The Great Chocolate Experiment (Part 3) – Because You Asked For It

Friday, November 7, 2008 - by Laurie

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Great Chocolate Experiment, where I, your humble researcher, aided by my Research Assistant and Tasting Panel, apply the Scientific Method in order to determine which foods taste good with chocolate – and which do not. In Part 2, as you may recall, we discovered that chocolate-coated sun-dried tomatoes and roasted garlic were tasty indeed, while chocolate coated gum was utterly disgusting.

At the end of Part 2, I asked our readers to submit their suggestions for items to test in the next edition. And did you ever! Suggestions ranged from canned frosting to wasabi peanuts to beer, but in the end, only four ingredients could make the cut. So, read on and enjoy this very special edition of the Great Chocolate Experiment…. Because you asked for it!

The following ingredients will be tested in today’s experiment:

Fritos corn chips: Ancient peoples of Mexico and South America were the first to combine chocolate with savory ingredients like chili. Today, we will attempt to determine whether it goes as well with another (totally authentic) Mexican ingredient.

Ham: Until recently, the field of candy making has neglected one major food group: meat. Now, the chocolate/bacon combo is yesterday’s news. Several of you asked for chocolate-coated bacon to be tested, but due to the abundance of existing research data proving the tastiness of this combination, the research team chose to substitute another favorite cured pork product.

Pickles: In this researcher’s opinion, there are few things tastier than a good pickle fresh out of the fridge. But will the taste of a chocolate-coated pickle put the research team off of these tangy treats for life? (We’re using my favorite kosher garlic/dill pickles – because our readers deserve the very best!)

Rice cakes: There’s a reason most people only eat plain rice cakes when they’re dieting – in the research team’s opinion, their flavor is highly reminiscent of Styrofoam packing peanuts. Can chocolate save this snack from boring wholesomeness?

Procedure:

Step 1: Brown a piece of ham steak in a small frying pan on medium heat.

Step 2: Cut the ham, one kosher garlic and dill pickle and a plain rice cake into bite-sized pieces

Step 3: Melt some Callebaut dark chocolate in the microwave, following the directions in Part 1.) (For easier dipping, use a narrow vessel like a mug.)

Step 4: Use chopsticks or a fork to coat the cut-up ingredients and a handful of Fritos corn chips in the chocolate. (Use a separate container of chocolate for the pickles to avoid imparting a vinegar-garlic flavor to the remaining chocolate.) Arrange on a plastic-wrap- or parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and freeze for one to two hours until chocolate is firm to the touch.

Step 5: Have a Research Assistant and/or Tasting Panel aid you in tasting the items.

Observations:

Fritos corn chips: The natural crunchy, corny, salty goodness of Fritos was, unfortunately, largely masked by the heavy chocolate flavor. Even the crunch of each piece was muffled. We were forced to conclude that the pieces had been too thickly coated in chocolate, or perhaps that the dark chocolate was too strong for the corn chips’ milder flavor. A retest may be in order.

Experiment Status: Retest Recommended

Ham: We popped the pieces into our mouths and chewed. And chewed some more. Alas, all our efforts failed to extract any ham flavor, just a dry, meaty texture beneath the coating of chocolate.

“I can’t taste the ham,” I said. “I’m disappointed.”

“You’re disappointed?” the Research Assistant asked incredulously. But I was disappointed after all the hype about the pork/chocolate combination. Clearly our thin ham steak, which had also gotten somewhat overcooked due to my leaving it in the pan while I was outside taking photographs, was not the right ham for the job. I would like to redo the experiment with a meatier chunk of ham and to brown it lightly, if at all.

Experiment status: Retest Recommended

Pickles: The combination of dill, vinegar, garlic and chocolate was… well, it was something, all right. It made my face pucker and my eyes water – and not in a good way like the Super Lemons I reviewed a while back.

Even Assistant Taster Laurie’s Dad, the only one brave enough to try the (surprisingly tasty) garlic truffles in Part 2, pronounced them “like putting perfume on a pig.” (I think that’s Dad-speak for “Blech.”) “They’re not REALLY disgusting, just strong,” was the Research Assistant’s final verdict. Clearly, two delicious things do not always combine to make a delicious whole.

Experiment Status: Failure

Rice cakes: After the unpleasantness of the chocolate-coated pickles, something dry and bland seemed like just the ticket – and there’s nothing drier and blander than plain rice cakes. And despite our valiant efforts, the coating of chocolate did not help this state of affairs in the slightest. My Research Assistant summed it up as follows: “It still tastes like a rice cake.” That alone is enough for me to declare this experiment a failure.

Experiment status: Failure

Conclusion:

Alas, there were no standouts in today’s installment of the Great Chocolate Experiment. But never fear – in a universe of delicious food items, we’re bound to discover at least a few more items that are unexpectedly improved by adding chocolate. The epic search continues in Part 4 of The Great Chocolate Experiment!

(You guys had so many great ingredient suggestions that we’re using a few more of them in Part 4 – stay tuned! And feel free to post any other ideas you may have.)

Buy Callebaut Chocolate Online:

• at Amazon.com