I actually never thought of using a grater, as I was planning on chopping it. I've got at least two graters, so I'll check out that option. Thanks for the idea!
Hot Chocolate Maker
- Thread starter dburanich
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I actually never thought of using a grater, as I was planning on chopping it. I've got at least two graters, so I'll check out that option. Thanks for the idea!
I wonder what the melting point is of Mexican chocolate?
A little known secret about chocolate is that the colder the country from which it comes, the better is their chocolate.
I'll give you some examples based on my experience. All of these are excellent:
A little known secret about chocolate is that the colder the country from which it comes, the better is their chocolate.
I'll give you some examples based on my experience. All of these are excellent:
- Swiss. Lindt. Suchard. Ice covered alps.
- Norway. Cross country skiing.
- Belgium. Leonidas. Northern Europe. Cold and wet.
- Italy. Hot, southern Europe. Hard tasteless chocolate.
- USA. Sorry about this but I made the mistake long ago of buying a Hershey bar. Very similar to Italian chocolate. Please tell me if I failed to discover good quality gourmet US chocolate?
Richard, there are hundreds of small, artisan chocolate makers all over the US, making excellent products. Yes, the large industrial makers are crappy. Ibarra is an ancient Aztec style, and is not even close in style to western products. Other Mexican hot chocs are made with hot chillies and other spices.
I would have warned you about that.
I'm simply hoping first that it's different from the chocolate I've been buying and second that it's as good or better. However, if it's sufficiently different and if I like that difference, I won't be complaining if it's not quite as good.
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That's an excellent question and might be important if its melting point is too high. So, I'll test it first by heating the milk, adding the chocolate to it and stirring the mixture. If the chocolate completely melts, I'll have no qualms about using it with the Velvetiser. Otherwise, I'll have second thoughts.
That's what we have always been used to.
We called it the puck.
Place it in a pot, add milk and start stirring.
Keep adding milk and raise the heat until until you are pleased with the temperature and strength of the hot chocolate.
Velvetiser is definitely much easier.
Another convert! Good friends of mine came over today for the first time since the pandemic began and the guy, who loves chocolate, prepared a mug of the Classic 70% for himself. He loved it and asked me to send all the information about the system to his wife because he has a birthday and Christmas coming up soon.
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I hope his birthday is coming up very soon.
Christmas is a long time to wait once you've had the taste.
Now that I've enjoyed the Ibarra hot chocolate...
I have complete confidence that it will work fine in the Velvetiser. That's because it melted long before the milk got to the 155 degrees when I simulated the Velvetiser process by whisking the milk and chocolate in powder form in a pot on the stove.
When using a grater, the solid chocolate piece easily and quickly becomes a powder that has a consistent texture throughout. Thank you again to act12 for suggesting using a grater.
When using the amount of chocolate recommended on the Ibarra package, it is conveniently exactly two triangles of the chocolate "puck" for the same amount of hot chocolate you would prepare when using 1 1/4 cups of milk in the Velvetiser (when filling to its top line). However, I found it lacking in chocolate flavor. The chocolate flavor was just right for me when adding a third triangle.
Though I like the Ibarra chocolate, it seems not to be as sophisticated and elegant as the Hotel Chocolat's results. I will have to be in the right mood to choose the Ibarra over any of the seven recipes I use when making Hotel Chocolat's hot chocolate. That's also because the larger amount of sugar in the Ibarra chocolate is immediately noticeable to the taste. Indeed, when comparing the sugar content of the Ibarra and the Hotel Chocolat Classic 70%, the Ibarra has almost twice the amount of sugar when using the three triangles of Ibarra as I do.
Considering the amount of sugar in the Ibarra chocolate, I was unhappily surprised that the hot chocolate made using Hotel Chocolat Classic 70% has about 313 calories as opposed to the Ibarra chocolate's 205 calories when using the three triangles. That's not an exact comparison because the Ibarra calorie count includes the milk, though without identifying the type of milk. The Hotel Chocolat calorie count doesn't include the milk, so I know the total calorie count when using fat-free milk, as I do.
I have complete confidence that it will work fine in the Velvetiser. That's because it melted long before the milk got to the 155 degrees when I simulated the Velvetiser process by whisking the milk and chocolate in powder form in a pot on the stove.
When using a grater, the solid chocolate piece easily and quickly becomes a powder that has a consistent texture throughout. Thank you again to act12 for suggesting using a grater.
When using the amount of chocolate recommended on the Ibarra package, it is conveniently exactly two triangles of the chocolate "puck" for the same amount of hot chocolate you would prepare when using 1 1/4 cups of milk in the Velvetiser (when filling to its top line). However, I found it lacking in chocolate flavor. The chocolate flavor was just right for me when adding a third triangle.
Though I like the Ibarra chocolate, it seems not to be as sophisticated and elegant as the Hotel Chocolat's results. I will have to be in the right mood to choose the Ibarra over any of the seven recipes I use when making Hotel Chocolat's hot chocolate. That's also because the larger amount of sugar in the Ibarra chocolate is immediately noticeable to the taste. Indeed, when comparing the sugar content of the Ibarra and the Hotel Chocolat Classic 70%, the Ibarra has almost twice the amount of sugar when using the three triangles of Ibarra as I do.
Considering the amount of sugar in the Ibarra chocolate, I was unhappily surprised that the hot chocolate made using Hotel Chocolat Classic 70% has about 313 calories as opposed to the Ibarra chocolate's 205 calories when using the three triangles. That's not an exact comparison because the Ibarra calorie count includes the milk, though without identifying the type of milk. The Hotel Chocolat calorie count doesn't include the milk, so I know the total calorie count when using fat-free milk, as I do.
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I tried another hot chocolate today that is now one of my favorites: Guittard Grand Cacao Sweet Ground Chocolate. It's every bit as good in my mind as the stuff made by Hotel Chocolat and interesting because it's different. Though it's only 53% Cacao, it seems quite rich, perhaps because the amount of chocolate recommended makes it so. It works great in the Velvetiser.
https://www.amazon.com/Guittard-Chocolate-Grand-Cacao-Drinking/dp/B00269OR3E/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2ND3CEUL6E7S0&dchild=1&keywords=guittard+cocoa+powder&qid=1629759437&sprefix=guittard,aps,164&sr=8-3
https://www.amazon.com/Guittard-Chocolate-Grand-Cacao-Drinking/dp/B00269OR3E/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2ND3CEUL6E7S0&dchild=1&keywords=guittard+cocoa+powder&qid=1629759437&sprefix=guittard,aps,164&sr=8-3
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