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   THE PASTRY SHOP - PART II

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| Cocoa | Nutrition |Storage | Working with Chocolate |
| Pastry Products Storage | Baked/Finished Products Storage | Pastry terms |

INGREDIENTS continued
Chocolate
  Chocolate comes from the Cocoa beans which grow on the Cacao tree.

  • General Information
    Without a doubt one of the most important and critical ingredients in the pastry shop, and unfortunately, probably the least understood by most pastry cooks. There are many specialists who spend their whole lives studying and researching chocolate. It is necessary that any pastry cook be very familiar with all the characteristics and types of chocolates and understand the physical properties of this agent.

    History & Botany
    Chocolate or cocoa was introduced to Europe after the discovery of America. This new world plant, actually a tree Theobroma cacao was cultivated in Mexico for unknown centuries, where the Aztecs used the cocoa seeds or chocolate beans as money. The tree yields flowers and fruit at the same time. The colorful fruit, called" pods" contains rows of seeds called beans embedded in a gelatinous material. When ripe the fruit has yellow spots. Today, the cacao tree is cultivated in Africa, Malaysia, Central and South America. with Africa normally producing more cacao than any other area. There are many different varieties with climate, soil and genetics affecting the quality greatly. In the United States, the first chocolate factory was founded in 1870 by Mr. James Baker, and thus began the fame of "Baker's Chocolate".

    Cocoa
    • How Chocolate is Made
      • When the fruit, or seed pods are ripe they are removed from the Cacao trees
      • The fruit are split open and the seeds or beans are removed from the gelatinous material and cleaned and let to ferment and dry for 48 hours.
      • Then the beans are packed and shipped and when they arrive at the factory they are washed and then roasted at 200-300 degrees F.
      • Then the shell is removed and the inside seeds are craked into "'nibs" which are smaller pieces. some processors remove the shell before the first roast for a different flavor.
      • At this point of the processing, chocolate is often "blended" like coffee, tea of tobacco to produce a consistent product.
      • Now the roasted beans are ground into a " mash". The finer and smoother this grinding and resultant mash the higher quality is the chocolate, all other factors being equal. This paste is called the Chocolate Liquor which is 50% fat (2 kinds) by weight, and is the most important product of the processing. This fat is called the "cocoa butter"'. From this paste all other chocolate products are derived. At this point there are two options;
        PRESS --- applying pressure to the paste will squeeze out (remove) some of the cocoa butter, and what is left is then ground again, this time into powder. We call his "cocoa Powder" and it can range from 10% fat (cocoa powder) to 25% fat (breakfast cocoa).

        CONTINUE PROCESSING --- grind further to make a finer texture. Then the other condiments are added such as more cocoa butter, sugar, milk, vanilla and more to produce the numerous kinds of chocolate.


    • Nutrition
      Cocoa is considered a food source, with the approximate following nutrient composition;

      FAT (cocoa butter) = 50%
      STARCH = 11%
      PROTEIN = 12%
      OTHER CARBOHYDRATES = 12%


      Cocoa is a source of Calcium, Vitamin D and phosphates, and also contains the stimulant,Theob romine which is similar to caffeine. Be advised that cocoa also contains other properties which are be lieved to be harmful, so moderation is recommended in the consumption of this product.

      Dietery Alternative
      Many people are not comfortable consuming the alkaloid Theobromine, or for other reasons will not or cannot eat cocoa based products., but they like the flavor. For them the best alternative is; Carob Powder. Often favored for a chocolate substitute because of it's similarity to cocoa in flavor. color and texture and physical properties. This powder is ground from the long, dried pods of the Evergreen Carob tree, native to the Orient. Unlike cocoa, it contains no caffeine or Theobromide, little fat and contains calcium, phosphorous and iron. Sometimes referred to as "St. John's Bread". Carob is also used to produce cough syrup bases because it's pulp ferments well due to it's high natural sugar content (about 50%) and produces alcohol.




    • Storage
      Because of it's high fat content, all forms of cocoa and chocolate need to be carefully stored. Below are more storage details,

      Cocoa Powder
      It should be stored in a tightly sealed container in a dry well ventilated area. Under normal circumstances, if properly stored, cocoa powder has a very long "shelf life", hence one of the reasons for it's popularity.

      Chocolate
      This cocoa product presents a more complex storage problem. Moisture causes damage to chocolate so this means that refrigeration is not recommended becuase of the surface condensation it will produce. The optimal storage conditions are cool, dry and well ventilated and well wrapped. Notice that these precautions are the standard ones for any high fat content material. On the other hand, if the temperature is too high, this will flavor to be lost, so in that case refrigeration must be considered, but make sure that the chocolate is very well wrapped. Chocolate will often display a phenomena referred to as "Bloom", which is the white clouding sometimes seen on the outside of a piece of older chocolate. This bloom indicates that at some point the surface cocoa butter (fat) had reached too high of a temperature, had melted and then was exposed to a cooler tmeperature and the melted fat had rehardend, or recrystalized. Properly stored chocolate can expect to have a 3-4 months shelf life.


    • Working With Chocolate
      In the pastry shop, the blocks of chocolate must be softened, melted, or what is termed "Tempering". Tempering is done because the different fats that are contained in the chocolate melt at different temperatures. To make sure that the chocolate melts easily and rehardens evenly, the chocolate is tempered, a process of careful heating and cooling.The resultant chocolate from this careful melting or softening will have a brilliant shine and glaze.
      To Temper Chocolate
      1. Break chocolate into small to medium size pieces
      2. Place in a staineless steel bowl and place this in a bain marie of hot water and stir occasionally as it melts.. Caution Make sure that no water comes in contact with this melting chocolate, neither drops no steam vapor or it will cause the chocolate mass to "lump, seize or tighten" and turn into a unsmooth mess. This will also occur if the temperature gets too high, scorching the chocolate, again yeilding a useless granualr mess.
      3. Check the temperature with an instant reading thermometer and when it reaches 105-110 degrees F. (40-43 C.) remove it from the hot water. If you like, a new piece o f chocolate may be added to help lower the temperatue. If you choose to do so, keep stirring to melt this new addition.
      4. When the temperature has dropped to the range of 87092 degrees F. (30-33C.) the process of "tempering" is complete and the chocolate is ready to be used in many forms.
      5. Note; If the tempered chocolate drops below 85 degrees F. (29C.) you will probably need to repeat the tempering process.


      The temperated chocolate then has many uses. It is most often used to coat items which will then harden upon cooling. Coating may be done by dipping the item into the melted chocolate or puring this melted chocolate over the item, which is customarily placed on a rack to recapture the extra chocolate and allow for a more professionally coated item. Tempered chocolated can also be made into various shapes for decorating cakes. Another very important use for the tempered chocolate is making "ganache". When combined with cream and flavorings we have a very all-purpose item, useful for chocolate fillings, toppings, coatings, petit fours and more.


TESTER
A quick refresher course on what we have learned
WHAT IS THE MELTING POINT FOR PURE SUGAR?


    PASTRY PRODUCS' STORAGE
    The storage of both the raw materials, ingredients, and the finished pastry products are concerns that need to be understood. In genral they are very similar to that of the previous Bakery section.

    • INGREDIENT STORAGE
      • General Information
        • Store in a well ventilated area
        • Store in a cool area
        • Light and ventilation retard the growth of mold


    • BAKED / FINISHED PRODUCT STORAGE
      • General Information
        • Since many pastries contain cream, they should be stored under dry refigeration if possible.
        • Humidity will cause many crisp items to become dull and soggy. Wrap them up well in plastic.
      • Freezing
        Most finished pastry items cannot be stored in the freezer. Some of the main doughs, pastes, fillings and mixes however may be frozen for short lengths.




    THE PASTRY PROCESS

    In the following the preparation of the various pastries is not as easy to approach as it is in the bakery. For this section we will examine the language of the pastry shop, the various "terms" used as this will give a good foundation upon which to build the various fundamental pastry processes.



    PASTRY TERMS & DEFINITIONS
    TERM< / FONT> DESCRIPTION
    ABAISSERRolling out past ry dough
    ABRICOTERThe applying of apricot or other glazes
    BLANCHINGThe strong whisking together of egg yolks and sugar until they are light and foamy.
    BLIND BAKEWhen a pie or tart shell is baked empty in order to "pre or partially" the dough.
    CARAMELIZEThe cooking of sugar until it has turned the proper amber to brown color.
    CHEMISERThe lining or coating of the inside a mold with a thick layer of mixture.
    CREAMINGThe vigorous beating together of fat and sugar until they are light and fluffy, before incorporating the other ingredients. Is a form of using the physical leavener called "air".
    CRUMBA kind of texture that is used to describe baked products.
    DOCKINGUsing the rooler dicer to perforate a dough. This will allow steam / air to escape and thus not leaven or rise up.
    DORER (to glaze)To bush gentle with and eggwash and milk mixture, which will cause the product to brown more when baking.
    FOLDINGA technique that involves the gentle mixing together of ingredients. usually one of these has been beaten or creamed and therefore is full of air which we want to retain by very gentle mixing. there is a very definite movement involved in this.
    FONCERTo line a form or mold with pastry dough
    MARBRERFondant icing decorated with lines (chocolate) to lokk like marble.
    NAPPERTo cook until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. or to coat using a glaze.
    TABLERTo cool cooked, melted coating chocolate by working with a spatula on a marble slab. This prevents it from getting lumpy.
    ZESTTo grate or finely dice the skin of a lemon, lime or orange. Flesh only, no white pith.