Valentine’s Day is just a couple of days away, and chocolate is often associated with this hopefully romantic holiday. I am really picky when it comes to sweet foods. As a kid I didn’t care much about sugary sweets, which my sister loved. She would have only consumed sugar and candy if allowed, so I always gave her my candies. But with chocolate — I distinctly remember looking forward to savoring chocolates of any kind, not in large amounts, but just enough to satisfy that craving.

My wife often teases me about the way I pronounce the word chocolate. She says I slow down the word a bit, which is comical as I am known for speaking rapidly, and I guess I always give a little smile in the middle of the word. All I know is that I really enjoy the flavors and creamy textures of quality chocolates. I love finding a new brand or batch from a small producer. It’s fun to pick through the flavor tones, just like a quality wine, bourbon or scotch.

I first learned about the science of manipulating chocolate when I was 18 working at Incredibly Delicious. Patrick taught me my first lessons on heating and cooling chocolate to control the behaviors of cocoa fats and the way they crystallize, which is known as tempering. This was the beginning of creating various textures and fillings for truffles. While at culinary school in New York and throughout the decades of my career, I learned that these ideas can be translated indefinitely into parts of other pastries.

My wife and I are always on the lookout for new chocolate as we travel, which is as often as possible. I often cook when we travel, and recently we were grocery shopping on a trip and came across Scharffen Berger 70% chocolate. It was delicious, with delicate fruit and floral tones. I immediately sent a text to Patrick explaining my thoughts and excitement, and even after almost 30 years, we both still enjoy discovering chocolates that we haven’t had or reminded us of old favorites.

Noel chocolates were the first quality I was exposed to, and they are still one of my favorites. It is most of the chocolate we use at Lincoln Land Community College now. Over the years, I have worked with Callebaut, Valrhona and Ghirardelli chocolates, which are also great products that we also occasionally use now. Guittard chocolate is great too, and I have had the pleasure of taking classes with their company at conferences the last couple years.

The origins of foods always provide many fun and debatable ideas. The most accepted beginning of truffles comes from the kitchens of Auguste Escoffier, who standardized French recipes and the way restaurant kitchens are organized and ran. It is said that one of his apprentices was making pastry cream and accidentally poured the hot cream into a bowl of chocolate rather than eggs, sugar and starch. Chocolate is expensive and not wasted. As a result, the mistake was later checked, and the beginnings of ganache were discovered. They rolled it into balls and tossed it in cocoa powder. The sweet creamy inside was balanced by the bitter coating, and it looked like a black truffle mushroom, which is where the name was derived. Currently, there are chocolate truffles in flavors only bound by imagination.

As far as chocolate in connection with Valentine’s Day, there are two major ideas. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine, which when consumed releases endorphins in the brain resulting in a happy feeling that some may say is like the feeling of love. Russell Stover, a chocolatier, started selling heart-shaped boxes filled with chocolate confections, including truffles, in 1923. The heart-shaped box easily attached to the romance surrounding Valentine’s Day, and the rest is history.

Classic chocolate truffles

Ingredients

• 1 cup dark chocolate, roughly chopped into smaller pieces

• 1 cup heavy cream

• Flavorings – optional, I will explain the lack of measurement in a moment

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

Directions

1. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Then place the heavy cream in a pot and bring to a boil.

2. As soon as it comes to boil, pour it over the chocolate and let sit 60 seconds. Then stir gently, just until combined and creamy. Some chocolatiers say to only stir in one direction.

3. Cover, and place it in the fridge until firm.

4. Use a small cookie scoop, maybe ¾-1 ounce in measurement, to scoop out the truffles. Gently roll them between your hands to make a pleasant looking ball.

5. Place the cocoa powder in a bowl, and gently toss the truffle balls in the cocoa powder to coat.

6. (I always eat the first one immediately.)

7. They should be wrapped or stored in an airtight container in the fridge for the best results. Though the taste is best at room temperature in my opinion.

Notes on chocolate types

• If you want to use milk chocolate, change the amount of chocolate to 1 ½ cups. For white chocolate, change the amount of chocolate to 2 cups. If you want a softer truffle filling, increase the heavy cream to 1 ¼ cup.

• You can add more flavors after the chocolate and cream have been stirred together. You can use a flavored liquor, a little Nutella, chopped or ground nuts, dried fruits or just about anything you can imagine. Food is very subjective, so I would suggest having a little fun and experimenting with the amounts to find your favorite ratio. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, maybe cater the ratio and flavorings to further increase the feelings of happiness for the person you are celebrating with.

Enjoy!

About

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.