Local Chocolatiers Tell Us What to Look for in Fine Chocolate 

Hints of cherry and cinnamon with undertones of tobacco and blackberry-sounds like a fine wine, but tantalizing descriptions like this are now being used for fine chocolate. It comes from France, Belgium, Venezuela, Grenada, and Switzerland; in bars, bonbons, and mugs; and with exotic flavors such as tarragon, chili, and port.

{mosloadposition contad}And now that we have some great artisinal chocolatiers in the area to help educate us on what to look for in fine chocolate, finding the right flavors and intensity in taste is easier than ever.

Sandra Freeman is the chocolatier at Divine Chocolate in Cape Neddick, Maine. Although her shop has been open for less than two years, she was taught by Ellen Byrne at the famous Byrne & Carlson in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as well as at now defunct chocolate maker Harbor Treats.

"I learned to make chocolate twenty years ago. I use Callebaut from Belgium," Freeman says. "I like good food, and I wanted to use a great tasting chocolate."

Freeman also notices that people are interested in how chocolate is made and where it comes from; they want to learn more about the process.

To process chocolate, raw cocoa beans are removed from pods, fermented, dried, roasted, cracked, and separated into nibs and shells. The nibs are ground to extract some of the cocoa butter, which leaves a thick paste called chocolate liquor. If more cocoa butter is extracted from the chocolate liquor, the solid result is ground to produce unsweetened cocoa powder. Then the chocolate is "conched" with huge rotating blades that blend the heated chocolate liquor and remove all the acids and moisture.

Unsweetened chocolate in the United States must have between 50 percent and 58 percent cocoa butter. The addition of sugar and vanilla makes bittersweet (at least 35 percent chocolate liquor), or semisweet or sweet chocolate (between 15 percent and 35 percent chocolate liquor). Milk chocolate is dry milk and sweet chocolate with at least 12 percent milk solids and 10 percent chocolate liquor.

It is from this raw material that consumers get quality brands such as Ghirardelli, Sharffen Berger, and Neuhaus Belgian as well as varieties such as ganache and truffles.

Valrhona chocolate has up to 70 percent cocoa content, while some have as much as 88 percent. Purists appreciate the French Bonnat, a 100 percent cocoa bar. It doesn't have any sugar and is the most bitter of all the bars sold. With an intense cocoa taste, Bonnat is one for true connoisseurs.

"I have a Callebaut that's 70 percent cocoa," says Freeman. "The darker it is the better for you it is."

Studies indicate that the flavenoids in dark chocolate can aid in heart health and be a mood lifter, boosting the brain chemical serotonin (although chocolate is not a solution for a real medical depression). When the carbohydrates and sugar in the chocolate hit the digestive system, they flood the brain with endorphins, triggering the same kind of chemical response in the brain as powerful anti-anxiety drugs.

Health and mood benefits aside, more and more chocolatiers are experimenting with new ways to present truffles and other specialty tidbits. Freeman doesn't use any preservatives in her truffles and mixes flavors like Chambord and Bailey's liqueurs with her chocolate.

"I like people to be surprised," she says. "I want them to have something extra special."

Something special in chocolate also applies to holiday themes at The Chocolatier in Exeter, New Hampshire. Jayne Welcome and her team produce an amazing variety of seasonal chocolates-from Thanksgiving turkeys and cornucopias to Christmas wreaths, snowmen, and gift boxes. The Chocolatier also offers rum, chocolate mint, and "Figaro" truffles (with a creamy layer of dark and milk chocolate with hazelnut). More than one hundred molded items are available to treat the chocoholic in your life to chocolate golf balls, tennis racquets, animals, and even a tool set. Welcome also takes orders for custom-molded chocolates.

At Cacao Chocolates in Kittery, Maine, experimenting with new textures and tastes is a constant process, making chocolate an art form in flavor. Cacao opened in December 2000, and chocolatier Susan Tuveson has been developing new ideas ever since.

"I envisioned a shop that was strictly retail, offering hard-to-find, high-end chocolate products from all over the world," Tuveson says.

Tuveson's unique flavor combinations come from some unusual sources. "I am playing with herbs, flowers, and unusual spices. I love working with John Forti, curator of historic landscapes at Strawbery Banke, and Michael Geron, the really creative bartender at the 100 Club [both in Portsmouth, New Hampshire]. There is a wealth of flavoring ideas just waiting right there in Portsmouth! And a young chef friend just offered me Balinese long peppers-very nice, floral, and a good match to chocolate ganache. I am always on the lookout for new flavoring media."

Tuveson thanks her adventurous customer base for embracing truffles with fennel, basil, and bay leaf as well as any chocolate with the flavors of balsamic vinegar, pepper, or chili.

"For years, I have been exploring chocolate and wine, and now want to expand into pairing chocolate with all the exquisite beers that come from the imaginations and craft of our local brewers," Tuveson says. "I am always interested in finding ways to move chocolate into other parts of the dinner menu, hence my work with cheese truffles as an accompaniment to salad."

In terms of varieties of chocolate, Tuveson says she uses five manufacturers' products for whites, milks, semisweets, and bitters: Valrhona from France, Callebaut from Belgium, Schokinag from Germany, Sharffen Berger from the United States, and El Rey from Venezuela.

"When I have what I call the ‘super-bitters' lying around, I don't usually put them in the truffles. We just eat them," Tuveson says. "We love the chocolate that we use but enjoy the constant hunt for new ones, too-when we have time to look. Any chocolate we work with has been selected for its special characteristic. Some we choose to layer flavors on top, others we leave alone because they are terrific that way."

Tuveson says she likes working with white chocolate, a variety some chocolate purists scoff at. "I consider this to be chocolate because it is a product of the cacao tree," she says. "It is the fat, the cocoa butter, without the solids, the brown bits. The cacao bean is very nearly half fat and half solids, so I am not willing to call only half the bean ‘chocolate.' White has so many possibilities! If I have an interesting ice cream somewhere, I love to come back to the kitchen and attempt a truffle version. Same with cannoli fillings, crème brûlées, yogurt, and fruit combinations. Ideas can come from many places, and white chocolate ganache is a great canvas."

"I love the constant cogitation of flavor and texture that goes on in my head, and the process to make it tangible: choosing the right way to get the most flavor into the ganache center, choosing the right chocolate with the right innate characteristics for that flavor combination, and finally, what chocolate to use to enrobe," Tuveson continues.

She also is excited about exploring current chocolate trends, most of which she predicts to stay around.

"The best trend in chocolate is that we are seeing more really interesting types coming from small producers," says Tuveson. "Sao Tome comes to mind. I have had some great, smoky chocolate, and pieces with interesting texture. However, some of it I can do without-like the chocolate bar with garlic oil a friend brought me from Vancouver [in British Columbia]. Not a great idea!"

Chocolate Festivals

Anytime is a good time to enjoy chocolate, but February and March are the peak times to beat the winter blues and head for a chocolate festival.

Historic Deerfield (Deerfield, Massachusetts) is hosting its fifth annual Chocolate Festival in early February. Along with a sumptuous array of chocolates and desserts, there are demonstrations and talks on the history of chocolate in America. For details, call (413) 775-7214 or visit www.historic-deerfield.org.

Kennebunk's Sixth Annual Chocolate Extravaganza (Kennebunk, Maine) takes place Sunday, February 10, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Businesses in the Kennebunks are treating the public to a free day of every kind of chocolate imaginable. Featured this year are New England's largest chocolate sand castle, Miss Maine, the infamous Sugar Plump Fairies, live music, chocolate coins in a treasure chest, and lots of free chocolate. Details at (207) 985-8888 or www.thechocolateextravaganza.com.

The Fairfield (Maine) Chocolate Festival will be held at the Community Center on February 9 with singing, dancing, craft tables, clowns, and lots of chocolate. Call (207) 453-7911 for details.

The Salem (Massachusetts) Chamber of Commerce, Salem Main Streets, as well as local retailers, restaurants, and businesses are hosting the Fifth Annual Salem's So Sweet, Chocolate & Ice Sculpture Festival on February 9-14. This free festival features decadent chocolate, sparkling ice sculptures, and Valentine's Day shopping. For details, call (978) 744-0004 or visit www.salem-chamber.org.

The Moosehead Lakes Region Fourth Annual Chocolate Festival (Greenville, Maine), held February 17, features thirty Delectable Chocolate Delights, including candies, truffles, cakes, puddings, and a chocolate fountain. The festival is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call (207) 695-2702.

The Mount Washington Valley Ski Touring & Snowshoe Foundation is running the Nineteenth Annual Chocolate Festival (Intervale, New Hampshire) on Sunday, February 24. Cross-country ski, snowshoe, or drive from inn to inn and enjoy amazing chocolate specialties. For details, call (603) 356-9920 or go to www.mwvskitouring.org.

The historic New London Inn (New London, New Hampshire, near Mount Sunapee) has received a thorough renovation in the past few years. Check out the inn and its February chocolate festival. For details, call (603) 526-2791 or visit www.newlondoninn.us.

The Historic Inns of Rockland (Maine) celebrate national Chocolate Week on March 8-9. On Saturday, local restaurants offer several chocolate demonstrations, and after a day of observing, you can get your hands on some of the chocolate creations. Sunday features the Chocolate March, an inn to inn tour for even more chocolate. For details, call (207) 762-4667or visit www.historicinnsofrockland.com.

The Very Best Chocolate

Autumn's Chocolate Fountains, Wells, Maine (207) 251-0828, www.autumnschocolatefountains.com.

Byrne & Carlson, 121 State Street, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, (888) 559-9778, www.byrneandcarlson.com.

Cacao Chocolates, 64 Government Street, Kittery, Maine; (207) 438-9001.

Divine Chocolate, 1480 Route One, Cape Neddick, Maine, (207) 363-1300, www.divinechocolate.net.

L.A. Burdick, 47 Maine Street, Walpole, New Hampshire, (603) 756-2882, and 52-D Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, (617) 491-4340, www.burdickchocolate.com.

Swan Chocolates, 501 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, New Hampshire, (603) 423-5950, www.swanchocolate.com.

The Chocolatier, 27 Water Street, Exeter, New Hampshire, (888) 246-5528, www.the-chocolatier.com.

Van Otis, 341 Elm Street, Manchester, New Hampshire, (603) 627-1611, www.vanotis.com.