Every year I make chocolates for Diwali as a change to the regular Indian sweets and savories. Some of mom's classics I retain but my kids look forward to the chocolates that have now become a tradition at home. So this year too, I made them, albeit with a big screw up and a resultant lesson learned.
I wanted to make my usual chocolate barks and after I was done with the white chocolate ones, I moved on to my favorite, dark chocolate bark with sea salt, orange zest and almonds. I was sure it would turn out great as it does every year (stop the applause, please!).
Anyways, while the chocolate was melting into its silky, velvety self on a double boiler, I couldn't but help notice how succulent and delicious the oranges smelt! I had just grated their zest you see and there they sat, devoid of their skin but nevertheless ruthlessly inviting me!
My mind wandered and I thought I ought to use the fresh juice of those oranges in my chocolate. Now, I don't usually experiment with food but this time I was sure I was doing the right thing! It would definitely elevate the taste and moreover, "wouldn't the acidity of the fresh juice cut through the sweetness of the chocolate?", my master chef brain thought. Proud of my clever train of (premature) thoughts, I went ahead and added a good splash of the orange juice to my silky, melted chocolate. There! I had just created my masterpiece!
Apparently, not! As soon as I began mixing the chocolate, the silkiness disappeared and gave way to this angry, rigid lump! Ok, I made a terrible mistake, but now what? What was I supposed to do with this lump?
Thankfully, the logical part of my brain (with its eyes rolled) pushed aside the (very embarrassed) master chef one and took control of the situation. I quickly added the salt, zest and almonds to the lump and made chocolate balls out of it. Not the desired output but that would have to do for now.
Later, I googled and found out that there is a reason chocolate is melted on a double boiler, so that moisture doesn't get into it and make it a lump of unmovable chocolate! Ah! Light bulb!
Well, as it happened, the taste was exceptional but the texture wasn't right so I couldn't gift it to my friends. As a result, a valuable lesson learned. Also, I don't think I would be experimenting with food anytime soon.
I wanted to make my usual chocolate barks and after I was done with the white chocolate ones, I moved on to my favorite, dark chocolate bark with sea salt, orange zest and almonds. I was sure it would turn out great as it does every year (stop the applause, please!).
Anyways, while the chocolate was melting into its silky, velvety self on a double boiler, I couldn't but help notice how succulent and delicious the oranges smelt! I had just grated their zest you see and there they sat, devoid of their skin but nevertheless ruthlessly inviting me!
My mind wandered and I thought I ought to use the fresh juice of those oranges in my chocolate. Now, I don't usually experiment with food but this time I was sure I was doing the right thing! It would definitely elevate the taste and moreover, "wouldn't the acidity of the fresh juice cut through the sweetness of the chocolate?", my master chef brain thought. Proud of my clever train of (premature) thoughts, I went ahead and added a good splash of the orange juice to my silky, melted chocolate. There! I had just created my masterpiece!
Apparently, not! As soon as I began mixing the chocolate, the silkiness disappeared and gave way to this angry, rigid lump! Ok, I made a terrible mistake, but now what? What was I supposed to do with this lump?
Thankfully, the logical part of my brain (with its eyes rolled) pushed aside the (very embarrassed) master chef one and took control of the situation. I quickly added the salt, zest and almonds to the lump and made chocolate balls out of it. Not the desired output but that would have to do for now.
Later, I googled and found out that there is a reason chocolate is melted on a double boiler, so that moisture doesn't get into it and make it a lump of unmovable chocolate! Ah! Light bulb!
Well, as it happened, the taste was exceptional but the texture wasn't right so I couldn't gift it to my friends. As a result, a valuable lesson learned. Also, I don't think I would be experimenting with food anytime soon.
2 comments:
Please continue on this trend of discovery through culinary glitches...the resultant delicacies are absolutely out of the box tasty delights as I recently discovered....and I applaud your experiential as well as experimental streak...
I dont mind the texture as long as the taste is good. All the best next time.
Lov
Dad
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