Friday, November 22, 2013

Equal Exchange - Lemon Pepper bar - Nov. 22, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Equal Exchange
Organic Lemon Ginger chocolate with black pepper bar
Good +
Weight: 1.3 oz. (37 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 serving (9 pieces/squares)
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

I was happy to find a new chocolate + lemon bar for this week. I love lemons for both sweet and savory dishes. Today's bar was sweet; however, the flavor additions (lemons, ginger, black pepper*) also could have been used to spice up a vegetable or chicken dish.

Today's Organic Lemon Ginger Chocolate with black pepper bar from Equal Exchange (W. Bridgewater, MA) was long on title and flavor. The bar contained a well-balanced mix of 55% cacao chocolate; fresh-tasting, sweet lemon (organic sugar and lemon oil); hints of candied ginger; and finely ground (or infused) black pepper and vanilla beans.

*Cacao and black pepper are often grown in the same equatorial regions (up to 20 degrees south and north of the Equator), so I've been surprised there aren't more chocolate items that contain pepper. (Equal Exchange works with small farmer co-operatives in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Peru and Ecuador for cacao; farmers in Paraguay for sugar; and farmers in Madagascar for vanilla. I'm not sure where they obtained the black pepper. While black pepper is often associated with India's Malabar coast, Vietnam, and Indonesia/Sumatra, black pepper is also grown in Central and Latin America and cacao growing countries as well.)

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Lemon Theme Week. 
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