For someone who claims to be uninterested in sweets and desserts, I sure have been making/baking a lot of them lately. Most end up with the help, or, presumably, their kids. I hope I am not creating a dental mini-crisis in my zeal to clear the kitchen of surplus items.
For once, I am not going to point a finger at my mother and her hoarder’s mentality, even though I am far from finished with her stockpile of nuts. Today I confess to my own penchant for stocking up on dark chocolate, preferably in the 50 to 70 percent cacao-content range. By the way, are you aware that cacao percentage is not a reliable yardstick of flavanol content (like toe size isn’t to — well, I’m sure you’ve heard of that one)? It’s vindication for people who dislike dark chocolate, and a call to moderation for those who love it. In any case, I have yet to meet someone who eats chocolate expressly for its antioxidant properties. That someone would be a hypocrite.
Mint has one of the highest antioxidant concentrations of any herb,* and yet I don’t see anyone lining up for it (not around these parts, at least). In fact, the presence of mint in anything but gum, candy, or liniment is a turn-off for most people I know. My barkada seems to be the exception: we’re quite crazy for it, especially in Blue Bell ice cream. On my last birthday, Therese brought mint chocolate cake all the way from Cebu despite warnings from the patisserie shop that it would not travel well. It was smushed in places, all right, but nothing tasted finer.
The recipe for mint choco bars invoked the brand-name Andes. I like two or three other brands better, but Andes is all right. The only ingredient I had lacking was peppermint extract, and now I will be on the lookout for other recipes to use up the two-ounce bottle I bought especially to make those bars. A little peppermint oil goes a long way. I put in slightly more than the teaspoonful the recipe called for, and that had turned out to be too much. The kitchen reeked of Snow Bear and old people.
Like with the pecan butter bars, the recipe did not involve baking, just melting and layering (and cooling in-between layers). The middle layer was white chocolate spiked with the peppermint extract and tinted with green food dye (now there’s an ingredient I should have used more of). If not for the mint, I might as well have sandwiched a white chocolate bar betwee two dark ones and treated myself to pure chocolate Oreo. Does that tell you something?
What I learned from this episode: 1) Go easy on the peppermint oil (see above); also, heated, it releases fumes that are irritating to the eyes, so goggles may come in handy (hey, baking’s a science, right? Might as well look the scientist part!); 2) White chocolate does not melt as smoothly as dark — lard helps make it more pliant; 3) Add sweetener (in this case condensed milk) in increments, and taste for sweetness along the way (and remember that white chocolate is very sweet); 4) Chunky blocks look impressive, but that’s three layers of hardened chocolate you’re biting into; make the bars as thin as you can get them to be; it’s a lot more work, yes, but you don’t run the risk of chipping a tooth that way; and 5) These treats are not everyone’s cup of tea — including those who may not particularly dislike a) mint; b) chocolate; or c) the combination of both.
Like me. I did not much care for them. That surprised me too. The white chocolate center killed those bars for me: I prefer my mint filling on the gooey side. And there was simply too much of everything (anyone know where I can buy a bottle of restraint?). I’m counting on the kids. They’ll eat anything. That’s after I warn the help that PhilHealth does not cover dental care.
* Among the familiar herbs, oregano has the highest antioxidant activity, followed by dill, thyme, rosemary, and mint. «
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