| There are those who love winter and those who love coping with winter with hot chocolate. Even the childhood memories of returning home from a tough afternoon of tobogganing to a steaming mug of hot chocolate, topped with marshmallows, is almost enough to survive the bone-chilling cold.
Hot chocolate is the nexus point where chocolate lovers and hot beverage enthusiasts can come together and share a common bond. Even the worst hot chocolate on a cold day can bring comfort, but making the perfect hot chocolate is no easy task.
In truth, what we have come to know as hot chocolate in modern coffee houses bears little resemblance to the original recipe pioneered by the ancient Aztecs. At that time, cocoa beans were highly prized and Aztec Indians would grind the roasted beans for use in a beverage called cacahuatt or, if the beverage was whipped and frothy, choclatl. Though it was served cold the addition of water, spices, wine and peppers made for a hot flavour.
In the early 1500s, the explorer Cortez returned to Spain with the Mexican recipe, and before long the Spaniards were heating the drink and sweetening it with sugar. The Spanish nobility kept the recipe secret, so it wasn’t until much later that hot chocolate gained popularity. By the 1700s, the French had opened hot chocolate shops and the English had modified the drink by adding milk.
Apparently the Spanish nobility were not alone in their secrecy as I discovered when trying to find out how to make the best hot chocolate. I contacted Bernard Callebaut headquarters but they declined comment . The folks at The Cookbook Company admit to stocking hot chocolate supplies, but opted not to go on record on preparation techniques.
What, then, is the secret to a good modern hot chocolate? Rhondda Siebens, proprietor of Caffe Beano, offers a simple yet tasty recipe. Using the "real McCoy" ingredients, melt Bernard Callebaut chocolate shavings into milk.
"You do have to get the milk to a higher temperature than you would for a cappuccino or a latte," says Siebens. "The chocolate may look like it is melted into the milk, but you need to get it pretty hot to make sure the taste mixes properly."
It’s also important not to scorch the milk, so to ensure a rich taste heat it to just under the boiling point. The other trick – use homogenized milk. "That is one of Caffe Beano’s secrets. As far as I’m concerned, it needs to be homogenized milk," Siebens says.
For those in search of a more traditional recipe, Boca Loca Mexican foods stocks two kinds of chocolate and the necessary supplies to make old-school hot chocolate. According to Renette Kurz, owner of Boca Loca, making traditional Mexican hot chocolate is more specific than just using chocolate powder. First you add chocolate tablets to heated milk, then use your blender to mix it up and ensure the beverage has a frothy head.
For increased authenticity use a molinillo instead of a blender. "It’s wood, as long as a wooden spoon, with really specific carvings on it and it has three little rings on a spindle," says Kurz.
You place the molinillo in the heated milk with the chocolate tablet and rub the instrument back and forth between the palms of your hands as though you were trying to start a fire. "That is what was used before there was a blender, so the molinillo is a very ancient tool." |
Copyright ©2003 FFWD. All rights reserved.