Czech Chocolate

The Czech drink a lot of beer. They eat mainly meat. Amie and I both drooled at the thought of a fat sausage sizzling on a grill in Old Town Square--that is, until we actually tried it and found that it was nothing but a greasy, red sausage skin stuffed with large fat globules. Salt is used in such excess on most foods that you would begin question the existence of any other spice. I would not say that this country is one of "fine cuisine" or "refined taste buds". This is why I shouldn't have been surprised when I bit into a Czech chocolate bar (the cheapest one at the supermarket no less). Immediately after the first bite I smiled. I began to laugh, even. I turned to my friend and exclaimed that this was terrible chocolate. Having bought two bars, I ripped open the other one, hoping for something less traumatic. Trying to suppress a grin, I handed it over to my curious friend, wanting her to try it, too. We both laughed at how unlike chocolate this so-called "chocolate" bar was. Let me just say thank heavens for the importation of Belgian chocolate.

After the disastrous chocolate-bar incident we decided to avoid Czech chocolate at all costs. However, there was a lovely corner shop near our hostel. The sign Gold Pralines caught my eye as we walked by, and when I saw the subtext of fine Belgian chocolate I just had to go in.

Wanting to sample the goodies but not wanting to go overboard I picked out three differently flavored chocolates. They were rich and smooth as good chocolate should be, but they were probably the most unique truffles I've ever let melt on my tongue, slurped the filling out of, or savored with tiny nibbles. One of the truffles had two fillings, separated by the same chocolate that coated the outside. The first, larger filling that took up the chocolate's round belly was some kind of ordinary nougat. The second, smaller filling was perched on top, as though I was looking at the cross section of a water pipe that hangs over the fountain's pool beneath. This odd filling was new to me, but it tasted quite a bit like whipped cream trapped inside the hard shell of a truffle.

Gold Pralines wasn't the only place I discovered new chocolate secrets, though. We'd heard of Prague's Chocolate Museum from several brochures (and even from Uncle Stephen), and two chocolate lovers like ourselves would probably be convicted for Blasphemy if we didn't at least have a poke around. Nonetheless, it was by accident that we discovered this quaint museum. During one of our many visits to Old Town Square we just caught sight of it! It's situated just on the outskirts of the square, about a 5 minute walk from where we were staying. We must have passed it several times before that, but for some reason on this particular stroll it caught our attention. So, naturally, we went in! Let me share my newly acquired knowledge with you:

1. Although we already knew that white chocolate conducts herself under a false name, we didn't know what got her into the chocolate crowd without containing any cocoa beans. The answer, my friends, is cocoa butter. According to the Chocolate Museum in Prague, white chocolate is 45% sugar, 25% powdered milk, 29.5% cocoa butter, .49% lecithin, and .01% "flavours". My personal favorite, milk chocolate, is comprised of 45% sugar, 20% powdered milk, 24.5% cocoa butter, 10% cocoa paste, .49% lecithin, and .01% "flavours".

(Voila the mighty cocoa pod. I had no idea it was so big. Did you?)

2. One should never separate a woman from her chocolate. After years of experience we are generally aware of this truth. However, the poor men living in the early days of cocoa did not know. Here's a little anecdote I copied off of one of the boards in the museum:

Cocoa becomes the preferred drink of the Spaniards
Spanish women, who had emigrated to Mexico, loved chocolate so much that they couldn't stop drinking it. They even had their servants pour it for them during religious ceremonies. The constant coming and going of the servants became so annoying that the Bishop of Chiapas, Don Bernardus de Salazar, decided to prohibit it. Drinking cocoa was banned during mass, and as a result people stayed away from church. Finally the Bishop was murdered. Poison had been added to his cup of cocoa.

3. People used to put odd flavors and spices in their hot cocoa. I understand chili in the hot cocoa--for any of you who haven't had crushed chili powder in your cocoa you must try it--but they really did go overboard on some of these spices. Underneath the anecdote was the "secret recipe" for the cocoa drink recipe. For any of you curious, kitchen souls, here is the recipe dating back to the 16th century so that you may scrutinize the flavors, adapt the recipe to a modern kitchen, or even try a cup of the original stuff :

700g ground cocoa
56 g cinnamon
14 g cloves
1 pinch of aniseed
musk, amber
750 g white sugar
14 pepper grains
3 vanilla sticks
1 hazelnut
orange flower

In addition to all of these fun facts, we also got to watch how chocolate truffles are made. The demo was then finished with a mini-tasting. Yum. When the tour was really over we found ourselves in the gift shop--a chocolate lovers paradise. I particularly enjoyed the combo Belgian waffle with Belgian chocolate. I'd say this was definitely a worth-while experience.