Monthly Flavors for March – What an A-peeling Month!
Welcome to March, the height of citrus season! Citrus is really interesting and somewhat complicated to use in baking and chocolate. While the flavor feels
August is here and it is hot. Clearly this means I need to play around with spicy ingredients! I sorted these based on Scoville units, the measurement of the spiciness of chili peppers. I wonder if you will be as surprised as I was with the ranking! Now, I am by no means any sort of spice fiend, so these are not terribly spicy – just enough for flavor! Don’t be scared, and let me know what you think.
Szechuan Peppercorn and Lemon Dark Chocolate Ganache
Szechuan peppercorns do not have a Scoville rating. They do not have capsaicin, the compound measured by Scoville units. Instead, they contain hydroxy-alpha-sanshool, which creates a tingling, numbing sensation on the tongue. So that seems like a good place to start this month off! Szechuan pepper has a citrus note which pairs really well with lemon and the acidity of dark chocolate.
Mango and Tajin Caramel
Tajin’s main 3 peppers fall between 1,000-30,000 Scoville units, so it is next up! Tajin is a Mexican seasoning of chile, salt, and lime often used on fruit. In this caramel, the lime cuts through some of the sweetness of the mango while the spice rounds it out.
Aleppo Pepper and Mint White Chocolate Ganache
Aleppo pepper falls in the 2,500-10,000 Scoville range. Known for its fruitiness, Aleppo pepper is used mostly in Turkish, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean cuisines. In fact, it is the most used spice in Turkey behind salt and pepper! Given the range of uses, I thought mint made a wonderful pairing. It hits a somewhat similar vibe to some yogurt sauces I love from these cuisines!
Serrano Jelly with Peach White Chocolate Ganache
Serrano peppers clock in at 10,000 – 23,000 Scoville units. I thought this was going to be one of the spiciest choices this month, but it only comes in #4! This is the chocolate that started the whole idea for the month, actually. I really love the contrast between spicy and sweet, and peaches are so luscious and delicious right now. The jelly is made with dried apricot and white vinegar which comes the whole chocolate depth and brightness in contrast to the ganache.
Coconut Almond Praline with Bird’s Eye Chile and Lemongrass Caramel
Bird’s Eye Chili come in at 50,000 – 100,000 Scoville units. I was sure this was going to be the spiciest, but I was wrong! I wanted to pay homage to Vietnamese and Thai flavors with this chocolate. Coconut, lemongrass, lime, and chili are a combination seen in many different dishes, and they make so much sense in chocolate!
Ginger and Strawberry Ganache with Crystallized Ginger
Ginger tops off the scale at 60,000-160,000 Scoville depending on if it has been dried or cooked. That is crazy! I definitely do not think of ginger as spicier than serranos or other chilies. But I tried to lean into that by using as many types of ginger as I could – the ganache has fresh and dried ginger, and there are large hunks of crystallized ginger throughout. Delicious!
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Pistachio and raspberry are such a great combination. The pistachio adds to the buttery-ness of the cookies, and the raspberry brings a little tanginess. What’s not to love?
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This recipe was created by Lost Bread Company in Philadelphia. The combo of salty and sweet is pretty perfect here, even finishing the cookies off with a nice mix of flaky salt and demerara sugar. The end result is buttery, salty/sweet, and a little tangy. So good they are hard to share!
Welcome to March, the height of citrus season! Citrus is really interesting and somewhat complicated to use in baking and chocolate. While the flavor feels