After we take down our Christmas tree and return home from the New Year holiday, stores seem to change almost instantly and are covered with hearts, reds, pinks, chocolate, flowers, lace, and anything love-related.
最近、スーパーやお店では徐々に恋愛テーマやチョコレートの販売、ハートの飾りを上げているとこにお気づきになりましたか？
In places that celebrate Valentine’s Day, it's often associated with romance; in others it’s not only romantic but can also be a day to celebrate friendship. In Japan, it often leans on the romantic side.
バレンタインデーという友人や恋人にお礼や感謝の気持ちを伝えられる大事な日が遂にやってきます！
People everywhere go out and buy chocolate-making supplies, baking ingredients, or ready-made boxed chocolate; the most popular method however is making your own!
バレンタインデーではチョコレートやデザートを買ったりする人が多くいますけど、やはり一番人気なのは自分で作ることです！
We went into our own kitchen and asked one of our chefs, Alvin, to give us some tips on baking up some Valentine’s Day yummies!
大切な日に美味しいデザート作りの秘訣とは何かシェフ（アルビン）に聞いてみました！
Making your own chocolate might be a little scary, but according Alvin, it’s not that hard at all! Especially with what you can buy in stores these days.
アルビンシェフによりますと、実はスーパーで買えるチョコレート作りキットでお得で簡単に自宅でチョコレートを作ることができると言います！
In Japan most of the the groceries and mall start putting up booths for Valentine’s supplies in January. It can be a bit pricey so we recommend mixing your supplies with some you can get at cheaper places. The good news is however, if you want more supplies that are better quality for next year, a lot of stores put their Valentine’s Day supply stock at really low prices after the day.
“Valentine’s never changes so you can reuse it every year,” said Alvin.
場所によってお得でバレンタインデーグッズやチョコレート・デザート作りの食器などを手に入れられます！以下はバレンタインデーの品物が買えるお店一覧です。
For stores of where you can find supplies or luxurious boxed chocolate he recommends:
Isetan 伊勢丹
Marui マルイ
Mitsukoshi 三越
Tokyu Hands 東急ハンズ
If you are tight on money you can also check other stores like:
他にも、
Don Quijote ドン・キホーテ
Loft ロフト
Daiso ダイソー
Or other 100 yen shops!
でも購入いただけます！
Kappabashi a.k.a. Kitchen town is also great since it’s basically kitchen supplies everywhere!
かっぱ橋道具街（Kitchen Town）でも様々なデザート作るための食器があります！
Beware, however, the quality will decrease and the chance of reusing supplies will be slim.
If you are buying your supplies, sometimes stores have them in bundles or they have them all lined up close together.
Molds, bags, chocolate bars, sprinkles, icing are some of the ingredients you might use for your treats.
チョコレートバーやアイシング、スプリンクルスなども使ってデザインするのもをおすすめします！
If cooking or baking isn’t your forte but you do want to make something, they also have kits with instructions!
A good thing about making chocolate is that it also doesn’t take much time!
チョコレート作りキットなら料理の苦手な人でも簡単に、短い時間で作ることができます！
“Normally if you make tempered/melted chocolate it should take about 40 mins to - 1 hour from start to finish,” said Alvin.
「なめらかチョコを作る場合は作り始めてから40分から1時間の時間帯で作れます」ー アルビンシェフ
Once you made your chocolate, here are a few things to remember!
覚えておくこともいくつかお伝えします～
If you aren’t giving it to someone right away, make sure to store it in a cool, dry place. NOT the freezer! The freezer will cause the chocolate to experience “sugar bloom” which is when the cold surface meets warmer air and causes condensation on top of the chocolate. This will dissolve some of the sugar and make it grainy with a white surface layer. A cupboard in an airtight container is just fine!
チョコレートを作った直後プレゼントしない場合は冷凍庫に保存しないこと！代わりにできるだけ涼しい場所で保存するのが一番です。冷凍庫に入れることで味に変化する可能性があるのでご注意ください。
Aside from that, the chocolate should last quite a while, depending on the percentage, up to about 1 week.
一週以上保存するのはおすすめしません～
If that special person you're thinking of doesn’t like traditional chocolate, we have a few different suggestions!
“If they don’t like chocolate at all, try a no-bake cheesecake! They are easy to make and you can find loads of recipes online,” said Alvin.
チョコレート好きではない人にはチーズケーキもいいと思います！
No-bake cheesecakes are also child-safe since there is no heat or fire involved; it’s safe for little kids to make!
混ぜるだけで作れるレシピもあるのでお子さんとも楽しく安全で完成できます
If you have someone who is into fitness and is on a strict diet, granola bars with raspberries or dark chocolate is perfect! Or even a nice fruit bowl with their favorite fruits — topped with greek yogurt and dark chocolate.
ダイエット中の方にはグラノーラ、砂糖少なめのダークチョコレートをおすすめします！または好きな果物とグリークヨーグルトなどもいいと思います～
“Also, since we are on the topic of dark chocolate, it’s also perfect for older people or even your boss since it can appear more elegant and there’s less sugar!”
「お年寄りの方々にもダークチョコレートや砂糖の少ないデザートをプレゼントするのがピッタリ！！」
Happy Valentine's Day!
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