Cocoa Smuggling and Goat Cheese Chocolate Truffles
Cocoa Pods (Photo Courtesy of the Ghana Cocoa Board)
As I’m sure most of you know, there have been problems with the cocoa bean’s production involving slavery, child labor, and deliberate infection of the Theobroma cacao to control or dominate prices in the markets. It turns out there is now quite a bit of smuggling going on too. Ghana wants to make an attempt to get their cocoa production to 1 million tons by 2012. The Ghana Cocoa Board says that up to 60% of the country’s production of cocoa is smuggled out of the country. That’s a lot of cocoa.
Quality Control (Photo Courtesy of the Ghana Cocoa Board)
Where is this cocoa being smuggled too? Turns out it’s going to neighboring Ivory Coast, where most of the controversy involving the slavery and child labor are happening. The Cocoa Board thinks this is happening because farmers are being told that cocoa is only boasting the destination economies not the selling/providing countries. In London alone, cocoa prices have risen to the highest price since 1977. Farmers want to make sure they receive top dollar for their beans.
Ghana Seed Production Unit (Photo Courtesy of the Ghana Cocoa Board)
The Quality Control Division of the Ghana Cocoa Board has introduced border security squads to prevent the cocoa from being smuggled out of the country. Their fear is that unless this smuggling stops, the government will no longer support the cocoa growers. At this point, the government wants to provide the cocoa growers with the modern equipment they would need to meet the 1 million ton export mark. Alhaji Abubakar Alhassan says the government would be “Supplying fertilizers and hybrid cocoa seedlings at subsidized prices and compensating farmers who were forced to replant due to Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease.” The Ghana Cocoa Board said that the board planned to distribute 8m hybrid cocoa seedlings to farmers in the Western Region this year.
Cocoa Beans
Also said to be offered by the Ghana government are support pension schemes, scholarship schemes and investing in rural infrastructure. Something else the government is working on are much needed roads to get the cocoa from the growers to delivery. Currently, Ghana is the world’s second largest producer of cocoa in the world next to the Ivory Coast. Last year Ghana exported 703,000 tons of cocoa.
I’ll be interested to see if Ghana reaches their goal and farmers learn to both trust and benefit from the system. On a lighter note…about five years ago a friend came back from Paris and said, “Annie, you won’t believe it. The French are making chocolate truffles with goat cheese. They were a life changing experience. I have to try making some.” I couldn’t agree more. The Whole Foods in Austin offered brie with a chocolate chipotle sauce on it for parties and it was outstanding. Chocolate goat cheese truffles had to be even better. He made them and they were outstanding. I haven’t had them since.
Goat Chees Truffles from France
The goat cheese chocolate truffles from Paris were little balls of goat cheese enrobbed in dark chocolate and then rolled in nuts. The recipe I have provided for you here comes from Dying for Chocolate‘s website.
Goat Cheese
This recipe was adapted from Goat Cheese Chocolate Truffles that Dying for Chocolate found on Epicurious. This recipe originally appeared in Gourmet Magazine, October 1993. Time to make more!
Goat Cheese Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients:
6 ounces dark chocolate (70-85% cacao organic fair trade chocolate), chopped
6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) room temperature fresh goat cheese
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla
1/8 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder, sifted, for coating the truffles
Directions:
In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth, remove the bowl from the pan, and let the chocolate cool slightly.
In a different bowl whisk together the goat cheese, the confectioners’ sugar, the vanilla, and lemon juice until the mixture is light and fluffy, whisk in the chocolate until the mixture is combined well, and chill the mixture, covered, for 1 hour, or until firm.
Form heaping teaspoons of the mixture into balls and roll the balls in the cocoa powder. Chill the truffles on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper for 30 minutes, or until they are firm. The truffles keep in an airtight container, chilled, for 3 days.
Goat Cheese Truffles
Tags: Chocolate, Cocoa, cocoa growers, Ghana, Ghana Cocoa Board, goat cheese, Ivory Coast, Truffles
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OH MY! I think I am in heaven! I adore goat cheese and these sound like a great addition to an appetizer cheese plate. I bet they were to die for! Nicely done!
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