August 24th, 2021
Chopping and grating are simple techniques that can help you elevate the way you cook with our chocolates from the gourmet collection.
However, if you want to curl, chunk or shave them like a professional chocolatier, then here we’ve put together a small guide on the top tips to chop and grate chocolates the right way!
Before that, let’s understand more about shaving vs grating and the different tools that you’ll require.
As mentioned at the start, grating is one of the easiest ways to elevate the overall taste and look of every dish – be it your favourite brownie or a breakfast smoothie.
Not only that, grating chocolates before melting them is an excellent way to ensure that you get an even and smooth result. This makes it perfect for dipping a delicate and crisp macaron or even slices of oranges. However, if you want to make your choco creations look more expert, then adding curls is the best way.
While you can use both the techniques to get curls (they’re relatively easy to master!), shaving can be your best bet – all you need is the right set of equipment and some patience.
When it comes to shaving chocolate curls, while it’s an easy technique to learn, you need to practice it a couple of times.
Here, we’d recommend you to go as dark as possible with our 100% Bold Dark Chocolate – this is because the darker the chocolate, the more intricate the flavour and the better the results.
However, bear in mind to chill your vegetable peeler and chocolates before shaving them; this will give you amazing results. Once they’re chilled, simply stroke your peeler along the bar’s edge and voila – beautiful cascades of chocolate curls would be ready to grace your decadent sweet treats!
While you’re at it, make sure you continue shaving the chocolate until you have enough ready for your desserts.
One of the most important tips to chop and grate chocolate is to have the right tools in place.
Sure, you can use a normal grater to get the job done, but a Microplane can make the process of grating that much easier. In fact, this is the best tool to use if you’re planning to dust your dessert or cake with grated chocolate.
However, using a knife is the best way to cut chocolate blocks into chunks for smooth melting or cookies. That said, the best knife for chopping chocolates is a sharp chef’s knife or serrated bread knife; so, make sure you add these to your chocolate toolkit.
As mentioned before, when grating chocolates, it’s important that you chill the bar and tools for at least 15 minutes. This will help you add more style and height to your desserts while also giving it a gorgeous finish!
Start with cutting your chocolate into big chunks so that it can comfortably fit within your hands. Once that’s done, ensure you chill those chunks along with your tools in the refrigerator – this will keep them from melting.
Hold the box grater or microplane in one hand and the chocolate chunk in the other (be gentle with it!). Now hold it over your cake or dessert and run the chocolate over the tool – this will help create a dusting effect!
Similar to the previous process, make sure you’re chilling your chef’s or serrated bread knife in the refrigerator along with the chocolate.
Now start with chopping the bar as fine as possible, based on the effect you’d like to create on your treats.
When it comes to the various tips to chop and grate chocolate, you can’t ignore the crucial part of choosing the right bar.
Here, working with our 85% Solomon Islands Dark Bar would be the ideal option. This is because it has a high cacao content and offers a rigid structure, which can work wonders when grated. Moreover, it comes with a rich flavour profile which is perfect for adding that decadent edge to your creations.
If you want though, you could also use our Dark Mint Bar to sprinkle over those orangettes or strawberries.
However, if you’re planning to use white or milk chocolate for dusting, ensure it’s properly chilled because it can start melting the moment it gets in contact with your skin.
Knowing the hack for chopping chocolate is a technique that must be a part of every good cook’s armoury!
This is because, with this technique, you can easily create anything from gorgeous, gooey chunks for brownies to chocolate rubbles for dusting on your plates. Also, did we mention that roughly chopped chocolates can melt easily and quickly?
One of our quick tips to chop and grate chocolate – drop the unwrapped bar on your kitchen countertop, unwrap it and start chopping with a knife.
If you’re using a chef’s knife, then make sure you’re angling the blade in a way that its tip is placed against the chopping board and then press it down firmly to sculpt the chocolate into chunks.
When using a serrated bread knife though, you need to balance both accuracy and power. This means, start by pressing the knife straight down to chop the chocolates and then gently push the blade through it.
Now that you’ve understood the various tips to chop and grate chocolate, why not visit our website and browse through our selection of premium chocolates?
From chocolate bars and slabs to luxury chocolate gifts, we’ve an array of sweet treats that are not only perfect for eating but can also be used in various dessert recipes.
Place your order today!
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