Just in time for Christmas, my friend Paul Thomas Hoffman, owner of Paul Thomas Chocolates (
www.paulthomaschocolates.com) in Dahlonega, shares some secrets about chocolate.
Welcome To My World—Paul Thomas Chocolatesby Paul Thomas Hoffman, Sr.Although chocolate has been around in Western Europe since 1519, and introduced in the United States around 1760, unique mysteries still are being discovered. Today we hear reports from the media and research papers of the health benefits inherent in dark chocolate. In this regard, there are over 1500 complex food compounds found in chocolate.
Early explorers traveling to Mexico and South America discovered the natives of those regions coveted the cocoa for its special powers and used the bean or the dark liquid essence from the cocoa as a form of exchange. Introduced by Spanish Conquistador Cortez to the King of Spain, it was avidly sought by King Charles the First and even used as currency for a time.
Cocoa trees grow and flourish only 20 degrees either side of the Equator. Africa and South America harvest the largest crops of cocoa beans. What is unique about the cocoa tree is that the fruit only grows on the trunk and main structures of the tree. The gourd-like fruit is split open and the beans found within become the main component of chocolate as we know it, and the flavor many of us crave.
The making of fine chocolates starts with the cocoa bean, but there are many other steps taken to bring you the flavor, texture, and variety we all savor. Making chocolates can be complex and technical, much like a chemistry class, combining ingredients to get the proper texture or flavor you are seeking. An improper ratio of “cream-to-sugar-to-cocoa-butter-to-chocolate liquor” may cause the mixture to set too soft, and not be able to hold its temper and have that crisp shine you have come to recognize as high quality.
The word “temper” has to do with the cooling of the blended cocoa bean liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids from 105 degrees Fahrenheit to between 85 and 88 degrees Fahrenheit, while constantly stirring the mass to create new crystals. When the chocolate is “in temper,” caramels, butter cream, or truffle centers can be coated with the tempered chocolate, creating the high sheen.
When a chocolate is “in temper” you can add markings on each piece identifying what the center consists of; an “R” signifies a raspberry cream, “M” for maple, or a corner-to-corner stroke for a caramel piece. This form of marking is called stringing. Stringing has been a method of marking chocolates since the 1970’s and will only work if the chocolate is “in temper”.
Making fine chocolates is the blending of many elements to create a flavor we all enjoy and can share with many others. The cocoa tree consists of many species, much like our apple trees here in Georgia. They are all apples, but have different taste, texture, and qualities. The same goes for the cocoa; each has a quality your chocolatier may be looking to capture in his chocolates. The blends at Paul Thomas Chocolates are cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast of Africa, Brazil in South America, and the Island of Trinidad. The temperature at which these beans are roasted is as important as the selection of the bean itself. The cocoa bean consists of a large quantity of oil, called cocoa butter, which is the most expensive component of the cocoa. Cocoa butter is also used in pharmaceuticals, and by the beauty industry for some of the _base_s in their cosmetics.
The chemistry of confections determines the very flavors or textures you enjoy. The truffle is a wonderful blend of heavy sweet whipping cream and chocolate, whipped into a soft pudding-like center—but at what cream-to-chocolate ratio? Each chocolatier has his own formula, with some basics that must be maintained. Add a little peppermint, or pomegranate—or even my favorite, a little chile oil—and a new confection is created.
Butter Crunch, or toffee, is a combination of butter and sugar cooked to about 300 degrees Fahrenheit, with almonds roasted in the rich mixture. It’s finding the correct ratio and temperature to create the flavor or texture you are looking for. Then add a nice coat of milk or dark chocolate and you have Paul Thomas Chocolates’ signature Almond Butter Crunch.
The flavor of caramel comes from the scorching of the heavy cream along the walls of a copper kettle, mixed with sugar and corn syrup, and perhaps some butter; but the temperature will make all the difference in the texture. Overcook it and you will have an “all day sucker”—great taste, but so hard you can only suck on it to get the flavor. Too low a temperature and it will just flow, unable to hold a shape or acquire the caramel flavor.
With both the chemist in the chemistry class and the chocolatier in the candy kitchen, the results are what counts. It will be about the formula they have created. For the chocolatier, it is the flavor and texture of the confection, and for you, the good fortune to enjoy their chocolates delights.
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