Past Newsletters
August 2007
Give in to the Heat of Summer... and Let that Chocolate Cook!
Summertime can be a rough season for all varieties of chocolate products—high temperatures and longer days can strike a fatal blow to your favorite chocolate treats. Still, there's no reason not to enjoy one of life's great pleasures despite the heat—all it takes is a little creativity to prepare a refreshing, chocolate smorgasbord that is guaranteed to satisfy your cravings! This month, we've selected an absolutely decadent combination of chocolate sensations.
Zingerman's Chocolate Cherry Bread, Cocoa Cake and Brownies
Our world-traveling chocolate gourmands at Zingerman's food emporium in Ann Arbor, Michigan make some of the world's most delicious delicacies using only the finest natural ingredients. This month's chocolate assortment from Zingerman's bakery is sure to please the most discriminating palates. The inspiration for Zingerman's Chocolate Cherry Bread comes from "Black Forest Gateaux" which is a chocolate cake made with cherries and cream. Is it really bread? You bet it is. But it's not like any bread you've ever tasted! It's more like a mound of HUGE dark Belgian chocolate chunks and flavor-packed Michigan grown, dried cherries surrounded by full flavored dark round bread. The key ingredient in Zingerman's Hot Cocoa Cake is a very special cocoa, made for us by Scharffen Berger, one of the leaders in America's new pursuit of fine chocolate. They've found a special, natural (meaning not alkalized like most) cocoa powder that is more complex and elegantly excellent than any they've ever tried. And finally, the Black Magic Brownie. Topped with a blend of sugar and almonds cooked together into a toasty, dark caramel that's then ground into a sweetly crunchy praline powder, all we can say is…wow!
Chocolate Cherry Bread… A Slice of Life
A truly unique treat for any chocolate lover, this bread is made from the best Belgian and French chocolate (specifically Callebaut chocolate from Belgium and Valrhona chocolate from France), along with dozens of dried cherries from Michigan, the unofficial cherry capital of the world. The inspiration for this bread came from "Black Forest Gateaux" which is a chocolate cake made with cherries and cream. A look at this unusual creation may leave you wondering "Is it really bread?" In fact, it is bread–not simply a cake recipe made to look like bread. It is an actual bread recipe, yeast and all, with chocolate and cherries added to it. There is a big debate over whether it's the chocolate or the cherries that make this bread so impressive. Mo Frechette, a Zingerman's executive, says this bread wouldn't be worthy of its remarkable acclaim without the two renowned chocolate ingredients and the incomparable Michigan cherries.
Not only is this Chocolate Cherry Bread delicious, it is downright addicting to the chocoholics among us. A few minutes in the oven and the chocolate chunks begin melting, the aroma of cocoa fills the air, and anyone within whiffing distance will find themselves powerless to stop salivating. Spread it with just a hint of sweet butter, or set a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of a warm slice. Absolutely delicious! Of course, this bread is great on its own as well–butter, ice cream, or chocolate fondue need not be applied to enjoy this fine gustatory treat.
So Where Do Cherries Come From?
Cherries have pleased the palates of food lovers for centuries. Their ruby-red color and tangy taste won cherries a prominent place on the tables of Roman conquerors, Greek citizens, and Chinese noblemen. Later, French colonists from Normandy brought pits that they planted along the Saint Lawrence River and on down into the Great Lakes area. Cherry trees were part of the gardens of French settlers as they established such cities as Detroit, Vincennes, and other Midwestern settlements.
Modern day cherry production began in the mid 1800s. Peter Dougherty, a Presbyterian missionary living in northern Michigan, planted cherry trees in 1852 on Old Mission Peninsula (near Traverse City). Much to the surprise of the other farmers and indians who lived in the area, Dougherty's cherry trees flourished and soon other residents of the area planted trees. The area proved to be ideal for growing cherries because Lake Michigan tempers Arctic winds in winter and cools the orchards in summer.
Today, the U.S. cherry industry produces more than 650 million pounds of tart and sweet cherries each year. Michigan grows about 75 percent of the tart cherry crop. Oregon and Washington harvest about 60 percent of the sweet cherry crop. Other states with commercial cherry crops are Utah, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania and California.
Hot Cocoa Cake – Cocoa for Cake Lovers
A few years ago Zingerman's issued a challenge to their bakers: come up with a cake that captures all the soft, subtle goodness of a cup of hot cocoa. They've tasted their way through a dozen different trials, and the winning result is one of your Monthly Club's selections. The key ingredient is a very special cocoa, made for us by Scharffen Berger, one of the leaders in America's new pursuit of fine chocolate. They make a special, natural (meaning not alkalized like most) cocoa powder that is more complex and elegantly excellent than any we've ever tried. Like a cup of well-made cocoa, this is a cake you can adore at anytime with morning coffee, for a subtle sweet snack, or to cap off a long day before you head off to bed.
Black Magic Brownie
Zingerman's brownies are a delicacy indeed. Our selection this month – the Black Magic Brownie – one that Zingerman's fans have been feasting on for over a decade. It has a soft, chocolate, chewy interior, and covered with a thin chocolate crust. Your Black Magic Brownie has a layer of Dulce de Leche, the Argentine caramel cream and it topped with a blend of sugar and almonds cooked together into a toasty, dark caramel that's then ground into a sweetly crunchy praline powder. All we can say is…wow!
Our friends at Zingerman's really know how to do it right. Zingerman's Delicatessen is fast becoming America's best-known deli. Opened in March of 1982 by Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig in an historic building near the Ann Arbor Farmers' Market, the Deli got its start with a small selection of great-tasting specialty foods, a host of traditional Jewish dishes and a relatively short sandwich menu. Today, Zingerman's Delicatessen is an Ann Arbor institution, the source of great food and great experiences for thousands of visitors every year.
Cocoa Economics 101
If you ever wanted to know more about how chocolate beans are grown, there is plenty of information in the Internet. This editorial is primarily based on information from http://www.cocoatree.org/index.htm. It's a very interesting source, and there is even a link that focuses on teaching children about chocolate.
Cocoa is an important source of income for small farmers in developing economies all over the world. In fact, now most of the world's cocoa is grown on small farms, usually 5 to 10 acres, and typically the main source of income for the farmer. According to the International Cocoa Organization, 2.5 million farmers produce almost 90 percent of the world's cocoa.
Although the cost of fine chocolate has recently increased significantly, less than a few 100 years ago only royalty could afford it. Like other agricultural crops, cocoa is subject to weather patterns, several pests, diseases and fungi, and many other influences which affect its supply. When the cocoa bean supply diminishes and demand for chocolate continues to increase, so do the prices. But then again, higher prices for coca beans stimulate the growth of more cocoa farms which then may drive down the prices. If the price gets so low that the small farmers can't afford to protect their crops from disease, then up go the prices – and the beat goes on.
Over the last 100 years middle income families discovered chocolate – perhaps WWII candy bars helped? When the demand increased sharply, investors developed large cocoa plantations, where trees were grown in rows and in the full sun – a far different environment than this plant's natural habitat. These stressed out trees required extensive and costly fertilization and pest management, and under these conditions the soil was easily depleted. As a result, twenty something years ago Costa Rica's cocoa plantations were wiped out by Monilia Pod Rot (fungal disease), and Witches Broom devastated plantations in parts of Brazil. And you guessed it, the price of cocoa went up.
Today, agricultural scientists are turning back to a more natural way of growing cocoa, hoping to make cocoa production more consistently profitable for small farmers. This program, Sustainable Farming, has some pretty colossal goals - lower costs of production, increase farm income, and assure a rich and high quality supply of cocoa beans for generations to come.
Sustainable Farming relies on traditional methods rather than expensive chemicals and pesticides, and therefore benefits the environment, minimizes the impact on rainforests, creates more biodiversity, and increase habitats for wildlife.
A Little Chocolate Whimsy Last month, we shared a little ditty form chocolate-writer Theresa Cheung's delightful little book Chocolate Principles to Live By in which she suggests one can get insights in 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." In this space for the next few months, we will share her insights in to Your Chocolate Personality. This month we're featuring rectangle. 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." Rectangle: "You are loyal and dependable and calming. A great listener, you offer friendship and will go out of your way to help others. Your concentration is brilliant, and studying comes naturally to you. You don't enjoy conflict. In relationships you are loving, tactile, and thoughtful." |
