Willy Wonka may have developed a number of unusualchocolate - covered inventions at his illustrious factory , but even his strangest confection ca n’t beat some actual - life combination people are trying . What ’s even stranger is that some are arrest on .
That ’s right – deep brown , our best-loved mood - boost , endorphin - release concoction is now being go with everything from mushrooms to heart . It seems that anything can become dessert , even the most obscure of flora and animal .
With so many new chocolates to strain , it can be scare off to make eachcaloriecount . Couture confect dress shop are popular spot to luxuriate in these fun goody , but we ’ve also explore the availability of less elitist , more approachable must - adjudicate drinking chocolate combination . Even celebrity chefs are capture in on the act .
As Willy Wonka said from the profoundness of his drinking chocolate factory : " Little surprises are around every corner … but nothing dangerous . Do n’t be horrify . "
10: Sea Salt
Some people get really snobby about seasalt , demanding to sleep with its pedigree like a nursing bottle ofwine . But when a craving hits , who ’s catch the time to be fussy ? If chocolate - cover pretzel fulfill the urge , what more do we need to do it ?
Chocolatiers , however , deny that choice of sea salt is incidental or inconsequent . They swear by salts of specific inception , pair with drinking chocolate blends that best accent the salt ’s color , perfume and subtle flavour . Smoked common salt from Wales is sweet ; grayish salt from Brittany extradite a Lucy in the sky with diamonds of minerals ; a pinkish Hawaiian miscellany is reminiscent of a beach in the shadow of avolcano . agree to confectioner Fran Bigelow , these factors give the ruined chocolate a resonant connection to its provenance .
Bigelow , of Seattle - found Fran ’s Chocolates , explain this phenomenon to National Public Radio : " Chocolate ’s one of the most lust foods in the world , but we also crave table salt . And it seems like the combining of the two has just strike a chord with so many people . It ’s really unbelievable " [ author : National Public Radio ] .
9: Potato Chips
It read a while , but we finally incur bored withchocolate - covered pretzels , popcorn and crank . And , as we already cognize , we wo n’t be deny oursaltfix . The latest game - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , lowbrow snack to get dipped ? Potato chipping .
Chocolate - cover potato chip are fragile and be given to get squashy , so you ’re unlikely to find brand - name offerings at the grocery store . Look at high-pitched - destruction snack stores or markets , or , if you ca n’t find them , get cooking ! If you do n’t mind a messy undertaking , it ’s easy to make burnt umber - covered chip shot at home . There are endless recipes available online , with only slight difference . It ’s the same method acting used to make other deep brown - coat piquant snacks . First , obtain your favorite melting chocolate and preferent chips – the ridged kind withstands the hotness and the weight of the finish best . mellow out the chocolate , taking care to forestall scorching . free fall french fries . Garnish or adorn however you ’d like . Let the chips cool on wax newspaper as long as you could support it , and crunch your way to sweet and salty bliss .
8: Spices
Blending spices intochocolateisn’t new or specially adventuresome ; they ’re often used to season hot chocolates and cocoas that replicate traditional Aztec flavors of chili con carne and cinnamon . They ’re also essential in chocolate cake and cookies , so it was only a matter of metre before they adorn more advanced treats in concentrated smack .
spice used to be so valuable that the worldwide economy reckon on their trade . think the history of these potent powders , it ’s no surprisal that rare and expensive spices are a powerful method to increase a deep brown ’s sense of exclusivity .
embolden by the ever - raise demand for new and interesting look , high - remnant chocolatiers are experimenting with ingredient like cardamon , curry , masala and wasabi . Done right , these chocolates wo n’t taste likesushior Indian takeout , but biting into one still might take a saltation of religious belief .
They ’re redolent of other flavor experience : an anise - infused truffle , for instance , might make you consider of absinthe , and a common fennel - clear chocolate bite can tickle the glossa and nose like a fragrant glass of Chianti . Other well - rival ingredients , such as fruit or nut , can tone down or dress up a bit of chocolate . Traditional Proto-Indo European spices lend a gloam breeze to a pumpkin emollient , or you could warm up with a consolatory chai tea earthnut or chocolate - base drink . pep and deep brown is becoming a ubiquitous combination , perhaps because of gingerroot ’s repute as a powerful energy booster .
7: Peppers
If your natural language ’s accustomed to sweet , sugarychocolate , the heating plant of a capsicum pepper plant - tinged concoction will be a proficient flush to the roof of the mouth . Chili orcayenne peppersare key ingredient in Aztec - style hot chocolate , which also depends on a healthy acid ofcinnamon[source : Lake Champlain Chocolates ] . When paired , the cinnamon tips toward the hot end of the scale or else of flaunting its usual sweetness .
Pepper has start out to show up in nearly every chocolate available . Chili and jalapeno bring their kicking to a range of bite , from cake , chocolate bars and earthnut to Piper nigrum - disperse , burnt umber - spread over fruit . mellow - end chocolatiers , always on the observatory for the most exotic specimen , party favour guajilo , pasilla and ancho chili varieties .
The relish are often cautiously coiffe so the heating is pleasurable instead of intolerable . Braver souls can take a bite of a chocolate covered common pepper ; the chocolate helps neutralize the tan of the capsicum ’s oil ( much like a trash of milk would ) but leaves the smoky , piquant smack inviolate .
charm , but do n’t think your taste buds can take the heating ? Get out the ice cream Godhead and experiment with chocolate pepper ice cream formula . You ’ll still get the hot flavor in a pleasantly cold mouthful .
6: Meat
Mole , a staple of Mexican cuisine often made for meat , is a common sauce that use the previously mentioned spices to not bad reward – along with vegetables andchocolate . It ’s a outstanding way to experiment with the flavors of chocolate and centre , but the role of hot chocolate in the composition of the mantrap is hotly repugn among expert of Mexican and Latin cuisine .
Chef Emeril Lagasse favour a mole sweetened to American tastes . He evaporate semisweet burnt umber and cream into a mixture of roasted poblanopeppers , onion , seeds and spices to make a mole he recommends serving with joker [ source : Emerils.com ] .
Other chef think counterspy should be more traditional . Chef Rick Bayless prefers a vegetable - based dish , consist mainly of reddened chilies and tomatillos . From this point of view , chocolate is merely an accouterment to a complicated tilt of other ingredients and flavors . Bayless says this stylus of mole is traditionally served with poultry , meat , and Pisces [ origin : Bayless ] .
5: Bacon
It could have been include with meat , but bacon fans would argue that the compounding of sweetchocolateand greasy Baron Verulam deserves a stand - alone mention . Chocolatiers seem to match . The blaze of the sexual union amount from Baron Verulam ’s two most predominant characteristics , salt and fatty tissue . When chocolate bars are dot with bacon moment , the texture melt together on the tongue . Heavy smoke tends to percolate the chocolate and add another bed of complexness .
Vosges ' Mo ’s Bacon Bar collection blends crumbles of applewood smoke bacon and alderwood smoked salt into Milk River or dark cocoa . As potent as a 1st Baron Verulam - infused cocoa prevention is , though , some bacon buff crave more . The hard-core pork barrel lover douse full strips – wooden-headed or thin cut , soft or crispy – in chocolate .
4: Mushrooms
Hippies with discriminating palates started the drift of dippingmagic mushroomsin chocolate for more pleasant consumption , but they credibly never previse that their Alice in Wonderland treats would someday prompt couture chocolatiers . The reputed orphic and medicinal properties of mushrooms ( even the legal variety ) capture mental imagery and urge on stories ; their dry , dusty flavors accent cuisines across the globe . How could a chocolate Almighty hold out ?
Organic wood smack does n’t get cheap , though . Vosges ' Enchanted Mushroom is a handcrafted 1.3 lb toadstool , fill with a delicate blending of chocolate , hazelnut and ground reishi mushroom , polish off and grace with a colorful fondant - similar coating . consider the $ 75 cost tag end , we ’d be entice to display this capricious musical composition rather than corrode it .
It ’s an odd and rare combination ( even for the most dedicated mushroom hunters ) , but you may still try it without breaking the banking company . Reishi andCordycepsvarieties grace a small diverseness of low - budget ginmill andhot hot chocolate , unite with other sapidity to waste the earthy musk [ source : Fungi Perfecti ] .
3: Flowers
Go beyond vanilla ! Though the sugared - seed orchidaceous plant is a omnipresent factor inchocolatedesserts , chocolatiers are using other flower for flavor to complement touchy candies . Like spices , flowers offer unattackable fragrances and alien origins that punctuate exclusivity while having a subtle effect on flavor and texture . The more rarified and beautiful they are , the good .
Even vernacular heyday like rose and violets are elevated to royal condition after being candy in a bathroom of hotsugarsyrup . The rock confect - same result is a popular decoration for wedding cakes , but chocolatiers are catching on . Even the small bonbon looks , feels and tastes extravagant if it ’s topped with a jewel - toned lettuce bloom . Couture chocolatiers have experiment with the flavors of chamomile , Japanese cherry red blossom petal and white poppy seeds , each meant to kindle a peculiar piazza or mood .
2: Beer
Long before crafty brewer experiment with its flavour , burnt umber was wipe out principally as a beverage , which was thicker , productive and spicier than thehot chocolatesand cocoas we know . After you ’ve tasted a chocolate stout , you might wonder why this evolution claim so long .
There are two common ways to incorporate deep brown into a brewage : add it during the finishing process , or incorporate it in the main ingredients . Rogue Ales ' Chocolate Stout combine chocolate malted with chocolate , ensue in a mellow flavor that they commend pairing with desserts [ source : Rogue ] . Brooklyn Brewery , Sam Adams and Wells & Young ’s also make complex chocolatebeers .
Do n’t overlook beer ’s voltage in cooking ; Guinness and other stouts are often added to umber desserts . As chef and food writer Nigella Lawson secernate National Public Radio , Guinness creates an exceptionally dense , damp umber cake with a " evocative , ferrous sea tangle . It ’s kind of a grown - up cake " [ source : National Public Radio ] .
Try pairing your favorite beers and drinking chocolate . Check your local event listings for classes or tastings , or experiment on your own .
1: Cheese
possibly we should have talked aboutcheesebefore beer ; after all , the combination of cheese and chocolate requires a slightly modest leap of faith . ( Think of all the decadent Italian goody that are based on ricotta and mascarpone – not to mention a overplus of cocoa cheesecake innovations . ) It ’s last but not least for a sound reason , though : the innovation of two Oregon - ground artisan food for thought companies claim the construct of cheeseflower and hot chocolate to new top .
In 2004 , Rogue Creamery and Rogue Ales link forces , and gourmet joy . The farmers brought Holstein whole milk cheeseflower curd , the brewer contributed their ill-famed Chocolate Stout , and the accolade - winning Rogue Chocolate Stout Cheddar was bear [ generator : Realbeer.com ] .
That ’s right , a burnt umber cheddar cheese , totally debunking the notion that a Milk River - based chocolate merchandise should be bland and sugared . But if the sour browned marbling of Rogue ’s cheese is a bit too intimidating , there are other options . Award - deliver the goods Cocoa Cardona is an aged Capricorn the Goat milk cheese with a subtle chocolate flavour , thanks to its cocoa - rubbed rind [ root : Carr Valley Cheese ] . An alternative approach : hear serving an appetizer of spicy , gruff French bread drizzled witholive oiland topped with dark chocolate and Brie .
