I dreamt of being Charlie--you know, from the chocolate factory--as a kid. Well, some dreams do come true. I got to tour Jacques Torres's amazing American chocolate factory in New York City and received a lesson from the master chocolatier himself. Just in time for Valentine's Day, here are 3 chocolate-making tips from Mr. Chocolate:
1. Use fresh chocolate. Yes, there is such a thing! In fact, Torres felt so strongly about this point that he built chocolate-making facilities in his factory. Now, he can start from the cacao beans and take them from the roasting process to the final bar stage. (He had previously bought chocolate from high-quality purveyors and still does, as do most chocolatiers.) Obviously, we can't make our own chocolate, but we can buy bars just before using them and always check the "best before" date on the package. Try using our dark chocolate taste test winners.
2. Keep it simple. Torres is best known for his simplest creations: chocolate-covered Cheerios, nut barks, cornflake clusters. If you start with delicious, high-quality chocolate, you don't need to add much to it to make it even better.
3. Make edible art! Torres is known for his fanciful creations and he encourages whimsical decorating at home too. He uses perfect parchment paper cornets to pipe his chocolate and paint brushes for extra embellishments. You can try that or follow our simple instructions for using a resealable plastic bag to decorate with chocolate.