What Einstein Kept Under His Hat: Secrets of Science in the Kitchen (51 page)

The best way to avoid chocolate bloom is to consume all chocolate as soon as it comes within reach. That’s my method.

THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHOCOLATE

In health-food stores I have seen chocolate bars made out of carob, presumably to avoid the fat and caffeine in ordinary chocolate. What, exactly, is carob?

....

H
ere we go, from the sublime to the ridiculous.

First of all, contrary to common belief, chocolate doesn’t contain much caffeine at all. A square (one ounce) of unsweetened baking chocolate averages 23 milligrams of caffeine, while a cup of coffee might contain more than 100 milligrams. An ounce of unsweetened chocolate does contain 376 milligrams of theobromine, however, an alkaloid closely related to caffeine but a milder stimulant.

The leguminous carob tree (
Ceratonia siliqua
), also known since biblical times as the locust bean tree, grows in relatively arid, semitropical climates such as in California, Florida, and the eastern Mediterranean region. Its pods have been dubbed Saint John’s bread because the Bible says that John the Baptist survived in the wilderness by eating “locusts and honey.” In spite of the Bible’s preoccupation elsewhere with locusts (the word appears twenty-nine times in the King James version), it is more likely that John munched on locust
beans
rather than on the insects.

Locust bean gum, which appears in many food ingredient lists, is a tasteless, mucilaginous polysaccharide thickener obtained from the carob’s seeds. It is used to thicken frozen desserts, cultured dairy products, cream cheese, and other foods. It interacts with the other vegetable gums xanthin and carrageenan to form rigid gels, and is therefore rarely used alone.

So where does chocolate come in? The carob tree makes long, edible, seed-bearing pods that can be dried and ground into a powder. Because the powder is brown, sweet (it contains about 40 percent sugars), and virtually fat-free, someone got the not-so-bright idea of using it as a substitute for chocolate. Unfortunately, because it lacks chocolate’s fat it has a sandy, gritty texture, not to mention an almost total absence of flavor.

Carob is the Grinch who stole chocolate. Fuhgeddaboudit.

WE HAVE ARRIVED
at the last course in our feast of knowledge: our dessert. We’ll conclude, then, with recipes for two sweet treats, a classic one and an off-beat one.

The classic one is a
ganache
, a blend of the two most luxuriant ingredients in our epicurean armamentarium: chocolate and whipping cream. In essence a marriage of two fats, cocoa butter and butterfat, ganache on a menu is not for the faint of
carte
. Rarely billed by its own name, it might be concealed as the frosting on a cake or the filling between its layers. Or it might be the center of a truffle. Wherever it appears, ganache is the definitive chocolate
crème
, and you know that when cream is spelled the French way, it’s gotta be good.

Our offbeat concluding confection is a grilled chocolate sandwich. Yes, a sandwich. Bread and all. Any time you’re in the mood for a soul-nourishing nosh, you can quickly whip up the cacao gods’ answer to the grilled cheese sandwich.

I hate it when a restaurant server says, “Enjoy.”

But enjoy!

Ganache

A
ganache is a mixture of melted chocolate and heated heavy cream, blended together until very smooth. The relative amounts of the two ingredients may vary, but equal amounts give good results and are easy to remember. Ganache is often cooled and shaped into balls to form the soft centers for truffles. Here, lukewarm ganache is poured over a cake to make a smooth and luscious shiny glaze.

For a 1-layer 8- or 9-inch round cake, you will need about 1 cup ganache. Use the leftover ganache as a sauce for poached pears, ice cream, or other dessert. It will keep for up to 2 months in a well-covered container in the refrigerator—if you can keep from eating it with a spoon, that is.

8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1.
Put the chopped chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.

2.
In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk gently until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Allow to cool to warm.

3.
Place a cool 8- or 9-inch cake layer on a rack over a baking sheet or a piece of foil. Pour the warm ganache over the cake and use a metal icing spatula to coax and spread it over the top of the cake and down the sides. Let the iced cake set for about 1 hour before serving.

MAKES 1
1
/
2
CUPS

Grilled Chocolate Sandwich

T
his sandwich makes a surprising and delicious dessert, afternoon snack, or indulgent breakfast. It is a semi-incestuous marriage, if you will, of transatlantic cousins, the American grilled cheese sandwich with the French
pain au chocolat
. In the latter
pâtisserie
classic,
batons
of chocolate are wrapped in rectangles of flaky pastry.

Bob and I prefer dark chocolate, but you can make yours with milk chocolate if you wish.

2 teaspoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 slices plain white or sourdough bread, each about
1
/
2
inch thick or less

1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1.
Spread 1 teaspoon softened butter on 1 side of each slice of bread. Place 1 slice, butter side down, in the center of a small, cold nonstick skillet. Carefully scatter the chocolate over the surface of the bread to within
1
/
4
inch of the edge. Top with the other slice of bread, buttered side up, to make a sandwich.

2.
Place the skillet over medium-high heat. Put a flat weight, such as a small plate, on top of the sandwich. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bottom slice is lightly browned. The chocolate should be barely melted, not oozing out the sides. Turn the sandwich over and cook for about 2 minutes longer, or until the second side is browned.

3.
Remove the sandwich to a plate, cut into quarters, and serve warm.

SERVES 1 OR 2 INDULGENTLY

PLEASE NOTE:
Nowhere in this book have I used the word
myriad
.

INDEX

accessory fruits, 149

achiote, 314

acid(s)

color of tea and, 13, 14

dissolving calcium in bones with, 312–13

fatty.
see
fatty acids (FAs)

importance in cooking, 251

in marinades, 288–89