Archive for: what-is
Tempering is a word that means improving the consistency, durability or hardness of a substance by heating and cooling it. Many substances, including metals, are tempered but the most important one might be chocolate. Tempered chocolate is very glossy, has a firm finish and melts smoothly at around body temperature. It is chocolate at its very best, and tempered chocolate is what most good quality chocolate candies, candy bars and bon bons are made out of.
Tempering is done by melting solid chocolate to a temperature high enough that the crystals in the cocoa butter (yes, there are tiny crystals in your chocolate) break down. This temperature is between 110-120F. Once the chocolate is fully melted, it must be cooled to about 82F, a temperature at which crystals will start to form again so that the chocolate can eventually re-solidify. The chocolate’s temperature is then raised back to about 90F, where it is very fluid and can be poured into chocolate molds and used for other applications. All chocolate – white, milk and dark - can be tempered.
The crystals that start to form when the chocolate is cool (Beta 5 crystals, if you want to get specific) are stable crystals contained in the cocoa butter of chocolate. They provide the necessary structure for the chocolate to become shiny, smooth and have a good “snap” when it is set. Chocolate that has not been tempered or that has been improperly tempered will look flat or discolored. It will lack the sharp “snap” of tempered chocolate and will typically not be as smooth as it melts.
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White chocolate is a chocolate confection made with cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids and vanilla, the same ingredients that you’ll find in milk chocolate with the exception of cocoa powder. Cocoa powder is what gives dark and milk chocolates their characteristic chocolate flavor and color. With white chocolate, you’re left with a very creamy and sweet product that has a strong flavor of milk and vanilla to it. The exact flavor of white chocolate will vary from brand to brand, and bar to bar, as the exact amount of each ingredient in white chocolate can vary a lot from manufacturer to manufacturer.
If you read the ingredients list on your white chocolate and see some kind of vegetable oil listed, you’re not dealing with real white chocolate and it won’t have the same luxurious texture as a product made with pure cocoa butter. Good quality quite chocolate will have a cacao percentage marked on the packaging, just as other chocolate bars will. This percentage indicates the amount of cocoa solids – cocoa powder and cocoa butter – in a chocolate product. For white chocolate, it simply indicates the amount of pure cocoa butter in the bar. A higher cocoa butter percentage generally means that the bar will be firmer, smoother and will often be slightly less sweet than other white chocolates.
White chocolate isn’t everyone’s favorite type of chocolate, but it can be absolutely delicious in some types of desserts and baked goods. It adds a nice amount of sweetness to white chocolate macadamia nut cookies (a classic and favorite of mine), for instance, and is an excellent contrast to tangy lemons, limes and even zesty berries in all kinds of desserts.
Marmalade is just as popular a topping for toast as jams, jellies and other fruit preserves are, and its strong orange flavor makes it a popular ingredient in some baked goods, as well. Marmalade is a jelly – a fruit preserve made from sugar and fruit juice, as opposed to fruit puree – that has pieces of fruit suspended it it. It is typically made with the juice, flesh and rind of oranges. Seville oranges, or bitter oranges, are the standard citrus used in marmalade (particularly in English marmalades) because their relatively high pectin content allows the preserve to set firmly and their distinctive bitter note is a pleasant contrast to the otherwise sweet orange juice.
While orange marmalade is the most common variety, marmalade can actually be made with other citrus fruits. This is great news for those who aren’t fans of the bitterness that many traditional marmalades contain. These blends – like the Three Fruit Marmalade pictured above – use sweet oranges, lemons, limes and even grapefruits to create a sweeter preserve that still has that zesty citrus flavor.
Superfine sugar is granulated sugar that has been ground into finer crystals than regular granulated white sugar. Also known as caster sugar, it is popular with bakers because the smaller crystals cream very easily into butter and dissolve more readily into meringues and batters. This leads to products that have a finer crumb and lighter texture when finished, a result that is preferred by many bakers. Superfine sugar is specifically called for in recipes that are very light, such as meringues and angel food cakes.
You can substitute superfine sugar into recipes that call for granulated white sugar and get good results, but you will not necessarily get as good a result if attempting to substitute regular sugar into a recipe that calls for superfine sugar. This is because recipes that specify superfine sugar to be used often count on the fact that the sugar dissolves so easily to get the best finished product possible. If your local grocery store doesn’t carry superfine sugar – or baker’s sugar, as it is sometimes called on packaging – there is no need to worry because you can easily make your own by processing regular granulated sugar in the food processor until it is very fine. A minute or so is usually more than enough time to process the sugar and the newly chopped crystals will work just as well in recipes as store-bought superfine sugar.
Superfine sugar is not the same as powdered or confectioners’ sugar and the two types of sugar are not interchangeable. Confectioners’ sugar has been pulverized to a powder that dissolves almost instantly in liquids and will not incorporate into a recipe the same way that superfine sugar will.
Nutella is a creamy chocolate hazelnut spread that was developed in Italy and released in 1963. Since then, the spread has gained fans all over the world, including in the United States, where it is becoming ever-more popular. Nutella isn’t the only European spread gaining in popularity: Biscoff spread is a new treat that is rapidly gaining fans of its own.
Biscoff spread is a peanut butter-like spread made of speculoos cookies. Speculoos are buttery, brown sugar and spice-flavored cookies that are similar to gingersnaps and are popular in the Netherlands (and elsewhere). They’re traditionally served around the Christmas season. The spread is made of speculoos cookies (Biscoff brand, which are widely available) that are turned into a thick spread with the addition of sugar, vegetable oil and other all natural ingredients. The spread is smooth and creamy, with a deep brown sugar, butter and spice flavor to it. In other words, it is a spreadable cookie and it is delicious.
The spread isn’t available at all grocery stores, but many are starting to carry it and you can find it at markets that specialize in imported foods, as well as online. Trader Joe’s also recently started carrying it, packaged as “Speculoos Cookie Butter.” The spread is excellent on bread, biscuits or even simply spread onto crackers. You can work it into baking applications, too, using it in a similar way to peanut butter. The spread is addictive and you probably won’t have any problem coming up with new ways to use it in your own kitchen – including sneaking a spoonful or two straight from the jar.
