One of the world’s finest chocolate is now available in Riyadh. Michel Cluizel is not a household name yet chocolate gourmets everywhere are all too familiar with his unparalleled chocolate bars. These chocolate bars are either made with blended cocoas from various plantations across the world or they are produced from the beans of a single plantation. My favorite is the distinctive and award winning
“Mangaro” whose cocoa beans come from a single plantation on the island of Madagascar at the heart of the Indian Ocean. In the rich valley of the river Sambirano, this plantation flourishes on the land of a former mango forest. The beans of these cocoa trees have enabled me to develop a highly flavored chocolate, blending aromas of exotic fruit, delicious flavors of honey spice cake and acidulated hints of citrus fruit, explains Cluizel.
A good chocolate bar always mentions the cocoa percentage which refers to the proportion of cocoa and cocoa butter. The more cocoa, the less sugar and the more you experience the true taste of chocolate. “However , because different chocolate makers use different blends of cocoa and cocoa butter, two bars with the same percentage, and even made from the same cocoa beans, can have very different levels of intensity,” says Cluizel
A good milk chocolate should contain at least 25 percent cocoa and indeed the best milk chocolates are made with 50 percent cocoa. In most commercial brands, the cocoa content is low, probably under 15 percent. Dark chocolates should contain a minimum of 45 percent cocoa but great dark chocolates can contain as much as 100 percent — but beware that a chocolate with more that 80 percent cocoa has a bitter taste. I personally enjoy black chocolate with a 65 to 75 percentage of cocoa.
One of the reasons behind Michel Cluizel’s success, is his relentless commitment to quality and flavor. Unlike other manufacturers, he uses pure sugar instead of corn syrup, pure bourbon vanilla beans instead of vanillin and only pure cocoa butter instead of hydrogenated oils and unhealthy trans-fats. Cluizel is also the only chocolate maker to ban the use of soy lecithin, an emulsifier which is used to bind ingredients in the chocolate. This saves time and money during the production process but at the expense of flavor and texture. Cluizel takes extra time during the conching phase, and by making sure that each cocoa particle is no larger than 0,0018 millimeters, he does not need to use soy lecithin or any other emulsifier.
Throughout history, chocolate has been revered as much for its medicinal qualities as for its delicious taste. Before the arrival of the Spanish invaders in Peru, chocolate was savored as a bitter beverage. The Aztec called chocolate “xocoatl” meaning bitter water. The Europeans noticed how this beverage made them feel awake, alert and strong. They added sugar and vanilla for the taste and chocolate quickly gained a reputation as a food vital for health. Manuscripts dating from 16th to 20th century Europe reported more than 100 medicinal uses for chocolate.
A recent study presented by the Prevention Research center at Yale University shows that consumption of dark chocolate and cocoa beverages resulted in short-term improvement of blood flow and blood pressure.
Michel Cluizel has been making chocolate since 1948 when he worked as an apprentice with his parents. Over the years he has not only perfected the art of making fine chocolate but also the art of enjoying great chocolate. According to Cluizel, there are four stages to savoring chocolate. First, you smell the chocolate and take pleasure in its aroma. During the second stage which lasts up to ten seconds, you feel and enjoy the texture and consistency of the chocolate as it melts in your mouth. During the third stage, the chocolate has completely melted in your mouth and you should be able to see the harmony between the different notes of flavor. During the fourth and final stage, although you have eaten the chocolate, you should still be able to taste it. “If a chocolate deeply satisfies you in three or four of these stages, it’s a great chocolate. While everyone’s taste is different, there is general agreement about great chocolates, and again great chocolate cannot be mass-produced. The process takes time, attention and the finest of ingredients. As you come to deepen your experience of and relationship with chocolate, you will know yourself the difference between the delicious chocolate flavor, satisfying good chocolate and the perfection of great chocolate “ explains Cluizel.
Michel Cluizel produces over 1400 handmade chocolate products. The best way to discover and experiment with his great chocolate is to ask for “ the Nuanciers “ which consists of three boxes providing an opportunity to enjoy great chocolate and learn more at the same time. Once a Bean focuses on how chocolate is made, and includes cacao (the chocolate bean), cocoa powder, butter, cacao nibs, chocolate coins at various percentages, as well as white chocolate. Origines du Monde offers seven varieties of 72 percent chocolate coins, each blended from the beans of a specific country.
Finally, Grandes Teneurs en Cacao features blended cocoa chocolate coins in seven levels, chocolate intensity, from 33 percent milk chocolate to Michel Cluizel’s 99 percent Noir infini.
For more information, Tel: 462 1777 or [email protected]
