Chocolate of the Day:
Rogue Chocolatier
Sambirano 70% bar
Very Good
Weight: .848 oz. (24 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) total bar
Calories: 127 calories (estimate) in 40% of 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA
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Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Lemon Theme Week.
What does this lovely Sambirano* 70% single origin bar from
Rogue Chocolatier (Three Rivers, MA) have to do with lemons? The answer has to do with experimenting with flavor pairings.
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Much like there are color groupings that will work better in a given context than others -- one can pair chocolate with items that mirror, complement or oppose certain characteristics of a bar. Sometimes the pairings result in delightful surprises and sometimes the results are oddly unpredictable.
The profile (tasting notes) printed on this bar's packaging stated: "citrus, rum raisin, toast." I mimicked the tasting notes, by pairing this bar with slices of (gluten-free) raisin toast, drizzled with Meyer lemon infused olive oil; Myers's dark rum, and Meyer lemon jam.
I enjoyed the pairing; however, with a bar this good, I also made sure to savor bites of chocolate before, during and after the toast plate items. This artfully complex bar did indeed have very pleasing, well-balanced citrus and raisin notes.
*This 70% Sambirano bar was made with cacao beans from the Akesson Estate, in Madagascar. The most recent batch (bar) may have slightly different tasting notes. Much like a wine, batches differ from year to year.