What is the best way to melt chocolate? Melting chocolate is not as simple and straightforward as you might expect. Chocolate when it is “tempered” correctly is bright, shiny and tasty with a lovely snap. Chocolate Chemistry To get chocolate into this shape you must treat the chocolate gently and respect its crystalline structure. Now chemistry like this is not simple. Think of Newton sitting under the tree and being hit on his head by an apple. Why did it fall – what was the force and can we mathematically understand it. Working with chocolate is best to under its complex chemistry so you understand the results you are trying to get. Melt Chocolate Experts Melt chocolates’s chocolatiers are experts on this topic of melting chocolate. We are ‘London’s Most Luxurious Chocolate Company’ and as an Artisan producer in Notting Hill with over 18 years of experience in chocolate – we know a thing or two about chocolate. In the following section we will answer the following Questions: How do you melt chocolates without burning it? What’s the best method to melt chocolates, how do the professionals do i? How long does it take to set once it has been melted, how long does melted chocolate take to set? Should you store chocolate in the fridge or a dry cupboard. But before we delve into the complex chemistry, first we will go with the simple explanation and add complexity depending on your level of interest. Chocolate melts at body temperature – that is one of its most unique and enduring characteristics and the reason for our name: Melt. Because we loved melted or molten chocolate and the fact that it shares the same body temperature as we did – marking it out to be very special food. Dark Chocolate So… you have some chocolate in your house and you want to melt it – what the best method? Bain-marie: By far the best method is a bain-marie. We’ve explained that chocolate melts at body temperature. So it only needs gentle heat to become molten and useable. The best way to apply gentle heat – its via steam directly on a glass bowl. You are not looking for boiling water -just gently steaming water. So gently heat the water until it starts to steam. Break the chocolate into small chunks – professionals will use buttons as this increases the surface area. Place the glass bowl in the steaming water. Gently stir the chocolate until molten. It’s generally the steam that actually melts the chocolate. Stir until completely molten. Now you have workable and molten chocolate Chocolate is very sensitive to heat and can easily burn or seize easily. Now each type of chocolate has different melting points so if its milk – it should melt slightly easier and white will have an even lower point at which is become molten. So the amount of heat and the time to become molten varies. Microwave: If you don’t want to use a bain-marie – then of course a microwave is just as good. We recommend a glass bowl with the chocolate broken into chunks. Then 30 second heat burst – take it […]
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Gianduja Heavenly Hazelnuts and Creamy Chocolate Shop Now Introduction Gianduja, a delicious, mouthwatering hazelnut chocolate has a rich and fascinating history that is intertwined with Italian history and the celebratory festival – carnival! Chocolate and Nuts – a divine marriage ? This is the nutty flavour that will make you fall in love again with chocolate. But what is Gianduja? How is is pronounced? Where does it come from? Why is it connected to carnival? We will answer these questions. You will know it from a famous spread. But this is not gianduja – as it full of sugar and ultra-processed foods (UPF) like Palm oil. Gianduja has a rich and interesting history, intertwined with the ancient wonders of Italy. At melt we are against UPF as we believe it damages our clients health. We never compromise on the quality and taste of our chocolate. We want you to experience Gianduja as it was intended by its created in the orchards of Piedmont. What is Gianduja? So, what is Gianduja? Gianduja is handcrafted by mixing toasted Piedmont hazelnuts with rich chocolate. It turns into this delectable paste which is soft, decadent and nutty. Usually the mixture contains about 30% hazelnut and the rest milk chocolate. At Melt our Choconola is 50% Piedmont Hazelnuts, 30% Chocolate solids, including whole roasted hazelnuts to increase the pleasure of the crunchy hazelnut texture. How was Gianduja invented? So how did the hazelnut of Piedmont become the delicious, soft, nutty treat that is Gianduja? The history of Gianduja starts during a Napoleonic lockdown. Lockdowns can result in a burst of creativity and innovation. During the Napoleonic wars – the battle between the Elephant (Napoleon) and the Whale (Nelson) led to a European-wide lockdown. Nelson and the British Navy enforced a blockade on European ports in response to Napoleon’s trade war called the “Continental System”. This lockdown put a huge strain on cocoa supplies. A chocolatier in Turin, named Michele Prochet, extended the little chocolate he had by mixing it with hazelnuts from the hills of Piedmont. He was forced to use local, widely available ingredients to make his chocolate go a little further. To satisfy his customers demand for chocolate, during this Napoleonic lockdown, Gianduja was born. Where does the name Gianduja come from? The name Gianduja, comes from a carnival or marionette character, represented by one of the masks of the Italian Commedia dell’arte. The direct translation of Italian Commedia dell’arte is “comedy of the profession”. This was a form of Italian theatre that flourished throughout Europe from the 1500s to 1700s. It is said to have inspired and developed into the “pantomime” in England, what we all know best through the Punch-and-Judy show. There was a large emphasis on comedy, playing out particular depictions and scenarios to humour the crowd. Gianduja is the archetypal Piedmontese, an honest peasant, a lover of wine, gastronomy, and beautiful girls. According to the records, Gianduja has a ruddy face and hair in an upturned ponytail. He is typically dressed in a brown jacket edged with red, a yellow […]
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The more cocoa content chocolate has, the nearer it is to real chocolate, but not necessarily chocolate as many people know it. Growing up in Britain in the 1980s, I was quite happy with a sweet, vaguely chocolate taste of around 25-30 per cent cocoa solids. Since the late 1990s, cocoa content has become the only indication of quality that we look for on a bar of chocolate. Of course, it is rather more complex than that. Chocolate with a higher cocoa content is essential for cooking, giving cakes and desserts a richer, stronger taste, but it’s important not to be fooled into thinking that a higher cocoa content automatically equals better flavour and quality when choosing chocolate for eating. This would be like going to a wine merchant and selecting only the bottles with the highest alcohol content. Cocoa percentage is just one of many indications of quality. Do, however, keep within the boundary of over 60 per cent cocoa solids for dark chocolate and 30 per cent cocoa solids for milk chocolate. Technically, white chocolate is not in fact chocolate, as it does not contain any cocoa solids. It does, however, contain cocoa butter. One of the very few that I would eat is by a company called Felchlin, which produces what is called a non-deodorised white chocolate. It has a very slight lemony hint and is really lovely as it is not overly sweet. Other factors affecting the quality of chocolate vary from bean type, provenance, terroir and numerous fascinating processing steps, right through to how the chocolatier tempers the chocolate and carefully matches different chocolates to different recipes. There are up to 15 complex steps in processing chocolate – fermentation, for example, is essential to bring out the chocolate flavour of the bean. Just after the seeds have been taken out of the pod, they are laid in oak fermenting boxes and left to ferment for approximately five days. Moving and loading the beans in the boxes can be backbreaking work. Banana leaves (amongst other things) are used to cover them, and oxidation and the breakdown of proteins into amino acids occur. Although the farmers are paid more for the fermented beans, known as hispaniola, this delicate and time-consuming process can be aborted too early if a farmer needs to enter the cocoa market quickly in order to sell beans when the price is highest. Reducing the fermentation period results in lower-quality cocoa. This is just one example of how the delicate process of making chocolate can be affected. What is fine chocolate? Just under 5 per cent of the world’s cocoa production is categorised as ‘fine’, meaning cocoa produced from the superior Criollo or Trinitario beans. The other main bean type, Forestero, which is hardy but lacking in flavour, accounts for ‘bulk’ or ‘commercial’ chocolate. With 70 per cent of the market coming from West Africa, these are really quite astounding statistics. Cocoa is often considered a poor man’s crop by farmers. They are keen to diversify in order to minimise their losses, since not only can there all too frequently be a low price for their beans but the cocoa tree doesn’t start to produce pods until it is […]
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What does a higher cocoa content mean? The more cocoa content chocolate has, the nearer it is to real chocolate, but not necessarily chocolate as many people know it. Growing up in Britain in the 1980s, I was quite happy with a sweet, vaguely chocolate taste of around 25-30 per cent cocoa solids. Since the late 1990s, cocoa content has become the only indication of quality that we look for on a bar of chocolate. Of course, it is rather more complex than that. Chocolate with a higher cocoa content is essential for cooking, giving cakes and desserts a richer, stronger taste, but it’s important not to be fooled into thinking that a higher cocoa content automatically equals better flavour and quality when choosing chocolate for eating. This would be like going to a wine merchant and selecting only the bottles with the highest alcohol content. Cocoa percentage is just one of many indications of quality. Do, however, keep within the boundary of over 60 per cent cocoa solids for dark chocolate and 30 per cent cocoa solids for milk chocolate. White Chocolate Technically, white chocolate is not in fact chocolate, as it does not contain any cocoa solids. It does, however, contain cocoa butter. One of the very few that I would eat is by a company called Felchlin, which produces what is called a non-deodorised white chocolate. It has a very slight lemony hint and is really lovely as it is not overly sweet. What is good quality chocolate? Other factors affecting the quality of chocolate vary from bean type, provenance, terroir and numerous fascinating processing steps, right through to how the chocolatier tempers the chocolate and carefully matches different chocolates to different recipes. There are up to 15 complex steps in processing chocolate – fermentation, for example, is essential to bring out the chocolate flavour of the bean. Just after the seeds have been taken out of the pod, they are laid in oak fermenting boxes and left to ferment for approximately five days. Moving and loading the beans in the boxes can be backbreaking work. Banana leaves (amongst other things) are used to cover them, and oxidation and the breakdown of proteins into amino acids occur. Although the farmers are paid more for the fermented beans, known as Hispaniola, this delicate and time-consuming process can be aborted too early if a farmer needs to enter the cocoa market quickly in order to sell beans when the price is highest. Reducing the fermentation period results in lower-quality cocoa. This is just one example of how the delicate process of making chocolate can be affected. What is fine chocolate? Just under 5 per cent of the world’s cocoa production is categorised as ‘fine’, meaning cocoa produced from the superior Criollo or Trinitario beans. The other main bean type, Forastero, which is hardy but lacking in flavour, accounts for ‘bulk’ or ‘commercial’ chocolate. With 70 per cent of the market coming from West Africa, these are really quite astounding statistics. Cocoa is often considered a poor man’s crop by farmers. They are keen to diversify in order to minimise their losses, since not only can there all too frequently be a low price for […]
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Best Chocolate Gifts for Father’s Day Father’s Day is just around the corner, and what better way to show your appreciation than with the exquisite taste of luxury chocolate? This year, elevate your gift-giving game by choosing from our carefully curated selection of Father’s Day chocolate gifts inspired by Roy Lichtenstein and the comic book heroes. Lichtenstein’s art started as a challenge from one of his sons, who pointed to a Mickey Mouse comic book and said: ” I bet you can’t paint as good as that, eh, Dad?”. So, whether your dad is a connoisseur of fine flavors or simply enjoys a sweet treat, our Father’s Day Gift Box and Father’s Day Gift Hamper are the perfect choices to celebrate the awesomeness of our Dad’s and show our appreciation. Let’s explore these delightful options together! Father’s Day Gift Box: A Refined Chocolate Experience Our Father’s Day Gift Box is an exquisite assortment of handcrafted chocolates, designed to tantalize the taste buds and captivate the senses. Styled with exciting hand-painted Roy Lichtenstein artworks, produced by our incredible creative team, this gift box will make your dad feel cool and appreciated. Imagine your dad unwrapping a box filled with an array of flavors. A collection of three irresistible desserts reinterpreted into delicious bonbons: the traditional Lemon Cheesecake, a very Italian Tiramisu and the jewel of the crown; the sensational Sticky Toffee Pudding. Each piece is meticulously crafted by our master chocolatiers, using only the finest ingredients to ensure an unforgettable chocolate experience. Whether your dad prefers classic flavors or is more adventurous in his chocolate preferences, our Father’s Day Gift Box has something to please every palate. This luxurious assortment is a true celebration of Father’s Day. Father’s Day Gift Hamper: A Grand Gesture of Love For an even more lavish gesture, our Father’s Day Gift Hamper is a treasure trove of chocolate delights that will leave your dad in awe. This opulent hamper is filled to the brim with an assortment of our finest chocolates, complemented by carefully selected gourmet treats that will make his Father’s Day truly memorable. Imagine your dad discovering an assortment of velvety truffles and decadent chocolate bars nestled together with premium coffee beans. The Father’s Day Gift Hamper is a luxurious collection that beautifully combines the art of chocolate-making with complementary flavors, creating a sensory journey like no other. Go beyond the ordinary and gift your dad a truly extraordinary experience with our luxury chocolate gifts for Father’s day. Our Father’s Day Gift Box and Father’s Day Gift Hamper are crafted with precision and passion, ensuring that each bite is a moment of pure bliss. From the smoothest milk chocolate to the most intense dark flavors, our chocolates are a testament to the artistry and dedication of our chocolatiers. Enjoy a Chocolate Experience with your Dad Don’t miss the opportunity to show your dad how much he means to you. If you want to spend quality time with your dad this Father’s day, you may be interested in buying a chocolate voucher for Melt’s Chocolates Experiences or booking directly via our Chocolate Making Experiences page. One of our favourite experiences for Father’s and sons/ daughters is our Power of Memory Experience, […]
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