Past Newsletters
Vol 4 No 10

In Pursuit of Chocolate

Exclusive Signature Truffles

This month our tantalizing selection of chocolate comes from Green Mountain Chocolates, a world renowned company known for its dedication to the art of making handcrafted chocolates. Albert Kumin, a Swiss-trained chocolatier and patissier, founded Green Mountain Chocolates in 1988 in Vermont. Acclaimed for his expertise in the art of chocolate making, Kumin was inducted into the Chocolatier Hall of Fame in 1990.

We are excited to bring you Albert’s Signature Truffles - chocolates perfectly balanced between bitter and sweet, with creamy, intensely rich, double-filled centers. These exceptional and unique bonbons are hand-rolled and made with the finest chocolate, fresh cream, sweet butter and all natural flavorings. Some things are best done using the old fashion traditions. A copper kettle over an open flame is still the best way to create our distinctive ganache for our truffles, say the new owners, Lisa and Bill Campbell.

There are five outstanding truffle flavors that have split personalities for you to savor. It would be difficult to choose a favorite we love them all. Each extraordinary truffle has two distinct flavors that play off one another. They will put a satisfied smile on any chocolate connoisseur's face!

• Hazelnut - half hazel cream and hazel truffle, rolled in hand roasted hazelnuts.
• Double Chocolate - made with half milk and half dark chocolate ganache, sprinkled with chocolate shavings.
• Amaretto - half almond crème and amaretto truffle, rolled in roasted almonds.
• Raspberry - made with half white raspberry ganache and half dark raspberry ganache, rolled in dark chocolate and sugar.
• Caramel - half caramel ganache and half liquid caramel, hand rolled in milk chocolate.

A Lesson in Swiss Mastery

If you look up Albert Kumin on the Internet you will find eleven pages of websites paying homage to this gifted chocolatier. Many award winning and famous chefs tout Kumin as their mentor, or boast intensive study with Albert Kumin at his International Pastry Arts Center.

At age 15, Albert started his pastry apprenticeship in his native country of Switzerland, developing his craft as chocolatier under the guidance of the Swiss masters. During his career, Albert has been executive pastry chef at some of the finest resorts and hotels in the world, including the legendary Four Seasons in New York, and Albert was designated Head Pastry Chef at the White House during the Carter administration. He groomed an entire generation of pastry chefs and chocolatiers during his tenure as Pastry Chef Instructor at the Culinary Institute of America. Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America holds the esteemed position of being the singular residential college in the world devoted completely to culinary education. Starting his company twelve years ago with his daughter, Julie, and son-in-law Jeff (a graduate from the Culinary Institute of America, 1974), Albert has passed his professionalism and mastery on to his staff, making Green Mountain Chocolates one of the premier chocolate companies in the world.

Green Mountain Chocolates, now under new ownership, includes an exceptional group of chocolatiers, dedicated to continuing Albert Kumin's legacy. Albert's remarkable devotion to excellence, craftsmanship, and mastery, as well as his use of the finest ingredients has become GMC's recipe for creating singular tastes for you to experience as you bite into their velvety smooth chocolates.

Applause for Albert Kumin’s Creations

The fine craftsmanship in our truffles has been recognized nationally in many magazine and newspapers. Several times in thirteen years, the New York Times has praised our truffles for their superior hand-crafted quality, and has rated Green Mountain Chocolate truffles as one of the preferred three in the United States in a blind taste test. Lisa and Bill Campbell.

And Gourmet Magazine rated them in the top ten in the world!

Behind Your Cravings

It is said that the most commonly craved food in the entire world is chocolate. Some people even believe that they wouldn't be able to live without it. In attempting to explain what’s behind these intense desires for chocolate, people have postulated many theories, but this subject is still not completely understood.

People who say they are "addicted" to chocolate call themselves "chocoholics." But the factual characteristics of addiction - physiological mechanisms like tolerance, withdrawal and chemical changes in the brain - are not even remotely associated with chocolate consumption. In truth, it seems that those strong desires or cravings for chocolate are simply stimulated by the unique flavor, smell, and texture of chocolate.

According to research, there are several bioactive compounds found in chocolate that contribute to feelings of well-being. These include caffeine and theobromine, which are stimulants; phenylethylamine and tyramine (similar to amphetamine, a central nervous system stimulant); and anandamide, which can act as a cannabinoid mimic. But, there are only trace amounts of these compounds in chocolate, and they can be found in many other foods that are not craved in the way chocolate is.

Other potentially neuroactive alkaloids have been identified as compounds in chocolate and cocoa by a researcher in Spain. They are called tetrahydro-beta-carbolines, and are probably produced by heating and fermentation. It is not clear whether they have any biological significance, but because of their possible effects on the nervous system, they might play a role in the strong desires that chocolate is so famous for stirring up. Still, as mentioned earlier, these same compounds are present in many other foods that are not typically craved, such as fruits.

It is also believed that culture may, in part, influence strong chocolate desires. A study of American and Spanish male and female subjects found that, though the frequency of chocolate craving was more than twice as high in American women as it was in American men, there was no gender difference seen in the Spanish subjects. This might suggest that the desire is not physiological, but more likely cultural.

Researchers have found that cocoa-filled capsules, which contained all of the same compounds as chocolate, did not satisfy chocolate cravings. And that led to the conclusion that chocolate cravings are associated with the total chocolate experience, rather than specific compounds. That unique feeling of euphoria that comes from eating chocolate is a symphony of sensory experiences - the visual presentation, the aromas, creamy velvety textures, sweet to bitter tastes, and the smooth, melt-in-your-mouth feelings that can only be found in the best of chocolates.

The Ultimate Aphrodisiac?
The author of the following article is unknown. We thought some of our readers might be able to identify with his experiences and opinions. Fellow husbands read on - and take heart.

Chocolate is the Creator's subtle way of reminding men how inadequate they are. I am confronted with this fact every time my wife and I go out to eat. My wife usually orders the most chocolate-saturated dessert possible at the end of the meal… the one called "Unstoppable Triple-Fudge Chocolate Mudslide Blast or some such thing. I've always wondered why anyone would want to consume anything that promises a catastrophic natural disaster in your mouth.

The sinful brown monstrosity arrives at the table, and my wife takes her first bite. Before the fork is removed from her mouth I hear the familiar small moan escape her lips. Her eyes, previously perfectly focused, first cross slightly and then phase out completely, pupils dilated in pure chocolate pleasure before the eyelids come down in ecstasy. The hand that is not holding the fork clenches into a fist and starts pounding the table rattling the silverware. She finally manages to swallow the bite after about five minutes of this, and to refocus her eyes, and take the shuttle back from whatever transcendental plane she's been visiting. Slowly, her reign of consciousness expands to also include me - her husband, her lifelong partner, her assumed partner in all things bringing ecstasy. "This is pretty good," she'll say. "You want to try some?"

No, I don't. I don't want anything to do with an object that seems to do to my wife in one bite what I've worked for an entire relationship to achieve. It wouldn't do me any good, anyway. Men just don't have the same rapport with chocolate that women have - not even close. May be silly, but I wandered around the office today and asked the men - "Chocolate. Your thoughts?" - and the result was the same with every one. First, a confused look as to why they're being asked about something so unimportant, then some lame, obvious statement: "Uh... it's brown?" Ask women that same question, and you'll get responses like "The ONLY food group there is," "ESSENTIAL to life as we know it," and the utmost casual swipe to every member of the Y-chromosome brigade, "better than sex." Ouch. Some women will try to make up for that last one by conveniently adding that chocolate is "supposed to be the ultimate aphrodisiac." Uh-huh. Chocolate most certainly increases desire; problem is the desire is usually for more chocolate. Probably the best a guy can do is buy a box of chocolates and hope he'll be thought of somewhere between the strawberry nougat and the cherry truffle.

But don't get me wrong. Guys like chocolate just fine; it's just not "essential to life as we know it." Respiration is essential to life as we know it; chocolate is simply a nice little bonus. We won't usually pass it up when offered, but I don't know too many guys who would get worked up if it were to suddenly disappear from the face of the earth (ironic in a way, as back in the days of the Aztecs, only men were allowed to have the stuff). When I eat a chocolate dessert, I find pleasure in it, yes. But my world view doesn't narrow to include only the plate that it's on. Maybe guys are missing something. On the other hand, we don't have to pick up our silverware from the floor after we're done with our tiramisu. I think life is about tradeoffs like that. All I know is that come Valentine's Day, Birthday, Mother’s Day, Any Day… chocolate will be among those things I offer my wife. I can't truly appreciate it, but I can appreciate what it does for her. Close enough.