Sunday, December 31, 2017

Pearson Candy Company - Maple Bun bar - Dec. 30, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pearson Candy Company/Pearson's Candy
Bun - Artificially Flavored Maple (bar)
Good
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.79 for 1 bar/package
Purchased from: Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week.

The Maple Bun confection was from the Pearson Candy Company (Saint Paul, MN), a company that's been in business since 1909 and has seen its share of candy bar trends.*

Today's gluten free Bun bar contained "Real milk chocolate, Virginia peanuts and nougat," and was flavored with maple.

This candy bar was shaped like a patty or bun rather than a uniform, rectangular bar, making it look homemade. It contained more chocolate and peanuts than expected. The layer of sweet nougat-y filling was slightly less dominant than imagined (a good thing).

The maple flavor was subtle and relatively natural tasting.

Rather than broken nut pieces, the Virginia peanuts in this bar maintained a sense of integrity and added a satisfying crunchy texture.

Pearson Candy Company was founded in Minneapolis in 1909, and later moved to Saint Paul. Pearson's acquired the Bun Bar from Clark Bar America in 1998. Pearson's Bun line now includes a Maple, Vanilla and (new) Sea Salt Caramel flavored Bun bars.

*Candy Bar History Trivia: Between WWI and WWII, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of candy bars debuted. One of most interesting was the "Chicken Dinner" candy bar that hit the market in 1923. (It contained peanuts, but no chicken.) Pearson's acquired Sperry, the candy bar maker behind the Chicken Dinner bar. I would have included this Pearson Candy Company bar today. However, Pearson discontinued the Chicken Dinner bar in the early 1960s.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Neo Cocoa - Mocha Cinnamon truffles - Dec. 29, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Neo Cocoa 
Mocha Cinnamon truffles
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .8 oz. (23 g.) / 2.4 oz. (69 g.) in total box of 6 pcs.
Calories: 120 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces
Cost: $12.00 for 1 box of 6 pieces
Purchased from: La Cocina retail space, San Francisco Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week.

Today's Mocha Cinnamon truffles were from Neo Cocoa (Belmont, CA) and were part of holiday snack duo on the go.

These Neo Cocoa rectangular truffles were lightly dusted with dark cocoa powder, had a roasted coffee (espresso) and cinnamon (cassia) aroma, a creamy, velvety texture, and a rich 72% dark chocolate flavor.

I paired these silky chocolate pieces with a snack "opposite:" a Larabar Nut and Seed Maple and Cinnamon Crunchy Bar.* Both were great with fresh fruit.

The company specializes in the heart of truffles, meaning the lovely silky smooth chocolate "insides" of some chocolates covered with a harder chocolate shell or couverture.

Neo Cocoa founder Christine Doerr was trained as a chef and worked as a graphic designer, but she was eventually drawn to chocolate. With the help of La Cocina (a kitchen incubator in San Francisco) she launched her own company, offering soft, shell-less truffles (the "hearts of truffles") in a variety of delicious flavors.

*This Larabar Maple and Cinnamon Crunchy Bar did not contain any chocolate.






Thursday, December 28, 2017

Know Foods - Chocolate Chip Donuts - Dec. 28, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Know Foods
Know Better Donuts - Chocolate Chip
Good+
Weight: 2.66 oz. (76 g.) / 16 oz. (454 g.) in total package of 6
Calories: 200 calories in 1 donut (+ frosting)
Cost: $9.99 (estimate) for 1 package of 6 donuts
Purchased from: Draeger's Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week(s).

Today's Chocolate Chip Know Better Donut, from Know Foods (Atlanta, GA), looked a little lonely; so it received some homemade "frosting" (made of organic cream cheese, maple (syrup), cinnamon and spices).

This baked good looked like a cross between a bagel and a donut, and appeared to be far healthier than most donuts, even with a rich topping.

Know Foods is building a brand for itself based on products like these Know Better Donuts, billed as: "...natural, non-GMO, grain/gluten free*, high protein, high fiber, low carb and low sodium—and have a near zero sodium index..."

Other health stats of note:




  • 8 grams of fiber per donut
  • 12 grams of protein per donut
  • 6 grams net carbs per donut
Sounds good. These donuts were made with almonds* instead of grains. And the donut tasted better than many gluten-free baked goods. It was substantial and, refreshingly, not too sweet. (It did use allulose, a relatively new sweetener that we know little about.)

The company used Enjoy Life ("vegan, soy, nut, dairy and GMO free") chocolate chips in these donuts, and has plans to incorporate their own chocolate chips in the future.

*Ingredients: water, almonds, chocolate chips (cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter), apple puree, allulose, organic prebiotic fiber, flax seeds, dried egg whites, apple cider vinegar, organic coconut flour, chia seeds, organic flax flour, coconut oil, leavening (Potassium Bicarbonate), organic sea salt. Contains: egg and tree nuts

Sirene Chocolate - Winter Warmer bar - Dec. 27, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Sirene Chocolate
Winter Warmer bar
Very Good 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week.

Today's Winter Warmer bar from Sirene Chocolate (Victoria, BC, Canada) was a delicious creation of dark milk chocolate—made from cacao beans grown in "balmy Tanzanie" (Tanzania*)—
nutmeg and cloves.

The scent of this bar was full of fresh spice and herb notes, despite there being "just" nutmeg and cloves infused into very fine chocolate.

There was no star anise, black pepper, allspice or bay, yet there were whispers of these—and all kinds of heavenly cacao flavors—in this creamy, smooth, very-well executed bar with wonderful depth.

Many holiday chocolates are considered novelties and are not made with the highest-quality (or percentage) cacao. So to sample this bar was to experience much happiness and gratitude.

Sadly, this bar was seasonal and is likely no longer available.

*Tanzania is a republic in East Africa near the Indian Ocean, and the source of some great small batch single origin bars in recent years.


Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Divine - Milk Chocolate Christmas Shapes; Moo Free Organic Santa Bar - Dec. 26, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Divine Chocolate Inc.
Milk Chocolate Christmas Shapes 
Good
Weight: 1.6 oz. (45 g.) / 3.2 oz. (90 g.) in total box of 12 shapes/pieces
Calories: 240 calories in 6 shapes/pieces
Cost: $3.99 (estimate) for 1 box of 11 pieces
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Moo Free Limited/Moo Free Chocolates 
Hammy Hamster Santa bar
Good 
Weight: 1.13 oz. (32 g.) / 3.6 oz. (103 g.) in total package of 4 
Calories: 187.2 calories (per label) in 1 package/piece
Cost: $5.50 for 1 box of 4 different pieces
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA
Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week. 

Christmas was yesterday, but there was holiday spiced tea and two Christmas chocolate items left: Milk Chocolate Christmas Shapes from Divine Chocolate Inc. (Product of The Netherlands; distributed via Divine in Washington, D.C.), and a Mini Moos Hammy Hamster Organic Santa Bar from Moo Free Limited (Reading, UK).

Divine Chocolate
Divine Chocolate is co-owned by cocoa farmers and has specialized in fair trade chocolate bars.

Today's 26% cocoa Milk Chocolate Christmas Shapes included a snowman, a Christmas tree, a snowflake, a candle, a wrapped present with a bow, and a flower/rose.  These festive shapes were a bit sweet for me, but were fun novelty items.

Moo Free
Moo Free is known for their milk (moo) free chocolates that are also free of other allergens. (They use rice milk instead of dairy milk.) This Organic Santa bar was gluten free, dairy free and vegan.

Today's Hammy Hamster* Santa was the last of four individually-wrapped chocolates from a Merry Moos Christmas selection box opened many months ago. Despite being from last season, this Santa had held up fairly well.

*Each bar from this Mini Moo holiday series featured a cartoon animal. The wrapper for this Santa was adorned with the image of a yellow hamster (Hammy Hamster). 


Alexander's Patisserie - chocolate Santa Claus - Dec. 25, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Alexander's Patisserie 
Chocolate Santa Claus
Good ++
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) of chocolate Santa 
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 2 oz. serving of Santa
Cost: $N/A - Christmas gift from family member (Thank you Knapp family!)
Purchased from: N/A (Alexander's Patisserie, Mountain View, CA)

A Very Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. 

Today's chocolate Santa was created by Alexander's Patisserie (Mountain View, CA).* 

This artfully made (mostly hollow), portly figure was the size of a globe-shaped tree ornament. It was enjoyed from top to bottom on Christmas morning.

*Alexander's chocolates are made primarily with Valrhona chocolate. 



Monday, December 25, 2017

Stone Grindz Chocolate - Cinnamon Cayenne 70% Cacao bar - Dec. 24, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Stone Grindz Chocolate
Cinnamon Cayenne 70% Cacao bar
Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.95 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Stone Grindz Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate Holiday Spice and Maple Theme Week.

It's a cold December evening, and you're craving a hot drinking chocolate with a kick. What do you do?

Well, you could wrap your mittened hands around today's Cinnamon Cayenne 70% Cacao bar from Stone Grindz Chocolate (Scottsdale, AZ).

This bar's balanced aroma and flavor captured the steamy essence of spiced drinking chocolate: warming cinnamon with a slightly delayed hot sparkle of cayenne pepper, in a quality, 70% cacao, bean-to-bar chocolate base.

The Cinnamon Cayenne bar also had a pleasing texture, with a relatively creamy/buttery, even melt.

Happy Christmas Eve to all who celebrate. May all your holiday dreams come true.






Neo Cocoa - Sarsaparilla and Vanilla Toffee Brittle - Dec. 23, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Neo Cocoa
Sarsaparilla and Vanilla Toffee Brittle
Good +++ - 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: $10.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: La Cocina, San Francisco Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week.

If you like unique, appealing herbal flavors, like root beer, herb/spice teas, vanilla creme soda, please do try this thin, delicious Sarsaparilla and Vanilla Toffee from Neo Cocoa (Belmont, CA).

Today's brittle was another well-executed holiday brittle from this San Francisco Bay Area chocolatier.

The brittle was composed of ultra-slim layers of 72% dark chocolate and toffee fused together. The resulting slim shards were infused with unique sarsaparilla (root) and vanilla flavor that tickled memories of old candy shops. (If you're old enough, you may remember horehound,* sassafras and root beer candy.)

Not to be confused with sassafras (derived from bark and leaves of a tree), sarsaparilla comes from a South American vine. Most edible botanicals and spices seem to harmonize well with chocolate in some form.

Sadly, this brittle disappeared so quickly, the photos taken (shown here) were rather sketchy.

*Horehound is an aromatic mint relative native to Europe and Asia that eventually was brought to the U.S. Although less common now, horehound herbal tea was often cooked with sugar to make hard candy and cough drops in the 1900s.


Friday, December 22, 2017

Indulgence Chocolatiers - Porter 58% bar + Jelina Chocolatier - Maple Milk Chocolate bar - Dec. 22, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Indulgence Chocolatiers, LLC
Porter 58% Cacao Dark Chocolate with Espresso, Malt and Roasted Barley bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .14 oz. (4 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99.22 g.) in total bar
Calories: 23.5 calories in 1 square of bar
Cost: N/A - gift (thank you Kaitlin!)
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week. Today, we're blessed with two holiday bars.

The first bar, a Porter 58% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar with Espresso, Malt and Roasted Barley bar from Indulgence Chocolatiers, LLC (Milwaukee, WI), was a surprise gift—acquired on a vacation trip and generously shared with Chocolate Banquet.

What an intriguing, complex dark aroma this bittersweet chocolate bar had. Espresso powder added some rich depth as did roasted barley and malted milk powder.

I spent an indulgently long time just enjoying whiffs of this chocolate, that also had faint hints of umami, tobacco, leather and spice. And the taste I had did not disappoint.

Jelina Chocolatier
(Galerie au Chocolat)
Maple Crunch (Sucre d'erable) Milk Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 270 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Today's second bar was a Maple Crunch Milk Chocolate bar from Jelina Chocolatier (Montreal, QC, Canada).

Holiday childhood memories included real stalks of sugar cane* and maple sugar candy. The sugar cane yielded less sugar than you might expect, but kept children busy as gnawing rodents on Christmas morning.

On the other hand, the maple-leaf shaped pieces of maple sugar candy (imported from exotic Canada or Vermont) were dazzlingly sweet in their final, processed form. They yielded such a super-charged maple sweetness that it was almost impossible to eat more than 1 or 2 pieces at one sitting.

However, the sensation of the slightly crystalline maple crunch and velvety maple melt still lingers. It was also present in today's Maple Crunch Milk Chocolate bar.

This bar appears as a second chocolate today because I've already had a similar maple milk chocolate bar from Galerie au Chocolat. (I discovered Galerie au Chocolat operates with the name Jelina Chocolatier in the U.S.) Thank goodness for Google spreadsheets and search.

*It's harder to get a sugar rush if you have to chew and suck the sugary plant liquid in its raw, diluted form from a large, hard stalk of actual sugar cane. 

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Enjoy Life - ProBurst Bites - Chocolate Cinnamon Spice - Dec. 21, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Enjoy Life
ProBurst Bites - Chocolate Cinnamon Spice
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.27 oz. (36 g.) / 6.4 oz. (180 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: $7.99 for 1 package
Purchased from Ava's Market and Deli, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week.

And Happy Winter Solstice Day. Soon, our darker days will grow lighter again. This thought helps us get through the January to come. That, and chocolate.

Today's allergy-friendly,* Chocolate Cinnamon Spice flavored ProBurst (protein burst) Bites were from Enjoy Life Natural Brands, LLC (Chicago, IL—a city where they really understand Winter and warming spices).

Chocolate was the first ingredient listed, so this snack didn't stint on cocoa content. Other ingredients with protein (rice protein, pumpkin seeds and chia seeds), helped create a balanced (i.e. not too sweet) sugar level.

The Bites had a soft chew and light spice notes (cinnamon with very subtle hints of chili and vanilla).

Enjoy Life also makes chocolate ProBurst Bites in another flavors, including Cranberry Orange, SunSeed Butter and Mango Habanero.

*These Bites were free of all 8 common allergens: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish and shellfish, and were also made without casein, potato, sesame and sulfites.




Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Zokoko - Goddess Milk Chocolate with Chai Spice bar - Dec. 20, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Zokoko Artisan Chocolate
Goddess Milk Chocolate with Chai Spice bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.145 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 172 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Marketplace, San Francisco Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to the first day of Holiday Spices and Maple Sugar Theme Week.

As the Winter holiday season begins in earnest this week, warming spices can take the edge off a cold morning or a frenetic schedule. A hot cup of chai tea is a favorite. Hot drinking chocolate with cardamom and other chai spices is good too.

After seeing frost outside this morning on the leaves piled up on the ground, today's Goddess Milk Chocolate with Chai Spice bar from Zokoko Artisan Chocolate (Emu Heights, NSW, Australia) looked very appealing.

This milk chocolate bar had a creamy, almost velvety, slow melt, and hints of holiday spice cookies. A warm blend* of cinnamon, star anise and other spices in today's bar eclipsed the cardamom (usually the more dominant chai spice); but it was divine.

Sadly, this product was not listed on the Zokoko online store/website, so it may no longer be available.

*Spices in this Zokoko bar included: cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, black pepper and vanilla.


Tuesday, December 19, 2017

NeoCocoa - Tart Cranberry truffles - Dec. 19, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

NeoCocoa
Tart Cranberry
Good+ - Good ++
Weight: .8 oz. (23 g.) / 2.4 oz. (69 g.) total box of 6 pieces
Calories: 120 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces
Cost: $13.00 for 1 box of 6 pieces
Purchased from: La Cocina, San Francisco Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Fruit and Nuts Theme Week.

How does one blend the delicious, slightly tart flavor of cranberry and orange during the holidays into chocolate? This combination can be found in relish, sauce, salads, energy bars and confections, but is harder to find in chocolates.

Fortunately, the busy elves at local San Francisco Bay Area chocolate company, NeoCocoa, made Tart Cranberry flavored truffles this season. These had well-balanced cranberry and bittersweet chocolate flavor with a hint of orange. The company's cube-shaped "hearts of truffles" were velvety soft truffle insides without the usual hard, glossy outer chocolate shells.

These chocolates shared a holiday snack plate with two festively-flavored snack fruit and nut bars: a Sahale Snacks Cranberry Almond with Black Pepper and Orange Zest bar, and a Sahale Tangerine Cashew with Vanilla and Mango bar. The black pepper added a little extra holiday accent sparkle.

Yves Thuries - Milk Chocolate and Hazelnuts and Raspberries bar - Dec. 18, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Yves Thuries 
Milk Chocolate and Hazelnuts and Raspberries bar
Good
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 270 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Fruit and Nuts Theme Week. 
Today's Milk Chocolate and Hazelnuts and Raspberries bar from Yves Thuries was made in France, and distributed by SALPA Inc. (Greenwich, CT).

This 34% cocoa milk chocolate bar was sprinkled with an attractive array of sweet raspberry and caramelized hazelnut small pieces or "splits." The raspberry splits contained "raspberry puree, sucrose, apple, pineapple fibers, natural flavors, citric acid, sodium sugar, glucose syrup (and) honey."


This chocolate, fruit and nut confection was a bit too sweet for me (sugar was the number one ingredient.) I'd like to taste a dark chocolate version though.

*Today's Milk Chocolate and Hazelnuts and Raspberries bar from Yves Thuries was similar to another fruit and nuts bar from the same French maker, only it also included blueberries and almonds.

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Buddy's Chocolate Peanut Small Batch Nut Butter + thinkThin - Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie - Dec. 17, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Buddy's
Chocolate Peanut Nut Butter
Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32 oz.) in total packet
Calories: 180 calories in 1 packet
Cost: $0.99 for 1 packet
Purchased from: Sprouts, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Fruit and Nuts Theme Week.

Buddy's (Minneapolis, MN) nut butters are sold in both jars and in single-serving pouches. Today features the latter. The Little Buddy's Chocolate Peanut packet was made with roasted peanuts, semi-sweet chocolate and cocoa powder (with sea salt and sugar).

Nut butters offer several possibilities. They can be enjoyed as a spread, a mix-in with ice cream or a smoothie, or enjoyed plain. How about all three?

The pouch/packet was carefully squeezed out and used in a peanut butter and fresh banana protein drink smoothie mix, on a cracker with apricot jam and by itself.

True, peanuts are legumes, not true nuts. However, the protein smoothie mix used also contained cashews and almond protein. The fresh banana and Little Buddy's Chocolate Peanut nut butter helped to liven this thick protein drink up.

My favorite use for this Chocolate Peanut spread was, however, the second option: spread on a red rice quinoa cracker with apricot jam.*

*Buddy's also makes a Cinnamon Raisin spread which would have been happily co-featured today as the "fruit" in Chocolate, Fruit and Nuts Week. But there was no time to search for this flavor in local stores.




Saturday, December 16, 2017

Zachary Confections - Milk and Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cremes - Dec. 16, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Zachary Confections
Milk and Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mini Cremes
Good
Weight: 1.48 oz. (42 g.) / 11.87 oz. (336 g.) (per label) in total container
Calories: 180 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $N/A part of a Candy Club subscription
Purchased from: N/A - taste of someone else's (subscriber's) candy

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Fruit and Nuts Theme Week. 

Today's Milk and Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mini Cremes were made by Zachary Confections (Frankfort, IN). The company got its start in 1950, making novelty items in Chicago (the self-proclaimed Candy* Capital of the World in the early 1900s). 

The company now turns out thousands of chocolate creme pieces (and many other candies, including at least 10 flavors of candy corn) in its 300,000 square-foot, modern facility in central Indiana.

Each of today's round, milk and dark chocolate pieces were filled with a light colored, creamy but solid, raspberry-flavored sweet center. These were eaten with walnuts.**

*Most chocolate items featured on ChocolateBanquet.com are classified as chocolate, not candy; that is, sugar is listed below/after cocoa/chocolate in the ingredients. Today's chocolate was part of a Candy Club subscription box, and the #1 ingredient was sugar.

**Because there's not much protein, fat or fiber to slow down the absorption of the sugar in candy, I eat candy with nuts—like the roasted walnuts pictured with the Raspberry Mini Creme pieces here.


Friday, December 15, 2017

Yves Thuries - 70% Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Oranges bar - Dec. 15, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Yves Thuries
70% Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Oranges
Good
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in  4 squares, or 1/3 bar
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA 
Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Fruit and Nuts Theme Week. 

Today's 70% Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Oranges was produced by Yves Thuries (Product of France, and distributed by SALPA Inc., Greenwich, CT).

This bar follows hot on the heels of yesterday's dark chocolate, blood orange pairing with slice almonds.

The cacao used for most Yves Thuries bars, including this one, is grown on their San Fernando plantation in the Guayaquil region of southern Ecuador.

Cacao originated in Central and South America. Oranges are from Asia, and almonds got their start in the Middle East, India and North Africa. Despite their different origins, they blend very naturally together. This happy fusion may have first surfaced in southern Europe or the Mediterranean, before spreading across the globe.

This bar was a nice mix of 70% dark chocolate, and natural tasting bits of caramelized almonds and orange bits (orange pulp, sucrose, apple, pineapple and orange natural flavor).

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Godiva - Dark Chocolate Blood Orange bar - Dec. 14, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Godiva
Dark Chocolate Blood Orange bar
(Chocolat Noir A L'Orange Sanguine) bar
Good
Weight: 1.03 oz. (30 g.) / 3.1 oz. (90 g.) in total bar
Calories: 147 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Fruit and Nuts Theme Week.

Some chocolate and fruit combinations seem to beg for the addition of nuts, and vice versa some chocolate and nut blends are great with fruit(s).

I felt compelled to pair today's Dark Chocolate Blood Orange bar from Godiva Chocolatier, Inc. (New York, NY) with a small handful of sliced California almonds.

The 50% cacao bar had a smooth and even sweet dark chocolate flavor.* And tiny bits of Italian blood orange yielded a rich, high-end Creamsicle** aroma and provided a sweet, slightly tangy citrus sparkle in each bite.

The almonds, orange and chocolate were tres good together. The nuts helped balance out the relatively high level of sugar.

*The bar was made with cocoa processed with alkali (which tends to result in a smoother, less acidic chocolate).

**A Creamsicle was a frozen Popsicle-like treat with an orange ice covering over vanilla ice cream. Now owned by Unilever.








Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Sahale Snacks - Banana Pecan with Cocoa Nibs & Cinnamon bar - Dec. 13, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Distributed by Sahale Snacks
Banana Pecan with Cocoa Nibs and Cinnamon Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in 1 bar / 5.6 oz. (160 g.) in box of 4 bars
Calories: 200 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $?.?? for 1 box of 4 bars
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate, Fruit and Nuts Theme Week.

Today's box of 4 individually-wrapped Banana Pecan with Cocoa Nibs and Cinnamon Bars were distributed by Sahale Snacks (Seattle, WA).

These bars were natural tasting and well-balanced, with a hint of banana bread and nuts. They had a pleasing chew to them (not too soft or too stiff). They had a rich flavor; the first ingredient listed was cashew butter (dry roasted cashews, date paste, brown rice protein).

Despite the sweet ingredients (bananas, dates) and tapioca syrup, caramelized sugar, they were refreshingly restrained in terms of sweetness. The dark chocolate flavor was supplied by cocoa nibs. Again, not too sweet, but flavorful. Light hints of cinnamon and vanilla gave the bar a slight warmth—a nice touch in the cooler months.

The Banana Pecan snack bar contained 5 grams of protein; and it was a satisfying bar for breakfast and as an any-time-of-day snack.


Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Praim Confections - Gelt-y Pleasure Dark Chocolate bar - Dec. 12, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

The Praim Group/Praim, LLC
Gelt-y Pleasure Dark Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 245 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate Snacks Theme Week.

This week we've covered a variety of different snack items: protein bars, granola bars and cookies with chocolate, gluten-free snack mixes with chocolate—even an organic, single-serve chocolate mousse.

But, this week wouldn't be complete without a few holiday-related, novelty chocolate items.

Today's Praim Confections Gelt-y* Pleasure Dark Chocolate kosher bar (from The Praim Group/Praim, LLC, Salem, MA) appeared in a local store just in time for Hanukkah (Dec. 12-20 this year).

The outer wrapper was adorned with the drawing of "The Mensch on a Bench"** and images of chocolate gold foil wrapped "coins."

The inner gold foil wrapper contained a fairly mild (chocolate liquor processed with alkali), sweet dark chocolate bar (that contained cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin and vanilla). The bar had even taste and consistency.

**"Mensch on a Bench" is a Registered Trademark of Monkeybar Consulting LLC and is used under license here.
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