Bloggers Scream for Ice Cream!

Last year, I had great fun with Ice Cream Wednesday, a series of ice cream posts kick-started by an evening of frenzied ice cream making with friends.

As well as recipes I made myself, I also shared some great guest posts from fellow bloggers who made tasty concoctions including Pear & Ginger Ice Cream, Candied Bacon, Toasted Pecan, Maple Syrup, Southern Comfort & Salt Ice Cream, Plum & Earl Grey Frozen Yoghurt, Tarragon, Lemon, Lime & Tequila Ice Cream, Chocolate & Honey Sorbet and Salty Snickers Ice Cream Bars!

This year, I'd like to invite bloggers to join in with the ice cream fun by taking part in a new bloggers' challenge called Bloggers Scream For Ice Cream, hosted here on Kavey Eats.

I hope to make this a monthly challenge, where we can choose a different theme each month. At the end of each month, I'll post a round up with pictures and links back to all the blog entries, so we can all enjoy seeing what everyone else has made.

By the way, don't think you can't enter if you don't have an ice cream maker. Here's a fantastic post from ice cream guru David Lebovitz on making ice cream without a machine.

This challenge is open to bloggers from anywhere in the world and your blogs can be food, family, lifestyle, home… the more the merrier!

 

How To Take Part

• Read the monthly challenge theme (below).
• Create and blog a recipe that fits the challenge by the 28th of the month.
• In your post, link to this Bloggers Scream For Ice Cream post.
• In your post, include the Bloggers Scream For Ice Cream badge.
• Email me with your name and the name of your blog, the link to your post, the title of your post and an image for my roundup, no larger than 500 pixels on the longest side.

You are welcome to submit your post to as many blogger challenge events as you like, such as Dom's Random Recipes, Ren's Family Friendly Fridays, the fabulous We Should Cocoa or any others you fancy. You can even enter this one more than once, if you write two separate blog posts that fit the challenge!

If the recipe is not your own, please credit the source and be aware of copyright issues.

If you tweet about your post using #kaveyeatsicecream or #bloggersscreamforicecream, I'll retweet any I see.

 

Theme for February 2012 – Custard Based Ice Creams

I want a theme that will work for new comers and old hands alike so I'm kicking things off with this one.

If you're new to making ice cream, making your own custard base from scratch seems a little daunting, but is definitely worth the effort. Adding real vanilla seeds is enough to produce a decadent dessert.

For old hands, you can share the recipe for your killer custard base or add in your own choice of flavourings from fruit and nuts to chocolate, from cake to marzipan, whatever you like!

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The World's Best Apricot Jam (and Other Tasty Produce)

Every time I eat some of Nidal Rayess' apricot jam, which I've eked out with unusual willpower, I chide myself for not having shared the experience of our day visiting Nidal at his factory in Lebanon, last spring.

So, extremely late though it is, I am finally sharing another Lebanon highlight.

Nidal Rayess is the manager of Rayess Trading, a family business established by his grandfather Nemer Rayess in 1920, during the French occupation of Lebanon.

The business makes top quality cheese and dairy products such as labneh (strained yoghurt), halloumi and several local cheeses as well as a wide selection of mouneh, a catch-all term which describes preserves made during the harvest season and stored in the larder to be enjoyed throughout the year. Mouneh includes jams, pickles, fruits in syrup and even dried balls of labneh preserved in oil.

Before meeting Nidal, we stopped for a brief snack in his small traditional store in Chtaura, shelves stacked high with mouneh and deli counter well-stocked with fresh dairy products.

(One thing you learn very quickly is that you never go long without eating, on a Taste Lebanon tour!)

But the highlight of our day was heading to Nidal's home and factory, where he showed us around the manufacturing premises and processes. First, we watched his staff making and branding halloumi and preserving candied orange peels.

During the First World War, Nidal's grandfather Nemer was working in concrete construction for the French Army. Also working for the army was a Greek chef from whom Nemer learned the traditional recipe and methods for making Greek halloumi, as well as fresh and pressed ricotta.

Nidal still makes halloumi in exactly the same way, with milk from the business' own herd of cows, pastured in the North of the country.

The halloumi is cooked in huge copper vats, which were hand made in Turkey in 1870 and formerly used to cook wheat in the Taanayel kitchens of Ottoman governors (who ruled Lebanon until the close of the First World War). Whilst many modern producers use stainless steel vats, Nidal says that copper handles a higher temperature, allowing the heat to better penetrate the halloumi during the cooking time, resulting in a difference in taste in the finished product.

Hot out of the pans, squares of halloumi are folded in half and arranged on a metal table between large wooden planks, which help them to set into the right shape.

After they've all been shaped, they are branded with a logo.

And then turned over to flatten the other side.

Labneh is traditionally made by straining yoghurt. Modern industrial manufacturers have switched to using centrifuges to spin out excess liquid, but the resulting labneh doesn't have the incredibly rich and creamy texture of Nidal's, which is still made the old-fashioned way. Nidal makes both cow and goat milk labneh, the cow milk coming from his own herd, as above.

Don't assume that the factory is without any modern technology. Nidal doesn't stick with the old ways unthinkingly but follows tradition where it creates a superior product. The factory uses modern equipment where and when it's needed, such as this vacuum-packaging machine, above.

Orange peels are first prepped, then added to a hot sugar syrup, stirred regularly as they cook. They smell wonderful!

No jams are being made during our visit, but Nidal does share some of his tips for the astonishingly special apricot jam that both Aiofe and I fall head over heels for.

First, of course, is the selection of the fruit. As most jam makers know, the better the quality of the fruit you start with, the better the finished jam. But Nidal takes this to another level; for his apricot jam, he uses only the ripest half of each fruit, the half that was most bathed in sunlight, as it grew. I daren't ask what happens to the discarded halves, though I'm sure they are used by someone to make a less magical product! There are also improvements to be made elsewhere in the recipe; Nidal uses three different types of sugar, balanced to contribute just the right flavour and consistency to the jam.

In our tasting of cheeses, labneh and jams we are blown away by the warm, fresh halloumi (better than any I've tasted), and the wonderfully creamy labneh (which really brings home why Nidal's products are a favourite of the Jordanian royal family, no less). But it's the jam that steals our hearts, and which we happily bring home with us. In fact, Pete and I bought a brand new suitcase, just to ensure we had space for our precious cargo!

Just as in the UK, the Lebanese enthusiasm for top quality artisan food continues to grow. After our day with Nidal and our visit to Abu Kassem's za'atar farm, it's not hard to see why.

Lebanon is a beautiful country to visit – striking landscapes, ancient history, a warm and welcoming people and some really fantastic food. Go! See you for yourself!

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Falling in Love with Amano Chocolates

Sometime in early 2011 I found myself in a startling position.

My new all-time favourite chocolate bar hailed from America!

Yes, you heard it right… Stateside… Across The Pond… The U. S. of A.

The land of the sugary-sweet Hershey bar, that I have long mocked as being even worse than our cheap British vegelate, is making such bloody fantastic chocolate that one such bar has leapt into the spot of my most beloved and doesn't look like being usurped any time soon!

Invited by my friend Dom to one of Richard O'Connor's Chocolate & Love tasting events, I nibbled my way around the room and then, suddenly, it happened… I fell head over heels in love.

With Amano's Dos Rios.

I was convinced that flavours of bergamot and other flower and citrus essential oils had surely been added to the chocolate to achieve the beautifully balanced perfumed aroma and floral taste, and perhaps a hint of warming spices too. But I was shocked to learn that the Dos Rios flavour was pure chocolate, with nothing added!

Amano sourced some very unusual cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic and the flavours that made my mouth come alive were all down to the genetics of the plants, the local terroir and the impressive skills of the cocoa grower (Nazario Rizek) who started experimenting with fermentation techniques. Of course, it also took the skills and innovation of Amano's head chocolate maker, Art Pollard, to process the cocoa in such a way that all the natural glory of these beans was retained in the end product. (Amano are a real bean to bar chocolate maker, unlike many who use that term but buy in courverture chocolate made elsewhere).

Of course, trust me to fall for a chocolate that's not readily found in the UK and isn't on the inexpensive end of the price spectrum either!

At the moment, UK chocolate lovers interested in trying Amano chocolate can purchase online from Chocolate & Love (who stock a range of really superb quality chocolate, including their own branded bars, of which Coffee Affair is my favourite).

I am blessed with some very kind, clever and generous friends and a group of them, with Dom in charge, organised the most amazing gift for my 40th birthday – a box containing 40, yes FORTY, bars of Amano chocolate. Dom wisely decided I should be encouraged to diversify a little so 25 of the bars were a mix of other Amano bars and 15 of the 40 were Dos Rios.

As it happened, I was then in possession of all the bars of Amano Dos Rios in the UK and all of a sudden, there was a bit of a rush on them! Accepting the offer of returning my chocolate with interest, I lent all 15 of my Dos Rios bars out to Richard at Chocolate & Love and Martin Christy. Martin was celebrating Seventy Percent's 10th anniversary and, having played a small role in bringing Dos Rios to Amano, wanted this chocolate to feature in the celebration – the bars I lent him were made into a celebratory cake by none other than Paul A Young. And it was good!

As luck would have it, not long after the party, Martin took a trip to the States, stopping in to visit his friends at Amano, and bought me back a box of what Amano call confections or bonbons.

 

Here's my review of some of the contents of the box.

Raspberry Ganache with Guayas Chocolate and White Chocolate Shell

At first I'm a bit surprised. The shell is very soft, starting to melt to the touch of my fingers within seconds (and my hands are not particularly warm, either). The bars don't do this at all. So I don't stop long to admire its appearance but dive straight in. What strikes me most about biting into it is the silky softness of the ganache. It feels melting, almost liquid, in the mouth and yet clearly isn't runny at all when you look at it. The filling has a wonderful depth of dark cocoa flavour without any hint of bitterness. This makes it a perfect foil to the raspberries which come through with the wonderful zing of fresh fruit.

 

Dos Rios Palet d’Or

A soft truffle with the full distinctive flavour of Amano Dos Rios chocolate – a natural chocolate which for all the world tastes like it has bergamot, flowers, spices and herbs mixed with it. Lovely! As with the raspberry ganache, the moisture level in the centre is perfect but the shell is softer than I'd prefer, with little solidity to it.

 

Caramel Ganache with Guayas Chocolate

This one isn't listed on the identity card inside the box but my internet searches suggest that it too uses Amano's Guayas chocolate.

This chocolate is all about the soft, deeply rich caramel which bursts in the mouth. There is just the right balance of sweet, perhaps a hint of salt. The chocolate enhances the caramel; it doesn't stand out on it's own. Simple and delicious.

 

Unidentified Chocolate!

Another one that's not listed on the identity card; I've not been able to find much information about it.

I love the pretty stripes on top of this cuboid chocolate. The filling is a much darker caramel, taken to just short of burning, giving a deeper, slightly bitter taste but not overly so – in fact it's perfectly balanced between the bitter and the sweet. Again, it's a very soft, almost liquid-feeling centre, which works superbly well for this chocolate.

 

Yemeni Sidr Honey Ganache with Guayas Chocolate

Whilst this features the same meltingly soft texture as the other ganaches, to my surprise, I detect not even a hint of honey. There were three of these in my box so I do my best to pick out the flavour, but it just isn't there.

It's said that Sidr honey from Yemen is amongst the world's most expensive, so perhaps very little was used, but then other reviewers have clearly loved the "rich, woodsy" taste and "smoky notes" they've tasted. Maybe mine is a weak batch.

Key Lime Ganache with Guayas Chocolate

This is a visually beautiful chocolate; I love the white splatters over the green, even though another part of me can't help muttering about bird droppings…

Once more, the shell is soft and the inside is slippery smooth. There's a distinctly lime taste, and we're talking about real lime, the zest and juice just as it tastes when you've freshly scraped and squeezed it. The word zingy was invented for this chocolate!

 

Cinnamon Ganache with Guayas Chocolate and Candied Pecans

This chocolate has a lovely sheen and the large chunk of candied pecan on top is very appealing. On first bite, I think it's too cinnamony, but then the pecan comes through… it's clever layering of flavours. That said, I'd still tone the cinnamon down a touch, personally. There's a pleasant crunch from the pecan which has a light crispy texture rather than the usual solid nuttiness. The bitterness of the chocolate is a nice balance against the cinnamon and the sweet pecan.

 

Cardamom and Pepper Ganache with Dos Rios Chocolate

As I've come to expect by now, the shell is soft and the inside silky. Although the taste of cardamom is clearly present, it doesn't have the usual depth of flavour of one of my favourite spices and I'd like it to be punchier. For me, the pepper doesn't come through at all, though perhaps it's lost within the spicy side of the Dos Rios flavour profile. Nice but not amazing.

 

Tangerine Ganache with Ocumare Milk Chocolate

After the refreshingly fresh raspberry and lime tastes in other chocolates, the strangely retro flavour in this ganache is a surprise. It's rather sweet, very subtle and has none of the citrus tang of real fruit. It reminds me of cheap, old-fashioned orange creams and I'm disappointed.

 

Overall, it's a mixed box with some highlights, a few also-rans and a few disappointments. That said, I'm intrigued enough to want more and keep my fingers crossed that Amano find a way to retail their bonbons in the UK.

In the meantime, I'll continue enjoying my Amano in bar format.

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