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
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 quite intense, many citrus are actually quite subtle after you get past the acidity. However, without the acidity the flavor feels very flat and fake. In chocolate in particular, I find citrus can be tricky because it has a very high water content and makes balancing a ganache more complicated.
I wanted to introduce you to some citrus you may never have seen, or only tasted in very particular situations. These are some of my all time favorites, so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Yuzu Milk Chocolate Ganache
Yuzu is finally starting to get its moment in the sun. This little citrus from East Asia is a hybrid of a mandarin and a kind of lemon, which helps to explain its floral and almost sweet notes. It is a very difficult plant to grow, and is covered in extremely sharp thorns – no wonder it isn’t more popular agriculturally! It can be a very subtle flavor as when heated the flavor compounds denature quite quickly. This chocolate is bright and light, with the milk chocolate rounding the acidity out.
Black Lime White Chocolate Ganache
You may not know this version of lime! The Middle Eastern preparation of limes consists of boiling the fruit in brine and drying them in the sun until they turn black and almost hollow. They develop a tangy, earthy flavor while keeping the lime sourness. I really wanted to show off this unique citrus, so I steeped them in the ganache cream for 20 minutes, then grated more back in fresh, along with some green lime zest. You end up with a tangy, sour ganache with white chocolate vanilla notes that play so nicely!
Candied Mandarin Peel with Mandarin Caramel White Chocolate Ganache
Mandarins are actually one of the original variants of citrus! All modern citrus come from hybridizations of mandarin, pomelo, citron, and papeda (the Makrut lime is a subspecies!). Mandarins are smaller and more oblong than oranges, and the flavor is more intense. They have a thin skin and easily segment. You probably see mandarins most commonly under the Cuties brand here in the US. Because the peel is very aromatic I wanted to highlight it in this chocolate. By candying the peel, you get a little chew and crunch and a big burst of the sweet orange flavor that melts into the ganache.
Kumquat Milk Chocolate Ganache
Coming from Southeast China, these small oval citrus are a very unique sweet and tart treat. You eat the entire fruit, peel and all! I wanted to make sure to get both the sweet and tart fully represented, which the milk chocolate helps with.
Calamansi Dark Chocolate Ganache
Probably my favorite citrus, I think calamansi needs to be far more widely known. Also known as calamondin or Phillipine lime, it is used throughout Southeast Asia for sauces, drinks, marinades, and desserts. It is a hybrid of the kumquat and the mandarin, which explains the extreme sourness ending in orange sweetness. I absolutely adore this citrus, and I hope this ganache lets you start to love it too!
Bergamot Caramel
The bergamot orange comes from Southern Italy, and it is wonderful. You are probably most familiar with it in Earl Grey tea! It is floral, less sour than a lemon and more bitter than a grapefruit. In this caramel, you get the bitterness, then the sourness at the end, with the floral note floating throughout. Very delicate and light, this chocolate is positively addictive!
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