Comparing chocolate tastes

[ruthcooks]

I've ordered premium baking chocolates, but never used any for baking because I always eat them first! Finally I have gathered together Scharffen Berger, Valrhona and KA's Merckens. Locally, I have Ghirardelli and Bakers. I have at least 7 ounces of each.

Of course, I know I can just taste them, but what else can I do? I've thought of making a very small amount of ganache with each one, but I should really bake something, too. Brownies?

Any one have any good ideas? And after I make all this ganache, anyone have an idea of what to do with it? Frost yellow cupcakes and taste again?

Ideas, please. What could I bake that would give me the best idea of what each chocolate can do?

[sanrensho]

Maybe you could expand on what Lorna (Ling) did with her cocoa testing. Bake some cakes using the same recipe except for chocolate as the only variable. Same for ganache. Then build into a layer cake and see which one everyone likes best.

Or cupcakes w/ganache. Lots of them. Except that it will be harder to taste test side-by-side.

Edited November 19, 2005 by sanrensho (log)

[Patrick S]

Here's a thought: if you are inclined to go to the trouble, you could do a blind test. You could do this by having someone chop up the chocolate finely in a food processor, so you can't identify which chocolate it is by appearance, and return the chopped chocolates to you in bags with numbers on them. The person who chops the chocolate will keep a list of which numbers correspond to which chocolates. After you decide which ones you like best, your friend gives you the list. It wouldnt be too much trouble, and you could be absolutely certain that your judgements were based solely on taste.

As far as test recipes to use, I recommend hot chocolate. Its quick to make. You can make it in small (or large) quantities. You can easily adjust sugar and milk to your taste.

Edited November 19, 2005 by Patrick S (log)

[ruthcooks]

Thanks for the suggestions. Making an entire cake from each is a bigger project than I care to take on right now. Perhaps one layer of each would be manageable. I wouldn't have thought of hot chocolate, but that is doable.

Seems to me I've heard people say they prefer one chocolate for ganache, another for baking, another for glaze, etc. Anyone have an opinion on this? Is it possible to find one best chocolate for everything?

[Steven Blaski]

I've ordered premium baking chocolates, but never used any for baking because I always eat them first!  Finally I have gathered together Scharffen Berger, Valrhona and KA's Merckens.  Locally, I have Ghirardelli and Bakers.  I have at least 7 ounces of each.

Of course, I know I can just taste them, but what else can I do?  I've thought of making a very small amount of ganache with each one, but I should really bake something, too.  Brownies?

Any one have any good ideas?  And after I make all this ganache, anyone have an idea of what to do with it?  Frost yellow cupcakes and taste again?

Ideas, please.  What could I bake that would give me the best idea of what each chocolate can do?

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Cook's Illustrated (11/02 issue) did their blind tastings of unsweetened chocolate using

1. a chocolate sauce and

2. brownies.

Here's their results:

UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATES

Recommended:

Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Pure Dark Chocolate (1st in sauce test)

Callebaut Unsweetened Chocolate (2nd place in both tests)

Ghiradelli Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bar (1st place in the brownie test)

Valrhona Cacao Pate Extra

Nestle Unsweetened Baking Chocolate

Not Recommended:

Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate

Hershey’s Unsweetened Chocolate

[aidensnd2]

I would enlist a friend to help and then have them place a uniform size/weight piece in your mouth so you can't see which one you are trying. Write down your thoughts on each one and have them give you each sample more than once in a different order so you get to taste each in context with the other chocolates. Then correlate your notes to the chocolates and see which one you liked best. This is always interesting because sometimes you end up with different impressions of the same chocolate, but you should come out with a clear favorite/favorites.

As for making something with them I personally wouldn't bother. If you don't like the chocolate by itself then you aren't going to like it in something else. If you start with a chocolate that blows you away by itself then when you use it in a recipe it will have the same effect.

As for liking different chocolates for different uses I think it has more to do with the consitency/fluidity of the chocolate than it does the taste. Some chocolates are better suited to enrobing than others. Some are better for ganache, etc... But yes you can find one chocolate that will do everything at least decently.

[Stephanie Wallace]

As for liking different chocolates for different uses I think it has more to do with the consitency/fluidity of the chocolate than it does the taste. Some chocolates are better suited to enrobing than others. Some are better for ganache, etc... But yes you can find one chocolate that will do everything at least decently.

←

I must respectfully disagree. One of the most important things you have to remember when tasting chocolates is that you cannot simply compare brand v. brand; manufacturers like Valrhona or Bonnat make a range of bars that taste nothing like each other. One of the most exciting things about chocolate--like wine--is variety. There are so many different bars with so many subtle (or not so subtle) nuances that are not necessarily better or worse than one another. They all have strong characteristics that make them useful in certain scenarios.

As far as tasting, I would recommend looking at a site with reviews, like seventypercent.com, and comparing them with your own reactions. As soon as you have an idea of what to look for, begin tasting before reading others' opinions (the power of suggestion is strong). You might want to try comparing Valrhona's Manjari and Caraibe just to see how different one company's chocolates can be. It's an epiphanous moment.

[divalasvegas]

How about making a ganache (or just melt the chocolates) with each and tasting them on something rather neutral like Pepperidge Farm shortbread or Chessmen cookies? Not a lot of work involved at all.

I'd be happy to volunteer for the tastings any time.