Today's chocolate tasting was designed for us to compare the differences between the ages of chocolate. We tried the same chocolates from different production years to see if we could tell a difference in taste. I had a feeling there would be differences since environmental changes could impact the taste of the cocoa beans. Here were the results:
2010 Gran Couva - Trinidad - rich, potent cocoa aroma, fruity and floral finish
2011 Gran Couva - Trinidad - fruity, complex, dense, peanut flavor, vanilla, herbal, minty, bitter aftertaste
2009 Palmira Criollo - Venezuela - astringent, nutty, honey, bittersweet
2010 Palmira Criollo - Venezuela - not much flavor, mild, bitter, nutty, honey, sweeter than the 2009 version
The mystery chocolate for today was bacon chocolate. It was very salty, roasted, nutty, and crunchy. I didn't hate it but it wasn't my favorite chocolate we have tried. Many people in the class, especially the guys, absolutely loved it and wanted to know more about bacon products.
The next taste test we did was a vanilla taste test. You can't really eat vanilla plain and expect to like it, so we added it to a milk, egg, and sugar mixture to make it more palatable. I enjoyed doing this taste test because I thought that for the most part all vanillas were created equal. This was not the case, and I had preferences as to what I liked better. Luckily for me, the one I liked the most is the most common vanilla found in the United States. I am sure to have it again then!
Tahitian - fragrant, fruity, lingering aftertaste, sweet, most expensive and rare version
Mexican - creamy, stronger flavor, thick, alcohol aftertaste, like root beer
Madagascar homemade version - mild balanced
Madagascar (The Spice House) - thick, mild, tastes like vanilla ice cream, balanced, same flavor as the homemade version only stronger, my favorite
Tomorrow we go back to the kitchen for out final cooking day. We are tackling traditional Southern cooking with lots of hearty foods!
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