My Chocolate Fantasy

Julie Spear asked:


Belgian chocolates are considered as the food of the champions, the rich people’s indulgence and also the masses, and a temptation for lovers. Every year, Belgium is able to produce chocolate products of about 172,000 tons. You can even find over 2,000 shops offering their precious chocolate goodies.

The sublime chocolate confection of Belgium is praline. This is a skillfully sculpted shell made of chocolate that conceals a filling in the center; and once you eat it, it explodes in your mouth with an astounding texture. Most of the chocolatiers in Belgium make their chocolate products like praline by hand. They believe that this brings out the best in chocolate. You can find chocolate stores that sell luxurious pralines in almost every small village or town.

You can also find Belgian sea shells like that of GUYLIAN and Parthenon foods. The price of the chocolate shells range from $10 to $13 and is very affordable for chocolate lovers. There are different online stores that can provide you with this great product. The shells are made from the finest quality Belgian chocolate, a name that you can truly trust.

Chocolate shells, especially that of the Belgian chocolate, are all hand-made. You can use the chocolate shells as cake decorations, or you can give it as party favors. If you want to use it as a favor, for every pound, you can get a maximum of 65 pieces of the chocolate shells. For your cake decoration, you can purchase 40 large pieces of the chocolate shell. When you place an order, especially in an online store, make sure that you specify how you’re planning to use the shells. The chocolate shells are edible, and just to ensure its freshness, place an order the day before your party.

Any form of chocolate is well-loved by almost any individual. Aside from using chocolates in cake decorations or as delicious treats in parties and social gatherings, it is also a perfect gift that can melt your loved-ones heart. Show your loved-one how much you cherish and love her by giving her Belgian shells chocolate. This is an excellent gift idea that you can use this coming Valentines Day.

Give her something new this Valentines. Sometimes, flowers and jewelry are so ordinary during this special occasion. So why not give her Belgian shell chocolate? And if you can actually make one yourself, so much the better; just order a Belgian chocolate from your nearest chocolate shop. By adding a personal touch to your gift, you can give her the most romantic gift that will be remembered for life.

Belgian chocolates are not only perfect for Valentines Day. In fact, you can use it for almost any occasion. People from all walks of life love chocolates because of its delicious sweet taste. It is not only loved by children but also of adults as well. Give your friend or a family member a sumptuous Belgian shells chocolate treat for his or her birthday, or even without a specific occasion.

When you give other people gifts, they will somehow feel that they’re extra special. This can even be more felt if you give a chocolate gift. So when a certain occasion is about to come up, don’t forget to include Belgian chocolate in your list. This is a party must-have that fits for any occasion.

Lloyd Gordon asked:


Ever wondered how chocolate is made and whether you could make it yourself? Surely you must have fantasized at least once in your life at the prospect of churning out trays of personalized chocolate goodies whenever you desired them. Well, if you have time on your hands and you are the adventurous type and are patient with a few choice pieces of cooking equipment, then you too could aquire the much revered skill of chocolate making.

Before we get into the domesticated version of chocolate making, it would be beneficial to understand the tried and tested processes that the industry uses to make large volumes of our favorite treat.

It all begins with the raw material ‘cacoa’. The cacoa tree produces a pod containing a number of seeds or beans (as they are commonly known) in its center surrounded by a pulp all enclosed in a thick fleshy skin. The pods are a picked, opened and the beans and husk put into large wooden bins which are covered with large leaves and left untouched to ferment for a few days. Once they are suitably fermented they are spread out to dry in the heat of the sun for about a week. When the beans are sufficiently dried they are sorted, separated by category and roasted in large ovens for up to half an hour where they darken and the flavor of the bean is enhanced.

The beans are then broken and separated from their shell by a process known as cracking and winnowing, which uses compressed air to blow the shells away from the seeds. The resulting fragmented pieces are known as cocoa nibs.

Now the nibs are finely ground. The grinding process releases the fat content which combines with the grounded solids to form a thick paste called liquor. The liquor gives rise to two other substances, cocoa butter obtained by pressing the fat from the liquor and the remaining dried cocoa which is most commonly use to make drinking chocolate.

Solid chocolate is made by further refining the liquor using a process known as conching, which smooths and aerates it and then combining it with cocoa butter sugar, milk or milk powder (for milk chocolate), an emulsifier such as soy lecithin and (or) vanilla. The combined solution is then tempered by a process of carefully heating, cooling and allowing it to set several times, becoming more refined with each cycle. And basically, that is how chocolate is made.

Now, it would be unrealistic to expect you to find your own cacoa pods to pick and ferment (let alone sun dry in the middle of winter), so you can skip the earlier phases as raw cacoa is now commonly available to buy.

Roast the cacoa in your oven for up to half an hour at a temperature not more than 325F, you may want to experiment with this as roasting times may vary considerably depending on the type of bean you are using and the intensity of your oven however, ensure that you don’t burn them as it will seriously affect the taste.

After roasting, allow the cacoa to cool, ***** the beans in a mill, this will allow the husk to come away from the bean. The light husk can then be removed from the crushed beans using a small fan, hair dryer or any other practical air blowing device.

When the separation process is complete, the beans must be finely ground using a good quality juicer which will produce the cocoa liquor. Add cocoa butter, sugar, lecithin and milk (if you’re making milk chocolate) plus any other flavoring you require. At this stage the solution although chocolaty is still in need of refinement and conching which is accomplished using a conching machine. Conching can take anything between 12 hours and 2 days depending on the quality of chocolate being made but if you don’t have a conching machine you can use a wet grinder to remove any remaining solid particles.

Finally the chocolate must be tempered. Tempering is the method used that results in the finished product having a rich sheen and crispy snap. This is done by gently heating it to about 115F, pour some of the liquid onto a marble slab and gently work it around for around 10 minutes, as it cools to about 85F and begins to set, add more of the simmering liquid now being maintained at about 95F, and continue to work it back and fourth on the slab. Now return it to the rest of heated liquid and repeat the process. The amount of refinement obtained will simply depend on the number of times the process is repeated. Pour the liquid into a mold, allow it to set and finally…Enjoy.

Hopefully from this basic overview, you will appreciate the skill, time and care that goes into making good quality chocolate. There is no substitute for the skill derived from time and experience in this art, as the slightest variations can significantly affect the outcome of the finished product. So you may just wish to continue enjoying your favorite treat already professionally prepared for you by the hands of the masters.