[QUOTE=MGibson]
No disrespect to Orwell but I’m pretty sure beer is mainly bitter because we put hops in it. If you make it without hops you can get a sweet tasting beer.
Marc
[/QUOTE]
Right, which strengthens his point: beer is supposed to be bitter. We make it that way on purpose. In Orwell’s opinion, we should make tea bitter on purpose, too (by not adding sugar to it).
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton]
Actually (I just looked in the pantry) it’s Hershey’s. But, look, we’re talking about pure cocoa powder here – it’s like sugar or salt or flour; why should the manufacturer make a difference?
[/QUOTE]
Different manufacturers use different grades of beans, just like coffee. Next time you’re in the baking aisle at the grocery store, look for Ghirardelli. You’ll never go back to Hershey!
As for getting the cocoa powder dissolved, the secret is to put the cocoa into your mug and add just a tiny bit of liquid. Like a tablespoon. Then stir this up until all the powder is wet and you have a sort of chocolate sludge. Some how the powder gives in and dissolves much easier when it can’t float away in the whole sea of liquid. Once it’s all wet and mixed, then you can add the bulk of the hot liquid and the sludge will dilute into the rest with no trouble.
BTW, whenever I make hot chocolate I add: a sprinkle of cinnamon, a dash of salt, and one drop of pure vanilla extract.
Heaven!
[QUOTE=Cheez_Whia]
Different manufacturers use different grades of beans, just like coffee. Next time you’re in the baking aisle at the grocery store, look for Ghirardelli. You’ll never go back to Hershey!
[/QUOTE]
Does Ghirardelli make unsweetened cocoa powder?
I know that in some places they sell champurrado (sp?) from carts - it’s a Mexican chocolate drink thickened with masa, sweet but very good. I’ve made it at home, you really do need the Mexican chocolate, though, it’s got a nuttier taste.
[QUOTE=Alan Smithee]
Right, which strengthens his point: beer is supposed to be bitter. We make it that way on purpose. In Orwell’s opinion, we should make tea bitter on purpose, too (by not adding sugar to it).
[/QUOTE]
Ah. The way I see it if beer was supposed to be bitter then it wouldn’t need to have any hops added to it to make it so. It’s a matter of perspective I suppose.
Marc
[QUOTE=Zsofia]
I know that in some places they sell champurrado (sp?) from carts - it’s a Mexican chocolate drink thickened with masa, sweet but very good. I’ve made it at home, you really do need the Mexican chocolate, though, it’s got a nuttier taste.
[/QUOTE]
You spelled it right. I just looked it up on Wikipedia, where it’s described as tasting like a chocolate chai. It sounds delicious.
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers]
Alls I know is the last time I boiled water for chocolate, some Mexican babe slept with me and then torched the place.
[/QUOTE]
Left Eye, is that you?
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers]
Alls I know is the last time I boiled water for chocolate, some Mexican babe slept with me and then torched the place.
[/QUOTE]
Well, I thought it was funny.
[QUOTE=PastAllReason]
I have severa co-workers who drink hot chocolate every day in preference to coffee or tea. One keeps several tins with different flavours on her credenza.
[/QUOTE]
You keep your hands off her credenza.
Pervert.
[QUOTE=Alan Smithee]
Seriously, buy some expensive cocoa (it’s not that expensive!) and see if you can tell the difference. I bet you can. Heck, I bet if you bought a different cheap brand you’d notice a difference, if not an improvement.
[/QUOTE]
In my local groceries, the only alternative to Hershey is Droste, and it’s roughly twice as expensive. I have tried it, and it is somewhat better, but not twice as much.
<minor rant>
Hershey can go hang. They got the product change fidgets a couple of years ago, and changed their Dutch cocoa to “special dark” Dutch cocoa. Then about a year ago they “improved” it to a “special dark cocoa blend” by mixing it with natural cocoa in an apparent attempt to cash in on the craze for anti-oxidants (which the Dutching process destroys).
Morons.
</minor rant>
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton]
Was it sweet or unsweetened?
[/QUOTE]
It was thick and incredibly rich. It was sweetened, but much less so than what we typically think of as “hot chocolate”. It came in a 4 or 6 ounce cup, and even that tiny bit was just perfect.
Maybe it was the portion size that caused it to fail. Small, expensive, super-luxury food items aren’t really all that popular.
[QUOTE=StarvingButStrong]
As for getting the cocoa powder dissolved, the secret is to put the cocoa into your mug and add just a tiny bit of liquid. Like a tablespoon. Then stir this up until all the powder is wet and you have a sort of chocolate sludge. Some how the powder gives in and dissolves much easier when it can’t float away in the whole sea of liquid. Once it’s all wet and mixed, then you can add the bulk of the hot liquid and the sludge will dilute into the rest with no trouble.
[/QUOTE]
This works even for cold liquid. Make one cup with milk, then heat it in the microwave. Warning: this method makes some foam which WILL expand and spill out of the cup, so watch it carefully while heating. The more gradually you mix in the liquid, the less foam will be produced, but I haven’t been able to eliminate the foam completely.
I would like to know why this mixing method works. The cocoa grains are obviously liquid-repellent, but what part of them does the repelling that hot liquid and mixing overcomes? The remaining cocoa fat? I know hot chocolate mixes contain lecithin which acts as a surfactant.
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor]
You keep your hands off her credenza.
Pervert.
[/QUOTE]
Being a woman of the heterosexual persuasion I’m not too interested in her “credenza”.
But the fact that you posted that, I think, would make you the pervert. :eek:
Ghirardelli makes hot chocolate mix, which we’ve had in our lunch room at work. I thought it was pretty darned good. (Then I actually read the ingredient listings, and started feeling a bit queasy.)
Now I’ve got a yen for a cup of hot chocolate here at home. And some really good cocoa, which I’ve probably never used in my life.
[QUOTE=rowrrbazzle]
I would like to know why this mixing method works.
[/QUOTE]
It sounds like you’re making an emulsion.
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach]
Well, I thought it was funny.
[/QUOTE]
Well, in the last three days, I’ve had four quips that worked, two that didn’t, six were kind of a tie…
I’d call that one a win, I laughed.
As far as Starbucks’ Chantico drink, I tried it, it was amazing–like sipping a melted truffle. The only catch was it had something like 21 grams of fat and 400 calories in a 6 ounce serving.
[QUOTE=NajaNivea]
As far as Starbucks’ Chantico drink, I tried it, it was amazing–like sipping a melted truffle. The only catch was it had something like 21 grams of fat and 400 calories in a 6 ounce serving.
[/QUOTE]
Another sign! :eek:
[QUOTE=jovan]
It sounds like you’re making an emulsion.
[/QUOTE]
That was basically my guess with the lecithin. But is it that the mixing alone grinds the cocoa particles against each other so they get small enough to result in an emulsion?