Cocoa Nibs Trail Mix
Chocolate as we know it doesn’t much resemble the pod on the tree. (Chocolate is made from cocoa “beans” that are actually seeds, and those seeds are encased in pods that grow on cocoa trees.) A looooong process has to happen before the seeds of a tropical plant can become a candy bar: the pods are cut down, the seeds are removed from the pods, the seeds are spread out to dry and ferment in the sun for several days, the dried seeds (“beans”) are shipped off to chocolate factories, the dried seeds are roasted, the roasted seeds are pressed, and the resulting cocoa butter (the fatty part of the seed) and the cocoa powder (the non-fatty part of the seed) are mixed back together — usually along with several other ingredients such as sugar, vanilla, nuts, etc. — and then conched and tempered to form glossy chocolate bars. Not a terribly high-tech process, but certainly not something you can do as a weekend project.
You CAN, however, find roasted cocoa nibs to use in your everyday cooking. I finally stumbled upon some the last time I was visiting the deservedly-lauded Zingerman’s. I was delighted to finally get my hands on the roasted nibs — that’s as close as most of us are going to get to the source!
The nibs taste like very buttery, faintly chocolatey nuts. They have that distinctive cocoa scent, too, which adds to their charm. I enjoy eating them plain, but be warned that they are absolutely unsweetened and don’t taste like the chocolate most of us are used to. They are, however, glorious additions to items you’d normally complement with nuts: salads, muffins, cookies, ice cream-based desserts, etc. (I also think they’d be great with rice pilafs and chicken dishes, but I’ve yet to test those theories.) Nibs also make a very sophisticated trail mix, much better than the mixes that contain sugary chocolate chips. In short, if you can find some nibs, you’re in luck! Just think of them as a wholly new ingredient to be enjoyed a little bit at a time in a variety of dishes. Store the nibs in a cool, dark place, savor their nutty crunchiness, and let them inspire you!
Nibs Trail Mix
Combine chopped cashews (the organic roasted and lightly-salted ones at Trader Joe’s are particularly nice), raisins (again, you can’t beat the organic ones at TJ’s), and cocoa nibs in your hand, on a plate, or in a bag. I used a ratio of 2:2:1 (cashews : raisins : nibs) and loved the results, but of course you can use whatever proportions suit your taste buds.
Enjoy!
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Tags: cashews, chocolate, cocoa nibs, raisins, trail mix
