Counterfeit Chocolate
Chocolate grows locally in Peru and there is even some speculation that the Peruvian amazon basin was the original home. There is a chocolate museum just a few blocks from where we live that lets you taste the chocolate at the various stages of production. We will probably go on another tour soon.
The raw chocolate ingredients
All of you who know Stephen, will know how difficult it has been for him that we can’t find chocolate chips in the grocery story. We’ve been having to make do and satisfy our sweet tooth as we can – living on the wild side in a world without chocolate chip cookies.
We were tempted by this slice of chocolate cake at a bakery around the corner from us.
Delicious LOOKING chocolate cake
Sadly it was a huge disappointment. In spite of how chocolatey this looks, between the two of us we couldn’t finish it. Maybe there was in fact chocolate in the cake, we just couldn’t taste it…
We should have taken the fact that for every 10 kilos of chocolate that a European eats every year, a Peruvian consumes 600 grams. Which left us wondering how they got the convincing colour?
Hey Christina: It seems that there is a coffee and chocolate fair at: The Fair is being held in Larco Mar in Miraflores, Lima-Peru and is a gathering of various groups featuring their products made with coffee and chocolate that was grown and harvested here in Peru. A visit to the fair comes with a variety of samples – from brownies to chocolate Pisco liqueur, from tejas to sushi!
Some of the standouts for me are the delicious treats baked up by La Bodeguita Belga. Business is booming for them as they create desserts and muffins using Belgian Chocolate. Delicious!
Maybe you should search a bit more for chocolate bars and make chocolate chunk cookies instead!
“Maybe you should search a bit more for chocolate bars and make chocolate chunk cookies instead!”
Yes. Christina should do this. Definitely, and I agree.
Hey Stephen
You are a pretty good chef – why don’t you make these cookies?
I’m an occasionally lucky chef, but thank you. I figure it’s a lose-lose proposition. Either they end up dreadful and I waste valuable chocolate chunky ingredients, or I do it well and Christina decides she doesn’t need to make me chocolate goodies anymore. I call that last one the ‘nightmare scenario’.