Blonde or Ruby?

 

When we talk about chocolate, we automatically think of dark, milk, or white in their various forms.  Just the other day,  I was watching one of these competition baking shows where they are given special ingredients or a theme to create cup cakes, cakes, and other such delights.  On one episode, they told the contestants, they had to create something with either blonde or ruby chocolate.  My eye brows went up because I've only ever heard of blonde brownies, not blonde chocolate, so I had to find out more about both.

Blonde chocolate is where they caramelize white chocolate to give it a color resembling caramel.  This process gives the chocolate a fuller, toastier flavor than the white chocolate and is the basis of several commercial chocolate bars.  The general process consists of taking chips of white chocolate made out of cocoa beans, sugar, and milk solids and roasting them between 200 and 275 degrees F until they turn to a nice milky coffee color between 30 and 60 minutes.   The chips have to be stirred constantly until done or they might burn.  Once it's been melted and tempered, it can be turned back into a solid.  Once it's in solid form, it can be used like any other chocolate. 

Blonde chocolate is the first type of chocolate added since 1930 when white chocolate made it's appearance.  Blonde chocolate was discovered in 2006 and rapidly became an industry secret but it didn't stay that way.  It made it's way out into the world in 2012 as a variety of chocolate sold in the candy aisles.    In addition, Starbucks has added this flavor to it's list of drinks.  Valrhona is the company who discovered blonde chocolate and they are the first to have marketed it to the general public.  

Blonde chocolate is a nice alternative to white chocolate.  Although white chocolate is not seen as a real chocolate, it has been classified as such since 2002.  Chefs like the blonde chocolate because it is less sweet than the white with more depth.  When the chocolate is held at low temperatures, the proteins and lactose brown and create new flavors that had not been there before.

On the other hand, Ruby chocolate is a new variety of chocolate that is a lovely pink and made from the Ruby Cocoa Bean.  It made it's appearance at the Shanghai trade show in 2017.  These are not newly discovered cocoa beans but refer to the beans that are combined to make the pink color and the product is patented.  Ruby Chocolate is being called the fourth chocolate after Milk, Dark, and White.  

It appears that Ruby chocolate is made up of beans from Ecuador,  Brazil, and the Ivory Coast.  They look for a certain mix of compounds, probably pigmented polyphenols, that when processed using a specific technique, it produces a pink chocolate.  The patent states that the process decreases fermentation to 3 days or less then treating it with an acid and then using a petroleum ether to take out fatty acids thus keeping the color.  According to one article I read, cocoa beans grow in a purple pod and when first picked they have a purple tint.  By shortening the fermentation period, the beans retain some of their color.

The Ruby chocolate is described as being quite sweet like a white chocolate with a raspberry or fruity flavor associated with it.  Some people have described the flavor as tangy.  There is a catch with Ruby chocolate in that the United States government does not recognize it as chocolate because it does not have the correct percentages of the correct ingredients.  The amount of unsweetened chocolate puts it between white chocolate and milk chocolate so it's neither.  

So now you know more about Blonde and Ruby chocolates.  I know when I watched the cooking show, I had heard of either.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear, have a great day.  

All My Bags Are Packed.

I'm traveling today out to where I work.  I got permission to travel in so I'm set and then I'll undergo a 14 day quarantine and I'll be done before I have to report for the first day of inservice.  I'll be back to normal on Friday.

Where In The World Are These Crazy Ice Cream Flavors?

 I know my local artisan ice cream place has had some unusual flavors such as asparagus - I wasn't willing to try that - but I've seen nothing quite as unusual as some I've seen in places like Japan.

Japan is noted for some of it's way out there flavors.  The Ice Cream City in Namco Namja Town in Tokyo. Namco Namja Town is part of an indoor amusement park and has quite a few odd flavors of ice cream.  It is noted for its 50 varieties of ice cream that include Raw Horse Flesh flavored ice cream.  It also has other flavors such as Eel, Wasabi, Cow Tongue, Octopus, Squid, Crab, and Yakisoba.  They even have a Pearl ice cream with pearls embedded in the mixture and people hope to find one every time they buy a cone.

If you head over to Maine, you can get a couple of scoops of Lobster ice cream.  Then there is a company in New York City that is noted for being creative with ice cream flavors including Fois Gras which is a goose liver pate.  On the other hand, a different place in New York offers a Fig and Brown Turkey flavor to tease taste buds.  Like something hot?  A shop in Delaware offers two different ice creams with hot peppers in them.  Once mixture uses Ghost peppers which are classified as the hottest pepper in the world or about 400 times hotter than tabasco.

On the other hand, if you head over to England, you can get yourself some mushy peas and fish which is actually one scoop of minty mushy peas and one scoop of fish flavored ice cream topped with fried cod and served with French fries.  You could try jelly fish ice cream which is made with jelly fish proteins and glows as you lick it but it goes for over $200 a scoop.  Head back to Japan for a Mamushi snake ice cream which is made out of one of the most poisonous snakes in Japan.  If you pop back to San Francisco, you can find an ice cream with mint and meringue of sea urchins mixed with espelette peppers.

There is an ice cream place in Venezuela who makes something like 900 different flavors such as sardines in brandy, beef, spaghetti and cheese, cheeseburger and a flavor based on a local dish with beef, rice, plantain, cheese, and black beans.  Talking about traditional dishes, Scotland has a place that offers a Haggis ice cream. In Sweden, you can find a black ice cream that is salty and licorice flavor.  If you are in the Philippines you can get a Crocodile egg ice cream made with crocodile eggs. The owner of the shops says these eggs have less cholesterol and is a healthier choice.

Now for flavors that are not quite as weird but odd enough.  In New Orleans, you can find a Creamery that offers a Cajun Tomato flavor which actually sounds more like a salad dish than an ice cream.  In New York City, you can find a Cheetos flavor that is a bright orange, just like the original food.  Then there is the Burbon and Cornflake flavor from a place in San Francisco.  This is classified as a breakfast dish since it's got cornflakes in it.   On the other hand, check out the Whiskey and Prune ice cream that can be found in Australia.  The prunes have been soaked in whiskey before being added to the ice cream base.

You could enjoy a Chocolate Banana ice cream spiced with curry in Chicago or try a scoop of the Lemongrass with Salted Black Licorice and Olive ice cream.  All unique flavors, some are appealing while others are quite out there.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

The History of..........Ice Cream!

 I love ice cream, especially on a nice hot day.  I tend to like anything with chocolate but I've got siblings who think I'm crazy to enjoy ice cream when it's cold out. I have it at home for dessert when its -40 outside.

I know the cone is a fairly recent development but I have no idea when ice cream was eaten.  The first record of anything similar to ice cream appears in 200 B.C but the

It turns out that the Chinese had something similar to ice cream as early as 650 A.D.  The emperor made the concoction out of Buffalo milk, flour, and camphor.  There are also records that show Alexander the Great loved snow mixed with honey and nectar while the Roman emperor Nero Claudius Caeser loved his snow mixed with various fruits and juices.

It took another thousand years till Marco Polo  returned from his long journey to bring back something similar to Sorbet. Over the next few decades, this wonderful creation spread across Europe and evolved until it became ice cream around the 16th century.  According to historians, England developed ice cream at about the same time or slightly before the Italians. The food "Cream Ice" was often eaten by King Charles I during the 17th century.

On the other hand, Catherine de Medici introduced France to this frozen dessert in 1553 when she married King Henry II of France.  Ice cream remained something only the wealthy could afford until 1660 when the public was allowed to enjoy it.  A Sicilian sold a mixture of milk, cream, butter, and eggs to the public at his cafe in Paris.

Ice cream made it's way across the Atlantic to America sometime in the late 17th or early 18th century because there is a reference to ice cream being served at a dinner in Maryland around 1744.  About thirty  years later, the first advertisement for ice cream appeared in the New York Gazette declaring it was available almost every day.

Our first president loved it.  One of the businesses in New York City shows that the presidency purchased around $200 worth of ice cream during the summer of 1790. In addition, once George Washington died, two brass ice cream pots were found at Mount Vernon.  Furthermore, Thomas Jefferson loved ice cream and particularly enjoyed a dessert that took 18 steps to make and resembled Baked Alaska.

Up until 1800, ice cream could only be enjoyed by the elite because it had to be made on the spot and eaten due to a lack of refrigeration. Around 1800, insulated ice cream houses made an appearance so ice cream could be made and last longer. Then in 1843, Nancy M. Johnson of Philadelphia managed to patten the modern crank machine.  Before then, most people made ice cream by placing the ingredients in a metal bowl that sat in another bowl filled with ice cream and salt.  The liquid was stirred until it turned into ice cream.  This new machine made the ice cream making process easier.  In 1851, a Baltimore milk dealer began manufacturing commercial ice cream using the extra cream he had and as new technologies appeared, the production of ice cream increased and once motorized vehicles were invented, ice cream could more easily be distributed around the country.

This also lead to new ice cream based dishes for the public to enjoy.  In 1874, the first soda fountain opened leading to the new profession of soda jerk who fixed the ice cream soda.  Then in 1890, after religious institutions complained about the sinfulness of eating ice cream sodas on Sunday, someone created an ice cream sundae that has no carbonated soda.  Originally, it was named the "Sunday" but the spelling was eventually changed to "sundae" to eliminate the religious connotations.  The first patent for ice cream cones was granted in 1903.

The next major improvement in technology came in 1926 with the invention of electrical freezers to provide continuous refrigeration.  This lead to manufacturers being able to produce ice cream in larger quantities and stores began selling ice cream regularly in the 1930's.

Then during World War II, ice cream was the morale booster for the troops and each branch tried to outdo the other.  By 1945, the "first floating ice cream parlor" was built to service the sailers in the Western Pacific.  When the war finally ended and the rations on dairy disappeared, Americans were able to celebrate victory.  In 1946, Americans consumed an average of 20 quarts of ice cream per person.

Since then, ice cream consumption has increased as grocery stores made it easier to get and then artisan makers appeared on the scene.  I love some of the artisan flavors at our local store.  I love the ginger showers flavor which is vanilla ice cream with chunks of candied ginger and chocolate sprinkles.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.

Shhhh.

Shhhhhh.  Do you see it?

Coming?

Coming?

Eating Insects!

 Insects are eaten in many countries around the world.  Many people in African countries such as The Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Congo,Cameroon, South Africa, and others regularly each catapillers, termites, grasshoppers, and more.

In Mexico, they eat a variety of bugs fried, dipped in chocolate, or in Mezcal and in certain Asian countries like Thailand, they also consume insects.  Insects are not a normal part of American cuisine.

Most Americans when faced with eating bugs are likely to turn green and refuse but there are people and cultures out there where insects provide protein in the diet.  I had a friend who stated chocolate covered grasshoppers are quite good.  No, I've never tried them as I'm a vegetarian.

1.  Let's start off with grasshoppers.  Grasshoppers are a common food in Mexico especially in the Oaxoca region. These creatures are eaten straight or used as topping.  Clean the grasshoppers before grilling them with lime and chili and then enjoy.

2.  Check out deep fried tarantulas for dinner.  To prepare, freeze the spiders first before removing the abdomen sack and singe the hairs off using a butane torch.  Finally, make a tempura batter, dip the tarantulas in the batter and fry in hot oil till nicely done.  Quick and easy to fix.

3. Mealworm Arancini is another possibility.  Arancini is a fried ball made up of rice, covered in breadcrumbs and fried till done.  In this case, mealworms are added into the mixture to increase the protein level.

4.  You can also take the grasshoppers, saute them with chopped garlic, chili de arbol oil, salt and Spanish peanuts.  It's a traditional snack in Mexico and it is often served with mezcal.

5. Dragonflies are easy to prepare.  They are prepared in the same way as fried fish.  You dip the dragonfly in an egg wash, cover in a seasoned flour mixture and fry in hot oil till crisp, about 30 seconds on each side.  Serve with a sauce made out of butter, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard and a side of sautéed mushrooms.

6. Get your hands on Mescal worms also known as Gusanos de maguey.  Sautee them up white onion, butter, olive oil, till nice and crispy, then finish off with Serrano peppers and fresh parsley.  Wrap a scoop of the mixture in a corn tortilla and enjoy as a taco.

In Thailand, a favorite way of cooking is to season grasshoppers, crickets, and woodworms before frying them till crispy.  This is a favorite street food there.  On the other hand, many people in Ghana rely on termites to get enough protein in their diet. They even add the termites to bread to raise the level of protein.

If you are interested in adding insects to your cooking but are not up to the eating them whole or you have a member who is a bit squeamish, you can purchase something like cricket flour and use it in any recipe that calls for flour.  You only replace part of the flour, about 1/3rd with the insect flour and continue as normal.  You can get locust flour, silkworm flour, or other type of flour.  You can order cricket flour from Amazon.

If you don't feel comfortable trying to make things from scratch you can purchase ready to use mixes such as chocolate chip cookies or brownie mix with cricket flour and such from Amazon.  You just add eggs, vegetable oil, and water, mix and bake.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.