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Chocolates


Pete

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It is great, but entirely different from the Taza/Ibarra style hot chocolate.

Mix a heaping spoonful of Valrhona cocoa with two-ish spoonfuls of sugar in a mug.  Add a little cold milk and stir well to make a lumpless paste.  Add flavorings (a touch of vanilla and some cinnamon, or nutmeg; or ancho chili powder if that's your thing; or a splash of cognac).  Stir in one cup of very hot milk.

Thanks for this! Will do it. Your recipe is a bit different from the one I use. What effect do you think adding the cold milk to form a smooth paste does? I I usually pulverize chocolate (grinder, processor or by hand) and then slowly add it to hot (but never boiling!) whole milk. Then stir continuously for a minute or two until the chocolate is fully dissolved. Because I use 70%, no sugar needs to be added but can, and sometimes do add vanilla or cinnamon. Not a big chili fan either though know that's popular with many.

Will try your approach with the Vahlrona and report back. Thanks again!

BTW, I'm not a mod but think it would be cool to create a new "Hot Cocoa" thread with our past few posts. If I was a mod, would do it myself.

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Thanks for this! Will do it. Your recipe is a bit different from the one I use. What effect do you think adding the cold milk to form a smooth paste does?

Honestly, I'm not sure.  I've been doing it that way for so long... the goal is to eliminate lumps of undissolved cocoa powder in the finished product.  This works.  Maybe there's a better way?

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Honestly, I'm not sure.  I've been doing it that way for so long... the goal is to eliminate lumps of undissolved cocoa powder in the finished product.  This works.  Maybe there's a better way?

Ah, I see. The method I've used ensures dissolution with frequent stirring in the hot, but not boiling, milk while on the stove.

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Different thought I think still on topic for this thread.

Do people know or like Taza Chocolate?

I most notice their distinctive, Mexican-style "wheels" for sale at Peregrine Espresso (Cap Hill, 14th St and Union Market).  We have some of our best hot chocolate results with their vanilla chocolate.  Lots and lots of different flavors.  Great quality.

Speaking of Mexican chocolate, I didn't do quite enough research before buying a batch of milled-to-order Mayordomo last month, and thus didn't know that in Oaxaca, one brings the sack of still-warm chocolate home and *immediately* flattens it while pliable, so it can be broken up when it cools and hardens.  So jparrott and I each ended up bringing home a small boulder of the stuff (milled with a lower fraction of sugar).

The texture was very firm, but not unlike a block of aged Parmesan, so...today's discovery is that a hard cheese knife of the sort used to break up wheels of Parm works great for breaking down bulk Mexican chocolate.  Otherwise, my poor Blendtec was about to get one heck of a workout.

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