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The Chocolate Queen
series • cooking
PG
series • cooking
PG
Not only is Tibballs a majestic pastry chef, chocolatier and global chocolate icon, she’s also the director of and host of the SBS series .
It goes without saying that Tibballs understands the intricacies of cooking with chocolate like few others. So if you want to do a Kirsten Tibballs recipe justice and improve your chocolate game, then it’s time to embrace the queen’s cooking advice. After all, it’s based on 36 years of chocolate-making experience.
Kirsten Tibballs gives her top five tips to help home cooks to improve their chocolate game.
1. Ingredients matter when it comes to chocolate
Choose wisely the next time you’re buying chocolate to cook with.
“When you're purchasing chocolate, look at the ingredients on the chocolate [packet or box] and make sure that the chocolate you buy is made of cocoa butter and not vegetable fat,” says Tibballs. “You’re always going to be better off working with a chocolate that contains cocoa butter as it has a really low melting point.”
“Vegetable fat will also give you an inferior taste and a waxy-mouth feel because our bodies struggle to break it down.
If you’re in doubt about what kind of chocolate to buy, visit a speciality store and ask for advice on choosing the best quality cooking chocolate available.
2. Yes, you can use your microwave
Forget everything you thought you knew about melting chocolate. Tibballs reveals that the double boiler method is not the preferred method for home cooks who want to melt chocolate with ease.
“I would always choose to melt chocolate in a microwave rather than in a double boiler,” she says. “When you use a double boiler, the steam evaporates. Chocolate has sugar in it, so chocolate will actually pull that steam in. The steam will then thicken the chocolate.”
Now, you can melt chocolate in the microwave and know that Tibballs has your back.
3. Tempering chocolate is easier than you think
“Tempering chocolate can be very intimidating for some people,” says Tibballs. But it's actually quite easy to temper. “Once again, I would use a microwave to do it.”
First, grab a plastic bowl. “Never use China or glass bowls because they retain heat and can un-temper chocolate.”
Then, melt the chocolate in 30 second-blocks until you've got a chocolate mixture that’s half liquid and half solid. “To finish, stir the chocolate vigorously and it will be tempered.” It’s as simple as that.
4. Chocolate can be great in savoury dishes
If you want to expand your friendship with chocolate, then consider using the ingredient in a savoury dish.
“Think about where and how chocolate originated". That's as “Part of the fruit of the cacao tree was originally used to make a savoury drink with chilli and spices. It was only many years later, when the beans were exported to Spain, that the monks added honey to the drink for sweetness. But prior to that, cacao [the basis of the chocolate] was always used for a savoury purpose.”
Today, Mexican cuisine heroes cacao in In Spain, chocolate may be used and dishes with calf’s tongue and lobster, while in chocolate can be paired with venison.
5. It's important to store your chocolate properly
Tibballs’ final tip is a gentle reminder about storing leftover chocolate.
“Whether you put it in an airtight container or wrap it up, make sure you seal and store chocolate in such a way that it will not absorb any moisture from the atmosphere.”
Open packets may also absorb the aromas surrounding it. If you want to intentionally incorporate other aromas into your chocolate mix, do it properly. “When you’re melting chocolate, add a cinnamon quill, cardamom or star anise pods and then remove them [once the chocolate has melted]. By doing that, the chocolate will take on those flavours.”
There are so many ways to work with chocolate in your home kitchen.
As Kirsten Tibballs sums it up: “I think chocolate is the most versatile ingredient in the world. It really can be so easy to cook with chocolate and feel proud of what you’ve made.”