Obs. The vanilla used in making chocolate is reduced to powder by rubbing it with a little sugar before adding it to the paste.
Pur., &c. The chocolate commonly sold in England is prepared from the cake left after the expression of the oil, and this is frequently mixed with the roasted seeds of ground peas, and maize or potato flour, to which a sufficient quantity of inferior brown sugar, or treacle and mutton suet, is added to make it adhere together. Inferior sweet almonds are also employed in the same way.
Since the above paragraph was written there has been a vast improvement in English chocolates, though the cheaper sorts of certain makers are still much adulterated. Genuine chocolate should dissolve in the mouth without grittiness, and should leave a peculiar sensation of freshness; after boiling it with water the emulsion should not form a jelly when cold, for if it does starch or flour is present. The presence of animal fat may generally be detected by a cheesy or rancid flavour. See Cocoa.
Qual., &c. Chocolate is nutritive and wholesome if taken in moderation, but is sometimes apt to disagree with weak stomachs, especially those that are easily affected by oily substances or vegetable food. When this is the case, by adopting the simple plan recommended under Butter, chocolate may generally be taken with impunity, even by the dyspeptic. The quantity of aromatics mixed with the richer varieties of chocolate improve the flavour, but render them more stimulant and prone to produce nervous symptoms and head complaints.
Chocolate is taken in the solid form, or made into a beverage; or, combined with sugar, is made into various articles of confectionery.
Chocolate for the Table is prepared by slicing or scraping very finely the required quantity into a jug, and adding to it a small quantity of boiling water. This is worked into a thin, smooth paste, and the jug immediately filled up with boiling milk-and-water. A froth is produced by the same means that eggs are beaten up. The operation of “milling,” performed by rapidly twirling a notched cylinder of wood in the emulsion, raises the froth very quickly. Sugar may be put in with the scraped chocolate, or added afterwards at pleasure.
Chocolate should never be made for the table before it is wanted, because beating it again injures the flavour, destroys the froth, and separates the body of the chocolate, the oil of the nut being observed, after a few minutes’ boiling, or even standing long by the fire, to rise to the top. This is one of the principal reasons why chocolate offends the stomach.
Preparations of chocolate, intended either as nutritious articles of food for convalescents, or as vehicles for medicine, are common among the pharmacopœial and magistral formulæ of the Continent. The following are a few examples:—
Chocolate, Aromat′ic. Prep. (Weiglebt.) Cocoa beans and sugar, of each 16 oz.; cinnamon, 1⁄2 oz.; cloves, 2 dr.; cardamoms and vanilla, of each 1 dr.
Chocolate, Car′rageen. See Chocolate, White (Nos. 1 and 2).