Snickers - Pumpkin - Oct. 31, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mars
Snickers - Pumpkin
Good
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.2 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 160 calories in 1 package
Cost: $0.66 for 1 package /(3 for $2.00 - sale price)
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Trick or Treat Theme Week, and to one of the biggest candy and chocolate days of the year. Happy Halloween!

I have fond memories of childhood Halloween nights skipping (as well as one could in a mask and bulky costume) along roads dimly lit by candle-filled, carved pumpkins, and coming home with sacks of tri-colored candy corn, tiny wax teeth and bottles filled with sweet syrup, and the occasional sucker or Tootsie Pop.

However, candy bars, such as today's Snickers bar from Mars (Hackettstown, NJ), were among the most prized treasures.

The joys of childhood don't always carry over into adulthood. And more's the pity for it, mostly. I'm more conscious of what I eat now; and I prefer simpler, more natural foods, including chocolates. Reading labels and finding lactose, hydrogenated oils, palm oil, artificial flavor, etc. can be off-putting.

However, tonight I made an exception and I enjoyed this gooey, crunchy sweet, nutty, chocolatey pumpkin-shaped candy, a variation on the classic Snickers bar. Childhood memories are powerful things.

Nestle - Butterfinger Peanut Butter Skull - Oct. 30, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Nestle
Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups - Skull
Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 190 calories in 1 package
Cost: 2 for $1.00 (sale)/ $0.50 for 1 package
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Trick or Treat Week. On this day before Halloween (and pre-Day of the Dead weekend), what better way to celebrate than a skull-shaped chocolate peanut butter cup. A "Smooth and Crunchy Skull" no less.

Wait, what is that apparition coming out of the candy mist? As it materialized, this spooky Butterfinger Halloween skull from Nestle seemed to say: "Arrgh. Dead men tell no tales." (Well, they don't after you bite off their jaws.) And, how kind this grinning skull was to let me feast on its chocolate bones and peanut butter and crunchy, peanut toffee brains.

The list of ingredients for this skull was long and included some items I'd rather not be haunted by (lactose, palm oil, hydrogenated oils, etc.). However, what a treat to see that Nestle has done away with artificial flavors and colors, and used natural colorings (paprika and annatto).

In February 2015, the company pledged to take this step with some popular candy offerings—including Butterfinger, Crunch and Baby Ruth bars—by the end of 2015.

*The Butterfinger candy bar was developed by the Curtis Candy Company in Chicago in the 1920s, and was eventually sold (in 1990) to Nestle. 

Ghirardelli - Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Squares - Oct. 29, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ghirardelli Chocolate Company
Squares - Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Caramel
Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 5.32 oz. (151 g.) in total package
Calories: 140 calories in 2 squares
Cost: $3.50 (sale price) for 1 package of 10 squares
Purchased from: Safeway, Albany, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week, and Day #1 of Trick or Treat Theme Week.

Today's Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Caramel Squares from Ghirardelli Chocolate Company (San Leandro, CA) were composed of sweet milk chocolate.

Take a bite and soft, golden-colored, pumpkin spice-flavored caramel will ooze out. On a hot day, when caramel loves to escape its bonds, you'll be glad these squares come individually wrapped in attractively shiny, sealed packaging, especially if you've forgotten one in your pocket.

Domingo Ghirardelli (1817-1894) was a successful San Francisco chocolatier. The view over the Bay Area from Domingo Ghirardelli's mausoleum up in the Oakland hills (at the Mountain View Cemetery) is beautiful.

As Halloween approaches, I wonder what the company founder might have thought of this modern chocolate world and Halloween trick or treaters* below this week.

*Halloween is celebrated in the U.S. with small children dressed up in costumes who visit neighbors, asking "trick or treat" when neighbors answer the door. Children are most often rewarded with treats—a handful of small candies or chocolates. 

Fun facts found on the Internet: Of the 600 million pounds of candy sold each year in the U.S., approximately 90 million pounds are chocolate items. Americans spend $1.9 billion on Halloween each year.


Note: These squares were the first chocolate item I've seen with a statement (on the packaging) that read: "Partially produced with genetic engineering." Transparency is good.

SOMA Chocolate - Ginger Dark Mini Bar - Oct. 28, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolate
Ginger Dark Chocolate Mini Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 185 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $ missing info
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week.

Today's Ginger Dark Chocolate Mini Bar was from SOMA Chocolate (Toronto, Canada).

Over the years, SOMA has offered bean-to-bar and other chocolate items (bars, drinking chocolate, filled/flavored chocolates and inspired, high-quality novelties, such as their "twig" and/or "branch" chocolates).

I have fond memories of my first visit to the SOMA location nestled in a brick complex that used to house a distillery in Toronto, and buying and tasting items there.

In today's dark mini bar, ginger was the dominant flavor. The small hunks of candied ginger with a soft chew were flavorful, and had a very slight soapiness that ginger can sometimes have, that seemed to dissipate after the first chew.

The dark chocolate was smooth, and on one side was emblazoned with a downsized version of the same lovely botanical print found on larger SOMA bars.

The mini bar was a great size for a single serving, high-end chocolate dessert or snack.

This bar's ingredients: cocoa mass, sugar, ginger, cacao butter, natural vanilla, soy lecithin.

Nathan Miller - Gingerbread Bar - Oct. 27, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nathan Miller Chocolate
Gingerbread Bar
Good ++
Weight: .2 oz. (5.66 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 30 calories (estimate) in 1/10 bar
Cost: $8.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Fog City News, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week.

Today's Gingerbread Bar was made by Nathan Miller Chocolate (Chambersburg, PA)

The bar was made with 55 percent Oko Caribe* direct trade organic Dominican cacao, organic buttermilk, organic cane sugar, and organic cocoa butter.

This Gingerbread bar (that contained some flour) was a complex mix of salty, slightly tangy, bitter-sweet chocolate with a hint of warm spice afterglow that kicked in at the end.

*Oko Caribe is a cacao fermentary near the city of San Francisco de Macoris in the Cibao region of the Dominican Republic.

Mulate Organic Chocolates - Spices bar - Oct. 26, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mulate Organic Chocolates
Spices Dark Chocolate bar
Good+++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) (estimate) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA


Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week.


Today's "Spices" Dark Chocolate bar from Mulate Organic Chocolates was created by Chocolate Naive (a bean-to-bar maker in Lithuania).

The smooth, 65 percent cacao dark chocolate had well balanced and authentic cinnamon and vanilla aroma and flavor, and a hint of warmth from cayenne pepper—a perfect bar to enjoy on a cool fall day in the mountains.

Pumpkin Bread + Hershey's Chocolate Chips - Oct. 25, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hershey's
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Good
Weight: 1/2 cup total for entire mix
Calories: 395.6 calories (estimate) in 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Pamela's Products
Pumpkin Bread Mix
Good++
Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) / 16 oz. (454 g.) in total package of dry mix
Calories: 320 calories in 2 servings (1/8 package, baked) -- 369 calories with added chocolate chips
Cost: $3.99 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week.

Pamela's Pumpkin Mix was redolent with the smell of real, dried pumpkin; and the finished mix was quite good. I made this mix earlier this month with a mixture of butter and coconut oil that was delicious (without nuts or chocolate). Today, I added chocolate chips from Hershey's (Hershey, PA).

The sweet smelling and tasting semi-sweet chocolate chips also had a very faint wax crayon aroma. Although these chips did have an fairly creamy melt and mouthfeel.

Sugar and Spice Cookie Plate - Oct. 24, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

The Phoenix Pastificio
1.) Best-Ever Macaroons (2) - Very Good
2.) Pecan Chewies (Chocolate) (1) - Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: unknown
Calories: unknown
Cost: $11.50 for 3 cookies
Purchased from: Grand Lake - Oakland Farmers Market, Oakland, CA

Walkers Shortbread
1.) Gluten Free Pure Butter Ginger and Lemon Shortbread (1) - Good++
2.) Gluten Free Pure Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread (1) - Good++
Weight: 1.09 oz. (31 g.) in 2 cookies
Calories: 160 calories in 2 cookies
Cost: $3.98 (estimate) for 2 boxes of cookies
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week. We're celebrating today with a cookie plate.

I like cakes and cookies; however, to avoid sugar overload, I save these sweet baked good items for the holidays. Oh, and look at that. It's almost Halloween; so what are we waiting for.

The Phoenix Pastificio
The first cookies I tasted were macaroons and pecan chewies from The Phoenix Pastificio (Berkeley, CA)—a company that specializes in organic pasta, sauces and baked goods. And a few of their offerings are gluten free.

However, these were not delicate, pastel-colored, filled French macaron rounds. Nor were they cloyingly sweet coconut macaroons.

The Phoenix Pastificio's "Best-Ever Macaroons" (regular and chocolate) were decadent and delicious. A "bitter" almond paste center (that maintained a moist, sweet almond brownie-like texture) was surrounded by a firmer, attractive extruded pastry shape. And the whole cookie was dusted with a liberal amount of powdered sugar.

The company's flourless chocolate Pecan Chewy had a meringue-like lightness, and yet maintained a satisfying, chewy chocolate texture with a hint of pecan nut flavor). The Phoenix Pastificio cookies held up commendably well, given that they'd spent some time in my refrigerator since my trip to Oakland where I bought them.

Walkers Gluten Free Shortbread
Walkers* (Aberlour-on-Spey, UK/Scotland) has been producing shortbread and biscuits (cookies) for decades. I was delighted when they started offering gluten-free versions of their rich, buttery shortbread rounds, a few years ago.

No doubt, the shortbread is the star. However, tiny bursts of chocolate in the Chocolate Chip version gave these rich cookies a little extra flavor oomph. And the Ginger and Lemon Shortbread cookie was also nice. Ginger is always a welcome, warming holiday spice, and a sparkle of lemon added additional flavor.

A five cookie-plate was fun, but too much sugar for one day. (Hey, I said I was gluten free. I didn't say I was glutton free.)

*Founded in 1898 by Joseph Walker, not only is Walkers well-known, but (according to one source I found) they're also Scotland's largest exporter of food items.

Wine Country Chocolates - Sesame Ginger Bar - Oct. 23, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Wine Country Chocolates
Sesame Ginger Chocolate Bar
Good+
Weight: .78 oz. (22 g.) / 2.35 oz. (66.5 g.) in total bar
Calories: 117 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Wine Country Chocolates, Tasting Room, Glen Ellen, CA

Welcome to the last day (Day #4) in this week's Chocolate and Sesame Series, and the first day of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week.

Being located in Northern California, it's easy to find local wineries to visit. In the case of Wine Country Chocolates, located near several wineries in Sonoma County, they operate tasting rooms filled not with bottles, but rather chocolate confections, barks and bars.

I found today's Sesame Ginger Bar after after taking a wrong turn while driving in the Sonoma area. Happily, this led to discovering Wine Country Chocolates' Glen Ellen location on a tree-lined, meandering country road.

This Sesame Ginger dark chocolate bar was sprinkled with small pieces of candied ginger and toasted white sesame seeds. Ginger is a great spice and complement to chocolate. And this bar achieved a nice, balanced blend of flavors.

Zayna Dates; Sesame Items - Oct. 22, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Signature Snacks LLC
Zayna Dates (Milk Chocolate)
Good +++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) total package of 10 pieces
Calories: 132 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: $1.99 for 1 package of 10 pieces
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of A Series of Sesame Chocolates.

Today's Zayna Dates (Milk Chocolate) were made by Signature Snacks LLC (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), and were one of several dessert tapas arranged on small plates.

Zayna Dates were created, according to the description on the packaging, after "world-renowned Suisse Chocolatiers visited Mediterranean regions" in the 1990s. Long story short, sweet, rich, hand-picked dates were stuffed with a roasted almond and covered in milk chocolate. I have to agree, after tasting today's dates, this is a winning combination.

And, consistent with a Mediterranean dessert tapas theme, other items included sesames seeds, nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios), pieces of sesame rice cakes, and Joyva Sesame Crunch candies, and melted chocolate (fondue).

What chocolate paired best with sesame items? I tried pairing sesame candies and seeds with two very different chocolates: one bright, fruity and complex Venezuelan chocolate, and one deeper, darker, slightly earthier and African chocolate.

The Venezuelan choice was a great chocolate, but was a little too acidic and bright for this pairing. And the latter African chocolate was a little too dark (78 percent cacao) and "dull."

A nuttier 70 percent chocolate that was in between these two extremes, or perhaps a 65 percent dark milk bar with chopped almonds might be a good fit.

Chosen Foods - Chocolate Bites with Chia - Oct. 21, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chosen Foods
Chocolate Bites with Chia!
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) in 1 packet
Calories: 190 calories in 1 packet
Cost: $5.99 for 1 box of 12 packets
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of A Series of Sesame Chocolates.

This week people are watching the World Series (baseball play-off) games. However, I'm focused on a series of a different sort: 4-5 chocolate items with sesame seeds.

Today's Chocolate Bites with Chia! were made in Mexico and distributed by Chosen Foods, LLC (San Diego, CA).  The small, crunchy, gluten-free cubes, or bites, inside each packet were made with nuts (pecans and almonds), chia (organic chia seeds), and cacao nibs. However, the first ingredient listed was organic sesame seeds.

These bites were relatively high in protein (5 g.) and fiber (4 g.), and were very lightly sweetened (cane sugar (3 g.) was number five on the ingredient list), making them a relatively healthy snack choice.

Neo Cocoa - Black Sesame Seed Brittle - Oct. 20, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Neo Cocoa
Black Sesame Seed Brittle
Very Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total package
Calories: 225 calories (estimate) in 1/2 package
Cost: $8.00 for 1 package of brittle pieces
Purchased from: Neo Cocoa table at Palo Alto Farmers Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of A Series of Sesame Chocolates.

Another great blend of flavors and textures from Neo Cocoa.

One of the joys of the modern world is the melding of food items from different continents over time by creative chefs of every kind: cacao from Central and South America, made into chocolate in North America; and flavor inclusions from around the world.

Today's chocolate contained sesame seeds (originally from Asia and East Africa). Rich in flavor and crunchy texture, sesame can go sweet or savory, and can pair nicely with chocolate.

Neo Cocoa Black Sesame Seed Brittle
Beware. Today's Black Sesame Toffee Brittle from Neo Cocoa (Belmont, CA) would be a spookily addictive Halloween treat. It will disappear before your very eyes.

Upon opening the sealed pouch of brittle, I detected a promising light sesame and chocolate aroma.

At the heart of this carefully crafted brittle was a thin* layer of light, crunchy sweet toffee brittle riddled with toasted black sesame seeds. The brittle was covered (on both sides) with a thin* coating of 72 percent dark chocolate and then sprinkled with white sesame seeds. The results: an intoxicating, crunchy sweet and slightly salty treat.

*I'm not sure how they managed such delicately thin layers, but I'm glad I didn't have to attempt making this at home.

Neo Cocoa - Dark Chocolate Mustache; Teaspoon - Oct. 19, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Neo Cocoa
Dark Chocolate Mustache with Pistachios
Good +++
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.1 g.) (estimate) for 1 mustache
Calories: 165 calories (estimate) in 1 piece/mustache
Cost: $5.00 for 1 chocolate mustache
Purchased from: Neo Cocoa table/booth (at Palo Alto Farmers Market, Palo Alto, CA)

Welcome to Day #7 of And Now for Something Completely Different Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Mustache from Neo Cocoa (Belmont, CA) was studded with green, pistachio nut pieces and was quite delicious.

I imagine the Minister of Silly Walks, and others who love fun and chocolate might also approve.

hank you very much dear readers for accompanying us on this week filled with unique and unusual chocolates. We will be returning to more conventional programming tomorrow with a series of sesame chocolates.

In other green + chocolate news...

Later today, I also tried a California Snow Ice special with avocado snow, almonds, mochi, condensed milk and a drizzle of chocolate sauce at Teaspoon (Los Altos, CA location). The large "Husky" cup serving size looked quite large, but this shaved snow style frozen dessert was lighter and less overly sweet than it looked, and was a refreshing late afternoon treat.

"Serving the most unique bubble tea and snow ice desserts" is the Teaspoon (company) motto. And I couldn't I resist one last unique item this week.

Lindt - Lychee Dark Chocolate bar - Oct. 18, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Lindt
Lychee Dark Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 105 calories in 2 squares
Cost: $2.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Lucky Supermarkets, El Cerrito, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of And Now for Something Completely Different Theme Week.

Lychee fruit has a unique, delicate, floral flavor. But, it's rare to see this fruit in U.S. supermarket produce sections, or in chocolate.

So, I was excited to find today's Lychee Dark Chocolate bar from Lindt and Sprungli AG (Kilchberg, Switzerland). This bar was part of the company's Exotic Fruit Collection. (Earlier this year I featured their Pineapple bar.)

I wondered whether the dark chocolate would overwhelm the delicate, complex flavors of this tropical fruit. However, it was the added flavoring that almost overwhelmed the relatively neutral dark chocolate.

The bar had a very sweet and almost artificial perfume aroma. The dark chocolate was smooth, sweet, and uniform in texture and flavor. Happily, a more natural lychee fruit flavor became more evident with the second or third bite. (The bar was made with lychee fruit pieces, as well as other natural and artificial flavors.)

I enjoyed being able to try this flavor blend; although I think I prefer lychee fruit a la carte.

Xocolatl de David - Foie Gras 68% Bolivia bar - Oct. 17, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Xocolatl de David
Foie Gras Chocolate 68 percent cacao Bolivia bar
Good ++
Weight: .55 oz. (15.5 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62 g.) in total bar
Calories: 82.5 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $ for 1/4 bar
Purchased from: Fog City News, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of And Now for Something Completely Different Theme Week.

Today I tried a Foie Gras 68 percent Bolivia chocolate bar from Xocolatl de David (Portland, OR).

This bar had a very slight foie gras aroma, and a creamy melt. The texture was smooth. The bar had a slightly salty, savory flavor; but the actual flavor inclusion (foie gras) may be difficult to guess for tasters.

Xocolatl de David, known for its creative stable of savory bars, also offers a "Foietella" spread with chocolate.

Thank you to Adam and the team at Fog City News (San Francisco, CA) for their curated selection of chocolates and for their help in finding unique bars for this week.

*Foie gras is a savory spread made from goose or duck liver and sometimes includes chopped pistachio nuts. Foie gras made by traditional methods (that involve "force-feeding" birds to fatten up their liver) is outlawed in California.

Nathan Miller Chocolate - 45% Buttermilk bar - Oct. 16, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nathan Miller Chocolate
45 percent Buttermilk bar
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Greetings and Welcome to Day #4 of And Now for Something Completely Different Theme Week.

Today's unique twist on a milk chocolate bar was the incorporation of buttermilk.

Nathan Miller, a successful pastry and dessert chef, started making chocolate in Boulder, and later set up shop in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. Miller and team have been busy producing chocolate bars from single origin cacao beans. Some of his award winning bars contain flavor inclusions, and some don't.

The 45 percent Buttermilk Chocolate bar from Nathan Miller Chocolate (Chambersburg, PA), was a flavorful blend of pleasant surprises.

Swaddled in bright pink lokta paper from Nepal and light blue foil, this bar smelled like chocolate brownie with very subtle hints of salt and smoke.* And at one point, I thought I tasted a slightly floral note. The chocolate had more complex, bold character and flavor than most milk chocolate bars—which I liked. The base chocolate was made from Oko Caribe Direct Trade, Organic Hispaniola cacao (from the Dominican Republic).

The organic buttermilk brought out a richer, bolder flavor with a slightly salty tang, that I enjoyed.

Disclaimer:
I really like brownies, salt, smokey* umami flavors and buttermilk. So, I'll likely appreciate this bar more than most. Most critics consider any smokey flavor in cacao to be a defect.

*A smokey flavor can come about in a few different ways. Following fermentation, cacao beans are spread out to dry on flats, or on the ground. In case of rain, beans might be in (or moved to) a covered area, and a fire might be used to help heat and dry cacao. Or smoke may waft in from a nearby cooking fire. In some cases, smoke may cover up less desirable flavors.