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Pages 15B-21B Foods ...Pag ... Page 14B Helping Paws 3»,7B What 's cook ing CANDY-Page 3B INDEX/SECTION B FOOD Wednesday, July 24,1985 Section B A chocolate lover's dream come t. County businesses keep sweet tooth satisfied By Mark Smith - Herald staff writer Box after box, row after row, of every kind of chocolate imaginable. It's every chocoholic's dream to be locked in a candy store to sample and consume the delights at hand. The next best thing would be to work in a candy store. But what is it like to actually make chocolates? Candy making is really an art more than a business for those who still make candy by hand. In McHenry County there are two businesses still practicing the art by hand: Anderson Candy in Richmond and Mellum Chocolates in Woodstock. Anderson's was originally opened in 1926 and now is in its third gener­ ation of owner-operators. Currently, the brothers Lief and Lars are tak­ ing care of the day-to-day opera­ tions of Anderson's, with the candy- making process being relatively unchanged from the methods per­ fected by their grandfather. In com- Sarison, Mellum Chocolates, owned y Elton Mellum, only opened its doors in 1979 and is already seeing major changes in its operation. These two companies are perfect examples of the way chocolates were commonly made, versus the changes technology has brought about. To begin with, professionals prefer to call it "chocolate making" rather than candy making. What may surprise many people is chocolate makers do not really make the chocolate. Lief Anderson said that even the smallest choco- late-producing plant, for turning raw beans into the finished product, would cost close to $1 million. The costs prohibit all but the largest companies from producing their own chocolate. Each maker does, however, mix the chocolates he uses (o make his individual blend. According to Anderson, all the raw chocolate is produced by only about 20 companies. Before World War U there were approximately - .; - S* • . it" • •- 500 companies making chocolate, but most of the smaller ones have since been forced out, or gone out of business. He said that most of the original recipes are still around -- they are just sold by different people. After the individual chocolate makers receive their blocks of raw chocolate, they combine the specific proportions/amounts of each type into melters to achieve an individ­ ual blend. The chocolate must be heated to the proper temperature and allowed to stand to properly .temper it so it doesn't "bloom". Blooming is the condition when chocolate turns a whitish color. The taste is not affected, but the appear­ ance is less pleasing. Once the chocolate has been prop­ erly tempered, the dipping process can begin. The term dipping is not always accurate. In the case of Mel- lum's, the centers are actually hand-dipped into a bowl of chocolate by the "dippers". Dippers at Anderson's, on the oth­ er hand, pour a blob of chocolate out onto a cutting board. The chocolate is then separated into smaller por­ tions: one the dipper works with, and one held in reserve. The choco­ late being worked with is then pulled into the air to allow the air to cool it and bring it down to the proper temperature. At that point the centers are added to the choco­ late. The centers are then turned in the chocolate until they are com­ pletely and evenly covered. The chocolates are next tapped to settle the chocolate and then put on trays to cool. In each case, as the dippers pull their hands away from the choco­ late, they mark each piece with a specific letter or design. While there are some similarities between the markings each maker uses, therejs not one industry standard for mark­ ing each type of chocolate. Some makers do provide an index for their assortments/but most just use the markings for JJteir own information. Mellum said that it takes about four months to train his dippers before they can work independent­ ly; whereas Anderson said it can take up to a full year for a dipper to become proficient with their meth­ od. Eventually all the dippers be­ come so proficient that they can tell when the coating is at the correct temperature just by touch, and can produce chocolates that vary only slightly in weight. To point out the accuracy of the dippers, Anderson said that a fin­ ished tray of candy bars, containing 15 bars, will not normally vary by more than a half an ounce from tray to tray. Other then the different coating blends, the real difference between each chocolate maker is in the fill­ ings they use. The quality of the ingredients, and the recipe used to make the fillings is what really sep­ arates one chocolate maker from another. According to Anderson, the three basic types of fillings are creams, caramels and fudge. The basic in­ gredient in each filling is, of course, sugar. Cream, milk and corn syrup are the other most basic ingredi­ ents. By varying the amounts of each of these ingredients the differ­ ent varieties of fillings can be created. Despite their names. Anderson said that creams do not typically contain any cream, but rather con­ sist mostly of sugar. The name ap­ plies to their texture, not their in­ gredients. He added that creams actually take the longest time to make of all their chocolates, be­ cause of the time they must be left to stand. Caramels and fudge are made from basically the same recipe. An­ derson said, despite the differences in the finished product. Caramel and fudge differ from creams be­ cause dairy cream and milk are used to make them. They mainly differ in how the product is treated after it has been cooked. Anderson explained that the reci­ pes are almost identical, but an additional ingredient is added once the fudge is removed from the heat that is not added to the caramel. They add a fondant, a soft, creamy candy made of sugar, to turn the caramel into fudge. Anderson said that fondant works similar to the marshmallow creme that many people use in their home-made fudge recipes. English toffee is really in a class of its own, because it normally comes in only one variety. Each maker usually has just one recipe that they have found to be the best. The primary ingredients are cream and butter. The quantity of butter is usually what makes the difference in recipes, Anderson said. All the other varieties of fillings offered by Anderson are really just minor modifications of these basic formulas. He said the wide variety of fillings is generally achieved by changing only one or two ingredi­ ents; or by cooking the same recipe at a different temperature. Despite some makers claims to the contrary, Anderson said that there really is such a thing as a secret recipe. "Any good candy maker can du plicate any candy by tasting it," he June Cavarretta Is meal planning task or challenge? Is meal planning a task or a challenge? Sometimes the answer to that question depends on what kind of day we've had. Two new cookbooks, "Make-A-Mix" and "More Make-A-Mix Cook­ ery" show that cooking with homemade mixes give you the ease and economy you desire without sacrificing flavor. These two books are the results'of the women authors sharing their ideas and pooling their knowledge. "Make-A-Mix" begins with master mixes which the authors call the roadmaps to all the 200 recipes found in the first volume. These versatile mixes can be relied upon for a complete line of menus. Basically, master mixes come in three types: dry mixes, which can be stored ̂ ip to eight months; semi-dry mixes, which contain a shortening and stay fresh for up to 12 weeks; and freezer-refrigerator mixes, which keep well for about three months. "Quick Mix" is basically a biscuit mix and can be used in almost three dozen recipes in the book, including doughnuts, coffeecakes, biscuits, cookies, pudding cakes, and cobblers. "Wheat Mix," made with non-fat dry milk powder, wheat germ, and whole wheat flour, is a semi-dry mix that produces pancakes, waffles, quick bread, muffins, and a breakfast cake. Many mesds can be made in minutes from "Braised Beef Cube Mix" and "Ready Hamburger Mix." With those in your freezer, you can produce beef bourguignonne, stroganoff, stew, tacos, spaghetti, taco salad, and enchiladas. A meat sauce mix is an especially attractive time-saver; with that in your freezer, you're not far from a fresh pizza, stuffed green peppers, chili, sloppy joes, or a tamale pie. The list of master mixes goes on: a chicken mix (makes sweet and sour chicken, among others); a garden vegetable mix that can be added to soups and casseroles; a white sauce mix, handy to keep in the refrigerator; and basic mixes for gingerbread, brownies, pie crust, and pudding and pie mix. Campers will particularly enjoy this book: the authors suggest menus for three days that are well-suited to outdoor preparation. Many of the mixes are suited for backpacking, too. Another chapter suggests mixes and decorative containers appropri­ ate for gift-giving. "More Make-A-Mix Cookery" was inspired by the success of the first volume. It provides more refrigerator and freezer mixes, small quantity mixes, and more mixes containing whole-wheat and little or no preservatives. Chicken and gravy mixes need only a cup of water to be reconstituted for use in recipes. A marinade blend mix kept on hand can tenderixe flank steak and make bean salad or a mushroom dish served as an appetizer. An oriental stir-fry mix is stored in the refrigerator and used in shrimp, beef, and chicken recipes. Butter balls can be frozen in plops on a cookie sheet and easily turned into a white sauce for use in eight of their recipes or your own creations. A chapter just for children provides mixes for chocolate and lemon cake, frosting, and cookies. In both books, the authors suggest ways to get started on mix cookery, including a time-saving plan to make a few mixes at one time. Organization is essential, and they show you exactly what you nedft to make mix cookery work for you. What's nice about these books is you can start with small items to COOKING-Page 3B Hot salads a trend in summer eating for frying. Arrange the chicken strips on lettuce and Worcester­ shire sauce, green onions and mushrooms. Tomato wedges and chopped parsley add the final touch of color. Beef Picadillo salad captures the flavor of sunny Mexico. Spoon the piquant ground beef mixture spiced with green pepper, cur­ rants and chili peppers, onto a bed of lettuce. Garnish with tomato wedges, then top with a dollop of Sour cream and a sprinkling of almonds. Compliment either salad with French bread, iced tea and peaches in custard sauce. Fried Chicken Salad 4 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned V< cup milk 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce l/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sesame seed % teaspoon salt Vfe cup oil 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar Vz teaspoon tarragon leaves % sliced fresh mushrooms 3 green onions, sliced Lettuce leaves 2 to 3 tomatoes, cut into wedges Chopped fresh parsley Cut chicken into half-inch strips. Combine milk and one tablespoon Worcestershire sauce in medium- size bowl. Combine flour, sesame seed and half-teaspoon salt. Dip chicken pieces first in milk mix­ ture and then in flour mixture. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry chicken pieces, half at a time, until golden brown, about five minutes. Drain on paper towels. Remove skillet from heat. Add vinegar; stir to loosen brown bits in bottom of pan. Add remain­ ing one tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, tarragon and remaining Va teaspoon salt. Stir in mushrooms and onions. Arrange several let­ tuce leaves and tomato wedges on each of four plates or serving plat­ ter. Place chicken strips on let­ tuce and spoon dressing over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley. Four servings. Beef Picadillo Salad 1 pound lean ground beef 1 small green pepper, chopped \2 cup chopped onion 1 can (8-oz.) tomato sauce v3 cup currants or raisins 1 tablespoon French's Worcester­ shire sauce Mr to 1-can jalapeno pepper, seed­ ed and finely minced 34 teaspoon French's garlic salt \a teaspoon French's oregano leaves Vs teaspoon French's ground cin­ namon • HOT SALADS-Page 7B Who said salads have to be serv­ ed cold? Hot salads are a delicious change of pace for light summer meals. "Warm up your family's ap­ petites with these two new, hot summer salads. Fried Chicken Salad and Beef Picadillo Salad are hearty main-dish salads bursting with flavor. Fried Chicken Salad features strips of golden fried chicken nestled on a bed of bibb or leaf let­ tuce. A dip of milk, flour, Worcestershire sauce and sesame seeds adds the distinctive coating