Past Newsletters

December 2007

Chocolate and Green Mountain Chocolatiers: A Colossal Combination for the Holidays

Our enticing ensemble of chocolate this month comes from Green Mountain Chocolates, an internationally recognized company renown for its dedication to the art of making handcrafted chocolates. Employing the pristine natural resources of the Vermont countryside, these famed chocolatiers provide amazing chocolate works of perfection made with all natural ingredients and an abundance of skill. Much of this skill has been propagated from the remarkable talents of Albert Kumin, a Swiss-trained chocolatier and patissier, who founded Green Mountain Chocolates in 1988. Acclaimed for his expertise in the art of chocolate making, Kumin was inducted into the Chocolatier Hall of Fame in 1990, and if anyone ought to have his own chocolate company, it's this culinary genius.

We are extremely happy to bring you his incredible signature line of truffles—chocolate treats that are flawlessly balanced between bitter and sweet—with creamy, powerfully rich, double-filling centers. All of these charming chocolates consist of an amalgamation of chocolate, fresh Vermont cream, sweet butter and a multitude of natural flavorings. Green Mountain Chocolate's premium ingredients and careful packaging ensure extended freshness and a three-month shelf life. While this is a fairly long time for fresh, quality chocolate to keep, the nature of excellent, handmade chocolate dictates, sadly, that it have a finite lifespan. Though we're sure that, now that you have them in your possession, their days are surely numbered!

Let Us Give You The Delicious Details

There are five unique flavors of these hand-rolled truffles, each with a sort of "split personality" in that they all offer two exceptionally distinct tastes, all surrounded by deliciously pure chocolate. Ganache is a thick, extremely rich chocolate cream filling that is handmade at Green Mountain Chocolates by pouring hot cream over velvety smooth chocolate chunks, then whipping the mixture until the chocolate melts. Ganache is used by Green Mountain Chocolate for half of the filling and as the base of the truffle. This is a sumptuous mixture of equal parts of chocolate and cream. It is one of those rare yet ultimately fabulous combinations where each of the ingredients is enhanced by the other. Natural flavoring and fillings are then added to the other half of the truffle, and the two halves are pressed together, imparting each with their unique combinations of distinctive flavors. These choco-gems are then finished with their own "signature" toppings and coverings, adding a tasty and tasteful final touch.

Here's a quick rundown of the incredible flavors included in your signature series gourmet chocolate box:

• Amaretto—a half almond cream and half amaretto truffle, rolled in roasted almonds; an incredible combination to relish layer by sumptuous layer
• Hazelnut—a half hazel cream and half hazelnut truffle, rolled in hand roasted hazelnuts for an attractive and delicious covering. Enjoy these with your favorite hazelnut coffee.
• Caramel—caramel ganache and sweet liquid caramel come together to create this stunning truffle, which is draped in silky smooth milk chocolate
• Double Chocolate—masterfully created with Green Mountain's milk chocolate and dark chocolate ganache, sprinkled with delicate and delicious chocolate shavings
• Raspberry—a truffle made with half white raspberry ganache and half dark raspberry ganache, rolled in deep dark chocolate and sugar; a remarkable treat indeed

All of Green Mountain Chocolate's creations are kosher!

A Lesson in Swiss Mastery

Albert Kumin began his long history of training during his first pastry apprenticeship in his native country of Switzerland at the age of 15, developing his craft as a chocolatier under the guidance of the Swiss masters. During his extended, impressive career, Albert Kumin has been executive pastry chef at some of the eminent resorts and hotels in the world, including the legendary Four Seasons in New York, where he created the frequently enjoyed "Chocolate Velvet Cake" in 1959. Albert was designated Head Pastry Chef at the White House during the Carter administration, and 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 status as being one of the few residential colleges in the world devoted completely to education in the culinary arts. Many of the world's finest chefs have experienced the tutelage of this Swiss master.

Starting his company with his daughter, Julie, and son-in-law Jeff (a fellow 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 chocolatiers in the world. Currently, Green Mountain Chocolates is under new ownership, though they continue the chocolate making legacy started by Albert Kumin. Their staff includes an exceptional group of chocolatiers, dedicated to carrying on Albert's remarkable devotion to excellence, craftsmanship, and mastery, as well as his use of the finest ingredients. These principles have always been Green Mountain Chocolate's recipe for creating singular tastes for chocolate lovers the world over.

Truffles: Then and Now

"The first truffles were made from the scraps left over from cutting dipped chocolates into uniform shapes. At the end of the day, all scraps would be combined, placed in a mixer, and beaten. The result was piped out into small irregular balls, chilled, roughly coated with tempered chocolate, and rolled in cocoa, so they looked like Périgord truffles covered with earth. Nowadays, ganache is prepared specially to make truffles. It is allowed to set, then whipped so it lightens. After that, the procedure is the same. The truffle centers are piped out and chilled, then coated with tempered chocolate and cocoa, confectioners' sugar, ground nuts, or praline powder. Good truffles are always small and delicate and never the size of eggs or golf balls."

—Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers

A Little Chocolate Whimsy Part 6 In recent months, we have shared a little ditty from chocolate-writer Theresa Cheung's delightful little book Chocolate Principles to Live By, in which she suggests one can get insights into the personality of oneself and another by the shape of the chocolate chosen. She says "the shapes you are attracted to when presented with a choice of chocolates might reveal aspects of your personality and the way you appear to others. When using this fun approach to self-analysis, base your choice on instinct or first impressions – take the shape that you naturally want." This month we're featuring triangle. We will share others in future months so stay tuned! Of course, Ms. Cheung suggests that we "take these personality hints with a pinch of salt." Triangle: "You like to make things happen. You are a great communicator and can talk your way out of any situation. You like to be a leader and make your own rules. Your only downside is self-absorption."