The experts’ guide to identifying a quality product
h Don’t be taken in by high cocoa solids, or labels declaring it’s been made with a single bean variety or the country of origin. None of these is a guarantee of quality in itself.
h Dark chocolate should be shiny and evenly coloured: very dark, almost black chocolate may be made with over-roasted beans, which will give it a dull
HONEY
h Honey can range from pale coloured with a subtle floral flavour and scent, to punchy and almost treacle dark, like chestnut honey.
h US honey expert Amina Harris recommends dabbing a little honey on the tip of your tongue and letting it dissolve, before taking a second flavour. The chocolate should break with a sharp “snap”, without splintering or crumbling.
h Milk chocolate will be less shiny, and the flavour should finish on a chocolate note rather than a milky one, with a clean not cloying aftertaste.
h All chocolate should melt evenly in your mouth. larger dollop and swilling it around you mouth. Take a breath in and out through your nose, mouth shut, allowing the flavours to develop in the air. It should have length of flavour that goes on long after you’ve swallowed it.
h Honey that is very runny may have been harvested too early.
BUTTER
h Start by scraping the surface of the butter with a knife: there should be no tiny drops of water on it. The butter should be an even colour, ranging from creamy to deep yellow, and smell creamy with no “off ” notes. The texture shouldn’t be oily or watery.
h “Sweet cream” butter is traditional in the UK and has a clean
h The texture of the fish should be firm, not fatty, with a buttery richness and not dry. If the texture is soggy or slimy, the fish may have been injected with brine (which increases the weight) rather than cured using a salt rub before smoking.
hLondon Cure is a mild smoke, while “peat smoked” salmon milky flavour, while European butter (and increasingly, artisan British butter) is generally made with fermented milk, giving it a slight tang. Neither should taste at all rancid.
h Whey butter is made using the tiny amount of cream left in the whey from cheese production. It has a cheesey, nutty flavour and smell.
will have full-on smoky flavour.
hBadly smoked fish can have a bitter aftertaste, which producers may mask with a very sweet or salty cure or brine.
hLook for a balanced flavour overall that doesn’t need lemon or pepper and which has you reaching for more.