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| Chocolate bar |
| Easter alert, chocoholics beware! This story could be addictive... |
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Lilly and Tom Haikin are the proud owners of the first "Max Brenner Chocolate Bar" in Australia. A visit to their Paddington address is an experience not to be missed. They believe the bar services people for whom chocolate is an important and special product and who are interested not only in savoury, quality chocolate but also in the experience of purchasing it and the personal touch they receive from the staff.
Max Brenner was established in Israel in 1996 and his main idea was to design a new chocolate culture. Through his unique product line, you will become familiar for the first time, with the flavours and aromas of cocoa beans from different origins. You will experience many aspects of the hot chocolate drinks and discover traditional as well as modern innovative utensils designed for the hot chocolate ceremony. You will also enjoy traditional chocolate candy recipes as well as modern ones, mixed with lavender flowers, cardamom and black pepper. Max has developed new ways to consume chocolate. The "Suckao" is a special cup with a metal straw and candle underneath that was designed for preparing and drinking thick hot chocolate with a smooth creamy texture.
Today, Max Brenner has 10 stores in Israel and distributes his products to prestigious hotels and gourmet stores around the world including Dean and Deluca and Felissimo in New York, British Airways, Harrods in London, not to mention selected David Jones stores around Australia.
Max specialises in importing and processing cocoa from all over the world and is proud of his line of chocolate powders. The diversity of special tastes is achieved by the different levels of bean roasting, the different countries in which the beans are grown, the type of trees, ground soil and weather conditions. He has created a range of chocolate powders with various flavours added during the cocoa grinding. These powders include orchid oil, caramel, coffee and cinnamon. Customers are encouraged to sniff them from "scent jars" so that they can choose the powder on the basis of the aroma which most appeals.
They also have a "Chocolate pot" — a massive pot of melted chocolate and offer customers complimentary "chocolate licks" ie they get a spoon of it served in a saucer. On Sundays they serve it with a plate of strawberries for dipping, called a "Berry Indulgement".
The Max Brenner philosophy on chocolate :
"Chocolate portrays romance, sensuality, passion, addiction, prestige, warmth, sex, love and nostalgia."
Lilly also believes the proof of good chocolate is when you don't have to drink a glass of water afterwards!!
History of Chocolate:
Chocolate begins with a bean - cacao bean from the cocoa tree grown in countries bounded by the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn including Central and South America, Malaysia, Indonesia, West Africa and Mexico. It has been mashed and eaten for centuries. Cocoa butter, an expensive ingredient and direct by-product of cocoa beans is often substituted for less expensive vegetable fats, thereby reducing the richer qualities on experiences in a good chocolate. Cocoa butter melts at body temperature adding to the overall pleasure of chocolate.
The English word chocolate is derived from "xocolatl" (or "chocolatl"), the chocolate drink that was enjoyed by Aztec royalty. This drink, however, bears little resemblance to what we associate with modern chocolate. "Xocolatl" was made from dried and roasted cocoa beans that were pounded then mixed with water to make a thick paste and was consumed cold.
In 1519, the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez found Aztec Indians making this drink. Aztec Emperor Montezuma reportedly drank 50 or more portions daily. Cortez subsequently brought the beans back to Spain where the chocolate drink was made and then heated with added sweeteners. Spain wisely began to plant cacao trees, but consigned the processing of cocoa beans to monasteries under a veil of secrecy. They kept the recipe to themselves for nearly 100 years, but the secret was finally leaked to the rest of Europe and eventually the world.
Chocolate Trivia- The Aztecs considered chocolate an aphrodisiac and subsequently all chocolate based foods were strictly forbidden to women.
- Ironically, according to several studies, chocolate is the number one food craved by women.
- Chocolate contains the same mood lifting chemical, phenylethylamie, produced by the brain when you fall in love.
- Chocolate is an excellent source of vitamin E and a good source of phosphorous, calcium and iron.
- There is no proof that chocolate causes or aggravates acne. Nor that it causes tooth decay. In fact, there are indications that the cocoa butter in the chocolate coats the teeth and may help plaque from forming.
- Research at the University of California has found that chocolate carries high levels of chemicals known as phenolics, or antioxidants like those found in red wine, and may help lower the risk of heart disease.
- White chocolate is not true chocolate because it contains no cocoa solids. Instead, it's usually a mixture of sugar, cocoa butter, milk solids, lecithin and vanilla, hence it's sweetness.
- Chocolate should be stored, tightly wrapped, in a cool, dry place. If stored at warm temperatures, chocolate will develop a pale grey "bloom" caused when the cocoa butter rises to the surface. Under ideal conditions, dark chocolate can be stored for 10 years. However, because of the milk solids in both milk chocolate and white chocolate, the shouldn't be stored for longer than 9 months.
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More Info
Max Brenner Chocolate Bar
447 Oxford St
Paddington
Ph: 02 9357 5055
Email maxbrenner@bigpond.com
Mail order available nationally
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