Monday, April 11, 2011

Puccini Bomboni: Baking (or Eating) Chocolate

I’m feeling like a woman of the world these days. Look at my last three blog posts: chocolate from Britain AND Russia. Is it time to go back to the States? Nah. Off to the Netherlands!


You getting seasick yet? How did we get to the Netherlands? Another gift from one of my swimmers, who is half Dutch.


I swear, we do have a couple of Americans who swim for our team. But the ones who aren’t travel to their home countries on long breaks.


And bring me chocolate. This is a good system, don’t you think? I sure do. In this case, I was given some chocolate with packaging that notes little more about chocolate besides the fact that is from Puccini Bomboni, a store in Amsterdam.


The swimmer’s mother filled me in a little more, indicating the package housed baking chocolate, and that she eagerly awaited a report on what I made with it.


I really do have a reputation, don’t I?


Since I believe that chocolate should be sampled before it is baked with, as this is essential to determining what recipes it is well-suited for, I had to eat some of this chocolate to accurately evaluate it.


The chocolate has a coffee-like aroma, and tastes just a bit bitter but includes enough sugar to keep that facet in check. The melt is slow and smooth, with no grit at all, and the slow melt allows for a lingering coffee-heavy aftertaste. It reminds me of the Sharffen Berger 70% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, though the texture is a bit drier. In other words, it’s great for baking, chocolate making, or eating straight.


I chose the third option for the rest of the bag. So what did I make with it? I made myself happy. Good enough for me.


Do you eat baking chocolate straight? I know that Heather does.

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