Today was the first day of Interim 2012, during which time I will be participating in the "Expanding Your Culinary Palate" class. Over the course of January, the class will be trying and tasting a number of different items, especially chocolate, so I am definitely looking forward to this experience.
Today's tasting involved a plate filled with several different items, most of them related to chocolate and the chocolate making process. The first tasting aspect we did was to do a blind taste test of three different chocolates. The first chocolate I found to be sweet and creamy, with a good feeling in the mouth. The second chocolate I found to be more bitter, with hints of fruit, but with an acidic taste. Finally, the third chocolate seemed to be nutty and dense, and not as acidic as the second one. Overall, my favorite amongst the three was the first one, and was surprised to find out that it was actually the least expensive one out of the three.
The next tasting aspect was to taste a variety of chocolate bars as well as various components of the chocolate making process. We tried a 100% chocolate bar, which I found to not be very good at all. It was overwhelmingly bitter, and obviously needed some sugar to be enjoyed. We then tried a dark chocolate bar, which was extremely good, especially in comparison to the 100% chocolate. Next, we tried roasted cocoa beans. While you could tell they would eventually be manipulated into chocolate, it wasn't good on its own. We also tried cocoa nibs, which where ground up cocoa beans. Likewise, these were very bitter and not that good on its own, but I could see how they could be used in the cooking process. We also tried two forms of cocoa powder, regular and dutched. Which I could not tell a huge difference between them, they were extremely dry and not that pleasant when tasted on their own. However, once sugar was mixed with them, they became much more tasty.
Finally, we also tried several other items. The white chocolate bar was good to taste, but it was almost too sweet for my tastes. It did have a pleasant mouth feel to it though. Also, trying the coriander seeds was a great experience, and I was surprised how much the sense of smell played a role in the true "taste" of them when eaten. And finally, the jello tasting was very interesting. Even though it was actually lemon jello, the red coloring tricked my mind and convinced it that it was strawberry.
Overall, the first class was extremely interesting, and flavorful. I am looking forward to seeing what additional aspects of taste will be experienced as the month goes on.
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