Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Let's talk Chocolate

                                            Chocolate covered caramels...big ones!

My drug of choice is 70% chocolate.

I was just going to do a spiel about the delights of european chocolate over the American varieties when my friend, KAREN VICTORIA started sending me mouthwatering pictures of her first efforts towards a NYC based chocolate business.

 And as I am all for hands-on creative endeavors of all kinds, I want to keep you posted on her progress.



Her base chocolate is FRench from the Ardeche.

 If you google their site ... http://www.Valrhona.com you will get an eye full of one of the best companies in France.   Karen V. orders her Valrhona through an Oregon company called http://www.chocosphere.com She says that they import chocolate from all over the world and have an excellent site as well.  

In the future I will be telling you about her plain caramels and more ....

  But for now, these pics are of her chocolate covered caramels.  She uses Lyle's golden syrup from the UK...not corn syrup.  She also uses Irish salted cultured butter which somehow just sounds better than anything, doesn't it?


but before I go into ecstasy and start rolling in the grass like a hound....

I just wanted to say that in FRance, chocolate, especially organically grown (bio), is thought of as a health food and is  always found in health food stores.  Of course cacao content of 70 % or more does have magnesium and general mood lifting qualities.   Even in my french diet book for losing weight they allow the dieter 2 squares a day.

 Now that is my kind of diet.




On an ordinary day I go for Lindt.... their new" fleur de sel" chocolate noir.  With that little bit of salt in there, the 70 % chocolate  takes on a carmel quality.

So I just can't wait to try Karen Victoria's caramel chocolates.



 Karen's pics. (except the Lindt one) .  

Remember, you read about KAREN VICTORIA CHOCOLATES here first. 

3 comments:

  1. Thank you so much, Mary! What a thrill to see this on your blog in my stage of development. That salted butter is important to the caramels but not everything. I am so lucky to be able to get good quality heavy cream from Whole Foods that is not ultra-pasteurized. Well, soon more pictures! Now I have vanilla beans,I'll be making some old-fashioned vanilla buttercreams covered in dark chocolate (the 70%) I have my new moulds from Europe... (I wonder what country they are from. they came to me via Brooklyn,NY)
    ciao, Karen V.

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  2. I was just tidying up my emails and found your blog. LOVE the chocolate caramels photo! Makes me want to put out my hand and eat one. Very frustrating.

    xnicky

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  3. Amen, chocolate and food sister.

    Jo

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