Chocolate with chili peppers is the oldest drink that is revered today by gourmets from around the world. Piquancy, unusual taste, tart and rich smell create a unique range of sensations. The combination of cocoa beans and hot peppers is a bizarre symbiosis that makes you take a fresh look at the taste of familiar chocolate. Trying it is definitely worth it, and not only for the sake of new sensations, but also for a general tonic effect. This drink is prepared quite simply, but its taste and aromatic characteristics can surprise the most demanding audience.
Indians and Chocolate
For the first time, ancient Mayans and Aztecs guessed to use cocoa beans for food. It was in the pre-Columbian era that liquid chocolate was used by the Yucatan tribes for medicinal purposes. To do this, the Mayans ground the beans to a powder state, mixed them with chili and corn and then filled it with water, while actively whisking to obtain a characteristic foam. We drank chocolate from special bowls with a spout. The ancient Indians believed that this tool will surely give strength to the soldiers, ease the condition in especially hot weather and help to heal the afflicted.
After the conquest of the American continent, chocolate got into European cuisine, but it was valued so much that it was considered a gift from above. For some time, cocoa beans even served instead of money, and only very wealthy people could afford to make a drink from them. Some changes were also made: chocolate was left without chili pepper, turning into a dessert with the addition of sugar and cream.
Centuries have passed, and chocolate is still valued by humanity. And now its culinary application is much wider than in past times.
Benefits for the body
Chocolate with chili pepper has a lot of useful properties for our body. Cocoa beans are a storehouse of vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids and trace elements. Chile in terms of its performance is not inferior to them. In addition, it is able to normalize blood circulation and metabolism, break down fats and have a general tonic effect on the body. All this helps to improve mood, vitality and can be an auxiliary element in the fight against excess weight.
Hot Chocolate Cooking Tips
Any recipe requires some subtleties. And as for chocolate with pepper:
- It is not worth taking pre-ground pepper already. Instead of a piquant taste and smell, you risk getting bitterness without the slightest hint of refreshing notes, since you need to cook hot chocolate only with fresh chili, from which all seeds have been previously extracted.
- In the process of cooking, it is better to be in special gloves. Hot pepper extract is poorly washed off the hands, so you run the risk of getting very irritated if you suddenly want to scratch your eyes.
- The classic combination is 25 grams of dark chocolate per 125 ml of milk (necessarily fatty, since the water content of a low-quality product will greatly spoil the taste). Such a portion may seem too small to you, but the thing is that the chocolate is very rich in taste, so you need to drink it in small sips. In addition, hot chocolate is more piquant than the more familiar to us in the bar.
- If you still want a volumetric portion, then take 25 grams of chocolate per 250 ml of milk fat. This ratio will also be very tasty, but less tart due to the greater amount of the dairy component.
- In the classic version, chocolate is used, in which the percentage of cocoa beans is more than 70%. However, not everyone likes this bitterness. To soften the drink, dark chocolate can be slightly diluted with milk or part of the milk can be replaced with softer cream. But add sugar to such a drink is not worth it. This candy is contained in sufficient quantities in the tile, therefore there is a risk of overdoing it. In addition, the ancient Indians never sweetened their drink.
- Serve chocolate only when hot. When it cools, the taste becomes less saturated and pronounced. Therefore, even if you accidentally brought in the kitchen and managed to cool the chocolate, it can and should be heated. Just don't overdo it. The finished drink should not be brought to a boil, otherwise it will be spoiled. At the same time, the richness of chocolate taste in the hot form has a downside: it can quickly get bored. Therefore, you should not get involved in such a drink.
- Various spices improve the taste of hot chocolate. You can start the experiment with orange zest. The option with chili peppers is for true gourmets and connoisseurs who love astringency and rich aromas. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, cloves, mint and star anise are also able to decorate the composition. Chocolate is good with each of these spices both individually and in various variations. Each person just needs to experiment and find their own, unique taste.
- For those who cannot do without sweet notes, you can add various flavored syrups, nuts and honey with ground coffee.
How to make hot chocolate
Ingredients (for 2 people):
- bitter chocolate - 50 grams,
- whole milk - 2 cups,
- chili - 1 pepper
- cinnamon - 1 stick,
- vanilla - half a stick.
Cooking:
- Put milk on a small fire. Add pepper, cinnamon and vanilla.
- Melt chocolate in milk, gently stirring (it is better to grate chocolate first).
- Cook for a few more minutes, remove from the stove and then let it brew.
- Strain. Serve hot (warming is allowed, but not to the point of boiling).
How to cook without milk
Ingredients:
- ground coffee - 4 teaspoons,
- water - 300 ml, sugar - 10 grams,
- chocolate - 200 grams
- chili / ginger / rum / cognac / ice cream - to taste.
Cooking:
- Make coffee.
- Melt the chocolate and add it to the coffee.
- Depending on your desire, you can add cognac, rum, chili, ginger or ice cream to the finished drink.
Spiced chocolate
Ingredients (2 servings):
- chocolate (more than 70%) - 50 grams,
- milk - 2 cups
- chili - 1 pepper
- cinnamon - 5 grams,
- ground ginger - 1 gram,
- honey - 1 teaspoon,
- vanillin - to taste
- sea salt - 1 pinch.
Cooking:
- Prepare the pepper: Rinse well, cut and extract the seeds.
- Pour chili, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla and salt into milk. Put on a small fire.
- Melt a large bar of chocolate in a steam bath.
- When the milk is heated, remove pepper from it, pour in chocolate and honey.
- Continue to keep on fire until the chocolate reaches the desired consistency.
If you want a thicker consistency, add a little cocoa or corn starch at the final stage.
Chocolate: drink, read, watch
“What do you profess?” “Chocolate!”
These words are widely known thanks to the film adaptation of Joan Harris's book Chocolate. And are there people who disagree with the heroines of the book and the film? What picture does the viewer see when Armand Voisin comes into the store to Vienne Rocher? The shelves are filled with pieces of chocolate: cakes, sweets, cookies, individual chocolate and pepper bars and round in coconut powder. Meanwhile, nearby, in a small pot, melted chocolate is slightly smoking. Armanda is in a bad mood, and Vienn serves her a cup of hot chocolate, first sprinkling fragrant perfection with chili pepper and adding whipped cream to it. Armanda tastes the treat and smiles blissfully.
I believe that the most important thing in the world is to be happy! Happiness. Undemanding, like a glass of chocolate, or uneasy, like a heart. Bitter. Sweet. The present. (Joan Harris "Chocolate")
So you want to experience the same incomparable pleasure? Then we prepare chocolate with chili peppers and whipped cream according to the recipe of the works of the same name.
Chocolate with Chili and Cream
Ingredients (2 servings):
- black chocolate (minimum 70%) - 140 grams,
- cream 20 percent - 100 ml,
- water - 200 ml
- ground chili - 5 pinches,
- refined cinnamon - 30 grams,
- cream - 10 grams.
Cooking:
- We break a big chocolate bar into small pieces.
- Fat cream is mixed with purified water and put on fire. When the first signs of boiling appear, add chocolate and sugar.
- We continue to cook, but already on a very low fire, do not stop stirring so that the chocolate and sugar dissolve properly.
- We leave the chocolate on the plate for some more time, so that it is a little darkened and becomes even more fragrant.
- Whip the cream. To do this, take a deep bowl, sift the powdered sugar through a sieve and pour in the chilled cream (the cream should be chilled, because at this temperature it is easier for them to rise). Start whipping until a creamy mass is obtained.
- Pour chocolate, sprinkle with chili pepper and decorate with whipped cream.
Orange exotic
This gourmet black chocolate recipe will appeal to true gourmets.
Ingredients:
- black chocolate - 60 grams,
- fat cream - 70 ml,
- milk - 80 ml
- brown sugar - 10 grams,
- cocoa - 10 grams,
- ground chili - a quarter of a teaspoon,
- orange juice - 1 tbsp. a spoon,
- zest of orange (with half the fruit).
Cooking:
- Break the tile.
- Mix milk, cream, juice, zest, chili, cocoa and sugar. Warm up.
- Pour the resulting mixture into chocolate (through a strainer) and mix well.
- Pour the drink into cups, garnish with cream and zest leftovers.
With this drink you can perfectly start the morning or end a hard working day.