Any chef’s here? Needing help re: choco bake-bar

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  • #1905927
    ywnjudy
    Participant

    Days of my time have been wasted (with my bowl of chopped-chocolate sitting on table just waiting and waiting for correct info.
    …all because Shufra chocolate has no contact number
    …and their 15oz. baking bar totally fails to state percentage of cacao.

    Thus i can’t find out how to make it taste equivalent to semi-sweet.
    It’s too bitter for my palate.

    My only other alternative, is to waste yet further time on some forum-at-large to say i got this bake-bar which fails to state the percentage of cacao, and it’s bitter so what should I do. And then I might get a time-wasting cross-exam asking which bake-bar would fail to offer percentages, let alone be uncontactable, and I’d have to say either “Shufra” (or not reply) and then someone would say “never heard of Shufra” and another would say “oh that’s a kosher product”. And someone else would say “what does kosher mean” and you take it from there.

    #1906450
    ChavieK120
    Participant

    Semisweet chocolate is generally about 60% cacao, while bittersweet is more like 70%. There are subtle differences, which is why, although many people can’t tell the difference, your more refined palate picked up on the bitter notes.

    Oh, and while this site is awesome, urgent kosher foodie questions often go to one of the kosher foodie blogs, where there are lots of folks who would notice it right away & jump in to help.

    You didn’t mention how you planned to use the chocolate so hatzlacha rabbah with whatever you do.

    Chag someach 🙂

    #1907033
    ywnjudy
    Participant

    Chavie since you brought that up, I’d like to comment extensively on the “palate” issue, but first, can you please list the foodie sites? Hopefully not complex to sign onto? Long ago there used to be Mimi’s forum which i miss to the Nth degree as it was simple and helpful. Nowadays there’s blogs ad nauseum, most offering “royal admission” for a price. The price is signing-in via Globalist-Google. And i never use WhatsApp either, same reason.

    To answer yours, it’s for a no-bake pomegranate pie consisting of pomegranate juice, coconut milk & what’s stated as 16oz. dark chocolate. The juice & milk are boiled in a pot, then poured into a heat-proof bowl which contains the chopped-chocolate. Then whisked. Then poured into a chocolate pie-crust (though i was planning on using a non-choc pie crust).

    Now my comment on yours:

    I’m convinced (and don’t put down hunches, because many truths were discovered thru same) that the reason bitter stuff, including some Pom juices, taste more bitter & harsh to some people is NOT JUST cuz they’re supertasters (per Dr.Bartoshuk’s research) but also because their blood-sugar is lower.

    See, it’s known that diabetics have sweeter saliva. So that probably buffers both their palates AND bodies from bitter & harsh stuff. (Harsh as in salty, spicy, acidic, sharp, rough, dry). But it might also render them similar to those who are born without nerves which feel pain, and thus lacking a “warning system”.

    …After all:
    Why should they favor sweet ‘n sour poultry? They already have the built-in sweet saliva!
    Why should they favor sweet ‘n salty chips? They already have the built-in sweet!
    Why should they NOT prefer Bittersweet (vs. Semisweet) chocolate? They already have the built-in sweet!
    Why should they NOT prefer hot spices & cinnamon? They already have Sweet saliva to offset same!

    …Furthemore, i’ve noted that diabetics whom i’ve been acquainted with, taste things differently than i do. They may say something is sweet, when to me it doesn’t taste sweet at all. Not just that, but interestingly, they need to add much more xylitol than i need to, just to make something taste “sweet” to them. Perhaps that’s cuz their built-in sweet-saliva “OutShouts” the sweet-xylitol?
    (my only Q on that is why they need much sweetner at all, let alone loads?
    So this is the fly-in-ointment of my theory, and confuses me.)

    …Furthermore, i wonder if somehow, high blood-sugar develops Davka because some people are in the category of non-tasters (or even medium-tasters) as per Dr.Bartoshuk’s research which found that non-tasters have a lesser number of tastebuds.

    And so, Chavie, if you know anyone in the field of medical research who ALSO is not quick to knock theories, perhaps s/he’d be interested in pursuing ALL the above questions with an open mind.

    Because hardly anyone analyzes these things, rather they tend to gloss & skim over them superficially. They love to say “al taam v’reach ein l’hisvakeach”. True, but that doesn’t offer explanations.

    See, it’s about time food labels offer PH & hotness & dryness labelling, rather than just sodium, carbs etc. So if someone would conduct such research, it might be a chessed to the supertasters and sensitives among us, by encouraging companies to provide such labelling, by factually pointing out the real differences in how varying anatomies experience food. Then again, by now this is moot, since we’ve probably reached the end of this world as we know it.

    #1907126
    ChavieK120
    Participant

    Sorry Judy, while certain specific things actually do indicate heat levels, I disagree about adding that or other things globally. Consumers can be well educated if they choose to be. Adding much more to the current labeling system will simply make many small labels impossible to read.

    Sounds like your filling is similar to a pareve ganache. Be very careful about adding actually boiling liquid to chocolate; it can scorch or otherwise damage chocolate’s stability, rendering it inedible and/or unusable. Usually instructions say ‘until it starts to bubble around the edges’ for that very reason. At that point the warm liquids are added and allowed to sit for a short period, before gently stirring (whisking vigorously incorporates air bubbles, which may also be undesirable, so unless that’s what you’re going for, proceed with caution. If that’s what you want, have at it.)

    For information on diabetics and food, I’m sure you’re aware that for every doctor you consult it’s possible you’ll get several answers, many conflicting, but have fun exploring if you so choose.

    For information on heat & ph levels, search for a Scoville Scales/Charts (Hot pepper heat levels),
    a Standard Food PH Charts (Acid & Alkiline with water being generally considered neutral), and a Food Impact on Body Ph chart

    There are many excellent kosher food websites. Like you said, everyone’s tastes differ and that includes writing styles, not just recipes. Instead of me giving you a list do a search through whatever internet service provider you’re comfortable using and it should use your key words to guide you in the right direction.

    Best of luck 🙂

    #1908296
    ywnjudy
    Participant

    Chavie thanks – it’s the recipe on bakerita.com (doubled)
    entitled as no-bake chocolate-pomegranate tart gluten-free paleo vegan
    (i’m not sure if URLs are postable on YW.

    Anyway, I decided to add two TB sugar to sweeten it.
    Good Y”T, bye now.

    #1908618
    ywnjudy
    Participant

    update – I made it by now but it came out too bitter =and= too thin consistency.
    Furthermore, the chopped pieces – which i’d chopped in the food processor – barely melted, leaving itsie-bitsies of bitter choco interspersed throughout.
    After pouring the mix into the pie-shell i tried remedying it with about 3 tablespoons of Confectionary Sugar, but it’s still bitter.

    I guess i should have
    (1) poured it into the shell much sooner.
    (2) added a minimum of 4 TB granulated sugar into the juice-milk mix.
    (3) added some cornstarch to the juice-milk mix to help thicken it.
    (4) used a =can= of coconut milk – rather than the lime-green Gefen cardboard litre. That milk might have been creamier.

    I don’t think i’ll ever bother with that again. The bitter chocolate caused my back to constrict and cramp up. Severely painful. I think Matbucha helps counteract that, interestingly.

    By the way, I used Mekor blackberry juice. Now =that= is yummy, much more palatable than pom juice.

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