William Penn Life, 2011 (46. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2011-02-01 / 2. szám

The Hungarian Kitchen with Főszakács Béla

Szereted a Csokoládét?

FARADJON BE A MAGYAR KONYHÁBA!

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it is only fitting we have chocolate recipes to enjoy this month. Before that, a little housekeeping is in order.

Do not forget we are compiling a new WPA cookbook and need your recipes. The first book--" A Taste of Hungarian Heaven"—had 570 recipes all submitted by members. Chef Vilmos and I believe we can reach the same total on the new book. The last project took 14 months to complete, and that was four years ago. If you submitted recipes last time, please submit different ones this time. If you have never submitted any, here is your chance to help support the scholarship fund. Come one, come all with recipes for another successful cookbook.

Do not forget your branch meetings and upcoming elections for delegates to our General Convention in September. As the WPA moves ahead, we all need to get involved and make our Association stronger.

The 125th Anniversary Gala is in the works, and, as your humble chef, I have the task of putting together the menu. More details will appear in a future column when everything is final. This year will be very busy for all WPA members.

Last and most importantly, here is your trivia for the month: In 1906, the town of Derry Church, Pa. (east of Harrisburg) did something very special, what was it? The sweet answer awaits you enclosed in a silver foil wrapper at the end of the recipes.

CHOCOLATE is a very popular item with a 3,000-year history. Introduced to Europe in the late 16th, early 17th centuries, chocolate was used primarily as a flavoring agent and in beverages. By the 1900's chocolate developed into what we enjoy today. The art of producing fine chocolate confections has been a work in progress. The chocolate confections and pastries we enjoy today are developed and refined for every taste and mood imaginable. Here are some basic facts about chocolate. Let us call this "Chocolate Primer 101."

Chocolate pods come from a tree that resembles a short evergreen. While these trees can grow all around the world 20 degrees latitude above and below the equator, the predominant area of cacao comes from the Ivory Coast and West Africa. There are five basic chocolate flavors:- Unsweetened is pure refined with no flavoring agents or sweeteners added;- Bittersweet is a Couverture that contains a minimum 32 percent cocoa butter and no sweeteners;- Semi-sweet contains 30 to 40 percent cocoa butter and sugar;- Sweet contains 15 to 35 percent cocoa butter and more sugar than semisweet.; and- Milk style contains chocolate liquor, 12 percent milk solids and sugar.

Chocolate is available in different forms: powder, ground, baking bars or coins, Couverture, eating candy, and compound coating.

The term couverture describes a professionalquality coating that is extremely glossy and contains a minimum of 32 percent cocoa butter. This enables forming a thinner shell on whatever product it coats.

Some more quick facts:- The first chocolate house in Europe opened in 1765 serving chocolate beverages, but not cocoa as we know it.- The Spanish were the first to add sugar and vanilla to chocolate drinks making for a tastier beverage, hot or cold.- Starting in 1765, John Hanan and Dr. James Baker imported chocolate beans from the West Indies to make a refined product at a factory in Dorchester, Mass. BAKER'S® chocolate is still sold and used today by bakeshops, restaurants and home cooks.- Milton Hershey was the first to use real milk, not milk solids, in his chocolate.

If you consume chocolate that does not contain any dairy products, you're helping your body stay healthy. Chocolate contains many essential vitamins and minerals, such as iron, calcium and phosphorus. Vitamins include A, Bl, C, D and E. Antioxidants are present which help fight the aging process and stimulate antibodies that may prevent disease such as cancer. Chocolate helps to raise the good cholesterol levels in the body. It is also a mild stimulant like caffeine or theobromine. Lastly, chocolate is a mood enhancer that inspires production of phenylethylamine in the body that elevates emotions of joy and love.

A wise man surveyed 10 people and found that nine out of the 10 loved chocolate. His main conclusion—the 10th person lied. How could you not love chocolate in some form?

On that thought, please enjoy the recipes and experiment with the different forms of chocolate, and then formulate your own opinions.

Have a great month.

(Jóótu-á^dt

0gza£ó<>& ß&^a.

The Hungarian Kitchen is a trademark of William S. Vasvary.

10 0 February 2011 0 William Penn Life