorchocolates.com
153 Johnston Street, Collingwood (Melbourne), VIC 3066 Australia
James Atkinson; Re-Find Wine, Rediscover Real Australian Wine; Mobile: 0408377702 ; email: refindwine1@gmail.com
Oh my goodness Gerry, that sounds amazing! I'm so impressed and intrigued. If I ever get to the Philippines, I'llhave to come visit.
Oh wow! Can you imagine those doughnut holes with anchovies stuck through them that they serve at the restaurant Noma in Copenhagen dipped in chocolate? !!!
This thread is truly inspiring. I can see Ihave a lot of tasting to do. Thanks everyone forhelping me prove my theory - chocolate goes with everything!
Al Nassma also makes chocolates with higher (up to 30 % if i recall) camels milk powder - i'd recommend trying it if you get the opportunity.
This weekend I tried making a few truffles such as a wasabi ginger truffle, ancho chili and cayenne truffle - made my own halvah and then prepared a halvah choco truffle - much better Halvah then the store bought - I like to work with spices - like fennel and sea salt - that has been received well. Also spicy chili mango with pepitas and sea salt - in bittersweet chocolate - I was busy this weekend - Ggirl - I like working with basil and sage would be interesting... I love the smell of fennel when I am toasting it -before I use it in a recipe....even tried making a curry with hot and sweet curry powder in dark chocolate - trying it out on my clients this week....
