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French Chocolate |
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France is a nation obsessed with the quality of food.
No self-respecting Frenchman would allow the production of food that was anything less than culinary
perfection, and French chocolate is no exception.
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Popularising Chocolate
The French unfortunately (for them) can't claim to have discovered the cocoa bean. Spain beat them to it.
However they deserve applause for having popularised it throughout the rest of Europe.
In the early 17th century, Jewish immigrants forced out of Spain brought chocolate to the port city of
Bayonne in Southwest France. A few years later, the Spanish princess betrothed to France's Louis XIV,
brought Spanish chocolate to the French court in Paris. Since then, the French artisans have continued
to perfect chocolate-making, making it the fine art it is today.
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French Chocolate Dessert
Sorbet au Chocolat:
- 2 cups mineral water
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
- 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona, Lindt or Sharffenberger, broken into pieces
Add water and sugar to a large saucepan and combine over a moderate heat. Lightly stir to combine and to dissolve the sugar.
Carefully add the cocoa powder. Off the heat, add the chocolate and stir until it is fully melted.
Put it aside to cool completely.
Sieve the mixture into a bowl. Transfer it to an ice cream make and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
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Bonnat Chocolate
Michel Cluizel Chocolate
Valrhona Chocolate
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