Praline Paste

          Praline paste also known as praline is ground nut paste generally made from almonds or hazelnuts and sugar. It has been used in french pattiserie since the 16th century to make pastries and to flavor mousse, buttercream and ice-cream. Hazelnut praline is a roasted and caremelized nut paste invented during a chocolate shortage in the 19th century. It is popularity combined with chocolate and used in other confections.

• Conching :  A conche is a surface scaring mixture and agitator that evenly distributes cocoa butter within chocolate and may act as a "polisher" of the particles.

• Tempering : The final process is called tempering. Uncontrolled crystallization of cocoa butter typically results in crystals varying size.

• Melting :  Using a double-boiler method for melting chocolate.

• Cooling : Placed the chocolate melting in a stainless steel. Place the bowl for a few minutes then continue cooling in a refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.

• Rewarming : Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure that the base of bowl does not sit in water. Stir gently with a woodwn spoon until smooth and and remove from heat.

Type of Chocolate

dark chocolate

milk chocolate

 semisweet chocolate

 bittersweet chocolate

white chocolate

couverture chocolate

unsweetened chocolate

What is Chocolate?

    A confection produced from the fruit tree of the tropical tree Theobroma cacao. The fruit, know as cacao beans, are fermented, dried, roasted and ground, and the resulting product is called liquor, which can be separated into cocoa butter, a smooth, solid fat used in both food and cosmetics and cocoa powder. Eating chocolate is generally mixed with sugar, vanilla and sometimes others flavourings and generally lecithin as an emulsifier. Quality manufactures may also add cocoa butter for extra richness and mouthfeel.

History of chocolate

        The first recorded evidence of chocolate as a food product goes back to Pre-Columbian Mexico. The Mayans and Aztecs were know to make a drink called "Xocoatll" from the beans of the cocoa tree. In 1528, the conquering Spaniards returned to Spain with chocolate still consumed as beverage. A similar chocolate drink was brought to a royal wedding in France in 1615. To this point chocolate as we spell today, had been spelled variously as "chocalatall", "jocolatte", "jacolatte" and "chockelet".

          In 1847, Fry & Sons in England introduced the first "eating chocolate" but did not attract much attention due to its bitter taste. In 1874, Danial Peter, a famed swiss chocolateer, experimented with various mixtures in an effort to balance chocolates rough flavor, and eventually stumbled upon that abundant product which is milk. This changed everything and chocolate's acceptance after that was quick and enthusiastic.