Tonight I went to Craigie Street Bistro. We had the Chef's Tasting Menu, which culminated with a choice of dessert and wine pairings.
Chocolate Dessert: I chose what the waiter described as an experimental dessert made up of a homemade graham cracker base, with two alternating layers of "over-whipped ganache" and filo squares, topped with cacao nibs and served with orange confit. When I asked him what over-whipped ganache is, he told me that first the ganache is whipped, and then pastry cream is folded into it make it lighter, airier, less dense, and more pudding-like. He also told me that the dessert has gone through many different stages of development. (Apparently it started out as a white chocolate ganache infused with chicory.) The chocolate used was single origin Ocumare of Venezuela. The dessert itself was what chocolate pudding wishes it could be - incredibly smooth, airy, and when paired with the orange confit, quite light on the tongue.
Wine Pairing: Mas Amiel Maury Cuvee Speciale 10 Ans d'Age. The Mas Amiel is deep and full-bodied, reminiscent of a port. It has flavors of black currant and it's own subtle cocoa undertones. It's spicy with a somewhat smokey, dry finish. It would make a very good pairing with many chocolate desserts, and this was no exception.
Chocolate is an interesting and intricate as wine - if not more so. Fully tasting chocolate requires a bit of patience and concentration; for best results, expect to tap into all 5 senses. Today I found an excellent 13 step guide to tasting chocolate at wikiHow.
Just to give you an idea of how detailed this guide is, you don't actually put the chocolate into your mouth until step 9:
9. Place the chocolate on the tongue and allow it to arrive at body temperature. Let it melt. This step is crucial, for it allows the cocoa butter to distribute evenly in the mouth, which mutes any astringencies or bitterness in the chocolate.10. Observe the taste and texture. As the chocolate melts, concentrate on the flavors that are enveloping your tongue. Melting will release more volatile compounds for you to smell. Close your eyes, take notes, enjoy this moment of bliss, and bask in contentment. Texture can be the most obvious clue about the quality of a chocolate. Low quality chocolates will have a grainy almost cement like texture. Revisit when the time comes. Link.
I find that chocolate tasting is all about the experience. The point is not to do it 'right,' but to enjoy it, experience it in a whole different way, and to learn something new.
El Rey Milk Chocolate 41% Cacao: A beautiful bar overall. Smooth, light, pleasant mouthfeel. Notes of peanut butter and coconut. Lovely aftertaste of freshly buttered popcorn. Certainly one of my favorite milk bars.
Adding on to the other interesting made-in-Vermont products I came across this weekend, I also stopped by the Boyden Valley Winery for a taste of some of Vermont's home-grown grapes. We tasted a really amazing ice wine while we were there. Notes of apricot, green apple, and an underlying smoothness that reminded me of, oddly, avocado. We picked up a bottle but haven't tried pairing it with anything yet. Offhand, I bet it would make an interesting accompaniment to Valrhona's Manjari, since it's such a lovely fruity bar. But like I said, I haven't tried it.
This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Vermont for the day. While I was there, I noted that Vermont, overall, is really into things made in Vermont. Lake Champlain Chocolates are based there, and while I didn't visit their chocolate factory, I did pick up some of their chocolates while I was at the Cabot Creamery.
Lake Champlain Chocolates of Vermont: Package of 4 filled chocolates.
Honey Caramel: Though honey and chocolate is a combination that I think should be explored more, the dark chocolate in this particular confection doesn't pair all that well with the honey. More of a molasses taste comes through. Overall it could have been lighter on the tongue.
Green Mountain: Shaped, appropriately, like a mountain. A bit sweet, more currants would have made it better.
Maple Crunch: Round disk with a square of maple candy in the middle. Satisfying crunch but a little sweet for a dark chocolate lover like me.
Evergreen Mint: Little pieces of peppermint candy permeated this confection. Unpleasant texture as a result. Not a very strong peppermint taste.
I also ate 1 Reeses Peanut Butter Cup that I got at a gas station on the way up.
March 2007 is the previous archive.
July 2007 is the next archive.
