Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Theo - Chocolate Covered Peppermint Marshmallows - Jan. 10, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Theo Chocolate
Chocolate Covered Peppermint Marshmallows
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.98 oz. (56 g.) / 3.95 oz. (112 g.) in total package
Calories: 200 calories in 4 pieces
Cost: $7.95 for 1 package of 8 pieces
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Peppermint Theme Week.

Peppermint is most commonly used when making mint-flavored chocolates in the U.S. Sadly, we sometimes have to wait until December holidays to find limited edition peppermint chocolates. I loaded up on several this holiday season so I could enjoy and share them in the new year.

Today's Peppermint Marshmallows with 70% Dark Chocolate from Theo Chocolate (Seattle, WA) were flavored with organic peppermint essential oil and were quite good. They made me wish I could find these year-round. (I understand we need pepping up in the dark days. (It's so dark and drizzly outside today my photos are barely visible.) But wouldn't cooling peppermint also be enjoyable in the summer?

These Theo Chocolate high-end, handmade treats would be, I was assured, right "at home floating on hot chocolate." I'm sure that's true. However, I enjoyed them unadulterated.

Face it, when you're talking marshmallows you're talking sugar, and lots of it. However, these marshmallows were very pleasantly fresh and fluffy, yet firm enough to hold a bold, rich, fruity 70% dark chocolate coating. And they weren't as sticky sweet as I expected.

Marshmallow history
Previous research I did pointed to marshmallow ancestors made from marsh mallows (the plant). To create a firmer, fluffier confection gelatin eventually replaced the mallow goo. And, while I'm curious to sample one of these early plant-based confections, I was very happy to find today's treats with a simple, short list of high-quality ingredients.

In my childhood marshmallows were often stale, artificially flavored and colored gobs that lived in a plastic bag that had been opened back in the dinosaur age. For me today's marshmallows epitomized a return to quality that's taken place in the last decade or so. Progress, after all, can mean a return to simpler, more authentic roots.





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