Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Soklet - Desi Rabdi - Milk Chocolate with Pistachios, Saffron (bar) - Feb. 16, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Desi Rabdi - 45% Toasted Milk Chocolate (with) Pistachio, Saffron (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 283.5 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and India Theme Week.

Today's Soklet Caramelized Milk Chocolate with Pistachios and Saffron (bar)* was manufactured by Regal Foods and Beverages (Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India).

This Desi Rabdi bar was inspired by traditional Indian sweets. It contained cocoa butter, but no cocoa solids.* But, I wouldn't call this "white chocolate." The bar had a rich golden brown hue that was achieved by careful caramelization of sugar and milk. Cocoa butter or fat (which can be half of the content of cocoa beans) contributed a creamy, but firm (at room temperature) chocolate bar texture.

Happily, this confectionery homage did not taste overly sweet (cane sugar was the third ingredient). And there were enjoyable, milky hints of pistachio nut--and a fleeting, delicate and uplifting floral saffron spice note.

Ingredients: Cacao butter, skimmed milk powder, cane sugar, roasted pistachio, saffron 

*Note: A white chocolate work-around was used today.

To "count" as a chocolate on Chocolate Banquet, a bar, confection, beverage or other chocolate item needs to contain some form of cocoa solids. Today's Desi Rabdi bar contained a generous amount of cocoa butter (it was the number one ingredient), but no cocoa solids.

This should not have been a surprise, as traditional Indian desserts aren't typically loaded up with dark chocolate.

So, even though this bar was perfectly fine on its own, I drizzled a fine thread of very smooth/mild dark chocolate (melted dark chocolate with a few drops of date syrup and rose water) across a piece of this bar. 

I used a small amount of dark chocolate so I wouldn't "suffocate" the more delicate saffron and pistachio flavors in this bar. The goal of this "topping" was to create a layering of flavors rather than a forced flavor fusion. It was a successful pairing.

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