I recently took part in a Jamaican Chocolate Making at-home experience, booked via Airbnb. Read on to find out how I got on during this culinary virtual experience, led by a chocolatier all the way from Jamaica!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a debate my whole life with people about whether chocolate should be put in the fridge or not. So, when I got the opportunity to attend this virtual chocolate making class, I couldn’t wait to find out the answer once and for all.
Nick began the session by welcoming us to Jamaica, and showing us the edge of the beautiful Blue Mountains overlooking Kingston where he is located. We learned about the history of the island, and how Nick went from being a BBC correspondent to a chocolate maker.
Before creating our own custom-made inclusion chocolate bars, we all introduced ourselves and talked about our favourite chocolate. Also joining the Zoom class with Nick was a couple from Switzerland; this made the experience more personal as Nick got us involved and wanted to know about our lives in England and Switzerland.
My favourite chocolate is Cadbury’s fruit and nut so I brought some milk chocolate, mixed nuts and raisins to the online chocolate-making class, as I was going to try and recreate my own version.
Nick shared some funny stories throughout the class, but the best one took place when he was younger. He told us that whenever his dad wanted him to do something, he would hold a Cadbury’s wholenut chocolate bar in front of him and he would do anything; this worked especially well when he didn’t want to do his homework!
We started to make our own chocolate inclusions by breaking up the chocolate and melting 1 and a half bars. Nick would give us a certain time for it to go in the microwave. This was different for the other participants, as they were using dark chocolate. We left half a bar, chopped it up into fine slices and separated it into 3 sections. We gradually mixed in the sections until it was all melted. The science behind it was very interesting, and easy to understand.
Once the chocolate was smooth, I started to place it into my mould (I used an ice tray and egg poaching plastic holders) which worked perfectly. I did it in layers, adding the chocolate, then nuts, then fruit, followed by more chocolate with a sprinkle of chopped nuts on the top.
I also left some plain to see how the melting process would change the taste from the original bar. I only bought cheap chocolate, but after the class it tasted incredible.
Top tip: Chocolate should be kept at room temperature as opposed to in the fridge, otherwise the ingredients start to separate; this is why you get a layer of white on the top of the bar. When the chocolate is at room temperate, all the ingredients come together.
Thanks for reading!
I would definitely recommend this online chocolate making class, which was only £10! Nick made the class very entertaining, and I will certainly use this process again to make my own chocolate.
