What Librarians Eat! I S S U E
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A P R
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Welcome
A Brief History of Chocolate
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What is Chocolate?
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Making Chocolate
3
Health Benefits of Chocolate
4
Exploding Chocolate Passion Fruit Gateau
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Lamb and Roast Potatoes
6
Caribbean Cooking Ideal for Lunch
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Potato and Cheese Patties
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11 12
Ask Us Something!
a new section called: Foods From Around the World. Where we will be nonetheless tasty.
Rabbit Fricassee with Tagliatelle Pasta
up eating; Chocolate. In this April issue we are going to look into the world
looking at recipes which are not so common to us Maltese but are
Weird and Wonderful Things to Know
cannot resist it. Most of the time that it happens we all know what we end of chocolate in all its forms and also other recipes. We are also going to start
Interesting Facts about Chocolate
There comes a time when the need for something sweet is so strong you
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The World of Chocolate “My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish
The person who suggested that this month be dedicated to chocolate was none other than Luke. If anyone is dieting and finds this issue a torture then you know who to blame.
A Brief History of Chocolate The history of chocolate began in Mesoamerica. Chocolate, the fermented, roasted, and ground beans of the Theobroma cacao, can be traced to the Mokaya and other pre-Olmec people, with evidence of cacao beverages dating back to 1900 BC. Chocolate played a special role in both Maya and Aztec
royal
and
religious
events.
Priests
presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods
what I start.
and served chocolate drinks during sacred
So far today,
by the Aztecs that grew cacao beans were
I have finished 2 bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.”
ceremonies. All of the areas that were conquered ordered to pay them as a tax, or as the Aztecs
A Mayan Priest offering Chocolate to the Gods
called it, a "tribute". The Europeans sweetened and lightened it by adding refined sugar and milk, ingredients the people in Mesoamerica did not use. By contrast, they never infused it into their general diet, but compartmentalized its use to sweets and desserts. In the 19th century, Briton John Cadbury developed an emulsification process to make solid chocolate creating the modern chocolate bar. For hundreds of years, the chocolate making process remained unchanged. When the Industrial Revolution arrived, many changes occurred that brought the hard, sweet candy to life. In the 18th century, mechanical mills were created that squeezed out cocoa butter, which in turn helped to create hard, durable chocolate. But it was not until the arrival of the Industrial Revolution that these mills were put to bigger use. Not long after the revolution cooled down, companies began advertising this new invention to sell many of the chocolate treats seen today. When new machines were produced, people began experiencing and consuming chocolate worldwide. Although cocoa is originally from the
― Dave
Americas, today Western Africa produces
Barry
with Côte d'Ivoire growing almost half of
almost two-thirds of the world's cocoa, it. Chocolate is created from the cocoa bean. A cacao tree fruit pod in various stages of ripening
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What is Chocolate? Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned, and then roasted, and the shell is removed to produce cacao nibs. The nibs are then ground to cocoa mass, pure chocolate in rough form. Because this cocoa mass usually is liquefied then moulded with or without other ingredients, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor also may be processed into two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Unsweetened baking chocolate (bitter chocolate) contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat, and sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids.
Making Chocolate Manufacturing methods will differ in detail from plant to plant, but there is a general processing pattern that prevails everywhere. It is this pattern that makes the chocolate industry distinctive from every other industry. For example, all manufacturers carefully catalogue each shipment according to its particular type and origin. This is very important, because it enables them later to maintain exact control over the flavour blending of beans for roasting. Basically, this is what happens to make chocolate: 1.
After sorting and cleaning, the cocoa beans are roasted for up to two hours.
2.
The cocoa beans are then shelled. What remains are chocolate nibs, which contain 54% cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is the natural fat of the bean.
3.
As the nibs are ground, cocoa butter is released, transforming the solid nibs into the free-flowing substance known as chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor (not alcoholic, just liquid) is the essence of all real chocolate products.
4.
The chocolate liquor is passed through huge presses to remove a desired amount of the cocoa butter to be used later. Cocoa butter is an amazing vegetable fat that resists rancidity and oxidation and can be kept for years without spoiling. A small amount of cocoa butter is sold to the cosmetics industry.
5.
After the cocoa butter is removed, a pressed cake is left. This is the cocoa powder. The cocoa powder can still contain up to 10% of cocoa butter and will be sold in bulk or as an ingredient for bakers, along with chocolatiers.
6.
Solid chocolate is made by adding back together the different parts -cocoa butter, cocoa power – and other ingredients - sugar, perhaps milk and vanilla - to achieve the individual manufacturer‟s desired finished taste.
7.
The mixture then travels through a series of heavy rollers until there is a refined smooth paste ready for conching.
8.
Conching is a flavour development process which “kneads” the chocolate.
9.
The final step is tempering, a process that gradually raises, lowers and then raises the temperature again to set degrees. FINALLY, this finished product is poured into many shapes from candy bar sizes to ten pound slabs.
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Health Benefits of Chocolate Cocoa solids contain alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine, which have physiological effects on the body. It has been linked to serotonin levels in the brain. Some research found that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower blood pressure. The presence of theobromine renders chocolate toxic to some animals, especially dogs and cats. Why is chocolate good for you? Chocolate contains a range of nutrients which include minerals such as potassium, calcium and iron. It also contains the Bvitamin riboflavin. It is true that most of chocolates‟ calories do come from fat but the ingredient, known as cocoa butter, is the kind
of
fat
that
consists
mostly of
monounsaturated fatty acid also found in olive oil; the „healthy‟ fat needed in all diets. Although studies are constantly being done with chocolate (and why not?), studies in the past (e.g. Netherlands, 2006, Harvard, 2003) have shown two significant additional positives. In these test studies, the people who consumed cocoa regularly had a lower blood pressure than those that did not, were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and had better peripheral blood flow. Why eat dark chocolate? Dark chocolate has the potential to have the largest quantity of cocoa solids – at least to 70%. This means that 70% of the chocolate is from the cocoa bean and less from added sugars, oils and perhaps other fillers. Thus the antioxidants in the dark chocolate surpasses pecans (14% less) and red wine (25% less).
Why eat chocolate dipped nuts? Besides the wonderful benefits from our all natural chocolate, nuts are a great food. In general, nuts are loaded with protein. Peanuts have the most, followed by almonds, cashews and walnuts. Protein is essential for healthy brain and muscle function, and for vegetarians, are a great substitute for animal protein. Nuts also contain omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and fibre. Thus with all the added benefits of chocolate, chocolate dipped nuts are a great snack.
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Explo din g Ch o c o lat e an d Pas s io n Fru it Gat e au Ingredients: 30g Butter 1 pkt Butter biscuits 3 tsp Sugar Popping Candy (Space Dust, Magic Powder, Fizz Wiz, etc...) 6 Passion Fruits 200g Good quality chocolate (preferably 70% chocolate) 200ml Whipping Cream 50g of pre-made bought Custard Open the Packet of biscuits in a food processor. Add the sugar and the butter and blitz until you have a fine powder. Gently add the popping candy and mix very delicately. Be careful when mixing not to press too much the candy so not to crackle and loose all its pop. Place the biscuit crumble into a cake mould and leave it to set. You can place it in a freezer to accelerate the setting process. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over boiling water. Make sure the bowl is not touching the water and slowly melt. Open the passion fruit and scoop out the fruit in a bowl. Add the Passion fruit to the whipping cream in a pan and bring to a boil. Leave that to infuse for at least 5 minutes. When ready, strain out the seeds of the Passion fruit from the cream. Add the custard to the whipping cream. This will make it set a little firmer. Add the whipping cream to the chocolate, 1/3 at a time and mix. Once all the cream has been incorporated with the chocolate, slowly pour it into the cake mould over the biscuit base. Pop it in a freezer and let it set. (approx 1-2 hrs)
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Lam b c o o k e d in win e wit h grape s . S e rve d wit h ro as t po t at o e s wit h c h e rry t o m at o e s an d o n io n s Ingredients for the Lamb: Lamb Chops (2-3 per person depending on their size) 2 glasses of good quality Red wine A handful of Grapes 1 Red Onion 4-5 Garlic cloves
Preheat oven at 160째C. Season the lamb chops with salt and pepper and place them in a baking dish. Pour the wine in the dish. Cut the grapes in half and remove the seeds. Place them over the lamb in the dish. Chop the onion into circles and layer over the lamb. Leave the garlic cloves with their skin and just smash them so that you crack them. Place them in the dish as well. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over everything and cook the lamb in the oven at a low temperature for about 50 minutes. The meat is ready when you can pull it apart without any effort. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and mix with all the juices left in the dish.
Ingredients for the Potatoes:
6 large Potatoes or 8 medium sized ones
By adding 1 tbsp of flour and some stock you can make a delicious gravy to serve with your lamb. Chop the potatoes into small chunks leaving their skin on. Par-boil the potatoes in boiling salted water for 10-15 minutes.
2 handfuls of Cherry Tomatoes
Preheat the oven at 180째C.
2 Red Onions
In a baking dish pour some olive oil.
2 tbsp Fennel Seeds Rosemary
Roughly chop the red onions and the cherry tomatoes and place in the dish.
Good Quality olive oil
Place the potatoes in the dish as well and add the fennel seeds. Add the rosemary sprigs on top and season with salt and pepper.
One can also serve this with a Drizzle some olive oil on top and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes homemade mushroom sauce. until crispy. 200g Mushrooms (of any kind) 100ml Cream Salt and Pepper Tarragon Cherry vinegar Finely chop the mushrooms. In a hot pan add the mushrooms and fry until you remove the excess water from the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and add a splash of Cherry vinegar. Chop up the tarragon and add to the mushrooms. When the mushrooms start to caramelise, add the cream and let it thicken. The sauce can be served on the side or on the potatoes
FOOD FROM AROUND THE WORLD
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Caribbe an Co o k in g As you might guess Caribbean food consist mainly of fruits and other produce available on the island. The Caribbean Islands are know for their Jerk meats. This is a very special blend of a mixture of spices which is rubbed to the meat before cooking. When it cooks the meat becomes so rich in flavour that the meat gets a dark rich colour. Other specialities include vegetarian dishes, which are plentiful in this type of cuisine, and definitely fish. With its thousand miles of shoreline, it’s not surprising that fish plays an important part in Caribbean cookery.
BBQ J e rk Ch ic k e n Ingredients: 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp dried thyme 1tsp ground nutmeg 2 tsp Demerara sugar 2 garlic cloves 4 spring onions 1 tbsp of vinegar 2 tbsp of olive oil The juice of 1 lime 1 Scotch Bonnet chilli pepper 1 tbsp of Honey Salt and pepper Chicken breast or thigh or whole chicken.
Pour the allspice, cinnamon, thyme, nutmeg, sugar, garlic cloves, spring onions, vinegar, oil, lime juice, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper into a liquidiser or blender. Remove the seeds from the Scotch Bonnet and add to the liquidiser or blender. Blend until you are left with a dark paste. Very carefully, spread the paste over your chicken and rub the paste into the chicken. Be very careful with the paste as it contains Scotch bonnets which are very hot. It is best to wear plastic gloves when rubbing the paste to avoid contact of the chilli with the eyes or skin. Leave the meat to rest for about 1hour. It is ideal to cook this recipe over a BBQ with a high flame but it can also be cooked in an oven at 220°C for about 15 minutes. It is best to cook the chicken over a griddle pan before placing it in the oven just to give it some colour. Originally a Jamaican speciality with pork instead of chicken. Chicken was later used as a good alternative to pork. This dish is usually served with rice and corn on the cob.
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FOOD FROM AROUND THE WORLD:
Caribbean cooking
Dh al Pu ri Otherwise knows as roti, these thin fried breads can also be made with white flour. They are delicious served with meat, fish or vegetable dishes. Ingredients (makes about 15): 450g Self-raising flour 115g Wholemeal flour 350ml Cold water 2 tbsp olive oil 350g yellow split peas 1 tbsp ground cumin 2 garlic cloves (crushed) Sift together the dry ingredients into a bowl, then add the water a little at a time, gradually kneading the mixture to make a soft dough. Knead for a short while until supple. Add the oil to the dough and wrap in clear film and keep in a cool place for at least 30 minutes. Cook the peas until the outside is tender and the inside is still firm. When cooked, spread them on a tray to cool. Grind the peas with the cumin and garlic to a paste. Divide the dough into about 15 balls, slightly flatten the balls and add a tbsp of the mixture into the centre and fold over the edges to enclose the mixture. Dust a rolling pin with flour and roll out the dhal puri until they are about 18cm in diameter. Do not overstretch. Heat a little oil in a heavy-based frying pan and cook for about 3 minutes on each side until light brown. Serve warm.
Ideal for Lunch
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Another interesting new section that I would you to notice is the Ideal for Lunch. In this section, we shall be presenting ideas for packed lunches to take to work, university, picnics, etc... We will also try to make this section the most health conscious from the whole foodletter, so keep an eye out for some tasty health food.
Ve ge t arian St u ffe d Pe ppe rs This week we have a very easy and healthy dish. These can be made the night before and can be eaten both warm or cold. One can also add any ingredient he/she may wish to eat. Here is a basic recipe. Ingredients (serves 2): 2 red peppers ½ a cup of basmati rice sprinkle of Cajun spice pinch of turmeric small red onion bunch of fresh parsley handful of black, pitted olives few sun-blushed tomatoes ½ ball of mozzarella plenty of crisp mixed salad leaves
Preheat the oven to 180°C and bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Slice the peppers in half from stalk to base and scoop out the seeds carefully without breaking through the bottom of the pepper. Place the peppers onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, then bake for 10 minutes. Dump the rice into the boiling water with the Cajun spice and turmeric then simmer gently for 10 minutes whilst the peppers cook. Peel and dice the red onion and roughly chop the fresh parsley. Hack up the olives, sun-blushed tomatoes and half of the mozzarella into small pieces and mix in a bowl with the onion and parsley. Drain the rice, when cooked, and plump and stir into the bowl of prepared ingredients. Spoon the rice mixture into the soften pepper halves and top with a slice of the remaining mozzarella ball. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes, then serve hot with plenty of crisp salad on the side or cold the next day as a packed lunch item.
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“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” ― Linda Grayson
Interesting Facts about Chocolate A recent study indicates that when men crave food, they tend to crave fat and salt. When women crave food, they tend to desire chocolate. Aztec Emperor Montezuma drank 50 golden goblets of hot chocolate, dyed red and flavoured with chili peppers, everyday. Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock‟s movie, Psycho, which actually took 7 days to shoot. The average American consumes more than 10 pounds of chocolate every year. 76% of Americans say the ears of the chocolate bunnies should be eaten first. 5% think chocolate feet of the bunnies should be eaten first. 4% think the chocolate tails should go first. One ounce of milk chocolate has only a little more caffeine than the amount of caffeine in a cup of decaffeinated coffee. White chocolate has no caffeine.
Weird and Wonderful Things to Know
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Rabbit Fric as s e e wit h Tagliat e lle Pas t a Ingredients: Rabbit Meat (the legs, loins, kidneys and liver) 200g Taliatelle Pasta 2 Shallots or 1 medium sized onion 2 rations of Streaky Bacon 100g Button Mushrooms Sprigs of Thyme 1 glass of white wine 1 glass of stock (Vegetable or chicken) 200ml Cream 1 heaped tbsp of Whole grain mustard 2-3 Bay leafs
For those of you who prefer to make this recipe with other meat instead of rabbit you can always use game such as pheasants, geese or ducks. You can also use chicken but make sure not to over cook the chicken when you poach it. Leave it tender and juicy as it will have a nice texture when mixed with the sauce.
A Bunch of Parsley Poach the legs of the rabbit in boiling water and the bay leafs for 45 mins. Chop the shallots or onion. Chop the Bacon into big chunks. Chop the mushrooms into quarters. Add some olive oil in a pan and add the onion, bacon and mushrooms and cook until soft. Add the thyme and deglaze the pan with white wine. Let the wine reduce and add the stock. Let the stock reduce and add the cream. Cook until it thickens and add the mustard. Add some chopped parsley. Cut the loin in big chunks and fry in a pan with a shot of oil. Add the poached leg meat without the bone and fry with the loin until cooked. Add the meat with the sauce and mix well. Boil the pasta. (see pack for instructions) Fry the liver and kidneys. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Add the pasta to the sauce and rabbit meat. Serve the liver and kidneys on top with a sprinkle of parsley leaves.
Po t at o an d Ch e e s e Pat t ie s This recipe is for those of you who like potatoes and cheese but don’t now how you can combine them together. Agata suggested we feature a potato recipe and so we decided to show you all how to make these golden nuggets of crispy potatoes with a soft cheese centre.
Ingredients:
Peal and boil the potatoes for about 20 mins in boiling water.
6 Large Potatoes
Chop up the spring onion and chilli.
3 Spring Onions
Mash all the potatoes. They don‟t need to be too
1 Chilli
fine of a mash just the consistency to be able to
50g Parmesan Cheese (grated)
make patties from.
100g Melting Cheese like Mozzarella, Gruyere, etc...
Add the Chopped chilli and spring onion with the grated Parmesan cheese to the potatoes. Mix well.
With your hand, make patties from the potato mixture. Cut the melting cheese into small cubes and place one cube in the centre of the patties with your finger. Add a shot of olive oil in a pan and fry the potato patties for a minute or two on both sides. This will create a crispy exterior. Bake the patties in an oven at 140°C for about 10 minutes. This will melt the cheese in the centre and make the patties fluffy on the inside.
“Ask Us Something!” Keep sending us your feedback and requests people. As you might have noticed we added a few sections which we hope will remain constant in the foodletter. This was done in order to answer some of your requests which dealt with similar topics. Some one asked us this recently: Since we are now starting spring, the ideal season for picnics, I need a few easy to prepare dips with amazing flavours. Can you help?
In order to answer that request we talked with Katja Zahra knowing she likes dips and also likes to create some her self. In fact she shared with us 2 of her most famous dips which are so simple to make but have amazing flavor and one of her friend’s signature Hummus dip with a twist.
Katja’s Secret Garlic Dip
Katja’s Pure Green Basil Dip
Hummus with a twist
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
A lot of Garlic Cloves
A bunch of Basil leaves.
1 tin of Chickpeas
(Maltese Garlic offers
100g Light Philadelphia
a better stronger taste)
3 Garlic cloves
Cheese
100g Light
Salt and Pepper
Philadelphia Cheese
1 large tbsp Green Olives 1 large tbsp Capers
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 large tbsp Sun-Dried
Black pepper
Tomatoes
Paprika
Lemon Juice from 1 lemon
(It is important to use light Philadelphia Cheese because it is creamer and lighter than the normal one. If you use the normal
A bunch of Parsley
version it will become a bit heavy as a dip)
Salt and Pepper
Peel the Garlic cloves
Chop up all the basil leaves.
Olive Oil
Crush the Garlic cloves using
Add a few drops of olive oil to
a garlic crusher or a pestle
give it a paste like consistency.
Peel the garlic cloves and put into
and mortar.
Add the Philadelphia Cheese
a liquidiser.
Add the Philadelphia Cheese
and Season with a small pinch of
Add the Olives, Capers, Sun-dried
Season with Salt and pepper
Salt.
tomatoes, Chickpeas, Parsley and
and mix together. The more
Mix together until you have a
the lemon juice.
yo u
smooth dip.
Season with a nice pinch of Salt
Finish off with a dusting of
and Pepper and add a shot of olive
black pepper.
oil.
incorporate
ingredient
thoroughly,
each the
more creamy and smooth the dip will become.
Also if you put it in the fridge
Blend everything together until
Finish off by dusting off
for a couple of hours it will be
you have a smooth paste.
some paprika on top.
nice and cold which will make it taste even cooler.
Since we are all chocolate lovers we had extra fun preparing this month’s Foodletter. It was also a suggestion from one of our colleagues. As always, keep those suggestions coming and talk to us about your culinary queries.