Using Mexican Chocolate

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have a quantity of Rancho Gordo Mexican chocolate and am searching for ideas to use it up.

 

https://www.ranchogordo.com/products/chocolate-stoneground-chocolate?variant=2570822467

 

This chocolate comes in 80 gram discs as hard as rock.  So far I have been drinking it as chocolate milk.  Quite tasty I must say but as tonight, six hours later, my head is still in a strange place, almost an out of body experience.  I am no stranger to caffeine and am well experienced with nibbling dark chocolate.  Nonetheless I feel poised to participate in some latter day Aztec ritual.

 

Twice I have innocently prepared my chocolate milk with Mexican chocolate and twice have felt this way.  I don't feel ill at all, but my head is not my own.

 

Is this usual or is there anything pharmacologically unique about the chocolate from Mexico?  Is there something special that must be done to prepare Mexican chocolate?

 

[rustwood]

8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Nonetheless I feel poised to participate in some latter day Aztec ritual.

 

Mine must be defective because because I've been munching on it and not getting anything of the sort.

 

Have you made champurrado? Of course it is basically just more chocolate milk, but it is very good.  I initially intended to make mole, but then I bought a pint of prepared mole paste that that has lasted me a long time.  I think at this point I need to toss that paste though so perhaps I will get around to making some - unless I decide to use my last couple of discs to try for the Aztec experience.

 

[Darienne]

I'd be grateful for some useful recipes.  I've never noticed any head changes after eating the chocolate, but I have a couple of boxes stored and should really use them up.  Alas.  The stuff is SO gritty.

 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Mexican chocolate will be grainy for 2 reasons: first the chocolate isn't conched to reduce the size of the chocolate particles and meld it with the sugar (if any). Second, Mexican chocolate is ground with piloncillo (raw sugar), nuts and cinnamon, all of which will leave grainy bits. It should be chopped up prior to using, or ideally grated on a box grated using the large holes. The common commercial varieties--Abuelita and Ibarra--aren't particularly good but usually readily available. Locally here there are many other options, most of which are from small producers. One family starts with the raw beans and produces a very good quality product. It can be purchased as amargo (unsweetened), semi-amargo (20% sugar) or dulce (sweet, 40% sugar).

 

Of course Oaxaca is the center of fine Mexican chocolate, but that's long commute to get some. There are chocolate shops all over the city where you can create your own blend.

 

Here's a useful blog page that offers some good ideas to make it easier to work with--

 

https://www.chowhound.com/post/mexican-chocolate-372699

 

Hope this helps--

 

Nancy in Patzcuaro

[blue_dolphin]

Just popping in to mention that I used the Rancho Gordo stoneground Mexican chocolate to make the Paletas de Chocolate from Nopalito that I posted in the Popsicle thread the other day. 

I thought they were good but I didn't experience any sort of out of body experiences so perhaps my chocolate was too old. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

Just popping in to mention that I used the Rancho Gordo stoneground Mexican chocolate to make the Paletas de Chocolate from Nopalito that I posted in the Popsicle thread the other day. 

I thought they were good but I didn't experience any sort of out of body experiences so perhaps my chocolate was too old. 

 

Lovely!  I confess I've never visited the popsicle thread.  How did you manage to work the chocolate?  I still find the discs intractable.  Now that I actually have a stone grinder I've been tempted to throw the discs in there.  However I fear making a big mess.

 

Or can one melt the discs?

 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Grate them on the large hole side of a box grater. That will make smaller pieces that will melt with heat. How old is this chocolate? Perhaps it's dried out and become harder than usual.

 

Nancy in Pátzcuaro

[blue_dolphin]

46 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Lovely!  I confess I've never visited the popsicle thread.  How did you manage to work the chocolate?  I still find the discs intractable.  Now that I actually have a stone grinder I've been tempted to throw the discs in there.  However I fear making a big mess.

Or can one melt the discs?

 

I was able to chop it coarsely with a chef's knife. 

The Nopalito recipe says to combine a cup of water and 3/4ths of a cinnamon stick, bring them to a boil and let steep to infuse.

3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa and 1 cup of sugar get whisked into 3 cups of water and brought to a boil, then poured over 6 oz of the bittersweet chocolate. The cinnamon water is also added and everything whisked until the chocolate is melted. 

The cinnamon stick is removed and the mix gets poured into the molds.

 

[rancho_gordo]

Sorry it wasn't great but I have to say, it's pretty cool! 

[blue_dolphin]

18 minutes ago, rancho_gordo said:

Sorry it wasn't great but I have to say, it's pretty cool! 

 

Cool indeed !  Actually, those chocolate paletas were excellent.  With no dairy or cream to smooth things, the flavor of that bittersweet chocolate really shines through.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Mine is oldish and I fear overly hard.  It was hard when I got it but it is harder now after a year or so.  I can't cut it.  My Waring grinder couldn't grind it.  I was afraid it might break the Cuisinart.  But I have slightly less than two boxes and I'd love to make use of it somehow.

 

What about heating the discs sous vide?

 

[Tri2Cook]

17 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Mine is oldish and I fear overly hard.  It was hard when I got it but it is harder now after a year or so.  I can't cut it.  My Waring grinder couldn't grind it.  I was afraid it might break the Cuisinart.  But I have slightly less than two boxes and I'd love to make use of it somehow.

 

What about heating the discs sous vide?

 

Bash them with a hammer and toss in your stone grinder?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Tri2Cook said:

Bash them with a hammer and toss in your stone grinder?

 

I already have bread crumbs all over my kitchen floor.  They would go well with bits of chocolate.

 

Some while ago I added a disc and some warm milk to my Waring but the chocolate never did dissolve.  I'm wondering if the Aztecs invented chocolate discs for weapons.

 

[Jaymes]

I use RG for hot chocolate all the time. No psychedelic trances. I keep it in the freezer along with several boxes of Mayordomo. Don't know why, exactly, just do. I do let it soften in either hot water or hot milk (depending upon whether I want Mexican-style dark hot chocolate, or milk chocolate) before I whip it up. 

 

Also, I always add some to the pot when I make chili. Don't use up a lot of it that way, though - about a half-disc per two pounds of meat. 

Edited April 13, 2018 by Jaymes (log)

[blue_dolphin]

I treated myself to some decadent Chocolate con Chiles from Nopalito.  

It is so, so rich! The milk and cream are simmered with vanilla, cinnamon stick, orange zest, 3 kinds of chiles, a little sugar and a dash of salt before being strained and then whipped with a generous amount (2 oz/serving) of bittersweet chocolate. I used Rancho Gordo's Mexican chocolate.  The recipe says that any kitchen whisk will do if you don't have a molinillo. I started with a regular whisk but recommend turning to your immersion blender to really get lots of the foam that makes Mexican hot chocolate such a treat!

No neurological symptoms thus far ....just a bit of guilt for indulging in something so rich!

[paulraphael]

This is all quite mysterious. As far as their indestructibility, wouldn't recipes where you melt it take care of the problem?

 

As far as the psychedelic vision quest, no idea! But I'd like to try.