TGRWT #1 roundup – coffee, chocolate, garlic

It’s time to sum up the contributions to the food blogging event They go really well together (TGRWT). There were five seven contributions plus a number of suggestions in the comments to the announcement post and I would like to thank you all very much indeed for taking time to experiment in your kitchens! Here are the results (in no particular order):

tgrwt-1-roundup-lamiacucina.jpg Lamiacucina: Candied, chocolate coated Garlic. Garlic cloves were heated in a strong sugar-coffee solution. Cloves were then dried and coated with chocolate. Succession of taste and aroma: strong, unpleasant character of garlic. Bloggers verdict: disappointing!

tgrwt-1-roundup-matthieu.jpg Blog & White: Chocolate-Coffee Mayonnaise with Garlic. Adapted from Hervé This’ chocolate mayonnaise with added coffee and garlic. Succession of taste and aroma: chocolate aroma is followed by taste of garlic and sweetness of chocolate, coffee aftertaste. Bloggers verdict: Interesting (but wife hates it!).

tgrwt-1-roundup-tara.jpgShould you eat that: Mocha Tofu Mousse with Garlic. Roasted garlic cloves were added to an adapted version of Scharfenberger’s mocha tofu mousse. Succession of taste and aroma: coffee followed by chocolate, then a subtle, sweet, roasted garlic aftertaste. Bloggers verdict: I would definately make it again!

tgrwt-1-roundup-msblog.jpg M’s blog: Mocca garlic creme brulee. As the name suggests a creme brulee with espresso, chocolate and a garlic clove. Bloggers verdict: Tasted like mocca creme brulee.

tgrwt-1-roundup-khymos.jpg Khymos: Coffee espuma with garlic and chocolate. Coffee and cream espuma with added chocolate and roasted garlic. Succession of taste and aroma: coffee with sweet taste, then a faint chocolate aroma followed by a garlicky aftertaste. My verdict: Aromas blend well together. Would use less garlic for dessert version.

Entries added after first posting:

tgrwt-1-roundup-grape.jpgGrapeThinking: Roasted garlic dipped in melted chocolate with coffee beans. Succession of taste and aroma: Roast garlic doesn’t have much of a smell. Chocolate and coffee always smell good. Bloggers verdict: Good aroma. Taste was good in the beginning; slightly funky aftertaste. Texture of garlic was good.

tgrwt-1-roundup-kompottsurfer.jpg Kompottsurfer: Espresso-risotto with bitter chocolate, tomatoe and mozzarella (posting in German). Bloggers verdict: Color was a disaster, and difficult to get relative proportions right. But aroma worked out prette nice.

From the different comments it seems that garlic is a difficult beast to tame, especially when used raw. A major challenge is finding the right balance between the aromas. Garlic was either too strong or almost absent. Chocolate and coffee however seem to go very well together (and my preliminary search for odor activity values confirm this – more on this soon!).

I also find it interesting that ratios of chocolate, coffee and garlic used influence the succession of aroma and taste (“>” meaning “followed by”):

  • coffee > chocolate > garlic (mousse and espuma)
  • chocolate > garlic > coffee (mayonnaise)
  • garlic > chocolate, coffee (chocolate coated garlic)

    • Is it a coincidence that coffee is the first aroma noticed in the two “foamy” preparations or is this simply a result of the different ratios used?

    I should mention that I also tried to make a chicken mole using the three ingredients. Based on a couple of recipes from the net and some tinkering I ended up with a chicken mole that had a little too much chocolate… It tasted … eh … strange, so I decided to add balsamic vinegar which helped a lot! The coffee blended in very well however, so this is how I would make it the next time using less chocolate:

    Chocolate coffee chicken mole
    800 g canned, crushed tomatoes
    750 g chicken breast,
    1 red chili, chopped
    2 t chili paste
    2 onions, chopped
    6 cloves of garlic, chopped
    3 dL coffee
    150 g pistacchio nuts, chopped
    1 t ground cumin
    30-50 g dark chocolate
    2 T sugar
    1-2 T balsamico vinegar

    Brown onions. Add the rest and simmer. Season to taste with chocolate, balsamico vinegar and sugar. Serve with rice. Sprinkle with coriander/cilantro or ruccola/rocket salad.

    There were also a number of recipe suggestions in the comments to the three posts on the coffee/chocolate/garlic theme.

    16 Comments

    2. I made a tentative handful of truffles with
      30g organic chocolate chips
      15mL heavy cream (40%), roughly (eyeballed it)
      4g freshly, finely ground Harrar (beans from Oren’s Daily Roast, NYC)
      varying amounts of freeze-dried garlic (Just Roasted Garlic by Just Tomatoes).

      Because the garlic is crunchy and sweet, I thought this would be a better fit for a sweet dish. I like it a lot! Chilled, the chocolate hits first, then the coffee. Only as you chew does the (delightfully crunchy) garlic make itself known. To my surprise, I liked the most heavily garlicked truffle best. I believe having infused the cream would have produced a desirable flavor, as well.

      The mole intrigues me the most, as it’s a savory dish!

      Great contest, and I love the blog!
      N.

    6. Hi Martin,
      great idea, starting TGRWT, because flavour pairing is the most important part of moleculare gastronomy.

      Love your blog!

      Best regards from Germany
      Klaus

    9. Hey, your blog is right up my alley. In fact, I am starting a blog of my own and I was hoping it would be ok with you if I made a link to yours from mine and then maybe vice versa…? Let me know, I’d really appreciate it.

      -Noah

    10. […] history: TGRWT #1 hosted by Martin coffee, chocolate & garlic (round-up) TGRWT #2 hosted by Tara banana & parsley (round-up) TGRWT #3 hosted by Evelin strawberry […]

    11. Hi Martin

      Im developing a garlic coffee and chocolate drink for a barista competition in the near future and was wandering if you had discovered any fantastic ways to combine these wonderful ingredients in a drink.

      At the moment I have created a coffee based drink with a hint of chocolate. I have used only a hint of garlic to create a percieved depth to the drink. The hint of garlic really brings out the aromas in the coffee and chocolate

      Any thoughts?

    12. […] history: TGRWT #1 hosted by Martin coffee, chocolate & garlic (round-up) TGRWT #2 hosted by Tara banana & parsley (round-up) TGRWT #3 hosted by Evelin strawberry […]

    15. It is a nice contibution by They go really well together (TGRWT). Each of the seven contibutions were nice and yummy. But as the writer mentioned that garlic is a difficult beast to tame when used raw, I completely agree with it and if the balance of the aroma is not correct then it might put some people off. If you like this then you should also visit
      http://www.stumblerz.com/chocolate-fun-facts/

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